No, not political unless you have feathers. (Click to enlarge.)
The Disputed Nesting Hole in the nearby eucalyptus tree: now apparently occupied by a parakeet couple. In the photograph: Mr. Parakeet. Mrs. Parakeet was somewhere nearby, calling out to her husband. She was probably warning him about the suspicious-looking human below who kept aiming her Flashy-Box at him.
Other contenders for this nesting hole have been a family of woodpeckers.
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to trees birds
on Feb 29, 2008, 9:07AM
Posted by Rahel Reblogged by Old Roses to birds, trees on 2008-03-01, 19:14:35
Tissue paper, crumpled newsprint, a spray bottle and tulips. As you can see above, I’ve been experimenting a bit, playing with these simplest of elements, exploring the notion of patina and how to achieve a sense of it. Sometimes an idea hits and just won’t leave me alone until I’ve worked it out a bit. Hope you don’t mind wandering along on such adventures. Doubtless, tomorrow it will be something entirely different, which is a big part of why I continue to allow time for such play. One never really has a clue where such permission will lead next. Something rather delicious about that!
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to tulips
on Feb 29, 2008, 3:59PM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to tulips on 2008-03-01, 19:14:23
Another snow storm is coming at us!! 8" predicted here. I'll get a photo soon. (just what we need - another snow photo....)
While bemoaning the weather, I looked up what was going on in my garden last year on March 1. Pretty much the same. Snow. Cold. But the good news is that by the end of March, I had lots of sprouts and there were crocus and hellebore in the yard. I'll keep that in mind during tomorrow's snow fall.
I've always have had difficulty photographing this Dendrobium orchid. It is tall and gangly and the color which should be a dark red purple as in the foreground flowers, is never captured right by the camera. I guess the backlighting doesn't help as it bring out the mottling in the petals. I tried to get the same effect as the white Phalaenopsis orchid but I had to place the Dendrobium in the bathtub to have it bathe in sunlight :) Well no matter, there it is.
We bought this orchid about 4 years ago and it has bloomed reliably every year though it didn't have many flowers this year.
reBlogged
to orchids
on Feb 29, 2008, 10:25PM
Posted by Ki Reblogged by Old Roses to orchids on 2008-03-01, 19:14:06
Right about now, many of us are wondering if spring will ever come. I can smell the first whiffs of springtime mud and I'm fighting the urge to shovel...
reBlogged
to gardening
on Feb 29, 2008, 8:01PM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to Gardening on 2008-03-01, 19:12:40
Despite being exposed early when the weather damaged its covering leaves this Muscari is developing beautiful blue and yellow buds. With the Crocuses these are my early nearly spring warning flowers! The Ghostly Gardener had planted these in the big blue ceramic pot. Multiple spring bulbs have grown but I need to identify them once they develop flowers. The garden looked okay this morning after eighty mile hour winds battered Wakefield and the north of England. The garden birds have been out in force this morning as I drank my last coffee before bed. Two more nights to go before I can garden again. Its the first of March. My namesakes Saints day, patron saint of Wales. http://sucs.org/~rhys/stdavid.html
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to muscari
Posted by snappy Reblogged by Old Roses to muscari on 2008-03-01, 19:11:59
Ricinus communis, the Castor Bean plant, is widely grown in California, and sometimes found planted as annuals as far north as Nova Scotia. The plant has become somewhat notorious because it contains two toxins that are extremely lethal. Its a real danger to children, pets and even insects. OK, so maybe you won't be shedding any tears over dead insects, but I thought you should know anyway. . ..
It's flower show time, not just on Long Island, but in Philadelphia, Atlanta, England.....
Garden shows are as much a sign of spring as crocuses. If you're stuck here, as I am, check out the Hicks Flower and Garden Show (through March 9) and the The New York Botanical Garden Orchid Show (through April 6 in the Bronx, nybg.org. You won't be disappointed with either. However, if you've got some vacation time to burn, check out some of these. . .
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to shows
Posted by Jessica Damiano Reblogged by Old Roses to shows on 2008-03-01, 19:10:50
My previous post showcases the brilliant shades of color that Northeast Ohio experiences during the winter: White, gray-white, bluish white, light yellow, a few shades of brown, and so on. All joking aside, it's actually nice to be able to appreciate subtle color variations during the winter time. An admitted design eclectic, I occasionally have a yen (especially in the wintertime) for a clean, light, Scandanavian-inspired design, and NE Ohio winters give me that fix.
