Google Maps has posted some more-detailed images. This picture, with our house in dead center, must have been taken last year, before I put in my vegetable garden and greatly expanded my flower beds. (My backyard is due east--north is up--of the semi-circle brick drive.) With all the trees, you cannot see what our house looks like, but it gives an idea of the urban area where I live (one of the first subdivisions in Central Florida--built during "the Big Boom" in the very early 1920s). . . .
Our 2008 Media Kit is now posted online here. It contains all of our advertising details including the ultra-bargain $100 classified ads we have recently added to the magazine. Also in the media kit is our editorial calendar of deadlines and themes through early 2009.
I'm doing a big push now to get new advertisers and focus more on that aspect of the magazine's revenue potential. With the help of friend, Nancy Burns, we are tring to making in-roads with the local garden centers and suppliers. To me it seems like a no-brainer that these folks should be part of our publication that reaches 5,000+ gardening fanatics in the DC-area, but ad sales are a tough business and not for the faint of heart. Any tips you can share are much appreciated!
After just two posts on Anemones, I'm already out of sequence. The Anemone Canadensis in the first photo bloomed in late spring. This Anemone was the second one to bloom after the early Anemone Sylvestris. At first glance I thought the second two photos were of the first plant but the flowers look different. The leaves have the same palmate characteristic so I thought they were the same plant but I'll have to do more checking to be sure. . . .
reBlogged
to anemone
Posted by Ki Reblogged by Old Roses to anemone on 2007-12-14, 00:53:23
Yesterday, while sitting at the computer, I glanced out the window and saw a Cooper's hawk on my patio swing! I had been tossing bird seed on the patio so the birds would come closer and entertain the cat, the dog and the Robin ;) that resides here. We've had quite a few dark-eyed juncos, sparrows and mourning doves eating the seeds from the patio, I guess the Cooper's hawk saw an easy target. . . .
photos: preparing a "winter fruit-root salad" and a bed of kale and chard!
As the days get shorter and cooler, we have been busily tending our winter crops at the MLK Middle School garden.We have kale, chard, bok choi, broccoli, romanesco, fava beans, beets, and carrots growing, which will make for a yummy feast once we get back from the holiday break!. . .
reBlogged
to harvest
Posted by Lisa C Reblogged by Old Roses to harvest on 2007-12-14, 00:51:20
At the campus shared by Excelsior (middle school) and June Jordan (high school), behind the school garden lies a huge open field area currently used for nothing . . . but we are making plans!. . .
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to design
Posted by Abby RJ Reblogged by Old Roses to design on 2007-12-14, 00:47:16
Sort of. Things are at a bit of an impasse with the project, as lights still need to be purchased and installed in some attractive manner, and I’d like to have some hanging basket hooks put into the ceiling. Soon, however, a whole mess of hyacinth glasses and pots will be coming up here. Fortunately they won’t need special lights. . . .
reBlogged
to plants
Posted by EAL Reblogged by Old Roses to plants on 2007-12-14, 00:46:56
Today's ice storm began in the Gulf of Mexico, as a warm low pressure system; as it rode the jet stream rapidly to the northeast, it rose up over a huge pool of Arctic air that has encamped over most of the central part of the country. Oklahoma City was the first victim, receiving an inch of ice in little more than an hour, leaving the city battered and splintered. It was then Kansas City's turn, as the moisture streamed northward; then the storm moved into southeast Iowa, on it's way to Chicago. During the night the freezing raindrops began snapping against the skylight; looking out the large back windows, the deer were silently standing about like pale ghosts in the ice and mist, backlit by the incongruously cheerful Christmas lights strung along our split rail fence. Today we are encased in ice; trying to look through the open woods, it's as if you are gazing at opaque ground glass, faintly lit from within; the static appearance is belied by the crashing of broken limbs, sounding like shattering glass as they hit the frozen ground. Evergreens are bent to the ground in icy supplication. The Oriental Bittersweet berries festooning the tree limbs are like drops of frozen blood on the black branches. This is no pristine and beautiful winter scene; it's ugly and it's deadly for our wildlife... and winter has not even begun.
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to weather
Posted by IBOY Reblogged by Old Roses to weather on 2007-12-14, 00:46:36
I kid you not but did you know there is a song called The Purple Sprouting Brocoli song. To hear a clip by the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band go to BBC Radio 4 Listen Again page and click on Midweek programme for 12/12/2007 and fast forward to minute 40 or try this link PSB Song.
Anyone else have vegetable songs? I've the lyrics to Guy Clark's, Homegrown Tomatoes, and there's one I heard ages ago which went something like 'There's Bud the Spud from the bright red mud going down the highway smiling...'
I suppose if I searched YouTube I'd find some clips.............................
Today we're going to talk about a subject dear to the hearts of many Long Islanders, especially those fortunate enough to live in a place like Anne Halpin, author of "Seascape Gardening," (Storey Publishing, $19.95), does. . . .
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to books
Posted by Jessica Damiano Reblogged by Old Roses to books on 2007-12-14, 00:46:16
ECHO is, for me, the ultimate authority on all things gardening in FLA -- check the chill-unit requirement here that they list for Anna, Tropic Sweet and Dorsett: "50-150." That's anywhere from half to one-quarter the chill-hour requirement I've seen elsewhere. Very interesting...
Apple: "The main technique employed in tropical climates that don't meet chilling requirements is manual defoliation of the leaves. By seasonally pruning off all of the leaves on a tree, the apple is fooled into believing that natural defoliation has occurred due to winter, which causes chemical hormone changes in the plant that lead to the onset of flowering. The method is simple, but effective, and if done properly can yield 2-3 crops per year. In rarer cases, less-tropical apple varieties that have higher chilling requirements can be grafted onto the 'tropical' apples and through defoliation, can be coaxed into fruiting."
