(Via )

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2007-11-12, 21:31:17

via A Caribbean Garden on November 12, 2007, 9:55am

I have to travel and work, so I have to do my blooms day early, and a quick hit. Its the first time I am using my new Nikon DSLR, which my hubby gave me for my birthday. Its great, esp now I can photograph wildflowers and butterflies.

Euphorbia Mil II American Beauty

Hibiscus


Plumbago

Asian beech

Very old bougainvillea

Lavender star flower ( South African shrub)



Locustberry (Byrsonima Lucida)
This tiny fruit grows in the wild in the eastern Caribbean, I have two trees, about 10 ft in height, though in the wild it’s usually smaller.
The Locustberry has a tart, condiment-like taste and is known to provide a highly potent liquor when fermented.


My everyday bloomers


Butterfly pea and porter weed

Originally Posted by Nicole

(Via Aaron’s Home and Garden)

Posted by admin to books on 2007-11-12, 18:40:09

Outdoor Stonework is a book on rock gardening for those interested in enhancing their outdoor spaces in a creative and artistic fashion that is an expression of ones imagination using the environment to advantage.

Traditionally speaking, rock gardening has taught the warrior to manipulate his surroundings and use them to his advantage, but stonework goes beyond this, launching into the realm of unlimited dreams and fetching them into stone.

Thousands of years ago, the very first hospitals, known as the Temples of Asclepius, had such awe inspiring stonework done to provide a permanent form for the healing dreams that had cured patient after patient, each work of stone teaching a different lesson on different ailments and cures.

Essentially, that is what one learns from placing a piece of stonework in an outdoor space, be the project as simple as an arrangement of bolder rocks, to the complexities of 13^th century gargoyles chiseled by hand and the size of a crouching animal ready to attack.

Safety, natural features, unique walls, stylish paving, Zen-style gardens, garden table, retaining wall or even flagstone steps; everything has been fully photographed and perfectly well detailed through construction diagrams and cross-section drawings, that permit a concise easy to read and fully comprehend text.

With sixteen different DIY projects that range from simple novice to the more complex, this book offers a wide range of styles to choose from, and with every new project, a new lesson can be learned, about ones self and how to better use the infinite power of human imagination to form hard stone, into a permanent dream that can be appreciated generation after generation.

This 128-page paperback, written by garden expert couple Alan and Gill Bridgwater, published by Storey in January of 2001, measures 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.4 and ships at 1.2 lbs.

For easy to build yard or garden projects that enhance beauty, Outdoor Stonework focuses on sixteen different projects for your outdoor spaces that are certain to make you look like an expert, step-by-step, project after project and inevitably, experience after experience for generations to come.

Tags: Outdoor Stonework, Rock Gardening

(Via Idaho Gardener)

Posted by admin to Journal entries on 2007-11-12, 18:17:54

This has been a most splendid day at the Newcomer house. I woke to 20 mile an hour winds and the giant reed grass, arundo donax, beating the daylights out of my bedroom window screen. The giant flag at the Simplot mansion was sticking straight out, flapping away to the west. The flag is about 15 x 30 and a half mile away as the crow flies. When the conditions are just right I can actually hear the thing flapping. Imagine the racket if you are living in the ‘hood just below the flag. Anyway, it has to be pretty darn windy to make it go horizontal.

Sooooooo, the said wind made all the leaves go flying. The sky has been dark and cloudy and menacing all day. About 3 pm, we had a snow flurry. Yippee skippee!

Well, I said, in that case, I better put on my domestic goddess/love slave apron and get to cooking up a storm. The cute husband has been outside in the rain and sleet and snow and cold, laying big sandstone slabs for a new walkway/garden area. One tough hombre, out there in the elements. One domestic goddess working away in the kitchen. The dog spent the afternoon running between the two of us to see who was more fun. Husband and dirt won. Then I saw the muddy paws. And the floor. And the rug. Uh-oh.

At sundown I just happened to glance up from my pots and pans and noticed the whole world outside was pink. Pink! Reflected sunset on the clouds, black stormy sky, snow on the Owyhees (30 miles away and stunning) and it was all good. I tried to photograph it for you but the pics weren’t so hot.

I thought of you, my friends, and sent you warmth and kindness and happiness.

It’s just 7 pm. I have a big pot full of Emeril’s Smothered pork chops and onions and potatoes. I substituted Idaho chorizo for the andouille he calls for in the recipe. I will skip the part about serving it over rice. Just happened to bake some enormous chunks of Hubbard squash, some for the pup, and some for us. Oh, and a delish sour cream apple pie with streusel topping. One of the apples came from my espalier. For the wicked, I just happened to find some of the new Ben and Jerry’s Creme Brulee’ ice cream. To go with the pie. Gilding the lily, I know.

Weather is beautiful, wish you were here.

(Via An Iowa Garden)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2007-11-12, 16:01:00

Well, work with me on this... what you're looking at is the beginning of the new gardening season; Galanthus elwesii, the early snowdrop, rising out of the ground by the hundreds, its white-tipped leaves furled tightly. Admittedly there is this modest interlude called winter that is pushing its way down from Alberta, but these small bulbs could be considered the first stirring of spring... more a promise than a reality now, but Iowans live on optimism (that and Bud Light).
These intrepid little garden pioneers will get frozen, snowed on, and blasted by gales blowing unimpeded across the short grass prairies, but they will persist... and one day they will bloom on a day when the pale, watery sun finally warms the dark earth. November is here... can spring be far behind?

