A few things in June

My harshest critic ! 

Some times I wonder....

" Some times I wonder" I think that's a beginning of a song . But , I do some times wonder if I've got too many bloody plants !
Indoor door ,outdoor  plants !  I seem to be endlessly moving from one group to another, and they all have different needs.
Above are my  morning light  needing window ledge Gesneriads  , sitting on gravel trays .  They are all happily blooming this time of year... just remember to give them a drop of water every morning , but not get the leaves wet !

More Gesneriads , but in the sunroom , I've run out of window ledge . These are in a S/W window, so I've got the blind down ,  They don't want direct late afternoon sun . And the one on the bottom , really is sensitive to too much watering , so I just give it a drop every now and again. 

These ones are lucky to have a humidity tray .

Then I move on to the Terrariums , which are a new obsession. They are actually easy once set up and the right plants in place.  So far, no trouble at all ...
I find that I need to wipe condensation from inside every morning. Many of the plants dislike wet leaves .

The make  shift Vivarium , to house the moisture loving Orchids , I've been tweeking it when I take the Orchids out to water them . So far , so good !

They even have an fan to circulate the air around 

More plants !

Japanese  Neo finfinatia falcata Orchids ! I like to grow them the traditional Japanese way wrapped in Sphagnum moss, This needs to be redone very year . the roots grow so long , that they poke out the bottom of the moss .  I water them when the moss feels crispy dry . And in the winter not at all .

More Orchids !

Then there is the Bonsai . Which is just ...

More spring garden

I've finished all my snipping , clipping, pulling  and  digging  in the back garden , or as much as I can do till the next round of annual weeds appear . 

Just waiting for my seedlings to get big enough , so I can fill in the bare patches ,   every year  there are  fewer   patches to fill in. 

Time to start on the front garden ! The path I started last summer has filled in again....that Knautia . .

I've made a start , I'll have to wait till my yard debris bin gets emptied , all my plastic buckets are over flowing. 

What a pest Erynigium can be , all these need to GO ! 

Something else I've been doing is organizing all the sedum that are taking over .  I  don't think Sedum likes sharing space., it's been smothering my other plants and getting into all the grasses  and  just looking a mess,
What a job trying to take back control  from the Sedums. 

After a mass cull of Sedum.  I am leaving the taller ones !  I really what a mass of  Erigerons   as ground cover .   One small area done,  another forty feet left. 

Mickey not amused again !

In the spring garden

This time of year , things get yanked , snipped and thrown about. 

Euphorbia is the worst , all that sticky white stuff . I leave it to dry out .

Orchid drama and a make shift Vivarium

I brought this tiny mounted Orchid Lepanthes calodictyon home from the Portland Orchid Society sale a few weeks ago . I'd ordered online from Ecuagenera - Orchids of Ecuador
and was able to pick it up at the sale.
Lepanthes  was never going to be an easy Orchid for me to keep happy . Trying to convince it was still in the cloud forest of Ecuador . But  I HAD to have it .
I tried it in one of my small terrariums ,  the leaves started to BLACKEN , Maybe to WET ?
Then I had it in my sunroom . .. CRISPY  LEAVES... not enough humidity or bad water ?

 Lepanthes needs are : Warmth, High Humidity, brist air circulation and medium light .

                         

I had planned on putting together a Vivarium , but I haven't found  one yet .
So make shift vivarium  it had to be .... I found some clear plastic panels and attached them  all around a section of a shelving unit'.
It was all  cobbled together rather quickly . But, it seems to be doing the job.
I stuffed all my high humidity lovers in side.

Not very attractive , but  the front is just a plastic sheet with flappy bits  for better .. AIR CIRCULATION . 

And the humidity is heading towards 80 %  which is just what the Lepanthes love.

A few things for spring

I've had this Clematis for years . I think I bought it discounted at 'Fred Meyer' . The tags lost , and I can't remember the name. This is the first year it's looked decent . Last year I missed what blooms it might have had.
I think all my Clematis are benefiting  from  my dumping  left over Orchid fertilzer over them every Saturday morning.

I love this Trollius ! I'm never brave enough to plant it in the ground. I think it would hate my  dry soil. It lives in a pot , so I can watch over it and give it plenty of water.

Same here with this dainty Geum rivals . Lots of water !

One of my  first garden plants Aquilegia vulgarisms 'windy blue and white planted in 2006  .

A native Delphinium trollifolium

A heavily laden Sinocalycantus'Hartiage wine' with Rodgersia 'Rotlaub' which looks it's best right now , before it gets too hot and dry and the leaves crumble and scorch.
So many things to enjoy this time of year !