Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Frame for pine cone wreath






Keywords:


Pemba Puss

atheana

atheana's photo
We got a silver-gilt medal which we are very pleased with, we're really pleased because it's our first Tatton. The judges did say that they'd like us to do a larger stand and that our plants would really suit a larger exhibit. One of the reasons why we create a display of th is size is because it fills one lorry! We never know how the plants will go down when we come to a new show and especially one in a different climatic area, but so far so good. Next week we're going to the Taunton flower show where we're exhibiting our own plants and planting a garden, then Rob and I are off for three days to an undisclosed, secret location to reflect on the last few months and plan for the year ahead.

beetography

beetography's photo
Proteus in flower, in the Mediterranean biome

Robert Nyman
Like, flowers

Like, flowers

Robert Nyman
Like, flowers

Like, flowers

Crocus - the first flowers of spring 2008

All soil covered with plastic to keep strawberries clean. As so often in life, there is a natural way and a plastic / chemical way to grow food, plants of fruits. Here in Trinidad we see most farmers using black plastic to cover all soil. First of all the plastic keeps the strawberries clean and away from soil, it also prevents other plants from growing, but at the same time the plastic destroys the natural balance of the soil and the healthy micro-organism a healthy soil needs!
In album Fruits of the Philippine islands

Asim Shah posted a photo:

yellow


Another yellow flower

Another yellow flower


Info from:

Prim rose san antonio





Nice violete flowers

Nice violete flowers


One of my highlights at this year's show has been the 'Art in the Garden'. As you wander around the showground you come across a variety of work from fibreglass cows to steel, pine and charcoal sculptures, as well as more traditional artwork, using willow and oak. moorcroft.jpgNot to be outdone however, many garden designers have used art in their show gardens. The Moorcroft Natural Woman Garden incorporates a handcrafted Moorcroft tile featuring the garden's plants, bees and butterflies. There's even more artwork from designers who are showcasing their work here. leaping_hare.jpgOne of my favourites is by an artist who has created leaping hares from twisted, plastic-coated wire - he's really ma naged to inject movement into his pieces. I'd love to take one home but I can't afford the price tag.
spring-flower-tree.jpg

Pansy

Mixed culture in combination with flowers and vegetables is easier to keep healthy. Here we see a partial mixed culture. One small field of flowers, next small field with salad or vegetable in combination with small strawberry fields.
Compared to the previous 2 large strawberry mono culture fields this photo shows a much better solution. The more you mix different plants, the less fertilizer, less herbicide and pesticide you will need.
Ideal however would be a real mix, just as in jungle or wild forest / natural fields. Side by side flowers and berries with salads, beautiful green grass and vegetables. Just as in God made nature!
All the photos shown here are from the same location - Trinidad, outside Baguio City. Different strawberry field owners try different methods. Most use plentiful of chemicals every few days! A few only experiment with alternate methods of organic farming.
In album Fruits of the Philippine islands
Info from:

Florists in sherman texas






Robert Nyman
Like, flowers

Like, flowers
Hmm, I think a little flowerbed reshuffle is on the cards when I get home or possibly even flowerbed creation. I might have been suffering from the gardeners' affliction of my eyes being bigger than my garden. The car looked like a mobile greenhouse on the way back down the M6 but I bet we weren't the only car on the motorway adorned with foliage. Clematis x aromatica and C. flammula mysteriously found their way into my jute shopping bag, along with a really pretty Nepeta govaniana that I'll have to sneak into the back of a border. I find that yellow flowers divide gardeners in the same way as the variegated/non variegated debate but I can't resist yellow. I don't mind if it's a perfect sunshine yellow, wholesome and cheery or an acid greeny yellow, I'm quite happy with anything in between. The N. govaniana has delicate pale, lemony yellow flowers and is perfection in plant form. Lobelia tupa is a plant that I have been hankering after for a long time and now I am the proud owner of one. Carol Klein warned me about its hallucinogenic properties when she spied it my bag. Everyday's a school day at these shows... A tiny little blackcurrant sage completed my purchases, Salvia microphylla var. microphylla I couldn't resist its tiny little magenta pink flowers and scented foliage, I know that it'll thrive in my garden and it was a bargain, that's my excuse! tortoise_200x200.jpgOne item I would have loved to have brought home with me was this chap. My soon-to-be-husband and I have a little Russian tortoise called Claude so I am very fond of these slightly grumpy shelled creatures. Even though Claude has an uncanny habit of homing in and munching on any plant that I have struggled to grow or is very rare or special, I don't know how he does it! On second thoughts perhaps a stone version is a brilliant idea...
Info from:

