2010 is over. 2011 has begun.

On New Year's day, I like to reflect a bit and think about what to change in the year ahead.

2010 sucked, for the most part. My Dad became increasingly frail, had a number of medical crises, and died. It's been hard trying to know what to think about it. We all die some time, and we all lose our loved ones, and for most of us our relationships are not perfect. Over the past 2 years or so, there were many times I thought he would die, and basically did my grieving mostly before he actually died. But now he's gone, and I'm done worring about doing the right thing, or saying the right thing, or taking care of him, or keeping him from suffering too much. It's done. Except the times I worry about whether I was a good son. I tried.

This is a blog on the internet, so I can't talk about my job. All I'll say, is I did a lot of soul searching and, well, I can't say more. I'm still employed - better than the alternative.

I had a very rough year.

Working so hard, the garden went to pot. No, not THAT pot - please, the most exciting thing in my garden is the chili peppers and tomatoes. That being said, the peppers were the best I ever grew, but I worked so hard I never got out to harvest many, and a lot went to waste. So did a lot of tomatoes, apples, and grapes. And strawberries. And beans dammit. And (oh the horror!) some of the figs went un-picked. It started out good, but when things ripened, I just didn't have a chance to get out there and get them. Much of the front went to weeds, which will take some time to clear out.

I didn't have a chance to cover the peaches for the winter, so expect to lose next year's crop to peach leaf curl. We'll see.

New Years' Resolutions. These are not things that I promise myself, they are how I hope to make improvements and have a better year.

At work, I took a huge pay cut, in hopes of working fewer hours. It's not win/win (mostly it's lose/lose) but we have to do what we have to do. I hope living is a little better for it this year.

This year I'll finish the final bathroom. Not that big of a project, really, and it's the basement bathroom, so it's not sitting there staring at me like the master bath did for 2 years. No pressure, just a little at a time.

I'll cut back some on the garden. The front mini-orchard will have grass instead of mulch, except a couple of feet surrounding each tree. Grass doesn't get as weedy and is easier to maintain. I already spread grass seed this fall, so this resolution is already under way.

I discovered an organic weed killer made from citrus oil (I think - It's "Worry Free Weed And Grass Killer" and contains a citrus extract, d-limonene as the herbicidal compound). I can spray that in places where weeding is a big hassle. Such as on the mulch around the fruit trees, where the kitty cat digs it up and creates nice fertile miniEdens for weeds. I tried it this fall on some of the irises, which are very difficult to weed by hand, especially when infiltrated with that &@^#*%! Aegopodium podagraria (bishopweed) and I think it worked, without killing the irises. Anything that kills Aegopodium can't be all bad, even plutonium. I bet the *$&#^* Aegopodium is growing around Chernobl. Anyway, if the Avenge is effective, that will reduce labor a lot. I've been trying to kill of the damn bishopweed for 9 years, but it got ahead of me again in 2010 and a lot of ground was lost. So I'll try it next year, including the rose bed and under the fruit trees, when weeds infiltrate the mulch. I wonder it kitty cat will like the smell?

Raised beds and barrels are definitely the way to go, when possible. I'll add a couple, and definitely reuse the ones I have. Here, the extra warmth gives a head start, and weeds are a non-issue in the potting mix.

I may remove a couple of non-performers. That's hard for me to do. "Just one more chance". I have an apple and a fig in mind. And one grape vine, although it's not performing due to location. Maybe I'll take a cutting and plant it in a different spot - that grape is a tasty variety.

I will be less of a purist about "sustainability" - for example, when I get a big pile of prunings, I'll take them to the recycle center, for them to grind and compost them, instead of me chopping them into mulch. And while there, I'll get a truckload of compost for the return trip. That will save a lot of time and effort. That's also the issue with grass in the "mini-orchard" - although since I let the lawn go dry in the summer and almost never fertilize, the only energy input is into mowing, and much of that is with a handpowered push mower. Well, maybe the grass is not less sustainable than the mulch.... (Thinking as I write).

So that's about it. 2011 will be more about cutting back, lower expectations, and compromise. And maybe a chance to smell the roses. But it will still be about lots of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Especially since so many are already established, so most of the work is done, and just need a little trimming and cleaning up.

Repotting a cymbidium

I like this cymbidium a lot. Here it is at its peak. The compact size can be misleading - cymbidiums have a lot of roots compared to other orchids. They're like Clivias or Daylilies in the shape of the leaves and the mass of roots compared to their tops. I have one cymbidium in the state of almost-rebloom, so I hope that means I'm able to grow them and they're worth the effort.

Here is was just before repotting. I thought about leaving it until the bitter end, but instead of being fresh and joyful, it looks sad now. Time to accept that and clean it up.

It came out of the pot easily. This was about a 1 quart pot. The original mix looks like a medium grade bark.

I love the mass of roots, like a handful of night crawlers. Massive amount of roots. At this point I also cut off the old flower spikes, to get them out of the way, and trimmed off any dead or broken looking roots with a sharp sterile pruner. There were not many bad or damaged roots. At the center was a tightly packed mass of sphagnum - probably what the plant was started in. I removed it. My theory is that it can be a source of rot when the plant is in my hands, as opposed to in a tiny starting pot in the hands of the original grower.

I wanted to use a pot about the same size, but with so much root mass, I moved it up instead. Some authors recommend cutting off the roots. I don't know what's best, but this is how I did the last one and it did very well and is about to rebloom soon.

Here's the mix I've been using for all of my orchids. Medium grade fir bark, some perlite, some oyster shell calcium.

