Falling into Fall

There is something about late August/September with the school buses back on the streets and the kids walking with their backpacks, you know summer is over. House decor and accent colors change to the warm shades of Fall too.  Due to our super warm temps, I don’t change until mid October.

One of my Fall projects is drying some limelight hydrangeas from my friend Debbie’s lovely garden in Blowing Rock, NC. Her hydrangeas are spectacular. My photo does not do them justice. In the mountains, God waters frequently so they are beautifully showy against the house and all the beautiful mountain view’s. The dahlias and sunflowers were also spectacular. The Mexican sunflowers were over 13″ wide and 6-7′ tall!

My dried hydrangeas might not have the rustic look some might expect. Not surprisingly, you may see some hand blown glass peeking through the blooms.  Just saying, these hydrangeas might have come from the mountains but they’re in Naples now!

Come Fall, I look forward to our cooler weather. However, my orchids really do benefit from the high humidity and frequent rains of summer.  In June I attached some bare root dendrobiums to trees. The summer weather is just what the doctor ordered for them to attach to the trees. It’s all part of the cycle to bring them into bloom. For orchids, the work is in getting the plant back into bloom. Once it’s in bloom, the plant can relax a bit while we enjoy it.

The annual Botanistix Open House is on November 5 from 11 to 5pm
9171 Torrefino Court in TerraBella (gate code for the day *4045) which is in Pelican Marsh. Reach out to me if you have questions. (201.951.9211 christi@botanistix.com)

Of course there will be new Botanistix for you to see, but new this year are some really unique cache pots for sale at the open house only.  I love the white one pictured.  With the top detail its very special.  As soon as I have photos I will share the other styles. As most of you know I do not stock large quantities. After I sell out, if it can be reordered, I will.

If you are in Naples this winter please check out my orchid behavior classes at Botanistix.com.   In our yard, you can see how beautiful they are attached to the trees with bromeliads and tillandsias. It’s one of the advantages of living in this high humidity and (general) lack of frost location. In the classes we go over general care, how to purchase for best results, repotting, orchid arrangements and
options for when the blooms are over. It’s fun and we all learn from each other.

Happy Fall!!