Here in New York City, one of the first signs spring is coming is the start of the annual Orchid Show at The New York Botanical Garden. I love attending this show every year. Held inside the magnificent Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, it is known as the nation’s largest exhibit of its kind.
This year, the show's theme is "Natural Heritage" designed by landscape artist, Lily Kwong. It features a wide array of colorful orchids, both popular and rare. If you’re in the area, I encourage you to visit - the show runs through April 23rd. And please watch my latest episode of "Martha Gardens," a Roku Original, when I walk through this exquisite display of stunning blooms and talk with Marc Hachadourian, the director of glasshouse horticulture and senior curator of orchids at the NYBG to review how to best care for these amazing plants at home.
Here are some photos and a short video, enjoy.
The Orchid Show is held in NYBG’s elegant Conservatory every year. As the nation’s largest Victorian glasshouse, it is among the grandest indoor spaces in the world.
In addition to the Orchid Show, this enormous glass structure is home to a tropical rain forest, a cactus-filled desert, and an ever-changing landscape of flowers and foliage.
This beautiful display of mixed orchids is enchanting. One walks in and is immersed in a glorious array of colorful orchid blooms. There are tens of thousands of plants. Orchids thrive in warm temperatures and moderate light. And although generally thought of as a tropical plant, orchids grow on every continent, from the Arctic Circle to the southernmost jungle, except Antarctica.
Among them is this Phalaenopsis Timothy Christopher x KS Snow Lip. Phalaenopsis, the moth orchid, is perhaps the best orchid for growing in the home and is a favorite with greenhouse growers. Well-grown plants can flower often, sometimes with a few flowers throughout the year, though the main season is late winter into spring. The key to growing these plants is to keep the root systems strong and healthy. These plants have no bulbs or stems to store moisture and nutrients, so it is important to maintain their roots.
This is Phalaenopsis Giant Lin Duo Er-Guen – a beautiful dark coral to fuchsia colored hybrid.
Rule of thumb – orchids that receive a proper balance of light, humidity and temperature will have healthy bright green leaves. Too little light would make the leaves very dark. The size, shape, and texture of leaves depend on the habitat. Orchids that live in dry climate have large, thick leaves covered with wax, while species that live in warm and humid areas have thin, elongated leaves. And certain species of orchids do not have leaves at all.
Optimum temperatures for orchids in winter are 45 to 55-degrees Fahrenheit at night and 65 to 75-degrees Fahrenheit during the day. When plants are in bud, temperatures must be as constant as possible.
Here’s another moth orchid, Phalaenopsis Fuller’s Gold Stripe.
This one is Phalaenopsis Chi Yueh Purple Smile with its beautiful white and pink-purple blooms.
Phalaenopsis Fuller’s Sunset is an award-winning hybrid with bright, fresh yellow flowers and a lovely contrasting pink lip.
This Phalaenopsis orchid shows off pristine white petals and deep pink and yellow markings.
Vanda orchids are fragrant and have flat petals. This is Vanda Huifen Chan “Kaleidoscope.” It features butter yellow flowers with dark chocolate spotting and a burgundy lip.
Vanda Yano Blue “Ploenpit” orchids have large white petals with intense violet markings.
Paphiopedilum orchids are often called ‘lady slippers’ or ‘slipper orchids’ because of their unique pouch-like flowers. This is Paphiopedilum Winston Churchill “Indomitable” x Hamana Freak g. ‘#1’.
Paphiopedilum Vanguard is a hybrid – this one with a purple pouch and yellow-green petals with dark purple spots and markings.
Cattlianthe Gold Digger ‘Orglade’s Mandarin’ is also a hybrid which blooms in a cluster of golden yellow flowers with a densely spotted red throat. This orchid is also quite fragrant.
This is called Phalaenopsis Little Gem Stripes – a wonderful orchid with white and red petals with faint pink stripes.
Dendrobium is a large orchid genus, with more than a thousand species. This is Dendrobium Jaquelyn Thomas ‘Uniwai Mist’ – a medium sized orchid variety with charming white blooms.
The NYBG also offers orchid evenings as part of the exhibit. Here is the Conservatory at sunset. Originally constructed in 1902, the steel and glass Conservatory includes an impressive 90-foot tall domed Palm Gallery. If you’re in the area, please go see NYBG’s Orchid Show. And be sure to go to the Roku Channel right now and stream “Martha Gardens.” You’ll learn so much about these exquisite plants!
