Cattleya jenmanii 'Eileen'

Cattleya jenmanii 'Eileen' 2013, a photo by KevinMIAfuego on Flickr.

by KevinMIAfuego

Cattleya maxima

Cattleya maxima, a photo by Mauro Rosim on Flickr.

by Mauro Rosim

Cattleya purpurata f. venosa

Cattleya purpurata f. venosa, a photo by Mauro Rosim on Flickr.

by Mauro Rosim

Cattleya percivaliana fma albescens 'D&D'

Cattleya percivaliana fma albescens 'D&D', a photo by salabat on Flickr.

plant and photo by Matt

A Visit To Sunset Valley Orchids (not by me!)

Cattleya warneri

Expo Divinópolis 2013 557, a photo by amigos orquidófilos on Flickr.

Expo Divinópolis 2013 557

Bulbophyllum medusae

Bulbophyllum medusae, a photo by hawaiiansunshine on Flickr.

Not a Cattleya, but pretty cool.

Cattleya maxina

Here is another C. maxima. This one is blooming for the first time. I acquired it bare-root from Ecuagenera at the 2013 Pacific Orchid Exposition. It established very nicely.

Cattleya purpurata rosea

Cattleya purpurata f. rosea, a photo by Mauro Rosim on Flickr.

Very pretty.

Cattleya warneri alba & tipo

Cattleya warneri f. alba & tipo, a photo by Mauro Rosim on Flickr.

Plants and photo by Mauro Rosim.

Temporary greenhouse

I was unhappy about the cost of heating the temporary greenhouse last winter (I use a small electric heater). This year I made a few changes to the greenhouse. First, I built another bench that fits snugly in the greenhouse. Now I have three benches, one against each wall (fourth "wall" is the entrance). Second, I used bubble wrap to insulate. On the inner walls I used carpet tape to fasten the bubble wrap. On the outside I used duct tape to tape down sheets of bubble wrap over the roof. Then I put a layer of poly, also fastened with duct tape, over the bubble wrap to protect it a bit from the elements. I will add some more grow lights. I have almost everything on benches this winter, with only a few hanging baskets. This should allow me to regulate water more easily. In the past it was hard to water the hanging baskets and control in any way the amount of water getting to the plants on the benches below. I thought the addition of the third bench would leave me with lots of space. Nope. I need to get rid of some plants. Pics show the view from the entrance.