I'm back, HiveGardeners! A wonderful purple day to you all 💜
I hope you guys are having a good day while reading my blog 😁
It's been a while since I last shared my flower garden. I've been waiting for my purple orchids to bloom, and it took me months 😁 of patience and hard work.
These purple beauties usually bloom all together for a couple of months, but now I've noticed they bloom one after the other. They seem to be healthy, with no visible damage or disease. We kept our usual routine: rice water or fish water in the morning and the eggshells.
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Early morning today, I checked the garden again for an update on the purple orchids. There were a few improvements because the buds I saw the other day were now open. Some of the purple beauties are now showing off. They are soooooo pretty 😍
Here are a few shots I took early morning today.
(By the way, I don't know the exact names of all the orchids, so I always call them all purple orchids 😁.)
I have a Cattleya orchid here. Cattleyas have ruffled petals and sepals with a bright lip (center part). They usually grow 2-5 flowers in one cluster, but now there is only one. Sad, but still, I love the Cattleya orchids because they are so fragrant. The flowers have a sweet, floral scent I can't resist sniffing every time I visit the garden. If I only knew how to extract the oil fragrance, I would've made a collection of perfume 😂 already.
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Cattleya Orchids are said to be the "Queen of all orchids". Cattleya Orchids are known for their size, but mine are not that big. My Cattleyas have a velvety color as well, which explains the sparkly petals and sepals when facing the sun.
And if you want to know more about Cattleya orchids' origin, cultural significance, and symbolism, you can check the article by Thursd.com 👉 https://thursd.com/articles/cattleya-flower-meaning
I'm not really sure, but I think what I have is a variety of Dendrobium orchid. Dendrobium's petals are slightly rounded. Dendrobium's are purple all over, but a little darker on the lip or the middle part. We have different varieties of Dendrobium Orchids in my garden, but they haven't bloomed yet. Some were pink on the tip, and some have darker petals. I hope the other types will bloom soon so I can show you guys how beautiful they are.
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And if you want to know more about the Dendrobium orchid, check out the article from PicturethisAI👇
https://www.picturethisai.com/language-flower/Dendrobium_bigibbum.html
The last one isn't purple, but the veins look purple. 😁
They say that the flower in the picture below is also a variety of Dendrobium orchid, but I am not sure. 😆
The petals are slim and twisted on the outside. There are visible veins, especially on the lip. They grow in clusters as well. The petals are soft green. I also have another type where the petals are purely green, and the veins aren't visible like the one in the picture.
I may have fewer flowers now, but I am still happy. They look healthy as always; that is what's important for me. Maybe I need to wait a few more weeks for more flowers to kick off, and my garden will be back to a colorful area again 😁
My Purple Orchid care: These are my own ways of caring for my orchids.
🌹 Rice water (water used to wash rice before cooking)
🌹 Fish water (water used to wash fish before cooking), including the fish scales
🌹 Crushed eggshells
🌹 Plant in an area where they have enough sunlight (full sun)
🌹 Pour soapy water on the ground to lure away ants and other crawlies. (Don't pour on the flower or leaves to avoid them drying out)
🌹 We only use organic liquid fertilizers (banana peel or other fruit extracts)
🌹 For new plants, we put charcoal and coconut husk around the roots to help retain moisture and avoid fungal diseases
If you have other ways of caring for your orchids, please share them with me so I can improve my garden care practices. 😊
Here are some of my previous posts about my garden that you might want to check out 👇
@vvodjiu/blooms-that-heal-how-my
@vvodjiu/garden-update-my-gorgeous-vandas
@vvodjiu/my-hibiscus-collection-the-wonderful
@vvodjiu/garden-update-colors-i-can
I think I showed everything I needed to share today. Thank you so much for taking the time.
Let's all wait for a few more days, or weeks, for more flowers to bloom. I promise to share more of my garden's beauty and color soon.
I hope everyone's gardens are thriving, too🌿
Happy Gardening, everyone
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"An enchanting harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid inspires confidence and emanates great joy, love, and health. It is a captivating purple, one that draws you in with its beguiling charm."
-Leatrice Eiseman
🌸 Texts and Images by vvodjiu@vvodjiu 🌸
🌺 The lead photo was made using ChatGPT Image Generator. All of my photos were edited in Lightroom for minimal enhancements 🌺