(Via Snappy's Gardens Blog)

Posted by admin to mary rose, rose on 2007-11-12, 15:07:00

Another Rose photo that went into the David Austin competition. It was named after the Henry VIII flagship that sunk in the Solent.
Have worked a long day today, and am back tomorrow.I finally have good news on the house, and will sign a contract friday.Gardening properly soon :)
Cant wait as its been too long with no soil on my hands..

(Via Home and Family: Gardening Articles from EzineArticles.com)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2007-11-12, 13:53:19

The question is sometimes asked whether pruning is good for trees. It may just as well be asked if surgery is good for people. Most people would presumably answer the latter question in the negative.

(Via Home and Family: Gardening Articles from EzineArticles.com)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2007-11-12, 13:23:51

If you are looking for a plant to cover a wire fence, then considering plants according to their growth habit will help you make the right choice.

(Via grow this)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2007-11-12, 12:49:00

V
I do not know which to prefer,
The beauty of inflections
Or the beauty of innuendoes,
The blackbird whistling
Or just after…

VI
Icicles filled the long window
With barbaric glass.
The shadow of the blackbird
Crossed it, to and fro.
The mood
Traced in the shadow
An indecipherable cause…

VIII
I know noble accents
And lucid, inescapable rhythms;
But I know, too,
That the blackbird is involved
In what I know.

Wallace Stevens, selected from: “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird”

I don’t know which I like best about this poem – the beautiful, different ways, or the ability to see differences in the first place. Especially in such an unlovable sight - Audubon calls them the gangstas of the bird hood. The verses above are my three favorite ways. To see all 13 ways of looking at blackbirds, read the entire poem

November has been cooling and the coastal marine layer has migrated to my back yard - 20 miles east of the ocean, at the dizzying height of 22 feet above sea level. We’ve even felt a few minor drizzles here – it cools and softens the air, awakening drying sage as I hit the leaves with the hose.

Many, resident and visitor alike, decry our alleged lack of seasons. They are all wrong. Seasons change here too, sometimes with such a gentle soft touch that you might miss it if you’re not in the yard when it happens. Like missing the bus to work on the perfect autumn day and driving down to Rock Creek and kicking the brown leaves and savoring their aroma: the smell of Home.

The mums are throwing a surprise party. I’d forgotten what was where, and that’s part of the fun when they start to show their colors. No doubt about it, autumn is my favorite season for enjoying outdoors, even blackbirds.

(Via gardenauthor)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2007-11-12, 07:57:00

There's Gold in Those Suburbs...

Defy authority! Don't perch those bags of yard waste on the curb. Why, with a little backyard alchemy, you can turn that stuff into gold. Black-gold, known as compost.

Have you got what it takes to compost? Sun, air, water, a containment system and basic knowledge. Start with that last thing and everything else will fall into place. The raw materials are either nitrogen-rich green (grass clippings, weeds, vegetable scraps, coffee grounds) or carbon-rich brown (autumn leaves, dry stalks and straw). You need layers of both, since each offers varying amounts of moisture and air space.

Don't let me blind you with science, but the beneficial microorganisms, or microbes, that actually break down the raw materials are aerobic (require air) or anaerobic (require water). So, a successful compost pile must provide both elements.

Location is everything. To work efficiently, your compost pile should receive full sun. It's not terribly decorative, so you may want to tuck it beyond the vegetable bed or rose garden - accessible, but not a landscape focal point.

Containment? Plastic compost bins are tidy and readily available. Wooden pallets on edge, fence-like, are another option. Want simple and inexpensive? Form wire garden fencing into circular bins (choose 3-4' high stock), about 4-6' in diameter. Cover the sides with heavy black plastic for enhanced solar heating.

Water? Open compost piles, left with a depression to catch rain, are given supplemental waterings, during dry spells. Covered bins should be watered with 1-2 gallons, weekly. Add a liquid fish/seaweed fertilizer, as a compost activator.

Air? Plunge a garden fork into the heart of the pile, giving it a vigorous turn, about once a week. Alternatively, install several perforated lengths of PVC pipe across the center of the pile, for continual aeration. A sour-smelling pile indicates too much moisture/not enough air.

Tips: Do not compost diseased vegetation, weed seeds, meat scraps or pet waste. Cut or shred all raw materials, to facilitate breakdown. The pile center should run about 110-160º - less heat slows the process, more kills off the microbes. Invest in a compost thermometer.

Your finished compost is rich with earthworms and microbes, ready to nourish and improve any garden soil. It holds more moisture than peat, but is equally valuable at improving the texture of clay or sandy soil. As a mulch or soil amendment, compost is black-gold. Here's to backyard alchemy!


NOTE: Above we see two compost bins - one static/one rotating... two views of a compost turning tool... lastly, the dial of a compost thermometer. Photos: ©2007 CBI

©Deb Lambert 2007

(Via Home and Family: Gardening Articles from EzineArticles.com)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2007-11-12, 07:06:40

For many locations, the end of autumn and the approach of winter is time to start thinking about planting rye grass. Rye grass, which comes in both annual and perennial types, provides a beautiful green turf that grows quickly and can be lively when ordinary grasses are dormant for the winter. It also is one of the earliest spring grasses and is also used for temporary ground covers or to augment other grasses.