Three Different Kinds of White Orchids

Dendrobium "Spring Dream Kumiko"
In this January's B.C.O.S. meeting I brought five different kinks of orchids to our show table. I posted three here. In this group there were many other Dendrobiums better than mine. I didn't get any place.

Brassia "White fairy"
I have had this one for a long time, it started to bloom last year. I am thrilled that it bloomed again, better than ever before. I got 2nd place in this group (Oncidium Alliance).

Cymbidium "Moonstone"
First place! I divided this one last year right after it finished blooming (there were 12 stems and more than a hundred flowers). It was so crowded, so I divided it into three plants. I gave one to my daughter in-law. She told me that hers has 5 stems and has a lot of flowers too. The 3rd one I gave to my daughter, it didn't bloom. I think it might still be too young or unsuited for her N.Y.C. apartment environment.

Vase and Coral

I used all my leftover materials to arrange this tall design. This vase is a gift from my younger brother when I visited him and relatives in Taiwan a long time ago. The vase's Chinese writing means Fortune. I think this arrangement suits the coming Lunar New Year (the year of the tiger begins on February 14).


This rock is dead coral that I bought from the flea market. I can just put one flower right in (needs a tube first), as simple as that. This fading orchid I just couldn't bring myself to throw away, so I put it there for a few days more.

Large Cattleyas

Wintertime is when most of my orchids bloom. From now on, you can expect many posts about different types of orchids!


Above are the same parent plants as in my New Years post, it has been divided before. I have three of them. They are large, tall, and vigorous plants with white flowers and big deep purple lips, very fragrant in the morning.

Two years ago, a friend of mine gave me this huge Cattleya, which was nearly dead and so skinny from malnutrition. I carefully divided it into two plants because it was too crowded before. I placed them in bright light, added fertilizer (20-20-20), and left it outside in the shade during summertime. Under my care, they became stronger and healthier. Both of them bloomed beautifully last winter. I gave one back to her. This one is so big and heavy, has three flowers, and is better than last year.

Slanting Style Nageire Variation No.3

I made the cross bar inside the mouth of the tall container, so I could put branches at Shin 45 degrees, Soe 15 degrees and flowers Hikae 75 degrees, all three toward me. This was today's lesson. The picture on the right is a side view. (1/5/10)

This is an extra practice for me because there were some leaves left in the class. My teacher handed me a container and asked me to do a "composition of surfaces by using leaves", which I have done and passed already (check December's blog). In less than ten minutes, I completed the arrangement. I can't believe that I can do it in such a short time.(1/5/10)

Using Both Fresh and Unconventional Materials

This lesson focuses on anything other than fresh plant materials, like plastic, paper, steel, household objects and so on, using your imagination to create a flower arrangement. I found a piece of square mesh wire sheet and a piece of orange nylon net (used for fruit bags). These are unconventional materials. I wanted the nylon net to soften the mesh wire sheet. Then I used a piece of drift wood to secure the sheet and added sunflowers, mums, and black pine to complete my composition.
In the class I arranged the upright one first (bottom picture), but the teacher said that it was not tall enough. I solved this problem by laying the materials down on the container. Is it better? "Oh, yes! It's beautiful!" my teacher and classmates said.

Best Wishes for a Healthy and Happy 2010!

Bllra. Tohoma Glacier "Ithan" AM/AOS ( Fragrant)