Basic Orchid Growing Tips

Orchids are beautiful flowers that have an amazing effect on people, there is a time in the year that you can feel that orchids are attracting more attention, they are out on florists windows and people can not help themselves but stop and admire this flower that is a delight to have in any house.

Some people say that the power of the orchid comes from its delicate features, from its strong colors and even because of it human qualities, but the fact of the matter is that most people love orchids and try to grow them as best as they can but it is rare to find people who can keep an orchid for long and really know how to take care of these delicate flowers.

In the past orchids were rare and they were abundant only in their natural living habitats, with modern times people have grown used to the fact that almost everything is delivered to every corner of the world and that even the rarest flowers or products are available to them.

Experts estimate that there are around 20 thousand different kinds of orchids, these orchids grow in many different climates and conditions and are found in many different places around the world. Anyone who is serious about growing orchids knows that light is very important, light is critical if you want your orchids to have flowers, you will need to supply the right amount of light and be very careful not to burn the orchid, even though in some aspects the orchid may seem to be very sensitive and delicate, these are actually very strong flowers, and they will survive even without light or ideal conditions, the only thing is that they will only survive and not bloom.

These basic facts brings us to a common sense conclusion, if you are interested in having orchids in your garden you will need to think about the best location for that kind of orchid and with some effort you could provide the ideal conditions for the orchid to grow in your garden.

In order to make the most of the orchids you grow you should have some basic understanding of the three main kinds of orchids you can find, as you probably understand by now, understanding the orchid plant needs will assist you in making it bloom and survive in your environment.

These are three kinds of orchids and the basic treatment that they require. Epiphytes, this kind of orchid plant will enjoy being placed on elevated position, placing the Epiphytes orchid on a high shelf or stand will provide a situation very similar to its natural habitat where it grows on trees.

Lithophytes orchids are, unlike the Epiphytes, better placed on a low space, they are known as orchids that grow on the bases of trees and they enjoy feeding on organic nutrition such as rich organic soil and discomposed mildews. Terrestrials orchids. When speaking of the Terrestrials you should know that they are the conventional varieties of orchids. Place the Terrestrials on the ground and they will plant themselves strongly and take care of their needs.

There is much more information about orchids and many different techniques to grow them better and better, this is only the tip of the iceberg, this basic knowledge is important for anyone who is interested in having lovely orchids in his garden.

Daniel Roshard is an interior designer fascinated by garden architecture, orchids, orchid garden design public parks.

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Tunbridge Town Meeting Day 2007

Last year we attended Town Meeting Day in Tunbridge, even though we hadn't closed on our house yet. We knew we couldn't vote, but we wanted to go anyway to see how our adopted town worked. We learned a great deal about our town and our neighbors last year, and came away feeling that we not only made the correct decision about the house we bought, but that we had lucked into a great town.

Since last year's town meeting we have made many efforts to get involved. Sarah volunteered to fill one of the vacant auditors positions. Our town usually has three auditors, but Jim Wick had been working on his own the previous year, so he was very happy to welcome Sarah. After a trial period Sarah was sworn in as an auditor last year. She is up for re-election in 2009. Thankfully, the town elected another auditor this year to join Sarah and Jim since Jim is hoping to step down at the end of his term.

Last year's town meeting ran very smoothly and—including the lunch break—only took about five hours. None of the elected positions were being challenged either, so we had no need to go to a paper ballot. Every incumbent was renominated, and every incumbent was reelected by a voice vote. Neither of us even recall hearing any nay votes.

This year there was some concern that things might get a bit heated. Since last year's meeting, mold had been discovered in the town hall and the town offices. The mold was so bad that our Town Clerk had become ill. The Selectboard picked an abatement company, and the offices and the town hall were closed while the work was done. But the abatement wasn't done well, costs and time on the project escalated, and apparently the work was started before a contract had been signed. In a nutshell, the job appeared to have been mishandled and a few weeks before this year's town meeting one of our select board members (rightfully, in our minds) resigned over the matter.

We'd rather not go into too much detail, and this post is not intended to air dirty laundry or place any blame. In fact, overall, we believe the Selectboard, the Town Clerk, and the citizenry did a great job of handling what was a very difficult situation.

