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My book has now officially been released! It's apparently on the "New Releases" table in the center of Barnes and Noble stores in major markets.

My publisher just released a sample from my next book; I wanted to share it with you all here! Go here to read or download the sample. It's a kind of philosophy-based "book of questions," designed to promote philosophical thought, writing, argument, and discussion either as a personal...

I've been away for a while; been meaning to drop back by. This one coming into bloom has brought me back to share it with you. First bloom seedling. Peruflora's Spirit = Phrag. Eric Young x Phrag. kovachii. Click to embiggen.

Cattlianthe Blue Angel aka Lc. Blue Angel. From Sunset Valley Orchids, years ago. = C. Mini Purple 'Coerulea' x Ctt. Blue Boy 'True Blue' One spike with 6 blooms, 3 1/4" N.S. They'd be larger, but the petals did not open very flat. For this hybrid, this one has good color. Bluish...

This is a heat-tolerant Cymbidium. Blooms are more open this year, with better spotting and a wider lip. Last year it bloomed in September; this year in November, and in cooler weather, now that we've moved back to Virginia. Cym. Dutchman's Gold 'Everglades' by dwittkower, on Flickr...

= (Lc. Drumbeat 'Heritage' AM/AOS x Rhycholaelia glauca) If I look at this one as a Cattleya, I find its shape pretty disappointing. If I look at it as a Rhyncholaelia glauca hybrid, though, it looks like a nice, colorful, floofy glauca. Scent isn't too strong except at the right time of...

Paphiopedilum Edna Ratcliffe = (St. Swithin x praestans 'Knob Creek' HCC/AOS) Cross registered under P. glanduliferum, since RHS does not recognize P. praestans as separate. Right at 7" from the tip of the dorsal to the end of the petals. Click through and then on "all sizes" to see all...

Maumeneara Queen Adelia = (Rhyncattleanthe Orange Nuggett x Bergmanara Sammie Evans) Formerly known as Yamadaara Queen Adelia, but moved when some of the Cattleya became Guarianthe, some of the Brassavola became Rhyncholaelia, and the RHS began to recognize Encyclia as separate from...

First to open of a few bifoliate Catts currently in bud. The tepals are green with a lavender overlay, making them a kind of mysteriously color-shifting taupe. The upper part of the lip, surrounding the column, really is quite white. It's a nice one! Cattleya Leoloddiglossa = (C...

A big semi-terete hybrid with big flowers, and a very reliable bloomer. The top got broken off this one a few years ago. It put out two lateral growths, and this is the second blooming for both of them.

A small Oncidium relative.

My two Coryhopea finally bloomed! And both at the same time! I put together a detailed tour and morphological discussion of both hybrids, with links and tags to demonstrate how the Coryhopea flower forms are recognizably intermediate modifications of the highly specialized structures of...

Orchid breeding emergency! I'm moving tomorrow, and I've been moving the plants. I just noticed that a pod is starting to split at the bottom—about 6 months earlier than expected. I've been wondering about it, as the pod got very big very quickly, but I wasn't expecting gestation in 3...

Les Dirouilles = Sorcerer's Apprentice x Grande Sorcerer's Apprentice = longifolium x sargentianum Grande = caudatum x longifolium Phragmipedilum Les Dirouilles = 50% P. longifolium 25% P. caudatum 25% P. sargentianum It's grin is certainly toothy! The profile looks rather like a...

Phrag. Bird's Delight (Eric Young 'Mont Millais' AM/RHS x ecuadorense) Eric Young = (besseae x longifolium), so this hybrid is: 50% ecuadorense 25% besseae 25% longifolium Much more color this year than on its first blooming. The real virtue of the hybrid, though, is in the plant, not...

Bloom is very similar in size and appearance to a Bletilla, but opens further. The more rounded petals give it a bit more 'cuddliness' in a way—a bit more of a teddy bear look. Blooming semi-successively. I've read some places that it's terrestrial, and others that it's epiphytic or...

Blooming alongside the highway and in my backyard. Each flower is around 3/8" N.S. Not 100% sure on the species. Click through to 'all sizes' to see the super close-up full size.

N.S. of .65cm, but the lip is around 1cm long, as is the tall dorsal sepal. Lip is highly mobile, and drops suddenly 90º downward and then back. Hairs on the lip move in even a gentle breeze. I've been wanting to get video of these tiny wonders for some time, and I finally succeeded. These...

Common name is Leafless Beaked Ladies' Tresses. N.S. of 1.5cm, with lateral tepal length of 2.7cm. 17" tall from the sand surface, in a 6" pot. Hairy!

Successive flowering, and small compared to similar species like B. echinolabium, B. sulawesii, and B. carunculatum. This is a 6" pot. N.S. is about 3.6cm, and the "legs" are about 3.6cm long as well. Lateral petals are presented on a flat plane—very unusual. Smells mildly of stagnant...