Schlumbergera season

They are way to easy to grow and bloom. Downside: as they grow larger, the flowers face downwards. If hanging, that's fine. On a table, up-facing flowers are easier to view. Summer outside in the shade. Try to remember to water them at least weekly. Bring inside when it's cooling down. Avoid keeping them in lit rooms at night - not difficult. When they start to bud, I provide some orchid bloom food in weak solution.

A pink Sclumbergera. Probably about 3 or 4 years old.

I think I was going to throw away this red one. But this year the color is very good. So I will keep it.

I grew this salmon Sclhumbergera from gift cuttings about 6 years ago. I think this year I will start from cuttings again, for more compact size.

Tolerance

Can I get up there?  Huh?  Can I?

Please?  I Promise I won't mess with the little animal there.

Don't even think about letting that creature up there.  Don't even think about it.

You let it on the bed.  Damn you!

That spot looks very comfortable.

Cymbidium spikes

This NOID cymbidium is the only one producing spikes now. I'll hold on to some hope for the others. One that bloomed last year is not making spikes yet. If they don't bloom, I will have an excuse to buy a new one.

Peppers

THe peppers did quite nicely this year. I've concluded that, in this area, the container method is the best way to grow them

Schlumbergera

I took the best looking Schlumbergera to work, so no pics of those! This one was left to dry out too much this summer, but is making a nice display of salmon colored flowers now. I think I will start some cuttings after it blooms, to have a smaller plant that is easier to care for.

This Sclumbergera was pure white last year. This year it is a very pale pink & white mixture. Really quite striking. It was in a mix, half red, and half white, and I separated them to have each color individual. This is an ideal size. The photo doesn't do it justice.

Some of my Ginkgos in the fall

These are 3 Ginkgo biloba trees that I started from seeds about 5 years ago. They are in potting soil in a half barrel. They got a big dose of compose this year and grew like crazy. The seeds were obtained locally from ginkgo trees here in Vancouver.

This is one of my front yard Ginkgo biloba trees. It is planted in the front yard in a hard clay soil. I water it once in a while in the summer. This tree is too tall for me to reach the top now. Growth is slower than the backyard tree, which is about 3 times as big, tall and with heavier trunk. The leaves on the backyard tree are still green, probably due to enrichment of the soil by the doggies - it's in the center of their "rest-room". This tree is about 13 years from seeds obtained by my dad from a local tree in Quincy Illinois, which itself had been grown by an old German gentleman, Herman Dege, who taught me about ginkgo trees, their ancient provenance, that they were conifers, and the dinosaurs grazed among them.

The 3rd Ginkgo, from my dad's seeds. This is the smallest, only about 6 ft tall now, in a drier spot with even worse clay soil. Still, it grows little by little.

Saturday homework

Just homework today.
Goals tomorrow:
Get through homework backlog (yeah, right)
Inflate bike tires. Leave them for a few days to see if they deflate.
Bake pie.
Make lunches for Monday

I'm keeping the birds well fed. There were very few insects around this summer. Maybe the birds helped.

It's hard to get a good pic of the birds. I don't want to sit waiting for them. There are birds at the feeder almost constantly.

My buddy Charlie.

He stays by my side while I'm doing homework.  I couldn't survive without him.

My home office window.  The orchids are in an in-between stage.  Not growing much, not blooming.  The holiday cacti are blooming like crazy.  One cymbidium has started sending out spikes.  I haven't decided if I should leave the others outside.  It's starting to become chilly.