US (FL): Orchid enthusiast grows 90,000 plants a year

Whether he's trekking through muddy rain forests or hiking up mountains in Peru looking for rare and exotic orchids in their natural habitat, Marc Hachadourian is in heaven. He spends his workdays studying, cultivating and growing plants at the New York Botanical Gardens, but even when he gets home, he can usually be found around more plants in his own private greenhouse.

Hachadourian discovered a passion for plants and particularly orchids thanks to his grandmother while growing up in New Jersey and found a way to turn it into a career. He's now the director of the NYBG's Nolen Greenhouses, which produces 90,000 plants a year, everything from pansies to spring displays.

He also supervises the team that grows the plants for the garden's celebrated special seasonal exhibitions, such as one last year that explored Frida Kahlo's life as an artist and gardener. And he manages the greenhouse and the garden's botanical collection with about 7,000 plant specimens.

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