(Via An Iowa Garden)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2008-01-01, 21:31:00

As I noted, the little primrose shown below in my note about Primula juliae is surely a hybrid of juliae, probably crossed with vulgaris; the leaves are too large and crinkled and not round enough for pure juliae, among other things. The above picture from our garden is much closer to the mark: a very tiny little creeper, with quite small, roundish leaves, deeply cleft at the petioles... they almost look like little grasshopper-green creeping Charley leaves. Even this plant, with its pale pink flowers, instead of the usual bright red-pink may not be completely true juliae (I'm not sure the leaves are completely right, either)... but it's awfully close.
Juliae hybrids commercially are sold under a number of different appellations: juliae, juliana, Wanda, and Pruhonica... they are all wonderful, but some are more wonderful than others. Unfortunately, as time goes on, with progressive hybridization and unintentional contamination of strains, primroses offered as "juliae" are sometimes getting a long way from home.

(Via Gardening Question of the Day (from the Old Farmer's Almanac))

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2008-01-01, 20:00:00

I'm hoping to add orange-colored flowers to my garden this summer. What do you suggest? (answer).

From The Old Farmer's Almanac.

(Via Country Gardener)

Posted by admin to courtyard, neighbor's garden on 2008-01-01, 16:46:00

I took this picture of my neighbor's little courtyard garden after this morning's snowfall.
© Yvonne Cunnington, Country Gardener

(Via Gardening Tips 'n' Ideas)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2008-01-01, 15:43:43

It's not everyday that one is given the opportunity to see the Australian Kookaburra in its own habitat. Not that it's an endangered species at all, rather there is becoming fewer areas of habitation available to them. City folk like us have to travel past the fringe residential areas to see them cavort amongst the peppermint trees chasing small insects and lizards for a nutritious snack.

So when I was out in the bush camping with my boys recently it was a real treat to stalk one with my new camera. Having secured a decent meal of grasshopper, this kookaburra was in no hurry to fly away giving me ample opportunity to get some good closeups of it and its dinner.

A carnivore by nature the kookaburra would surely be a welcome addition to any garden. Those unwanted crickets, grasshoppers and cicadas would be gone in an instant. The downside being that so would your frogs, geckos and other desirable reptilia.

The kookaburra has an uncanny call resembling human laughter hence often called the 'Laughing Kookaburra'. You can almost imagine a jolly, large man succumbing to a humurous joke and laughing so hard that he eventually falls off the back of his chair. This is what kookaburras sound like. And it's quite a pleasant laugh echoing through the Aussie bush.

As children we would often sing this song whenever one would be spying us from above;

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Merry, merry king of the bush is he
Laugh, Kookaburra! Laugh, Kookaburra!
Gay your life must be

This song was written long before 'gay' meant what it does today.

Occasionally they will visit our backyards but these moments are becoming more rare. However, while I wouldn't promote the idea of feeding them, others have and continue to be revisited on a daily basis. Turning up just on dusk they will happily take small chunks of meat from your hand and return to the safety of the trees - provided you have some.

(Via Girl Gone Gardening)

Posted by admin to crappy stuff, girlgonegardening, holidays on 2008-01-01, 14:23:00

19*, feels like 6*, 83% humidity, W 14 mph wind, light snow, SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY, 5" snow so far So much for starting the new year on the right foot...Just as one ankle was healing well, the other one gets injured! But that's MY fault along with the massive hangover, for partying like I was back in college. YIKES!

(Via Country Gardener)

Posted by admin to happy new year on 2008-01-01, 12:50:00

© Yvonne Cunnington, Country Gardener

(Via grow this)

Posted by admin to Banksia "erectifolia" red hibiscus, Billy Collins on 2008-01-01, 12:08:00

"Each one is a gift, no doubt,
mysteriously placed in your waking hand
or set upon your forehead
moments before you open your eyes.

Today begins cold and bright,
the ground heavy with snow
and the thick masonry of ice,
the sun glinting off the turrets of clouds.

Through the calm eye of the window
everything is in its place
but so precariously
this day might be resting somehow

on the one before it,
all the days of the past stacked high
like the impossible tower of dishes
entertainers used to bild on stage.

No wonder you find yourself
perched on the top of a tall ladder
hoping to add one more.
Just another Wednesday,

you wisper,
then holding your breath,
place this cup on yesterday's saucer
without the slightest clink."

Billy Collins, "Days"

No snow, but plenty of glinting sunshine. My straggly red hibiscus bush, moved to a sunnier spot on the last day of last year, is glowing with happiness in the morning sun. The cones of my recently acquired Banksia "Erectefolia" are like miniature piles of stacked dishes.

Hoping for taller piles of stacked dishes of days for all my friends and loved ones. Happy 2008!

