Plant lovers, I have a confession to make. My first orchid was a fake.
It still is, in fact: it never died, and it sits, in all its lilac artificialness, on my bedroom window in my parents' house. It's a realistic fake, though, which I begged my mum to buy for me when I was 13. It's potted in a clear, square vase with pebbles around it. Very Zen. Besides, it's lasted 15 years, which is more than I can say for my real orchids.