Do You Love Orchids but Struggle Displaying Them?

I absolutely love orchids! My infatuation began decades ago while helping my mom care for her orchids. Today, I am still fascinated with the different varieties and their colors. For years I struggled with a creative way to display my orchids. Sure, the standard potting table is an easy and adequate choice, but I wanted something a bit more elevated in design.

Then one day while visiting Goodwin Orchids in Leesburg, Florida, I focused attention not only on their vast and beautiful orchids but on their apparatus for hanging said orchids. It was a simple metal rod! Why hadn’t I thought of this before?

After leaving the nursery I filed the idea in the landscaping part of my brain. I did not give it more thought for a couple of months. Then while patiently sitting in the dressing area of the International Mall Lilly Pulitzer store, I looked up and concentrated on their gorgeous brass clothes rod. My mind began to spin…the beauty of this rod brought my orchid rod vision into focus.

Back at Casa Rosa I began to take measurements and plan the placement of the orchid rod. The porch wall from french door to exterior wall is 16′ 10″. Centering the rod was easy. I subtracted almost 3′ from each side leaving space for an 10′ rod. Wanting the rod hung as high as possible, 6″ from the 8′ ceilings seemed appropriate.

Now came time to pick out materials and design the rod. The material was an easy and quick choice, copper piping. It blends well with the brass hardware on the french doors. I narrowed my choices for the copper pipe to either a 1/2″ by 10′ or 3/4″ by 10′ piece. Initially I leaned towards the 3/4″ because it made more of a statement but ended up with the 1/2″ piece due to the lessor weight.

1/2″ by 10′ http://homedepot.com/p/Streamline-1-2-in-x-10-ft-Copper-Type-M-Pipe-MH04010/321304112 copper pipe

To secure the pipe a 1/2″ cup tee fittings attaches the rod center and ends to the perpendicular pipes on the wall. Three 1/2″ cap fittings seal each end of the pipe attached to the wall. Two 1/2″ 90-degree elbow fittings attach the rod to the pipes extending to the wall. Three 1/2″ 90-degree ear cup fittings were used to attach the wall pipes to the perpendicular pipes. The center ear cup was used for additional support much like a curtain rod. Lastly, although not necessary but aesthetically pleasing three 1/2″ copper tube straps were attached at the bottom of the wall pipes.