Now that I've been given this plant that needs to survive the winter in my house I've decided to publicly make a commitment to not kill it. Not only that but I think I'm ready to take the house plant plunge in general. . . .
reBlogged
to houseplants
Posted by Gina Reblogged by Old Roses to houseplants on 2007-11-04, 00:33:00
Please tell me about ashes from a wood-burning fireplace. How much can I use in the garden? Are they good for blueberry bushes and asparagus? (answer).
This is my grandfather in the early 1930s, running the corner store. He attributes his ability to survive the Depression by being versatile, being good at a lot of different jobs, and being flexible enough to go from one job to the next. Over the years, he has managed a grocery, owned a hardware store, worked his way up to the top of a local bank, and found countless other odd jobs along the way. . . .
reBlogged
to environment
on Nov 2, 2007, 5:09PM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to environment on 2007-11-04, 00:32:07
I don't know how I could have forgotten to post the photo of the flower after all that waiting and anticipation, although I wasn't even here to see it flower.
The other buds aborted, so I guess I am not looking forward to another anytime soon. Now I just need to plant the head in a pot since it has started to root, and I should be able to enjoy watching it grow and hopefully bloom again soon enough.
I should really get it planted out now while it is raining, so it can get its roots established fairly quickly. Maybe I will take that on tomorrow (if the rain eases up long enough, that is).
reBlogged
to flowers
Posted by Jade Reblogged by Old Roses to flowers on 2007-11-04, 00:30:35
Who needs drugs when you've got bulbs? More bulb-mania, this time a "Blue Group" near the riverbank. This is my "map" to help me keep track of what's here: 15 dwarf irises, 3 double-blue hyacinths, and 43 blue snow glories. All these bulbs are to be planted somewhat shallow (except the hyacinths), so I tried a different approach to amendment........I planted all of them, then top dressed with the "organic fertilizer" I got from John Scheepers. Watered them all in very well...okay, see y'all in the spring!. . .
reBlogged
to bulbs
Posted by lisa Reblogged by Old Roses to bulbs on 2007-11-04, 00:30:25
On a previous entry here I wrote about how to get your Christmas Cactus to flower and on my other blog I wrote an entry on rooting Christmas Cactus cuttings. In the first entry here I alluded to something being fishy in regards to calling my plants "Christmas Cacti." Most of the plants sold today as "Christmas Cactus" are actually not the true Christmas cactus. These are not your grandma's Christmas cactus. . . .
Yesterday my coworker and I, on the way to work in our carpool, were discussing butterfly gardens, butterflies and plants in general. I was thinking it had been awhile
since I've been the monarch cats hanging around because my butterfly weed looked pretty, was flowering and had not been chomped up. Today when I got home I saw two itty bitty
ones and one larger one the size of this one in the photo. This guy is from last spring or fall and is already a butterfly and has probably already moved on into the other
garden in the sky. I'm just happy they are back! I found some seedlings I had started, some other types of milkweed, and I put them in the front bed tonight so maybe they will
grow up and be ready for the next round of caterpillars. . . .
reBlogged
to insects
on Nov 2, 2007, 11:25PM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to insects on 2007-11-04, 00:29:35
I was just watching the trailer for Jerry Seinfeld's "Bee Movie" at Beemovie.com. I'm on a self-imposed boycott of cartoons right now, since I'm probably going to have my fill soon as Nelumbo Jr. gets interested in movies, but I might have to go see this one. OK, it's a little silly that a bee is having an existential crisis, but it looks funny. . ..
reBlogged
to beneficials
Posted by Nelumbo Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2007-11-04, 00:29:00
Yesterday I picked all of my tomatoes, since I thought it might frost. It got down to about 38F - no frost yet. I'll put this box in the basement and try to remember to check it regularly. Last year pretty nearly all of my green tomatoes ripened within a month of picking.
Maybe I can post an "after" view soon. After taking this picture, I cleaned up all the summer crops. I have a big bag of winter rye seed to plant soon, hopefully tomorrow morning - before Noel waters for me. My garden is supposed to get an inch of rain and 40-50 mph winds tomorrow afternoon from Noel, the tropical hurricane now a Nor'easter and heading up the US coast.
Noel's finally blown out of here, though even this afternoon, when I made a run by Flagler Pier, the winds were fierce and the waves topped fifteen feet at times. Baby sea turtles everywhere on the beach, blown in with the Sargasso seaweed mats.
On my way to Flagler, I stopped by the Edible Nursery in Holly Hill. Nice selection of temperate/tropical trees, including avocados, mangoes, Barbados Cherries, loquat, kumquat, loads of citrus, guava, persimmon, and figs.
