340 
The Garden Magazine, July, 1924 
piece of burlap over which an inch of sand is spread. In the winter 
and on dark days the sand and moss are kept barely damp, and on 
bright sunny days and when plants need the extra moisture to help 
their growth, they are saturated morning and afternoon too if neces¬ 
sary. The pots in which the Orchids are growing stand upon different¬ 
sized inverted pots so 1 can squirt the little seven-foot half-inch hose 
nicely without hitting any of the plants themselves. 
A medium-sized barrel sawed in halves makes a good tank. In this I 
keep a few aquatic plants and sometimes a couple of small fish. This 
keeps a nice supply of pleasant, soft, and warm water always on hand 
with which to moisten the Orchids. 
Responsive Orchids for the Amateur 
F OR. years I had about thirty Orchids all different and although, of 
course, 1 had some failures, still the successes have far exceeded 
my fondest anticipations and more than encouraged me. 
Cypripediums are considered the easiest of all Orchids to grow and 
handle; at least C. insigne and its allied varieties. Certainly when a 
beginner starts in with Orchids, he (or she) usually purchases C. 
insigne, for in addition to being so easily grown, it is also the 
cheapest. 
My first purchase was C. insigne Sanderae, and any one who has read 
“My Rock-Garden’’ page 279, by Reginald P'arrar, will understand 
why. It is a beautiful canary yellow and has a snow-white tip to the 
dorsal sepal. My plant arrived from England in bloom with two per¬ 
fect flowers and never a spot or blemish to mar their beauty. Messrs. 
Charlesworth of Hayward’s Heath, always packed the splendid 
plants they sent in such a wonderful way one would never know 
they had been moved, and this after a 3,000 mile journey. There 
are very many other varieties of insigne, some with very large flowers 
with many colorings varying from greenish to reddish, and a number 
of the flowers are finely and wonderfully spotted with black. C. 
Charlesworthi is another particularly pretty species but is not such a 
good grower. 
The leaves of some of the Cypripediums are very beautiful, light 
green in color, spotted and mottled with a deeper shade, but of these 
one has to be careful, as they too are a little more tender. It would 
be a pity, however, to deny oneself of one of the lovely albino varieties, 
such as C. Maudiae, or one of its parents, as they are very chaste and 
unusual looking and worth an extra effort. 
My real favorites of all the Cypripediums are C. bellatulum and C. 
niveum; but, though they have bloomed for me a few times, I never seem 
to make them happy. I should like to try again, however, but am 
unable to secure a plant of either. 
All my Cattleyas, Laelio-Cattleyas and my Brasso-Cattleyas did well 
and always gave me their gorgeous flowers at the expected time. The 
plain lavender-colored ones I never bothered much about, as the flowers 
of these are so readily available at any florist’s. However, as they are 
the most easily grown of this group and moderate in price, they are well 
worth having. 
1 love the great fringy palest lavender flowers of Brasso-Cattleya 
Imperatrice de Russie. They are truly among the most beautiful of 
flowers. 
And the glowing scarlet of L.-C. Charlesworthi is simply gorgeous 
when 12 blooms open on the same stalk (as mine did). It was a large 
plant and the head of flowers from a distance looked like a fiery red 
Hydrangea. 
L.-C.Creusa is a pure yellow and L.-C. Hypatia is a deep peach. 
The little Sophronitis grandiflora is a dear and, as it is so small, must 
be watched very closely. 
The Sophro-Cattleyas are neat hybrids with brilliant flowers; 
Phalaenopsis Schilleriana (pale lavender) and P. amabilis (pure white) 
are most exquisitely beautiful and graceful things and hold their flowers 
a long time, although in the bud stage particularly a draft will some¬ 
times drop them off. 
Odontoglossum pulchellum, though not as large and showy as many 
others, holds its own in my estimation, because 
it grows and blooms so regularly, whereas all 
other Odontoglossums tried have failed me. 