Monday, March 30, 2009

Gardening store in sarasota florida






Purple Flower

PrettyWhiteCenter.jpg
Flowers Beautiful Flowers - PrettyWhiteCenter.jpg


Asim Shah posted a photo:

bee



Beautiful sunflower wallpaper 1600x1200px - sunflowers from botanical garden Baguio city.
In album Beautiful tropical flowers - Tropical orchids


Strawberry blossom is VERY frost sensitive! VERY !! One single frosty night will turn your beautiful white blossom with the yellow center into a white flower with dark, black center. That is proof that your strawberry blossom is frozen and death = NO strawberries for one season.
I grew up in Switzerland and in central Europe it is common to have around mid May a few days of frosty nights. Hence during these annual weeks a daily weather forecast is needed. If frost is announced, then all strawberry plants need to be covered with straw before night and uncovered again next morning.
One single night with a few frosty below freezing hours is enough to destroy the complete harvest for an entire season. The very same btw applies also for wine yard. We happened to have both, wine and strawberries. both blossom about the same time in Europe, around mid May. Strawberry plants are covered, Wine get a "skirt" made of straw as protection for the night.
Once the strawberry bloom is over and all flowers have been successfully pollinated it takes another few weeks until the fruits become ready for harvest. These few weeks all plants need care and protection, else the harvest is either eaten by snails, birds or fouling in wet rainy soil.
In album Fruits of the Philippine islands
Info from:

Moda dea lazy daisy yarn





Robert Nyman
Like, flowers

Like, flowers

Asim Shah posted a photo:

the basket


Turtle on the Landing

beetography

beetography's photo

Crocus - the first flowers of spring 2008

A poppy is about to bloom.

Poinsettia widescreen wallpaper. Euphorbia pulcherrima - Commonly called Chirstmas flower or in some geographic areas also Christmas star - the red petals are no flower petals but leaves of the plant. The actual flower is in the center of the red flower arrangement.
In the next Christmas flower photo you see the actual flower.

See my own creations of Christmas flowers - Christmas background and
Christmas widescreen wallpaper.
In album Beautiful tropical flowers - Tropical orchids

Crocus - the first flowers of spring 2008
spring-flower-tree.jpg

I decided to title this flower photo with "fruit flower", because this each little flower, making a form like some fruit, and nice colour too.



Crocus - the first flowers of spring 2008

Crocus - the first flowers of spring 2008

FLOWERS.gif
FLOWERS - FLOWERS.gif


atheana

atheana's photo
"Dog?  I don't hear a dog."

Flowers.jpg
Flowers - Flowers.jpg




Lupine at Quail Hollow Ranch, CA USA

Asim Shah posted a photo:

yellow


flower-2.jpg
Flowers Beautiful Flowers - flower-2.jpg


The back to back gardens are a unique feature of the flower show at Tatton Park and they are arranged in groups of four all over the showground, what I like about this is that as I walk around the show I stumble across a square of gardens and keep seeing ones I haven't seen before, also you can get a really good look at them because they're nicely spread out. Out of 27 back to back gardens at the show, five were awarded the coveted gold medal, best in show went to Reaseheath Alumni with '5 a day with hidden play' a garden dedicated to growing and eating plenty of fruit and veg. bees_300x150.jpg 'A garden for bees' (Gold) designed by Ness Botanic Gardens highlights the importance of our buzzy little friends. It's beautiful too and more than dispells the myth that wildlife gardening has to be wild and woolly. 'Butterfly Journey' (Silver-gilt) is another wildlife friendly garden at the show. butterfly_300x150.jpgIt's packed with the sort of plants we could all try to grow more of, to attract native butterfly species into our gardens. I noticed a fair amount of black in the back to back gardens, 'The back to basics garden' uses black to dramatic effect as a backdrop and in the planting with two stunning Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy' and a generous sprinkling of Cosmos astrosanguineus, another garden which features this plant heavily is 'Urban retreat' (Silver) which also uses black as a backdrop but mixes acid greens through the dark flowers and foliage, a great combo. suburban_oasis_300x150.jpg 'Reflection' (Silver) uses colour but it's much more gentle here. The decking and fencing is stained a soft grey and is set off by touches of galvanised metal used as edging and in the form of poles used throughout the garden as a suggestion of a boundary. These double up as plant supports too, this is an idea I might well take away with me... scented_wall_300x150.jpg A garden that addresses a very common problem is 'The scented walled garden' (Silver) and it speaks volumes that I had a good long look at the garden, admired it, made notes, took a photograph and still had not realised that it had been designed with wheelchair users in mind, it proves the point that a garden when well designed can fit a specific brief and be gorgeous too.
Info from: