If you have read my ‘Our Story’ on the Palisade Post website, then you know I am obsessed with making things, be it creating works of art, cooking, gardening, or making useful objects for things that bring me joy. In this case, making a pot for my most recent Orchid acquisition!

I’ve always loved Orchids but for the longest time had a really hard time keeping them alive, I would always overed water them. I had all but given up on trying to grow Orchids when my friend Laurie gave me one for my birthday. I was both overjoyed and saddened because I knew the fate of this precious gift. She then shared with me the most wonderful secret to keeping Orchids alive… water them using ice cubes! Crazy right, who knew? It works! It has been years since she gave me that gift and it is still alive, and my Orchid collection has grown, to date I have seven Orchids. Interestingly, I was listening to a podcast on growing Orchids (the BBC Gardeners’ World magazine Podcast: Success with Orchids) and in the audio they said not to water with ice cubes because the cold would shock the plant! So now I’m in a quandary… do I continue with the ice cubes because it has worked for me over the last few years, or do I change it up? Perhaps because I live in Colorado and we are a dry arid state, as the ice cube melts the water is no longer cold? I think I need to think about this a bit more, before coming to a conclusion. The other thing I learned was that Orchids should be grown in clear containers to allow the green roots to photosynthesize. You can however dress them up in more decorative pots, i.e. like the ones I’m going to be creating – you just place the plastic container in the ornamental pot. Also, if you have an Orchid not planted in a clear container (as I do) but it has roots that have grown out of the opaque pot you should still be good to go because those roots are able to photosynthesize. So there you go, learn something new every day! I also learned how to cut back an Orchid once it blooms. Don’t deadhead… opps! Dang it, I really do learn by making mistakes! Instead, what you should do for the Phalaenopsis (also known as the Moth Orchid) is to cut the faded flowers just above the next flower bud. The reason for this, is that the Moth Orchid flowers multiple times on one stem. Again… another lesson learned. What I’m now researching is what do you do if you do cut the stem back to the base? Will a new stem eventual grow back? I’m still looking for the answer to that question.

Six of my Orchids are of the Phalaenopsis genus which are known to be great for beginners (me) as they tolerate clumsy repotting and bloom throughout the year. These six vary in color from a creamy off white to a bright fuchsia pink. The other Orchid is a mottled leaf Orchid Paphiopedilum Petula’s Allure (Petula’s Presence ‘Lehua’s Burgundy Beauty’ AM/AOS President Fred ‘In Pink’). I bought it on a half price table at City Floral (a garden store in Denver). It was in sad shape but I’m happy to report this one along with the rest of my little Orchid family are all doing very well! I I have beautiful Orchid flowers during most of the year, as each one blooms at a different time.

Earlier this spring my husband, Andy, gave me this tiny little orchid also of the Phalaenopsis variety. It too is lovely but looks like it has already outgrown its pot. This is what inspired me to make pots for Orchids. Interestingly, although I’ve spent the last few years learning how to make sculptures in ceramics for art exhibitions, I’ve not actually learned how to make a simple, or perhaps not so simple pot! The challenge for me is symmetry… no one likes a lopsided pot after all.

So, after creating such things as cupcakes, women’s corsets, women and children’s shoes, a giant tube of lipstick, and even bigger hair pick and most recently a large-scale hairbrush all in clay, I’ve decided to focus on more practical things such as plant pots. My plan is to start with pots for Orchids and once I’ve master making those, I will move onto things like candle sticks, and coffee cups. Of course, if one is going to have coffee they might need cream, so I’m adding a creamer to the list and then some people might enjoy sugar in their coffee so then I think I should also make a sugar bowl (this reminds me of that children’s book called “If you Give a Mouse a Cookie”.) Once I’ve master making all these useful items, all of which relate to the joy of living if you think about it, I will add them to the Palisade Posh inventory which will be available for sale on the Palisade Posh website. That said, one step at a time, first the Orchid pot.

Once the pot is created, I will then need to decide on glazes! So many options. My plan for this one is to use a clear crackle Raku fire glaze. I will only glaze the lower half below my signature stamp, thus leaving the top half unglazed. The top half will get its color from the Raku combustible part of the firing. This is when you take the hot pot with its melting glaze from the kiln and put in something like a small trashcan that is filled with newspaper or saw dust which will then catch fire and together the fire and smoke is what give color to the cracks in the glaze as well as darken the area of the pot that does not have glaze on it. In the end, if all go well with the firing the pot would be a black and creamy white pot that has these beautiful random cracks throughout the glazed area.

One thing I’m planning on not doing is to glaze the inside of the pot because according to my ceramic instructor, Dean Goss, plants prefer an unglazed interior. So, the lower exterior will be glazed, and the interior will not. I’m also going to experiment with placing holes on on side of the pot as again Orchid roots need light. Once I master making the shape, I will explore different glazes beyond the Raku glaze. I’m thinking I will also experiment with making different sizes as my Orchids are at different stages of growth so for my Palisade Posh Orchid pot series, I will have sizes ranging from small, medium, large, and maybe extra-large. They will be available in a range of colors. That is the game plan that all stemmed from the creation of this pot and the joy of growing Orchids.

Orchid Pots

Making Stuff: Candles and Candlesticks

Palisade in Spring