A FORMER jockey and a stockbroker are today branching out into the world of tree surgery after completing courses in arboriculture.Karl James and Max Cochrane have both graduated after embarking on the unusual subject at Otley College.After leaving school, 20-year-old Karl attended the British School of Racing where one of his classmates was Willie Carson's grandson. But after two years and a handful of races, he felt the urge to consider different career options having lost his passion for horses.And after finding work in the landscape and garden design industry, Karl travelled to Otley College where he was one of the first past the post when he graduated from his ten-week course.Friday, July 31, 2009
Stockbroker swaps shares for shears!
A FORMER jockey and a stockbroker are today branching out into the world of tree surgery after completing courses in arboriculture.Karl James and Max Cochrane have both graduated after embarking on the unusual subject at Otley College.After leaving school, 20-year-old Karl attended the British School of Racing where one of his classmates was Willie Carson's grandson. But after two years and a handful of races, he felt the urge to consider different career options having lost his passion for horses.And after finding work in the landscape and garden design industry, Karl travelled to Otley College where he was one of the first past the post when he graduated from his ten-week course.
BOTANY BUILDINGS Grow Buildings From Trees!
By Bridgette Meinhold
We’ve seen trees molded to form fantastic living chairs before, and now a young group of German architects are bending trees to their will to form a new breed of living architecture. The team is calling their tree-shaping system “Botany Building,” and while it may not be the cure to climate change, it’s an incredibly interesting way to create living structures.
Read more>
Garden club helps SHS students attend MSU Horticulture Seminar
By Sue Blackbourn
For the Daily News
After completing a horticulture class at Starkville High School, Rusty Coats, instructor, selected Damien Poe and Delvin Robertson to attend the 40th Annual Mississippi State University Horticulture Seminar.Financial supports from Town and Country Garden Club, in cooperation with the Garden Clubs of Mississippi, Inc., and MSU, made it possible for these student to attend. Considerable time was spent by the 150 federated garden clubs in Mississippi, including Town and Country Garden Club, to raise scholarship funds because their members believe education goes hand-in-hand with beautification of the earth.Dr. Richard Harkess, seminar director, told the high school scholarship winners that the horticulture industry was the fastest growing segment of the U.S. agriculture.“During the journey, we toured the MSU facilities, Reese Orchards and Mayhew Tomato Farm,” said Damien Poe. “It was a great introduction to college life where the professors expected you to step out of the box and think for yourself..”MSU Ag Communications writer, Patti Drapala, said that 40 years ago, the university joined forces with the Garden Clubs of Mississippi, Inc. to sponsor a four-day event each summer for high school students to explore the world of plants.
For the Daily News
After completing a horticulture class at Starkville High School, Rusty Coats, instructor, selected Damien Poe and Delvin Robertson to attend the 40th Annual Mississippi State University Horticulture Seminar.Financial supports from Town and Country Garden Club, in cooperation with the Garden Clubs of Mississippi, Inc., and MSU, made it possible for these student to attend. Considerable time was spent by the 150 federated garden clubs in Mississippi, including Town and Country Garden Club, to raise scholarship funds because their members believe education goes hand-in-hand with beautification of the earth.Dr. Richard Harkess, seminar director, told the high school scholarship winners that the horticulture industry was the fastest growing segment of the U.S. agriculture.“During the journey, we toured the MSU facilities, Reese Orchards and Mayhew Tomato Farm,” said Damien Poe. “It was a great introduction to college life where the professors expected you to step out of the box and think for yourself..”MSU Ag Communications writer, Patti Drapala, said that 40 years ago, the university joined forces with the Garden Clubs of Mississippi, Inc. to sponsor a four-day event each summer for high school students to explore the world of plants.
Taipei City Government: 2010 Int'l Horticulture Expo to Show Off Taiwan's Pioneering Technology
2010 Taipei International Gardening and Horticulture Exposition
TAIPEI, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The 2010 Taipei International Gardening and Horticulture Exposition (Int’l Expo) will amaze the world with Taiwan’s pioneering technologies and will feature many interesting digital interaction installations, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bing said.
The expo, which will be held for the first time in Taiwan from Nov. 6, 2010 to April 25, 2011, is one of the International Association of Horticultural Producers’ worldwide events that brings international players in the industry together.
It will be the first internationally recognized exposition to take place in Taipei, and the seventh of its kind to take place in Asia. Taipei City estimates that the event will attract 6 million visitors.
Read more>
TAIPEI, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The 2010 Taipei International Gardening and Horticulture Exposition (Int’l Expo) will amaze the world with Taiwan’s pioneering technologies and will feature many interesting digital interaction installations, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bing said.
The expo, which will be held for the first time in Taiwan from Nov. 6, 2010 to April 25, 2011, is one of the International Association of Horticultural Producers’ worldwide events that brings international players in the industry together.
It will be the first internationally recognized exposition to take place in Taipei, and the seventh of its kind to take place in Asia. Taipei City estimates that the event will attract 6 million visitors.
Read more>
Canadian Horticultural Therapy Association (CHTA) annual conference,"Good for the Soil, Good for the Soul"
Guelph - The 2009 CHTA conference, "Good for the Soil, Good for the Soul", highlights ways in which horticultural therapy (HT) and therapeutic horticulture (TH) nurture both the earth and ourselves. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about organic gardening techniques and to dig deeply into the connections with nature that make HT and TH programs so effective.
The CHTA is delighted to welcome Marjorie Harris as the keynote speaker on Saturday, September 19th. One of Canada's best known garden writers, Marjorie has written 15 gardening books, including The Healing Garden and Pocket Gardening. Her latest book is a reissue of Ecological Gardening: Your Path to a Healthy Garden.
Read more>
The CHTA is delighted to welcome Marjorie Harris as the keynote speaker on Saturday, September 19th. One of Canada's best known garden writers, Marjorie has written 15 gardening books, including The Healing Garden and Pocket Gardening. Her latest book is a reissue of Ecological Gardening: Your Path to a Healthy Garden.
Read more>
Carbon Dioxide Enrichment of Iron-Stressed Tomato Plants
Reference: Jin, C.W., Du, S.T., Chen, W.W., Li, G.X., Zhang, Y.S. and Zheng, S.J. 2009. Elevated carbon dioxide improves plant iron nutrition through enhancing the iron-deficiency-induced responses under iron-limited conditions in tomato. Plant Physiology 150: 272-280.
What was done: The authors grew twenty-day-old plants for an additional seven days within controlled-environment chambers maintained at atmospheric CO2 concentrations of either 350 or 800 ppm in an iron (Fe)-sufficient medium with a soluble Fe source or under Fe-limited conditions in a medium containing the sparingly soluble hydrous Fe(III)-oxide, while measuring a number of pertinent plant parameters.
What was learned: Plant growth was increased by the elevated CO2 in both the Fe-sufficient and Fe-limited media, with shoot fresh weight increasing by 22% and 44%, respectively, and root fresh weight increasing by 43% and 97%, respectively. In addition, Jin et al. report that "the elevated CO2 under Fe-limited conditions enhance[d] root growth, root hair development, proton release, root FCR [ferric chelate reductase] activity, and expressions of LeFR01 and LeIRT1 genes [which respectively encode FCR and the Fe(II) transporter in tomato], all of which enable plants to access and accumulate more Fe." And they add, as would be expected, that "the associated increase in Fe concentrations in the shoots and roots alleviated Fe-deficiency-induced chlorosis."
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What was done: The authors grew twenty-day-old plants for an additional seven days within controlled-environment chambers maintained at atmospheric CO2 concentrations of either 350 or 800 ppm in an iron (Fe)-sufficient medium with a soluble Fe source or under Fe-limited conditions in a medium containing the sparingly soluble hydrous Fe(III)-oxide, while measuring a number of pertinent plant parameters.
What was learned: Plant growth was increased by the elevated CO2 in both the Fe-sufficient and Fe-limited media, with shoot fresh weight increasing by 22% and 44%, respectively, and root fresh weight increasing by 43% and 97%, respectively. In addition, Jin et al. report that "the elevated CO2 under Fe-limited conditions enhance[d] root growth, root hair development, proton release, root FCR [ferric chelate reductase] activity, and expressions of LeFR01 and LeIRT1 genes [which respectively encode FCR and the Fe(II) transporter in tomato], all of which enable plants to access and accumulate more Fe." And they add, as would be expected, that "the associated increase in Fe concentrations in the shoots and roots alleviated Fe-deficiency-induced chlorosis."
Read more>
Vertical Landscapes: The only way is up for green cities
By Darren Quick
Demand for office and housing space in ever diminishing land space has led to taller and taller buildings reaching for the skies in cities around the world. This shortage of land in many cities has unfortunately also led to a scarcity of natural vegetation in urban settings. We’ve looked at several vertical-farming concepts - dedicated buildings that provide space to grow crops in city centers - but a new architectural system from Vertical Landscapes (VL) seeks to invite nature back into our cities on a broader scale. The architectural system transforms buildings into columns of vegetation to add a much needed touch of green, help clean the city air and possibly even produce small scale crops, all while retaining the building’s usual use for office or housing space.
Vertical Landscape’s Vertical Ecosystem Structure (VES) is a freestanding structure that takes the form of a critical architectural component, a load-bearing, shear, utility wall. When incorporated into a larger structure it will both absorb the building’s loads and create conditions for vegetation to prosper. The VES contains all the irrigation and drainage piping and mechanical systems required, which can be customized to meet the needs of different types of vegetation and allow plants to be micromanaged to provide the optimum growing environment.
Profile: Luthur Burbank
Luther BurbankFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born: 7 March 1849 (1849-03-07) Lancaster, Massachusetts, USA
Died: 11 April 1926 (aged 77) Santa Rosa, California, USA
Fields: Botany
Luther Burbank (7 March 1849 – 11 April 1926) [1] was an American botanist, horticulturist and a pioneer in agricultural science.
