minimal flowers in my house




Jane has asked us once again to show the flowers we have in our house.  This orchid still amazes me that it continues to bloom each year.  I don't do anything really special to it.  When I think about it, I pour a cup of diluted tea or coffee on it and water it every 10 days or so.  It sits in the rose garden all year long, through freezing and then unbearably hot temps.  I only bring it in when it is ready to bloom.  It truly is a garden workhorse.









Nothing else is blooming in the garden except for a few geraniums and thank goodness for them because otherwise it'd be really dreary out there.  On a side note, I'm still having trouble commenting on my blog and other blogs too.  I hope you are not having that same problem.  Oh well...

Linking to Small but Charming.




30 comments

  1. Love this Janet. I find that the stalks are often as nice or nicer than the flowers. My years old Christmas Cactus, which has not bloomed in several years, burst forth with a lovely bloom this morning. Gotta thank god for little gifts!

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  2. Switch to Google Chrome as your browser and see if that helps. I had similar issues and resolved it that way.

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  3. Love, love, love. I am the furthest you can get to a green thumb so I am amazed with anyone that gardens and actually produces something :) That room of yours is so uplifting - very bright with natural lighting and all the natural woods and colors, it's beautiful and serene.

    I have to add Janet, on a completely different subject, that after reading your blog now for a while, and recently watching the link you kindly gave us recently: "my friend maia" on youtube, has been the catalyst for changing the way I take care of myself and my family. Meats have become a rarity in our diets now (we still eat fish though), and I now take a daily one hour walk and stretch. It's all incredibly therapeutic. But the most profound thing that's happened is how much I find myself thinking - in the moment- how good life is. Sorry for the sappiness, but there it is.

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  4. Beautiful orchid! Those are not easy to grow so congratulations I think you've got a green thumb. But then you do live in the Gardener's Cottage :-))

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  5. What a beautiful orchid and a lovely room.

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  6. wish I could grow orchids!!! Love your home so simple and fresh x

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  7. Maybe the reason I've never been able to keep an orchid alive is I had no idea that tea or coffee was good for them! {wink} At any rate, yours are just lovely!

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  8. That orchid is getting ready to just explode with blossoms, isn't it? It's beautiful, and your immaculate cottage shows them off exquisitely.

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  9. Amazing! And such a lovely serene room.

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  10. Such a beautiful room you've created. So inviting and refreshing and peaceful.

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  11. I have an orchid inside the house which I tend to ignore; I know it is suffering. Maybe I should try tea...

    Is it too nosy of me to ask what you keep in those glass canisters on top of the cabinet? I have two almost identical to those and I've wondered to myself what's best to store in them. On the one hand, I can think of all kinds of things.

    I have a friend in Northern California who just told me she is having a lot of problems with yahoo (doesn't think it's the new-fallen snow!). She has decided to dump yahoo. Is really, really frustrated...

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    1. vicki there are actually 3 garden cloche's. they are used in cold climates to help keep starter plants from freezing. i have a birds nest in each one. :)

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    2. I know I need new glasses. I also got turned around for a minute; that's the dining side of your living room, right, with the sofa on the other end of the room because I then realized that's your dishes in the cupboard.

      You are an awesome decorator. Everytime I look at your home interiors, I sigh because it appears to be such a blissfully-calm environment I so love color but you are nearly making me a neutrals convert. I'm about to have a sofa and chair reupholstered; have only just decided this morning that I'm going to go with a solid and nix a patterned print. I have too many pets who live inside for a white slipcovered sofa (my dream sofa) but I think I'm going to go with a soft green/sage solid. When there's a lot of green outside and there are good windows, it's nice I think when the inside can somewhat be a mirror to the outside. Like, I love your topiaries for a hint of color amid the serene materials of white (I assume plaster) walls, your woods, etc. (We also used Swiss Coffee on the vintage cottage/bungalow we just sold. You can't go wrong with it.).

      Do your wood floors hold up to a lot of foot traffic without scatter rugs or runners? Do you take shoes off at the door and not bring the toxins inside from the bottoms of your shoes? I used to say I couldn't live like that or ask people to take off their shoes, but it does give me pause sometimes. The people I know who request it are more concerned with the appearance/maintenance of their floors than their personal health.

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  12. We had the most beautiful orchids at the grocery store right around Christmas. They were brilliant blues & purples. Absolutely breathtaking...even my husband was amazed! I would have bought one but I thought they were very hard to care for. Maybe next year I'll give it a try!

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  13. Your orchid looks amazing, Janet! I was just thinking the other day that it would be lovely to have an orchid in our house. But I have no green thumb whatsoever and I pretty much kill anything green that enters my house. I am fond of orchids because my grandmother is a fantastic gardener (miss her) and she always had a beautiful collection of orchids. Do they need much sunlight?

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    1. And your house looks amazing as always. Love the white rattan stool!

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  14. Do you have any idea what the name of this orchid is Janet? I have never seen one with this many stalks and buds. Tks, Lynne

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    1. lynne i have no idea of its name. i have 4 of them outside in the rose garden and it seems 1 or 2 bloom each year and the others don't. it will be a surprise to see what color this one is. :)

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  15. Love this. The only reason I am able to have an orchid plant around at all is because I work in a flower shop and bring one home whenever necessary.

    i don't have the light ( or patience) or climate for reblooming. Though I wish I did as they just get more prolific with age.

    Thanks for joining in. Always love to visit your house.

    xo J

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  16. I always have an orchid on my dining room table and I think they are very easy if the light is right. Not too bright during the day but soothing warm light in the late afternoon. I put two ice cubes on the moss every Sunday and never touch it otherwise. It makes the February house look so pretty. I've rebloomed one only once. But they are fairly cheap (10.99) and last 4 months. Therefore, I don't have to spend money on flowers as long as the orchid is blooming.

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    1. Interesting and good tips. I have a friend whose home is on a hill and overlooks the ocean from a small distance. She has her orchids in pots just sitting on the tile floor in the living room next to a wall of windows. They do indeed get the afternoon/sun-setting light and do amazingly well on that warmed floor; she says she mostly just leaves then alone, and she has had them for years and years (never has even re-potted them or improved the soil; nothing but, as you say, a little water).

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  17. I feel like I remember the navy blue cabinet with the suitcase being dark wood? But I also feel like I remember a record player so I don't know. Whether that was the case or I made it up (I do have a vivid imagination) the room looks fabulous. It's so fresh. And I'm always impressed people keep orchids alive for longer than a month or two.

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  18. Hi Janet, I got all the ingredients for your lasagna recipe and will be making it this week. My first VEGAN recipe adventure--Yay!!! Allegra

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  19. Your minimal is awesome. Did you know I had this room in my favorites folder before I even knew you? love it still.

    xxo Sarah

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  20. I'm trying to keep my space minimal, but I do struggle. Many years ago, I banished plants that needed my care, because I tended to ignore them. They became leggy and wan lending an air of sadness to the space. But right now, in this frozen tundra, I need a little something to help me dream of spring. Haven't decided what as yet, but I have a window seat that will be just the right spot.

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  21. I thought I had just stepped into a botanical garden!
    Lovely-
    pve

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  22. I am always amazed that folks think they cannot grow orchids. As you said they require so little care! Yours are lovely as is your space. I too had bookmarked a photo back before I knew about Pinterest!

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  23. Janet, one day I will succeed in getting an orchid to bloom again (or maybe not!). You made it sound so easy to get an orchid to bloom again. Good for you! Christa

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