Is it Spring Yet?

Oh, Mother Nature, you tricked us again.  Just last week-end I thought that Spring was here.  And while you have not sent us rain or snow, you are sending us a good supply of cold winds which makes the sunshine feel like Arctic nights.  (does that make sense?)

Anyway, when my thoughts shifted to Spring, I started my annual look around the house to see what projects needed to be done.  I have my list.  I have my highs and lows, too.

On the low list is the loss of all but four of my formerly 25 orchid plants.  It did not happen over night, but over the last few years.  First, I battled mealy bugs.  I was diligent.  I finally eradicated them, but not before they took their toll in orchids, about half.

I thought I had been triumphant until the day that scale showed up.  I have no idea where either bug originated.  With the scale, I am guessing it was either a new plant or potting soil, but once they arrived they were like the house guest that does not know when to leave.  And they haven't.

I really thought that they were gone late last summer.  I threw out a kalanchoe that was covered in scale.  I cut a few shoots off first, treated them for scale and rooted them in water.  Then I potted them up.  They were fine.  They started to bloom a couple of weeks ago.  And then, one morning, I woke up and they were drooping over and, guess what, covered in scale.  WTF?  Where did it come from again????

I pitched the entire plant.  I found another orchid that was shriveling up.  After carefully checking and chucking, I was left with four orchids.  This is what it used to look like in my living room:

Actually, with a grandson always trying to get his hands in the plants, it will be quite a while before I even consider any more orchids or anything else.  That being said, there are a few highs in the plant department.

Back in the early seventies a small plant and flower store opened in Greektown in Detroit in what would eventually be known as Trapper's Alley.  I purchased an Hoya plant.  I still have it:

Last year it started to bloom again.  See, I do have a bit of a green thumb.



And I am happy to say that I have finally managed to keep a rosemary plant through the winter indoors.  I've killed many in the past, though maybe I shouldn't pat myself on the back too soon.

I also have this peace lily that I kept from my father's funeral in December, 1980.  I had to divide it several years ago, but it still goes on.

And then there is my Areca palm, which not only thrives, but has bloomed several times.  The plant was given to me as part of a plant collection after my 'shattered leg' accident in 2007.  [Everything else in the pot, save one croton, died, :-(  ]

So, even if Mother Nature won't hurry up and bring us Spring outdoors, I can still feel like Spring indoors.

And since I am indoors, yesterday, while out shopping for some toys for my grandson (to keep him out of flower pots), I spotted a deal on my favorite china pattern.  Believe me when I say I do not need any more dishes.  BUT, my everyday set is the same one I bought in 1970 when I got married. It was chosen by my husband and, of course, is the kind of design a man chooses, no flowers.

Mikasa Tahoe

And damn if it still doesn't look like new.  Disgusting.  I still have all eight of the original dinner plates too.  It's like it is made out of some indestructible material.

So, I loaded my cart with eight new plates.  And eight salads.  And eight fruit bowls.  And eight mugs.  They didn't have soup bowls so I will have to order them.  I can't tell you how excited I was to come home and clean out the kitchen cabinet for the new china.

Lenox Butterfly Meadow

I have decided that instead of using my pricey Gorham Chinoiserie, for Easter, we will eat off off the new dinnerware and then throw it in the dishwasher.  

It's like Spring and Summer indoors all year round.  Oh, happy day.  I hope yours is too.

Something White that isn't Snow

The County salt trucks just went down my street.  With the warmer weather and rain expected tomorrow, the snow just might disappear.   For now.

For those who are tired of looking at snow, here is something white that is much nicer to look at.  My azalea plant is blooming indoors and is prettier that when it was outside this past spring.  Along with the white blooming orchids, it is a lovely day to sit in the living room and read a book.

This orchid plant has been blooming since September. 

Being Clownish

I am sure it is just a coincidence that this particular orchid opened this week.  A week that has been littered with phone calls and non-stop TV ads. 

Named Bak. Clownish 'Cotton Candy', these blooms should last for a month.  It certainly will brighten up these sunless fall days.

Battling Little White Bugs

 

I don't remember exactly when I received my first orchid.  It was beautiful.  The blooms lasted for several days.  And then they died.  And then I tossed the plant. 

A year or so later, someone again gave me an orchid.  It too was beautiful.  But before all the blossoms died, there was another shoot appearing with more blossoms.  I was now interested in figuring out how to keep these plants blooming in my home.

Since then, I have read many books, attended the annual local orchid show on Palm Sunday, traveled to Washington, D. C. to see the orchid show at the Botanic Gardens, and attended demos at our local garden center.  Soon, giving me an orchid plant was the easy gift option.

And then they struck!  Little white bugs that sucked all the life out of the plants.  I do not know what they hitchhiked in on, but it was soon apparent that getting rid of them would be a difficult task.  They were 'mealy bugs'.  They are so disgusting I won't even provide a photo.

Trying not to use chemical sprays indoors, I have been killing them with alcohol - the cheap stuff in a plastic bottle.  I've segregated infected plants in a separate room.  I've gone from 25 plants at the peak down to 14 at present.  Sometimes the plant had such difficulty surviving, that I became the Dr. Kevorkian of the orchid world and placed it in the rubbish heap.  This has been going on for about five years.  Just when I think I have succeeded, another bug appears.

In the meantime, flowering has suffered.  Not wanting to stress these plants anymore than necessary, I've just been trying to keep them healthy.  One orchid lecturer said that 'We don't grow orchids for their leaves', but that is what I have settled for more recently.

Up until I saw a flower shoot appear on a plant several weeks ago.  It was a plant I had received as a gift in the last year, so it has not had the 'bug' problem.  The blooms have been opening and it is a wonderful sight.

 

Of all the colors available, there is something about these pure white flowers that can't be beat.

 

This morning when I was checking for bugs and seeing who needed a drink of water, I noticed something even more exciting.  One of my old oncidium orchids has a flower shoot. 

 

You can be sure that I will be watching it every day and giving it my tender, loving care.