Below is a summary of the 17 articles the Town of Tunbridge discussed and decided at this year's Town Meeting:

- We reelected Euclid Farnham as our Moderator.

- We reelected Wendy McCullough as our Town Clerk.

- We reelected Ann Mallary as our Treasurer.

- We listened to and approved all of the Town Officer's Reports.

- We agreed to pay our taxes on or before and interest on delinquent taxes.

- We approved the budgets of the Selectboard and Highway Department.

- We agreed to allow the Selectboard to borrow money as needed for current expenses in anticipation of taxes.

- We approved the budget for the Tunbridge Volunteer Fire Department.

- We approved a sum of money to support the First Branch Ambulance operating budget.

- After much polite, yet enthusiastic, debate we approved a measure to use remaining funds in the Capital Improvement fund to help defray some of the remaining costs of the mold abatement project at the Town Hall and Town Offices.

- We approved the appropriation of money for the Capital Improvement Fund for future Town Building Capital Improvements.

- After a presentation by one of the Cemetery Commissioners, we approved money for a reserve fund for a new cemetery on land owned by Tunbridge.

- After some debate—and an attempt to introduce an amendment to cut the amount in half—we approved the allocation of money to finance the purchase of a new tanker truck for the Tunbridge Volunteer Fire Department.

- We approved a tax exemption for the Tunbridge Volunteer Fire Department and the Tunbridge Grange for the next five years.

- We approved roughly $8,000 in support money to a number of organizations including: Central Vermont Adult Education, Central Vermont Council on Aging, Clara Martin, Central Vermont Community Action, Chelsea Senior Center, Green Up, Kid's Place, Orange County Court Diversion, Safe-line, Upper Valley Services, Vermont Association for the Blind, Vermont Center for Independent Living, and the Vermont-New Hampshire Visiting Nurses Association.

- We elected a new Selectboard member (Tim Wolfe), which required two ballots. With one exception, we reelected all other elected positions without contesting. The exception was a member of the Library Trustees who declined nomination and nominated his successor. The nominated successor was elected.

- The last article of business was "other nonbinding business" where the town heard from a variety of people, including announcements of fundraising dinners for school trips; information on organizations working to reduce energy use and global warming; expressions of thanks to various people for their hard work—including a round of applause for the Selectboard member who had resigned, but who had not attended this year's meeting. The town also voice voted on a nonbinding resolution to call for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney. The vote was relatively close, but the ayes had it. Lastly we heard from our state representative, David Ainsworth, who spoke briefly about what was happening in Montpelier, and who encouraged people to contact him with any concerns they had.

We also had a lovely lunch sponsored by the Friends of the Tunbridge library, which included meat and vegetarian lasagna, a salad bar and more pie than any town could have possibly eaten in one sitting; although a neighbor kid announced to Rick that in addition to eating his lunch he had eaten 4 pieces of pie. Rick congratulated him and told him he hoped he didn't get sick in his mom's car on the way home. At lunch we got to meet one of our Cemetery Commissioners, Floyd McPhetres, and his lovely wife Eloise. Floyd is probably in his late 80s and has lived in town all his life. He lives in a house next to the one where he was born. Another woman who ate with us, Mary, was a student of Floyd's when he taught high school many years ago.

The entire meeting, including lunch, lasted about four and a half hours, but went by very quickly. It was great to see so many of the people we have gotten to know over the first year we have lived in this great town, and it was nice to make new acquaintances.

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This month at Terrapin Gardens

After not one, not two, but at least four April snow storms, the weather has finally warmed up enough to melt the snow and ice and turn the grass green. While we enjoyed winter, we're more than ready for spring. It's time to get outside, get grubby and sun-burnt, and finish a few projects we started last fall, like preparing an area for our first vegetable garden, and ripping out the last of the wild blackberries to make way for some creeping juniper in front of the house. If we're industrious, we may be able to get a fall crop of greens in this year. Meanwhile, we'll have our CSA subscription this summer for our supply of fresh vegetables.

Long-distance Visitors

Last week, Alison stopped by for a visit on her way around the country on an extended road trip. It was a lot of fun meeting her after reading her blog for years. Meeting Maude was also great, and introducing her to Haley was hilarious (for the humans). To Haley's credit, she was generally respectful of Maude's space and kept the obnoxiousness under control fairly well. Alison, Rick, Maude and I also got to enjoy the first fire of the season, under the benefit of a bright, clear night.

