Author: Lilac

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Make Sure that your Outdoor Furniture is Eco-Friendly

Green Furniture by geoftheref

TheGardenLady enjoys going to various flower shows. She just recently attended the 2012 Philadelphia Flower Show and she wrote about her experience in the last post. When she visits these flower shows she often sees interesting exhibits of furniture made for the outdoors. And this has the TheGardenLady wonder about what wood furniture one should use when one is making furniture for the outdoors. Here are some of the questions that come to TheGardenLady’s mind: Is the wood that is being used to make the furniture eco-friendly? How do we know if we are buying wood that is on an endangered list? Or how should we know if it is best to use oak furniture for the outdoors or pine wood or teak?

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Organic Fertilizers – Part I

How much grass…by Kiwilad

TheGardenLady recently attended a talk on Organic Gardening. One of the aspects of the talk presentation was the importance of good soil if you want a good garden. And to get that good soil, good organic fertilizers are needed. Organic fertilizers include animal manures.

First of all, no one recommends using dog or cat manure as fertilizer. You do not want to use the feces of any animal that is a meat eater. “Both dog and cat manure may contain organisms that cause human health problems. ” See here.

So which fertilizers are best?

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Excellent Gardening Lectures

morris in the spring by lisa cee

This is a great time to attend excellent gardening lectures- now before you are busy working in your gardens. The different flower shows host excellent speakers that you can hear free, just for the admission price to the flower show. Don’t fail to check the list of events when you enter the shows so that you can dash over to hear an informative talk while resting your weary feet. I have found these lectures to be under-attended.

Also, many of the Botanical gardens have excellent lecture series. I wish I could attend so many of the interesting sounding lectures that are being given all over the country. It seems like one can get a college-level horticulture or landscape education for a nominal fee by just attending. But sign up early, some of these lectures fill up quickly.

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Thompson & Morgan: An Excellent International Seed Catalog

bug of the day by urtica

Most catalogs have a limited area they can ship seeds or plants because of all the different countries’ rules and regulations regarding seeds and plant material coming into their country. In the United States some seeds or plants cannot even be shipped into certain states.

With all the international movement of people and things, countries fear invasive plants being brought in that will take over the native habitat or they worry about diseases or insects which, while being contained in the country of origin, destroy crops in their new “adopted” country. In the US we have many such problems caused by unwelcome pests coming in and it is a major economic problem. For example, one problem is an insect called the Asian Longhorned Beetle (see photo above) which came to the United states from China and is now decimating our hardwood trees like the Maple tree, the willow tree and the Elm tree (see here).

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Ideas on How to Decorate the Garden

Flinstone Chair! by Just Nick…

TheGardenLady will be going to some Garden Shows this Spring. Besides wanting to see the creative floral displays, I am looking for ideas to decorate my garden. I want to see the type of statuary or furniture they are showing. Of course, I prefer the decorations to be as inexpensive as possible, but I need the ideas first.

I was thinking of possibly putting more seating in my gardens. I already have a stone bench. But what about having sofas in my backyard garden? Something that will withstand all weather conditions and not be washed away by the flooding that sometimes occurs after heavy rains. And I want the furniture that has an artistic, funky quality.

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Pesticides for Ticks

Deer Tick (Ixodes scapularis) female, dorsal view by Michael Bok

TheGardenLady would love to have a party in my back yard. But my back yard is not typical or usual in that it is across from a stream in a wooded area. This area is lovely, but I fear insects, especially Lyme ticks, that might join the party to feast on the guests. I have never taken out any of the trees in this back yard, though previous owners had, so there is a lot of open space where a party would look lovely. Still most of the time, because there is some woodland around the open space, this is a haven for wildlife. Deer come out of the wooded area to cavort. I have seen a fox, turkeys, rodents, snakes and lots of birds in the yard. So if I do have a party back there I want to use the safest pesticides possible. I hate using any toxic substance on this land.

But it would be so pretty back there for a party. What can I do?
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Pooktre, Tree Shapers

TheGardenLady has seen and been amazed by photos of trees that have been shaped to grow in unusual and artistic shapes.