But at this point in the season, I want color. And so I've been avidly following along with the February Garden Bloggers' Design Workshop posts on Color, brought to life by the wonderful folks over at Gardening Gone Wild. I've been wanting to "play along," so to speak, but don't particularly have an overriding color theme in my gardens. So I scrolled through photos, hoping for a post topic to come up and hit me right between the eyes. . . .
sometimes things pile up pretty quickly, and it becomes time to shut down for a few days. i'll be back on monday, with more house buying tips. In the meantime, check out Modish for another DIY gardening tutorial!
PS-- Word on the street is, Spring is Coming!!
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to spring
Posted by sk8ordiehard Reblogged by Old Roses to spring on 2008-03-01, 19:08:50
Perhaps you read The Secret Garden as a child, and remember this cover? Or maybe you just know that Tasha Tudor lives in Vermont and has a gorgeous garden, chronicled by Tovah Martin and photographed...
reBlogged
to books
on Feb 29, 2008, 9:46PM
Posted by Kathy Purdy Reblogged by Old Roses to books on 2008-03-01, 19:07:43
The Polyanthus Blue Shades is growing lovely now, even with todays wind and rain. I am back on nights for three so the posts will slow down untill Monday.I was very productive yesterday with Cat helping me out. I bought three large 75 litre bags of compost, two bags of Pea gravel stones, and a few more plants to go with the four from Harlow Carr. I wanted to make the African bag gardens with Cats assistance. . . .
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to planting
Posted by snappy Reblogged by Old Roses to planting on 2008-03-01, 19:07:12
I'm way late for week 5 of Wildflowers in Winter, but I didn't want to let February slip away without mentioning Grandma Gordon's UFOs. UnFinished Objects. If you are involved in any kind of creative endeavor, I'll bet you have some. My great-grandmother apparently intended to make a friendship quilt and asked her relatives and friends to each stitch a block for it, but then she never quite got around to putting it together. Most of the blocks are a crazy-quilt style, but at least one is appliquéed. I picked out all the ones with any kind of floral design for this photo.
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to flowers
Posted by Entangled Reblogged by Old Roses to flowers on 2008-03-01, 19:05:30
The daffodils in my front garden are doing great. A few have the beginnings of buds forming. There are at least two crocus that appear to be ready to bloom this weekend. And the tulips out front that have never bloomed for me are starting to poke through.
The back yard is a different story. The established daffodils are right on schedule, a little behind the ones in the front. No tulips are to be seen, although one of the new peonies is starting to poke through. The new daffodils are barely poking through. But somewhere along the line, the mulch covering the bird bath garden disappeared. And that garden has a lot of frost heaves. I took a few minutes to dig some leaves out of the compost pile and spread them around. Hopefully that will help.
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to bulbs
Posted by millionbells Reblogged by Old Roses to bulbs on 2008-03-01, 19:05:08
EGRET VISITED: We were sitting under the pergola enjoying the sunshine, greenery, the tinkling of the fountain and the sun, when who should happen by but a dainty egret. S/he strutted her stuff up and down the trellis. We just prayed Yin and Yang would not see it, although I wouldn't rate their chances if they tangled with the egret's beak. Alas, the camera was not nearby. Isn't it ever the way! D. saw some lovely tiles in a souvenir shop when we were in Seville and thought how attractive they'd look on his new wall. . . .
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to gardens
Posted by ladyluz Reblogged by Old Roses to Gardens on 2008-03-01, 19:04:00
The bees are buzzin’ around these pretty pinkish-white blossoms at the edge of the woods. I’m not sure what they are. Don’t they look a lot like Pam’s mexican plum? On the other hand a lot of flowering trees look sort of like that in the id books.
Here’s a closer [...]
reBlogged
to weather
on Dec 31, 1969, 6:59PM
Posted by Bill Reblogged by Old Roses to weather on 2008-03-01, 19:03:32
Cotton Candy Pink Primroses- at the train station.
My first day in Tokyo was filled with shopping, shopping and shopping for my day job as trend director at Hasbro. But, at least I was able to squeeze in some hoticulture on my train ride home. On this busy Friday night in chilly Tokyo, potted plants were available at every train station, including these stunning potted Fairy Primroses, Primula malacoides. So much better than mine in a previous post! I wish I has the seed of this cultivar. I think the way that they were displayed, in a wooded basket, and the fullness of the plant, combined with their cherry-blossom pink color, made them a perfect expression of Japans Japanesseness. . . .
