Everything's better in Yellow

I am sorry it has been so long since I last posted anything.  True confessions... I have neglected my garden somewhat as well; it's a mess.  Why?  Well, I have been a bit preoccupied by the start of a new job.  It's exciting, and of course, a little bit nerve-wracking at the same time to learn and adjust to a new system on the fly.

I started out with a post about feelings and all about my new job, but I have been advised by my personal lawyer against talking excessively about work haha.

I will say this though, the day before my new job was to start, I was at Whole Foods and saw these bright and happy sunflowers and I bought them.

That same day, Evan came home after grocery shopping (at Whole Foods, incidentally...) and he had bought me these orchids, also in yellow, bright and happy.  They also conveniently replace my other orchid which sadly, is very nearly dead, with just one leaf left.  

Interesting side-fact, Evan bought me a beautiful orchid the day before Match Day (where you find out which residency you will attend) to say that he would be happy for me and support me wherever I ended up.  Fortunately, I matched in LA and we did not have to embark on a long-distance relationship.  But that was our first Love Plant, as I called it.  I get very upset when our Love Plants die.  Fortunately, I have been practicing taking care of orchids...

What is it about yellow that makes us associate the color with happiness and optimism?  I wonder how much is cultural versus inherent?  Here is an infographic to ponder. (It does not have the answers, alas. here is the source)

Fascinating, isn't it?

The flowers made me feel better.  And the first day at the job went well.  I had a dream last night where one of my colleagues at the hospital wanted to pray for a patient that wasn't doing so well, and I thought it was really weird.  But in real life, that's exactly what I did (I prayed)...  and I was blessed with a couple slow shifts as well as some very computer savvy staff which all helped with learning the computer system.  God is good. 

I have a couple more shifts this weekend, and I have been somewhat preoccupied as a result still.  Evan seems to think that I have moved on from gardening, ever the doubter when it comes to my hobbies.  Admittedly, I have rapidly cycled through hobbies in the past.  But there's something about flowers that always seem so simple, always make me happy, always beautiful whether you're there to see it or not...  why would I ever stop gardening?

Finally, I would like to make a shout out to my dear friend Julian for reading my blog and even admitting to liking it.  Thanks Julian, you're great! 

Here's a song that seems to go with yellow sunflowers and orchids.  I hope that you all have good weekends full of bright sunshine and happiness!  

Orchid-land!

By now, you know that I like orchids.  So this is exceptionally cool to me.  I have brought up in the past how my cousins' cousin Walter has an orchid greenhouse.  Well, the first day we arrived in Holland, Evan and I went to visit it again where we got another tour of the place.

The essence of what Walter does there is grow orchids for the flower.  This is in contrast to the vast majority of orchid growers who grow orchids to sell the plant.  The result is that they pay special attention to the quality of the flower when breeding (many of them were the size of grapefruits). 

One cutting from a orchid they like can produce up to 100 or so plants which start as little orchid babies and grow slowly until 3 years later it is full sized and ready to produce wholesale quality flowers.

In the greenhouse (which maintains a warm, humid environment for optimal orchid growth), they have an area for all these orchid baby plants which rotate on a schedule while they grow.  I neglected to take any pictures of these baby plants because I was too obsessed with all the flowers.

Me, obsessed with the flowers

Anyway, once the flowers are ready and they have a buyer, they cut them and put them a plastic water-filled tube at the end of the stem, box them, and put them in a cooler.  They go in cooled trucks all over the world (many of them to the US!).  This is a stressful stage for the flower, as certain things like contact with fruit, especially pears and apples, can kill them (for the scientifically minded, the fruit emits ethylene which is no good for flowers -- I grew up hearing this about roses too).  As for who buys the flowers, there's lots of buyers.  Recently, Dior put on a show with themed color rooms walled with flowers.  Walter's company supplied the orchids for the "white room."  (This picture was taken from his company facebook page).

Pretty awesome!  Anyway, my family lives in the part of Holland covered with greenhouses, all growing profuse amounts of flowers and food.  I have always loved all of the greenhouses, but this visit, I also was struck by how many orchids you see everywhere -- it seems like every Dutch person has at least one orchid plant in their house.  My grandma has a tiny 2 inch pot with a very healthy-looking orchid in it on her dining table.  So effortless!  I love it!  And it made me feel like maybe my love of orchids is also a little bit Dutch.

For those interested, here is a link to Walter's company and a few more photos for the orchid lovers.  Enjoy!

Oh my orchids!

Let's talk about how much I love orchids:  I love them lots.  

Right now, I have two.  Here they are in instagram'd glory:

My double orchid in vintage-y toolbox planter

My kitchen sill orchid with pink and white flowers

Wanting them to live forever and ever because I love them so much, I will be taking very good care of them.  "How do you do that?" you ask.  WELL, let me tell you...  (The following information was gleaned primarily from here and here).

Water:  

-Once heavily per 5-12 days and never on the leaves.  

-More in summer if super dry, less in winter.  Spritzing your plant once in the morning during summer months is okay too.

-Note that different orchids prefer different moisture levels, but the Phalaenopsis genus, which is what I have, are on the drier end of the spectrum.

Fertilizer:  Once every 2-4wks, and use special orchid food

Blooming:  

-Once the flowers have pooped out... 

^if the leaves look healthy, cut one node below where the flowers are, and hopefully they'll bloom again soon

^if not, cut at the bottom of the stem so you can nurse your plant back to life.  

Light:

-A common reason for not getting enough blooms is that the plants are not getting enough light.

-Bright indirect light is best.

Repotting:  

-Use special orchid mix, not soil.

-Orchids need repotting every 6 months to 2 years.

-This is better to do when your orchids are no longer blooming, so more on this later...

For all you LA folk, I bought my orchids wholesale from Lee's Orchids in the flower district downtown.  The flowers are cheap and healthy, they sell pots, and for $10 they'll even pot them for you with moss and pebbles.

For those of you not in LA, here's another gratuitous photo of my extended family's greenhouses, this time... Orchids!