Final bloom

Andrew Glazer

Next month, contractors will knock down his little piece of paradise and

build a parking lot in its place.

Bulldozers will level the shacks where orchid owners left their white,

fiery orange and fuchsia flowers with Paul Brecht -- owner of Paul Brecht

Orchid Garden on Harbor Boulevard -- to water, feed and baby-sit until

they bloomed.

“People around here want instant color,” said Brecht, 80, whose eyes are

the same blue-green color as leaves on a Hawaiian Peach Delight orchid.

“They don’t have room for a flowerless green plant on their windowsill.”

Brecht, who has sold flowers on Harbor Boulevard for nearly 40 years,

said it’s finally time to close shop. And by Feb. 15, Brecht’s business

will be no more.

“I’m looking forward to enjoying life,” he said. “I almost waited too

long.”

His wife Jane recently suffered from a series of strokes. And he is

feeling pangs of arthritis in his sinewy fingers.

Galaxy Rent-A-Car will open its first Orange County locationon the land

in early March.

Nat Panah, who owns a Galaxy branch in Westwood, said he will convert the

main greenhouse -- where Brecht displayed more than 1,000 orchids that

were for sale -- into the rental car store’s offices. His son, Arash

Panah, will run the new Costa Mesa store.

Brecht said he tried to find another plant store to lease the land from

him, but had no luck.

“The property’s just too valuable,” he said.

The car lot will replace one of the few businesses with deep roots on

Harbor Boulevard -- which was just a two-lane road when Brecht first

opened his store there.

“That’s progress, I guess,” said Evelyn Hart, the formerNewport Beach

mayor who until recently left her orchid collection in Brecht’s care.

The store’s charming organic disarray -- with a flower garden and 12-foot

totem pole in front -- drastically conflict with the orderly right

angles, hard concrete, chrome and glass that dominate the neighborhood.

A 15-foot Jacaranda tree fans its branches in front of the store on

Harbor Boulevard. It grew from seeds Brecht planted more than 30 years

ago. A Mexican artist, who painted Brecht’s orchids on her canvases,

brought the seeds wrapped in a white handkerchief from Mexico City.

Brecht asked Galaxy to keep the tree and totem pole on the property.

Panah said he would honor his wishes.

“We’re not cutting down any trees or that statue, whatever it is,” he

said.

Hart said there would be a void once the garden closed.

“The neighborhood will lose character,” she said. “You lose personality

with the big chain stores. They’re very convenient, but people don’t know

you.”

“You can call Paul and say ‘I’ve got a problem. What should I do?”’ added

Arlene Schafer, another former mayor, but of Costa Mesa. “If you call up

one of the new huge stores, they’ll say ‘Can you hold?’ Everything’s

automated.”

Brecht said he won’t let his passion for the flowers wilt in retirement.

He’ll continue taking care of his at-home orchid collection, which

numbers in the thousands. And he’ll remain an active member of the

Newport Harbor Orchid Society, which he founded.

Brecht will start selling his orchids at half price on Feb. 2. Ever the

businessman, he explained why people should buy planted orchids for

Valentine’s Day.

“How much do bouquets cost? Twenty dollars?” he asked. “After three days,

you throw them in the trash. Planted orchids cost just a little more, but

last much longer.”