Reblooming Orchid

This is the third rebloom for this orchid in two years.  That's the most success I've ever had with an orchid.  

I water it with a quarter cup of room temperature water once a week.  I always use rain water or distilled water - that seems to be really important.  When it starts to make a flower stalk, I give it half-strength regular liquid plant fertilizer about once a month.  It lives on a south facing windowsill but during the winter that doesn't mean it's getting hot sun.  I leave it on the cool windowsill, unless it is very cold at night, as I read that the cooler air triggers the flower stem. If we do get a day with strong sun, I move it away from the window.  In the summer, our south windows actually get quite a bit of shade from trees so the orchid is OK in the south window even then.  If it was more exposed, I would move it to an east window.

I cut the last flowering stalk to the nearest node when it finished blooming as sometimes they will shoot again.  Nothing yet but I'm still hoping as the stem is still green.

I noticed aphids on my celery a few weeks ago so it has been banished to the basement.  I gave it a good rinse with water and haven't seen any more aphids but I'm not taking any chances.  It gets quite a bit of light where it is but it is chilly so not much new growth.  If we get some mild days in March, I'll pop it outside for a few hours in the middle of the day.

One of my seed orders has been delayed as the seed company didn't receive its seeds as early as usual, and they also have lots of orders. No matter.  I'm really glad to hear that many people have taken up gardening during the past two years.

 

Once Upon A Time

 Once upon a time there was a group of unacceptables.  They were called the "fringe".  They were smelly, they swore a lot and they had dirty jobs.  One day they decided they needed a break.  They parked their big rigs and set up. They were loud - VERY LOUD but they had rhythm. Soon they had built a canteen and gave out free hot soup and hamburgers.  They gave out clothes.  They played music and people danced.  Someone hired a bouncy castle for the kids.  They put flags on hockey sticks when they weren't playing pick-up games of ball hockey.  

The acceptables went ballistic.  "HOW DARE THEY!" "THEY ARE TERRIBLE AND SCARY!"

One day, the unacceptables decided to pick up camp.  They drove away, blaring their horns, back to life on the road.  And as they drove down the long, long highways, mile after mile, they had the odd chuckle about the days when they were truly unacceptable.

Bougainvillea, Poinsettia, Celery

 Happy New Year!

After the next few months, I think we will be in a much better place.

The bougainvillea has bloomed almost two months earlier than last year.  I have no idea why but it has been nice to have its pretty pink blooms at the darkest time of the year.

After a regime of 14 hrs of darkness, 10 hours daylight for 8 weeks, the poinsettia did set red bracts. It will be a few weeks yet before the poinsettia flowers (small little yellow flowers)  mature so the red bracts will be around for quite a while.  Next year, I will start the regime earlier, in late September, so that the red bracts will  have more time to grow before Christmas.

I ended up potting up a few celery plants from the garden. It's been enjoyable to have some fresh crunch for my tuna sandwiches and the celery leaves and stalks are a welcome addition to soup.  As they are biennial and will go to seed next June, I will be starting new plants from seed in February.

I have spent some pleasant time scouring seed catalogues and planning next summer's garden.  Hope you have as well.

First November Snow

Yesterday we had our first real snowfall. We got a couple of inches and the temperature is cold enough that it is staying on the ground.  It feels good to have the snow.  It brightens up the landscape and the  air feels crispy and fresh.  No more damp fall weather.

This is a Christmas card I made for my French friend who lives in Quebec. The fuzzy white circles are a watercolour take on Bokeh.

The sky was a lovely intense blue today.  I guess the cold arctic air is very clean. The sky is not only more blue but somehow it is brighter. Normally at this time of year it wouldn't be so blue.  Less air travel is still having an effect.  I wish the eco people would talk more about trying to cut down on air travel.
 

November Plants

It's not easy to find colour at this time of year, but there are some spots of contrast.

I let the broccoli go to flower at the end of the summer because the pale yellow flowers last even after frost.  I can still pick some little bits of broccoli to eat.

The Bishop's Cap has some nice colour.

The Solomon Seal has fallen over but I like the wavy shape to the leaves, almost looks like hair.
 

The Burning Bush is not vibrant red (not enough sun) but I like the range of hues, almost nicer than a solid bright red.

Christmas Cactus

I bought this Christmas cactus last year in December.  It was in bud but, as often happens when a plant goes from greenhouse to store to home,  it dropped all its buds. I thought it was just a solid colour but it's actually quite fancy.  It reminds me of an amaryllis. 

 I kept it on the south facing windowsill last spring and summer, then in October I put it in an east facing window in the basement for a month.  I didn't water it so that gave it a bit of stress and rest.  Once the buds started forming after a month,  I brought it up to the south windows again and watered it regularly. It still has some very small buds which will come along so it will bloom for several weeks.  

Christmas cactus are easy to propagate - just take off a couple of leaf segments and plant them in soil- and I may start a couple more after it finishes blooming.

Bird Nest and Dried Flowers

Some dried flowers from the garden: yellow statice, magenta gomphrena and white astrantia.  Nice reminder of summer.

This bird nest blew down near the house.  I haven't been able to identify who it belongs to as the internet was surprisingly inadequate for bird nest identification.  It is not a chickadee or nuthatch as they are cavity nesters as well as the woodpeckers.  Too big for a goldfinch and they usually line a nest with fluff, perhaps a warbler or sparrow? Anybody know? The nest is about 3" across.

The bottom is well fortified with birch bark strips.  We have birch on our property.

The inside is lined with pine needles with some small twigs underneath.  The bird had to travel to the neighbours to get the pine needles.

I didn't notice this at first but there are blue yarn fibres wound around near the outside. No idea where the bird found that.  It feels like wool or acrylic. Just fascinating to see how birds build their nests.

We're getting frost most nights so it's out with the warm mitts and hat. Quite a few sunny days though so that's pleasant.

Soon be time to plan next year's garden.