"If you can't find George Fuller, the first place to look for him would be in his favourite glasshouse. Built 15 years ago, it is nestled in a sunny spot between his house and a hill.
It wouldn't be much bigger than two bathroom cubicles joined together, but inside are shelves with row upon row of green pots. Various orchids hang from the roof and shelves and there is a tap near the door by the cobblestone path. The walls and roof are lined with bubble wrap to keep the heat from the 1KW heater in and the burning sun out. "It (the heater) keeps the temperature 5 above the outside temperature," he said. He has two greenhouses. The other one, which is larger, houses the bigger varieties of the plant. Mr Fuller, who owns thousands of orchids, has had a love affair with the plant for more than 60 years. He wouldn't confess how many hours he spends in the glasshouse each day, but judging by the fruit of his labour, it's a lot. His obsession started when he read a book about how some orchids are fertilised by insects. Mr Fuller, who is a former curator of Pukekura Park, even has an orchid named after him: the Curly George [genus ?]. This year an orchid he bred (Pleione Ueli Wackernagel "Wow!"), which took five years to flower, won the orchid-of-the-year prize from the Orchid Council of New Zealand. He was also chosen to be the patron of the council." URL : http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dailynews/4185852a6551.html photo : http://www.stuff.co.nz/images/321306.jpg ************ Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
