A Christmas Cave of Orchids

A classic, Blc, "Jewel Box", an inter-generic Cattleya-cool growing, perfect for window culture. Click any image to enlarge
One of the "Black orchids" Encycla colchealatum-easy and fun to grow, light green and almost black...stunning
OOPS! bad shot, sorry!
A Species Encycla...apple green and red, perfect! (the lights change the color some...)
A sea of art shade Phalaenopsis ready for the perfect Holiday gift, months of elegant pleasure!
Oncidium Grandis, This has a New botanically correct Genus now, but it escapes me, so we'll use the former name instead!
A Fragrant Early Cross, something to protect and collect!
A Classic Cattleya Hybrid, all 40's Glam with fragrance too!
I'm fortunate to have a friend who has created an amazing wold of rare Orchids and plants that he grows deep under ground in a complex of caves. At first, it seems absurd...and why? The answer is genius for David Bird, of Bird's Botanicals, in Kansas City, Missouri.

I met David when he was working at our local Botanical garden, Powell Gardens. He grew orchids on the side, and I'd buy his plants from his home greenhouse. The business grew and grew as he won more awards, and participated in National shows and competitions. At one point, he was driving by some industrial underground caves that were used for various businesses, warehouses and wholesalers.It dawned on David that his need for more growing space would be perfectly met by cave growing, and Bird's Botanicals was born! The secret to cave growing is the perfect humidity level, and even temperatures year round. The air is buoyant from a well planned fan and exhaust system, and perfect lighting from industrial Halide and fluorescent bulbs give an unmatched perfection of light, year round. The small additional heat the Orchids need, is provided by the lights, eliminating heating bills, as well as cooling bills in the summer!

David is a delight to visit, and you can't leave without at least one treasure! There are THOUSANDS of amazing Orchids here, as well as unusual Streptocarpus, Eroids and much, much more.

David is open to the public on Tuesdays, and by appointment on Wednesdays, if you're in the Kansas City region, come for an amazing visit of fragrance, color and form!

David does not ship, but if you're into Orchids, check out the local shows in your area, he travels all over the country, and he may be at a show near you!

I sell Bird's Orchids, and always have a carefully selected group to share with my customers, so if you don't make it to the Orchid Cave, come visit me at Bergamot and Ivy in the West Plaza area of beautiful Kansas City, Missouri!

Too Wet to Plant...I'll Paint Instead

a small water color sketch for a client commission

midway through- I left the sketch with the client, so I used the laptop as a reference....decided to change the sky to something less "threatening".
The final painting with it's first coat of glazing, several more layers came next. This is the largest painting I've done, 44"by 60" I love regional landscapes, the way the light changes all over the country, the air and the terrain are constantly changing into something new. Our atmosphere here is moisture filled, giving a bluish green look to the surrounding landscape. I really enjoyed painting again, something I used to do more frequently.The painting is the physical part, but learning to really see something is the true art. My father always said to draw or paint something every day...think how good you'll get! he'd say.

Post Halloween Post...

The Fire Burned well Past Midnight....
Flames jumpin', Jack O' Lantern in the Distance
Another Side
Runish design
A memory altar for my family....chocolate and wine, of course!
I had a busy day at work on the thirty- first, then went home to my private Celebration. I had needed to burn old business records for some time, everything past seven years needed to be put to fire! These records have credit card numbers and canceled checks...tons of personal information I feel responsible for. The easiest way to eliminate these worries is to burn the whole kit and caboodle(what does that mean, anyway?)

I made a massive pile of said papers, and waited to finish up inside the house. I made a good dinner, opened a bottle of a nice red wine and carved my umpteenth jack o' lantern, but my first for me! I went for a neo Celtic knot look...it looked like a bunch of runes when I was done, but it worked out just fine! My house was lit with lots of candle light, and I had Irish music borrowed from the American Irish blog site(thanks Steve) My Mom loved that type of music, as well as bagpipes...and swing music, if the truth be told!

It was a good cathartic evening for me, I'm a bit of a Pyro, so you can't have a bad time with flame! I do feel responsible for all that paper information...so it's a task that needed to be done!

Before Midnight, I took a long walk to the Chinkapin Oak where my Godmother's ashes are planted, lit her a votive and gave her some one on one time...Dorothy was a very important woman in my life, like a second mother. The woods were full of moonlight and smoke, and I had a great time! Time to plant more bulbs around these tribute trees, they get better each year.