Here?s another question I?ve gotten from more than one reader: can you use vinegar as a herbicide? The short answer is - yes. There are some ifs, ands...
reBlogged
to weeds
on May 7, 2008, 9:01PM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to weeds on 2008-05-10, 05:28:25
For the three Springtimes we've spent at Larrapin, the hummers have arrived promptly on tax day, April 15th. This year was no different and as usual we were scrambling to get the feeders up as he was zooming around the spot where it usually hangs... It took me a while longer though, to get a proper welcome-back photo.
Phormium is a spiky, spectacular, sword-leafed evergreen perennial that makes a striking garden focal point or specimen plant. Some are small enough to use in containers, others can reach...
reBlogged
to plants
on May 8, 2008, 9:01PM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to plants on 2008-05-10, 05:24:23
Think Green! Win this wonderful children’s book. See details below.
We have made such a mess of this Planet with our overconsumption, wasteful habits and lack of respect for the environment. In rectifying this situation, we must teach our young to be good stewards of the Earth so they don’t make the same mistakes we made. . ..
reBlogged
to books
on May 8, 2008, 8:49PM
Posted by Green Talk Reblogged by Old Roses to books on 2008-05-10, 05:24:13
"What to do in the garden in May? What doesn?t need doing? That?s why it?s nice to have a list," states Marie Iannotti. And About's Gardening Guide supplies such a...
reBlogged
to gardening
on May 9, 2008, 1:54AM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to Gardening on 2008-05-10, 05:22:52
I wasn't kidding when I said we'd have our first pick of strawberries today. Here they are in all their glory -- the first two fruits from our new garden.
There are just two so far: one for Michael, one for me. It's only enough to whet our appetites for more. The next berries can't ripen soon enough.
Owning or keeping koi is illegal in the state of Maine. Koi are considered a nuisance fish that can invade public waterways and cause native fish to die out. No matter what state you live in, check with your local extension service to find out the status of koi. . ..
reBlogged
to ponds
Posted by Jan Goldfield Reblogged by Old Roses to ponds on 2008-05-10, 05:22:06
Gentle rains fall to soften my garden beds. The very atmosphere seems pregnant, imparting everything with fecund potential. My heart and mind soar in such enveloping mists and soak in the droplets of the magnified clarity it gives to the light, filtered and diffused in the tenderest way possible. The purples and lavenders glow in this light, the greens deepen and become velveted, the whites glisten and then fade at the edges... nothing is harsh or disordered while the colors of the garden are washed into each other with rainbow gradations. . . .
reBlogged
to weather
Posted by Ilona Reblogged by Old Roses to weather on 2008-05-10, 05:21:08
According to holidayinsights.com, which apparently puts bizarre holidays on the calendar, the second week in May is officially Wildflower Week. Who knew?
To compensate for the fact that this holiday has eluded me all these years, I'd like to make it up to wildflowers everywhere by giving them a day in the spotlight. . . .
We pass this back garden on our walk to school. It's a rather wild combination of plants, trees, and accessories, but somehow it works in its own way:
I was trying out the 2x telephoto lens that came with my camera (Canon G9). When I keep the lens on and take wide angle photos, it gives this somewhat interesting distortion of the sides of the image (above).
It's tulip time. In my garden
I was interviewed by Marilyn Dickey for a Washingtonian magazine piece on gardening -- have not seen it myself yet, but others have an told me I'm quoted in it and it is a good article. Must say that I love the colors and look of their current May 08 cover. I'll need to run out to the store and pick up a copy this weekend. At their web site I see here that we are cited as an area garden resource which is always nice.
I'm spending this rainy day trying to get as many things mailed as humanly possible before yet another postal rate increase takes effect. I think the USPS is trying to kill all us small business folk!
Some of you know about my love for moths and butterflies. I'm constantly awed by these remarkable creatures, and of course it would be nearly impossible to have any sort of garden without them. Well if I'm in love, then Swiss author and photographer Thomas Marent is obsessed - in a good way. And his gloriously gigantic new book, simply titled Butterfly, offers a (much) larger than life size look at these 'flying flowers.'. . .
reBlogged
to books
Posted by Farmgirl Susan Reblogged by Old Roses to books on 2008-05-10, 05:17:16
Over the years, I’ve written (fairly clearly I think) about not allowing certain kinds of plants into your garden.
