February 5, 2023- Week #11- Spring is around the corner

While Maine meets another polar vortex, here in Iowa it has warmed a little. Yesterday the temperature got above 40 for the first time in a while. I got outside and engaged in token raking. The ground was frozen solid, but the stuff on top could be raked.

Spring officially starts on March 20 this year. That is only 43 days from today.

We now have over 10 hours of daylight. There has been plenty of sunshine for a few days. Sunset is approaching 5:30 and at least on sunny days, there is plenty of light at 7am.

This wonderful phalanopsis has started to bloom.

It should bloom for at least a month, having 40-50 flowers before it is finished.

Last week in the picture contest the winner was

 the Red Orchid Cactus.

This picture moves on to the next round where the pink orchid cactus flower waits. 

The full vote last week was:

This Week is week #11

#1 Striped crocuses 

April 9, 2022

This striped crocus was Christpher's favorite that wonderful spring when he and his family joined us for a COVID extended visit. They were able to be here for that time when crocuses, aconite, squill and snowdrops were everywhere.

I remember him running up to me when I came home from work and letting me know there was the first blue flower. That would have been a scilla. 

At the bottom of this picture you can see some scilla seeds that have sprouted and will bury themselves into the ground over time. The seeds just sit on the surface by the thousands and wait for a time to sprout.

#2 Little Iris Lyonesse 

May 10, 2022

I have raved about these dwarf iris before. This little lovely is another creation of the Aitkens group at Salmon Creek. I do hope that anyone in the Portland, Oregon area can find the time to visit them during iris season. Just visiting their webcite brightens up a February morning. I think they will put up their new catalogue when iris start to bloom in April. For now here is their webcite showing last year's offereing

https://flowerfantasy.net/

#3 Cyprepedium Orchid Giselle 

May 14, 2022

Cyprepedium orchids grow in the ground. They are called Slipper orchids. The genus is Cyprepedium.

They are hardy in places like Iowa and Maine.

Giselle is one of the easier cyps to grow. I have an eastablished clump in the backyard that is maybe 10 years old. This picture is from a new plant in the front sidewalk bed. I am hoping that it will have more flowers this spring. I did get another variety which I planted last fall. We will see if I can grow something other than the easiest one to grow.

The wikipedia page has lots of pictures.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypripedium

Cyprepedium reginae, called the showy lady's slipper, is the state flower of Minnesota.

I grew one for a few years, but it died. I was just telling someone yesterday one of the secrets of growing orchids. That secret is that you have to be prepared that many will die. 

There is a little one that grows at altitude in Colorado. We have found it several times around Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. We are thinking of a trip back there this summer. I will certainly look to see if they are still there ten years later.

We were in Maine for Christopher's baptism, in early June, 2017. It was a magical time as we were there at the time the slippers were blooming along with a lot of other plants. 

Here is a little video I put together after the visit. Christopher recently turned six years old, and is now making self motivating videos.

#4 Blue tradescantia 

June 18, 2022

Tradescantia is the genus of plants that are also called spiderwort. This particular species is probably Tradescantia ohensis. It is a perennial in the garden, growing in part shade. It is named for two English "naturalists and explorers" both named John Tradescant. One is the Younger and the other the Elder. They were out exploring around 1600. Some of the explorations were to the new colony of Virginia.

The plant is also known as the inchplant. This comes from the the fact that it grows quickly.

Some tradescantias are houseplants, meaning they would not last in the cold. They do make good  plants for hanging baskets.

#5 Coneflower with hosta leaf 

July 21, 2022

Sometimes there are just pictures that work. This coneflower and hosta leaf worked well together.

Bonus pictures

Tradescantia

The pink variety that is a perennial is close to being invasive. It transplants easily. It is probably Tradescantia virginiana. (That structure over the pond is a duck guard, to be used when necessary.)

Here is a closeup.

The plant developers are working away with tradescantias. A new one is called Nanouk.

It is not hardy. It have been making cuttings of the main plant all winter. Here is that main plant, brought briefly outside for a natural light picture.

Here is the established clump of Giselle.

Right Now

Here is that phalanopsis that has started to bloom. It has two spikes with many flowers on each. It is up to a total of 11 flowers at the moment. This picture is of just the one spike.

