In case any of these grab your fancy, they'll be in bloom for awhile. All but the Phal are small - well, the Phrag will get larger. 1. Dendrobium ceraula (gonzalesii), 4/28, started blooming 2. Dendrobium tobaense, 6/1 3. Encyclia bracteata, April 4. Phal. Summer Beach, late Jan. 5. Phrag. besseae, late March 6. Pleurothallis tribuloides, late April The Phal. I-Hsin Salmon 'Joy No. 3' will start blooming in a week or so. And here I thought only 1-2 plants were in bloom. Things are three times less boring. Thanks for the topic. Whitecat8

Hi I have found most books centered on GH or windowsill growing. Just the opposite of Florida. Another thing is that there are SOOOO many species of orchids with many different culture methods a book has to be so general as to be useless.You're probably interested in the epiphytes ?? Florida has so many different options of growing methods and local info is so much more useful. I've found that true of any plant I've tried to grow. There are so many clubs ,nursuries here not only for info but plants and supplies. Some things I've learned over the years. Select from the warm growers. Cool growers are a real pain in the land of eternal heat.lol You do not need a lot of equipment, Gh, or elaborate culture methods. SHOP AROUND you will spend more money on orchids than most any other plant. The price ranges boggles the mind even locally. Immediately train yourself to spot a bargain at the shows. Last piece of advice that no body ever follows especially me lol Don't impulse buy. When looking at the fantastic flowers Think about the necessary culture methods that brought the plant to such glorious condition . Save you a lot of grief not to mention money lol gary

Whether you need to bring the fish in or not would depend on how cold it gets in your area. It looks like you have a half barrel and that might not provide enough protection if you get below freezing weather. As far as the lily goes, if it is a tropical lily it will need to come inside, but a hardy lily can stay outside. You will want to cut it down to the pot as the weather gets colder. Rotting plant material isn't good for the fish. If it was your first year, maybe the lily wasn't mature enough to bloom. Also if it doesn't get enough sun it might not bloom. The other plants should probably be removed. They look like the type that might die in cold weather. It is true, you do not want to let the barrel ice over. You want at least a small hole for gas exchange. But don't pound on the ice if it does form. That can damage the fish. Sit a pot of hot water on the ice (holding on to it) to let the heat melt the ice. I am not in Ohio so I can't give you precise information, but I would err on the side of caution with that small a pond.

Hi Ingrid, Yes, I like a wide variety of roses. One of my (many!) rosie weaknesses is fragrance, and it just got me again.;) I went to my local botanic garden's plant sale at the beginning of November. I had the plant list all printed out. It had multiple species roses on it (another weakness), but I told myself I didn't *need* any more roses. I went to the sale armed with a shopping list of other plants to buy. That was the plan at least. I kept repeating "you aren't buying any roses, you aren't buying any roses." All was going as planned until I made the mistake of turning down the aisle with the roses. I was doomed. The most intoxicating fragrance permeated the air. I had to look to see which rose was such a super wafter. It was Rosa californica 'First Dawn', the only rose blooming. The rationalization began! I knew I already had Rosa californica 'Los Berros'. First Dawn although the same species was a different selection, and it looked quite different. Los Berros has much bigger and darker flowers which open flat and are borne either singly or in a cluster of maybe 2 or 3. First Dawn is light pink and the single flowers are cup-shaped. It blooms in multi-flowered clusters. The perfume has an additional elusive element I don't smell in Los Berros (it too packs a wallop in the fragrance department). I managed to resist the temptation to buy any of the other species roses as none of them were in bloom. However, I must admit that my resolve lasted less than a week before I was back and visited the garden's native plant nursery and brought home 2 pink/violet Rosa minutifolia (one upright growing, the other more lax) to add to the white-flowered one I already had. Next to Rosa minutifolia in the nursery was R. woodsii ultramontana. It looked lonely, so naturally I had to bring it home! I'd previously seen this rose in all its glory at Eurodesert, and whenever I was in its vicinity, a very powerful, sweet perfume pervaded the air. No way to miss noticing this rose when it is blooming. It may be a once bloomer, but who cares! Melissa