Friday, September 12, 2008

Miltonia ??? Name This Orchid!






I have had this Miltonia since March and this is the first bloom since I have owned it. Another purple beauty. I have tried to id this, I think the Milt. Purple Queen or Milt. Spectabilis Moreliana are close but maybe you know. Here are the pictures.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

The Black orchid in Full Bloom! Trichoglottis philippinensis var. brachiata






Trichoglottis philippinensis var. brachiata or Black orchid has reached its full bloom. It is a very beautiful dark purple/maroon color with a lavender/pink fuzzy lip. Thanks to TS Fay I lost 7 blooms from bud blast having to drag all the chids inside for a few days. Here are some pictures.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Here We Flood Again!



This morning I went out to check up on the yard after an all night rain with more expected today as Hurricane Hanna races past us through the Bahamas right now. This is what I saw. It is not the amount of rain we have had because that is just a few inches, but it has no were to go. My yard has been so saturated.

The Casualties Are Adding Up!




As I walk through the yard the casualties keep adding up. Today I lost the last leaf off of my Ponderosa lemon tree, and the only 2 lemons finally shriveled up and fell off. Next the new Princess Flower bush I just planted a few weeks ago only has 2 little sections of green left. As well as the Florida Coontie cycads, they are dying as well. Tropical Storm Fay has reaped havoc on my yard, as I sit and type this we are receiveing strong gusts of wind and rain from Hurricane Hanna, and all the buzz right now around town is were is Ike going to come a shore. Ike is a monster! as the weekend approaches the forecasts will be better and we will know if we will have to prepare for the storm. Here are a few of my casualties from TS Fay.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

The Black Orchid Blooming, Trichoglottis philippinensis var. brachiata






This Trichoglottis philippinensis var. brachiata or Black orchid has started to bloom. This is one of the Tropical Storm Fay's victims, most of the orchids had to remain inside for the few days during the storm. Once I brought them back out a few of the bloomers had bud blast. As you can see here this one lost at least 4 blooms, but still has several flowers, so I was lucky not to lose them all. I purchased this back in 3/08 and have had to experiment with growing it. It took a little bit to figure out how to care for it,but I have it down now. I have learned you treat it like a Vanda. There are still more blooms to come but here is the start.

Monday, September 1, 2008

The Secret Palm Tree Garden! Part 6 The Final Post

The final post for this series on the Secret Palm Tree Garden, has the few remaining pictures left from this past trip. I am undoubtedly going back and will be posting more in the future. But here are the remaining pictures.

Livistona decipiens

Rhapis excelsa "Lady Palm"


unknown Bromeliad

maybe a Mule Palm, X Butiagrus not sure though