The orchid garden is lush and green, full of orchids brimming with verdant vitality

At five in the morning, it was time to get up and water theorchids. I had just started washing up when suddenly the wind outside the window rose fiercely, and right after that a violent rainstorm broke out. This year's No. 7 severe tropical storm "Dandelion" had arrived! The orchids in the garden were blown, tossed and danced upon completely exposed, completely unlike the tender touch of the usual gentle breeze, clawing and flailing as if possessed by demons, and also like a lone boat on the vast ocean, stumbling, swaying and spinning in helplessness... Before I could put down the rain screen, the orchids were being blown, struck and drenched head-on by the fierce wind and driving rain. In the rush I put down the rain screen, and finally kept the wind and rain outside. At this moment a trace of unease ignited in my heart: what would be the consequences for the orchids struck by the sudden rain? In my thoughts my mind went blank, and yet hazy. Outside, the sound of wind and rain grew tighter and tighter, like war drums, like battle cries, with misty rain and layered black clouds between heaven and earth. When I came back to my senses and looked carefully at the orchids again, I found my eyes brightening. Can you guess what happened? -- Emerald leaves dyed by summer rain, delicate and frail yet radiant with splendor. The wind and rain were kept outside, but inside the garden it was extremely humid. Fortunately, small fans hang from the ceiling; once turned on, gentle breezes helped me drive away the dampness. The Zhoushan Islands had been besieged by drought for two full years. I had thought the mold rain season would bring abundant rain, but this year's mold rain could only be considered as moistening the surface of the ground, and the drought still afflicted the islands. In ordinary years, typhoons mostly affect us in Zhoushan only after August 1. We islanders both fear and long for typhoons: what we fear is that typhoons are enormously destructive and often cause incalculable losses to people; what we long for is that typhoons can bring the rainwater the islands depend on for survival. In recent days the temperature had stayed above 30 degrees, and the orchids that originally grew quickly slowed their growth, and the buds that had just broken through the soil also gradually quieted down. Fortunately, the typhoon brought rain and at the same time lowered the temperature by four or five degrees, exactly the temperature most suitable for orchid growth, and I could not help feeling secretly delighted. Since April, whenever I am with the orchids, I always keep a pair of scissors at my side to cut away fading leaves. Whenever the spring trade winds bring warm currents, the orchids in their stillness slowly revive, and orchid bud points grow beneath the soil layer. At this time the orchids urgently need to replenish nutrients, and when the supply is insufficient, the old leaves begin to gradually fade to supply limited nutrients for the birth of new life. Orchids have ancient genetic heritage, and this fading of grass to preserve buds is a process by which orchids pass on life. As the orchid buds keep growing and shooting up, by June there are still some old leaves fading, and at this time they still need to be constantly cut away. As the temperature rises, diseases and pests also make feints to drill into the orchid andorchid-growingperson's weak spots. Sometimes with the slightest impropriety they pop up in places you would never expect, so people continuously and repeatedly spray various fungicidal and bactericidal drugs, battling and grinding against the pathogens. When orchid leaves are attacked by pathogens, disease spots appear and slowly expand, and the scissors in hand also keep busy accordingly. Once a certain pathogen or several pathogens appear in an orchid garden, it is often very difficult to eradicate them in a short period, because the orchids in the garden often cross-infect, making it impossible to guard against. There is an old orchid grower in Zhoushan who struggled against orchid pathogens for more than ten years, and only in recent years did he finally eliminate the pathogens. You can imagine how difficult it is to thoroughly cure these pathogens. Farawayorchid-growingtime is not long; many of the orchids in the garden have no tips, but Faraway is not anxious either. As long as the buds the garden orchids send up each year can grow into large plants, and there are more of them than the plants that decline, Faraway is very happy. However, Faraway is also looking for ways to thoroughly cure the pathogens. As time goes on and orchid-growing skills advance, Faraway believes he too will achieve a lush green orchid garden. (Author: Gao Haiyong)