As winter’s chill arrives, this brilliant tropical Cattleya is inspiring lots of warm thoughts in our home. It’s been boasting vivid purple and white blooms for over a month. In addition to their stunning colors, they emit a sweet, spicy fragrance. It’s no wonder that Cattleyas have been favorite corsage orchids for decades. Along with […]
The Chinese artistic theme of the Four Gentlemen refers to four plants, including an orchid. Recently, while Dave and I were enjoying dinner at a local restaurant, I spotted a nearby flowerpot illustrating the Four Gentlemen. I can’t read Chinese, so I don’t know what the writing says, but I recognized each plant. The first […]
Coelia bella is a great orchid species, both easy to grow and easy to pronounce. Its charming purple, white, and yellow flowers give off a light marzipan or almond oil fragrance. To say Coelia, ignore the “o” and say Celia like the woman’s name, SEE-Lee-Ah. The second part of its Latin name, bella, translates as […]
Orchids on the rocks? No, it’s not another post about ice cubes or climate change. Instead, it’s about orchids which actually grow on rocks. Attached by their roots, orchids may wedge into stony crevices or hang off sheer mountain cliffs. Many orchids which are air plants can affix to both trees and rocks. The first […]
If we ever found flowers on another planet, could they possibly be stranger than these earthly orchids? Some of these blooms look like visitors from Mars or Neptune. Despite their alien facades, they’re simply members of the enormous orchid family, which has diversity beyond measure. Their long Latin names, like Masdevallia caudivolvula and Sigmatostalix posadarum, […]
AboutOrchids only dabbles in politics related to orchid conservation, and this post is no exception. If you’re an orchid lover, the only choice for president this November is Hillary Clinton. The Republican nominee would be a disastrous decision for many reasons, but the one that’s most important on this blog is saving our endangered planet. […]
Sobralia flowers never fail to impress. Recently I mentioned this plant in a post about Growing Orchids Outdoors in Pacifica. This Sobralia species bloomed for years outside in our San Francisco garden. It didn’t do so well after our move to the coast, so I finally brought it indoors. After a quick growth spurt, it flowered […]
Orchids may be our favorites, but natural beauty comes in many forms. That certainly includes the stunning fall colors of the Colorado Rockies. Dave and I recently visited Southwest Colorado, and enjoyed awe-inspiring mountains gilded in their autumn foliage. The bright yellow leaves belong to aspens. In the thin mountain air around 10,000 feet (3048 […]
For every hue of an autumn forest, there’s an orchid with that color. The orchid family spans the rainbow, so there are plenty of autumn matches to be found. Vibrant red maple, rich yellow gingko — orchids boast them all, every shade. Enjoy the colors of autumn, and happy equinox.
This orchid doesn’t win any points for being showy. Nobody gasps in delight when they see its flowers, or gushes over its colors. Epidendrum peperomia is a mini orchid species with flowers that remind me of beetles. It’s quite distinct from its larger orchid relatives, like the reed-stem Epidendrums, which flaunt tall clusters of brilliant […]
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