Our little valley wakes slowly in the late fall; the sun peeps above the east ridge, slanting its long rays across the pond and lighting up the maples and oaks while our house still slumbers in the cool shade, with frost crystals sparkling on the shingles and the cats curled up on the carpet. It will be a beautiful day.
reBlogged
to foliage
Posted by IBOY Reblogged by Old Roses to foliage on 2007-11-05, 00:39:40
I have this day dream where I play the lottery and win a huge jackpot. I take a big chunk of my winnings and build a large urban farm in Chicago. This urban farm, aside from giving me more space to play with plants, would serve as a teaching center for inner city kids and adults. I already know where it would go and can picture the buildings designed to look like farm houses and barns, the greenhouse, the fruit tree orchard, and nursery. My urban farm would produce organic produce and ornamentals for the community that surrounds it and create future generations of Chicago residents that are environmentally conscious. While I've been thinking about the use of land on a horizontal plane some forward thinking architects have been thinking vertically. . . .
I saw the Bee Movie at a preview screening earlier this week, but didn't want to blog on it until after it was released and folks got a chance to see it. I'm not going to spoil the story line in any case. I had mixed feelings about this one. . . .
I know that not everyone grows phlox in their garden, but I do think that because it’s always been a popular garden plant that it is a true garden classic.
This phlox is Phlox David. It’s hardy and disease resistant and of the many phlox hybrids this is one of the most popular. . . .
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to phlox
on Nov 3, 2007, 12:49AM
Posted by Tricia Reblogged by Old Roses to phlox on 2007-11-05, 00:37:35
Sorry everyone. I’ve had both a busy and not so great week and I just couldn’t manage to get to this blog to make some posts.
As you know I post regularly and a gap this long has never happened before!
I’m back in business though. I’ll start getting more posts going on this site over the weekend. Naturally the next post will be a photo hunter post, but I’ll try to fill you in on the garden in other posts soon. . . .
reBlogged
to blogs
on Nov 2, 2007, 11:55PM
Posted by Tricia Reblogged by Old Roses to blogs on 2007-11-05, 00:37:05
It was "leaf day" at our household this Saturday. Everyone worked on getting a couple acres worth of property cleared of leaves. Since we have a sort of savannah, trees interspersed among the grassed yard, that means we can't just let the leaves sit all winter; they blow everywhere in the winter winds, anyway. It is like doing an entire city block worth of raking and gathering. . . .
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to foliage
Posted by Ilona Reblogged by Old Roses to foliage on 2007-11-05, 00:34:24
I would never say that I am a technophobe. I seem to have inherited my programmer father's ability to figure out almost any computerized gadget--and I wholeheartedly embrace the internet as a tool for communication and research. But there is another side of me that is less than pleased at the increasing technological framework on which our modern life is built. That side of me, for example, resisted getting a cell phone until this summer when my full time job threatened to get one for me. (They meant it as a carrot, but I viewed it as a stick.). . .
reBlogged
to bulbs
Posted by Blackswamp_Girl Reblogged by Old Roses to bulbs on 2007-11-05, 00:33:57
I took a walk through Parque Swinford with my camera the other day at lunch time and have a bunch of photos to show you. It was a dark, cloudy day, so I had to brighten all the photos. . . .
reBlogged
to botanical_garden
on Nov 3, 2007, 4:52PM
Whenever I stumble on a new obsession I tend to totally immerse myself in it. It's a terrible flaw! It's sorta like hearing a song you like, rushing out and buying the CD and playing the song over and over and over again. At some point you get tired of it then cringe every time the song is played on the radio because you hate it so much. I've done all manner of things to immerse myself in my most recent obsession (gardening) including but not limited to this blog. . . .
reBlogged
to gardeners
Posted by Gina Reblogged by Old Roses to gardeners on 2007-11-05, 00:31:07
The last couple of mornings have treated the Valle with temperature inversions where the ridges are warmer than the lower elevations. To add to the beauty is a slice of smoky mist which meaders along with the Watauga river. I tried to sneak through the Cooper's field this morning to grab this shot, but my sneakers left footprints in the frost.
P.S.-- ASU plays @ The Cidadel today at 2 p.m. This is going to be a tough game. My belly is doing flip flops already... Go APPS!
reBlogged
to trees
on Nov 3, 2007, 11:10AM
Posted by Marie Freeman Reblogged by Old Roses to trees on 2007-11-05, 00:30:35
I think I heard a TV weather man mention something about frost so I moved all the herbs outside the kitchen window to the window sill in my home office/studio. An instant herb garden where once there was a lot of empty pots- no I never got round to doing anything about this. Which leads us to the second word in the title- feast. Well thats because things don't bode well for the refugees. If frost don't kill you, well the radiator will. So until the weather turns inclement, they enjoy a reprieve but a short one as I race to find ways to use them up. There has already been generous amounts of chopped herbs folded into omelettes and sprinkled on noodle soups. That oregano in the picture is destined for a big batch of tomato sauce. That wooden thingy in the bottom right hand corner is a rustic kitchen thing from India that's used to hang kitchen utensils from- but I never found a way to incorporate it in my kitchen. It's now found its purpose - as a decorous rustic prop to keep the window, which doesn't work properly, from sliding down.
