Growing Hardy Orchids in the Pacific Northwest

A large patch of Cypripedium formosanum thriving at Heronswood. Photographs by Lynne Harrison

Growing hardy orchids is not for gardeners unwilling to take absurd and sometimes costly risks. In fact, one must steel oneself for either quick or lingering death and accept responsibility for both. Still, the glamour and pride of humbly sharing with an astonished visitor blooming orchids—orchids that live outside year ’round—make it possible to damn the cost and accept such loss. At times, it is best just to embrace one’s annoying need to boast and move ahead. After all, human beings may have collected orchids for over 4000 years, and there are plenty of indoor gardeners whose orchid collections thrive without a drop of humility.

My own infatuation with growing hardy orchids began when I visited my sister Penny in Western Massachusetts one May, years ago. On the hill where she lives, in the pine woodland around her home, there were hundreds of native pink lady’s slippers (Cypripedium acaule) in bloom, their dark pink pouches rising only a few inches above the deep pine duff. As sisters, Penny and I have wisely ...