My Orchid Garden -- The Pretty Spot

[marie458]

I grow outdoors year-round with no greenhouse or shade cloths. My yard is covered with tall pine trees and lush areca palms that provide an amazing natural balance between sunlight and dappled shade when and where I need it. My orchid growspace also contains a cabbage palm with fronds shaped like huge Japanese fans and a Dahoon holly tree. So, I’ve learned how to prune them both to further adjust light levels in key areas and avoid sun damage. I enjoy learning new ways of letting Mother Nature help me give my plants an optimum growing environment, too.

A majority of my plants are potted in hanging baskets or plastic pots with lots of aeration holes. My handyman husband, Eric, helps build my wooden slatted baskets. He also made several wooden planks that are attached to certain trees and a totem pole to provide extra hanging space. I group most of the orchids together by genus with cattleya alliance/species specimens in the majority. My small collection of vandas hang together bareroot.

Last month Eric created the awesome, freestanding mounting wall you see in one picture. I haven't always been keen on mounting my orchids, esp. the cattleyas. However, my new mounting wall has given me the motivation to up my mounting game -- starting with some dendrobiums and a few oncidiums.

Finally, this month I'm working on some flowerpot fairy gardens to add to The Pretty Spot before summer ends. My dream has always been to create a special place where I can indulge my orchid passion and retreat to daily for peace, quiet and solace. Hope you enjoy this peek at my orchid garden setup.

[WaterWitchin]

That's a beautiful setup Marie. I really appreciate an outdoor build where one can grow year 'round. Do you have any automatic watering setup or just supplement water when necessary? Husband Eric is indeed quite the handyman. Love that mounting wall.

[DirtyCoconuts]

fantastic. what a magical spot youve made

[DeaC]

Very attractive. Kudos to you and Eric. Your collection and we the observers will enjoy the blooms to come!

[marie458]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

That's a beautiful setup Marie. I really appreciate an outdoor build where one can grow year 'round. Do you have any automatic watering setup or just supplement water when necessary? Husband Eric is indeed quite the handyman. Love that mounting wall.

Thank you, WaterWitchin! Both Eric and I deeply appreciate your complements.

I don't have a watering system set up in the garden at this time. I personally water everyone according to a preset schedule that depends on the weather and season. I do it the old fashioned way, too, with a multi-setting nozzle and hose. I don't mind hand-watering since I love going out into the garden everyday anyway to conduct health/progress checks.

---------- Post added at 08:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:17 PM ----------

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

fantastic. what a magical spot youve made

Thank you! It is a very special place. I plan to make it even more so as I expand my collection.

---------- Post added at 08:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:21 PM ----------

Originally Posted by DeaC

Very attractive. Kudos to you and Eric. Your collection and we the observers will enjoy the blooms to come!

Thanks, DeaC! I will surely keep you abreast of any new experiences we have in The Pretty Spot