A Long Overdue Update: A Goodbye I Wasn’t Ready For

My Galeopetalum Starburst Parkside has bloomed!

Hello, my dear readers!

I am a bit late in posting because life has gotten in the way, but I'm happy to report that my Galeopetalum Starburst Parkside has bloomed. The first bud opened up on February 10th and since then, the remaining seven have completely opened up. Every morning when I open my office door, it smells so good because of the scent that the flowers provide.

One of my First Scented Orchids is About to Bloom Again!

When I was down in Florida last April visiting with friends and family, I made a stop by an orchid shop in Orlando called City Oasis (P.S. if you are ever in the area, go check them out!)  On that trip, I purchased two orchids, both very new to me and very fragrant.  I purchased a Galeopetalum Starburst Parkside and a Coconut Orchid (Maxillaria tenufolia).  I was super excited to add these two unique orchids to my collection.  

The Galeopetalum, we'll just call it Starburst for the duration of this post, has bloomed a total of two times since I brought it home back in April.  It has been thriving in the environment I have set up for it and it's so happy, it's about to bloom again for a third time!  When in bloom, it has bright spotted green and purple blooms.  To describe the smell of these blooms, to me, it's a bit sweet and spicy; it's definitely unique in its fragrance.

an image sourced online of the blooms

Thinking Outside.... the Pot?

When I was in Norfolk the other weekend visiting the orchid grower's greenhouse, we got into a discussion about Keikis.  (Keikis are the baby orchid plant that grows from a mature orchid's flower stem or pseudobulb - I have a couple of posts under the topic of Keiki) I happily showed him photos of my Keikis and how some of them either were in full bloom or would be blooming soon.  One of the things he suggested to me was to take a small pot with orchid bark mix in it and set it on a shelf with the keiki roots in it, above the mother plant so that when it came time to cut the keiki from the mother, the keiki wouldn't go through "shock" as bad, since the keiki plant would already be used to the environment of its roots being nestled down in orchid bark.

What is... An Epiphyte

The Encyclopedia Brittanica describes an epiphyte (pronounced: "ep-uh-fight") as a type of plant that lives on another plant or object just for support.  Some common types of epiphytes are orchids, air plants, mosses such as Spanish moss, ferns like Staghorn and Birds Nest ferns, bromeliads, hoyas and others.   For this post, we'll focus on orchids.

an example of an epiphyte orchid attached to a tree in its natural habitat

Goes to an SCA Event, Makes a Side Quest for Orchids

This past weekend there was an event called Twelfth Night, for my medieval reenactor group, in Newport News Virginia.  Last week while I was planning my route to get there, I was looking at Google maps and seeing what all was along my route, like covered bridges or orchid suppliers.  Needless to say, there weren't any covered bridges, but I found an orchid supplier in Norfolk Virginia.  The supplier was a vendor at the Triangle Orchid Show this past September in Raleigh; I had bought two orchids from him while I was at the show.  I reached out to them via email after looking at their website and falling in love with one of their unique orchids.  We coordinated plans for me to visit their greenhouse, pending weather.

Um, hello gorgeous!

Phalaenopsis Joy Fairy Tale

New Series Coming: What is __________?

 Good morning and Happy New Years!

I hope everyone made it through the holidays with their hearts filled with joy and love :-)

The progress on my Ikea cabinets for my plants is progressing, although I'm getting close to being complete.  It's been a learning experience for sure, but I'm glad that I can finally put my plants on display and enjoy them.

new buds on another one of my Phals

A quick update on the book I got from an Inter-Library Loan: