The Conservatory
Plants on Display
Indoor, Tropical and Specialty Care Plants

Orchid New Wish List


My mom always had a way with plants, and there were always plants around the house and yard. There seemed to be something new every few months, and plenty of glasses and jars with cuttings being rooted lined the windsills. My sister and I were encouraged to pick out our own plants to care for when we went to the nursery, and over the years I got most of them grow pretty well.

There were varieties of ivy and philodendron, cactus and succulent, roses, flowers, bulbs and tubers. My dad handled the fruit trees and plants - apples, peaches, pears, cherries and raspberries.

While I lived in various apartments, I could only get house plants but once I bought my house, and now that I've moved to a house with a much bigger yard, it was time for the big and exotic plants. There are now over 400 different plants in my yard, and counting.

Some of the plants I have and would like to get one day require at least an indoor environment if not a greenhouse with temperature and humidity control - at least while I am living in the Pacific Northwest. There are a number of tropical plants which I think are great, but also require a tropical environment to survive.

Orchids and Bromeliads
Orchids are wonderful plants, and not as fragile as people think. They do tend to need watering more often, and they would prefer a more humid environment, but it's not that hard to accomplish. Watering is mostly done to soak the bark material surrounding the roots, or to get moisture directly onto the roots, where it soaks in.

Most orchids don't need a soil mixture like other house plants, but prefer a loose bark and moss mixture. Orchids, for the most part, are epiphytic, drawing moisture into their roots from the air or immediate surroundings. The roots are thick and are designed to retain water, but like other plants, too much water is a bad thing and the roots will rot away.

Orchids come in all shapes and sizes and colors, so there's bound to be at least one that you will like. My collection now holds 60 different orchids, and while that might sound like a lot to some people, it is a fraction compared to serious orchid enthusiasts.

Gloxina
Sinningia specioxa was first named Gloxinia in 1817 by Conrad Loddiges, an English nurseryman after he had studied the new plant from Brazil. Although incorrect, the namc Gloxinia has remained in use. Gloxinia belongs to the Gesneriad family, Gesneriaceae.

Pencil Cactus

Purple passion

Cactus





Orchids

Name
Name





New


Purple Curcuma
Lobster Claw Heliconia

Pinecone Ginger
Black Bat Plant TACCA CHANTERII
From South East Asia, black leaves and black flowers
Rare and anecdotaly said to be hard to grow
Bat Plant FAQ

Chocolate Vine
White Bat Plant TACCA NIVEA

Purple Devil's Trumpet Datura Metel
In India, the species is considered a holy plant called dutra or dhatura. The Daturas have been used for their narcotic properties in the wines and palm beers of Africa and are still used today in Morocco. All parts are poisonous, harmful to humans only in large quantities.
African Tulip Tree Spathodea campanulata
Zone 10-11, wood is hard to burn, used in fire resistant landscaping, one of the world's most spectacular flowering trees, In Africa and Haiti, the flowers are thought to have magical properties and the wood is used for witch doctors' wands.




The Wish ListNew


JACARANDA MIMISAFOLIA
Spiral Ginger COSTUS SPECIOSUS
,
Heirloom Osakazuki Japanese Maple
Baobab

Desert Rose
Pheasant's Eye

Dragon's Blood Tree Dracaena draco
Information
Giant Rhubarb Gunnera manicata

Red & White Nemesia Nemesia strumosa
Penny Black Nemophila menziesii
,
Midnight Horror Oroxylum indicum
Viallii Primrose Primula viallii

Green Wizard Rudbeckia Rudbeckia occidentalis
Everlasting Drumstick Scabiosa stellata

Giant Sequoia Sequoiadendron giganteum
'Striped Marvel' Marigold Tagetes patula
,
Red Trefoil - Noble Clover Trifolium rubens
Devil's Club Oplopanax horridus
1 to 3 meters tall; armed with yellow spines throughout, 5 to 20 mm long. Burned stems and grease mixed and applied to swollen areas, and an infusion of crushed stems was taken as a tonic or blood purifier by the Okanagan-Colville Indians, and Thompson Indians. Infusion of inner pith taken for colds by the Sanpoil, and to increase the appetite by the Thompson.

Western Water hemlock Cicuta douglasii (TOXIC!)
The toxin in western water hemlock is cicutoxin (5). Cicutoxin is a yellowish liquid that oozes from cut roots of the forb (16). The toxin is a highly unsaturated higher alcohol (C17H22O2) that acts on the central nervous system of animals (23). It is because of cicutoxin that water hemlocks are known as the most poisonous plants in North America, and are poisonous to all classes of livestock and humans

'Striped Marvel' Marigold Tagetes patula



American Orchid Society
NorthWest Orchid Society
All About Orchids
Orchidmania
Venger's Orchids
Orchid Mall

American Iris Society
Flowers and Plants Association
Plant Trivia Timeline

Botany Trivia
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Plant Trivia

Natural Selections Exotics
Whatcom Seed Company
Caladium Bulb Company
Caladium World
Hirt's Greenhouse and Flowers
Day Lilies Online
Day Lilies and More
Gratrix Garden Lilies
Streamside Native Plants
Henriette's Herbal Homepage
Water Hemlock
Old City Gingers
Gingers

GardenWeb



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Last Updated on October 6, 2004
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