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to flowers
Posted by Matt Reblogged by Old Roses to flowers on 2008-03-01, 19:03:25
When you are digging your hole, dig straight down. If you dig a bowl shape you will slide down into the water every time you try to get in your pond to do maintenance. You also have more surface exposed to sunlight and that causes algae growth. . . .
reBlogged
to ponds
Posted by Jan Goldfield Reblogged by Old Roses to ponds on 2008-03-01, 19:02:59
When the water table rises and pond liners are floating up to the top of the pond, pushing the water out, you think that is air under your liner. Nope, it's water. If your pond was built 3" or 4" above grade, the weight of the water in the pond would keep the liner from bubbling up. . . .
reBlogged
to ponds
Posted by Jan Goldfield Reblogged by Old Roses to ponds on 2008-03-01, 19:02:42
I could use some help. Every year about this time I start thinking about getting new roses for the Rose Garden and every year about this time I go certifiably nutty trying to read between the lines of rose catalog descriptions. My kingdom for a disease resistant rose! Some of you already know that we don’t spray the Rose Garden with any kind of fungicide or pesticide - we clean up dead and disease-y leaves and we handpick beetles (though fingers crossed that the milky spore disease that Dan applied a year and a half ago makes a noticeable difference this year). And we’ve begun to interplant the garden with a mixed up mix of shrubs, perennials and annuals so that there’s other stuff going on midsummer besides black spot and beetles. . . .
reBlogged
to roses
on Feb 29, 2008, 3:21PM
Posted by Kris Reblogged by Old Roses to roses on 2008-03-01, 19:02:27
This is the one week update for my winter sown bottles. No sprouts yet. No, I didn't expect there would be any yet. Just thought I'd check. I was impressed with all the condensation droplets inside the bottles. Since the temperature is in the teens now (11 F last night!), it seems to be staying MUCH warmer inside the bottles. Grow seeds, grow!!
Continuing on the barnyard theme of my last post, I saw this roly poly while on assignment in the Fall Creek community of Avery county yesterday. It was snowing slightly and I was making my way up a mule face of a mountain when I saw Mr. Sheep looking at me. I immediately had a 'The Hills are Alive," kind of moment where I was overcome with the feeling of running with my arms wide open towards Mr. Fluff. I briefly imagined trying to fit my arms around his body and burying my face in his softness. Alas, Mr. Squishy could read my mind and my thoughts scared him . All I got was this photo. But, he is adorable with all that wool he's been growing over the winter.
Hey, I wonder if I'm this darn cute with all my winter weight?
reBlogged
to weather
on Feb 29, 2008, 2:07PM
Posted by Marie Freeman Reblogged by Old Roses to weather on 2008-03-01, 19:01:50
" From December to March, there are for many of us three gardens ~ the garden outdoors, the garden of pots and bowls in the house, and the garden of the mind's eye ... "
~ Katherine S. White
~ 'Sweet May Memories'
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to flowers recipes
Posted by joey Reblogged by Old Roses to flowers, recipes on 2008-03-01, 19:01:16
You are invited to PhotoSynthesis, an exhibition of the winning images from the Second Annual Washington Gardener Photo Contest. All 16 stunning photos were taken in DC-area gardens. Both inspirational and educational, this show represents the best of garden photography in the greater DC metropolitan region. . . .
Hey, I just wanted to remind everyone that today is the last day to donate to Tammy’s cross country ride so that you can be entered into the drawing for a year’s subscription for Gun & Garden magazine.
I also wanted to send a big THANK YOU out to all of you who have donated already. . . .
reBlogged
to magazines
on Feb 29, 2008, 8:45AM
Posted by Hanna Reblogged by Old Roses to magazines on 2008-03-01, 19:00:03
The last two mornings were in the upper 30's. Hopefully this will be the last "very" cold weather we receive this winter, as spring is in the air for us. Everything is popping out and I am eager to get out in the yard and begin the spring ritual of trimming, fertilizing, planting and enjoying some "perfect spring weather."
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to weather
Posted by Susan Reblogged by Old Roses to weather on 2008-03-01, 18:59:45
via Today in the Garden... on 1969-12-31, 19:00:00