Absolutely everything you'd ever want to know about Muscadine Grape production... For big growers, but enough good information to entertain the hobbyist, too. SRSFC - Georgia Muscadine Production Guide - Table of Contents: "Georgia Muscadine Production Guide"
SRSFC - Muscadine Production Guide - ../sec. 14: "Muscadine single wire trellises normally have the wire 5 feet about the ground.The 5 foot trellis has been the most popular with Georgia growers since it allows for better air circulation that shorter trellises. Trellis construction is the most expensive step in establishing a muscadine grape vineyard. Since the trellis is relatively permanent, it should be strong enough to support a heavy crop and made of durable materials that will last for many years. All wood products used in the vineyard should be pressure treated with wood preservatives (or of a specially durable wood type you know will last in your area)."
This site is modestly funny, though it smells mildly of a big corporation's sweaty attempt to be cute and folksy.
Still, I sympathize with their cause -- it ENRAGES me that, in my local Publix, it's hard to find frozen OJ concentrate from Florida, or that I have to go out of my way to get local juicing oranges, or that my blueberries in April come from Chile. I realize that it's a complex, economic system: Publix needs to compete with WalMart, so it searches for the least inexpensive possible necessities, like OJ concentrate from Brazil. And because of wage differentials and inexpensive (relatively) energy, Brazil can produce juice more cheaply than Florida, where groves are being turned into subdivisions. But it is enraging that we here, in Florida, do not, on principle, drink orange juice raised here, by farmers whom we know who buy their equipment from workers whom we know. In theory, I believe in free trade and international commerce; but when it comes down to my own personal preferences and instinctive beliefs, it almost always turns out that I prefer to buy local, even when it's not in my own economic best interests.
This lovely contemporary home has another tiny urban plot. The homeowner client did not want grass and as an interior designer with good taste she didn't want the cookie-cutter developer's landscape ( you know the one - boxwood, boxwood and more boxwood ! ) . . . .
reBlogged
to design
Posted by Carolyn gail Reblogged by Old Roses to design on 2007-12-14, 00:44:16
The other day I glanced out my daughter's bedroom window at the back yard and then I got that, Look closer because something weird is going on feeling:
Weather everywhere seems freakish, but I think I say that every year. After our picture perfect snowfall, we had the defrost turned on and yesterday I worked in the garden finishing last minute procrastinations. It was a grace period of record breaking temperature for just one lovely day. 66 degrees. Almost summer. . . .
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to weather
Posted by Ilona Reblogged by Old Roses to weather on 2007-12-14, 00:43:18
The calendar tells me it’s only about 2 weeks until Christmas.
Now we’ve got our tree up and decorated the "traditional" way. Lights, garland, etc. (...)
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to bromeliad
on Dec 12, 2007, 12:37PM
Posted by Plant Pro Reblogged by Old Roses to bromeliad on 2007-12-14, 00:42:59
One of the things I’ve found about the Internet is that it changes so very, very fast. When I worked for a major nursery, we used to introduce about 300 new varieties every year and it was a bit of a stretch to keep up with them all. On the Net, I think there’s 300 new varieties introduced every week. . .
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to blogs
on Dec 12, 2007, 10:06AM
Posted by Doug Reblogged by Old Roses to blogs on 2007-12-14, 00:42:51
During the cold winter months our plants can take a beating!
Plants that are evergreen, or semi-evergreen can really get damaged, but the good news is that most of the time, the plants are able to be saved. . . .
reBlogged
to plants weather
Posted by Hilary Reblogged by Old Roses to plants, weather on 2007-12-14, 00:42:28
A reader recently asked Steve Jones a question about Christmas cactus care. It seems that his Christmas cactus plants "have started to turn yellow and are withering from the ends"....
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to houseplants
on Dec 12, 2007, 1:07AM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to houseplants on 2007-12-14, 00:42:07
I picked 5-6 mint sprigs from the garden 19 days ago. We were having a party and I made fresh lemonade. So, I shoved the springs of mint in a glass and set it beside the lemonade pitcher. After a week, I noticed the springs appeared to be just as fresh as the day I picked them. So, I let them stay in the glass. Since then, some of the lower leaves have turned brown from sitting in water. However, look at the magic that is happening to submerged portion of the sprins.
This is how to take a cutting of mint and start your own little mint plants. You could buy some from the grocery store and try it yourself.
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to mint
Posted by ldybug Reblogged by Old Roses to mint on 2007-12-14, 00:41:43
The Fruit Growers News - May 2000: "Sears grows two basic varieties – the rabbiteye and the southern highbush. The rabbiteye, the easier and more profitable variety to grow, doesn’t begin producing until Memorial Day, at the end of May. The southern highbush begins producing as early as April 15. The problem for Sears and other growers was that even with the addition of the pine bark mulch the southern highbush wasn’t producing high yields. University of Georgia Extension agents worked with Sears and other growers to lay out beds of pine bark six to eight inches deep before they planted the bushes directly into the mulch. The southern highbush plants in the pine bark beds are doing quite well, Sears said. But, creation and upkeep on the mulch beds isn’t easy or inexpensive. That’s why Sears has 35 acres of blueberries, but currently less than an acre of producing berries in the mulch beds. Sears has several more beds in their first year of planting and he is preparing several more to plant. He plans to have about five acres of the southern highbush growing in beds of pine bark mulch in the next couple of years."
via THE VILLAGE VOICE on 1969-12-31, 19:00:00
How To Handle Frozen or Frost Damaged Plants