I know I have mentioned it before but I think it is worth mentioning again - gardening is so good for the soul. I was feeling very betrayed and angry this morning and now after an hour in the garden I feel so much better. I am able to put it all in perspective and realize that just because people on the internet are not always who they seem - it doesn't matter - it isn't real life. And it was good motivation to get out there and get the tomato plants pulled up and the cages put away for the winter. Even though we have only had a couple of light frosts - it is November and time to put the garden to bed for the winter. It is incredible to me that the tomato plants were still alive and I never even covered them. I still have hot peppers alive too. The hot peppers are next on my list and then the only things still growing are brussells sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower - which all love the cool weather.
reBlogged
to gardening
Posted by Kathi Reblogged by Old Roses to Gardening on 2007-11-05, 00:28:18
I woke early this morning after hoping for over an hour that the arthritis in my right hip would fade. It didn't, so I got up and began my Saturday ritual. The house had cooled off last night as the fire in the Vermont Castings Vigilant wood stove was less than vigilant through the wee hours. Two trips to the wood pile, crumpled newspaper and two matches later things have begun to come around. . . .
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to autumn
Posted by George Africa Reblogged by Old Roses to autumn on 2007-11-05, 00:28:07
I don't think it gets any more illogical than having statues that is statutes, arguing about whether a pumpkin gets eaten or not. Petunia, in 'Get Your Pumpkin Tax Refunds' reported on "Iowa Department of Revenue Press Release: Iowa Tax on Pumpkins Put on Hold". Is that nuts or what? How is anyone supposed to determine whether someone will put a Jack O' Lantern on their porch or make a pumpkin pie? Nuts, I say. ... and oh...oh.. what if they roast the seeds? does that qualify a pumpkin to be tax exempt?
reBlogged
to pumpkins
Posted by Ilona Reblogged by Old Roses to pumpkins on 2007-11-05, 00:26:55
Pumpkins and tax in the same story, all over the internet - I have to make note of it here. You all have probably read this already, but you know how I feel about pumpkins. Of course they are for eating. What if they don't all get eaten. I'm sure they aren't the only fruit and vegetable that doesn't always get eaten. . . .
Growing small woodland primrose species is a minor gardening passion of mine; a passion not terribly compatible with Iowa summers that all too often are hot and dry. I've decided to try an experiment in growing them, by sinking a forty gallon plastic stock tank (with one small drainage hole drilled into the bottom) in the ground, then filling it with very rich, but loose, well-draining soil. I hope to give my primroses a consistently moister root run with this setup. Of course, now the little primulas will probably decide they want a shower, not a tub.
reBlogged
to containers
Posted by IBOY Reblogged by Old Roses to containers on 2007-11-05, 00:25:24
Okay, you’ve decided you’re interested in saving your own vegetable seeds, but what’s the first step? Here are some suggestions.
Seed saving topics range from very simple to very complex. Some people with PhD’s write on seed saving topics. This post is intentionally going to focus on the very simplest aspects of seed saving. . .
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to seeds
on Nov 3, 2007, 12:16PM
Posted by Patrick Reblogged by Old Roses to seeds on 2007-11-05, 00:23:54
This is something I’ve been thinking about for a few years now, and I’ve done some research on the subject, but I haven’t come across anything useful. In particular, I haven’t found anything to say ‘yes it’s possible’ or ‘no it’s not possible’. There must be seed banks out there tasked with this issue, and there must be some information somewhere, but I haven’t been able to find it. . . .
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to garlic
on Nov 3, 2007, 10:28AM
Posted by Patrick Reblogged by Old Roses to garlic on 2007-11-05, 00:23:34
A few posts ago I mentioned Ruth Stout and her ideas of no-dig/no-till gardening, and this started a bit of a discussion on the history of Organic gardening in the comments.
I saw this online last fall and promptly went out and collected quite a stack of beautiful red and yellow maple leaves. I spritzed them with water and put them in an open plastic bag in the refrigerator. I had every intention of trying this neat craft. Just ask Kat - we were going to do it while she was here last October and never got around to it. I threw the leaves out in January sometime. . . .
reBlogged
to foliage
Posted by Kylee Reblogged by Old Roses to foliage on 2007-11-05, 00:22:58
I can't imagine Spring without Daffodils, can you? This winter I'll go over the pictures from Spring 07 (maybe finally organize them) and anticipate the pictures to come. Because...there will be new Daffodils to enjoy!
Here's what I've acquired so far (maybe a couple more? We'll see...):
Hope everyone's having a wonderful GTS! Even better, since we get an extra hour. The downside is that it gets darker sooner and THAT makes me grumpy. Last week I wrote how I *might* work on getting a pot for a fountain and this is my field trip for the hunt to find one. I did find a beautiful one, but that's not what this post is about. The thrill is in the hunt !! Walk around Farmer's Market with me...
via As the Garden Grows on 1969-12-31, 19:00:00
