Spring is here! Well, actually, it has been here for over a month, but now it has finally blessed my north-facing window garden with floriferous abundance! This is the first time my paphiopedilum has bloomed since I bought it last summer. It is a hybrid labeled Incantation x Cocoa Cherry, and was a wine-red lady slipper bloom that lasted quite a while before finally drying up. Now we wait. I hope the bud doesn't blast. That would be disappointing.
A little background...
I am the proud resident of a north-facing condo in downtown Chicago. My home possesses beautiful skyline views, lake Michigan peaking out from between towering high-rises, and plenty of light all day long. Plenty of indirect light. No direct sun. Ever.
Here, in my cave, a genocide has occurred. Innocent jade plants of all sizes and variegation met a cruel, mushy, fungal demise as a direct result of Sol in absentia. No sun. Who knew you needed direct sunlight to grow plants??? Well, I sure do now. After much research, trial, and error, I am now owned by a number of lower-light requiring plants...and more succulents! Hi, my name is John, and I am a cactus and succulent-a-holic. I've been a long-time C+S lover, and now I am on a quest to raise a few of my favorites despite my northern exposure. This blog will chronicle my defeats, lessons, and (hopefully) victories. However small they may be. Thrown into the mix will be a collection of vigorous gesneriads, tropical house plants, a couple indestructible plants, and a slightly sunnier office space that I use as a convalescence home for succulents in need. I have learned that the death of a plant is not a total waste. While disappointing, we can learn from every failed attempt. Perhaps most importantly, it provides the opportunity to try again. Or buy a NEW plant!
What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from. (T. S. Eliot)
Stapelia scitula in bud.
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