It takes me a while to sort through and tag show photos from two cell phones and a camera, but the task is now complete. Pacific Orchid Expo 2022 presented a total orchid overload, which is my idea of paradise. There were orchids you could find in a supermarket, but there was so much more. […]
It’s great to celebrate the first day of spring with some greenery, and this striking Lady Slipper certainly fits the bill. Its green stripes and squiggles are distinctive and dramatic. This is the Charming Lady Slipper, or Paphiopedilum venustum. I’ve had this plant for many years, but this past winter was the first time it […]
Here are few more photos from last weekend’s big orchid show. The exhibit area and the sales area both featured wide varieties of species and hybrids. There was so much more than standard supermarket orchids. The flower colors, shapes, and fragrances inspired lots of superlatives. A few types, like the purple and white Dendrobium in […]
Dave and I were thrilled to attend the Pacific Orchid Expo in San Francisco yesterday. After a two year break, the show is as superb as past events, and there are plenty of vendors to satisfy orchid shopping needs. This year’s theme is “Orchid Masquerade.” Taking advantage of the pun, exhibitors have displayed orchids with […]
Excitement is growing ahead of the Pacific Orchid Expo, especially for me! I can’t wait to go to San Francisco’s first orchid show in two years, running from Friday, February 25th to Sunday, February 27th, with a special opening night on Thursday, February 24th. It will all happen at the County Fair Building, 1199 Ninth […]
In Walnut Creek, California, Ruth Bancroft Garden is a succulent oasis. We recently enjoyed a visit, and were awed by the astounding array of cacti, succulents, and trees suited for arid climates. Many of the blooms are colorful architectural masterpieces. On top of that, the incredible geometry of the plants themselves is some of Mother […]
Orchids can help take the chill out of a gray winter, cold rains, and short days. Fortunately, I have a lot blooming indoors right now. First, there’s a fragrant Cattleya hybrid in the row of photos above. It’s been reliable for years, pumping out white blossoms with rich purple coloring. The ruffled petals and lips […]
The winter solstice is a glass-half-full or half-empty issue. It’s easy to lament the shortest day with the least light, but also easy to celebrate the increased light after today. With the assistance of a few extraordinary orchids, I’m voting for the optimistic, glass-half-full version of things. These brilliant blooms from an old orchid show […]
I doubt that any photo of ancient Coast Redwoods can convey how massive these giants are. When standing before them in person, it’s impossible to comprehend their height. Looking up their straight trunks, and then looking up some more, you finally see the tree canopy against the sky. It’s hard to avoid straining your neck. […]
The Broad-Leaved Helleborine is indeed a wild, weedy, and intoxicating orchid. It’s an invasive species in North America, with nectar that drugs its insect pollinators. On the coast, just south of San Francisco, the plants near us grow in a tough botanical neighborhood. Their small patch of woods on a steep hillside is full of […]
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