3.30.2007

a small hint of spring

clivia

I didn’t notice until this morning that my Clivia miniata is blooming again! I bought this years ago to replace the orchids I used to grow when I lived in an apartment that had the most beautiful and perfect morning light to grow them. They traveled with me when I bought my house and promptly died, one after the other. Orchids are pretty finicky about light and temperature and the house just isn’t right. But this looks kind of like an orchid and I’ve heard it described as “beautiful and indestructible”. Just what I needed :)

I’ve had it for three or four years now and it has the most amazing flowers—in a gorgeous clear orange color. I’ll move it outside to my screened porch in a couple of months and it will probably bloom again in July or August.

You can buy them at White Flower Farm and, at $52, they aren’t cheap (the price has gone up quite a lot since I bought mine). But it’s a beautiful plant and comes through with blooms again and again. It likes to be pot-bound, too, so you won’t need to repot it for a while. I’m going to do it this year after it stops blooming, for the first time.

It’s still quite cold here in northern Pennsylvania and there’s not much action yet in the garden. It’s nice to see a hint of what’s to come, even if it is inside!

1 comment:

weirdbunny said...

I like things that don't need repotting. I've been planting seeds this afternoon. I'm solowly filling up the woodcutters polytunnel so he won't be pleased ! I was banned last year from putting my seetpeas in the middle of the vegtable garden, but the sun is perfect there. I'm far more determined to have my way this year !