Lots of people visit Oahu’s legendary North Shore to surf, but there’s more to Hawaii than its great beaches. The North Shore also has amazing sites like Waimea Valley and Waimea Falls. During a visit to Hawaii earlier this month, Dave and I walked along the trails to the waterfall and swimming hole at the [...]
Bay Area orchid lovers and other gardeners can all enjoy the upcoming San Francisco Flower & Garden Show. Running from Wednesday, March 20th to Sunday, March 24th, the event is one of the largest of its kind in the world. This year, several orchid exhibitors and vendors will ensure that orchids are well represented among the [...]
If our sunny deck weren’t covered with orchids, it might be covered with dahlias instead. These flashy perennials come in many different colors and shapes, and they are San Francisco’s official flower. We’ve made room for a few varieties in the back garden. These are just a drop in the bucket of dahlia shapes and [...]
Dave’s parents keep a beautiful garden at their home in Western Pennsylvania. Certainly, their cold winters aren’t very conducive for orchids, but there’s no shortage of other stunning plants. We visited earlier this month, which was the perfect time to enjoy brilliant blooms and new spring growth. With a great spring display, it’s easy to [...]
Project BudBurst invites you to give science a hand. Since 2007, volunteers have been helping to monitor the climate by recording the first leaves, flowers, and fruits of plant species across the USA. This includes native North American orchids. Scientists use Project BudBurst’s data to understand how climate change affects plant growth, and they make [...]
The Philadelphia Flower Show is the largest indoor flower show in the country, and orchids are always a big part of the event. This year’s tropical theme, “Hawaii: Islands of Aloha,” showcases plenty of Phals, Cattleyas, Epidendrums, and Miltonias. The show is earning rave reviews in the local press and beyond. It’s even making a [...]
As Halloween quickly approaches, it’s the perfect time for a few creepy carnivorous plants. They’re helpful orchid allies, providing superb natural pest control, and they make great green alternatives to toxic pesticides. Bug-eaters come in many forms. Most famous are Venus Fly Traps, but there are also hundreds of varieties of pitcher plants, and many [...]
If you don’t have your own electron microscope, you’ll enjoy this entertaining video from TED and an accompanying article in the UK’s Guardian. Jonathan Drori showcases some of the most incredible pollination strategies among the world’s quarter-million flowering plants. Naturally, orchids are some of the stars of the show. With dazzling photos, his talk highlights [...]
With late spring rains followed by warm temps, our urban garden is offering lots of blooms for today’s solstice. The flowers range from a small, pastel Epidendrum to an Orchid Cactus with brilliant red blossoms as big as dinner plates. Fittingly for the first day of summer, we’re having a heat wave. I’ve got my [...]
Urban gardens are more popular than ever, and our little patch of San Francisco exemplifies the trend. In the back yard, this great Masdevallia species has been blooming for 6 weeks. This flower has faded from its most brilliant, but it’s still a vivid pink. The next photos show a white calla lily and a [...]
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