Vacation Goodies & Corpse Flower

On my trip to Seattle this month I picked up a few plant related items! I know, shocking, right? ;) I had been seeing people on my hot pepper group use these grow bags for their plants. Well I found one with a similar idea, except more breatheable (the others were plastic) at my favorite place, Sky Nursery! I thought I would give it a try and got a 5 gallon size. I also picked up seeds of two different types of pumpkins, milkweed and edamame seeds. The edamame and Japanese pumpkin seeds I got at Uwajimaya. I figured they ought to be authentic enough! Can't wait to try these out next year!

My corn is finally flowering!

I forget what types of bean this is...pole bean? Anyhow, they were fresh, tender and delicious in the pot roast I made yesterday!

Amorphophallus titanium in bloom for the first time at Phipps Conservatory! 

Progress & New Plantings

Flower tree my old neighbor created, which apparently my clematis likes!

Black berries ripening up! There are SOOO many this year!

Sweet potatoes tubering in the cell packs already!

Sweet potatoes 'Beauregard' planted finally and some Sugar Baby watermelon seeds! Planted some Blue Lake Bush Beans on the other side also.

Patio tomato ripening up! Big fruit for such a small plant!

A wee baby apple growing at the new house.

Preying mantis egg cases

This morning I spent it planting new grass seed in the bald spots that we had created for the down spout diversion project. Got the one side all done and viola! Rain happened! How sweet was that?! I had planned on watering it before sunset so the grass nearby it wouldn't get burned. Thanks nature! 

Recap of Orchid Show 2010

Wednesday: Got there on time at 6pm and found out they were almost done! They had most of the structure up, but I did help out with supplies as well as some other things.

Thursday: Had a L-O-N-G day at the hospital and did not leave on time. Everyone was grumpy and as I was about to leave the house, Dave, my show exhibit partner called to say that our water feature is leaking. GREAT! Ugh. I get there at 6pm only to be told by someone else that our exhibit was leaking. Yes, I know. That just ruined the rest of the day! Ken, Dave's son, came and figured out why our water feature was leaking. THANK YOU KEN! We were able to finish setting up after that. Had everything done by 9:30pm except for covering up the pots with moss, which I did the next day. Missed the vendors coming in so I did not get first pick like usual. :( Picked out some anyway and reserved them!

Friday: Put moss on the pots and helped to clerk the judging! We lucked out and got a small amount to judge! Did not do the preview party...wanted to save my money for orchids! Purchased a few of the orchids I had set aside.

Saturday: Helped Robert's Flower Supply sell orchids. As nice as it was we sold A LOT! I was surprised b/c in the past, good weather = bad sales! Brought home a few more plants!

Sunday: Sold almost ALL the plants for Robert's Flower Supply! WOOHOO! It was another nice day! Even nicer than yesterday! Brought home my last two plants. Didn't get to pick my favorite vendor's brain about un-flasking. :( Will have to email him! Someone dumped out my bottle of wine that no one drank. Grrr! Show is over :(

Seedlings!

Left: Pomagrante seedlings! Right: Bhut Jolokia seedlings!

These seeds were from a store bought Pomegranate. I have no idea how they will turn out. I saved about 10 seeds while I was eating one and planted them all in this container figuring that a lot of them won't sprout. I guess I was right! Two sprouted out of 10! One is above the soil surface and one is below that you can see through the side of the cup.

I honestly did not think these seeds would've sprouted. I traded for them and they did not look very fresh and took quite awhile to sprout. I realize it is not summer and that temperature might've not been high enough, even on a seedling heat mat, but when I saw that my Pomegranate seeds sprouted I checked on my Bhut Jolokia cup that was under another cup for added warmth and there they were! I am excited :D

On another news....my Paph. lowii looks like it might be finally growing a spike after all these years! This was my first plant that I had bought at my first orchid society meeting in 2001. I remember that it was a lot of money for me to spend on a seedling at $20! Boy have I come a long way from loosening the purse strings since LOL Anyway, I suspect that it is a spike because leaves grow alternately, but the up and coming growth is coming out of the same side as the last leaf! Keep your fingers crossed! I have been waiting forever for this beauty to bloom!

Mary Lou's Christmas Cactus

The mother plant of this one shown had belonged to my fiance's grandmother, who had acquired the plant from her own mother, his great-grandmother. It could be at least 100 years old or close to it since Mary Lou was 92 herself! Anyway...my piece of it bloomed on the day of her viewing after she passed away and started wilting today when I got the thank you card from her daughter for the flowers.

Helcia sanguinolenta x Trico suavix 'Megan' AM/AOS

This is fragrant too!

From Orchids

From Orchids

Progression od Paph. villosum Bloom #2

12/13

12/17

Progression of Paph. villosum Bloom #1

12/7

12/8

12/9

12/11

12/17

Paph. villosum Bloom #2

Paph. villosum Bloom #1

Paph. villosum

Dendrichilium in Bloom

This is Dendrochillum ecalosum x bicalosum.

Masdevallia in Bloom

This is Masdevallia Sun Spot x triangularis.

Oncidium in Bloom

This is Oncidium Moon Shadow 'Tiger Tail'

More Blooms

This is Phal. John Ewing. It was supposed to bloom last year and had TWO spikes, but I threw it outside with the other Phals in the fall and blasted the two spikes! :( So this year, to make up for it....it has given me one single spike. This has been a long awaited bloom since this is a SCENTED Phalaenopsis! Oh it is heavenly! Pretty to boot too!

Spider Lily I believe what this is called. Quite pretty, small flowers though. Apparently the bee in the flower the morning I took this picture agreed since it was drunk with sleep! I thought it was dead! It must really appreciate the food :D

Close up shot of the pretty small flowers. They are about 1" across.