Phalaenopsis ‘Tinny Golden Sun’

I’m not usually attracted to yellow orchid sprays… but this one is an exception because it’s a Phalaenopsis hybrid. Two people (who are plant enthusiasts) that I know say that the blooms are cool to the eyes.

They call it Phal. Tinny Golden Sun. This is the outcome of Phal (Golden Amboin x Yukimai). The flowers are 8.5 cm H and 8.5 cm W with pale butter yellow color… [sometimes, there’s a greenish tinge depending on the angle of the light].

Pink popcorn

I was never successful with Begonias in the past. Back then (in 1970’s), my sister Alet and I garden-hopped in Bukidnon just to search for these beauties. Unfortunately, I’ve managed to kill my Begonia collection.

Last month, I decided to grow Begonias again when my daughter pointed out several varieties at Boging’s garden.  A pot was not enough; so,  I ended up with 10 varieties.  One of my favorites was the pink flowers shown in the photos above. My grand kids were amused with the plant’s flowers. They thought they looked like pink popcorns.

Philippine wax flowers

Sunshine is delicious,
rain is refreshing,
wind braces us up,
snow is exhilirating;
there is really no such thing as bad weather,
only different kinds of good weather.

-John Rushkin

Yellow Tower Cactus in bloom

I’ve been checking on them since this morning, yet…the ants beat me to the flowers of my Yellow Torch Cactus (Parodia leninghausii).  I was so excited to see its yellow flowers again for they only bloom once a year in my upper garden.

In mood for Adeniums

I told my plant dealers that I would lie low on buying orchids… However, I didn’t anticipate my purchasing impulse on Adeniums. Just look at those double-petaled beauties… no plant-loving mortal could resist taking them home…and yes, I brought home seven potted plants (Adeniums with Greek nicknames).

Tillandsia on bloom

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God’s heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.

~Dorothy Frances Gurney, “Garden Thoughts”

Wordless Wednesday: tree-hugger fern

At Boging’s Garden

Meet Boging, a plant enthusiast/finder/dealer. I met her around 2005 when Tubod, LDN experienced a cacti craze; she gladly took off  several varieties of succulents from my garden. She’s been to remote private gardens or plant farms in the countryside. Hence, she’s aware of the latest plant craze in various regions for whenever there’s a town fiesta, Boging and her team would be there.

Here are some green residents in her garden:

Rock Tassel Fern

Cool and Interesting — that’s what I thought when I saw this Club Moss plant at Angelina’s garden last 2004 (Maliwanag, Baroy, Lanao del Norte).  Its dangling fur-like stems swayed along with the  breeze. So without further ado, I asked my young friend (Angelina Avila) to give me some stem cuttings of  Lycopodium squarrosum (rock tassel fern) and Huperzia squarrosa (fine rock tassel fern). [The latter died shortly due to direct sunlight exposure and lack of moisture…and yes, my ignorance of its proper care.]

My Rock Tassel Fern is about nine years old in my garden; the old stems turn into brown color (shown in above photo) while new ones are vibrant green (photos below).   This plant loves moisture so I regularly check or change the peat moss. Also, I give slow-release fertilizer once in three months.

I potted this one last year; so far, its happy growing under shade of my mango tree.

Related Post:  Lycopodium squarrosum http://typicalgardener.wordpress.com/2011/04/07/lycopodium-squarrosum/

3/4 orange, 1/4 yellow

February 13 – When my friend the “Plant Addict” (Dr. Opay-Villarmino) dropped by for a visit, she was so surprised to see the Daisy-like flower outside my fence. She noticed this:

Intriguing –  that’s her description as she attempted to explain how a Daisy-like flower-head came to have  three-quarters orange  and  one-quarter yellow petals.

Her reaction to this phenomenon amused me; it’s not novel to me as I’ve noticed this “playfulness of Nature” for the past decades… but I was glad that each time the “Plant Addict” turns up, she finds something interesting in my garden…