State Flowers: Minnesota

I thought my next state flower should be from my home state, Minnesota. Land of 10,000 lakes, the Loon and the dainty Pink and White Lady's Slipper. (Known technically as Cypripedium reginae.)

Interesting facts about the "Showy Lady's Slipper"

• "She" was adopted as the state flower in 1902.
• Lady's Slippers grow slowly, taking up to 16 years to produce their first flowers. Talk about taking your own sweet time!
• They can live for up to 50 years and grow up to four feet tall.
• She is rare and thus protected by state law. It is illegal to pick the flowers or to uproot.
• She typically flowers in late June and early July, with generally 1 or 2 flowers per stem.

I've never had the pleasure of seeing her in person. Maybe one day on a trip back home, I'll be wandering the swamps and bogs and stumble upon this beauty.. (Ok, so I don't traverse swamps and bogs, but it sounded kinda good...)

Bye for now, gee gosh dontcha know....

Flower of the Week: Orchid

I don't think I've ever come across someone who didn't like orchids. They are just that great. But there are lots of things about orchids that the average joe/josephine doesn't know. Like what you say?


Well, did you know that the biggest orchid , the Tiger orchid, is so huge that it weighs about 2,000 pounds?!?!?! Now with the average Cymbidium orchid being about 100 dollars a stem, WHAT would that cost? Ha, can you imagine even trying to finagle that one? silly :)

Look at the size of that blossom!

Did ya know?

• Orchids have the largest variety of flowering plants with about 20,000 natural species


• Orchids grow everywhere, except, Antarctica. There are some that grow in the Artic Circle. Imagine that!!!


• Vanilla is in the Orchid family.


• African Orchids are white, while Asian orchids are often multicolored.


• Orchids are abundant in the tropics, where the majority of the species grow on the trunks and branches of trees. In temperate zones, like southern Australia, most Orchids grow on the ground.

Just a few facts about the fabulous Orchid.