Last week -- several weeks ago actually, January 20th -- I taught a class, Orchids 101, at the Emma Dickinson Life-Long Learning Center as it is now known, and shared some of the knowledge about growing orchids I have accumulated over the last thirty some years of growing orchids as a hobby. Because I can't garden outside year round I brought some of it indoors. This indoor garden is my orchid collection, occasionally referred to jokingly as my pets, my children, adult responsibility, and so on.

Many are blooming and in another 2-3 weeks there will be many more. Some have already produced the flowers they will for this year, and it will be a long wait before the next ones are here. While the collection is there year around I get to –have to? -- pay more attention to it during the winter. Here are couple of photos of the indoor garden

I discovered that the posting I did about the orchids for Valentine's Day didn’t arrive at the blog – I’m a beginner remember. This is Cymbidium Valentine, one of four plants I rescued from a client in 2002. It consisted of three slightly shriveled pseudobulbs, the newest of which had a single leaf. Almost seven years later it has bloomed. Named “Valentine” I expected it to be either pink or red – there are many cymbidiums in that color range – but was surprised to find it to be yellow-green with red reticulations on the lip.

I had thought we were done with winter and well into spring until I woke up yesterday and discovered the heavy wet snow we had Thursday afternoon was still with us, and was still here this morning, Saturday. I expect it will be gone this afternoon if Mark’s forecast is right, and I can go out and do some pruning.

I did find the first signs of spring among last falls leaves – slender shoots of crocus and many fan-shaped leaves of the Sweet Violets that threaten to take over my walk. It will be a month yet before I find blooms I’m sure. I'll keep you posted.