Orchid Jungle July 2008

I thought I would do an update to our grow area. It has been a year since I last posted photos of our greenhouse. The past year has seen lots on neglect and an invasion of scale (we lost several of our cattleyas ) But all and all everything is pretty much growing well and blooming on schedule.

I took these photos on Wednesday morning of this week right after watering, so everything is wet. I did not rake the gravel floor or pick up the leaves and old spikes I pinched off before taking the photos, so I apologize for the messy floor, but I suppose it gives you a better look at the 'real' place...lol

Anyway, here are some shots:

First up is a look from the inside left-center facing South-West towards the back of our home and the front door of the GH.


This is a shot a few feet behind the previous area and facing the South-East side of the GH. The white bloom that is hanging down on the lower shelf is 'Winter Wonderland'. I have got to the point that I don't stake my oncidiums unless I plan to show them. I like the natural look.


Here is a shot turned back towards the South-West corner a few steps behind where I took the previous one. You can see a bunch of old spikes on the paphs that I need to remove. They were to tough to break off with my hand, so I need to get some clippers after them.


While I was taking the previous shot, the overwhelming fragrance from our one and only milt hit my nose again. Notice how we have to grow this one right against the kool-cell in order for it to survive our Arkansas heat. It stays wet, but doesn't seem to mind.


And here is a bit larger shot of the paphs you just saw. The tree in the front of the photo is a Chinese Friendship Tree. It produces the most sweetly fragrant white blooms. I can smell it outside in my yard in the evenings when the exhaust fans are pulling air through the greenhouse. If you look to the right in the photo, you can see a bloom and in the lower corner you can see some buds.


This is a shot to my left and down the East side of the GH.



And here is the top shelf of this side:



(Hope you are not getting bored....) This is the East wall facing North-East.



Here is a shot from the other end of the Greenhouse. I am standing in the doorway facing the South-West corner. We have a huge 'old west' style cactus that is getting too big. It is constantly blooming and covered with buds. The vanda in the photo is one of my favorite brightly colored vandas in our collection. It blooms so close to its center, it is hard to get a good shot of it. Plus it is in the corner behind the cactus and hard to access.



And this last one is a shot looking South-East from the North-West End of the center bench. My 'bucket orchid' has another big bud. The foliage in the bottom of the photo is a frangipani tree we have grown from a cutting. It is getting hugh too!


I guess I had better stop there since this is photo heavy. I will update the West side of the GH at another time. I hope you enjoy the photos.

Cheers,
BD

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We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors....but they all exist very nicely in the same box. ...Hmmm? .

I recall seeing last year's pics, and was impressed with your setup...very nice. I especially like the stair-step shelving...seems to make the best use of space. If I had a taller GH I could do something like that and be able to hang stuff but with only 7' of headroom, I'm limited...anyway, thanks for the tour...just wonderful

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An orchid a day keeps the Doc away

Wonderful collection Bruce! I love Milts and am happy they grow well for us in the UK, but I would love to be able to grow the range of plants that you can. My greenhouse is full of tomatoes!

That's a beautiful setup BD. Must be fun just to go out there and look around and smell all the different fragrances. I'm sooooo jealous!

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It always rains after a dry spell !:

really a nice set-up: the whole is greater than the parts. It must be like stepping off the planet into another dimension, to enter that greenhouse

When you have a sale.....lol....I wanna come!! I will just have to be happy with my porch set-up, a greenhouse looks like more work than fun....i like to fuss over them one at a time.
Connie

And Connie, it's the work that makes this all fun! And for us retired ol' @!%&#$ what else is there besides the GH....helps to escape certain other daily annoyances

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An orchid a day keeps the Doc away

Wonderful-it looks great and big
the jungle looks alive
good job bd

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hi from israel

It's absolutely beautiful!

Anna

You are all welcomed to visit anytime you visit this part of the country. Just give me a call and let me know you are stopping in to say hello!

Thanks for the kind compliments. Judi, I still have not got my tomatoes planted! I plan to grow a couple of vines on my back porch in containers.

Cheers,
BD

__________________
RVO's OrchidTalk Forums - "Bringing People Together" Help support our Community: Donate or Become an OrchidTalk Subscriber today!
We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors....but they all exist very nicely in the same box. ...Hmmm? .