JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida woman’s collection of orchids are finding a new home at the Smithsonian Institution.
Helen Hoffman tended to approximately 100 orchids in a greenhouse attached to her Jacksonville home. She tells The Florida Times-Union (http://bit.ly/1DJFRBh ) that she’s donating the collection because she can’t take care of it now that she’s in her 80s. She also is selling her home.
Two orchid specialists from the Smithsonian’s gardens division drove to Hoffman’s home this week with a moving truck to pack up the plants.
Hoffman traces her orchid obsession to a dealer who refused to sell to her because she didn’t know enough about how to care for them. She soon joined a local orchid society.
Hoffman set aside a few of the orchids to take to her new retirement home.
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Information from: The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union, http://www.jacksonville.com
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