Decorating Dilemas

The sectional sofa we ordered in February arrived yesterday. We were overjoyed at the prospect of finally having something comfortable to sit on in the living room, especially something that holds two people and two dogs comfortably. So overjoyed were we that we got absolutely nothing done yesterday...no shopping, no errands, no cleaning, and no gardening. We did get a lot of talking about decorating done while we watched the NFL draft. No final decisions have been made about the living room, and it seems unlikely that we'll be able to finalize a plan for the space until we put up a banister on the open-sided staircase, to replace the sideboard/bar that currently serves the purpose of keeping the dogs from jumping off the fifth step, and which I'd like to move into the living room, since it doesn't really fit in the kitchen. It's much more complicated than it needs to be, this decorating business.

We're also having trouble deciding where to hang all of the art we have. I think this is left-over "renter's syndrome." I don't think Rick or I have ever completely decorated a place before, and so making choices about paint colors, furniture arrangements and locations of artworks on walls is a bit overwhelming. The most "done"room is our bedroom, which still needs touch-up paint and new curtains, among other minor details. Still, we've at least chosen the colors in there and most of the furniture is either in place or on order.

Building Blog

In other news, we're making slow progress on the garage/apartment building project. The next step is to test for and design a septic system for the apartment (an easier and more cost-effective choice than trying to get a permit to tie the apartment in to our existing septic system). We've been waiting until the end of mud season to get an excavator up our driveway, so that we can dig test pits, conduct percolation tests, and hopefully find a suitable place on the property for the new system. Once the septic is finalized and our permit is approved we'll be able to move forward with the design of the building itself. The finished structure will most likely resemble a barn from the outside, except for the possibility of a second-story balcony off of the living room of the apartment. We're also hoping that we will have enough room in the budget to convert our current electrical system over to solar (for both the main house and the garage/apartment). Much of such budgetary flexibility will have to do with the amount of sweat equity that Rick and I are able to put into the new building - tiling, laying floors, hanging drywall, installing trim, and other finishing work.

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Frosty Flowers

Hellebores are some of the toughest winter flowers. They are related to the hardy buttercups that decorate meadows with gold in spring. However, these beauties will produce winter flowers even with a few inches of snow on the ground. Hellebores niger, the Christmas rose, begins blooming in mid to late fall. Once established it will produce flushes of bloom straight through winter until spring. There are varieties with flowers ranging from white, pale yellow, to pink and deep rose. Flowers range from 1-1/2 to 3 inches across. They have a nodding bell like habit that is best displayed by growing in an elevated container. Plants grow about 12 inches tall and spread up to two feet when mature.

Another variety, the Lenten Rose (Hellebores orientalis) begins blooming in mid winter and continues through early spring. These plants are a little taller, from 18 inches up to two feet. They are available in all the same colors as the Christmas rose. They are just as care free and will produce cold season flowers just when you need a reminder of spring.

Consider growing your Hellebores in portable containers. They need shade in summer and winter cold, but they can stand being brought in the house for short periods of time. While the exact timing of their blooms can be a bit fickle, if you're lucky, you might have blooms to showcase over the winter or spring holidays.

Once the weather warms up these plants tend to go dormant for a few weeks to a month. If you wish to plant them out in the garden, or move them to a larger container, this is the time. A spot with good drainage, summer shade, and lots of organic matter will make them happy. Once they send up new leaves they should be disturbed as little as possible. The buds for next winter's flower show are hiding, dormant for now, in their attractive green foliage.

Hellebores are bothered by few pests. Even deer, slugs, and gophers are said to leave them alone. The plants are slightly toxic and were once used medicinally in Europe and Asia. While poisoning is rarely reported, they should not be planted where young children, pets, or livestock may be tempted to sample their foliage. If plants can be kept evenly moist and shaded over our hot summers, they should live up to ten years or more. Hellebores will occasionally self sow, and if happy the clumps will eventually become crowded and need divided. Whether you are looking for a unique hostess gift, something to dazzle winter time guests, or something special for a shady corner, Hellebores has a lot to offer.

