We have several inches of snow on the ground at the moment, so no chance of blooms outside (though the next few days are supposed to be warm, so I might see the ground this weekend!)
But inside I have paperwhites doing their pretty but stinky thing:
And at work I have a whole greenhouse full of petunias also doing a pretty but stinky thing
I'm working with wild petunias, some of which are incredibly smelly. Actually, they have a nice smell -- but this many of them in an enclosed space gets a little over powering!
And when I really need a break from winter, I wander over to the greenhouse next door, where my friend D is doing research on orchids:
Thank goodness for greenhouses! There are certainly good and bad things about being in grad school -- but the greenhouses are most decidedly one of the good ones!
10 comments:
How wonderful to be in a warm and humid greenhouse on a cold and snowy day. I so totally love it and agree that the blooms of paperwhites are beautiful, but that stink keeps them from my home! Happy Bloom Day. gail
Species Petunias have an incredibly wonderful fragrance at night. When wet they smell like a wet dog, or worse. Paperwhites need a large area for the fragrance to waft about.
Your photos are beautiful. January blooms take planning. Good job.
Wow - I'd love to see those wild petunias! Do they smell like the ones sold in the nurseries? They're gorgeous...
Love the paperwhites...petunias, as Annaflowergardengirl will tell you, are not my favourite flowers, but I think I'd like the species petunias because of their fragrance.
Hi, Joseph;
First time visitor -- how very lucky to have an entire greenhouse of petunias! If that was my job I would gladly work overtime. :)
Kate, if you'd be willing to work overtime with petunias you are the only one! The thing about petunias is they are STICKY. You don't notice it in the garden, but every leaf and stem is covered with stick hairs. So moving them, watering them, doing anything with them in the greenhouse is a total pain, and you come away with your hands all gummy. Everyone hates them! But they are pretty. And do smell nice -- sort of.
The greenhouses would definitely soften the effects of dreary winter, stinky though it may be. Nice pic of all the petunias.
I'm with you about the scent of Paperwhites. The good news is that the scent diminishes markedly as the flowers fade.
Hello Jospeh. I'm glad I stopped in here for a visit. All those wild petunias make for an amazing photo.
How did D get so lucky as to be doing research on orchids?
donna (I'm in zone 4, WI)
Welcome Donna! Glad you like the petunias... And yes, D is pretty lucky -- applied to grad school right when the professor who works on orchids needed a new grad student. But I like my research better: Nothing beats plant breeding in my book!
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