Andy's Orchids

Local nurseries are the heart of plant communities. For the orchid lovers of Encinitas, that heart is Andy’s Orchids. Founded by Andy Phillips in 1990, the nursery is a home to over 7,000 species of orchids. Andy has loved growing flowers since he was a child, and his love for orchids specifically has been around since he was only seven years old.  

“At four, I had a sandbox and I started turning that into a garden…I would show it off to my aunts and uncles and friends of my father that would come by and say, ‘Look at my garden!’”

Growing flowers runs in the family. Andy’s father helped foster his passion for plants, and his grandmother started one of the largest single-owned flower shops in the United States in 1936.  

“We all have green thumbs. We're all blessed with super green thumbs, so we could grow things.”

As a child learning about orchids, Andy was fascinated by how much variance there was to be found. Now, Andy’s Orchids specializes in carrying as many species of orchids as they can find. 

“That opened up my eyes to the world of diversity in the natural world. You know, seeing two things that are called orchids that don't even look like each other at all, in any way.”

Andy also provides orchids to large botanical institutions, like the U.S. Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian. However, he finds the most joy in interacting with the local customers that come to Andy’s Orchids and being able to see the joy that his work brings to people. 

“To be able to have what I have here in my greenhouses and watch people's expressions when they come to our open houses or just visitors coming by just to look and see our collections here... their expressions on their faces is just… there's not a word to describe it.”

A film by Bettina Hanna (@epic.storytelling).