There are the outright garden thugs. And these include plants such as Crown Vetch, Goutweed (variegated and green leaf) and Artemesia ‘Silver King’. This would certainly include grasses such as Phragmites (variegated ribbon grass) and a few others that deserve to be planted far from my gardens. . .
reBlogged
to plants
on May 9, 2008, 10:47AM
Posted by Doug Reblogged by Old Roses to plants on 2008-05-10, 05:15:41
This lovely woodlander, a member of the woodland lilies, is in the genus disporum; it goes by Disporum uniflorum, but also D. flavens and D. flavum... take your pick. I have enough trouble remembering that disporum is fairy bells and uvularia is merry bells. Whatever the label reads, this plant is quite striking when it grows into a large clump, its crisp foliage opening to reveal large creamy yellow hanging bellflowers. Unfortunately the flowers don't last long, soon shattering into hundreds of little yellow shards covering the ground under the plants. It is in such a hurry to bloom in the spring that the two foot tall stalks just shoot out of the ground, and the flowers emerge before the foliage is fully open; when I first grew this plant I thought it had been nipped by a late frost, but it's just from the foliage not being completely unfolded when it starts blooming. Disporum uniflorum is native to China and Korea, and quite hardy except that it is very susceptible to damage from heavy freezes when its foliage is fully open. Although its flowers don't last long, the foliage is very lovely by itself, being very crisp, shiny green. It looks great next to a creamy hosta like 'June'.
reBlogged
to wildflowers
Posted by IBOY Reblogged by Old Roses to wildflowers on 2008-05-10, 05:14:59
I think the Snowy Egrets are my favorite pond bird. The first one showed up in the last week of April, and another came a few days later. I love to watch them fish - slowly stalking around the pond's perimeter, suddenly freezing with neck outstretched, then the lightning-quick SPLASH, and another minnow or tadpole is added to the dinner tally.
I feel a little bad choosing a favorite pond bird, though. The ducks are fun to watch. The males chase each other or one of the females, quacking and complaining the whole time. The green herons are still exciting to see, but they're so elusive that it takes some work to spot one. The kingfishers are neat, chattering and diving for their meal. Blue herons drop by a few times a week but they're just visitors, not permanent residents. Canada geese - no, I could do without them. They're loud, mean and aggressive, and they mess up the early-spring yard with their droppings. Thankfully, they leave when the brush and grass around the pond grows tall.
Yes, I think I like the egrets best, but don't tell our other fair-weather residents - they're all fascinating in their own way.
reBlogged
to birds
on May 9, 2008, 11:37AM
Posted by Talbin Reblogged by Old Roses to birds on 2008-05-10, 05:14:43
We bought this plant at the Master Gardener's sale last weekend. The flowers just opened a few days ago so it was not included in the previous post. Sorry for the blurry pictures of Shooting Star, Dodecatheon meadia 'Alba'. It was windy and dark when I took the pictures. Some friends came over late yesterday and I was surprised they immediately noticed this flower which is partially hidden under a Japanese maple. . . .
Last night we had an incredible rain. All night. So, the plants I moved look great this morning. I am glad I moved them. However, as I looked at the other plants in the area that is "too shady", I was super suprised to see lots of blooms. Not on all of them, mind you. The smaller (re: younger) ones did not have any. And there are 2 others that are probably in bad spots. But, maybe I am just not being patient enough. Some of those guys have been transplanted by me 4 or 5 times. No wonder they have not bloomed. The soil is still very poor in that area. But I am thinking another root disturbance is not the right way to go. I think I will add the compost to the top of the soil (under the mulch) for most of them. And I need to make a pathway through that bed since the plants are all different heights. But maybe it will work out - especially if I can get those limbs cut off.
reBlogged
to plants
Posted by Lesli Reblogged by Old Roses to plants on 2008-05-10, 05:13:35
It's spring and a young male fish's fancy turns to thoughts of female fish. When you see your fish chasing after each other, sometimes even removing scales or acting as if they are fighting, they are really spawning and you will soon be a goldfish grandparent.
Fish are not good parents. The moment the fish is born, the parents try to eat it and are often successful. Goldfish are born a grayish, brownish color to give them a chance at life and obviously, some make it. . ..
reBlogged
to ponds
Posted by Jan Goldfield Reblogged by Old Roses to ponds on 2008-05-10, 05:12:39
Yes, I have been having fun with Adobe Lightroom Presets lately, thank you very much. I find myself scrolling through hundreds of Presets and hitting the button just see what funky effect each has on a photo. I've found that largely Presets are garbage and easy to replicate in Photoshop, but still...Like Actions in PS, Presets are addictive. I compare my allure of Presets to my TTVphase. Rest assured, I'll quickly get bored with it and move on. Like teenage love, this too shall pass.
