A Floral Fantasia

Step into the world of Fe (pronounced Faye) Wood and you enter a realm of flowering plants that have enchanted people for millions of years. At Fe’s Orchids, you can immerse yourself in a world of color, contrast and fragrance. She will answer any question a visitor may have and even “babysit” plants for snowbird residents or provide “doctor” services to orchids that need some TLC. 

Wood was born in the Philippines and was a devoted student under the tutelage of her father, a farmer who grew mostly corn, other vegetables and coffee. 

“I was born in the province of Mindanao and was raised on a small farm,” she shares. “I would follow my father wherever he would go and that’s where I learned about gardening, not from a book, but from watching what he was doing.”

As she was growing up in her large family, Wood says her dream was to go to college, but her father was old-school and thought women belonged in the home. Her brother aided her quest for knowledge, and she eventually earned a degree in engineering. After graduating, she had a small store and restaurant near her home. In 1994, she met Ocala dentist Dr. Raymond Wood through a pen pal program. They married in 1995 and have one son. Dr. Wood passed away in 2022. 

Fe Wood says she always was raising orchids at their home in Ocala, giving many of them away, and her husband urged her to make it a business. She opened Fe’s Orchids at the Market of Marion 16 years ago. She has greatly expanded the initial 10-by-10-foot space over time and it now houses an incredible array of orchids and other plants. 

According to the American Orchid Society, the orchid family (Orchidaceae) is the largest flowering plant family on earth, with about 28,000 species. It is also one of the oldest plant families, dating back about 100 million to 125 million years ago to the Late Cretaceous Period. Among the plants seen at Fe’s shop are the popular Phalaenopsis, Vanda and Dendrobium.

“I love it. And not because of making money, no, it’s been my hobby since I was young,” she enthuses. “Growing orchids is easy. You need air, water and light, that’s all. The only thing is knowing how to care for different kinds of orchids.”

Her favorite is the Lady Slipper, which, according to fs.usda.gov, is one of the plants known as the “elegant ladies” of our national forests and grasslands. 

Wood is quick to share her deep knowledge about how to water, fertilize and propagate orchids. And she pooh-poohs the adage about watering them with ice cubes. 

“People say, ‘Can I put ice cubes?’ No, no, no; don’t put ice cubes,” she stresses, her voice rising an octave. “You need to protect your orchids in the wintertime so if you put the ice cubes in there it will shock the plant and the root will start deteriorating. And then they bring the orchid to me, and I say, ‘You need a doctor for this plant!’”

Wood’s shop is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There are some days she is not there as she is very actively engaged with two dance groups and performs cultural dances in many locations, such as Daytona Beach and The Villages. 

When she is in “residence,” however, you can expect to learn a lot about orchids and life as she flits around the flower-filled space, chattering in a lovely sing-song patois. She is emphatic that anyone can successfully grow orchids after they learn a few basic concepts, such as figuring out a watering routine and finding the right place for each plant, such as in filtered sunlight for some and more sun for others. 

She insists that orchids shouldn’t be too intimidating or time consuming to care for, bursting into a fit of laughter when she says, “Growing orchids is really easy—especially if you know how to ignore your husband!”  OS

To learn more, go to Wood’s site at
fb.com/orchids4everyone or visit gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/orchids

Editor’s note: Susan Smiley-Height subbed in for Style’s regular garden columnist, Belea T. Keeney, who took a break this month.