He developed more than 800 strains and varieties of plants over his 55-year career. Burbank's varied creations included fruits, flowers, grains, grasses, and vegetables. He developed a spineless cactus (useful for cattle-feed) and the plumcot.
Burbank's most successful strains and varieties include the Shasta daisy, the Fire poppy, the July Elberta peach, the Santa Rosa plum, the Flaming Gold nectarine, the Wickson plum, the Freestone peach, and the white blackberry. A natural genetic variant of the Burbank potato with russet-colored skin later became known as the Russet Burbank potato. This large, brown-skinned, white-fleshed potato has become the world's predominant potato in food processing.
Read more from Wikipedia>
Book Review: New biography of America's plant wizard
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Chicago author Jane Smith clearly does not want to see her books all shelved in one category at the public library. Among her seven works are two murder mysteries, two books about the fight against polio, a biography of prominent interior decorator Elsie De Wolfe and a novel set largely in Provence, France.
But don't let the genre-hopping mislead you. Smith, a cultural historian and an adjunct professor at Northwestern University, sees a common thread connecting her various titles."I am consistently looking at individuals and social periods where there were changes that were so fundamental that we assume that is the way it has always been," Smith says. "I try to go back and say: Where did we get this enormous change?
"Her latest book is "The Garden of Invention: Luther Burbank and the Business of Breeding Plants."
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Shop for Book>
But don't let the genre-hopping mislead you. Smith, a cultural historian and an adjunct professor at Northwestern University, sees a common thread connecting her various titles."I am consistently looking at individuals and social periods where there were changes that were so fundamental that we assume that is the way it has always been," Smith says. "I try to go back and say: Where did we get this enormous change?
"Her latest book is "The Garden of Invention: Luther Burbank and the Business of Breeding Plants."
Read more>
Shop for Book>
AU: Leadership forum will build networks among horticultural women
Peak horticulture organisation Growcom will hold a leadership forum for women in horticulture, at its office in Brisbane this Monday 3 August.
Attending the seminar will be 10 growers from a range of commodities including salad vegetables, avocados, herbs, pineapples, mangoes, zucchinis, apples, stone fruit and melons.
Also present will be representatives of Growcom, local government, Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries, Horticulture Australia Council and the state Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation.The aim of the day is to discuss how communication within horticulture can be improved in order to enhance horticultural women’s networks, support systems and their leadership and representative capacity.
Read more>
Attending the seminar will be 10 growers from a range of commodities including salad vegetables, avocados, herbs, pineapples, mangoes, zucchinis, apples, stone fruit and melons.
Also present will be representatives of Growcom, local government, Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries, Horticulture Australia Council and the state Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation.The aim of the day is to discuss how communication within horticulture can be improved in order to enhance horticultural women’s networks, support systems and their leadership and representative capacity.
Read more>
Area's community-supported farms taking root
By Edward ColimoreInquirer Staff Writer
When Bob and Leda Muth started their business in Gloucester County eight years ago, there weren't many farmers like them.
They set up a community-supported-agriculture (CSA) enterprise in Williamstown that sold memberships to people interested in getting fresh produce every week.
Today, more than 400 members each spend $250 to $639 - depending on their plan - to pick up supplies of vegetables and fruits over 16 weeks. Hundreds of others are on a waiting list to join.
A growth opportunity
By KIM PALMER
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
At 5 p.m. on a recent Tuesday, when many workers were heading home, employees at one downtown Minneapolis public relations firm capped off their workday by getting their hands dirty in a Delano, Minn., farm field. Together, they picked beans and beets, pulled weeds and hoed the pumpkin patch at the organic vegetable garden sponsored by their employer, Haberman & Associates.
"It's an experiment," said co-founder and CEO Fred Haberman, who hatched the idea earlier this year with business partner Liz Morris Otto, who hosts the garden at her hobby farm.
Read more>
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
At 5 p.m. on a recent Tuesday, when many workers were heading home, employees at one downtown Minneapolis public relations firm capped off their workday by getting their hands dirty in a Delano, Minn., farm field. Together, they picked beans and beets, pulled weeds and hoed the pumpkin patch at the organic vegetable garden sponsored by their employer, Haberman & Associates.
"It's an experiment," said co-founder and CEO Fred Haberman, who hatched the idea earlier this year with business partner Liz Morris Otto, who hosts the garden at her hobby farm.
Read more>
Identifying fruit tree and ornamental plant varieties using DNA marks
To enable the identification of different varieties and prevent illegal cultivation, a broad range of research and development at the DNA level has been conducted so far.
New varieties of fruit trees and ornamental plants created through painstaking work are being illegally cultivated and marketed at low prices—a serious problem that infringes on breeders’ rights. To enable the identification of different varieties and prevent illegal cultivation, a broad range of research and development at the DNA level has been conducted so far. In the case of fruit trees and ornamental plants propagated by grafting or cuttings, however, no useful method of identification has been established because new varieties and their parents often share the same DNA. Against this background, the DNA marking technique developed by Tomoki Matsuyama, Research Unit Leader in the Plant Breeding and Cell Engineering Research Unit at the RIKEN Advanced Science Institute, is drawing attention as a solution to the recently emerging issues concerning food safety, such as deceptive labeling of production centers.
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New varieties of fruit trees and ornamental plants created through painstaking work are being illegally cultivated and marketed at low prices—a serious problem that infringes on breeders’ rights. To enable the identification of different varieties and prevent illegal cultivation, a broad range of research and development at the DNA level has been conducted so far. In the case of fruit trees and ornamental plants propagated by grafting or cuttings, however, no useful method of identification has been established because new varieties and their parents often share the same DNA. Against this background, the DNA marking technique developed by Tomoki Matsuyama, Research Unit Leader in the Plant Breeding and Cell Engineering Research Unit at the RIKEN Advanced Science Institute, is drawing attention as a solution to the recently emerging issues concerning food safety, such as deceptive labeling of production centers.
Read more>
The Dirt on Compost: Does It Pay to Live Green?
By Lauren LambReduce, reuse, recycle and compost are the three "R"s and a "C" that are changing the way we think about waste disposal and its effect on our environment. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, food residuals and yard trimmings together make up 24% of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream. Sending this waste to landfills is, well, wasteful when it could be composted to create natural fertilizers and even thermal energy. Read more>
Compost happens
A single home compost bin can divert about 600 pounds of waste from the landfill every year. And, of course, composting not only reduces the volume of organic material squandered, it is also a vital soil amendment, turning waste into an asset.
You can save money and valuable resources by avoiding the costs of landfill disposal, and you can avoid the need to buy fertilizers or other soil amendments. Keep in mind that even organic materials may not decompose in a landfill. In fact, all those grass clippings and leaves and kitchen scraps that end up in the landfill create methane (a potent greenhouse gas), and pollute groundwater. Read more>
You can save money and valuable resources by avoiding the costs of landfill disposal, and you can avoid the need to buy fertilizers or other soil amendments. Keep in mind that even organic materials may not decompose in a landfill. In fact, all those grass clippings and leaves and kitchen scraps that end up in the landfill create methane (a potent greenhouse gas), and pollute groundwater. Read more>
End the buffet for fruit flies and gnats in your home
By Karen Youso
Star Tribune (Minneapolis
Q: In the past few months, I have noticed fruit flies (small, fluttery things) anywhere I sit down in the house — my favorite chair, formal living room, all over the place. I can't figure out where they're coming from and don't know what to do about them.
A: The first step to solve your fly problem is to properly identify the insects. There are a variety of 1/8-inch-size flies that can infest homes. While the basic control, finding and removing the food source, is the same for all of these flies, their food preferences vary. Read more>
Star Tribune (Minneapolis
Q: In the past few months, I have noticed fruit flies (small, fluttery things) anywhere I sit down in the house — my favorite chair, formal living room, all over the place. I can't figure out where they're coming from and don't know what to do about them.
A: The first step to solve your fly problem is to properly identify the insects. There are a variety of 1/8-inch-size flies that can infest homes. While the basic control, finding and removing the food source, is the same for all of these flies, their food preferences vary. Read more>
Missouri: Master Gardener program open to anyone with interest in gardening
BY Barbara Michael
Have you ever wondered what a Master Gardener really is? Is it just an expert gardener? How would you like to be one yourself?
Master Gardeners are simply people who have participated in the Master Gardener volunteer program through MU Extension. Masters volunteer their time and talents in their communities, offering up-to-date horticulture information and gardening help. Some are novice gardeners, some are veterans of gardening, some of them live in the country and others live in town condos, but all share one thing in common: a love for gardening.
Read more>
Have you ever wondered what a Master Gardener really is? Is it just an expert gardener? How would you like to be one yourself?
Master Gardeners are simply people who have participated in the Master Gardener volunteer program through MU Extension. Masters volunteer their time and talents in their communities, offering up-to-date horticulture information and gardening help. Some are novice gardeners, some are veterans of gardening, some of them live in the country and others live in town condos, but all share one thing in common: a love for gardening.
Read more>
Reaping from high value vegetables
By OTUSHABIRE TIBYANGYERuth Nashaba has grown vegetables for 15 years. This has been on a small scale, using basic methods and poor seeds until the intervention of the district agricultural department.
In 1992, Nashaba and her village mates formed a group, Kyabaiba Abamwe Women Group in Nyabikungu Parish Rwampara, to escape poverty by pooling resources together and using proceeds from their small gardens of vegetables. However the income was not sufficient because of poor farming methods. “We were using poor seedlings and poor farming methods of draining the wetland without adding manure to the soils.
