Consultant and Author, D. K. Christi

Happy Birthday D. K. Christi - Ghost Orchid Gift

5:02 PM PDT, July 8, 2009

Consultant & Author D. K. Christi

The Ghost Orchid of Corkscrew Audubon Sactuary bloomed again this week, just as it has faithfully bloomed for my July birthday for the last two years.I could request no more beautiful gift than this rare orchid, the only one found in this sanctuary, discovered in July 2007.

That was the year I first began my novel, Ghost Orchid, soon to be released by L & L Dreamspell. The mystery of this delicate white orchid that dances high above the Everglades' canopy found its way to my heart and tore out a mystery of its own, a tale of love, lies and redemption that could only be told with the blooming of this rare flower.

Each year those of us obsessed by its rare calling wonder if it will show itself again, and this is the third summer opening of the season's first bloom. If the pattern holds, it will produce eight to ten blooms that will dwindle and die after a great dance in the swamp breeze and then spring forth again with new blooms in August and again in September. The July blooms are the most magnificent; yet the last smaller blooms of September carry their own dignity.

If you haven't looked at a Ghost Orchid, you may have missed a chance to have its mystery touch your heart. Some say that Ghost Orchids are associated with graves; I say it's because they represent the flight of the soul to eternity. See what you think.