I got a beautiful seven-gallon Barbados Cherry and a five-gallon Fuyu non-astringent persimmon.
Weeder gave me this Cigar Plant (Cuphea melvillea) for my birthday in July of '06. Look how well it's done in dappled sun next to the house. I love its tubular pinky yellow flowers and so do hummingbirds. I also love its height range of 4-6 ft. It's kinda floppy and not at all formal which just makes me love it even more. We're pretty sure it came from Windmill Nursery, but which grower? Annie's? Blooms? Proven Winners? Where's that damned plant tag?. . .
reBlogged
to plants
on Nov 2, 2007, 3:16PM
Posted by Angela Reblogged by Old Roses to plants on 2007-11-04, 00:26:23
My tree dahlias (Dahlia imperialis) have grown taller and taller each year. Yikes! Of my three main canes, one snapped but two remain. Threats against this November bloomer include wind and frost. Both fingers way crossed.
I'd like to train them to bloom a little lower to the ground, but I'm not sure of the best time to head them back.
reBlogged
to dahlias
on Nov 2, 2007, 1:55PM
Posted by Angela Reblogged by Old Roses to dahlias on 2007-11-04, 00:26:02
This spring I reviewed a new swedish gardening/interior design magazine called Rosie. I did subscribe to it too, since I liked it. Now, a few days ago the last issue arrived. I flip through it in that semiconsiuos stage the parent of a toddler experience in the evening. Today I finally read the copy. To be honest I had a plan to plug my blog by sending a letter to the editor and include my url in the text. . . .
reBlogged
to blogs
Posted by Rosengeranium Reblogged by Old Roses to blogs on 2007-11-04, 00:25:42
Fall garden clean-up is the subject of the week all over the world wide interweb! A conversation was started at Bliss over the merits of putting off the major clean-up until spring. Wildlife certainly benefits from a garden full of winter snack seedheads and hiding places left intact; some plants really appreciate holding onto their natural cold weather protection and the soil is better off undisturbed.
reBlogged
to autumn gardening
on Nov 2, 2007, 7:57PM
Posted by Kris Reblogged by Old Roses to Gardening, autumn on 2007-11-04, 00:23:40
Tis the season for clean-up chores and year-end tasks in the garden. The work goes much easier with many hands! Why not make autumn gardening a family activity?
reBlogged
to gardening
on Nov 2, 2007, 4:00AM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to Gardening on 2007-11-04, 00:22:49
I took this photo of a hobby farm near our house just days before our first two real frosts, a month later than usual. Like blackswamp_girl, I seem to be on a quest to see how long I can go without turning on the furnace. Once you've put the furnace on, it's so very hard to turn back. But meanwhile, I'm wearing double clothing, slippers and a hat in the house. While I can't provide a photo, I assure you, it's very fashionable. . . .
Pictured above: Ok, we haven’t had a chance to eat these yet, but I have a little theme going here from last week’s post. Aren’t they amazing? They are indeed purple, with pink spots - scarlet runner beans. They’re about 1” long, 1/2” thick - for a sense of scale, I included a pinto bean beside it. I learned that these can be good dried beans, so I no longer feel bad not picking them yet - we’ve had a bit of a bean glut. (The trouble with never gardening before!) I’m sure we’ll have a tasty soup out of them in the next couple of weeks. . .
reBlogged
to harvest
on Nov 2, 2007, 12:04PM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to harvest on 2007-11-04, 00:22:16
This page lists all the garden tips from readers just like yourself. It is a directory of all the places you can find pictures from other gardeners and share tips with other gardeners. It is a growing resource and I hope you'll take the time to share a few pictures of your garden, offer a few gardening tips for beginner gardeners (tell us what youve learned if you're a beginner too) :-) and generally share in this wonderful world of gardening. Have fun. . . .
reBlogged
to tools
on Nov 2, 2007, 11:56AM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to tools on 2007-11-04, 00:21:26
Feed your trees in the late fall for superior
growth in the spring. The video below details how to do this
but essentially wait until the leaves have fallen or are brightly
colored and then feed without using nitrogen. . .
reBlogged
to trees
on Nov 2, 2007, 11:55AM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to trees on 2007-11-04, 00:20:09
Is your teenager considering a career in something? More likely he or she is. If your kids are into gardening, then perhaps you can explore a garden related career. Don't forget to discuss it with any school counselor and explore all the options. A garden related career can be highly rewarding and if kids have been gardening for a while, they've honed certain skills already that puts them ahead of the game.
via Geranium Blog on 1969-12-31, 19:00:00
....I planted all of them, then top dressed with the "organic fertilizer" I got from John Scheepers. Watered them all in very well...okay, see y'all in the spring!. . .
