Another Year! Pick Your Garden Resolution(s). [ December 28, 2005 ]
This morning I witnessed the early sunlight illuminate the moths flying about in between the large fluffy snowflakes, and I felt so privileged to be alive...
Holiday Plant Giving. [ December 14, 2005 ]
A splash of holiday cheer in the form of a box of candy or a bottle of wine is always appreciated, but disappears rather quickly. A blooming plant on the other hand carries on for quite a while. There are several to choose from at this time of the year...
Cornucopia One More Time. [ November 30, 2005 ]
Those of you who know me, know I am fond of collecting horticultural odds and ends that I find interesting or, maybe, even useful. I cannot resist sharing them from time to time with friends. I did it in February, last year and again in December. It's been too long for me not to break free and share once more before the close of this year. I hope some of it is interesting to you, my readers...
Recent News in the World of Flora. [ November 16, 2005 ]
We owe it all to the Roman goddess of flowers. My (your) preoccupation with green growing things, that is. There is so much going on in the world of plants, both regionally and world wide. It's time for me to give another report before we fall too far behind, and things begin to happen that shock or dismay...
A Mid-Autumn Garden Calendar. [ November 2, 2005 ]
It is a sure thing that the water deficit we've suffered earlier in the year has been made up. What remains for us to do is button up some of the business end of our home and garden responsibilities before the onset of winter. It's like the wolf at the door...
It's Not Just Dirt, It's Our Soil Connection. [ October 19, 2005 ]
In my Labor Day column I suggested fall was a great time to plant trees, shrubs, bulbs including garlic, and also, a great time to fertilize lawns and established plants in anticipation of next years growth. The tops won't grow any more this year...
The Force That Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower. (#6)
[ October 5, 2005 ] ... a continuation of my overview of the history of plants and their important influence on man.
Subtitled: Enthrallment from the Plant World.
Captivate, fascinate, charm, enslave. Something that plants can do to humans, with or without their permission. Much as art, music, nature, mathematics, dance and every other form of stimuli has the ability to do. What must take place is some form of shift in consciousness.
Drought Consequences Vary. [ September 21, 2005 ]
The severe flooding as a result of inordinate amounts of rain and the snow melt that visited most of our region on April 2nd and 3rd stays in our memory like a stain. We didn't want to see rain again. And, as a wish granted out of spite, we waited until the most devastating storm to ever visit American soil, Katrina, sent some precipitation our way in the final days of August...
Labor Day: A Misnomer, or a Day for R & R ? [ September 7, 2005 ]
As a teaser, I've come across a wonderful poem published in January 1957 Nature Magazine. Researching the poet, I found he was more involved in science fiction after this period. But, I thought this poem so worthwhile, I pass it on. Especially since I am providing a to-do list...
Pollarding: A Centuries Old Woodland Management Technique.
[ August 24, 2005 ]
As a youngster growing up in a small town in Queens, I was fascinated and puzzled by a rather common sight. Many small front yards had a tree on either side of the walkway. I was puzzled because the tree with its thick trunk only stood about ten to twelve feet high instead of the eighty or more feet of other trees on the streets...
Mothra: It Came from Afar in 1869 and Got Loose.
[ August 10, 2005 ]
I wonder if anyone out there remembers the sci-fi horror flick, "Mothra". It was released in 1961. Not quite a hundred years after the Gypsy moth's first appearance as a major tree pest in America. We're blessed. Ours are nothing like the MOVIES'! Thanks be to G...
The Force That Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower. (#5)
[ July 28, 2005 ] ... a continuation of my overview of the history of plants and their important influence on man.
Subtitled: Plants: They're in It for Themselves!
Plants also contain the means of their own defense against rivals, invaders, predators. If necessary, they can and will kill. With no concern for the victim, a plant can dispense toxins of agonizing and deadly results. Remember, what plants contain is for their good. In the vitalist sense, they are as gods with powers to nourish, heal and kill. We are the sentimental ones.
St. Francis in Conversation with God, and How Many Gardens.
[ July 13, 2005 ]
A question came in one day recently. How many gardens can you name? Well, I like a challenge as well as the next fellow, so I ask you to join with me and see how many you can come up with. I'll give you my list at the end of the column...
Horticultural Update.