Whenever it rained, we would lose some of our crops because of cultivating in the middle of the wetland until the intervention of extension workers,” she recalls. They were taught how to use the wetland sustainably by using the periphery of the wetland. They were also taught the use of the existing rivulets to irrigate their crops using watering cans and taking water to their gardens without draining the water away.
Nashaba and her group proved good students and have started reaping big from their plots of land using high value seeds provided by the project. “We have been given high yield seeds of carrots, egg plants, tomatoes, green pepper, cauliflower and radish among others which have done very well in the first harvest,” she says.
Read more>
Whenever it rained, we would lose some of our crops because of cultivating in the middle of the wetland until the intervention of extension workers,” she recalls. They were taught how to use the wetland sustainably by using the periphery of the wetland. They were also taught the use of the existing rivulets to irrigate their crops using watering cans and taking water to their gardens without draining the water away.
Nashaba and her group proved good students and have started reaping big from their plots of land using high value seeds provided by the project. “We have been given high yield seeds of carrots, egg plants, tomatoes, green pepper, cauliflower and radish among others which have done very well in the first harvest,” she says.
Read more>
August is the time to plant vegetables for fall
By Dr. William Johnson Contributor
The dog days of August soon will arrive. No need to remind you that August is the peak of the heat season in Galveston County, and we have been on the dry side for much of the growing season. However, lawns and other plants in the landscape are looking less parched after the scattered rainfall during the last couple of weeks.Plants in the landscape and garden will require attention if they are to remain vigorous and provide us with many desirable benefits, including color, shade, beauty, etc. Working outside this month tends to be more tolerable during early morning or late evening hours.The gardeners’ calendar of activities for August includes several activities: Read more>
The dog days of August soon will arrive. No need to remind you that August is the peak of the heat season in Galveston County, and we have been on the dry side for much of the growing season. However, lawns and other plants in the landscape are looking less parched after the scattered rainfall during the last couple of weeks.Plants in the landscape and garden will require attention if they are to remain vigorous and provide us with many desirable benefits, including color, shade, beauty, etc. Working outside this month tends to be more tolerable during early morning or late evening hours.The gardeners’ calendar of activities for August includes several activities: Read more>
Video: Golden Shower Trees in full blossom
Golden Shower Trees (Cassia Fistula) or konna in malayalam planted long back on a World Environment Day at Kaiga Township in full blossom during April-May
Plant of the Day - Casia fistula (Golden Shower Tree)
Golden Shower TreeFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Subclass: Rosidae
(unranked): Eurosids I
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Tribe: Cassieae
Subtribe: Cassiinae
Genus: Cassia
Species: C. fistula
Binomial name: Cassia fistula L.
The Golden Shower Tree (Cassia fistula as described by Linné[citation needed], and see below for other names) is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to southern Asia, from southern Pakistan east through India to Myanmar and south to Sri Lanka. It is the national tree of Thailand.
It is a medium-sized tree growing to 10-20 m tall with fast growth. The leaves are deciduous or semi-evergreen, 15-60 cm long, pinnate with 3-8 pairs of leaflets, each leaflet 7-21 cm long and 4-9 cm broad. The flowers are produced in pendulous racemes 20-40 cm long, each flower 4-7 cm diameter with five yellow petals of equal size and shape. The fruit is a legume is 30-60 cm long and 1.5-2.5 cm broad, with a pungent odour and containing several seeds. The seeds are poisonous.
Read more from Wikipedia>
Thursday, July 30, 2009
The Only Shrubs You Need to Grow
Providing reliable good looks without a lot of work, these eight plants are a garden unto themselvesby Lynden Miller - Fine Gardening
Photo: Purple smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria cvs)
I've always called any low-maintenance, high-impact plant a “plant that pays the rent.” To me, that means a plant that earns itst keep in the garden by reliably contributing year-round interest. If a plant looks good for only two or three weeks, I don’t use it. As a result, I have come to rely more and more on shrubs—especially these eight—as the main players in my borders. Every gardener wants a garden that is easy to take care of, and shrubs provide long-term impact without all the work of perennials. In fact, you could use just these plants in a border and have an interesting, beautiful planting all year long.
Photo: Purple smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria cvs)
I've always called any low-maintenance, high-impact plant a “plant that pays the rent.” To me, that means a plant that earns itst keep in the garden by reliably contributing year-round interest. If a plant looks good for only two or three weeks, I don’t use it. As a result, I have come to rely more and more on shrubs—especially these eight—as the main players in my borders. Every gardener wants a garden that is easy to take care of, and shrubs provide long-term impact without all the work of perennials. In fact, you could use just these plants in a border and have an interesting, beautiful planting all year long.
Double chromosomes equals more plant power
By Karin Kloosterman
Biofuels are alternative energy fuels produced from living organisms or metabolic byproducts (organic or food waste products). If we could just find a more efficient way to unlock their energy, and to minimize the amount of land and water resources needed to grow them, they could replace the polluting and limited reserves of fossil fuels currently in use.Now "Kaiima Bio-Agritech" of Israel believes that it has found a way to do just that."The oil is going to end," Ariel Krolzig, product manager of Kaiima, tells ISRAEL21c. "It's a question of time. In the last few years no new oil fields have been found. Why are countries like Brazil looking for alternatives?" he asks rhetorically.Sporting a sage-like beard, Krolzig is standing beside the star of his likely success story, a castor oil plant. He proceeds to describe the method developed by Kaiima that doubles a plant's chromosomes from a set of two to a set of four.This doubling results in higher cell activity, increased photosynthesis and better adaptation to local conditions in the field. Most importantly, it more than doubles the plant's biofuel potential.
Read more>
Biofuels are alternative energy fuels produced from living organisms or metabolic byproducts (organic or food waste products). If we could just find a more efficient way to unlock their energy, and to minimize the amount of land and water resources needed to grow them, they could replace the polluting and limited reserves of fossil fuels currently in use.Now "Kaiima Bio-Agritech" of Israel believes that it has found a way to do just that."The oil is going to end," Ariel Krolzig, product manager of Kaiima, tells ISRAEL21c. "It's a question of time. In the last few years no new oil fields have been found. Why are countries like Brazil looking for alternatives?" he asks rhetorically.Sporting a sage-like beard, Krolzig is standing beside the star of his likely success story, a castor oil plant. He proceeds to describe the method developed by Kaiima that doubles a plant's chromosomes from a set of two to a set of four.This doubling results in higher cell activity, increased photosynthesis and better adaptation to local conditions in the field. Most importantly, it more than doubles the plant's biofuel potential.
Read more>
Process For 'Surgical' Genetic Changes In Plants Developed
The breakthrough was developed by David Wright, an associate scientist, and Jeffery Townsend, an assistant scientist, and allows targeted genetic manipulations in plant DNA, which could have a huge impact on plant genetic work in the future.Until now, when scientists introduced DNA into plants, they would randomly inject that DNA into the plant cell. There was no way of knowing if it was in the right place or if it would work until many resulting plants were tested.The new technique harnesses a natural process called homologous recombination to precisely introduce DNA at a predetermined location in the plant genome through targeted DNA breaks generated by zinc finger nucleases. This occurs about 1 in 50 attempts and is very efficient compared to unassisted methods that allow the same changes at a rate as low as 1 in 10 million.
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Native plant sale good for the environment, good for planters
By CONNOR HOLMES, cholmes@breezenewspapers.comNative plant sellers towed their trees, shrubs and flowering plants to Rotary Park Saturday morning, hoping to share their horticultural passions with Cape Coral residents during one of the city's periodic native plant sales.
At least 100 or so varieties of native plants, grown and sold by about a half dozen vendors, lined an open expanse of the park typically used for the sales.
"There were fewer (buyers) this time, but there were good deals to buy," said volunteer naturalist 'Botany' Bob Dennis. "The suppliers here have very healthy materials, and that's good."
Dennis said native plants are enticing to Florida residents because they attract butterflies and birds, don't require frequent watering and don't suffer from some of the diseases and problems of non-native plants.
Read more>
Dennis said native plants are enticing to Florida residents because they attract butterflies and birds, don't require frequent watering and don't suffer from some of the diseases and problems of non-native plants.
Read more>
Hort Farm Plant Sale Raises Needed Funding
South Burlington, Vermont -- July 26, 2009
One of the best-kept secrets at the University of Vermont is the horticulture farm off-campus.
The acreage is dedicated to trees and shrubs -- and flowers. Every summer at this time as group called Friends of the Hort Farm hold a plant sale to raise money. The receipts help cover the expense of maintaining the grounds and caring for the plant collections. Friends of the Hort Farm say budget cuts at UVM have left some plant science programs in limbo.
Stephanie Miner/Friends of the Hort Farm: "We always have to tread on eggshells because UVM does own the property. It is their research facility for the plant-soil science department. And that is all subject to what federal grants or grants that the faculty can go out and get to do a project. And if there isn't a project going, the land lies fallow."))
Although tough economic times have cut into programs at the Hort Farm, the Friends say at least the property has been zoned agricultural to discourage any moves to develop it.
Source: http://www.wcax.com
One of the best-kept secrets at the University of Vermont is the horticulture farm off-campus.
The acreage is dedicated to trees and shrubs -- and flowers. Every summer at this time as group called Friends of the Hort Farm hold a plant sale to raise money. The receipts help cover the expense of maintaining the grounds and caring for the plant collections. Friends of the Hort Farm say budget cuts at UVM have left some plant science programs in limbo.
Stephanie Miner/Friends of the Hort Farm: "We always have to tread on eggshells because UVM does own the property. It is their research facility for the plant-soil science department. And that is all subject to what federal grants or grants that the faculty can go out and get to do a project. And if there isn't a project going, the land lies fallow."))
