An Orchid and Many Poppies

I have a few orchids and I have trouble getting them to bloom a second time. I attended a talk at Tropic of Capricorn earlier this year and learned some incredible information about taking care of my plants. Last year one of my orchids bloomed (this was only the second time, the first was when I bought it) and I was so excited - even though I have no idea what I did to get it to bloom. For about a month I watched as my Phalaenopsis sprouted a stalk. I made sure to follow everything I learned to help this plant to bloom again. Today I was rewarded - when I got home from work I had a beautiful bloom awaiting me. I hope the reason it bloomed was because I did all the right things and if that is true I hope it will bloom again next year.
My Oriental Poppies on the other hand have been incredible. I have had this plant for about eight years now and each year it grows more and I get more blooms. I really don't do anything special to it - I treat it like every other plant in the garden. It must like the location because it is one of the hardiest plants in the garden. This year I have had 11 blooms so far, and I have 5 more yet to come. I am hoping that this plant continues to grow and bloom for years to come.