Part of the nostalgia triggering system of smells and memory has to do with a current preoccupation. For those of you who have been in my home, you know all about my fixation with orchids. I have quite a few. Sadly, moving from MT to Seattle caused some serious disruptions to my growing them- I had to adjust my methods quite a bit, and lost quite a few plants. But they're coming back, and hopefully will recover in the next year or so.
The orchid fixation started when I was little. I didn't remember that my Grandmother raised them. She died when I was 6, and I didn't hold onto that particular memory.
About 3 years ago, I was visiting the orchid nursery in Bozeman with a friend. I walked past a plant in bloom and smelled something that stopped me cold. It was a lavender Cattleya. I remembered my Grandmother in that instant. Those were the plants that she had kept. I remembered burying my nose in the flowers when I was little. I remembered how happy she was when Grandpa ordered them for her. I remembered one of them dying in our basement after her funeral. I had to buy the plant. Right then. And I haven't stopped since. They are tremendously rewarding. They are challenging, and receptive to quality care. They are amazingly varied and beautiful.
Before he died, I gave Grandpa a couple of them. He was able to re-bloom one about 3 weeks before he died. It was the first and only time he accomplished this. I was so proud of him. And so happy that I was able to re-introduce him to a passion from 30 years before.
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