[ June 29, 2005 ]
It's time again for me to give a brief horticultural update. I think it's necessary now and then to provide a time capsule of hort. news, recent information, and personalities that have made and influenced recent history to increase awareness of what is happening in this huge field...
The Force That Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower. (#4)
[ June 15, 2005 ] ... a continuation of my overview of the history of plants and their important influence on man.
Subtitled: All living things require food.
Plants obtain what they need from the earth, the air, and sunlight. Plants nourish themselves. The organic substances that plants produce also nourish all of the animal world. Food for all, courtesy of plants. And, not just food. Shelter, clothing, heat - whatever is needed for the sustainability of other living things.
The Summer Season Is Growing on Us.
[ June 1, 2005 ]
With the official arrival of June, I'm fairly certain that you put in some, many, or most of your tender vegetables and bedding plants. The summer solstice is less than three weeks away. We all want to capitalize on the longest days of the year and the warm, fair weather that favors abundant growth and fruitfulness...
Your Personal "Great Outdoors".
[ May 25, 2005 ]
The Sullivan County Catskills are no longer "the sticks", as they were once referred to. They are being discovered anew...
The Force That Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower. (#3)
[ May 18, 2005 ] ... a continuation of my overview of the history of plants and their important influence on man.
Subtitled: The power of plants to survive.
The power of plants to survive originates with their unique beginnings a couple of billion years ago. The most primitive of plants, the slime molds, various classes of bacteria, algae, fungi, etc., were the substrates for the earliest bits of photosynthetic protoplasm. In colonizing the planet, some variety of plant life always succeeded, and, those that did not, yielded to breakdown to bacteria and fungi.
Nipping in the Bud Some Perennial Problems.
[ April 20, 2005 ]
This is the time of year for gardeners to be as pro-active as possible. Now anticipate some of last years troubles and nip them in the bud...
Lilies! The Garden Aristocrats!
[ April 6, 2005 ]
The Lily family, Liliaceae, contains 200 or more genera and some 2000 species. While some species provide food (Allium and Asparagus) and others medicine (Aloe), and so on, with this large family's attributes, I wish to focus on...
The Force That Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower. (#2)
[ March 23, 2005 ] ... a continuation of my overview of the history of plants and their important influence on man.
Subtitled: Their cultural and biological development can be miraculous.
I believe in miracles. Do you? A green shoot emerges. It contains within all the knowledge it needs to break through the earth, elongate, branch, leaf out, flower and fruit - even to the last vein, cell, tendril, and hair. Accompanying this miraculous process are responses from hosts of life forms including insects, birds, and the human spirit. The infinite variety of flowers and leaves impresses our human perception far beyond what I imagine "nature" intended.
Breaking Dormancy One Day at a Time.
[ March 9, 2005 ]
There are only eleven days to the Vernal Equinox. We know where we live and what limitations we have, and yet we are longing to think spring and green. And why not? By March 20th the day length will be the same (approximately) as on the Autumnal Equinox on Sept. 22. Twelve hours plus a little...
The Force That Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower. (#1)
[ February 23, 2005 ] First in a series of my overview of the history of plants and their important influence on man.
Subtitled: There Is No Escaping the Power of Plants.
** The first line of a poem written in 1934 by a young Welshman named Dylan Thomas. This powerful evocation of the life force that inhabits all living things motivated me to present an overview of the history of plants and their important influence on man. This will occur in several installments.
It's Almost Sweet Water Time: MM-MM Good!
[ February 9, 2005 ]
Within the next couple of weeks, the conditions should be perfect. The warmth of the sun will heat up the branches of the sugar maple trees during the day, and the resulting pressure will force the sweet sap out of the holes bored into the trunk. As the temperature drops into the freezing range at night, the suction (vacuum) will draw more sap into the same cells that gave it up...
Closer Looks in Winter Light.
[ January 26, 2005 ]
It was on Christmas eve that I received my first 2005 garden catalog, and it served as my reminder. "Ed, it's time you reassessed what's going on around you. You know, there's a change or two you've thought about more than once, and meant to take note of, so you wouldn't forget. Remember?"...
Horticultural Update.
[ January 12, 2005 ]
It's a new year and a time when many of us resolve to lead a life that is an improvement over the previous. Don't keep your potential locked up inside. We all can make time and reserve some energy to pursue the things we find rewarding...
