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I know it’s rather late but I have just noticed an article on new plants for 2011 and this has prompted me to check a few sites to see what new varieties are on offer this year.

Black and white seem to be common themes with the Black Velvet petunia and the Coconut Ice sunflower with its creamy white petals. Personally I’m not too keen on black flowers in the same way that blue roses do not seem to be quite right in my eyes. Here is a selection from Birds & Blooms.

High Country Gardens are featuring “the exclusive new Agastache “Blue Blazes” and a remarkable new ornamental grass called “Blonde Ambition” Blue Grama that has been chosen a Plant Select Winner for 2011″. Another of their newcomers that caught my eye was the Pink Cotton Lambs Ear (Stachys lavandulifolia).

Monrovia have come up with a number of exclusives with eye-catching names such as Blue Balloon Bluebeard, but the plant that I noticed was the Cathedral Gem Sausage Vine. Not that it is particularly impressive, but apparently it was found growing on the wall of Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire, U.K.

Tipnut is a website that I haven’t come across before. As its name suggests it’s full of tips on everything from household, health and beauty, DIY projects, crafts and gardening. The page I found was “Crafty Gadgets & Gear For The Garden” with a dozen crafty projects for the garden. These include DIY seedtape and a planter’s yardstick as well as various tool organisers. The Garden & Plants page has sections on Homemade Weedkiller Recipes, Raised Bed Plans and Do You Grow Dishcloths?

Queen Anne’s Lace is a wildflower which is common in North Georgia. Apart from its attractive white flowers it has many useful features. The plant is a wild carrot which can be eaten like a carrot when young, but that is the least of its virtues. The seeds can be used to make a tea which apparently “was used for centuries as a morning-after contraceptive”. A tea made from the leaves has many other uses as does the oil made by steam distillation of dried seed. The juice from the roots can treat skin conditions including wrinkles. When mixed with honey and oatmeal you have a homemade facial. Read more..

And finally some practical advice. When you see a title like “Should You Take the Burlap Off the Root Ball Before Planting?” you would expect to be given either a yes or a no, but it seems that you have to make up your own mind. Read more..

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If you want some indoor gardening activities while waiting for spring and a window farm does not appeal, why not grow some sprouts? Brussels sprouts are one of those vegetables that you either love or hate, but they are not what I am talking about. “How to grow sprouts” is the title of an article I found in the Christian Science Monitor which is all about sprouting seeds. In their case mung beans which are ready to eat anywhere from three to five days after sowing. Read more..


Pruning roses is one of those tasks that often worries novice gardeners, so it’s useful to have a reminder of the correct way to tackle it. Dr. Michael Ishak is a retired physician and an accomplished rose consultant with the South Coast Rose Society. Although his advice is aimed at California residents who have to take a couple of extra steps to induce a resting period, the general principles apply wherever you live. I was pleased to be reminded that climbing roses should have their stems trained horizontally to encourage the plant to produce shoots and flowers at each bud rather than just at the tip. Read more..

Whenever I see a title like “Getting rid of nightmare weeds” I hope that I will discover the simple solution to removing the bindweed and couch grass from my garden. Needless to say there is no magic bullet, in fact one lady mentioned in the article took 20 years to eradicate horsetail from her yard. That is an extreme case but bindweed, it seems, does need three years to kill off all the roots. And then it might just creep back from next door unless you install “a weed barrier of at least three feet (one metre) deep (deeper if possible)”. In my case I just learn to live with them. Did I mention that this comes from the Delta Optimist? Read more..

Finally I could not resist including a link to this garden gadget despite the fact that it has nothing to do with gardening or tulips, but just vaguely looks like one. Read the article then watch the video.

Tulip Corkscrew

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In fact the Windowfarms.org has been around since 2009, but the reason I am writing about it today is because a Mexican Jose de la O has produced a new design. His system consists of modular units that fit together on the window allowing you to choose how many you require. For a not exactly complimentary review, Read more..

