Archive for January, 2023

Our Rain-Soaked Winter Garden

Friday, January 27th, 2023

After years of drought, we don’t typically complain about rainy days in California. More than three weeks of storms, however, led to lots of complaints. From December 26th to January 19th, we received approximately 20 inches (50.8 cm) of precipitation, including a single day when we had over 5 inches (12.7 cm.) We also had […]

Illegal Trade Threatens Nepal’s Orchids

Sunday, January 22nd, 2023

Nestled in the towering Himalayas between India and China, Nepal is an orchid hotspot. Sadly, its orchids are declining. Even though Nepal is only slightly bigger than Arkansas, it’s home to about 500 orchid species (for comparison, the USA and Canada combined have about 200 species.) People collect wild orchids to sell for use in […]

Have a Terrific Adventure with Orchids in the Wild Ecotours

Sunday, January 15th, 2023

Take a mind-blowing vacation and help endangered orchids at the same time! The Orchid Conservation Alliance (OCA) offers Orchids in the Wild Ecotours, expert-led trips to see orchids in their native homes. They range as far away as Madagascar, and as close as Ohio. This year’s itinerary also includes Italy, Brazil, and South Africa. The […]

Lots of Hard Work Goes into Orchid Awards

Sunday, January 8th, 2023

Lots of hard work goes into winning orchid awards. Growers spend long hours mastering plant care in order to coax out exceptional blooms. Orchid judges spend years studying and training to find and evaluate those perfect flowers. It’s challenging work. These photos spotlight winners at recent shows. The first row of pictures above features an […]