December 2014

Wow, what a year.  I’m probably not the first to say where did it go.  First off one of the big achievements for this year was getting this website up and running, and I hope that this post will kick off my regular posting of information and happenings around the nursery.  My intention is to post photos and information on the different varieties that we produce, all of which will be catalogued in the blog section of the website, so that if you have brought that variety you can look at all of the posts for that particular variety from the category menu.  I will also post about the different things that happen around the nursery and our lovely wildlife that call it home.  Over the next year I will also add more PDF’s to the Information page detailing specific aspects of orchid culture like chemicals usage and potting mixes.  All I ask is to please be patient, as I’m just learning how to do this website and feeling my way around how things work.

So it’s been a big year of achieving things with the nursery.  Several major jobs and projects have been completed, which has opened the way for the next projects to be started.  One of the projects completed was the rolling benches in the covered greenhouse, which as you can see by the photo has everything neat and tidy.  Although I look back at all the major projects that have been done, we also completed a lot of small projects, all of which make a difference to the nursery and the plants.  We have also had the first audit for NIASA and should have our application completed by February 2015 after a few small issues are cleaned up.  After that we get started on NGIA’s EcoHort program.  All of this means we continue with our nursery improvements into 2015.

New varieties have been added to our production throughout the year, so look forward to new and interesting orchids in the future.  Ones like Arthuara Sea Snake ‘Unforgettable’ will be available in 2016 (orchids are not quick growers!).  Also some older varieties like Miltoniopsis Breathless ‘Brillant’ have come back into production and will be available again in the near future.   Some old varieties I’ve found new ways of growing, or have made improvements to their culture to produce a better plant.  Wilsonara Pacific Panache ‘Kenny Boy’ is one such plant that we’ve improved the culture of, still what I call a scrappy grower foliage wise, but get a good root system under them and they really shine.  For everyone out there that has purchased one of our big Miltassia Estralita ‘Sweet Senorita’s in the last month, you have a plant that we have found gets better the bigger it gets.

So as I close off this first post for the website and the last post for 2014, I wish all of you a happy and safe new years eve and a bright start to 2015.