Although tough economic times have cut into programs at the Hort Farm, the Friends say at least the property has been zoned agricultural to discourage any moves to develop it.
Source: http://www.wcax.com
Love hormone being used to boost plant growth
Photo: Love hormone being used to boost plant growth in India (Getty Images)A large number of Indian farmers are using the love hormone oxytocin, also known as "cuddle chemical", to boost the growth of pumpkins and cucumbers. However, the Indian Ministry of Agriculture is adamant on banning the practice, as "indiscriminate use of oxytocin may cause health hazards if taken through vegetables over a period of time". The use of oxytocin in farming has become prevalent in the Uttar Pradesh and Punjab regions in northern India, Oxytocin is known to affect social behaviour in humans, as well as facilitating birth and breastfeeding, reports New Scientist magazine. However, it is still unclear how this animal hormone might stimulate plant development.
Davao NGO pushes ‘vertical farming’ to increase production
DAVAO CITY — An agricultural group here is pushing "vertical farming" to enhance food security in conflict-affected areas. Bahay Kubo Foundation head Jose Pepito M. Cunanan said his group has taught such communities "vertical farming," which makes use of trees like acacia, cacao, and talisay in place of trellises, saving on cost and land, since the grower needs only a two-square meter space surrounding the tree. "You just use rope, preferably abaca fiber, and tie it to the branches for the vegetable climbers."
Source: http://www.bworldonline.com
Source: http://www.bworldonline.com
Will giant pumpkin pursuit produce big payoff?
By Dana M. Nichols
Record Staff Writer
PALOMA - Move over Linus.
A Paloma man says a giant pumpkin is giving his life passion and purpose. And Lloyd Holt, 47, has already spent far more hours in his pumpkin patch than the fictional Peanuts character ever did waiting for the Great Pumpkin. Another difference is that Holt isn't just waiting. He works hours every day to make sure his pumpkin achieves its potential: managing irrigation, spraying foliar fertilizers, burying vines, pinching off unauthorized blossoms and carefully measuring growth rate. "If I get a big enough pumpkin, I can sell it at the weigh-off and buy a vehicle," said Holt, referring to the Giant Pumpkin Festival of Elk Grove on Oct. 3, where last year's top pumpkin won its grower more than $9,000 in prizes. Read more>
Record Staff Writer
PALOMA - Move over Linus.
A Paloma man says a giant pumpkin is giving his life passion and purpose. And Lloyd Holt, 47, has already spent far more hours in his pumpkin patch than the fictional Peanuts character ever did waiting for the Great Pumpkin. Another difference is that Holt isn't just waiting. He works hours every day to make sure his pumpkin achieves its potential: managing irrigation, spraying foliar fertilizers, burying vines, pinching off unauthorized blossoms and carefully measuring growth rate. "If I get a big enough pumpkin, I can sell it at the weigh-off and buy a vehicle," said Holt, referring to the Giant Pumpkin Festival of Elk Grove on Oct. 3, where last year's top pumpkin won its grower more than $9,000 in prizes. Read more>
Martha Stewart Mojito, Hands-On Plots at N.Y. Botanical Garden
Review by Robin D. SchatzJuly 27 (Bloomberg) -- My first vegetable garden sprawled across our front lawn in suburban New Jersey.
My husband and I brazenly tended tomatoes, string beans and eggplants curbside, while our neighbors cut their weed-free grass. It was 1978 and we felt counterculture; they found us amusing.
These days, growing your own food is de rigueur, even patriotic (witness Michelle Obama’s organic garden on the White House lawn). So the timing couldn’t be better for the New York Botanical Garden’s new summerlong festival, “The Edible Garden.”
Vegetable and herb plants don’t have the inherent pizzazz of the botanical garden’s extravagant annual displays of, say, orchids or Dutch tulips. Still, the exhibits prove edible plants are pretty enough to put in plain sight, and the 250-acre spread, with many shady spots, is a fine place to stroll on a sunny day.
The botanical garden also has arranged guest appearances to spice things up. Martha Stewart has already visited, and still to come are cooking demos with Emeril Lagasse (Sept. 12) or Lidia Bastianich (Sept. 13). Bette Midler, champion of public gardens in New York, narrates the audio tour, along with chef Mario Batali.
Vegetable and herb plants don’t have the inherent pizzazz of the botanical garden’s extravagant annual displays of, say, orchids or Dutch tulips. Still, the exhibits prove edible plants are pretty enough to put in plain sight, and the 250-acre spread, with many shady spots, is a fine place to stroll on a sunny day.
The botanical garden also has arranged guest appearances to spice things up. Martha Stewart has already visited, and still to come are cooking demos with Emeril Lagasse (Sept. 12) or Lidia Bastianich (Sept. 13). Bette Midler, champion of public gardens in New York, narrates the audio tour, along with chef Mario Batali.
CFC provides US$1,2m for horticultural projects
New Ziana.The Netherlands-based Common Fund for Commodities has so far made over US$1,2 million available to support mainly small-scale horticultural projects in Zimbabwe, an official last week.CFC managing director Ambassador Ali Mchumo told New Ziana the Fund began supporting horticultural projects in the country last year and was currently supporting 10 projects, among them the Cashel Valley in Manicaland and a number in Dotito. Read more>
First DNA barcode for plants made in Scotland
By CATE DEVINE
Scientists at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh have helped create the world's first DNA barcode for plants, making it quicker and easier to identify poisonous, endangered or illegal species.
The breakthrough agreement on a standard for identification comes after four years of intensive work with an international team of 52 scientists working in ten countries.
While DNA barcoding has been used successfully to distinguish among animal species since 2003, it has been virtually impossible to get any kind of agreement for botanical barcoding until now, due mostly to the complex nature of plant genetics.
Work can now begin on creating a central DNA- barcode reference library of the world's 400,000 land plant species.
Read more>
Scientists at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh have helped create the world's first DNA barcode for plants, making it quicker and easier to identify poisonous, endangered or illegal species.
The breakthrough agreement on a standard for identification comes after four years of intensive work with an international team of 52 scientists working in ten countries.
While DNA barcoding has been used successfully to distinguish among animal species since 2003, it has been virtually impossible to get any kind of agreement for botanical barcoding until now, due mostly to the complex nature of plant genetics.
Work can now begin on creating a central DNA- barcode reference library of the world's 400,000 land plant species.
Read more>
Plant of the Day - Cotinus coggygria (Smoke Tree)
Eurasian smoketreeFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Cotinus coggygria)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Anacardiaceae
Genus: Cotinus
Species: C. coggygria
Binomial name: Cotinus coggygria
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Anacardiaceae
Genus: Cotinus
Species: C. coggygria
Binomial name: Cotinus coggygria
The Eurasian smoketree or smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria, syn. Rhus cotinus) is native to a large area from southern Europe, east across central Asia and the Himalaya to northern China.
It is a multiple-branching shrub growing to 5-7 m tall with an open, spreading, irregular habit, only rarely forming a small tree. The leaves are 3-8 cm long, rounded oval, green with a waxy glaucous sheen. The autumn colour can be strikingly varied, from peach and yellow to scarlet. The flowers are numerous, produced in large inflorescences 15-30 cm long; each flower 5-10 mm diameter, with five pale yellow petals. Most of the flowers in each inflorescence abort, elongating into yellowish-pink to pinkish-purple feathery plumes, which surround the small (2-3 mm) drupaceous fruit that do develop.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Planting seeds of growth | Stuff.co.nz
| Southern Woods Tree Nursery expects a return to revenue growth of 15 per cent to 20 per cent this year after a flatter 2008. Its seed-sourcing-to-plant business is in demand despite the recession. Under the ownership of Murray and Susy Mannall since 1997, the Templeton nursery is a $3 million-a-year company with growth helped by staff ideas and a new marketing emphasis. Read more> | |
| Planting seeds of growth Stuff.co.nz Source: stuff.co.nz | |
Video: Chrysanthemum Show in Tokyo
A short montage of video from the Chrysanthemum Show in Tokyo, Japan. Shot and edited by Darren J. Corrao. Music by Digital Juice.
Video: Urasa Chrysanthemum Festival
Approximately 1,500 of the carefully nurtured chrysanthemum flowers are gathered at Fuko Temple by enthusiasts from Uonuma city, Tokamachi city, Ojiya city and far as Nagaoka city for the flower show.
Cornell: Flower After Hours Wednesday
Flowers After Hours, an evening tour of the Cornell Plantations, will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday and again on Wednesday, Aug. 19 starting from the patio by the Plantations gift shop.
Enjoy a relaxing stroll through the botanical garden and the quiet serenity of the garden at day’s end. Learn which flowers are at their best after hours, and why their color, foliage or fragrance makes them desirable for the evening garden.
Tours last approximately one hour. Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. For more information call 607-255-2400.
Enjoy a relaxing stroll through the botanical garden and the quiet serenity of the garden at day’s end. Learn which flowers are at their best after hours, and why their color, foliage or fragrance makes them desirable for the evening garden.
Tours last approximately one hour. Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. For more information call 607-255-2400.
Wild flowers on farms the best habitat for wildlife say ecologists
By Louise Gray, Environment CorrespondentFarmers in Britain are encouraged to sow wild plants on crop margins as part of subsidised environmental schemes.
However a new study has found that grass alone will not help wildlife as much as planting flowers like knapweed, yarrow and bird's-foot trefoil.
Conservationists said the research showed how important it is for farmers to grow more wild flowers, especially for rare birds like yellowhammers and skylarks. Ultimately it will encourage predators like barn owns and kestrels.
Conservationists said the research showed how important it is for farmers to grow more wild flowers, especially for rare birds like yellowhammers and skylarks. Ultimately it will encourage predators like barn owns and kestrels.
