In the town of Volcano on the road to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Akatsuka Orchid Garden has one of the aloha state’s largest orchid collections. We couldn’t resist a trip to their store and showroom, and found ourselves there with busloads of tourists who had just visited nearby Kilauea Volcano. Many of these spectacular hybrids […]
We have so many great pictures from Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden that I couldn’t fit them into just one post. So here are a few more orchids photos: And here are a few more non-orchid photos: And here are some great examples of how orchids grow in the wild. In the tropical rainforest, orchid roots […]
While we were visiting the Big Island of Hawaii, Dave and I took a trip to Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. Located north of Hilo in a real tropical rainforest, the garden is a lush paradise of exotic plants from rainforests around the world, including lots of orchids. We spent half the day soaking in the […]
The Big Island of Hawaii has perfect growing conditions for many tropical orchids. One type frequently found there is Spathoglottis plicata, or the Philippine ground orchid. Unlike most commonly cultivated varieties, it’s a terrestrial, meaning that it grows in soil. This orchid is native to a large area of south Asia, stretching from India through […]
I can’t think of any better way to escape the winter doldrums than to head to a warm and beautiful tropical paradise. Dave and I just returned home from such a place, the Big Island of Hawaii. We stayed at Art & Orchids Bed and Breakfast in Kea’au, south of Hilo. True to their word, […]
Dave and I decided to welcome the new year with a visit to Strybing Arboretum in Golden Gate Park. The Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum has thousands of varieties of plants from all over the world. We didn’t see any orchids, but we enjoyed some of the other sites of the park. First, there’s a […]
Looking more like a hyacinth than an orchid, Arpophyllum giganteum has dense clusters of pretty purple blooms. This orchid can tolerate a wide range of temperatures, but needs cool nights in winter in order to bloom. Here in San Francisco, I grow it outdoors all year with bright light and regular water. Its native habitat […]
This mini Masdevallia relative, with a flower smaller than a pea, has a long name, Scaphosepalum. Despite its diminutive size, it’s capable of staying in bloom for months or even years at a time. The new flowers emerge in succession along a lengthening spike, while the older flowers fall off. Several years ago, this orchid […]
The upcoming winter solstice marks the shortest day of the year, but on the California coast we’re lucky to be able to garden year-round. Despite the pre-winter chill, my friend Kim has lots in bloom in her garden. She lives a few blocks from us near Dolores Park, and she’s an orchid nut like me! […]
Related to Miltonia, Oncidium, and Odontoglossum, this charming mini species is an easy orchid. Cochlioda vulcanica is frequently used in hybridization, cross-bred with orchid relatives to pass on both its hardiness and its beauty. It lives in tropical cloud forests at high elevations in the Andes, where it is pollinated by hummingbirds. The side view […]
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