Toyama Reiko grows and cherishes over 50 pots of orchids. The trigger for this goes back to her childhood. "When I was little, there was an orchid boom in my hometown of Okinawa, and it became a huge business. At that time, my mother started a cut flower nursery, so orchids were always around me." As she lives with a parakeet in her living space, growing orchids is basically a workplace. When the orchids bloom, she brings them into the living room to admire them.
An unknown species of Bulbophyllum native to Myanmar is displayed on a bookshelf in the workplace. It is a small epiphytic orchid with multiple small white flowers blooming on a long, drooping flower stalk. The owner fell in love with it at first sight and purchased it at the JOGA Orchid Exhibition held in mid-March. 
Orchids are also lined up on a rack in the entrance hall. The hanging orchids are Dendrobium primulinum, which grows naturally in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Yunnan, China. Toyama likes hybrids, but has a particular weakness for native species.
"I absolutely love the strangeness of orchids. I love everything about them, from their mysterious ecology, to their mystical flowers that seem to be the result of human will, to their plump leaves. I mainly grow orchids that bloom in the spring, so I get excited looking at them every day during this season," says Toyama, who talks about his love for orchids. He's busy every day taking photos, but how do he take care of them?
"My morning routine before a shoot is to go to work, check on the orchids, and give any that want water. When I get home, I put on music and take my time to observe them and water them, which makes me happy. I think having living things in the house and a space full of life gives you energy."
This is a corner of the living space. On a chair sits O-chan, Toyama's beloved budgerigar. The flower blooming in the upper left corner of the cupboard is Toyama's favorite, Phalaenopsis sileriana. He also has four other plants growing. 
They are all kept together in a well-ventilated corner of the workplace. There is also a water source nearby, making watering easy. Orchids, which require more sunlight, are grown on the balcony of the workplace. "Some bloom every year, while others don't bloom easily, so it's worth growing them."
