Going to the Olympics in 2016 – then combine your visit with a few garden trips.
21.07.2023 - 23:02 / awaytogarden.com
EXPLODING Eremurus, why vulnerability is good for us, and the answer to why bird poop is white—all, and more, in the latest collections of links I’ve loved lately while staring into my computer screen (which I alternately do between long gazes out the window). Five links worth exploring:
exploding eremurus, and other floral magicAS USUAL, it was Maria Popova of the amazing Brain Pickings website that alerted us to something spectacular we’d have missed otherwise, this time to photographer Andrew Zuckerman’s intimate portraits—still, and video—of flowers. NPR’s Robert Krulwich followed up with a piece of his own—or just go to Vimeo and watch Zuckerman’s collection of videos up close and personal.
2 minutes weekly with the birdsEVER WONDER why bird poop is white (and why they really love to dispense it onto red cars)? Such madcap topics, and some more sober ones, are the subject of the charming daily 2-minute public-radio podcast called BirdNote. Be sure to browse the archives, or (if you use podcasts) sign on for this one. Audible fun, in a small package—you know, like a bird.
birds blown off course by sandyHAVE YOU FOUND it as compelling (though sometimes sad) to read about what Superstorm Sandy did to move birds off course? Pelicans who afterward needed a ride back to Florida; northern lapwings en route to Africa from Europe who got tossed to Massachusetts, and more? “It is as if the entire Northeast were a giant snow globe, which has been lifted up and shaken, with a variety of species being found far from where they were before Sandy’s arrival,” said eBird.org, which has acomprehensive set of links to the many unexpected sightings.
trees and drought: stroke victims?WHAT DOES DROUGHT do to trees? Well, apparently its
Going to the Olympics in 2016 – then combine your visit with a few garden trips.
A tall tree in your front garden can make a bold impression, acting as a focal point that can immensely add an appeal to the overall look of the landscape. If you want one in your yard, then check out all the information on Mule Palm Tree Care.
Discover the mesmerizing charm of these stunning Black and Blue Butterflies adorned with elegant shades of black and blue.
Springs and seeps are more than just a nuisance wet spot in the landscape; they’re considered types of wetlands and are an expression of groundwater flowing upward and surfacing on land. Sometimes springs and seeps flow after a deluge of rain while others, like popular springs in Florida, continuously produce large quantities of water year-round. Springs emanate (originate) from a single point in the landscape and have a defined channel, whereas seeps have more diffuse distribution across wider areas. Whether surface water becomes a spring or a seep depends on how much pressure is underground. Higher pressures will result in springs, whereas low pressure will likely produce seeps. While seeps may not be as diverse as springs when it comes to flora and fauna, they may harbor unique plants and animals not found in springs. When springs and seeps are located in sunny areas, both can be quite productive with a variety of aquatic plants, invertebrates, and amphibians. For plant enthusiasts, seeps can support a diverse array of carnivorous plants. Seeps and springs are also beneficial because they provide water to headwater streams, ultimately providing the water flow to create larger river systems. They’re also essential during the cold winter months because their movement often keeps water from freezing. This serves as a refuge or drinking water source for wildlife.
Homeowners have had to combat root-knot nematodes for as long as home vegetable gardens have existed. Nematodes are microscopic worms in the soil in high numbers that can cause damage to susceptible plants. Traditionally, the vegetables most affected were beans, watermelons, cucumbers, and especially three grower favorites: tomatoes, sweetpotatoes, and okra. Although there are many types of nematodes in the soil, root-knot nematodes are some of the most common and cause the large galls or knots you see on the roots of susceptible plants
Dr. Matt Cutulle reports, “I saw my first nutsedge plants this year pop up in the plastic mulch of a fellow researcher’s trial last week in Charleston. Soil temperatures in plastic mulch systems are going to be higher, which may lead to earlier sprouting of yellow nutsedge tubers. New tubers begin forming four to six weeks after a new shoot emerges. Individual nutsedge plants may eventually form patches 10 feet or more in diameter, thus it is important to practice field sanitation once an infestation is recognized.”
One of my earliest horticultural memories was watching my grandmother arrange purple berried branches of American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) in a vase and place it in the center of her dining room table. These beautiful, native shrubs grew wild in the woods surrounding her home, full of clusters of purple berries in the fall.
FOR THOSE OF YOU IN THE AREA, meaning the Hudson Valley of New York State or thereabouts, these spring events here in the garden and elsewhere may be of interest: Saturday March 14, Spring Garden Day, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rensselaer County. (518) 272-4210. This popular, day-long annual event in Troy, New York, includes a choice of classes, from growing orchids at home to successful vegetable gardening.
I’ll be roaming the Northeast in the early going, in places as close to home as the Berkshires of Massachusetts and the Hudson Valley of New York, but also across Massachusetts and as far as New Hampshire, Maine, New Jersey and coastal Connecticut. Events here in the garden will begin again in April; stay tuned for a fuller schedule of those, with just the first couple mentioned below.What’s planned already:Saturday, February 19, 2 PM: Lecture to benefit Berkshire Botanical Garden, Monument Mountain Regional High School, Great Barrington, MA.Thursday, March 3, 7 PM: R.J. Ju
I PROMISED I WOULDN’T ADD EVEN AN EXTRA TRIP TO THE CURB WITH THE TRASH to my schedule, with all the mowing I have to do, but (big surprise) I layered on a couple of events, and I want to make sure you know about them, in case you are in the Hudson Valley/Berkshires vicinity this summer. Another container-gardening class, a 365-day garden lecture with an extra focus on water gardening and the frogboys, and a tour here in August (that last one you already might know about). Details, details:Sunday July 12, Containing Exuberance, container-gardening workshop, with Bob Hyland at Loomis Creek Nursery, near Hudson, New York, 11 AM to 1 PM, $5.
DID YOU KNOW that robins can count, or that food (not paper or plastic) is the biggest single source of fodder for U.S. landfills? Those stories, and more, are among the latest links.
Its native range, says the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, is New York and southern Ontario to Wisconsin, and northeast Iowa to Maryland, also appearing in the mountains from Georgia to Tennessee. Depending whom you ask, twinleaf is hardy in Zone 4 or 5 to 7 or 8.The New England Wildflower Society’s Garden in the Woods, in Framingham, Massachusetts, was the first place I saw it in profusion, though it is apparently not technically a