Today Gail Bromer is sharing a method to brighten up the winter months.
I started to collect orchids 30 years ago and still have several plants from those early years. I am a survival-of-the-fittest collector and don’t know most of their names, but I love to have their color, particularly during winter. Various orchids bloom throughout the year. Orchids bloom for long periods of time. I have one blooming now that was a gift in June and is still going strong.
When we bought our new home seven years ago, we built in a plant area. I have a 10-foot window that faces southwest. It may not be a perfect light situation, but it’s what I have available. I water once a week and turn the heat down to 65° overnight in the winter. In the summer all the plants go outside onto a covered deck.
If you’ll let me, I’ll share some of my pictures without identifying them. I urge everyone to bring orchids home and enjoy their long bloom time. These days you can buy an orchid for the same price as cut flowers at the supermarket. Or you can search out your specialty grower and enjoy something a little more unusual.
These are blooming today.
This plant is 25 years old. I gave it to my father-in-law as a gift, and he returned it to me when he didn’t have any luck getting it to rebloom.
This is my 30-year-old plant.
Phalaenopsis are readily available at the supermarket.
I love the shape of these.
Aren’t these lovely?
Another unusual shape.
This was a supermarket find.
These bloom in the fall and complement the autumn colors of the leaves outside.
One last cluster of blooms from last February
Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!
Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.
