Dragon's Orchid Garden

Most of the plants in our garden are in  terracotta pots.  Potted plants can be moved around until they find their happy place.  We're still working on making planting beds which is a lot of work in this sandy Florida soil.  It's much easier to find a pot, fill it with medium and put the plant in it.  I used to mix my own planting mix using top soil, manure, some peat moss soaked in water and vermiculite, but now I'm lazy and just buy bagged potting mix for all but the orchids. My handy husband, Wayne, is a yard sale meyven and has, more than once, found a bonanza of clay pots at a sale.  We have them cleaned and stacked in a shed and under the orchid tables waiting for just the right plant. Recently, our favorite family run nursery, Duncheon's , ran a "buy one get one free" sale. Wayne went there every weekend for the month of the sale and picked up at least two beautiful pots each time, mostly glazed in cobalt blue, my favorite color.  Here are s...

Don’t throw away your cracked terracotta pots. My clever husband, Wayne, discovered a method to fix them. We were watching Antiques Roadshow one evening and saw an old porcelain plate with a crack repair made with metal staples. A cartoon lightbulb suddenly appeared over his head as he thought about all of the old cracked terracotta pots in the garden shed. The next day, he fixed several of them and has saved all of the old pots now! Those things are expensive, especially the big ones. The repairs look really cool and are quite sturdy and now we have many more usable pots. You will need a variable speed drill with a 3/16” carbide tipped concrete bit, heavy gauge wire, pliers and wire cutters. Wayne used 16-gauge rebar tie wire. First dunk the pot in water to soak the terracotta. This makes it less brittle and keeps the dust down when you drill it. Carefully drill a hole about ½ inch on either side of the crack. Use a steady medium speed and not too much pressure. Let the bit do the wo...