Wednesday 1 October 2008

Orchids and Begonias

I have waited for almost three years for this orchid to bloom. I bought one plant in flower and it has grown into a colony. I would guess that there are 15 to 20 plants in the basket now but all this frantic growth never produced a flower. Today I noticed that it is about to flower with at least 10 sprays. It is a tiny, neat little spray and I would guess that the plant is a member of the vanda family.

The pink begonias are going crazy and running all down the stairs. These are also lightly scented in the morning.
My firecracker hedge. I caught this entire hedge from piece. It was probably the most significant change to my garden when I moved in. This hedge blooms constantly and attacts both hummingbirds and butterflies.
The annual blooming of my wild orchid which I believe is a Catasetum macrocarpum (Male Flower) commly known as "monley goblet). According to the Trinidad and Tobago Orchid Society database: Flowers have a unique pollination mechanism. When the pollinator - usually a euglossine bee - lands on the lip a trigger mechanism on the column shoots pollen onto the back of the insect. Plants may be terrestrial growing in leaf mould in rock crevices, or epiphytic on tree trunks, branches and even telephone poles. Pseudobulbs fusiform with three to five large leaves. Inflorescences arise from the base of the pseudobulbs. Schultes