So what can you grow in your windowfarm? From the video you may have noticed various herbs and the harvest of two lettuce leaves and a tomato. If you are starting in the winter you want to choose fast growing crops so that you can see some early results. Terry Kramer writing for the Times-Standard recommends Asian greens. “These tasty, nutritious vegetables are the ultimate fast food when it comes to growing your own; they zoom. Most can be harvested within four weeks after setting out starts”. Read more..

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Scanning the lists of the latest gadgets I found these Plantariums. The kit consists of a jar shaped like a test tube containing “NASA-approved colored nutritive growing gel”. Seeds are packed in the lid and there is even a stick to poke them down into the gel. You can then watch the plants develop and once they reach the top of the jar, you move them into a normal flowerpot. As usual with these gadgets it seems to be a rather complicated way of growing a few seedlings. Read more..

And now to the shopping. I’ve found a couple useful lists. The first is by Henry Homeyer and includes several of his favorite tools and his book of the year. Read more..

The second is by Mike Dull who is one of the WSU Master Gardeners of Chelan County. His list consists of five books which would make excellent gifts. Read more..

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This used to be a job that I found more physically taxing than any other gardening task, even digging. After I had finished I felt completely wacked. But over the last few years I have found that it has required less effort, perhaps because I take it more slowly.

Last year I was seduced by one of those glossy catalogs to buy a leaf vacuum and shredder. The catalog showed a picture of a lightweight machine with wheels that you could push like a mower to collect all the leaves. I placed my order just as the first leaves were falling, but unfortunately everyone else had the same idea and a week later I received a letter telling me that they had sold out and had to reorder new stock. By the time the machine arrived I had already completed the annual task with my trusty rake. But this year it will be a different story and I am looking forward to using my machine for the first time.

Once you have collected the leaves the question remains as to what to do with them. Leaves are a valuable source of humous which will improve your soil so putting them out for collection with the garbage is such a waste. Collect the leaves into plastic bin bags and store them over the winter and you will have fine leafmold in time to dig in to the soil in the spring. Add a spadeful of soil and some grass cuttings to each bag to encourage the process. That last tip came from Marianne Binetti and you can read her article here.

Another way that you can use some of your leaves is suggested by Ronique Gibson in “10 Ways to Organically Decorate your Thanksgiving Home”. I’m not sure quite how practical is her suggestion of using tougher leaves like Magnolia and Oak leaves for coasters for your drink, but there are nine other ideas and the pictures are stunning.

As all marketers know the word “secret” always attracts attention and so I could not escape the headline “Achieving Happiness In Your Garden: The Sixth Secret”. It turns out that the secret is really just good old-fashioned advice, but worth reading all the same.

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Returning to the subject of slugs and snails that I mentioned in a recent post, I found two stories concerning these problem pests. The first concerns the apparent homing instinct of snails. An enterprising lady living in Devon, England noticed that when she removed snails from her plants and deposited them at the end of her garden they were soon back on her plants. Since one snail looks much like another it was hard to tell whether the snails she removed were returning or newcomers were taking their place. So she put a dab of nail varnish on the shells and was able to prove that this homing instinct was indeed true. Taking matters one step further she then tried to discover how far away you have to move the snails before they lose their ability to find their way back. It seems that the critical distance is thirty meters. More than this and you are safe.

Source: BBC

The other snail story is a problem waiting to be solved. In Kerala, India Giant African Snails have eaten fruit, flower buds, mulberry shoots, cotton plants and the leaves of maize. The village people call them ‘Rakshasa Hula’ or demon caterpillar. Read more..

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One gadget that has been around for several years is the upside-down tomato planter or Topsy Turvy which is the name that Linden Staciokas uses to describe them. The idea was that diseases and insects don’t attack upside down crops as often as right side up crops, but there are some downsides to this technique as this article explains. Read more..

September brings falling leaves which have to be raked up, bagged and sent to the municipal compost piles. Rather than disposing of your leaves, why not convert them into a fine mulch to use around your plants? I found this tip for a novel way to use your weed wacker. Read more..