The research, published in the journal Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, found field margins could provide food for animals more cost-effectively than "whole farm practices" such as organic farming – but a variety of margins needs to be managed well to provide food all year round.
Wild flowers provide more seeds for insects and birds. Also hedgerows need to be provided alongside the margins to maximise nesting opportunities for birds and habitat for insects.
Richard Winspear, senior agricultural adviser with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, urged farmers to consider incorporating flowers into margins they sowed this autumn.
"If farmers are planting further margins this autumn, then there are significant further benefits to adding flowers to the mix," he said.
"Flower-rich margins hold the greatest variety and abundance of insects of any margin type. Such margins alongside watercourses could be a simple way for farmers to benefit both wildlife and water quality."
Farmers include field margins alongside their crops as part of agri-environment schemes subsidised by Europe, which pay them to manage their land for the environment.
The RSPB and other groups had wanted farmers to be required to set aside a certain amount of land for wildlife in order to replace the benefits of the old "set-aside" scheme that had benefited wildlife by leaving land fallow.
However the Government has chosen to stick with a voluntary programme, the Campaign for the Farmed Environment, to persuade farmers to leave land for wildlife.
University of Toronto helps to 'barcode' the world's plants
Published: Tuesday, July 28, 2009 - 09:32 in Biology & Nature
An international team of scientists, including botanists from the University of Toronto, have identified a pair of genes which can be used to catalogue the world's plants using a technique known as DNA barcoding — a rapid and automated classification method that uses a short genetic marker in an organism's DNA to identify it as belonging to a particular species.
"Barcoding provides an efficient means by which we can discover the many undescribed species that exist on earth," says Spencer Barrett, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Toronto and the head of the Canadian plant barcoding working group. "This discovery is important because understanding biodiversity is crucial to long-term human existence on the planet."
DNA barcoding has been widely used to identify animal species since its invention five years ago. But its use for plants was delayed because of the complex nature of plant genetics and disagreements over the appropriate DNA regions to use.
"We compared the performance of the seven leading candidate gene regions against three criteria: ease of obtaining DNA sequences; quality of the DNA sequences; and ability to tell species apart based on a sample of 550 species of land plants", says Barrett. "Based on this global analysis we recommended that matK and rbcL — two chloroplast genes — are adopted as the DNA barcode for land plants."
The primary application of the methodology will be the identification of the many species in the world's biodiversity hotspots where a shortage of specialists hinders conservation efforts. Other applications include identifying illegal trade in endangered species, identifying invasive organisms, poisonous species and fragmentary material in forensic investigations. The technique will work on minute amounts of tissue and can be used on fragments of plant material, small seedlings, and in some cases digested or processed samples.
The methodology will also be used immediately in global projects such as Tree-BOL which aims to build the DNA barcode database for all the species of trees of the world — many of which are of economic and conservation importance.
The report appears this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences under the group authorship of the Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) Plant Working Group.
Source: University of Toronto
An international team of scientists, including botanists from the University of Toronto, have identified a pair of genes which can be used to catalogue the world's plants using a technique known as DNA barcoding — a rapid and automated classification method that uses a short genetic marker in an organism's DNA to identify it as belonging to a particular species.
"Barcoding provides an efficient means by which we can discover the many undescribed species that exist on earth," says Spencer Barrett, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Toronto and the head of the Canadian plant barcoding working group. "This discovery is important because understanding biodiversity is crucial to long-term human existence on the planet."
DNA barcoding has been widely used to identify animal species since its invention five years ago. But its use for plants was delayed because of the complex nature of plant genetics and disagreements over the appropriate DNA regions to use.
"We compared the performance of the seven leading candidate gene regions against three criteria: ease of obtaining DNA sequences; quality of the DNA sequences; and ability to tell species apart based on a sample of 550 species of land plants", says Barrett. "Based on this global analysis we recommended that matK and rbcL — two chloroplast genes — are adopted as the DNA barcode for land plants."
The primary application of the methodology will be the identification of the many species in the world's biodiversity hotspots where a shortage of specialists hinders conservation efforts. Other applications include identifying illegal trade in endangered species, identifying invasive organisms, poisonous species and fragmentary material in forensic investigations. The technique will work on minute amounts of tissue and can be used on fragments of plant material, small seedlings, and in some cases digested or processed samples.
The methodology will also be used immediately in global projects such as Tree-BOL which aims to build the DNA barcode database for all the species of trees of the world — many of which are of economic and conservation importance.
The report appears this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences under the group authorship of the Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) Plant Working Group.
Source: University of Toronto
Small flower fills a garden with the look of balloons
Dwarf balloon flowerEvery garden looks like a party when filled with balloons. A small flower blows up buds that look like balloons, which then open to star-shaped violet-blue flowers.
Botanical name: Platycodon grandiflorus "Sentimental Blue"
Why you want it: This little charmer makes a dandy border along a walkway or tucked in a container garden. It requires little maintenance, is very drought tolerant and blooms all summer.
Flowers: Puffy orbs that resemble hot-air balloons unfurl into bell-shaped flowers with pointed petals, 2 to 3 inches wide. Blooms the color of the summer sky at sunset start in May and continue through September.
Foliage: Dull green, oval leaves have pointed tips and serrated edges.
Size: Plants grow 8 to 10 inches tall and 12 to 15 inches wide.
Care: Although balloon flowers tolerate full sun and are drought tolerant, plants look best with afternoon shade and regular water in the summer. Cut off old flowers and fertilize once a month to keep the plant blooming.
Hardiness: This is a tough little plant, unfazed by extremes of heat or cold. Plants die back to the roots after the first hard freeze and are slow to emerge from dormancy in the spring. Don’t give up on them and dig up the roots. They will eventually sprout back in late spring.
Landscape uses: These flowers display best when planted off the ground in a pot, hanging basket or window box, but they make a nice display in drifts at the front of a bed.
MARY WILHITE OWNS BLUE MOON GARDENS, A GARDEN CENTER NEAR TYLER. VISIT WWW.BLUEMOONGARDENS.COM, OR CONTACT WILHITE AT MWILHITE@EMBARQMAIL.COM.
Source>
Scott Arboretum project at Swarthmore snags firm green building nod
By GRETCHEN METZ, Special to the Times
WEST CHESTER — Archer & Buchanan Architecture's design of the Wister Education Center and Greenhouse for The Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College has been selected as a Green Building of America award-winning project.
As a project winner, the Wister center will be spotlighted in a special Real Estate & Construction Review-Northeast Green Success Stories edition in 2010. The special edition will feature in-depth interviews with the West Chester firm's owner, architect and contractor.
An editorial advisory board reviews and chooses what projects will be in the annual publication, said Lance Kamin, publisher.
The board looks for projects that are "unique and challenging," projects other architects could "learn from," with advanced "design, construction and technology" and a project the board feels is "cutting edge," Kamin said.
The 5,200-square-foot building with a $3.8 million budget is under construction and is expected to be finished in late September.
The new center will showcase Scott Arboretum's horticultural displays, plant evaluations, and public education and volunteer support operations. It will replace a 1,000-square-foot structure that is more than 25 years old.
The Wister center was selected from more than 2,500 nominated projects.Daniel Russoniello, a principal at Archer & Buchanan and responsible for the Wister center, said though he was surprised the project was chosen since it is still under construction, it is one that is worthy of being considered.
The Wister project is anticipated to earn at minimum a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, Russoniello said.
The LEED rating system is a third-party certification program and a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of environmentally friendly buildings.
"We're doing rainwater management, capturing rainwater to be used for irrigating plants, and a heating-air conditioning system that captures expelled heat or cooling from other parts of the campus," Russoniello said. "The building will have large windows to let light in.
"Construction waste is being sent to a third party to be sorted, records kept and then recycled, Russoniello said. The building will also have a green roof, like some of the other buildings on campus.Scott Arboretum was founded in 1929 by the Scott Family, who wanted to establish a college campus as an arboretum to educate home gardeners about plants and landscaping, to put on lectures, workshops and guided tours, said Clair Sawyers, arboretum director.
Since that time, Swarthmore's 399-acre campus has been a designated arboretum, complete with rolling lawns, creeks, wooded hills and hiking trails. The college was founded in 1864.
The Wister Education Center and Greenhouse will help the organization's outreach programs, Sawyers said.In the building, there will be a classroom where people can work with plants and soil, a "head house" with benches and potting area so people can pot plants and two greenhouses for plant propagation and other growing activities, she said.
In addition, there will be a corridor where the arboretum's team of 120 volunteers will have a place for their tools and other supplies. Volunteers are trained and commit to work a half a day twice a month. They weed, mulch, do planting and pot up plants, Sawyers explained.
The arboretum broke ground in 2008 with advance financing from Swarthmore College. It is committed to paying back the loan by 2014, officials said.
"It's been a long fundraising effort, a decade long," Sawyers said, adding that when the arboretum began the project, costs were expected to be $1.4 million. But over time, prices for materials soared, more than doubling the original estimate. Eventually, the decision was made to push ahead before prices shot higher, Sawyers said.
Like Russoniello, Sawyers is particularly proud of the sustainable component of the project.Wood from redwood trees cut down on campus in order to build a new residential hall was used for the shingles on the side of the new education center, Sawyers said. The education center is being built next to the arboretum's office building, once the home of an astronomy professor.
W.S. Comvy of Springfield, Delaware County, is the construction company working on the project.
Source>
WEST CHESTER — Archer & Buchanan Architecture's design of the Wister Education Center and Greenhouse for The Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College has been selected as a Green Building of America award-winning project.
As a project winner, the Wister center will be spotlighted in a special Real Estate & Construction Review-Northeast Green Success Stories edition in 2010. The special edition will feature in-depth interviews with the West Chester firm's owner, architect and contractor.
