OR-you-CHIDding me?

Despite my enthusiasm for plants I've never had luck with orchids.  Well, let's clarify that a little. I bought two orchids from swedishmegastore a few years ago, didn't have a good indirect sun location for them, didn't repot them after purchase, and then left them in the care of a boyfriend for two weeks in winter. 

They died. 

Maybe it wasn't so much "bad luck" as not knowing anything about orchid preferences, probably overwatering them, and then neglecting them. 

Lucky for me the freestyle karma wheel has turned by some degree and I found this pot with two orchids in September. I believe them to be Phalaenopsis.

 As you can see they had just passed flowering. I'm assuming the owner was moving out and didn't want to take just dirt and leaves, so thank you mystery donor for leaving this on the loading dock instead of throwing it in the trash.

I am determined to keep these orchids alive, and hopefully to coax them into flowering... within a year.
After a little research and an excellent tutorial video from the Chicago Botanic Garden & Illinois Orchid Society I was ready to repot the orchids. It didn't seem like full coverage with potting soil in a plastic pot with no drainage would be the happiest long-term situation for the orchid and its velamen (spongy tissue covering the roots that looks green/gray on healthy orchids). Velamen is like a sponge around the orchid's roots, and you've all seen what happens to sponges when they never get a chance to dry out.

While repotting I had to remove a lot of sphagnum moss and rotted velamen, it felt good.  I decided to give each orchid its own pot so I could put them in two places within the house to see which had more suitable light. I also varied the pot size, so it's not a perfectly clean sing-variable experiment, and I have no control, but c'est la vie.... well, maybe, if the orchids live. Otherwise c'est la mort.

Here they are in their new homes. The orchid mix seemed less bark-y and more fine-grained than what she used on the video, so that's another thing to consider.

This zinc container  was sold as a planter with tree bark glued around the edge, but it was so cheaply made the tree bark came off in one big piece after about a year. I still have the bark somewhere, but at least a bucket is still a bucket.

Exercising proper orchid care seems to mean rarely watering, and keeping things temperature controlled. I will attempt to do both.

Happy freestyle gardening!

@Friends' - This coffee table is a square deal

After conversing with a friend who mentioned the desire for a coffee table in his new bedroom (he's moving up in the roommate house-share world!) I came across this solid little number next to the dumpster on night

Here is the record of the text message exchange from that night:

          Me [10:01 pm]: Small black square coffee table, nice, you want it?

          Me [10:03 pm]: [send two pictures]

          Him [10:05 pm]: Save that!

So there you have it, a freestyle deal in 11 words.
Here is the table in its new home.

Ready to help entertain you!

This table isn't the only good thing making its way into this other apartment as part of the room upgrade, stay tuned for other freestyle finds shared @Friends'.

Happy freestyling, and don't forget to share it forward sometimes.

Transfer treasure: White enamelware bowl

Transfer station.

Sounds so much better than 'place with giant garbage bins for you to separate recyclables and trash on a Saturday morning.'  Transfer stations are also know to have swap sheds, or give-n-take racks -- all things that are music to my ears.  During an autumn visit to a transfer station I found a lovely little bowl gathering dust in a nearly empty swap shed.

Top view, dust included

Such a lovely piece of white enamelware, only a few dings around the top rim, but otherwise in great condition.

Side view

Coincidentally, the next day I was walking by a parking lot flea market in another city when I spotted this bowl for sale.  $12 for a vintage white enamelware bowl.  Not bad, but mine was free!

I'm not sure what I'll use my new bowl for, but given its wide flat bottom and vertical sides it has the look of a potential succulent planter....

Happy freestyling!

Free planters inspired some NQF gardening fun

yellow and purple mums, rockin' out

Plastic tubs, that is really all they are. Plastic tubs with holes in the bottom, and another plastic tub to catch the water so that everything looks tidy. So simple, so wonderful, and even more so when I found three adobe colored plastic planters on the loading dock in late summer, with the right dimensions for our balcony.  After a little bit of a wash, and a few weeks sitting on the porch (I was busy, it happens) the planters were ready for some action. But what to plant?  Late September is probably too late for edibles, although who knows what the weather will be like throughout autumn.  I was finally struck by the gardening inspiration spirit when I passed a rack of mums at the hardware store.

After two trips to the store, involving 8 mum plants, 10qt of potting soil, then another really heavy bag of potting soil I was well supplied to create my autumn garden.

You can see the mums arranged on the balcony, beautifying the world. 

Happy freestyling, and when life hands you planters, make a garden!