There was another winter farmer's market. So I have another pretty violet.

The lettuce plants are now a month old. I think in another week or so we can start eating some of them.

Julia's recipe

Chicken and Rice with Coconut Milk and Cashews

The original recipe ran in the NYT. However, before I had a chance to make it, I heard from Katie that she had made it and it was 1) kind of sweet and 2) kind of boring. So this is the NYT recipe jazzed up and less sweet. It is, like most NYT recipes, pretty fast to make and, with the tweaks, tasty. 

The ingredients:

1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs;

1/4 cup regular oil;

2 teaspoons kosher salt;

1/2 teaspoon black pepper;

3+ tablespoons grated ginger;

1-1/2 tablespoons smushed garlic;

1 tablespoon green Thai chili paste;

1-1/2 cups short or medium rice;

2-1/2 cups chicken stock (I used better than bouillon);

1 cup coconut milk;

1 cup diced red pepper;

1 cup roasted cashews, chopped; and

 1/3 cup sliced scallions.                                                                                                   

I cut the chicken into square-ish chunks and tossed it with 1 tablespoon of the oil, then sprinkled it with 1 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper. 

I set the bowl of chicken bits aside for later. 

I turned the oven on to 375 degrees, as the dish would end up in the oven.

Next, I grated the ginger and smushed the garlic. Remember, I keep my ginger in the freezer in a plastic bag. It does not get soft or moldy, and it grates just fine on a rasp-style grater.

I also cut up the red pepper, reserving the rest for the salad, and then I cleaned and sliced up some (1/3 cup) scallions. And chopped the cashews into biggish pieces.

Next, I put 2 tablespoons of the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and browned the chicken. I think it took two batches. I was not cooking the chicken all the way through, just to brown it. When it was done, I put the chicken bits on a plate and added the last tablespoon of oil to the pot. 

I added the garlic and ginger and cooked them (over medium heat) just until they started to smell good.  

Then I added the Thai curry paste, the raw rice and a dollop of better than bouillon chicken base. I stirred that around for a minute or two, maybe three, until the rice was coated with the aromatics and oil. 

Next up: the red pepper, the scallions, the cashews, the 1 cup of coconut milk (some liquid and some of the solid layer on top) and 2-1/2 cups of water. I scraped up everything that was stuck on the bottom of the pot and turned the heat up to medium-high.

Lastly, when the stuff in the pot had come to a boil, I added the chicken and any juices from the chicken plate.

I covered the pot and put it in the oven for about 25 minutes, until the rice was done.

On the table. It was aromatic and flavorful, but not hot or excessively spicy. Or sweet. 

If you don't have coconut milk (or don't want to use it), use an extra cup of water (and a bit more chicken base) or chicken stock. On the other hand, I think an entire can of coconut milk would be okay (NOT coconut cream!) as the aromatics and curry paste would keep the dish from being too sweet. 

If you have red curry paste rather than green, that's fine. Likewise any color of bell pepper would be good. 

We had salad, of course, and broccoli and some applesauce from the freezer that I had made over the summer, with yogurt. A nice warm dinner for a cold day. 

Odds and Ends

I went to the meeting of the local orchid club this week. It was a session on repotting orchids. It was recommended that you repot most orchids every year. I am far from that for my 25 orchids. I do have to take a look at buying some quantity of orchid bark. That posed an odd mathematics questions. Big bags of bark, which is true for things like potting soil or compost, are sold by the cubic feet. 2 cubic feet is a good sized bag.

Bark is also sold by the quart. What? So how many quarts are in a cublic foot? I thought maybe 10-15 thinking about quart jars and imagining a cublic foot.

Well, it turns out Mr. Google told me it is about 30. Google then wanted to tell me how many quarts were in a five gallon bucket. Go away. (The answer is 20. Duh. It turns out that gallons and quarts are the same measuring system.)

Hausermann's, which is a big orchid place outside of Chicago, sells 2 cubic feet of bark for $40. As I look at prices for small bags I need to remember that conversion.

Downtown Iowa City has added this winter set of attractions. Two are right outside our office. They are not made of snow. They are giant inflatables.

Pray for peace...and reconcilation. 

Pray that better times are coming.

Philip