An editorial advisory board reviews and chooses what projects will be in the annual publication, said Lance Kamin, publisher.
The board looks for projects that are "unique and challenging," projects other architects could "learn from," with advanced "design, construction and technology" and a project the board feels is "cutting edge," Kamin said.
The 5,200-square-foot building with a $3.8 million budget is under construction and is expected to be finished in late September.
The new center will showcase Scott Arboretum's horticultural displays, plant evaluations, and public education and volunteer support operations. It will replace a 1,000-square-foot structure that is more than 25 years old.
The Wister center was selected from more than 2,500 nominated projects.Daniel Russoniello, a principal at Archer & Buchanan and responsible for the Wister center, said though he was surprised the project was chosen since it is still under construction, it is one that is worthy of being considered.
The Wister project is anticipated to earn at minimum a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, Russoniello said.
The LEED rating system is a third-party certification program and a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of environmentally friendly buildings.
"We're doing rainwater management, capturing rainwater to be used for irrigating plants, and a heating-air conditioning system that captures expelled heat or cooling from other parts of the campus," Russoniello said. "The building will have large windows to let light in.
"Construction waste is being sent to a third party to be sorted, records kept and then recycled, Russoniello said. The building will also have a green roof, like some of the other buildings on campus.Scott Arboretum was founded in 1929 by the Scott Family, who wanted to establish a college campus as an arboretum to educate home gardeners about plants and landscaping, to put on lectures, workshops and guided tours, said Clair Sawyers, arboretum director.
Since that time, Swarthmore's 399-acre campus has been a designated arboretum, complete with rolling lawns, creeks, wooded hills and hiking trails. The college was founded in 1864.
The Wister Education Center and Greenhouse will help the organization's outreach programs, Sawyers said.In the building, there will be a classroom where people can work with plants and soil, a "head house" with benches and potting area so people can pot plants and two greenhouses for plant propagation and other growing activities, she said.
In addition, there will be a corridor where the arboretum's team of 120 volunteers will have a place for their tools and other supplies. Volunteers are trained and commit to work a half a day twice a month. They weed, mulch, do planting and pot up plants, Sawyers explained.
The arboretum broke ground in 2008 with advance financing from Swarthmore College. It is committed to paying back the loan by 2014, officials said.
"It's been a long fundraising effort, a decade long," Sawyers said, adding that when the arboretum began the project, costs were expected to be $1.4 million. But over time, prices for materials soared, more than doubling the original estimate. Eventually, the decision was made to push ahead before prices shot higher, Sawyers said.
Like Russoniello, Sawyers is particularly proud of the sustainable component of the project.Wood from redwood trees cut down on campus in order to build a new residential hall was used for the shingles on the side of the new education center, Sawyers said. The education center is being built next to the arboretum's office building, once the home of an astronomy professor.
W.S. Comvy of Springfield, Delaware County, is the construction company working on the project.
Source>
Heritage Park in downtown Prattville - Photo by Melissa Parker
Heritage Park in downtown Prattville - Photo by Melissa ParkerKen Johnson and his staff create awe-inspiring vistas
Prattville – According to the most popular definition on the web, horticulturist is defined as an expert in the science of cultivating plants (fruits or flowers or vegetables or ornamental plants). Ken Johnson, the City of Prattville’s horticultural expert, has the astronomic task of promoting elegance and beauty up and down the streets of Prattville every single day and judging by some of the fine foliage and exquisite blooms, he is quite successful.
With more than forty years in the green industry, Johnson has worked previously at both Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia, and at Blount Cultural Park in Montgomery. In Prattville, he directs a staff of two foremen and several service workers.
Having a background in irrigation maintenance and repair and ground maintenance, foreman Deven Peek has a degree from Trenholm State Technical College. He also possesses a SLP and OTPS (Ornamental Turf and Pest Control) licenses.
The other foreman, Matthew Morgan, has a degree in Landscape Design from Auburn University and was previously employed at Southern Growers Wholesale Nursery and Greenhouses in Montgomery. Morgan has his SLP and LD (Landscape Design) licenses.
The horticulture crew planted a legion of flowers and plants at Heritage Park in downtown Prattville during April; Black Elephant, Crimson Hibiscus, Artemisia, Burgundy Alternant Hera, Coleus, Plumbago, Impatiens, and Dragon Wing Begonia abound, most in lustrous, eye-catching hues.
“We will be doing two plantings a year (spring and fall) at Heritage Park,” Johnson said. “Our most recent projects are replanting at the Gillespie Center and renovation of the water feature at the Fragrance Garden at Overlook Park,” he added.
Other city sites maintained and enhanced by the Horticulture Department are City Hall, the Annex, the Creekwalk, the Prattaugan Museum, all of the Prattville Welcome Signs, the median along Cobbs Ford Road, the Country Club neighborhood entrance, and the Silver Hills subdivision entrance, among others.
Article by Melissa Parker
Source>
Cut-flower gardens bring beauty inside
By ALLISON WATKINSFriday, July 24, 2009
Nothing brightens up a room or freshens up a home more than newly picked flowers.
Many gardeners love to bring in their prized flowers by creating cut flower arrangements from their landscape plants, but a lot of us can’t afford to make that sacrifice. In many landscapes, it would require cutting down all the flowers to be able to create a good bouquet or vase, and we don’t want to give up what adds to the landscape in order to have flowers inside.
Cut flowers can provide a lot of variety and color to the inside of a home, can make nice gifts for friends or can be used for special occasions. But to have a good stock of them without devastating your landscape, a special flower-cutting garden may be required. A cut-flower garden simply is a plot of certain types of flowering plants that go well in arrangements and bouquets. Surprisingly, cut-flower gardens do not have an appealing look in the landscape.
Instead, they have more of a utility look and are best tucked away in a sunny corner of the backyard or incorporated into the vegetable garden.
There should be a wide variety of plants, including annuals, perennials and bulbs. Also, have different sizes, shapes and colors; plant an assortment ranging from long-stemmed to round flowers. Don’t forget filler flowers like baby’s breath.
Great cut flowers include plants like hyacinth, gerber daisy, shasta daisy, rudbeckia, sunflowers, cosmos, daffodil, snapdragons and marigolds. Some good things to include for fall arrangements would be chrysanthemums and autumn joy sedum.
Good flower arrangements should include some foliage plants, and these can be incorporated throughout the landscape or placed in the cut-flower garden. Ornamental grasses go well in flower arrangements, as do ferns like wood fern or holly fern.
When planting the garden, simply plant rows like a vegetable garden would be arranged. It should be located in full sun and near a water source for easy irrigating.
When cutting the flowers to bring inside, take a bucket of lukewarm water along to place the flower stems in as they are cut. It is best to pick them during the coolest part of the day, and make sure they are watered adequately and are not wilting.
Cut-flower gardens are not hard to care for; they just need regular watering and possibly fertilizer (do a soil test through the extension office to determine requirements).
Adding cut flowers to a vegetable garden is easy to do, and can be very rewarding. Be sure to consider planting some this fall.
Allison Watkins is Tom Green County Extension horticulturist. Contact her at AEWatkins@ag.tamu.edu.
Exhibits excite visitors at penultimate day of RHS Flower Show in Tatton Park
THOUSANDS more visitors were expected to arrive today for the penultimate day of the RHS Flower Show in Tatton Park, Knutsford.The event, which is known as the Chelsea of the north, is expected to have a record number of attractions.
Organisers said the popularity of grow-your-own products would be noticeable at this year’s show.
Lecturer Harry Delaney, who will speak at the gardening in action marquee, said food prices and the recession had increased interest in home grown produce.
“We have such a wonderful array of British varieties that people can grow with ease and enjoy an abundance of home grown produce,” he said.
Among the attractions will be Tatton Park head gardener Sam Youd’s hermit themed back-to-back garden.
John Harris, a famous Cheshire hermit who gave up a large inheritance to live in a cave near Chester, was the inspiration for the creation.
Mr Youd’s garden will include a cave among tree ferns, upturned stumps and old bits of timber.
Other attractions at this year’s show will be Tatton Park’s educational stand.
Experts on the stall will teach youngsters skills from different historical periods.
Children can dress up as Victorian servants and learn how to polish silver.
They will also weave on a medieval loom and make a rug for a 1940s farm.
“This is a great way for showcasing the wide ranging activities Tatton delivers,” said learning and visitor services manager Lynn Podmore.
Holmes Chapel artist Patricia Lee plans to reveal her latest three-dimensional mosaic at the show.
A mural she created with Holmes Chapel Primary School pupils will also be on display.
One of Patricia’s fat bird creations - dubbed Belle - already sits on the Moor in Knutsford.
Meanwhile, Knutsford’s shops were this week preparing for the floral walk through King Street.
Bunting, hanging baskets, flags and window displays have been put up to encourage people to visit the town during the flower show.
The walk links the railway station to Tatton Park’s Knutsford entrance, which is also decorated with a floral arch.
Visitors can then board a shuttle bus to the show.
For information on tickets visit rhs.org.uk or call 0844 2091810.
THE traffic restrictions between 7am and 7pm for the RHS Flower Show will be: · No right turns on the A556 at Bucklow Hill traffic lights for northbound traffic · No right turns on the A556 for northbound traffic turning into Cherry Tree Lane, Rostherne · No right turns from Cherry Tree Lane onto the A556 · No changing lanes from near the Bowdon roundabout to just after the junction with Cherry Tree Lane · No parking on Mereheath Lane from Garden Road to the end of the 30mph limit · No parking on Tatton Street from King Street to the double yellow lines · Ashley Road, Marsh Lane, Cicely Mill Lane and Rostherne Lane in Rostherne will be closed. Access will be allowed to properties along those roads · Ashley Road will be blocked at its junction with Birkenheath Lane Free shuttle buses will take visitors from Tatton Park’s Knutsford gate into the show.
