Sunday, January 09, 2011

Where Have All The Flowers Gone

My paperwhites are gone, my poinsettias are gone and my amaryllis is gone.  Even my cyclamens have almost stopped blooming.  The Christmas cactus has put forth some more blooms but it certainly doesn't look like a robust plant.







I can forgive the lack of flowers outside during our zone five winters, but to have a home devoid of any flowering plants I had to do something about this!

I headed off to Home Depot to pick up some parsley seeds and seed starting soil for my new plant light stand and guess what I saw - a huge tall rack of orchids!  They are a smaller variety all in beautiful colors and one that would look perfect in my living room.  I read somewhere that orchids are great decor in formal rooms.  I bought two orchids at $12.98 each which seemed like a fair price for these beautiful plants.










I should tell you that I have never had an orchid, always intimidated me as far as care.  Ice cubes I can do, they're called Just Add Ice Orchids (three ice cubes once a week and a little fertilizer once per month) success promised.  I even signed up on their website so they will email me once per week to remind me about those ice cubes.  http://www.justaddiceorchids.com/




There are many new buds, so I hope I can keep them alive to see all of these beautiful flowers.  They are tall but are "see through" plants so they can be placed in front of other objects without interference.

23 comments:

Balisha said...

Eileen...you make me want to try an orchid again. I went to the Just Add ice Orchid website and was amazed at how this works. I always thought that you should water with tepid water, but now this...who knew? I may make a trip to Home Depot today...hope they have orchids on sale too. Balisha

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi Balisha, I will let you know what happens. The ices cubes are easy but a little strange.

Eileen

Karen said...

Eileen, the orchid is so beautiful! I saw some for sale at one of our local big box stores, too, but after ooohing and ahhhing over them, I left them there; my success rate with houseplants is non-existent, I'm afraid they will fare better sitting on the table in the store. However, the ice cube orchids sound fascinating, I am going to have to look into this. Who would think that you could put ice on an orchid to water it?

Lona said...

Hi Eileen. Oh, your new orchids are just so beautiful and I love the planter you put them in. Great value also girl!
My house is so devoid of flowers now. My cylcamen is going dormant or dying and since I messed up on ever getting my amaryllis to bloom this winter I am starved for color.

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi Karen,

I am not great with houseplants either, especially when I forget to water them once I get outside. Since I have never tried orchids and the price was lower than I have ever seen them, thought I would give them a try.

Eileen

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi Lona, we will see if I can keep these alive! The ice cubes are an interesting angle especially with the email to remind me. I think I need this for all of my indoor plants!

Eileen

joey said...

Yippee, Eileen! I predict you will love them, never now be without, and join me in my addiction!

allanbecker-gardenguru said...

Looks like all of us have the same problem with indoor flowering plants at this time of year. Thanks for reminding us about the orchids.
The ice cube method of watering sounds great. Please let us know if you find it useful for other indoor plants.

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Joey, now I know you are the "go to" person if I have a question.

Eileen

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Allan, I have never heard of watering a plant this way but I guess it is so the orchids are not overwatered.

Eileen

Diana LaMarre said...

Hi Eileen,
Your orchids are so beautiful! I have never tried to grow them.

My home is also devoid of flowers right now. But that is fine with me. I am content to wait until spring...altough today I did visit the Breck's site to see if I could find some new dahlias to order for next summer.

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi Zoey,

Usually, I don't have much flowering in the winter indoors, but looking at all of these blogs has given me a different perspective. I usually sew in the winter, but this time I have decided not to. I have made too many pillows, draperies, etc., time for a break.

Dahlias and me did not do well last summer, just about everyone of them died. It seemed they couldn't take the intense heat and rain. Good luck with them, I do think they are stunning.

Eileen

D said...

Eileen, I have never tried to grow orchids thinking they were too difficult.

I will have no indoor plants... I will have no indoor plants...
They are lovely!

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi Diana,

I am not great at indoor plants but I keep trying.

Eileen

Rainy Day Gardener said...

Oh those are lovely orchids. I hope you have success! They add such beauty indoors :)

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

That plant stand looks great! How fun to have a place to start all of your seeds. One day I may try something like that too.
The orchid is so pretty! I hear orchids can get addicting :) I've always been intimidated by them too, mostly because I'm afraid a kid or dog will break that one flower stem and I'll have nothing left.

Dirty Girl Gardening said...

The orchids are gorgeous!

garden girl said...

Beautiful! You'll be pleasantly surprised how easy they are to grow Eileen.

Anonymous said...

The orchids are beautiful, Eileen. Just about a year ago we went to the orchid show at Mo Botanical Garden. It was amazing!

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi Jenni, I hope I am able to keep them alive!

Eileen

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi Catherine,

They look fine right now, so I hope I will be able to take care of them. These are a smaller orchid with about three stems each.

Eileen

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi PaT,

I am going to have to learn more about orchids, still are imtimidating.

Eileen

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi GG,

I am hearing that people become quite involved with orchids, only if I am successful!

Eileen