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If you’re feeling slightly more ambitious and want to increase the growing space in your apartment a group of New Zealand students have come up with a novel solution. Their clip-on garden in a box Plant Room is designed to be bolted on to the front of your apartment. This extra space will provide room for a vegetable garden, clothes line, rainwater collection and solar hot water production. The basic idea is to, “combine sustainability with cheaper energy and a desire to improve the landscape from inside, and out.” Read more..

Coming back down to earth Annie Spiegelman, the author of,“Talking Dirt: The Dirt Diva’s Down to Earth Guide to Organic Gardening”, has seven tips to save you money in your garden. Compost, compost, mulch and succulents are just four of her tips. All good solid advice from a Master Gardener. Read more..

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In my last post I discussed ways of keeping cats out of your garden and also the subject of raised beds and how some people thought that you could’nt grow veg without one. Well today I have found a gadget, or rather an installation, that combines all round protection from intruders with built in raised beds. Wire mesh over a stout wooden frame is strong enough to keep deer out and netting above and below deters both climbing cats and squirrels and burrowing rabbits. The raised beds inside come complete with soil and optional extras include watering systems and even “a starter supply of organically grown plants”. This is clearly not for someone who is worried about the cost of the wood for constructing a raised bed since prices for the basic 8-by-10-foot model start at $3,500. Read more..

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A common feature of many of the gadgets on the list is the provision of information. For instance numbers two and nine monitor the moisture level in the soil and send a message to your cell phone when it begins to dry out. Surely a more practical approach would be for the sensor to activate an automatic watering system rather than just issuing a cry for help, but that would be less geeky.

Perhaps one of the more practical objects is number three, the plant robot which moves around your room to ensure that your plant receives the maximum amount of sunlight. Another is the Soil and Sun Probe which I have seen before. This is an electronic probe that you stick into the soil so that it can analyze the conditions for that particular spot. You then plug it into your USB port and it will suggest plants that will suit the conditions.

Further down the list you will find the expanding flower pot and the self watering umbrella stand. You can find the full list here.

One item that was not included in the list of fifteen is the “Grow Your Own Beer Garden kit”, surely far more useful than many of the above!

Source

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Losing the lawn or de-lawning is the current trend “to reduce or eliminate a green pit of wasted time, money and space”.  Recycle rainwater, think vertically, go native with plants are other directions in which we should be moving. Read more..

I love reading about garden gadgets, and enjoy pouring scorn on some of the complicated and expensive products that are produced to perform functions that are far easier if done in the traditional way. But today I have found a useful gadget, a folding wheelbarrow which is ideal if you have limited storage space. On the same page you will find some other interesting ideas including a wheelbarrow chair. Read more..

Then here’s the Gadget of the Week – “By sharpening the normally dull sides of a pruning sheer, the Fiskars Garden Multi-Tool ($20) brings Leatherman-like convergence to your prized plants. One side is serrated for tough wood, while the other is a plenty-sharp knife. While we love the added functionality, be warned: You may be used to grabbing regular sheers by the blade, but one squeeze of these could be enough to keep your hands out of the garden until harvest. fiskars.com.”

Source

And finally here is what I would describe as the ultimate geeky gadget – the Blossoming Garden Solar Light. “This motorized flower blooms every single morning and closes up at night”. Read more..

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Willie Chance who is now retired from UGA Extension in Houston County says that he knows of no reason not to talk to your plants, but suggests you stop if they begin to talk back. In fact he is making a serious point that although you will not hear what they are saying, if you use your eyes you will see that your weeds are giving you a clear message. For instance the appearance of certain weeds in your lawn can show you what you need to do to remedy the situation. Read more..

Many people are talking about a second Great Depression and Terry Johnson writes a somewhat gloomy article outlining the problems that may lie ahead. Although you can grow your own fruit and vegetables, he suggests that this may not be so easy as the cost of fuel and fertilizer rises to make this uneconomic. But he has the answer – a sustainable, self-renewing, low input food forest garden. Read more..