There are a number of other easy plants that can provide winter time cheer, although few of them are as carefree as Hellebores. When visiting your garden center or nursery keep your eyes open for the following plants in six packs or four inch containers. For a winter show, you need to select plants with flower buds well formed or nearly ready to open.

There are several types of African Daisies that will bloom in winter. An open spot with good drainage or a container or raised bed will make them happy. Make sure the plants you purchase have nice fat flower buds. Most African Daisies are low growing, slow spreading plants. But there are many varieties, so be sure to read the plant labels so you know what you are getting.

Calendula was named for the calendar. It can produce flowers all through the year. Individual plants are short lived, but once you have them established they are reliable self sowers. For best luck with winter flowers, purchase budded plants from the nursery. These bright yellow, orange, and gold flowers like a sunny open spot.

Stocks are an old fashioned flower that can be coaxed into blooming during cool weather. Plant them near a south or west facing wall or fence or better yet, in a container placed on a sunny porch. These flowers only grow a foot or so high and tend to be rather spindly. However they make up for their lack of substance with a heady and delightful perfume.

Snap Dragons are often associated with summer, but if you find plants for sale with fat flower buds, you are in for a treat. New cultivars are available in a number of colors and flower forms including those that resemble azaleas, some with ruffled and double flowers, as well as the traditional snapping dragons. These flowers will tolerate some shade and soggy soil. However they make happier bushier plants when grown in a sunny well drained spot.

We covered Sweet Alyssum in a previous article, but it is worth mentioning again. It is a low growing perennial available in a number of colors. It can be planted at any time, and it will provide several flushes of blooms through out the year. They do best in an area with full sun and good drainage.

Winter time flowers are not really frivolous. They provide nectar and pollen to the good bugs that pollinate our food crops and that help us control pests. So while you beautify your yard, you can feel good about your contribution to the garden's environment.

Hellebores plants can be ordered from Wayside Gardens: (800) 213-0379

http://www.waysidegardens.com Seeds for Hellebores and all the other plants mentioned are available from Thompson and Morgan: (800) 274-7333 http://www.thompson-morgan.com

That's all for now, but stay tuned, next time we will be growing the very delectable winter herb, Sweet Cecily. Meanwhile, you can probably find me out in the garden, Digging the Dirt.

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Syndication Coming Right Up

I first started this blog as therapy after the accident in January 05 that left me with a traumatic brain injury. Very soon after starting the blog, much to my surprise, I found I was once again writing publication quality prose. I contacted my local newspaper (which I had written for in the past) and they were interested in running the article on "Cilantro." You all first saw that article here. In a very short time those occasional articles lead to a weekly gardening column, "Digging the Dirt," which I continued to post to the blog for a while.

As one thing tends to lead to another, I began a second column for our other local newspaper. This one is called "The Book Worm," and it features classy books with a positive out-look on life. Once that column got going my blog was neglected. I am just way too busy to post her very often. But I want to thank all of you for reading and encouraging me!

Today, I am beginning another new phase in my writing. I am ready to begin syndicating my columns. If any of you living on zones 7-9 would like to see my gardening columns appear in your local newspaper, please let me know. If you send me the name of your local newspaper and the town and state where it is located, I can search for their web page and see if they are interested. harvest95546@yahoo.com Your recommendation just might help convince the publisher to give it a try.

Complete details about the columns are available on my web site. http://www.HarvestMcCampbell.com Check out the "Digging the Dirt" page for an offer for newspapers to run the column at no cost for a limited time . . .

Meanwhile, it is definitely summer! I have plums coming on and hope to make jam and plum butter very soon. Today I am going to roast garden fresh summer squash, garlic, parsnips, and greens in a new utensil I picked up recently. It looks like a wok with holes in it, made just for cooking on a grill. My raspberries and black berries have been keeping us in smiles.

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Grow a Beautiful Lawn without Chemicals or Fossil Fuels

A. Most lawn-keepers make their lawns pretty by applying lots of chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides—and irrigating like the dickens. That is, in a nutshell, bad for the earth, for the air, and for water. Too much water used for lawns could be used for drinking or irrigating food crops, and chemicals leach from lawn soil and end up in streams, rivers, lakes and oceans.

