Wednesday, January 15, 2025

January 2025 Bloom Day


 
Miniature orchid Epidendrum polybulbon in bloom


Today is Bloom Day for garden bloggers, hosted by Carol Michel's May Dreams Blog. The temperature outside my Virginia home is about 21 degrees, and my yard is still mostly covered with snow, though the south and western exposures have gradually been melting during the past week. Some ornamental grasses and evergreens are about the only notable things in my garden at the moment.

 

Rhododendron 'Ana Rose Whitney' and Wavy grass (Nassella tenuissima)

The leaves of my Rhododendrons are drooping, which they do when temperatures drop into the 20's. The wind blew down a few of my deer barriers so the deer have been creating havoc devouring the Arborvitae and anything that was accessible--the tracks reveal the activity of all the wild creatures roaming in the yard during these cold days.


Herb's bed with ornamental grasses.

Potted azaleas and evergreens in the front yard.


But, my indoor garden has a few lovely surprises--the miniature orchid purchased last year at the Virginia Orchid Society's show started to develop two flower buds around Christmas, and this morning the first one is opening! The flower is about 1/2" and its pseudobulbs not much larger than that, but I'm so thrilled to have been able to keep it alive and thriving!


Epidendrum polybulbon in flower.

My gardenia tree (Tabernaemontana divaricata) produces flowers several times a year, mostly during winter and spring. I bought it for its heavenly scent, which lasts only for the first six hours when the flower opens. But new flowers open every few days, releasing their wonderful perfume.

The Cattleya orchid on the windowsill has yet to produce any flowers, despite growing well for going on seven or eight years. I've tried everything I can think of to coax some flowers, with no luck.

 

Gardenia tree in flower (Cattleya orchid below it)

 

In the upper balcony of our two-story foyer I have a collection of houseplants, among which are two Mamey trees (Pouteria sapote) sprouted from seeds a friend gave me. I don't expect that they will ever produce fruit, but I'm growing them as specimens for a painting that I hope to do sometime if I can find some fruit for sale next summer.

Mamey is my favorite fruit--there's an old saying that a Cuban will walk a mile for a mamey... I still remember the artistic displays of fruit in the vendors' carts in Havana, and my mother stopping to buy. Mamey season was the best, when the vendors cut the mameyes to display the delicious orange-red flesh with its single shiny black seed!


Mamey trees with other houseplants.
Episcia flowers

 Downstairs, my collection of houseplants threatens to take over the foyer, but I love the illusion of an indoor tropical forest! It needs a good bit of housekeeping--the leaf drop and insects are hard to deal with, it's a constant battle.

 

The foyer

 

The Bearss lime tree is still producing some blooms, but it's now mostly setting fruit. I've grown this tree for over twenty years, and wonder when it will finally get too old to bear fruit. Last spring I bought another Bearss lime to replace it when the time comes.The smaller tree is right next to the biggie.


Bearss lime tree.

Fruit on Bearss lime tree

 

Here's a Kalanchoe that managed to rebloom, and more houseplants.


Kalanchoe flower.

Assortment of houseplants.

That's about it for this January Bloom Day, thanks for visiting!

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Wintry Days

My house in January

 

The first snow of the year came overnight on January the sixth, leaving us with about six inches of very dry powder. It was too dry to stick to the branches, except for the evergreens in front--not s scenic as I'd hoped for. But it's good to have snow cover during winter, especially since the past two years have been so dry.

During these garden-idle winter months I have more time to focus on my botanical art work. I got around to finishing this Trumpet Vine piece that I started last summer. After looking at it, I'm thinking that it needs one more thing, I'm not sure exactly what, but perhaps one seed sprouting in the lower left hand corner to anchor the ensemble showing the complete life cycle of the plant?

I though about throwing in a humming bird buzzing the flowers, but that would probably be too much--the ants pursuing the nectar and protecting the plant are enough for the flowering stage. I'm currently trying to stratify some of the seeds that have come out of the pod in my refrigerator, but they need about 30 days in the cold before being brought to a warmer temperature. We'll see if this succeeds.


Trumpet Vine, (Campsis redicans), watercolor on paper, 20"h x 14"w.

 

I also completed my portrait of Peony 'Bartzella' in colored pencils. A dark background is not standard for botanical paintings, but I think in this case it brings out some of the drama I see in the flower, highlighting the pale yellows and crepe-paper texture of the petals.


Peony 'Bartzella' (Paeonia hybrid), colored pencil on paper, 12"h x 9.75"w.

I started another piece of some downy rattlesnake plantain orchids from the Ice Mountain site. I thought of using masking fluid for the markings on the leaves, but since masking fluid can change the surface of the paper, it could alter the colors. Doing it with negative painting is painstakingly slow-- and the dappled light of the forest floor is challenging.

 

Downy Rattlesnake Plantain orchids (Goodyear pubsecens), watercolor on paper.

I prefer to work with natural light--no daylight lamp I've ever used actually renders color the way sunlight does. But at this time of the year, with the short days, my painting hours are fewer.  I fill the non-optimal hours doing pencil sketches--more ideas for paintings that rattle around in my head.

 

The back yard at sunrise.

 In the meantime, my frozen garden awaits spring...or perhaps just another little bit of snow?