About a year ago, TheGardenLady discovered the works of Tree Shaper, Peter Cook, who is a creator of some of these artistically-shaped trees in Australia. I wrote to him asking if he had a book out about his works. I thought it might be interesting to own a coffee table work of his amazing living tree art. I just received an emailed response from this artist and his significant other, another artist, Becky Northey. Together they have mastered the art of tree shaping and started Pooktre, Tree Shapers, which creates interesting art using trees. Creative artists that they are, they have come up with other exciting art with bits of nature and natural products as well as their shaped trees.

The 2009 Ripleys’ Believe It or Not was equally amazed with Peter Cook’s trees.  See here.

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A Plant Lover from Pune, India

Flores de Mirabilis jalapa by floresyplantas.net

2012 has started off so wonderfully for TheGardenLady. Among the reasons it has been such a happy start to the New Year is an email that I received the other day from a beautiful young girl from India who used to walk past my gardens and tell me how much she loved them. I would like to share some excerpts from the young woman who has allowed me to use her name.

First of all, a very Happy New Year to you. Hope you remember me (the Indian girl who would walk around your lovely garden in the spring afternoons, we also spoke a couple of times).

Being a plant lover, I will never forget your lovely garden and your passion for gardening. I still remember the beautiful sight of colourful spring flowers blooming out in your garden. I have captured many of them in my camera and plan to send it out to you. The pictures have come out as beautiful as your flowers:) Back in India, I shared the pictures with my friends and family and they loved it.

I follow your blog and and liked the article about burpee seeds recently.

One of my first [discoveries] about the flora in Pune, India is the abundance of the “Mirabilis Jalapa” flower. There are so many varieties of them blooming around gardens and households, Dark Pink, White, Yellow, two-tones etc..I am planning to plant one of the pink variety of the plant. I will also get some pictures for you to upload on the Gardenlady blog.

Thanks again for the guidance about orchids. I plan to get one from the greenhouse. Since I am new to the city, I still have to check out good nurseries and plant options. Will share the progress on the plants at home with you on a regular basis.

Regarding the Burpee seed catalog, unfortunately they don’t ship to India. I have to do some research regarding the horticulture societies around Pune. 

My house is an apartment styled one and I have two new plants. One is a yellow hibiscus and the other is a pink anthurium. I got the pink anthurium from a greenhouse I visited..it is still adapting to the new climate here at Pune. The Hibiscus, I just planted it last saturday.

How I wish to see the next set of spring flowers in your garden!!!” Marina

Wasn’t that a lovely email to receive from halfway around the world? I hope that TheGardenLady readers get such compliments on your gardens. Please share comments about your garden with all the readers.

PS I have contacted Burpee seeds and they corroborated that they are not allowed to sell seeds in India. How sad.

TheGardenLady has Mirabilis Jalapa flowers growing in her garden. Their common name is Four O’clocks. They are rugged perennials and have surprisingly returned for me in hardiness Temp. Zone 6 for the last few years.

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2012 Rutgers Ramapo Tomato Seed‏

Famous Rutgers Ramapo tomatoes by Chester Garden Club

If gardeners are interested in getting the Rutgers Ramapo seed to plant in your garden in 2012, a tomato that is supposed to give you a taste of what tomatoes had tasted like when I was a child, check out the Rutgers website.

I believe that the tomatoes my parents raised were some of the best tomatoes ever grown. The taste was incredibly delicious. My mother would can them whole and they were delicious right out of the jar. I always joked that my husband married me because of my parents’ tomato crop. Or maybe it wasn’t a joke…..

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TheGardenLady Wishes You a Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR by rkramer62

I want to wish TheGardenLady.org readers a happy new year, 2012, of Glorious Gardening. May all your gardening wishes and dreams become reality.

TheGardenLady’s wish is that more of my readers share their gardening stories as well as photos with this blog so that we can enjoy your garden successes and even failures.

We want to share in your joys and sadness and learn with you.