I don’t use chemicals on my lawn and never have. But until recently I’ve thoughtlessly used standard operation procedure: gasoline-powered rotary mowers, a riding mower, a couple of push mowers, and a gas-powered weed whacker. My increasing awareness of climate change and peak oil compelled me to ask myself if cutting the lawn that way is OK. It became increasingly difficult to avoid the conclusion that I really should find a better way. I decided to switch from fossil solar energy to here-and-now solar energy: me, combined with electricity from the sun.

Q. What is your lawn like now? What kind of maintenance does it require?

A. It’s not one of those Better Homes & Gardens creations. It’s just whatever comes up: a mix of grasses and some “weeds” like dandelions. It requires fairly regular mowing of whatever nature has seen fit to plant around the house, the vegetable and flower gardens, and the fruit trees and berry bushes. There are a lot of rougher, hilly areas. Yeah, you can play croquet on my lawn, but it is a much more interesting and challenging form of the game than you might be used to!

Q. Are you starting cold turkey, or easing into the system one phase at a time? Will you allow any exceptions?

A. The first to go was the riding mower. That tool uses a lot more fuel than a push mower, because it’s not just cutting grass, but also carrying its quarter-ton self plus me around. It was in the picture in the first place because the lawn was too big for a push mower alone. So there’s the first element in the plan: Make the lawn small enough that I can tend it with appropriate tools. I’ll be putting more of the lawn into white clover, which doesn’t have to be mowed as much, and low-growing ground covers.

My next step is to replace the remaining gas-eaters with human-powered and/or electric-powered alternatives. My home is completely solar-powered, so all electric implements will be fueled by the sun. The only exception might be the gas-powered weed whacker that I use to trim the tall pasture around my gardens.

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Compost Requirements

There are seven main compost requirements needed for really great compost decomposition. These requirements are compost size, air, moisture, fragment size, green matter, dry matter, and heat. Keeping these compost in mind will help to ensure a lot of humus and nutrient rich compost for your organic garden.

Compost Size

Your compost structure (or compost pile) must be at a minimum of seven cubic feet to provide enough heat, air, and moisture for adequate decomposition and compost requirement. See Selecting your Compost Structure

Air

For rapid decomposition, you need excellent ventilation for compost. If there’s not enough air (oxygen), then the decomposition process slows down and you’ll get some bad odors-not good if you’re preaching "Organic" to everyone! Keep this in mind when selecting your compost structure.

Moisture

Moisture is very important for compost requirements, but not wetness. Balance is important here … not too much water or too little. In hot weather, it’s important to keep the compost moist. When there’s rain, protect the compost to prevent nutrients from leaching out and away.

Fragment Size

The effect that fragment size has on decomposition is much like the effect of throwing wood in a burning fireplace. Throwing (placing) a log in the fire doesn’t have an immediate reaction… it takes some time for it start to really burn. BUT if you throw a handful of fine-sawdust into the fire there is an immediate, and dangerous reaction - the sawdust almost instantaneously combusts! This reaction occurs, because the “surface area” of all the pieces of fine-sawdust together is significantly more than the surface area of the large log.

Now how does this relate to compost requirements and fragment size? The smaller the fragment sizes the faster the decomposition. Depending on your time, your budget and energy level, shredding leaves and branches may not be something you’ll want to do.

Green Matter and Nitrogen

Think of green matter and nitrogen as lighter fluid for your compost. Green matter has a significant amount of nitrogen, which speeds up compost decomposition. Typical sources of green matter are grass clippings, fresh green leaves, weeds. Sources of nitrogen are bloodmeal, organic nitrogen based fertilizers, rabbit, pigeon, cow and horse manure. I’m sure you can think of a lot more examples... just think “Green”.

Dry Matter

Healthy compost has balanced carbon to nitrogen ratio…this is not as complicated as it sounds. Dry matter helps increase the carbon base of your compost. Dry matter also helps absorb moisture and maintain compost porosity and structure.

Good sources of dry matter for your compost pile are dry leaves, small dry twigs and shredded dry branches, paper towels & bags, cardboard, sawdust, wood ash, wood shavings, woody prunings, rodent bedding, old straw & hay, and paper based egg boxes.

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