Trichopilia suavis flowers in my greenhouse this cold evening. I’ve been growing this plant for about 5 years, but this is the first time I have successfully bloomed it. So, Yay! 🌱 🌴 #orchids

That’s some mighty fine color this evening.

Feed me! Upper pitcher of Nepenthes ‘Lady Luck’ (N. ampullaria x ventricosa). A very common hybrid but usually seen in smaller sizes. It needs to vine for several feet before producing the funnel-shaped upper pitchers. 🌱 🌴

The Eno. You’re not going to have much luck in a boat, but you can wade in it or walk along its banks, and find a bunch of really interesting creatures under its rocks.

Christmas rose (Helleborus niger). The neighbors’ honeybees are busy on an unseasonably warm day. 🌱

A few shiitakes this morning.

Noticed a cool gecko on the wall outside, ran to see, collided with door, gave self a concussion.

Dendrobium lindleyi flowering a little early this year. I keep it outside in autumn until the first frost is forecast, then hang it about 8ft high in the greenhouse with absolutely no water until it flowers. 🌱 🌴 #orchids

And he comes from behind to win New Year Catan, surprising even himself!

What is going on here?!? 🌱 Williamsburg, VA at first, I thought it was wisteria strangling an old tree, but all of the tissue seems to be the same plant.

Roadtrip food: Wawa hoagie > Buc-ee’s brisket sandwich.

The great thing about iNaturalist is that when you are in a strange city for the holidays and social batteries are depleted, it can tell you where to go to recharge. Desmognathus fuscus, northern dusky salamander, Williamsburg, VA. #herps 1 of 3

Front approaching. First Landing State Park, Virginia Beach, December 29. The park marks the site at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay where the first British colonists made landfall in 1607.

This John Adams quote hits pretty hard right now. American Revolution Museum at Yorktown.

Flintlock musket demo at the American Revolution Museum in Yorktown.

This is the most amazing lizard photo I have seen in a long time.

I have no idea where this year went but it's December 1st again, so here we go Day 1 of my 2025 Favorites: I tried my hand at tide-pooling shenanigans, and found PISTOL SHRAMPS 😍 They use that giant claw to kill things with a shock wave, and that's just fun.

A few years ago, through luck and vibes, I managed to produce this blue colored bean variety. This was an early step in trying to answer the question, [paraphrased] "Why isn't blue as common as red in beans, even though they're both anthocyanins and the plant has the genes for both?"

On the blog today, the last #SixonSaturday of the year. 🌴 🌱

Two-year-old daughter: “No singing, Daddy. No! Hurt my ears.”

Scottish mathematician, astronomer & polymath Mary Somerville was born #OTD in 1780. #WomenInSTEM William Whewell coined the term "scientist" in a review of Somerville's book, 𝘖𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. Used as gender-neutral term as the common term at the time was "man of science."

The Scadoxus puniceus that I overwinter in the greenhouse is about twice the size of the plants in the ground. Might be environment or might be genetic: this one came with the varietal name “Magnificus.” Flowering today. Winter dormant period of this clone is only about 6 weeks. 🌴 🌱

I do miss reading bedtime stories. I got better (or meaner) as we went along. By the time Frodo was stung by Shelob, I left them in suspense for 24 hours.

All the state parks were closed today, so our Christmas afternoon walk (sunny, 71 F) was in Brumley Nature Preserve North. Saw a kingfisher and some interesting trees growing after being completely flattened in a storm.

Christmas orchid! Stenorrhynchos speciosum was well worth the wait. 🌴 🌱 #orchids

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Happy Christmas to all who celebrate! (festive cardinal outside my bedroom window when I woke up this morning)

THREAD. My parents' cat Bridget vanished. As the weeks dragged on they became ever more worried, so to distract himself my dad began to paint Bridget's adventures, imagining her travelling through time and popping up at some of art & music's most important moments. I've collected his work here...

It’s Columnea microcalyx season again. The trailing stems are well over 6 ft long now. 🌴 🌱

Clearly my brain has some weird bias, probably generated by maps, because I instantly interpreted this gorgeous painting as eastern Maine (ocean on the right).

#sixonsaturday 20-12-25 : acacia boormanii, hellebores, a weird tomato, agave, phormium and a flowering rhododendron 🌱 fredgardenerblog2.wordpress.com/2025/12/20/six…

The night I first met the very cute girl who, a decade later, became my wife, we watched The Princess Bride. So that’s going to be my choice for a Rob Reiner rewatch tonight.

When I interviewed Spinal Tap and Marty DiBergi this summer, none of them broke character, for the whole hour. Except Rob Reiner, once, losing it when Michael McKean's David St Hubbins talked about minimalism. I didn't use this in the feature and hadn't published any audio, but this is joyful.

Sutcliff’s book were a huge part of my childhood, and I still find them to be highly rereadable. No visits from the suck fairy there.

Latest blog post. Some photos from the Winter Silhouette Bonsai Show in Kannapolis last weekend. 🌱

New growth on Anthopterus schultzeae is pretty in pink. 🌴 🌱

Slightly creepy sight in the greenhouse. I didn’t realize that house centipedes shed their exoskeleton to grow, but I guess it makes sense.

Flowers starting to open. Compared to some other clones of the species that I have grown or seen, this plant has larger bracts which partially hide the flowers. Color and morphology clearly indicates pollination by hummingbirds. 🌴 🌱 #orchids

Nepenthes alata (Luzon) with semi-digested insects visible through the translucent pitcher wall. This is the true N. alata, not N. graciliflora or the mass-produced hybrid with N. ventricosa. 🌴 🌱

Nepenthes platychila is mainly known for the amazing peristome (collar) on its upper pitchers, but even an immature lower pitcher like this is pretty great. Friendly onychophoran vibes from the fuzz and fringes. 🌴 🌱

Frasera is a genus of 15 spp in N. America. In 2024, a 19-year-old plant of F. caroliniensis growing in the NC Bot. Garden bloomed for the first & last time. This species is monocarpic (it flowers & dies). The peculiar greenish flowers have nectaries on the petals. #Gentianaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Brrrr. 🌱

Youngest offspring is playing her first D&D campaign with some of her friends. She’s running a dwarf fighter named Ground Beef who bludgeons his enemies with a maul. *Sniff* So proud. They grow up so fast.

Oh man, I could really get behind this. Those who leave tangles of fishing line beside the river are without honor. Those who toss baggies of dog poo into the bushes at the park will never see Sto-vo-kor.

Latest blog post, showcasing three multifloral slipper orchids flowering now. One is good, one meh, and one just sad. 🌱 🌴 #orchids

Rabbit rabbit! December 1st came early, thanks insomnia! Here's a White-spotted Salamander (Plethodon cylindraecus) from central North Carolina this fall. #herps #salamanders #NaturePhotography 🌿

Reminds me of something . . . 🌱

I am religious, and I’d rather break bread with Desmond Tutu than Dawkins, but I just really like this song.

Paphiopedilum Temptation (P. kolopakingii x philippinense). This is a BIG plant. Size and flower count comes from P. kolopakingii, color and twisted petals from P. philippinense. #orchids 🌴 🌱

Monolena primuliflora is a plant that becomes cooler the longer you look at it. It’s flowers are pretty, but no different than any number of Melastomataceae. Usually only one is open at a time, but . . . 🌴 🌱 1/5