On a lighter note here is someone who is really into garden gadgets: “Gardening and lawn care is so much more fun when you have all the latest gadgets and tools. You know you are truly prepared when you step outside in your lawn aerator shoes and wearable garden stool, rolling your pecan picker upper, with your trusty power drill auger at your hip! If you are the type of person who loves gadgets and gizmos as much as you love gardening, then you are in the right place. Make sure you are not missing out on any new gardening equipment that you did not know you could not live without!” Read more..

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Garden statues come in all shapes and sizes, but this one I found is rather more ambitious than most.  “At 22 feet long and 11 feet tall, this Jurassic-sized replica is the largest sculpture we have ever offered! Realistically sculpted with rows of menacing teeth, a fearsome tail and scaly skin, our prehistoric artifact is cast in quality designer resin and hand-painted with powerfully convincing color and texture. This display-quality sculpture transforms any home, garden, restaurant or hotel into something truly magnificent!” The quote is from a highly critical article on this monster that is supposed to be a Tyrannosaurus rex.  Here’s some more: “I mean, come on, who in their right mind would want such a terrible mockery of a dinosaur sitting out in their yard? The only, and I mean only, possible use for something like this is to place outside your neighbor’s bedroom window at 2am and then tap on the glass. Does that justify the $7500 you’d have to spend? Uh, not even close”.  Read more.. (Please note that the dinosaur shown in the picture is not the one described in the article.)

The title of this next item is “Grass Lamp Reminds You the Grass Is Always Greener In the Country” which almost sounds like a haiku and is just about as useful.  As the author explains “While you can’t grow a crop of tomatoes in Marko Vuckovi‘s Grass Lamp, the grass will flourish under the lamp’s light and remind you the grass is always green—in a country house”. Read more..

Finally a useful tip. Maybe this is common knowledge, but I have not seen it before.  Simple instructions showing you how to dry herbs in the microwave. Could be useful at this time of the year.  Read more..

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“Take time to watch ‘naked ladies’” is the title of this article in the Sun Herald. Lycoris radiata is the official name of these flowers whose common names include surprise lilies or spider lilies, even hurricane lilies as well as naked ladies. In fact naked is an apt description for the plant which has no leaves but just  “gloriously red frilly flowers” on a bare stalk. Jack in the pulpit and Black-eyed Susans are two other common names discussed in this piece. Read more..

And now for the gadget spot. I was intrigued by the name of the “Koolatron Dog and Cat Repeller” hoping that someone had finally come up with an effective way of keeping these animals away from our gardens, but was disappointed to find that it is just a battery powered ultrasonic device of which there are already plenty on the market.

As gardeners we enjoy planting seeds and tending the plants as they grow, but all that you need is a container, compost and seeds. The people who make gadgets just seem to make life so complicated, or is it just the “fishing lure” trick to hook the angler rather than the fish. The “Self Sustaining Indoor Garden Gadget is perfect if you don’t have a garden, but you want to grow your own herbs, flowers or vegetables indoors”. I suppose it’s just a minature hydroponic setup, but I am not sure how many vegetables you can grow in a small pot.

On the same page you can find a link to the ultimate geeky gadget – the USB greenhouse. It reminds me of an easter egg in which you can plant three marigolds. You can watch them growing on your desk  and you can monitor progress on your screen – Wow!   Read more..

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But a conservation garden is not just about grass. “The new 7,000-square-foot Conservation Garden features environmentally friendly gardening with an emphasis on native plants and mulching and composting techniques to reduce the use of commercial fertilizers and pesticides that are potentially harmful to people and nature”. The article contains some helpful hints as to how you can adopt these priciples in your own backyard. Read more..

A few months ago I wrote about various garden gadgets that were new on the market. Now I’ve found a couple of articles by people who have bought some of these products and tell of their experiences. First is Larry McDermott writing in The Republican who is not too happy with his $12 watering wand. Read more..