(Via Snappy's Gardens Blog)

Posted by admin to Garden birds, photos on 2008-01-01, 08:16:00

Today I woke up at half past three and made a coffee. I sat in the Kitchen and looked through the window at the garden. It was like Picadilly circus with the birds in the garden.
Blackbirds were hopping through the garden, acrobatic Blue tits were balancing on the fat ball holder. He looks like the Lone Ranger with a mask on, or maybe Zorro!
When the batterys died on the camera a female blackbird was eating a worm just under my kitchen window about two foot from me.
The Robin was singing and trying to chase the Coal tits and Blue tits away from his territory.The New Peanut holder from Hils was being used, and even the seed mix in the red net bag on the fence post.
The light was fading and the birds kept moving from the camera.They are the garden spirits I think.

(Via An Iowa Garden)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2008-01-01, 07:53:00

You learn something new about gardening every day... or at least I do, since correcting the misinformation that I carry around with me is kind of a full time occupation by itself. For example, Primula juliae (jul-ee-ee) is a darling little primrose species that has been used extensively in breeding the common hybrid primroses that we grow in our gardens... I had always thought that juliae was named after, and therefore was endemic to, the Julian Alps, which in turn are named for Julias Caesar. I'm not sure whether I just got this idea in my mind on my own from the similarity of the names or whether I had some help by something I read somewhere. The Julian Alps are wondrous mountains of sheer white limestone, that extend from Italy into Slovenia, just north of the Adriatic. These mountains are host to many rare plants, including gentians, wild orchids, and Primula carniolica, but not Primula juliae, for that little primrose comes instead from the Caucasus Range far to the southeast, and is named after its discoverer, the naturalist Julia Mokossjewicz. Her father was a well-known botanist, and she followed in his footsteps, extensively exploring the Caucasus Mountain Range, discovering this tiny primrose growing in a mossy area amongst some rocks by a rushing stream, around 1900. The Caucasus Range, an arc of rugged, granite peaks, extends basically all across the Caucasus, the wild land between the Black and Caspian Seas, and these mountains form the boundary between Europe and Asia, with Russia to the north, and to the south, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, then Turkey and Iran. Primula juliae is as rugged as the mountains it grows in. It is tiny, with small, rounded leaves and covered with bright, pinkish red flowers with deeply-clefted petals. The plant is stoloniferous, so forms a dense little mat, and the flowers arise from the junctions where new stolons arise, rather than from the centers of the leaf rosettes as in other primroses. Seed from this little jewel reached Great Britain, where around World War I, it started to be used in hybridizing, and it is the source of much of the blue-purple-red end of the color spectrum in our garden primroses (primula vulgaris ssp. sibthorpii is also a major contributor of this end of the color range); juliae is also the source of much of the hardiness in garden primroses. Due to the extensive interbreeding, it is hard to be sure you are obtaining and growing a pure juliae species primrose anymore, and I know the above pictured plant, while purchased labeled as "juliae" is actually a hybrid; possibly a Wanda type primrose, which are hybrids between juliae and vulgaris, but still resemble the former species.
I have spent a fair chunk of my life wandering in one or another mountain range, but there are two mountain ranges I still would like to visit someday; the two mentioned here... the Julian Alps and the Caucasus Mountain Range. Apparently the latter is almost off limits due to various and sundry conflicts and free-lance bandits, but the Julian Alps are quite doable. Slovenia looks to be one of Europe's gems, being the most forested country on that continent, and being rather unspoiled and untouched compared with more developed countries. One concern is that the Slovenian language seems to be all consonants and accent marks, so learning how to ask for a bathroom or a beer while there might be a bit of a challenge. But, I can dream...
.

(Via Plant Care)

Posted by admin to Landscaping, Lawn Care on 2008-01-01, 06:45:49

With the price of oil continuing to climb the new “buzz” of renewable fuels and hybrid cars and engines continue to make the news. However, one “alternative” few which has been around for many years and can provide some relief when mowing lawns especially for commercial lawn care specialist is diesel powered lawn mowers.

Diesel does not have the same glamorous ring to it that some of the newer technology fuels have but diesel powered engines can provide 18% more energy compared to gasoline on a per unit of volume measurement.

For the homeowner this saving may not appear significant but for lawn care professionals the saving can be measured in real dollars besides fuel savings alone. Diesel engines prove to last 3 to 5 years longer than gasoline engines. The extends the time between equipment replacement. Also the engine parts inside are built stronger.

Don’t look at the fuel cost alone but all the other factors associated with operating an engine on an ongoing basis.

For example, when I first installed a diesel pump in my nursery I was surprised by the fuel savings. A gas engine used about 1.5 gallons per hour where the diesel used about 2/3 of a gallon. Over the course of years the fuel saving alone was significant.

Many homeowner also like the zero turn mowers available for mowing their lawn and they are all come with diesel engines if you want. Give deisel a serious look for your next lawn mower purchase.

Lawn Mower Deals at eBay!