From the NY Botanical Garden’s 2024 orchid show. Last of the lovely batch I’ve been hoarding — thank you, master photographer Ema:
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Fair warning: If I don’t get more submissions, I’ll be reduced to posting newspaper articles next Sunday.
Surely someone must have some indoor garden photos to share? Garden travel tales? Memories of summers past, to spark our ambitions for the future?…
What’s going on in your garden(s), this week?
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone😊😊😊
rikyrah
Beautiful pictures🤗🤗
oldster
“Surely someone must have some indoor garden photos to share?”
Can I request some garden-related advice?
How do I set up a winter birdbath that the birds will come to?
Here in frozen Upstate New York, I have very successful feeder stations in both front and back yards. Some days I’ll see 20 sparrows, a half-dozen jays, and a half-dozen cardinal-pairs (M&F) all at once. Add in some woodpeckers and sapsuckers now and then, as well as mourning doves on the ground.
So I thought the birds would like a water-bath to go with it. And I set one up — a simple plastic bowl with a 50-watt heater to keep the ice melted.
But no one uses it! After a week, I put some sand and gravel in the dish, thinking perhaps they were repelled by the plastic surface. No takers. After two weeks of total neglect, I unplugged the heater because I couldn’t justify the electricity.
So, what should I do next? All advice welcome!
mrmoshpotato
I feel threatened.
delphinium
@rikyrah: Good morning!
Wonderful photos Ema, all the various colors are stunning-thanks for sharing!
prostratedragon
Always enjoy ema’s photos around town, but these are spectacular.
Terpsichorians with the Chicago MOB.
satby
@oldster: How deep is the bowl? Most birds want something shallow to drink from and bathe in. If it’s much more than 2 inches deep it might just be that. But if your set-up is sturdy enough to put some flat rocks like flagstones in to reduce the depth that may help. It does take time for birds to accept a new bird bath too. Could just be that.
satby
Lovely photos ema!
satby
In garden news, I have ordered two more bare roots from David Austin Roses and am already plotting where to put them, and a new (to me) variety of petunia that I ordered online (at an exorbitant cost, but not wasting gas driving to four garden centers in a fruitless search will balance that out).
I also ordered two Lenten Roses (hellebores) for a shady area I’ve had no luck with once the daffodils are done. Dan B’s beautiful collection is my inspiration for that.
oldster
@satby:
thanks, satby! We have lots of flagstones around, so I’ll try potting a square or two into the plastic dish.
satby
@oldster: Think puddle depth, it’s what birds are used to!
stinger
Ema, what lovely photos! Orchids are amazing plants. I especially like the one that looks like a tall stack of orange flamingos.
stinger
@satby: Which varieties? Do tell!
I love David Austins, have several already. My Christmas gift to myself was to order 4 climbers, to fill specific spots. I ended up ordering 10 plants, the climbers and 6 other varieties I’ve been craving. And then 4 other roses from a new-to-me source called Witherspoon. Ever heard of them?
MazeDancer
Gorgeous! Feel like I visited Nero Wolfe.
satby
@stinger: My favorite colors are in the apricot-orange family, so I ordered Roald Dahl and Bathsheba. My other Austin roses are Bring Me Sunshine, Scepter’d Isle, and Lady of Shallot (climber). I also have 3 or 4 non-Austin roses, most notably a Joseph’s Coat climber too.
edit: never heard of Witherspoon and am a wee bit afraid to look 😂
satby
@MazeDancer: Dating yourself, and me for getting that 😆
stinger
@satby: Roald Dahl and Bathsheba are among the ones I ordered last week. And with that purchase, Bring Me Sunshine and Scepter’d Isle have both moved up to the top of my Most Wanted list! (If I can figure out where to put them, I’ll probably get them before the end of the coming planting season.)
I have Lady of Shalott and love love love it. Growing it as a large bush, and the blooms are wonderful.
MazeDancer
@satby: Though, admittedly, I plowed through the books decades ago, read one last year.
Rex Stout is eternal.
Denali5
Thanks for the beautiful photos. Gives me something to look forward to.
Mathguy
Where can we submit garden photos?
JAM
Thanks for the orchid photos Ema, I love that green lemon-lime one.
ema
@Mathguy:
Email them to AL, she will post them.
Thank you all!
MCat
Thank you, Ema! Such gorgeous photos. Now I want to get some orchids. Your pictures are always amazing