Tillandsia

Unintentional February Break—Part One

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This won’t be a blow-by-blow post about what I did this month. I’ve felt soft and impressionable because of a few unexpected life events during the last few weeks. Both my husband and I had friends who passed away, and then one of my parents was suddenly hospitalized while I was away in Seattle last week. (They’re better now. Phew!) But, post COVID (yes, I went through THAT last month), this was all just a bit too much for me—but I’ve kept going. No one enjoys feeling fragile, and there are so many exciting things in the garden to look forward to in 2023.

Who knew #arctokitty wasn’t a thing? Well, it is now!

Laughing is the best medicine and when I realized that #arctokitty didn’t exist on Instagram, well, I worked hard to make sure it had at least a few photos. My sweet boy Oliver actually is a fan of the plant that’s beloved at Cistus Nursery where I work, and he’s known to lounge in my neighbor’s back garden where she has a bit of a chaparral meadow going on. My #arctokitty really does love manzanitas aka Artctostaphylos. It’s been fun realizing this as the plants have all grown and so too has his interest in them.

The only plants I saw during my COVID vacation were these two in the bathroom (a Tillandsia and unknown Philodendron hybrid), and a few in my bedroom. I’ve grown to enjoy this indoor plant combo more and more as time has gone by.

Contracting COVID-19 last month really messed up my momentum and threw me behind. I lost a lot of work hours, I had fog for a few weeks, and regular plant maintenance didn’t take place. This month I worked an 8-day work week for the first time, had to prepare for my online talk through Heronswood, and then had to pick the begonias to take up to Seattle for my DIY seminar. Throughout all of this, I just wanted to hide but I kept going and am glad I did! I got through it all!

Alfie is rarely on the fence about anything. He’s an aggressive chonky Alpha cat who loves nothing more than attacking the other cats, eating a lot, flopping on the heat vent on the floor, and snuggling.

Instead of feeling overwhelmed with responsibilities and tasks, I chose to experience being present and accepted where I was at, and then thanked the stars again and again for Orladyo. This month I reached the 6-month mark and it’s been amazing to discuss the changes with my medical team. The next 6 months will be good too, but I can expect less dramatic shifts in my health.

Yet another interesting chance seedling out of the seedling crop I grew at Cistus Nursery. We’re not sure if it’s a dud just yet. Now we wait and watch. I wonder what color the flower will be…

At the start of February I was happily back at work again. I jumped right in to catch up on tasks such as seed sowing and making divisions of things out at Secret Garden Growers. Right now I feel pretty happy with it all, but it was not easy at first. I’ve lost some valuable time this winter, but this is the season in horticulture where things can be extreme in unexpected ways. While many gardeners are at home and bored, I’m working like crazy making plants for them to purchase in the coming weeks and months.

What a fun theme for the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival.

The other big event this month was just like last year—but I was even more excited hoping to see the city of Seattle come to life again. We were not disappointed. Many more attendees were there, the hotel was vibrant, and restaurants were filled. The excitement of spring was in the air—even if we have a cold front moving towards us, again. So many friends and acquaintances were speakers this year. It was a wonderful event and I’m more than grateful to have been included.

The mess I left at the end of my DIY seminar on growing and propagating begonias. (I promise a group of friends and I cleaned it up.)

My DIY seminar was fun but the clock on the table ended up telling me the wrong time so I went over a bit. Last year questions from the audience were a bit scary, but this year, I very much enjoyed them. It’s funny how little I speak to the general public. Even with a blog here on the web, I tend to speak to the same audience, primarily other horticulturists, and a few avid gardeners, many of whom are local and good friends. It’s nice to share information, and I look forward to more talks in the future although I’m pretty much taking a big break until fall.

That’s good news for the blog though since I will be catching up on projects and plantings that I can write about. Time off in bed had me thinking a lot about comments from mentors that I’ve received, and it’s had me thinking more and more about how to move forward professionally too. There are no big changes, it’s just a matter of growing a bit more.

Bed rest and self-care techniques are all I have now as I keep moving forward into spring. I can’t wait for the months ahead, but I need to take care of myself and learn to be a better advocate for my needs and concerns.

So this was the main core of the last few weeks, lots and lots of work, maintenance of my plants here at home, plans for my garden for the next 6-8 months, and going to the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival to learn from others, meet new folks, talk to others, and hug my friends and let them know how much I value having them in my life.

While this may not sound like gardening, it’s been all about gardening, but in that contemplative and thoughtful way we so often sink into during the winter months.

Winter is all about tending to our inner gardens.

To Be Continued…

Volunteer Park Conservatory (Seattle): Part Five, The Bromeliad House

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This—the last room on this visit we’ve been having for about a week now—is the Bromeliad House.

Dischidia ‘Thailand Blush’.
I am sorry I don’t know as much about these plants as I’d like to, but in my home, they are simply too difficult to care for and that always complicates things. I’d love to take them on, but maybe I will have to let a few other plants die first. Yes, I said that.
Air plants are everywhere here, but there are other plants too.
There is a different kind of Staghorn Fern and…
more and more of the Tillandsia and other Bromeliads.
I found some lovely blooms though.
Aechmea warasii variegata.
This was a nice view but it reminded me of The Muppets for some reason. Maybe I’m tiring of calling everything Seussian?
There was a musical artwork made by an artist from Portland, Oregon installed overhead and it was really kind of nice in that it wasn’t really overdone or obtrusive. It complemented the whole atmosphere.

As the musical chimes played I admired blooms nearby and listened to the melodic tones.

Agapetes ‘Ludgvan Cross’.
I like these plants more and more whenever I see them. They look like hand-painted China and are so stimulating to the eye.
Agapetes ‘Ludgvan Cross’.

Before I left I walked around outside admiring the beds of annuals. It was such a nice way to relax and clear my mind before heading back home to Portland.
I don’t know much about this aspect of their work here at the Volunteer Park Conservatory, but when plants are confiscated from people trying to ship them in or out of the country illegally this is where they are sent. I was happy to know they didn’t necessarily just wind up in a garbage can somewhere. Not that I have thought about this a lot but…
Maybe the seeds I accidentally attempted to import legally that were on the DO NOT IMPORT list ended up here and are out back in their plant pokey? If so, I hope they’re doing well. I am just relieved that the only harm I caused myself was the worry about where my seeds had gone. I had no idea they were being held up because of my mistake. Note to self: Order more carefully next time.