Platyclinis autumnalis is a very pretty and 
unusual little Orchid and so is P. glumacea, 
and they are not difficult to handle. Hartwegia purpurea and An- 
graecum distacheus are both pretty enough too. 
Other Plants for the Little “Mixed” Greenhouse 
T HE list of Orchids is a long one, long enough to satisfy those who 
have twenty greenhouses and yet those who have only a single tiny 
one, as I have, can have their hearts’ fill, too. And for those who love 
Orchids and want to know them intimately, the far greater pleasure is to 
grow them themselves and to see every bud develop from its be¬ 
ginning. 
Not only do Orchids do nicely in a little house like this of mine but 
many of my other favorite flowers and plants thrive and grow apace. 
I have a little Osmanthus fragrans that has flourished for twelve or 
thirteen years. In the summer 1 sink the pot in the ground out of 
doors and it has never failed yet to give me a wealth of its deliciously 
sweet little cream-colored blossoms. Its foliage, a pretty shiny dark 
green, is an ornament at all seasons of the year. 
Choisya ternata is another pretty shrub suitable for a pot that is 
extremely attractive when laden with its fragrant white flowers. 
The Amaryllis hybrids are very showy subjects when in bloom and I 
remember a beautiful solid dark red one that had blooms one season 
eight inches across, and it had two stalks with four flowers on each! 
I hate the “finest mixture” of these bulbs that the bulb dealers sell. 
They nearly always turn out to be ugly striped varieties. 
Then, too, the scented-leaved Pelargoniums of which I have one kind 
with pretty velvety red flowers and another with salmon pink do well 
stood on the sand in the cooler end of the bench. 
Numerous Ferns, an edging of the smaller ones in front of the Or¬ 
chids, are ornamental and help hold a moist atmosphere as well. A 
few Ferns of a 4-inch pot size are nice, as they help to fill in any vacant 
spots or hide ugly pots and can be shifted frequently wherever they are 
most useful. 
One or two Palms are handy and always make good fillers and can be 
moved to the dwelling house if the greenhouse gets too crowded, as it 
often does. 
One or two of the hardier Marantas add variety to the foliage as do 
also some Tradescantias, such as T. fuscata, etc. 
Asparagus Sprengeri never fails and always is so light and feathery. 
1 cannot do without a few. Podocarpus elongatus is a substantial 
tender shrub that has beautiful foliage of a similar lacy type. 
Some professional florists would laugh at an attempt to grow so many 
plants that really should have separate houses of different temperatures 
to grow to their best. But after a good many years’ experience (over 
eleven) I am satisfied it is well worth while to try a mixture. 
There has been a break in the smooth running of my little tropical 
world as, of course, there should have been; and you will easily guess, it 
was the year of the terrible war. With my husband in France, I simply 
could not bear to keep a greenhouse going as I thought of human beings 
who needed warmth and comfort; and so I hurry over my tale of woe 
and will not dwell on the dreadful mortality of so many of my precious 
pets. Suffice it to say, few survived. 
Much Joy at Small Cost 
( HAVE said little about the care and treatment of Orchids because 
this is really just a brief sketch of what can be done by a greenhorn 
and the veriest amateur. But I do most thoroughly advise a little 
“studying up” before making any purchases and then getting only a 
few plants the first year. 
All over Europe there are little mixed greenhouses and in them their 
owners manage to make a great variety of plants thrive including, of 
course, Orchids; but in America it is amazing how few know anything 
of the pleasure derived from the growing of these beautiful flowers. 
A little greenhouse 6 x 7 ft. does not necessarily absorb much time, 
a few minutes several times a day and an hour or two several times a 
year at potting time is all that it requires. It means also to me that 
my greatest pleasure is right at my door ready 
to enjoy at any hour of the day I have a little 
extra time to spare. That is a great deal for 1 
have five young children and could ill afford a 
luxury that kept me away from them. 
