You guys are going to hate me for this ...
My oldest daughter just enrolled at UCSB - the University of California at Santa Barbara. The University is about five minutes from both Cal Orchids and Santa Barbara Orchid Estate, which are located literally across the street from one another. As students go my daughter is pretty independent but we still find it necessary to dredge up excuses to visit every few months - perhaps it's our need for contact and not hers ... who cares?
In any case, I have the opportunity to visit Cal Orchids on a semi-regular basis and have also come to know Lauris from regular visits to California shows. Jim and Lauris are some of the nicest and most accomodating orchid people I know, an have always gone out of their way to make sure the plants I'm buying are top notch. I've purchased by phone, on-line, at shows and at the nursery in Santa Barbara - never had a bad experience. I will say though, that as I gain experience in the orchid world I increasingly understand the difficulties growers experience in trying to balance presences on-line, at shows, at speaking engagements, at the nursery, by phone, by mail, etc., and to do that all with the care of plants in the background! Anyone thinking of growing and selling orchids retail should really look into the realities of the job; it's brutal.
I can't recommend Cal Orchids highly enough. They're the kind of people I like to deal with. Be patient though and consider their frantic schedule. If you're one of those who needs instant response to e-mails (not that there's anything wrong with that ...), look somethere else but understand that you've overlooked a fun group of folks and a lot of nice plants.
