- Author: Kathy Low
Did you know that the Cavendish variety of banana, the only banana planted through out the world for export, is in danger of extinction due to monoculture? Did you know that the Clementine Orange was cultivated in the garden of an Algerian orphanage by Father Clement Rodier? Or did you know the Bing cherry was developed by Ah Bing of the United States but after the passage Chinese Exclusion Act he was exiled back to China and never returned to America, or that the Haas avocado tree grew in the yard of Postman Rudolph Hass who was going to cut it down but his children begged him to keep it? These are just some of the interesting bits of fruit fact you'll learn from the docudrama, The Fruit Hunters, a DVD that can be checked out from the Solano County Library.
The docudrama follows fruit hunters. What are fruit hunters? They're horticulturalists, historians, connoisseurs, and other individuals with a passion, or in some cases obsession, with fruit who travel to the far reaches of the globe in search of exotic and rare fruit. Some seek out the fruit to help preserve them for future generations to enjoy, while others seek to document their history, or others seek them out simply for the ultimate tasting pleasure. While watching the film you'll be introduced to, and find out some interesting facts about some exotic fruit.
I have not read the book by the same title, upon which the film was based, to know how closely the film follows the book. But for me an aspect of the film I did not like were the segments focusing on actor Bill Pullman's involvement in his Hollywood Hills Community Orchard. They just didn't seem to fit well into the overall film and were somewhat boring.
But if you enjoy learning about exotic fruits, where and how they're grown, and like following travelers to exotic places, then you'll enjoy this docudrama. The only problem is most of us will never have the opportunity to taste many of the yummy fruits featured!
- Author: Cheryl A Potts
Spring is screaming at me,
"Get outside, you fool.
No more cozy mornings.
The season makes the rule."
"Leave the crossword, leave You-tube
Get out there and plant.
No more lame excuses
I will not hear, 'I can't!'"
"The ground is fertile
Cold frost is gone.
Seeds are ready
Now, carry on."
"Plant the seeds.
Mulch the ground.
The garden must be
Your spring playground."
I hear you. Spring,
You'd never lie
You win again.
I'll go outside.
-original poem by the blog author, Cheryl Potts
- Author: Jenni Dodini
The narcissus came up, so I went around the fence to check on my Helleborus. It has started blooming too. It is one of the first to bloom every year.
I went online and also to the Sunset Western Garden Book for the information below. Wikipedia had the best and most numerous pictures of the varieties and hybrids. I also went onto GardeningKnowHow.com and the Missouri Botanical Garden sites. The rest of the sites were mostly selling the plants.
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Helleborus
Common names: Winter rose, Christmas rose, Lenten rose
There are about 20 different species of this evergreen, perennial flowering plant. There are also many hybrids, some with less closely related species. By and large, all the plants are poisonous. The plant originated in Europe and Asia with the greatest concentration being found in the Balkans. There are 2 atypical species, ozone from China and the other from the border area between Turkey and Syria.
The flowers vary in color from white to black, rarely yellow, and last a very long time, changing colors as they age. The flower has 5 petals which are actually sepals surrounding a ring of small nectaries (petals modified to hold nectar). The flowers emerge in the winter, sometimes through the snow, and into spring. The Lenten rose variety is so named because it blooms just before Lent. Obviously, they are frost resistant. They are a shade tolerant plants and are good under trees. A perk is that they require minimal care once they are established, will grow in dry, shallow and rocky soil and require minimal to regular watering depending upon species. They do like to be protected from the cold winter winds. Mine were a bit unhappy and needed more watering during our very hot days last summer. Mine are also in a pot which was sunken into the ground a bit, so I was not that surprised. They require feeding only once or twice a year and prefer a slightly alkaline soil that drains well and has been amended with plenty of organic matter. Once they are established, they do not like to be moved, and may take years to re-establish if they don't die. They tend to self sow and the young seedlings can be transplanted. If you try to grow them from seeds, plant them in the fall because they need a 60 day moist chilling period to germinate and may take 3 to 4 years to bloom.
I forgot to add that the foliage is a leathery deep green. If you are in an area where there are deer, they are not considered a deer delicacy.
The Helleborus has been used medicinally and in witchcraft as far back as Hippocrates and other ancients. The black and white varieties are the most toxic. The effects range from diarrhea to cardiac arrest. All the parts of the plant are considered toxic.
The Winter and Lenten rose varieties are the easiest to grow, and the one below, H orientalis, the Winter rose is quite happy in my yard. The easiest way to know what you are getting is to buy the plant in bloom. I got mine in the local big box store a couple years ago, so you may find one on the shelf if you are interested in one for your yard too.
I took this picture in the beginning of May last year.
- Author: Karen Metz
Recently I was going through my fabric stash, auditioning fabric for a project, when I came across a fabric panel of flower fairies. Now if you have daughters, grand-daughters or nieces, you probably know all about flower fairies. If not, here is the info in a nutshell. Flower Fairies are the charming creation of Cicely Mary Barker who was born in England in 1895 and published her first Flower Fairy book in 1925. These books had charming illustrations of wildflowers and a fairy to represent it. Each flower fairy also had a little rhyme to accompany it also written by Cicely. Over the decades, these books have impressed both children and adults alike, with their winsome and magical, but botanically correct drawings.
This particular panel had been in my stash between five and ten years. I vaguely remember coming across it at the end of a long browsing period at a quilt shop. There were panels in several colors and I took the one with the neutral background thinking I would be able to use it more easily. I had completely forgotten about it. Upon rediscovering it, I saw that the panel was called Sunshine Fairies and was printed by Michael Miller Fabrics under an agreement with the Cicely Mary Barker Estate. My eye was immediately drawn to the Narcissus Fairy and then the Pear Blossom Fairy. But as I kept looking I saw the White Bindweed Fairy and the Sow Thistle Fairy. Wait a minute here, and that picture of Jack Go to Bed at Noon Fairy looks suspiciously like Salsify.
I had just finished doing an article for the Daily Republic on weeds. This article explored the notion that sometimes a weed is in the eye of the beholder. Plants that some people consider weeds, other people consider beautiful or perhaps useful. Obviously, Cicely thought Sow Thistle, Sonchus arvensis L, Bindweed, Convolvulous arvensis L., and Jack Go to Bed by Noon, Meadow Salsify or Tragopogon pratensis beautiful enough to dedicate a drawing and Fairy in their honor. Of course that is Cicely Mary Barker's great talent, showing us the beauty and magic that is all around us, but is frequently overlooked.
- Author: Launa Herrmann
The demise of one of my hanging cacti recently left me speechless. This epiphytic hung for years in a pot mounted on the fence underneath a patio. One day the plant was healthy, in full bloom, a spectacular sight. Within weeks the stem segments changed colors, then started falling off.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed hardened ridge lines running along some of the leaves and thickened growth at the joints, beige in color. From the almost-crystalized corky appearance of the lines and joint growth, I initially thought that the plant had dried out.
But the opposite is true. The Schlumbergera had edema. Too much rain and cooler temperatures this fall and winter had taken their toll, especially after the previous four years of mild winters with little precipitation. This South American native was stressed, preferring temperatures 60 to 68 degrees with watering only once a week. Also, I had not considered that the potting mix that had allowed this plant to survive Vacaville's hot dry summer needed the addition of sand or perlite so it could drain quicker.
Here are a couple photos of Schlumbergera illustrating the problem:
