December 12th is National Poinsettia Day. That's right, the US Congress gave the Poinsettia an official day of recognition. They are hard to resist at this time of year, especially...
reBlogged
to poinsettia
on Dec 11, 2007, 8:39PM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to poinsettia on 2007-12-13, 00:41:18
I spread cut up garlic leaves in my containers today. The smell of a tasty spagetti bolognese spread through the house and I got a headache. I hope the sciriadae ahces too. Usually they get upset when I do this, and apparently loose their apetite for sex, since they disappear for a short while after my attacs. Earlier times I haven't had enough garlic to follow up, but now I've planted cloves from half a bulb in my gardens. It's war...
reBlogged
to garlic
Posted by Rosengeranium Reblogged by Old Roses to garlic on 2007-12-13, 00:40:59
The tomatoes are growing like crazy and the majority of them have fruit on them. I am hoping the giant Sunmaster that set fruit in early November will be ready to eat
by Christmas.
Half of the tomatoes I can't tell the names of by the fruit, I just know they look delicious. . . .
reBlogged
to tomatoes
on Dec 11, 2007, 10:25PM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to tomatoes on 2007-12-13, 00:40:50
It is a nasty rainy day, you know, the kind that zaps your energy and makes you not want to move. So, I'm taking advantage of the low energy and just sitting here playing with Blogger and Adobe Photoshop Elements. I'm trying to figure out how to do the copyright thingy, I've never been very good with using layers on Photoshop. . . .
Fun with houseplants... because eveything outdoors is under snow! When I had to bring in my new ceramic mushrooms for the winter, I wasn't sure where I wanted to put them. The caps are spring-attached to the stems, so I didn't want them to get bent up........I think they decorate these bigger houseplants just fine!. . .
reBlogged
to houseplants
Posted by lisa Reblogged by Old Roses to houseplants on 2007-12-13, 00:40:05
Leslie of Growing a Garden in Davis has tagged me to write eight things that I'm make me happy. So here goes. I've decided to leave out the personal stuff - if I gushed too much my son would die of embarassment; if I didn't my husband would divorce me. I'll concentrate instead on gardening. . . .
reBlogged
to gardeners
Posted by Sue Swift Reblogged by Old Roses to gardeners on 2007-12-13, 00:39:16
Photo by permission of The Bird and The Sea
The Bird and the Sea is a new website created by Stefan Hartwig, a partner in Electric Pulp, an interactive design firm, containing an eclectic collection of green news and information by different green websites regarding the environment, sustainability, and leaving a lighter footstep.
What makes. . .
We recently bought a little house at Tamborine Mountain which is an hours drive south of Brisbane. Its a retreat we'd like to share with family and friends in the years ahead. To our delight we found this well established Hoya carnosa growing up this large tree fern. It has countless blooms and seems perfectly suited to its host. There are lots of spots where we can grow some of the more cold tolerant Hoyas and we have a greenhouse there to house some of the more tropical ones over winter.
reBlogged
to hoya
Posted by roybe Reblogged by Old Roses to hoya on 2007-12-13, 00:38:17
This is our first bloom of Hoya C.V." Krimson Queen" I love the way the new foliage matches the flower. Over on the fence we have two nice little blooms on Hoya C.V. "Minibelle" which seems quite happy in late morning dappled sunlight.
reBlogged
to hoya
Posted by roybe Reblogged by Old Roses to hoya on 2007-12-13, 00:38:07
We have a rare snow day here today. The kids were very excited. Ice is predicted, but so far we are getting all snow and sleet. It is the type of snow that has huge flakes. Very pretty. . . .
reBlogged
to weather
Posted by Lisa Reblogged by Old Roses to weather on 2007-12-13, 00:37:33
Just received a note from Jennifer Colson, Executive Director of the beloved Sawtooth Botanical Garden near Sun Valley, Idaho. I have failed to list them in the “Gardens to Visit” section of this blog. My apologies to all. No, I wasn’t keeping this fantastic place to myself, although, the thought did cross my mind. I have spent too much time fundraising for my local botanical gardens to keep them a secret. . . .
reBlogged
to botanical_garden
on Dec 11, 2007, 12:21PM
Do you still rely on snow shovels, those trusty old snow-removal tools? If snow shovels are your choice for snow-removal equipment, you'll certainly want to read about the snow shovelling...
reBlogged
to tools
on Dec 11, 2007, 2:22AM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to tools on 2007-12-13, 00:36:17
Many gardeners want to pick out their own tools, but appreciate a thing of beauty that reminds them why they garden in the first place. So why not check out the following? Many of these beauty-makers...
reBlogged
to whimsy
on Dec 11, 2007, 3:24PM
Posted by Kathy Purdy Reblogged by Old Roses to whimsy on 2007-12-13, 00:35:27
According to the Bee, SMUD, our local utility company, is suggesting that buying an artificial Christmas tree is a "greener" choice than buying a fresh-cut tree trucked in from somewhere else (Oregon, most likely). I beg to differ. . . .
reBlogged
to trees
on Dec 11, 2007, 5:24PM
Posted by Angela Reblogged by Old Roses to trees on 2007-12-13, 00:34:28
It seems like cordyline cultivars are becoming more prevalent. I know I haven't grown it much in the past, but find myself reaching for it more and more when I'm out nursery shopping, probably because it comes in such fun colors. I'm not sure how cold-hardy it is, but will have a chance to find out soon, I'm sure.
Cordyline 'Red Sensation'
Cordyline 'Pink Something-or-other'
reBlogged
to plants
on Dec 11, 2007, 1:48PM
Posted by Angela Reblogged by Old Roses to plants on 2007-12-13, 00:33:43
With the new year approaching, most gardeners already have spring on their minds. What new plants to try, what veggies will do well again, and all things that involve warm days, a sun hat, and a trowel. The new year is time for fresh starts, so it's a great time to think about changing things up a bit to make your garden even better for the environment. If you haven't tried composting, give it a whirl. If you haven't tried home-made concoctions for pest and disease control - whip some up in your kitchen and see how rewarding it can be. Below are some tips to get you started, courtesy of the Society for Environmentally Responsible Gardening.
TIPS FOR GOING GREENER IN YOUR GARDEN. . .
reBlogged
to environment
on Dec 11, 2007, 1:38PM
Posted by Kristi Reblogged by Old Roses to environment on 2007-12-13, 00:33:09
It was a long dark cold night, and who did I spy yesterday making his home amongst the Amazon Boxes with my temporary compost heap? A wee Cowrin' timerous beastie as Robbie Burns used to lyrically say.The best laid plans of mice and men oft go a gangly...
reBlogged
to pests
Posted by snappy Reblogged by Old Roses to pests on 2007-12-13, 00:32:16
The photos show how I cut the brambles down, dug the weed roots up, and cleared the grass and mosses. There was so much to clear it was hard to find. Once upon a time a gardener lived here as there were borders on either side of the garden. A few years of neglect had them overrun by weeds and brambles. . . .
reBlogged
to gardening
Posted by snappy Reblogged by Old Roses to Gardening on 2007-12-13, 00:29:40
Must apologize for not posting often. Really busy these past few weeks, and can't seem to tear myself away from my work. Here are some pics of the harvest dinner before I cooked it, all from the garden. But I forgot to take a pic of it after, it was really good. The apples are almost gone now, just a handful left, and the red cabbage is half gone too. The scent off it when I cut it is heavenly, strange as it may seem, it's only a cabbage. But I love all cabbages and cabbage family, they are one of my fave vegetables.
reBlogged
to harvest
Posted by Salix Tree Reblogged by Old Roses to harvest on 2007-12-13, 00:29:09
Now this compost bin may look like almost identical to the other one but it's contents are very different. The big bin is 100% leaves. No grass, no coffee grinds, no plants, no boat, no life, no motorcar. Now this smaller compost bin is a completely different animal. It starts with a generous base layer of leaves, then the core is almost completely vegetable garden waste, and I top it off with more leaves. Sort of a end of the season garden sandwich. And that's a great way to make compost. . . .
reBlogged
to compost
Posted by Anthony Reblogged by Old Roses to compost on 2007-12-13, 00:28:32
hydroponics need not be sterile, in fact it is desirable to innoculate the medium with some beneficial types of microbes, such as a simple addition of 5-10% worm castings
I am a huge fan of using EM (essential microorganisms eminfo.info ) in hydropronic culture
chemical salt based nutrients are NOT required to grow hydroponically, the source of food can be organic certified or what have you
hydroponics in latin = working water
reBlogged
to hydroponics
on Dec 11, 2007, 1:40PM
Posted by conrad
Reblogged by Old Roses to hydroponics on 2007-12-13, 00:25:52
hydroponics = water culture = growing plants in an inert medium (with fertigation as the prime source of nutrient)
yes it is possible to grow organically and hydroponically (organic = carbon); simplest way is to get some coco-coir and use some rubbermaids with holes punched in the bottom as containers, and lids underneath to collect runoff. . .
reBlogged
to hydroponics
on Dec 11, 2007, 1:31PM
Posted by conrad
Reblogged by Old Roses to hydroponics on 2007-12-13, 00:25:30
Even a healthy, hearty house plant cannot stand up against the “intelligence” of people.
So often people cause their own plant problems. But, these problems don’t show for a few days until after the plant has been introduced to their new home.
reBlogged
to houseplants
on Dec 11, 2007, 8:53AM
Posted by Plant Pro Reblogged by Old Roses to houseplants on 2007-12-13, 00:24:59
Just a quick FYI…
I had someone ask me if they could add the Garden Blog Search to their site, so I thought I would put together a page where people could get the code for the search if they wanted to add it to their site.
You can find the code here.
It is setup to go. . .
reBlogged
to tools
on Dec 11, 2007, 8:56AM
Posted by Hanna Reblogged by Old Roses to tools on 2007-12-13, 00:24:50
via Skippy's Vegetable Garden on 1969-12-31, 19:00:00
.....I think they decorate these bigger houseplants just fine!. . .