If you didn't catch this on my social media platforms, here's a preview of my orchid show on "Martha Gardens" only on the Roku Channel. Be sure to tune in.
Dozens of pressed red clay bricks that used to surround my pool at my former East Hampton home now have new purpose at my Bedford, New York farm.
Recently, I decided to use the bricks to edge a new footpath in a bird enclosure outside my stable. This yard and its coop are currently being used for my Silkie chicks. The bricks run from the entrance of the pen all the way to the coop and around the back. The area now looks entirely different. This project took a couple of days to complete, but my crew did a great job and it looks wonderful.
Enjoy these photos.
This pen had large stone pavers leading from the entrance to the coop door ahead; however, the stones were far apart, and after a rain, the area would be very muddy and difficult to walk through. I decided it would function better with some good draining gravel and a proper footpath. Earlier this week, Pete and Fernando went to work.
Many of our outdoor projects start with a nail and some twine.
Pete secures the line from one end to the other, to ensure the finished path is completely straight.
I have thousands of these bricks. “Pressed red” is the general term given to solid red bricks traditionally manufactured from clay, pressed into individual molds by hand, and then heated at very high temperatures.
This photo shows some of the bricks when they surrounded my pool in East Hampton. I am glad I saved them so they could be repurposed here at the farm – they are perfect for the Silkie chicken yard.
Then, using the twine as a guide, Pete removes the grass and some soil along the line, creating a narrow trench just wide enough for the bricks and about five inches deep.
And then one by one, he angles the bricks and positions them in a sawtooth style, laying one on another at a 45-degree angle.
Here is a view from the side. Each brick is carefully placed and pounded securely into the trench. The string also helps to make sure the points are at the same level.
Fernando follows behind and uses a scrap piece of wood on top of the bricks to pound them securely in place. The wood protects the bricks from getting damaged in the process.
Then, using the same piece of wood, Fernando makes sure the edge of the bricks is completely straight.
Pete and Fernando do this along the entire path.
And then Fernando rakes the path of any loose dirt and grass.
Here is the path once all the bricks are in place. Path edging helps to keep the structure of the path defined and the gravel contained. It looks markedly different already.
Next, Fernando and Pete put down a strip of industrial strength weed cloth along the entire space.
Fernando uses sod staples every few feet to keep it secure.
Next, is the gravel. I chose quarter-inch native washed stone. Each stone is about the size of a pea. This same gravel stone is also used to line the paths in my flower cutting garden. It s nice to keep everything uniform when possible.
Fernando uses our trusted Scenic Road wheelbarrow to transport the gravel from the truck to the path.
The gravel is spread evenly with a hard rake.
And then pressed down with a gravel tamper. A tamper is a tool with a long handle and a heavy, square base used for leveling and firmly packing gravel, dirt, clay, sand, and other similar materials.
Closer to the coop, Pete turned the bricks slightly to round the corners. Here he is spreading more gravel in front of the coop door.
Here is the side of the coop all done and looking great. The geese and peafowl pens are next door to this one.
Here is the rear of the coop – also with a leveled layer of gravel. The ramp connects to a little chicken door for rear access and egress.
And here is the front – it looks fantastic. It will be so nice to walk in here and visit the birds this spring. Next, Pete works on laying bricks outside this enclosure and around the garden beds. Just a couple of days and some good elbow grease and this entire bird yard is transformed. Another great project completed at my farm – nice job,Pete and Fernando!
For geese, this time of year is very special. From mid-winter to early spring, it's mating season.
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, I have 16 geese - Sebastopol geese, Toulouse geese, African geese, Chinese geese, and of course my Pomeranian guard geese. Most of them live in a large enclosure outside my stable. Because geese prefer to breed in water, we lined up several pools on one side of the pen, which are cleaned and refilled a couple times a day. In another corner, they have a shelter that provides ample shade, protection from strong winds, and a safe place to nest and lay eggs. In general, males will court the females, but it is the goose that chooses her gander. In my gaggle, the pairs are pretty well established and happy. In fact, we're already incubating a few eggs.
Here are some of the latest photos of my beautiful geese.
My geese have a large yard, but they love to gather close together most of the time. I am very happy that all my geese get along so well. A group of geese on land is called a gaggle. This is because when geese get together they can get quite noisy and rowdy.
