Bloomin' heck

The recent unseasonally warm weather has been really great for our orchids. We've amassed quite a decent collection of somewhat rare orchids (i.e. not your common garden run of the mill Phalaenopsises, pun intended) over the years mainly because her indoors used to paint them (extremely well I should add, she was awarded a Gold medal from the Royal Horticultural Society). While an unfortunately large fraction perished due to ineptness or sensitivity to indoor heating, we still have a pretty decent collection of hardy survivors that occasionally delight us by blooming. At the moment though we have several in flower simultaneously which is a rare delight.

Dendrobium pierardii. This usuallyflowers in early spring after an enforced drought (I stop watering in October until all the leaves have fallen off and resume in March when the first buds have formed, yes you read that right).

Diocentrum (Doritis x Ascocentrum interspecific cross)

Epidendrum pseudepidendrum

(Well is it or isn't it?)

Psychopsis papilio or the famous Butterfly orchid

Gone and sadly missed: Barkeria and Phaeus tankervilliae