ABOUT US
 

Juno Beach Orchids is family-owned and operated. The family currently consists of my husband Mike Baum, our "kids" [1 dog, 1 cat, and a flock of chickens], and me. Diamond Girl camps out in the office as much as possible, but will be more than happy to come out and show you around while you scratch her ears; Magpie is a fraidy-cat and hides indoors, so this is the only place you're likely to see her.

I'm Kenni Judd, and among many other jobs, I'm the self-taught amateur webmistress, so please let me know if anything on the Page is not working properly, or if there are other features you'd like to see on the Page.

I got hooked on orchids many years ago, by either coincidence or divine intervention :<), when we bought a home with a small gazebo in the backyard. Someone told my mother it was an "orchid house," so with her usual zeal, not to mention a total disregard for my previous history as a plant-killer, she decided it "ought" to have orchids in it. She promptly gave me a few plants, and a book to go with them. I duly potted them up per the instructions, hung them in the gazebo, and pretty much forgot about them for a few months.

Then one day I walked by the gazebo and saw that several of the plants were, of all things, BLOOMING! Instant addiction -- this was my kind of plant! [I had tried many other kinds of "houseplants," but usually managed to neglect them to death.] I found my way to Orchids Anonymous on Prodigy, where I met some local folks who invited me to visit a local orchid society. Next thing I knew, the gazebo was overflowing with orchids, I was reading everything I could find about orchids, etc., etc.

That's when Mike had to get involved. My collection had strained the gazebo past its capacity, so together we designed a small backyard shadehouse, and then he built it for me. In the process, he couldn't help but learn a bit about orchids, but he still wasn't really "bitten." That came much later--and wouldn't you know, the plant that hooked him was one I had around just for "variety," rather than one of my favorites! Mike has since built -- almost single-handledly -- our current shadehouses, and either modified or built a number of "hobby houses," orchid arbors, etc., for our customers.

We have not specialized, in the traditional sense of growing only a few genera; our tastes are too diverse [and I get bored easily :<) ]. So, our only rule is that the plants must grow and bloom well, without a lot of special care, in our conditions -- which are as close to "at-home" conditions as we can manage. After all, orchids which bloomed when ignored started this whole thing!