There are more than 180 trade stands selling everything from splendid garden buildings to simple plant labels.
The Country Living Magazine Pavilion houses around 150 exhibitors displaying the best products for house and garden.
Also, for a wonderful selection of plants, visit the Floral Marquee and the Plant Plaza.
POEMS written by pupils at Manor Park Primary School will be displayed at the RHS Flower Show.
Three of the best pieces were also be read out by Cheshire’s poet laureate Terry Fox at the event.
Every year six pupil at the Knutsford school had to write a poem about hermits, which is the theme for Tatton Park’s back-to-back garden.
All the entries were then judged by the estate’s general manager Brendan Flanagan, the mayor of Cheshire East Clr Margaret Simon and Mr Fox.
The winning entries were written by overall winner Keira Bradley and runners-up Rosie Lyons and Khaavya Bhaskaran.
Mr Fox read out their poems – and others – during his performances at the show from 2pm to 4pm on Thursday and Friday.
The poet laureate said he was happy to get involved in the school competition.
“I was not only able to work with such inspiring children but also to get them involved in the world outdoors,” he said.
“Cheshire has a keen literary heritage as well as a strong tradition of beautiful gardens and it is fantastic to combine these passions through the poetry.”
Mr Fox will read out other famous floral themed poems by William Wordsworth, William Blake and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
He also plans to perform some of his own works inspired by the ‘open air’.
In September Mr Fox will meet Manor Park’s pupils again when he puts on a poetry workshop at the primary school.
For details visit cheshiresgardens.com
Flowering Plants You Can Eat
by Mark Gordon BrownWhy eat boring stuff like lettuce and carrots, when you can eat pretty things like flowers? Many flowering plants are edible, which allows you, the gardener, to add diversity to your table as well as your garden. As well, many of these flowering plants have very delicate flavors. The flavor of these plants is not their only value. The addition of the color in your cuisine is helpful as a positive visual stimulus. Tastefully and beautifully presented food makes people feel better on an emotional level. Read more>
Flavorful flowers
By AMY GRISAK • For the Tribune • July 25, 2009Here are a few flowers that are simple to grow and easy to use in the kitchen.
- Calendula— Remove the yellow or orange petals and add to muffins or as a garnish in salads. Marigold — Use the single-petal varieties such as Tangerine or Lemon Gem. The bright orange and yellow blossoms are great on salads or in egg dishes.
- Lavender — Steep lavender blossoms in cream to make lavender-infused homemade ice cream. Sprinkle blossoms on desserts.
- Daylilies — Sauté the buds, or pull off the petals to add to salads.
- Borage— The pale blue, star-shaped flowers taste like mild cucumbers. Add to salads or freeze in ice for summer drinks.
- Bee balm— Bee balm (also called bergamot) is one of the flavorings in Earl Grey tea. The orange-like flavor of the bright red blossoms works well in desserts.
- Roses— Rose petals are slightly sweet and do well in any baked good or dessert.
- Scarlet Runner Beans— Brilliantly colored red or orange runner bean flowers add a subtle bean flavor to dishes. Toss them in salads or side dishes.
Edible flowers: Budding delights all the rage
By AMY GRISAKFor the Tribune
In life, sometimes you just have to stop and eat the flowers. Colorful petals and blossoms are a surprising, yet tasty, addition to sweet and savory dishes and shouldn't be overlooked in the garden or kitchen.
Edible flowers are used in everything from garnishes in salads to the main ingredient in delicious appetizers.
Jay Buckley, owner of Organic Heaven in Great Falls, said there's an "ah-ha" moment when people learn they can eat certain flowers. Buckley said one of the joys of his business is teaching people which flowers are edible. He said their response is usually, "Oh, you can eat those!"
"There's a little trepidation when they take it from the plant and put it in their mouth.'
Edible flowers are so popular that Buckley developed a Chef's Special Basket filled with selections for the kitchen.
"It's become enormously popular," he said.
Some of the choices are familiar to many cooks and gardeners.
"Basil is a huge one," Buckley said. "But most people are used to just the green part." The tiny flowers that range from white to purple are wonderful as a garnish in any savory dish.
The cheerful, daisy-like white and yellow blossoms of chamomile are a more unusual inclusion in the basket. Buckley said most people are accustomed to having chamomile tea, but few actually pluck off the blossoms and use them from the fresh plant. Having it on hand allows people to make their own after-dinner drinks.
Growing edible flowers in containers is a convenient way to keep them close to the kitchen. Buckley said they're also practical because they can be moved inside when the weather becomes cold, allowing gardeners to harvest throughout the year.
Including edible flowers in the landscape is a great way to do double duty since it will look good and offer something for the dinner table.
As with most herbs and vegetables, these plants need at least 8 hours of sunlight per day, fertilizing and frequent watering. Some, such as nasturtiums, are annuals that need to be replanted every spring, but other varieties will come back every year or reseed themselves.
Penny Rubner of Penny's Gourmet-to-Go is no stranger to creating beautiful meals. She uses sugared pansies on wedding cakes on some occasions.
"The pansies are actually very easy to make," she said.
Simply brush the fresh pansy flowers with a light coating of beaten egg whites and dust with sugar. Place these candied blossoms on cakes or other desserts for a fresh decoration that can be eaten like candy.
While she doesn't use a tremendous amount of edible flowers in her work, Rubner does use nasturtiums at home.
The brightly colored nasturtium flowers surprise many people with their festive look and radish-like flavor.
"There's a wonderful, visible experience on people's faces (when they try one)," Buckley said.
Nasturtiums thrive in the hot weather of mid-summer and will produce blooms up until a heavy frost shuts them down for the season. They do as well in containers as when they're planted directly in the garden, and their unusual looking leaves are as attractive as the orange, yellow or red blossoms.
Toss the entire flower in salads or on top of a sautéed vegetable dish for a hot, tasty bite. You also can stuff the inside of the flower with guacamole and serve the blossom on a tortilla chip or slice of jicama for an unusual snack.
Sydne George is a Great Falls food writer and creates her own recipes for national competitions.
"I love adding edible flowers as garnishes," she said. "They add color, contrast and interest to the plated meal, I think."
George also uses sugared pansies on cakes and desserts, plus freezes the unsugared flowers in ice for a decorative drink.
"Their bright colors are so pretty with food," she said.
"I use chive blossoms to garnish grilled shrimp and scallops in the summer," George said. "Their lavender color is so attractive on the plate."
Chives provide a potent onion-like flavor that enhances many dishes without overwhelming them. They work very well in salads and stir-fries.
Another edible flower that's available to most home gardeners is squash blossoms. If the zucchini is overwhelming, literally nip it in the bud.
"I have prepared and eaten squash blossoms," George said. "Last summer we had some friends over for dinner on the deck, and I served squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta, parmesan and chopped pistachios. The squash blossoms paired well with the grilled salmon, providing a cool counterpoint and beautiful color on the plate."
Edible flowers are used in everything from garnishes in salads to the main ingredient in delicious appetizers.
Jay Buckley, owner of Organic Heaven in Great Falls, said there's an "ah-ha" moment when people learn they can eat certain flowers. Buckley said one of the joys of his business is teaching people which flowers are edible. He said their response is usually, "Oh, you can eat those!"
"There's a little trepidation when they take it from the plant and put it in their mouth.'
Edible flowers are so popular that Buckley developed a Chef's Special Basket filled with selections for the kitchen.
"It's become enormously popular," he said.
Some of the choices are familiar to many cooks and gardeners.
"Basil is a huge one," Buckley said. "But most people are used to just the green part." The tiny flowers that range from white to purple are wonderful as a garnish in any savory dish.
The cheerful, daisy-like white and yellow blossoms of chamomile are a more unusual inclusion in the basket. Buckley said most people are accustomed to having chamomile tea, but few actually pluck off the blossoms and use them from the fresh plant. Having it on hand allows people to make their own after-dinner drinks.
Growing edible flowers in containers is a convenient way to keep them close to the kitchen. Buckley said they're also practical because they can be moved inside when the weather becomes cold, allowing gardeners to harvest throughout the year.
Including edible flowers in the landscape is a great way to do double duty since it will look good and offer something for the dinner table.
As with most herbs and vegetables, these plants need at least 8 hours of sunlight per day, fertilizing and frequent watering. Some, such as nasturtiums, are annuals that need to be replanted every spring, but other varieties will come back every year or reseed themselves.
Penny Rubner of Penny's Gourmet-to-Go is no stranger to creating beautiful meals. She uses sugared pansies on wedding cakes on some occasions.
"The pansies are actually very easy to make," she said.
Simply brush the fresh pansy flowers with a light coating of beaten egg whites and dust with sugar. Place these candied blossoms on cakes or other desserts for a fresh decoration that can be eaten like candy.
While she doesn't use a tremendous amount of edible flowers in her work, Rubner does use nasturtiums at home.
The brightly colored nasturtium flowers surprise many people with their festive look and radish-like flavor.
"There's a wonderful, visible experience on people's faces (when they try one)," Buckley said.
Nasturtiums thrive in the hot weather of mid-summer and will produce blooms up until a heavy frost shuts them down for the season. They do as well in containers as when they're planted directly in the garden, and their unusual looking leaves are as attractive as the orange, yellow or red blossoms.
Toss the entire flower in salads or on top of a sautéed vegetable dish for a hot, tasty bite. You also can stuff the inside of the flower with guacamole and serve the blossom on a tortilla chip or slice of jicama for an unusual snack.
Sydne George is a Great Falls food writer and creates her own recipes for national competitions.
"I love adding edible flowers as garnishes," she said. "They add color, contrast and interest to the plated meal, I think."
