My Oncidium Orchid

     Oncidium is the genus name for over 300 different types of orchids. I bought this particular oncidium at Peach State Orchids,  http://www.peachstateorchids.com/, which is located outside of Woodstock Georgia. My mom and I had visited the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and decided to stop at this nursery. I found the nursery to be pretty amazing, there were so many different types of orchids available. Three greenhouses full of different varieties of orchids.  

Peach State Orchids

    This variety of Oncidium is called "Sharry Baby Sweet Fragrance". The plant has large pseudo-bulbs, with  long thick dark green leaves. When I bought the plant it had one large flowering stalk developing unopened. After approximately two weeks at home,  it finally started to bloom.  Here is an up close picture of a single bloom.

Oncidium Sharry Baby

      One of the best features of this orchid is the fragrance. The  first few days there was nothing, then one evening I walked into the room and was overwhelmed by a wonderful  scent. It has been described as a chocolate scent, but I would disagree. I would describe it as a sweet, light floral scent. Another interesting fact is that the orchid seems to only release it's scent in the evening. This orchid likes the heat of the day and will gradually release it's scent.

     The plant is fairly tall, with an extremely long flower spike growing from a psuedobulb (up to 3 ft in length). The flower spike is very heavy and it will pull your whole orchid on its side without support. I let my flower spike cascade over the side of the stand.

The care for this kind of orchid is fairly simple.

• Blooms: Late summer to early fall.
• Bloom stalks can grow up to 3 feet long.
• Sun: Full to partial sun, morning sun and afternoon shade is best.
• Water often, do not let media dry out completely.
• Fertilize weekly with orchid fertilizer.

I'm really enjoying this beautiful flower! Even though it has been blooming for over 3 weeks it still manages to fill my dining room with its fragrance each evening. 

Orchids, orchids, orchids!

Has anyone else ever caught the orchid bug? I was given my very first orchid from my mom last February as a congrats for passing my boards. Since then I have been researching, reading and looking like crazy. My first orchid is a Cymbidium, (which is still my favorite.) The flowers are a beautiful yellow that lasted for weeks. The only draw back so far is that there is no smell.
Since February I have changed location of my orchid until it finally choose my large southern bay window. In this location my orchid received bright sunlight for most of the day (this contradicts most of the advice I've received about orchid care.) Watering has been another mystery to me. The advice I have received has been varied, "only water when dry, never let it dry out." I have finally settled on watering every 2nd or 3rd say. The pseudo-bulbs are nice and round with 2 new bulbs this summer! I have also been using orchid fertilizer once a week.
If it ever blooms again I will have to post pics and show that it isn't impossible for orchids to rebloom. I will be posting pics of my other new orchids soon.

Spring has arrived!

Spring has finally arrived. Winter was short and very mild this year, so it seems like all of my plants are taking off. Here is an example:

This is my 2 year old lavender plant.  I took this picture about 2 weeks ago.

Here is my lavender plant today!

Lavender has always been on of my favorite scents. Now it is one of my favorite plants to grow in the garden. I find the small purple blooms to be so beautiful and I don't have a lot of purple in my garden so it really stands out. It is a perennial so it comes back every year. The only problem I have had with my plants is that it grows so tall that it falls over and covers other plants around it. I'm not sure if you can tell in the picture but there is a lime green ground cover living under this one!

Here is an updated picture of my early spring garden. I've pulled up my onions and am eating my lettuce! Unfortunately something has been eating my broccoli, so I am unsure how much I will be eating myself this year.

As you can see in the picture I have added soaker hoses for my watering system. I prefer the flat hoses because they lay down easier and they don't damage my plants. I spent part of today weaving them into my existing plants and laying them in preparation for my summer plants. 





Infused Oils

I recently took a class from a local woman who specializes in herbal gardens. She owns an herbal farm and makes her own infusion oils, potpourri and bath products. She taught us how to make cooking oils infused with the herbs grown in our own gardens. I was inspired to create my own. Here is my first try!

• First I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a small glass bottle. (Always use glass, never plastic!) There were many different sizes, shapes and colors. This bottle cost about $1.50 and it even has a stopper on the top.

• Next I went out in my garden and cut a small branch from my Rosemary plant.

Rosemary

• I also cut some of my Oregano.

Oregano

• I washed them with water(dry thoroughly) and bruised the leaves. I used a cutting board and the back of a knife to release some of the fragrance.
• I left the rosemary intact, mostly because I like the way it looks! I stripped the Oregano leaves off and placed them at the bottom of the bottle.
• Next I used olive oil and filled the bottle about 3/4th of the way. I left some space in the bottle in case I want to add more herbs for flavor.

• In class she taught two different ways to cure the oil.
•  1. Place your bottle in a dark place and leave for two weeks.
•  2. Heat your oil (not boil!) and leave in a dark place for 5 days.
•  After time has passed, try your oil and if it is not flavorful enough you can add more fresh herbs. If the oil is flavored to your preference then you can either strain out your herbs and re-bottle or you can leave the herbs in the oil. By leaving in your herbs your oil will increase in flavor!

I'm excited to try this and I am hoping to use this for many Italian meals in the future. I  will post the results after two weeks and share with everyone how it turned out! Happy gardening everyone! ~Sarah

FYI: I did some research online and there is a risk of botulism if there is any moisture left on the herbs. One way to avoid this is to make sure your fresh herbs are dry after washing. You can leave your herbs in a sunny window. Another way is to keep your oil refrigerated after the two weeks are complete. This was not mentioned in class and she makes her oils with fresh herbs so I'm going to take my chances! ♥

Here are some pictures of my early spring garden! I decided to go with easy, cold tolerating plants. I also decided to go for vegetables that I love to eat everyday, so I won't have as much waste. There is no watering system installed yet, so it is only being watered by rain or by hand.

Here is a picture of my early spring garden. Most of the plants were started in mid-February.

     

Broccoli started in February 2012

                                                  

Lettuce; an Arugula mix.

                                                       

My one cabbage plant that survived the winter. The rabbits ate all the others but left this one as a stalk. Luckily it grew back!

Horseradish! This is one of my favorite plants in my garden. It comes back every year and it is very low maintenance.

Garlic. First signs of my garlic growing!

Onions planted last fall. I also planted new bulbs this spring.