Florida Native Butterfly Orchid

Last winter my dad generously separated and pulled apart a few of his 'tree orchids' from off of his giant live oak tree to pass along to me. Butterfly orchids, Encyclia tampensis (also Epidendrum tampense) are an epiphyte so I promptly tacked them to a few of my oak trees in the front-side garden. After that I pretty much forgot about them.

A delightful addition to the garden without any special attention needed is a good plant to acquire.

A gardener always wonders if a transplant will be happy in its new home. Then we wonder if it will actually bloom or grow like it is meant to. So we do what we think the plant will like and we wait.

It seemed appropriate to site at least one 'clump' of this Florida native next to another Florida native. The Resurrection Fern, Polypodium polypodioideshas also an epiphyte, found its own home on the trunks of several of the oaks without any help from this gardener.
The fern is alive with joyful green leaves this week due to all the glorious rain it has been drinking. When it dries again the fronds will turn brown and curl back into a little shriveled place until its next rain-bath. At which time it immediately resurrects to new green life. All at the same time it multiplies and spreads itself along the length of the tree trunk. Simple and beautiful.

Green flowers are a favorite of mine and considered a bonus to this already unique addition to the garden. The delicate appearing little blooms stretch gracefully out beyond the greenery of the plant. This week they opened up from ultra-thin, wispy stems that lightly dance in the air with each breeze.

It is illegal now to harvest these beauties from the wild which is where they can be found mostly. No telling where my dad's originated. An avid outdoorsman he spends most of his days tromping around in the woods and Florida wildlife management areas. He has had his orchids for many, many years and moved them with him each time he's relocated.

I will do the same thing if I ever leave this garden. What a treasure these little jewels are to me.

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Additional information on the Butterfly Orchid found on the Florida Butterfly Orchid website:

Description: Epidendrum tampense Lindley 1847; Epidendrum porphyrospilum Rchb.f 1877;

Summary: This is a rather conspicuous epiphytic plant with pseudobulbs typically an inch or less in diameter supporting one (sometimes two) slender, grass-like leaves six to twelve inches long. Roots are slender and white when dry, and can run several feet up and down the branch where the plant grows. Flower stems emerge from within the leaf axil, to bear a raceme or panicle of attractive flowers, typically fragrant in the hours around noon. The flowers are 1 to 1.5 inches across, with green sepals and petals suffused with varying amounts of red, a tri-lobed lip with two lobes on either side of the column and the third lobe fan-shaped and typically blotched with purple.

Common Name: Florida Butterfly Orchid

Habitat: Hammocks and swamps from central Florida south, most typically found on live oak trees, but can grow on cypress, pop-ash, pond-apple, palm and pine trees.Flowering season: May through July (peaking in June)

First Images of September

How can it possibly be September already?

I'm not an orchid grower. Working outside today for most of the day (you know - in celebration of labor day ) I noticed this lone white orchid blooming on the back patio. It's not as if I ever expected it to bloom. You see, it is one of the random orchids I buy at the big box store occasionally. They are used for cheery places indoors until the bloom is spent... at which time I typically cast them aside to live outdoors... just in case they might want to bloom there. Once in a while I get surprised by ... well... by something like the above bloom. It's a nice surprise.

Once my camera was in hand for the orchid bloom I took a walk around the garden to see if there were any other interesting sights. I found a few I thought to share with you on this first beautiful day of September. Beautiful if you like lots of sunshine and balmy, but a little breezy heat.

It's best just to go ahead and stay outside once there. If there is a need to come back and forth in the air conditioning it becomes very evident how very hot (and dare I say it, sweaty) one has become in this kind of weather. But if one can manage not to feel the contrast of a/c then one could possibly talk themselves into believing it isn't "that" hot.

During the summer I like to get started in the garden very early and just stay there for hours on end. That way my body temperature is able to acclimate to the higher temps as they gradually climb into the afternoon hours. It's that dreaded humidity that's harder to manage. But I'll not complain on such a clear, marvelous Monday as this.

Staying hydrated is a must. My choice of drink is mostly water. Sometimes in a rare instance, like today, I had a large glass of iced tea perched in the garage to sip on and ... chew the ice. :-)

There was grass to mow, edges to edge, weeds to pull, plants to stake, containers to water, cuttings to pot up, pathways to trim, and of course, photos to take.

All sorts of butterflies were happily keeping me company. I saw a whole lot more than I even tried to photograph. They were flitting around in two's and three's and singularly floating along with the breezes.

Intentionally I thought to photograph some things I've not shown on my blog in the past. The aloe plant is so pretty and plump right now. Being that I'm not a huge fan of succulents, it is the ONLY one I have in my entire garden. I keep it growing for medicinal purposes. It surely comes in handy with the slightest skin irritations ... especially burns.

Even though these dracaena look similar they are two different varieties. Sorry I don't know their names. I do adore the way they add color to the garden all year long without being a fussy flower. They are easily propogated like most dracaenas by clipping off a section of the top and simply putting them in soil being sure to keep them moist until rooted.

I hope you are having a great first day of September.

Our prayers are still going out to all the folks affected by Hurricane Gustav. It appears it wasn't as bad as they first predicted and we are grateful for those reports.

Happy Labor Day and happy September gardening. Meems

saved from the trash heap

this evening just before dusk i walked around outside picking up some debris from the rainstorms of the weekend. much to my surprise i spotted this luscious magenta orchid bloom.

with all of my suppose-ed green thumbery, i have no ability to keep orchids blooming. like bromeliads, i have purchased several and even been gifted with a few to place inside my home. after only a few short weeks of enjoyment and all blooms have made their way to the surface below, my habit has been to place them outside somewhere as if i think they might re-bloom. it never happens. sure the greenery stays green-- but no blooms. lately i have faced reality, saved myself the trouble of watering and wondering and i just go ahead and toss them from house to trash. it might help if i would do a little research to find out what they require to flourish. but - alas- if it doesn't come easy- sad to say- i don't usually fiddle with it.

this one has conquered the odds. maybe someone can help me identify this survivor?