Memorial Day Happenings

Things had gotten a little cluttered and crowded at the Temple. The plants, especially the Cattleyas had been growing rapidly. It got harder to see when new growth and roots were emerging; the ideal time for re-potting.

The buds of this Cattleya Forbesii are growing right into the wall. I only spotted them from the outside.

This bench in the southeast corner is very crowded. A new duplicate bench in the opposite corner will help relieve the overcrowding.

The ideal solution was to build a two-story bench in the northwest corner. This would take up the same amount of floor space, but give twice the room for plants.
Dodging thunderstorms, rare for this area, I constructed the new bench.

The recently constructed bench on the patio just before moving it into The Temple.

The new bench in place.

Close-up of Cattleya Percivaliana alba seellings with plenty of room for growth. I can now see when new roots are emerging and re-pot at the optimum time.

The bench in the opposite corner is no longer overcrowded.

I also needed a shed for potting supplies and tools. I designed one in the style of a Tiki bar, and call it "Libby's Tropical Shed." I used grass beach mats from Hawaii to cover the walls. For trim, I used split bamboo from a stand of Bambusa Oldhamii that is growing at a local business. They were kind enough to allow me to cull out the broken and dead culms. I discovered that working with bamboo is a lot of fun!

Bambusa Oldhamii growing at a local business.

I used a machete and hammer to split the bamboo.

The door to the shed has been re-purposed from three previous Temples; numbers 3, 4 and 5.

Various daylight shots of the new shed, and a night time photo with the Chinese lanterns.