Now I've added the bark medium, with lots of tapping and shaking and holding the plant in place. It was interesting that even with the mass of roots, when I poured the old medium back into the old pot, it filled it to within 2 inches of the top. The dead leaf tips are also pruned back. I sprayed it with neem oil, which I hope makes it more disease and insect resistant, and also gives the leaves a nice shine.

Before potting, I wrote a description of the plant and the date on the inside rim, using a Sharpie. That way I know what's what, but in an unobtrusive way.

Maudii closer.... closer....

Paphiopedilum Maudii.... So close! Audrey is that you?

Ready for "Little Shop of Horrors II" I think. Audrey is waiting. ALMOST fully open. Lovely! And the first Pahiopedilum that I have grown from a new start to bloom. Awesome!

Dendrobium nobile buds and bloom

I treated this Yamamoto-type Dendrobium nobile to outdoor chill for more than one month. It's pictured in other posts. NOw it's produced a bud at every node. What a treat! Now need to treat it nicely until blooms result.

I think this one is Dendrobium Spring Dream "Apollon". Purchased plant in bloom. It will replace another that responded to cold by developing rot at the top. This variety is reported on the Yamamoto website as warmth tolerant, so may not need the cold treatment.

Cymbidium

For the past month, I've been hoping to see the new Cymbidiums at Fred Meyer and Trader Joe's. And now, there they are. Last year's Cymbidium grew nicely, and a nice green one would be a perfect addition. On seeing this one, relatively compact and lavish blooms, plus fragrance, I lost my resolve to buy only the green one and added this. Getting it home, I noted tiny grey spots that wash off easily - mildew? or something from the air? Washed them off, and drenched with neem. We'll see if there is something to worry about.

This was the first one I saw, and added it before the others. Didn't buy it, went back to the store the next day then the next. So here it is. A little buyers' remorse here. Beautiful, big, fragrant flowers. I don't really "need" it. If "need" is the right word. Still, they are not a lot of trouble, outside spring through fall, including now. Only when freeze threatens do I need to bring them back inside.

That green one. This isn't the green one I had in mind. It's better. The flowers are more unusual.

The entire plant, flowers included, is much more compact. Better for a windowsill grower. Smaller ones are reported as less dependent on cool weather to bloom. Not sure that's an issue for me. They are always an experiment. There are too many beautiful orchids.

The brown-flowered Cymbidium from last year. She torments me with her slow, gradual unfolding. The two buds are larger than a month ago. I need to wait two weeks between looks, to see change. I discovered it had been knocked over and off its perch. No obvious harm. Outdoor orchids are looking a little borderline as far as mold and threatened rot, so I sprayed with neem. It's still in a sheltered spot, out of rain but on south side of house. With gloomy rainy days, I hesitate to call this full sun.

Golden ginkgo leaves

Beautiful golden leaves. Backyard ginkgo is still green, but others around town are a beautiful yellow color as well. This tree grew nicely this year, after taking a break last year. Not nearly as big as its backyard sibling. I suspect the backyard tree benefits from generous application of doggie "products" that don't happen in front. That may also be why the backyard tree is still green.

Mystery Orchid

This orchid plant is growing nicely, quadrupled in size from last winter. It was a gift. Previously I speculated that it might be Dendrobium biggibum / Vappodes phaelenopsis, due to flowers that I mistakenly thought were on the source plant. I do think those flowers were Dendrobium phaelenopsis or hybrid thereof, but now have other thoughts about this plant. Until it blooms, if it blooms, it will be a wild guess. With the variability and endless variety of orchids, even when it blooms I may not know. I should just call it "Jovie's orchid".

The small section below the roots, was the original cutting. The rest has developed since that time, including the now-largest growth. Whatever I'm doing, it seems to like it for growth. Whether it will like it for flowers, I don't know. That's why I wanted to identify it.

I did find a similar plant on rv-orchids.com, link here. Even more, this link from "the lush garden within", a blog on wordpress.com. More here. Due to copyright issues, I'm not copying those images, just linking. This does look like "Jovie's Orchid".

Image from wikimedia commons. This is identified as "Oerstedella centropetala"

Another wikimedia image, same species.

Hborchids.com describes these are winter blooming orchids. More information from Yongee.name "warm to intermediate-growing species native to Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama... grows at low elevations in wet montane forests on the Pacific slopes... 1,400 m altitude...wet and dry seasons succeed each other... also really good pic on species-specific.com, stating that these orchids grow in heavy shade. That would be good for an indoor plant. That site states these bloom in Spring.

Old sketch illustrating similar plant, also from wikimedia commons, labeled "Oerstedella centradenia and Oerstedella centropetala / Epidendrum centropetalum".

As with all things ortchid, "We'll see" is the appropriate concept. This may or may not turn out to be the correct ID, but it's interesting to learn about all orchids.

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A few late fall flowers, and kitchen garden produce

Late summer planting of Roma bush beans. These are very good stir-fried with mushrooms, garlic, and peanuts, along with some stir fry noodles. Yum!

A few last roses showing me they're still here. They are mostly such a mess, I'm looking forward to pruning them back this winter. Weeds took over. That is largely the job of kitty cat, who decided that the mulch was the worlds biggest and best litter box, stirring up all of the mulch with weed-seed-laden soil below, and fertilizing as she went along. Still no solution for this challenge.


Nice Dahlia. It's survived many years in that location. I thought it was dead, but there it is.

I keep saying it over and over, but best pepper crop ever!