Dennis, speaker bio

With 28 years of raising orchids commercially, Dennis Keany is considered a pioneer and authority in phalaenopsis, novelty and intergeneric orchids. He has extensive knowledge and experience in growing, staging and arranging blooming orchid plants.




His orchids have graced hotels, restaurants and residences including The Four Seasons Hotel, The Grand Del Mar, Golden Door Spa, Balboa Bay Club, Valley Hunt Club and Nancy Reagan’s home.

Dennis has won many awards, including Best of Class and Best of Show from various orchid societies. He is well respected within the orchid industry and has been featured on KPBS and other media. With a master's degree in art, Dennis' insights bring an aesthetic enhancement to his orchid arrangements.

Haute House Orchids and its parent company, South Coast Orchids are located on 4.5 acres in rural Vista. Along with orchids, Dennis cultivates bonsai plants and succulent gardens.



Dennis is a member of the American Orchid Society, San Diego County Flower and Plant Association, and California Growers and Shippers Association.

Garden Clubs

We are now opening our orchid nursery to Garden Clubs for meetings!  The informative meeting features a tour of the nursery, plant demonstrations and q and a session.  Dennis turns out to be a pro at this...he has a passion for orchids and has 27 years experience in growing orchids.  He hasn't been stumped yet with a question regarding orchids.  Just don't ask him where his keys are.

Orchid Odyssey at the San Diego Zoo

Right in our own backyard, at the San Diego Zoo, is a world class botanical garden with an amazing orchid greenhouse. Travel across town, not across time-lines to find over 3,000 orchid plants from around the globe. The collection includes rare and unusual orchid plants from over 800 species all in one place.

Talk with an orchid expert or a member of the San Diego County Orchid Society during special Orchid Odyssey days, the first Sunday of March, June, September and December, and also the third Friday of each month. So mark your calendars for the next event, March 7th to take a trip to the Zoo’s orchid exhibit. For more information see http://www.sandiegozoo.org/calendar/zoo_plant_days.html

Valentine's Day Gifts

We rallying up for Valentine's Day next, next Sunday.  It's one of  our big days of the year after Mother's Day.  Here are a few of the orchid arrangements for this day.

Blue Orchid lyrics by the White Stripes

BLUE ORCHID (noun)

1. famous orchid of northern India having large pale to deep lilac-blue flowers
Familiarity information: BLUE ORCHID used as a noun means “very rare”.


White Stripes
Blue Orchid lyrics

You got a reaction
You got a reaction didn't you?
You took a white orchid
You took a white orchid turned it blue

Something better than nothing
Something better than nothing, it's giving up
You need to do something
Try keep the truth from showing up

How dare you
How old are you now, anyway?
How dare you
How old are you now, anyway?

How dare you
How old are you now, anyway?

You're given a flower
But I guess that there's just no pleasing you
Your lips tastes sour
But you think that it's just me teasing you

You got a reaction
You got a reaction, didn't you?
You took a white orchid
You took a white orchid turned it blue

Get behind me
Get behind me now, anyway
Get behind me
Get behind me now, anyway

Get behind me

Get behind me no, anyway

You got a reaction
You got a reaction, didn't you?
You took a white orchid
You took a white orchid turned it blue


Totally photoshopped to be blue!

Blue Orchids Song

Here's a vintage song circa 1941....perfect for a updated Valentine's Day message.
Glenn Miller - words and music by Hoagy Carmichael

I dreamed of two blue orchids
Two beautiful blue orchids
One night while in my lonely room
I dreamed of two blue orchids
So full of love and light
That I wanted to possess each tender bloom
Then my dream took wings
And through a thousand springs
Blue orchids seemed in a world apart
But when I met you
Something pale and blue
Came stealing from the meadows of my heart
I saw my two blue orchids
My beautiful blue orchids
Last night and what a sweet surprise
When you looked at me
It was plain to see
Blue orchids only bloom in your eyes.

College lab helps save endangered orchids

A recently run article entitled “Illinois College is a safe haven for rare orchids” illustrates the need for continued conservation of all species of orchids. Exactly 36 orchids of the variety, Platanthera Holochila, exist outside a laboratory.

Found in Hawaii, this rare orchid is one of many species of plants, birds and animals that are facing extinction on the island chain that was once isolated from the main-lands. With the introduction of non-native plants and animals, Hawaii now has the distinction of having the most endangered species in the United States, according to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Thus, the Jacksonville laboratory now has 255 endangered species of orchids from Hawaii that are carefully maintained in special chambers to mimic the Hawaiian climates. Through this orchid-recovery program, the college students are also protecting orchids from other parts of the world such as Mexico and Costa Rica. Their goal is to at least double the number of existing native plants.

To read the entire article, see: http://www.wickedlocal.com/ghs-newsservice/features/x2072231683/Illinois-College-is-a-safe-haven-for-rare-orchids