"David Bird... operates Bird's Botanicals... in a multi-chambered cave... in Kansas City, Mo. ... more than 6,300 orchids...
Bird studied horticulture at North Dakota State University and soon became the caretaker of the university's... orchid collection... After college, Bird worked as a horticulturist at a number of botanical gardens before moving to the Kansas City area about six years ago to take a job with Powell Gardens, a 915-acre botancial garden... "I brought 800 orchid plants here," he said. "I built a greenhouse... " The greenhouse... became too small for Bird's growing orchid collection. One day, Bird drove past the underground storage complex and wondered if the caves could be adapted to grow his flowers. He called the owner and set up an appointment. he said. "To buy land and build another greenhouse would be expensive. This just seemed like the best alternative." Bird, who left Powell Gardens five years ago to start his business, said he installed electricity, tables, a watering system using garden hoses and fans in the cave, which has a growing space of about 5,000 square feet. Overhead lights are the cave's only heat source. "It took six months for the rocks to warm up," he said. An environment of 80 percent to 85 percent humidity and at least 70 degrees is maintained in most of the cave. The blooming room, where plants with buds are kept until the flowers unfold, is kept at 65 percent to 85 humidity. In the summer, the humidity rate might climb to 100 percent. Hoses hooked up to a hot water heater allows Bird to deliver a warm water-fertilizer mix to the plants each day. ... Bird sells his orchids to florists and nurseries in the Kansas City area" URL : http://cjonline.com/stories/012008/lif_238345190.shtml photos : 1) [caption : "Bird's Botanicals... one of the businesses in the multi-chambered caves at the Interstate Underground Storage complex in Kansas City, Mo."] http://images.morris.com/images/cjonline/mdControlled/cms/2008/01/20/238345371.jpg 2) [caption : "in an underground cave in Kansas City, Mo."] http://images.morris.com/images/cjonline/mdControlled/cms/2008/01/20/238345430.jpg ************* Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
