All the same orchids as last week were in bloom. The only new orchid bloom of this week was Dendrobium Fancy Angel 'Lycee'. This nobile hybrid sports lovely honey-ish-scented flowers with shades of pink and green with white. As with other members of the nobile complex, this hybrid requires more water and heat during the summer with a dry, cool winter just like the monsoon cycle in its parents' Himalayan habitats. I grow mine outdoors, where it gets supplemental hydration in our dry summers and shelter from the winter rains. When given this treatment in addition to generous (Cattleya-ish) light levels, the plant blooms easily, being quite temperature tolerant and forgiving to haphazard treatment. If too much winter water is given though, the plants usually do not bloom and often instead make keikis, which I guess is good if one desires to propagate the plant. An annoying thing about these plants is that they are quite top-heavy and often flop down. To avoid this, either stake them, don't even bother (my method of course), or grow them upside down like in nature.
I swear the flowers were pinker back when I got the plant. Hopefully the color will intensify after a few days.
Yep, that was all the orchid business in this post. The rest is just random pictures of spring.
Spring flowers
Valley Oak starting to leaf out
Busy Bee
Next to the lab I intern at in Stanford was this nice patch of wildflowers
Very nice work landscaper!
Additionally the wall of the lab was covered in fragrant jasmines.
Native lupine species
I think this is a type of ice plant. In the Arizona Garden at Stanford
More of the jasmines
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