August 31, 1989 - Harvests of Bygone DaysJune Sellin tending one of her 450 orchids in her Westhampton Beach greenhouse.
— Claudia Stewart Photo
East End Orchid Fever
Continued from Page Bl
around and look —they can't believe it."
A member of every orchid society in the
New York Metropolitan area, Mrs. Sellin
reads all she can about orchids and tries to
learn as much as possible about each new
species she purchases. Said Mrs. Sellin, "I've
been growing orchids for five years —there
are so many things I still don't know."
Despite her modesty, on a recent tour of
her greenhouse Mrs. Sellin easily described
the basic characteristics of orchids, condi-
tions required for cultivation and the criteria
used in determining orchid perfection. Al-
though the peak blooming season for most or-
chids is in the spring, different species flower
at different times of the year.
With lases snaking along the floor and ceil-
ing fans circulating the air, the Sellin green-
house is jammed with hanging plants, plants
on bark and potted plants. Mrs. Sellin ex-
plained that orchids are mostly epiphytes —
plants that attach to other plants but de: ive
their nutrients and water from the air. (They
are not parasites).
fit the greenhouse, among the closely
packed plants, with their visible tentacle-like
gray -green roots, are examples of unu.Fual
orchids, including a butterfly orchid from Co-
sta Rica; a miniature plant (Meiracyll?mn
species) with tiny magenta flowers from
Mexico; an Aeranthus grandiflora from
Africa — which Mrs. Sellin calls a pixie or-
chid; an Ascocentrum miniatum with deli-
cate orange blossoms radiating out from the
flower - bearing spikes; and the crisp white -
flowered hybrid Phalaenoosis known as "An-
gel Flake."
Busy with the responsibilities of an estate,
Mrs. Sellin laments having too little time to
spend in the greenhouse. Adjacent to the
plant area, is a work room, where Mrs. Sel-
lin repots and propagates her plants. "I play
my Mozart tapes when I work in here," she
explained, "with my bulldog and Mozart,
that's happiness to me —and the orchids like
it, too."
r
Focus on Nature
B13
Harvests of Bygone Days
By Paul Stoutenburgh
The changing seasons make life interest-
ing and if you are an observer of the wond-
ers about you, it can be a fascinating
adventure every day as you watch the
changes taking place. A walk through the
garden reveals new fruits and vegetables
coming into maturity. Even the grain in the
farmers' fields, like most seeds of grass, has
ripened and is being harvested. Some varie-
ties of potatoes have started to yellow and die
back and others have already been dug. Our
East End, like other parts of the country, is
getting ready for harvest time which tells us
summer is almost over.
Years ago this period was a busy time
around the homestead as everyone who could
work helped prepare for the winter ahead.
Crops were harvested and stored, fruits and
vegetables were put up, meats were smoked,
honey was drawn, cider was pressed and an
endless array of survival chores were accom-
plished so the family could make it through
the months ahead.
Few people experience this busy and crit-
ical time of preparation any more. The dem-
ise of farming and the ease of the
supermarket have changed that link of liv-
ing close to the land and, I suppose in the long
run, most would say it is all for the good. Yet
there are those who still think some of the
best days were those early times when liv-
ing wasn't quite so sophisticated. I guess it's
why some of us still cling to the remnants of
that self - sufficient period.
Our small orchard is bursting with fruit.
The apples are starting to redden and some
varieties of peaches already have been
picked for eating. The pears still have some
growing to do while some varieties of grapes
are starting to color. The late raspberries
have started to ripen which means Barbara
has already started canning and preserving.
First it was the blackberry jam, then rasp-
berry and now I hope her best —peach and
raspberry. This is a great combination as I
have mentioned before. Of course, there'll be
some peaches that will have to go into "y-
ellow jam" which our grandson calls his fav-
orite.
It's a busy time with steaming pots and
sparkling clean jelly jars with their new lids
all lined up on the counter. Then later the
messy jam-colored pots lie about the sink just
waiting for a finger - licking taste. Finally it's
clean -up time and the kitchen once again will
take on its normal appearance but something
catches your eye —a cluster of freshly -filled
capped jars with their delicious contents
showing through. Then I'll take out what's
left over to the chickens so they too can en-
joy a touch of the past.
So it will be when the apples become ripe.
Again steaming pots of cut up apples will
eventually find their way to the cone - shaped
press and that wooden pestle that is worked
round and round to squeeze out the last bit
of goodness leaving only the skin and seeds
behind. Sometimes we put this newly
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squeezed applesauce up in jars and some-
times we just fill baggies with the oozing con-
tents and freeze it. It all depends on how full
the freezers are.
For those who grew tomatoes this year I
venture to say you can never remember a
season when tomatoes came in so late. The
summer was almost over before we got any
vine- ripened tomatoes and I'm afraid now
that from here on we'll be flooded with these
red juicy fruits. Here again, just as with the
applesauce, we put them up in various ways.
lately our freezers have been filled to ca-
pacity.
I can't remembers year when a bag of po-
tatoes was not out in the garage or down in
the cellar to be continually drawn upon for
meals throughout the winter. There were
times when the farm out back grew potatoes
and we were allowed to harvest the leftovers.
After the farmer dug and picked the potatoes
up with his combine the family would go out
and gather the little potatoes that dropped
through the digger chain.
When remembering the potatoes that were
our staple years ago I can recall my prudent
mother keeping a sharp eye on how they
were keeping. H they started to grow she
would rub off the chits so they would keep a
little longer. However, if she forgot they
would grow and work their way right through
the burlap bag as if they were trying to reach
the sky.
No —I guess I wouldn't want to go back to
the days when the farm was self- sufficient.
It was a hard life —one in which the wife
worked as hard as the husband to keep things
going. It's difficult for us to imagine that in
the lifetimes of some still living today the lux-
ury of inside plumbing and electricity was
born. We still have an old kerosene lamp
from that era that we keep for emergencies.
Its soft yellow light gives us, on those rare
occasions when put to use, an inkling of how
it used to be.
Today most of us live in what kings and
queens of yesteryear would have envied. A
whole new generation has grown up not
knowing the difficult road that their ances-
tors had to tread in order to get where we are
today. It's too bad, for if they could touch that
experience, perhaps —and only perhaps, they
would have a better appreciation of the world
around them and what they have.
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THE SOUTHAMPTON PRESS i AUGUST 31, 1989