Minnesota’s Bemidji Pioneer reports on efforts to save native Lady’s Slippers from destruction. It’s a lot of work on behalf of a beautiful pink, white, and yellow orchid. Cypripedium reginae, or the Showy Lady’s Slipper, has been Minnesota’s state flower for over a century. Construction on Beltrami County Highway 39 could destroy the rare orchids [...]
From the capital of our 49th state, Juneau Empire has a guide to Orchids in Southeast Alaska. With more than two dozen native species, Alaska offers a great reminder that orchids can appear in unexpected places. Many Alaskan varieties are known by their colorful common names, like Frog Orchid, Bog Orchid, Adder’s Tongue, and Rattlesnake [...]
This year’s Pacific Orchid Expo highlighted the merging of cultures with an “East Meets West” theme. Golden lion statues fronted the large pavilion, and guarded 150,000 orchid treasures inside. Coinciding with San Francisco’s famous Chinese New Year Parade, and the end of festivities for the Lunar New Year, it felt like these orchids were part [...]
Unable to garden over winter? As Valentine’s gifts, or simply to escape the cold, orchids are great winter solutions. Even if you don’t have much room for indoor plants, there’s always space for one of the many cool growing orchid varieties. Examples of cool growers include the small Oncidium in the first picture, the large [...]
Henry David Thoreau has inspired generations with his writings at Walden Pond. Now, scientists are using his journals to find clues about climate change. Starting in 1852, the author and naturalist recorded the dates for the first spring blooms of different flower species in Massachusetts. Scientists are looking at his 6 years of of data [...]
This Spiranthes hardly looks like an orchid. Out of bloom, its thin, skinny leaves look like they belong to a weed. Even in bloom, the tiny white flowers bear little resemblance to its grand tropical relatives. Spiranthes’ name hints at its spiral arrangement of flowers. These scented blooms, just over half an inch (1.3 cm) [...]
As summer winds down, floral delights abound in our back garden. A quick tour starts with a magnificent Masdevallia, which has been in constant bloom since April. This speckled purple species seems to have the resilience of a hybrid, at least in our mild coastal climate. Next is a brilliant yellow, purple, and white Cyrtochilum, [...]
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With the ongoing London Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, it would be easy to think that the UK is too busy to notice wildflowers right now. But the Brits have long been avid gardeners, and they certainly have noticed this year’s bumper crop of native orchids. A mild winter followed by a warm spring [...]
If orchids could read blog posts, I might be suspicious of this Rhynchostele. I complained online that it hadn’t bloomed in 6 years, and a few days later, a pair of new flowers appeared. You can find it noted last in the list at Outdoor Orchids in San Francisco, part 1 under the name Lemboglossum. [...]
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