GEORGE TOWN, Sept. 2 -- When Clarence Tang was nine, his father brought home a few orchid plants after joining the Kedah Orchid Society - sparking a lifelong passion in the young boy.

Today, 42 years on, Tang has a collection of some 800 pots of orchids at his home.

"When I first saw the orchids, I liked the flowers, so I started learning to plant and collect them at the age of nine," he told Malay Mail.

Collecting orchids, he said, is not just about watering them but requires constant, careful attention to ensure the plants thrive and flower.

Tang spends about two hours daily tending to his collection - watering and adding fertiliser - which takes up much of the garden around his Penang home.

"I have more than 100 varieties of orchi...