Funny Thing Happened at Dinner Last Night

For plant nerds and other kinds of garden wackos the Web has been a great tool. Like many other people with compulsive hobbies that cannot be understood—let alone controlled—with it in our lives we can do just about anything. Just recently I met a friend through a gardening Web site and it is the first time in many years that I have had to explain to people: "Oh, how did we meet? Online of course, we met on a gardening Web site called Davesgarden. We were talking about plants."
Last night I sat at a dinner table, with my friend and her partner Bill, explaining to people I used to work with at the Gordon house how we'd met. Since most of the attendees at this potluck were retired folks, and my new friends are retired folks too, you'd think that any kind of odd asides wouldn't occur. Nevertheless, people were kind of laughing a bit when we explained how we'd "met online". Maybe it's nice to know that such things are still not completely commonplace. I guess I'm just glad that is not the only place we meet other people.

Phalaenopsis Birthday Orchid

This beautiful orchid was a birthday gift given to me by my employers. For the last year I have been taking care of their many orchids—as well as the other houseplants in their historic home—so I suppose I deserve the opportunity to try NOT to kill another orchid in my own home. (Yes, in the past, two orchids had failed to thrive here while under my care. They knew that though when I was hired.)

My plant is a Phalaenopsis cross: Phal Taisuco Grace x Phal Taisuco Swan. The genus itself has approximately 60 species of orchids, but it has been toyed with since the Victorians first fell in love with it so there are many others out there that have been crossed and crossed again. (I should add that they can do so on their own in nature as well. Shocking! I know.)

What I love about this plant of mine is that the blooms measured in at just under 5 inches wide! To add to that, the blooms are so large, the pot practically tips over from their weight—poor thing. I can now see why Phalaenopsis orchids are among the most popular orchids sold, but how can I help it survive here in my home? Popular because it's easy to grow is what they say about spider plants. I killed one of those too. In their native environment they can bloom for several weeks, but in a home, they flowers can last for 2-3 months! I must know how to achieve this!

In the wild: 68 to 95°F
Acceptable home temps: 59 to 86° F
Below 64.4°F, overwatering causes root rot
Need high humidity 60-70%
Low light of 12,000 to 20,000 lux (1,115fc to 1,858fc)

Recycling Items for Seed Starting Needs

In the time that I have been trading seeds with other gardeners online, I have seen a lot of recycled items. Usually it's simply the puffy envelopes, then sometimes it is a bank deposit envelope with seeds in it, but this trade, this one really surprised me! I love recycling, but, cigarette wrappers just seem wrong.

There are Posts to Come!

Last winter I typed away here. This winter, I am:
1—making sure to start the 250 different seeds I have lined up to grow (so far, so good!)
2—dealing with two bulging disks, physical therapy and all... (my new rubber boots did not like the none-slip plastic on my wood stairs)
3—coping with the fact that although my plasma treatment is now available in the US, my insurance won't cover the cost of $100,000 per year

More posts to come though in the coming weeks. I am happily working on several plant/garden related projects I cannot wait to share.

Garden Images: Rest in Peace

I am saddened—and embarrassed to admit—that many of my garden images were lost in a computer mishap not long ago. Here's to saving images elsewhere in the new year.
UPDATE: Many, if not all of the pictures, were saved by a friend. Now I have to go back and arrange them.

Unusual Winter Berries

This plant is one of my current favorites. Though its official name is Melicytus angustifolius, it has no common name, yet! Purchased at Cistus here in the Portland area, it was something my husband chose due to its unusual appearance. (How else can a woman take her husband plant shopping?) I would love for it to have a common name other than: That-Plant-My-Husband-Picked-Out. Since Snowberry is already taken, I may want to call it Winter Pearl Shrub. No matter. I just adore it and cannot wait for it to grow more. (I am picking a few berries for seed. Hope to grow more of these.)

Master Gardener Shock! Scandal! Insult!

A few days ago I was told that I could apply for the Master Gardener program in advance of the public because I had expressed interest in doing so with their online course sign-up feature. That was October 31, 2008. At the time, I had to sit back and consider the cost of paying $300 to become a trained voluteer. As someone who is pretty ill, this is a big consideration because we don't have a budget for such expenses. So, just a few days later, I go to sign-up. It has been open to public registration now for a grand total of 2 days! Every county in the Portland area is already on wait-list status. This is crazy! How many other community programs wait-lists its many volunteers? How do these folks have an extra $300 sitting around when the economy is in trouble?
The status of being a Master Gardener in the Portland area is out of control. So often it is a skill touted and I wish it didn't come across as being so off-putting. I guess I am tired of lifestyle options and accessories—such as a Master Gardener Certificates.

Horticultural Therapy

For many reasons, I already feel that I am a horticultural therapist, but I do not have a certificate in the field. As much as I may want one, and I may still seek one out, part of me is somehow upset by the fact that even garden therapy has now been sucked into the professionalism can. This, again, points to how difficult it can be to begin again when your first plan at a profession is hindered by your health.
As someone already set back by years of being unable to work, it is sad to begin again already thinking of missing out on a few more years, since they will be sucked up by some other kind of training. In addition, there is always the fear of falling apart, again, after having had to drop other big life plans. Failure was never an option in the past, but now it is almost always expected, along with a another trip to a doctor, and another...
Expecting failure is a strange way to live, but at least I rarely, if ever, see germination failure. I tend to let plants fail when the weather gets too hot, and I don't water them quite enough. Then it is their failure—not really—but it is a state of failure I can accept. Okay, the only version of failure I can deal with at all. Until they are strong, I care for them more than I often care for myself. This is how I live as I await a return to anything close to normal for me.

Trading Seeds

I am so excited now about being a member of Davesgarden.com. You don't have to be a member to trade, but if you are one, the trading is a bit easier, otherwise, you can only send out a few messages per day to others you'd like to trade seeds with elsewhere. Now is the time, typically, when I begin sorting my seeds, arranging them into their drawers for simple storage. For several years now, the system has worked really well and I still use it.
My little set of drawers was a smart item I purchased from IKEA. I use it to hold the bi-weekly groups of seeds planted one after the other until the last-frost day in Portland down in my basement with lights and heat. I sort the larger groups of seeds into bags. They are labeled for two planting periods: right now (outside) for a natural winter stratification, and after the last frost.
Now that they are arranged in their spots awaiting planting, I am trading online, shopping online, and I am adding to the Excel spreadsheet slowly.
This year I germinated hundreds of seeds, but this next year I intend to be a bit better, and not attempt quite so many. Let's hope that's true. I need to take care of myself and my health, and enjoy my plants, not hate them.

Collecting Seeds, Again

The annual process of seed collection never fails to interest me—even when I am more tired than ever. Each year brings a new lesson in plant develpment, and even after years of this, I just never seem to know enough about any of the plants. There is always something new to learn. And what, you might ask, are the lessons of this year? Here they are, some of them more profound than others:

1) There is a great deal of joy when you buy that one expensive plant, special and rare, and late in the season, it gives you viable seeds. My mother has been excited about a plant she purchased online, and when she saw the seeds pouring out of its dried seedheads, she looked like a little kid jumping for joy.

2) Seeds collected, for some, really are like currency. They can be traded for other seeds, and then more plants can appear. What fun is that during times like these? Super fun. I am able to find new items to grow, and I get to interact with others from my chair. Perfect!

3) Lastly, I learned this year, for the first time, how to collect berry seeds. I could have done so in years past, but it was too scary. I did it this season and am confident enough to do it again in the future!

(Didn't make it to San Francisco yet. I was too ill to go anywhere and know now I could never have made it. Hope to do so in the coming months.)