Archive for the 'Misc' Category
Friday, April 28th, 2023
Victorian England was obsessed with orchids. The trend was called Orchidelirium, like Dutch Tulip mania centuries before. Fortunes were made and lost, and tropical rainforests were deliberately stripped bare to ship plants to Britain. Many orchid hunters died in the process, and most of the orchids died, too. The few surviving plants which made it […]
Categories: Misc
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Wednesday, February 8th, 2023
You can build orchids … with Legos! The beloved children’s toys aren’t just for kids anymore. All sorts of great designs are available, even Moth Orchids. They’ve become fun home and office decorations, often popping up in the backgrounds of Zoom calls. In addition to orchids, botanical models include bonsais, succulents, and floral bouquets, all […]
Categories: Misc
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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 […]
Categories: Conservation, Misc, Orchids in the Wild
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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 […]
Categories: Misc, Orchid Names, Photos
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Wednesday, December 7th, 2022
Kids will get stuck on orchids with the American Orchid Society’s (AOS) engaging gifts for children. The Stuck on Orchids sticker book includes stickers, basic info, and opportunities for coloring. It covers seven of the most common orchid varieties. The Orchid Nonsense Coloring Book features over 40 designs of orchids, animals, and characters, ready for […]
Categories: Buying Tips, Misc
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Thursday, October 27th, 2022
Variegated plants are in vogue these days, just like they have been many times throughout history. Centuries before Instagram made them the latest fad, orchid lovers in East Asia noticed leaf color variations in Cymbidiums and Samurai Orchids, and began cultivating them. Of course, many plant varieties besides orchids have colorful leaves, too. Gardens around […]
Categories: Misc, Photos
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Monday, June 27th, 2022
Did you know that birds can’t smell sweet scents, so orchids instead use bright reds, oranges, yellows, or purples to attract them? The brilliant minds of Smithsonian Gardens have made a great resource about orchid pollination. The charming webpage explains how birds, moths, butterflies, bees, wasps, and flies fertilize flowers. It also includes beautiful photos, […]
Categories: Misc, QuickPost
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Sunday, March 27th, 2022
Botanical illustration is both an art and a science. It emphasizes scientific accuracy, but also captures the magic of plants. The Smithsonian video below highlights three important women who were botanical illustrators. They painted precise details of orchid blooms, but often didn’t receive credit or professional respect. Sarah Drake, Blanche Ames, and Regina Olson Hughes […]
Categories: In the News, Misc, Videos
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Tuesday, January 25th, 2022
In San Marino, California, the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens house over 10,000 orchids. It’s one of the largest and most diverse collections in the world, and just one reason why it’s worth visiting the Huntington. However, if you can’t visit in person, you can take a virtual tour of the Huntington’s orchids. […]
Categories: Conservation, Misc
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Tuesday, September 28th, 2021
In Defense of Plants explains why Catasetum orchids really stand out. They have fascinating flowers, but unlike most orchids, these beauties have different male and female blooms. This puzzled botanists long ago, who thought that they were separate species. It was the famous scientist Charles Darwin who finally resolved the confusion. Darwin studied how the […]
Categories: Dormancy, Fertilizing, Fragrant Orchids, Misc
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