The enclosure is adjacent to my peafowl yard and two chicken coops. They all seem to enjoy all the company and activity around them.
Waterfowl don’t need roosts – they are very happy sleeping on the ground, but this shelter does protect them from strong winds. This area is also lined well with hay for laying eggs.
They always have access to fresh, clean water. Because geese do not have lips or cheeks, they drink by filling their bills with water and then tilt their heads back to swallow, using gravity to send the liquid into their digestive tract.
I provide the waterfowl with fresh greens every day. Geese are grazing birds which means they eat a variety of different items. They eat roots, shoots, stems, seeds, and leaves of grass and grain, bulbs, and berries. They also eat small insects.
In addition to the greens, I fortify their diet with a mix specifically made for waterfowl.
And as a treat, all my farm birds get cracked corn – they love it.
We’re testing out some new pools from our friends at Scenic Road. These are the large tubs of their mortar mixing boxes. Because geese prefer to mate in water, it is safer to provide these shallow containers. They seem to like them.
Each pool has steps, so it is easy for the geese to get in and out whenever they please.
While both ducks and geese love water, geese don’t require a pond or large swimming pool – they swim much less than ducks and are content with a small dipping pool where they can dunk and clean their noses and beaks.
Here is one bonded pair enjoying some time poolside.
Although these birds are not good fliers, they do love to spread their wings. Due to their large size and upright posture, domestic geese can’t really fly. Domestic geese have larger back ends than their wild counterparts and stand more upright. During breeding season, a gander’s pre-mating behavior also consists of wing spreading, stretching and flapping.
In nature, geese pairs bond and stay together for life. Most of my geese are paired off, but some males will also have two or three female mates. Here is my pair of Chinese geese. The Chinese goose is refined and curvaceous. Its bill is relatively long and slender, with a large, rounded, erect knob that attaches to its forehead. The Chinese goose holds its head high. Its head flows seamlessly into a long, slim, well-arched neck which meets the body at about a 45 degree angle. Its body is short, and has a prominent and well-rounded chest, smooth breast and no keel. Mature ganders average 12 pounds, while mature geese average 10 pounds.
Sebastopols are considered medium-sized birds. Both males and females have pure white feathers that contrast with their bright blue eyes and orange bills and feet. Sebastopol geese have large, rounded heads, slightly arched necks, and keelless breasts. And what is most striking is the plumage. The plumage of the head and upper two-thirds of the neck is smooth, while that of the breast and underbody is elongated and well-curled.
These are African geese – a breed that has a heavy body, thick neck, stout bill, and jaunty posture which gives the impression of strength and vitality. The African is a relative of the Chinese goose, both having descended from the wild swan goose native to Asia. The mature African goose has a large knob attached to its forehead, which requires several years to develop. A smooth, crescent-shaped dewlap hangs from its lower jaw and upper neck. Its body is nearly as wide as it is long. African geese are the largest of the domestic geese.
My gaggle of geese is fun, friendly, personable and protective. These are my Pomeranian geese – the oldest of all my geese.
Here is another pair of Pomeranian geese – where one goes, they other always follows.
These buff-brown geese are Toulouse – these are two of three that are down in the chicken yard guarding my flock. On this breed, the bill is stout, the head large and broad, and the moderately long neck is thick and nearly straight. Often suspended from the lower bill and upper neck is a heavy, folded dewlap that increases in size and fullness with age. The body is long, broad and deep, ending in a well-spread tail that points up slightly. The Toulouse has a rounded breast, and often exhibits a wide keel. The abdomen is double-lobed and often brushes the ground, particularly in females during the early spring.
This gander is “Bear.” He was hatched as a singleton last year. He and the Sebastopol goose seem to be very happy together. “Bear” and the other sentinels come honking and hissing at anyone who comes near. Thanks to their honks, these geese make excellent guardians. They can scare off any animals on the ground and they’re great at spotting aerial predators, such as hawks and falcons.
Geese also have impressive visual capabilities. The way their eyes are structured allows them to see things in much finer detail at a further distance than humans. They can also see UV light and can control each of their eyes independently.
And look, inside my stable feed room we already have some goose eggs. They are taken away to protect them from other adult geese. Domestic geese also tend to be less maternal than other types of fowl. The eggs are incubated for about 28 days. They will remain here until the goslings hatch and then they will be placed into our brooder until they are big enough to join the others. I wonder how many we will get…
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