George also uses sugared pansies on cakes and desserts, plus freezes the unsugared flowers in ice for a decorative drink.
"Their bright colors are so pretty with food," she said.
"I use chive blossoms to garnish grilled shrimp and scallops in the summer," George said. "Their lavender color is so attractive on the plate."
Chives provide a potent onion-like flavor that enhances many dishes without overwhelming them. They work very well in salads and stir-fries.
Another edible flower that's available to most home gardeners is squash blossoms. If the zucchini is overwhelming, literally nip it in the bud.
"I have prepared and eaten squash blossoms," George said. "Last summer we had some friends over for dinner on the deck, and I served squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta, parmesan and chopped pistachios. The squash blossoms paired well with the grilled salmon, providing a cool counterpoint and beautiful color on the plate."
Keep it fresh: Pick your flowers daily this summer
By MAUREEN GILMERScripps Howard News Service
Published: Saturday, July 25, 2009 at 4:01 a.m.
Many annuals such as impatiens can become leggy if not regularly pinched to encourage a dense habit. (SHNS photo courtesy Maureen Gilmer)
Published: Saturday, July 25, 2009 at 4:01 a.m.
Many annuals such as impatiens can become leggy if not regularly pinched to encourage a dense habit. (SHNS photo courtesy Maureen Gilmer)
"Let's not pick that scab," my mother used to say when I would rehash some former conflict. But as a gardener, it's OK to get picky. So get out your clippers, sharpen your fingernails or devote a stout pair of scissors to the task.
Whether you grow flowers or a kitchen garden, this is the season to pinch and pick and pluck to your heart's content. In fact, this is the accomplished gardener's secret of success.
During the long days of summer, plants are peaking. They have slowed their vegetative process to devote all their energy to flowering. This brings the garden to its most active time, when birds and butterflies come in droves to pollinate the blossoms. Pollination is essential if fruit is to form, which is the goal with your squash, but flowers are another story.
All your flowers want to do is make seeds. Their whole reason for living is to produce enough seed to guarantee their species survives next year. It's simple for them in the wild with just this one aim. But we bring them into the garden and ask for a lot more work. We want them to flower and flower and flower.
Your goal as a gardener is to interrupt this aim of the plant to set seed because seed formation releases hormones that tell it the job is done. Seed says, "Stop flowering now and help me mature." But if you cut off spent flowers before they can start to make seed, no hormone message is sent. You put that plant in suspended animation where it stays in its flowering phase indefinitely. This is why great gardeners have flower gardens that go bonkers in midsummer, because they're out there every day picking and plucking away the spent flowers.
With vegetables, it works a bit differently because you want the flowers to be pollinated so they form fruit, which is the precursor to seed formation. A young squash is delicious because the seeds inside haven't formed. The older the squash the bigger and more fibrous the seedy center becomes. Therefore, go out and pick and pluck your peppers, squash and tomatoes every day. Don't allow them to become overripe. Over-ripeness is the seeds forming inside the fruit once again. And this makes your plants quit flowering.
There's another benefit to daily picking and pinching. It does more than just get you out there in the garden. You're looking at flowers and fruits carefully to assess their maturity. When you have a purpose like this, you'll see the plants in much greater detail. Not only will this observance teach you loads about how they grow, you'll also spot problems the moment they appear.
Pests and disease of any kind are much easier to control if you catch them early on. A few hornworms on the tomatoes are far more controllable than a gang of them. When the problem is small you may be able to solve it by simply handpicking the worms as you work the flowers and fruit. Or perhaps you notice the plants are growing dusty and need to be sprayed off, which helps control spider mites.
Detailed observation also helps you know how your plants look when they're happy. Again, like a human being, spending time together helps you get to know one another better. Then when that person or plant is a bit wilted, you spot it immediately.
So go ahead and get picky, every day! Cut the flowers when they fade or do so early to enjoy an indoor bouquet. Observe your plants closely. Harvest the fruit promptly. And become a super gardener one flower at a time.
Maureen Gilmer is a horticulturist. E-mail her at mogilmer@yahoo.com.
Good Flowers for Dried Decorative Displays
By Virginia HayesSaturday, July 25, 2009
Cut flowers are beautiful and, usually, ephemeral. A few days, a week or two at most, and they go into the compost pile. There are a few, however, with sturdy bracts, petals, or pods that stand the test of time. Here are some of the easiest to grow and dry for long-lasting floral displays.
Safflower is grown by the acre for its oil-rich seeds, but its cheery yellow flowers can last for months and months when dried. Its botanical name, Carthamus tinctorius, hints at its other usefulness as a dye plant. Sea holly (Eryngium alpinum) is a powdery blue or violet all over its spiny leaves and stems. The stiff bracts surround a cone-shaped inflorescence of tiny flowers. They are almost frilly looking, but very sturdy and make this an excellent flower for drying. The familiar strawflower (Helichrysum bracteatum), with its colorful daisy-like flower heads, comes in shades of white, yellow, orange, red, and pink and is known for its longevity. The airy sprays of statice (Limonium sinuatum) are also well-known. White, yellow, or blue and purple selections are available.
The swan flower (Asclepias fruticosa) isn't very showy in bloom, but the inflated seed pods are held on curving stems resembling the neck and head of its namesake. The pods, which are covered with tiny prickles, dry to a pale yellow and are very decorative. Another favorite that isn't grown for the fresh flowers is the money plant (Lunaria annua). Once the small flowers are gone and the flattened seed pods have split and released their seeds, translucent, round, parchment-like “coins” remain on the stem. Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena) also has decorative inflated seed pods with little horns curving out of the apex and has ornamental flowers that come in shades of pink, blue, or white. The leaves are very finely divided providing the “mist” in its name. One last species known for its papery calyx, not its flowers, is called Chinese lantern plant (Physalis alkekengi). The “lanterns” are bright orange and can be picked and dried to brighten fall and winter decorations.
August Tips
- Mid to late August is the perfect time to start seeds of cool-season crops like cabbage, broccoli, and spinach. Plants will be ready to move into the garden in six to eight weeks.
- Cut back hydrangeas, leaving at least three buds on each stem. Thin out oldest canes to encourage new growth from the base.
- Divide bearded iris: dig and cut off new stems, discarding woody center of clump. Replant immediately or store in damp peat moss in a cool place.
Virginia Hayes, curator of Ganna Walska Lotusland, will answer your gardening questions. Address them to Gardens, The Independent, 122 W. Figueroa St., S.B., CA 93101. Send email to vahayes@lotusland.org.
A fine flower to start with
By George EllisonOne of the best pieces of advice I ever received in regard to learning wildflowers was to “concentrate on one family at a time.” The person advising me didn’t, of course, intend that I should devote my attention exclusively to the species in a given family and ignore any plants outside that group. But she rightly intuited that making real progress in a systematic manner required some sort of focus.
My choice was the Lily Family (Liliaceae). In retrospect, I realize that picking this family was a rather grand first choice since it includes many genera and an array of species. I could have started with a less complicated group. But I was attracted by the showy — sometimes even gaudy — species represented in the Liliaceae: fly poison, wild hyacinth, lily-of-the-valley, trout lily, swamp pink, Indian cucumber root, grape hyacinth, bog asphodel, star-of-Bethlehem, Solomon’s and false Solomon’s seal, featherbells, rosy twisted stalk, the numerous trillium species, the bellworts, turkey beard, etc.
The centerpiece genus of the Liliaceae is, of course, Lilium or the so-called true lilies. Here in the southern mountains this genus is comprised of five quite distinctive species: turk’s-cap lily (Lilium superbum), Canada lily (L. canadense), wood lily (L. philadelphicum), Michaux’s or Carolina lily (L. michauxii), and Gray’s lily (L. grayi).
Of these, only the turk’s-cap and Michaux’s lilies are, in my experience, commonly encountered. The rarest species is Gray’s lily, also known as bell lily, orange-bell lily, roan lily, and roan mountain lily. It is, for me, not only the most beautiful species in the Liliaceae but also the most beautiful wildflower I have encountered in North America.
The species is named for Asa Gray, America’s first great formal botanist. In 1840, Gray and several companions explored the high mountains of North Carolina. Among the many exciting plants they located was the spectacular red and purple-spotted lily that would, in 1879, be described as a new species and named in Gray’s honor.
Gray’s lily is a perennial, standing from two to four feet tall, with a smooth stem that bears three to eight whorls of narrow leaves. From June into early August, it displays from one to 10 bell shaped, slightly flared flowers on long stalks. The flowers are poised in an almost horizontal position. Each flower head is dark red or reddish-orange outside. Inside it is somewhat lighter in color and distinctively marked with numerous purple spots. It is a stately, almost regal plant.
This rare and endangered species is limited in its natural state to high-elevation, moist, grassy open areas and woodland thickets. Its distribution is restricted to a handful of counties in western Virginia, east Tennessee, and western North Carolina.
In an open, grassy plot alongside the creek on our property, Elizabeth and I once attempted as part of a horticultural experiment to grow several seedlings of Gray’s lily originally propagated from seeds by Kim Hawks, who was at that time the owner of Niche Wildflower Gardens near Chapel Hill. They flowered sparsely for several years and then disappeared. If we ever try to raise Gray’s lily again, we’ll create and place the plants in a moist peat bed in wooded shade.
George Ellison wrote the biographical introductions for the reissues of two Appalachian classics: Horace Kephart’s Our Southern Highlanders and James Mooney’s History, Myths, and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees. In June 2005, a selection of his Back Then columns was published by The History Press in Charleston as Mountain Passages: Natural and Cultural History of Western North Carolina and the Great Smoky Mountains. Readers can contact him at P.O. Box 1262, Bryson City, N.C., 28713, or at info@georgeellison.com.
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