Longwood Gardens SEPOS Orchid Show

I am so happy that I got first place in the Southeast Pennsylvania Orchid Society (SEPOS) Orchid Show (Cymbidium group) held at Longwood Gardens last weekend. We B.C.O.S. totally had about 40 plants, including five of mine (pictures shown here). Unfortunately, our society didn't get a group design prize this time, but several of our members did get individual prizes.

Southeast Pennsylvania Orchid Society (SEPOS)

Cym." Eastern Promise" and Oncidium "Hawaii Sunset"

Lctna. Mighty Titan ' Parkside' AM/AOS

M.W. Garden Club 75th Anniversary

Huge centerpiece by our two master gardeners.
It's truly a beautiful masterpiece.

I arranged this free style Ikebana for display. The vase is a Japanese bronze antique and the branches are Japanese quince.

I only have this Cymbidium to show for the celebration. I have five other freshly blooming orchids at Longwood Gardens (they have an orchid show this weekend) to present with our B.C. Orchid Society entry--together we have about 40 plants to exhibit. Hopefully we can get a prize, we got 2nd place last year. (3/24/10)

Upright Style Moribana Variation No.2

I chose yellow mums with a brown center to match the container and I wanted to use butterfly maple branches instead of evergreen because they are so pretty. They are just starting to bud and have tiny red tips. Shin 15 degrees, Soe 75 degrees and Hikae (flowers) 45 degrees are in the variation no. 2 arrangement. (3/16/10)

Multiple miniature containers arrangement

We have to use at least five objects or containers to do this assignment. I have one vase, one seashell fossil, a rock, one orange miso soup bowl cover and a tea light holder. I used a tray to arrange them into three groups (at my teacher's suggestion) and then I put the calla, pine and a waved willow vine into the vase and let the vine flow from one arrangement to another. The purpose of this practice is to teach us how to arrange these objects to achieve artistry. My classmate said it looks so peaceful! (3/16/10)

Focusing on the Use of Water

Calla lily and Cymbidium leaves
For today's assignment I had two arrangements. I used two transparent glass containers for both designs. The beauty of water as well as the plants are equally important elements in this arrangement. Which one is prettier? (3/2/10)

Calla lily, willow and sea shells

Upright Style Nageire Variation No.1

In this arrangement, the shin 15 degrees should lean firmly to the right back, and together with Soe 45 degrees and Hikae (carnations) 75 degrees, form 90 degrees from left to right.

Right picture is side view (3/2/10)

Reflective Design "Hearts Delight"

The materials are spray painted Hosta, Nandina and pine corn, carnation, bittersweet.

I didn't have ikebana class last week due to the winter blizzard, but we had our M.W. garden club meeting yesterday. The little show's subject for this month is a reflective design"Hearts Delight". Reflective materials must be integral to the overall design. You may use shiny metal, plastic, paper, etc. For my design, the judge said my vase is overpowering. So I changed the smaller vase and rearranged it after I came home. Does it look better?

Indoor Orchid Garden

Right now, these are all my blooming orchids. I have more orchids blooming in winter than any other time. I gathered them all to make an indoor garden. As you can see I have many species here. Some are long lasting, some are going to fade soon. In my home I always have blooming orchids year round. Passing by the foyer you can smell a very pleasant perfume in the air.


Left is Oncidium Sherry baby (first place), it smells like chocolate, everybody loves it. Center is small sized Cattleya, its first time bloom, name unknown. Right is a Cymbidium, also no name. I am going to bring five plants to the B.C.O. S. meeting for show and competition tomorrow.

Cattleyas

Carefully look at these two pictures, do you see any difference? In fact they are two species. The first one is Bllra Tohoma Glacier "Ithan," the second is Lc. Hallo Wedding "Carmen"(it got first place). The difference is the white edge on the lip and the length of the sepals.
Blc. Hawaiian Lightning "Colorful"(2nd place)
Happiness is finding a new sheath. Bliss is finding a new bloom! Five months ago, I posted a picture of this orchid's sheath. Now it's in full bloom. Isn't it colorful? That's because this cattleya is very unique, the petals have two colors. Most are only one color. Five months is a long time to wait. All three cattleyas have a very pleasant perfume.

Cymbidiums

Name unknown. My friend gave me this orchid ten years ago. This Cym. has been divided many times and given away to many of my friends.(1st place at January's show table)

Cym. "Ivy Fan"

Cym." Lovely smile"(2nd place)
It's time to show my blooming Cymbidiums, most of them bloom in Winter time.They are long lasting orchids, about 2 months or more. Please check my blog (posted July 2009 Cymbidium orchids).