Orchid

A fine orchid, in white or pink, from two to six stems. The number of stems makes the presence: two sit on a windowsill, six hold the centre of a room.

It is the plant that stays longest. It flowers for two to three months, rests, then flowers again — and it asks for little: a ten-minute soak every seven to ten days, bright light with no direct sun on the leaves.

It is given where a bouquet would be too brief: a housewarming, a leaving, an office. The photographs are staged; the plant delivered follows what the market brings, at a quality at least equal.