(Via Comments for Anne's Garden)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2007-10-30, 15:18:41

Your winged spindle has much the same fruit as my Turkestan burning bush which is also in the Euonymus family. I love it.

The silk tree is gorgeous and so is the rose. It looks as if you are going to have a lot of fun in your new garden. I hope the move went well!

(Via Gardening Tips 'n' Ideas)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2007-10-30, 15:13:47

What an interesting discussion that has emerged within the gardening blogosphere! First, Debra Roby picked up on my Learning how to use your new gardening tool: The Web post stating that it "made me feel like I was living in the past." Then Amy from GardenRant picked up on the discussion and had an incredible number of insightful commenters offering their opinions and suggestions.

Now that the pot has been well and truly stirred it's time to watch what will happen as it continues to simmer. To skim a few points that have been raised, here's my view on what some have been saying;

• Most gardeners seem to be in the older stages of life and are therefore less likely to adapt to changing technologyies
• On the other hand, those that have adopted these changes continue to use them but find that they're only a tool and gardening remains the focus (Preach it, sister!)
• We're reminded that we should look at these technologies in the eyes of our readers. What features are they seeking - if any?
• And finally, we should be very aware that information overload is certainly not what most gardeners are looking for.

It's ironic that the last point was the catalyst that prompted me to write the post in the first place. The reality is that there is so much information out there that without the right tools at our disposal we will struggle to make sense of it all.

And who do we trust to get relevant, reliable information? Google? Certainly not. Even this monopolistic search engine is realising that groups (such as gardeners) don't take their lead from large corporations. We instead, rely on networks. Trusted people with trustworthy reputations.

There are more tools on offer for gardeners and I shall write that post at a later date, but for the time being the seemingly archaic web tools I pointed out earlier are a good place to start.

(Via grow this)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2007-10-30, 12:29:00

“This is how he grows;
by being defeated decisively
by constantly greater things.”
- Rainer Maria Rilke

My back yard is where I go to sort out my experiences in the world. Because the seasons require certain chores to be performed at certain times, gardening brings order to my otherwise disheveled life. In the garden, I’m able to gather the jumbled pieces of thought within me, and to update my head with the clutter of sensory things from without. It’s where my subjective mental landscape meets the objective awareness of the world. The other day, the spa finally reflected a clear sky, but you can see the ash on the water in this picture.

Returning from exile after the fires, we contemplate not just the damaged environment but how that damages us. (I should insert a disclaimer here that I lost nothing in the fire except some autumn-tinted mums that were halted in their tracks. I did not evacuate; I did not fall asleep in some strange place wondering if I’d ever make it home again.)

But I was metaphorically evacuated from the peaceful grove out my back door, and I was deprived of the meditative space where I escape from worldly cares. As if cleansed by the fires, I can see clearly how important my environment is not merely to contemplate life outside, or to seek inner peace, but to survive.

Our community rose to the fire’s challenge and we survived. Now, we have to rise to the longer and harder challenge: to recover.