My hillbilly photo philosophy remains: Ya can't make chicken soup out of chicken poop. If'n a photo ain't good to begin with, no amount of bells and whistles will make it any better.
reBlogged
to tools
on May 9, 2008, 4:30PM
Posted by Marie Freeman Reblogged by Old Roses to tools on 2008-05-10, 05:12:13
This robin is busy hopping around the back yard looking for tasty treats in the grass. Look at all the extra tufts of feathers he/she has. Is that the extra feathers coming out? or is it something else? I'd love to know what you think.
reBlogged
to birds
Posted by Crafty Gardener Reblogged by Old Roses to birds on 2008-05-10, 05:11:56
This is one of the annuals I have been planting this week. This year as been funny since I have had more requests for annuals then ever before. It truly has been the year of the annual. I don’t mind because annuals always add a lot of color to the garden. I hope to take some more pictures of the different flowers I have been planting. Dahlias, Impatiens, Petunias, Marigolds, Salvia, Cleome and Begonias to name some of the species for this year. . . .
I have so many garden things to blog about that I may have to divide it into multiple blogs! First, I was visiting my sister-in-law and her aunt came to visit. She is a rose grower with beautiful roses, and I picked her brain a little. She pointed out to me where to prune, cutting at a slant, and sealing the stem with wood glue. She said the sealing was VERY important to avoid getting rose borers. She also sprinkles a ring of epson salts around each rose and waters it in; no digging. At this point it was time for brunch, so I politely stopped grilling her. . . .
The colours of the left hand border. Two colours are from Xmas.They were planted in December, the Daffodils and the Pink Hyacinths.Secret Santa presents that have grown beautifully.. . . .
reBlogged
to flowers
Posted by snappy Reblogged by Old Roses to flowers on 2008-05-10, 05:08:31
One thing I've learned from my baby-steps study of permaculture concepts is the idea of planting "guilds." That is, grouping plants that benefit each other by being in proximity. A classic example seems to be grouping a tree with smaller plants such as nutrient accumulators/mulch producers like comfrey, then some plants that attract beneficial insects etc. So last year I planted this comfrey at the base of the Prarie Fire Crabapple, a tree I treasure for the spring blooms, but mostly for it's bird-food value. . . .
This time of year I absolutely live for the softly warm spring days that get me out in the garden. But after a few days of that I’m always ready for the rain days that pull me out of the garden and back into the greenhouse. We potted up; I went nuts spraying insectical soap on the few (very few) whiteflies and aphids (it’s better for the plants to spray soap and hort. oil when it’s cloudy) and we did a little more moving out. Our greenhouse days are numbered now and I am cherishing them - especially while it’s not too hot in there. . ..
reBlogged
to greenhouse
on May 9, 2008, 2:46PM
Posted by Kris Reblogged by Old Roses to greenhouse on 2008-05-10, 05:04:23
I saw this cool fence made with garden tools at a roadside nursery in Hamilton. It was outside of business hours so I made a mental note to check the place out next time I came through.
reBlogged
to fence
on May 9, 2008, 3:39PM
Posted by Bill Reblogged by Old Roses to fence on 2008-05-10, 05:03:35
Let's start at the very beginning. The very first produce of the season from the kitchen garden is a large bunch of chives or Allium Schoenoprasum including plump flower buds. How perfect that it should be alphabetically appropriate. The buds get chopped up like the leaves but I also add them whole as an interesting addition to a stir fry with tofu. . ..
me: "Good morning building materials guy. You are delivering some lumber for me today and I realized that I ordered the wrong length of 4x4's, can I change them to 12 foot lengths?
wood guy: "Oh there is a problem with your order. You ordered 15 2x4's in 16 foot lengths and we only have 4 of them so we can either deliver the partial order or hold it until we get the others in a few days.". . .
reBlogged
to design
Posted by Gina Reblogged by Old Roses to design on 2008-05-10, 05:02:51
Well, I was going to do a "purple" post, since that is certainly a dominant colour in the garden this spring, but I think I'd rather just post random photos from the past few days (minus the two rainy ones) in the garden.
Buddha with Tradescantia "Halo"
reBlogged
to spring
Posted by Karen Reblogged by Old Roses to spring on 2008-05-10, 05:01:45
It is possible for landscape gardeners in eastern North America to outwit large populations of white-tail deer by carefully choosing plants for their designs.
reBlogged
to pests
on May 8, 2008, 4:00AM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to pests on 2008-05-10, 05:01:08
via dreams and bones on 1969-12-31, 19:00:00