“One of my favorite parts of writing this column is that it provides the perfect excuse for buying and trying gardening toys. Usually, I have three or four new tools or gadgets to play with, but the second one I purchased this year was such a whopper of an expense that I quit after two” says Linden Staciokas writing in the Daily News-Miner. The “whopper of an expense” he refers to is an indoor composter costing $400. When I read about this product earlier in the year I thought it sounded too good to be true and so it turns out. Read more..

And finally the September of my Garden Ramblings newsletter is now online with articles on spring bulbs and organic lawncare among others.

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Slugs and snails are one of the more annoying garden pests because of the damage they cause to flowers and vegetables. I listen to a weekly radio program where a panel of gardening experts answer questions sent in by listeners. Last week the panel were surprised to be asked how to encourage snails into the garden. It turned out that the questioner enjoyed eating escargots and wanted to be able to “grow his own”. In case you are interested here is the recipe for a snail farm. Take an old laundry basket and place inside some plant pots for cover and soil for the eggs. Provide water and feed your stock lettuce and paper. Bon apetit!

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk

I’ve found a couple more garden gadgets, both solar powered so with green credentials. Depending on your point of view the first one is either exceptionally cool or the height of tackiness. “The Amazing Solar Powered Whirling Sunflower” – when the sun shines it spins! Wow!
The second gadget is more practical. If these “Garden Solar Insect Zappers” work as claimed, then they sound like a worthwhile investment.

And finally the August issue of my monthly newsletter Garden Ramblings is now online.

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With the title “Can We Ever Have Enough Gardening Tools?” you might expect to be presented with a long list of the writer’s favorite implements, but Suzanne Thompson restricts herself to two both made of plastic.  Read more..

Here’s another headline I couldn’t resist: “The best herb scissors in the world”. In fact these are for use in the kitchen rather than the garden, to chop your herbs after you’ve picked them. “At just under $11, they’re a time-saver that won’t drain your wallet!”   Read more..

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If you are not too keen on seeing vegetables in front of your house, then why not grow them on the roof?  For restaurant owners Mike and Helen Cameron the desire to use produce grown locally in their business was a major concern. A rooftop garden above their restaurant means that their food miles can be measured in feet.  Read more..

Like fishing lures which are more often designed to catch the fisherman rather than his quarry, some garden gadgets turn out not to be such a good idea as they first seemed. I’ve found these two selections containing products of varying usefulness. The first list includes the Easy Bloom plant sensor. Plug it into the ground for 24 hours, then plug it into your computer and you will be given plant recommendations. The portable composter sounds interesting, if a little pricey, but Prepara Power Plant Mini seems to be an unecessarily complicated way of growing a few seedlings.  Read more..

The second group comes from Shiny Shiny which just about sums up this collection. From fairy lights to a laser fountain by way of Darth Vader speakers and ending with a hot tub, what more could you want in your backyard?  Read more..

And finally the July issue of my monthly newsletter Garden Ramblings is now online.

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On a rather more high tech level are these “10 brilliant gadgets for your garden”. There’s an  Alligator cordless powered lopper with Ni-Cad battery powered jaws that turn branches into wood chippings, with up to 150 3.5cm cuts per hour. The Toro 3-in-1 Recycler Mower gives you the choice of either spinning the cuttings in to a regular grass bag, or chewing them up and spitting them out as a mulch. And for relaxing there’s a gas barbecue and outdoor sound system. And perhaps the ultimate gadget, a completely autonomous robot mower with its own built in solar panel, enabling it to recharge itself when not in use. Read more..

Back to reality and Carol Oneal writing in the Mail Tribune has some suggestions on ways to save money in the garden. Recycle and save some “green” is her motto and she starts with a plastic gallon milk jug which can be used in four different ways. Using old pantyhose to make  ties is one that we’ve all heard before, but I’m not sure if cutting up a discarded venetian blind for plant labels is really worth the effort. Read more..

Mowing the lawn is not everyone’s favorite task, so how would you like to give up your grass and be paid for it into the bargain? If you live in LA this is now on offer. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has begun a cash-for-grass program. Single-family homes served by the DWP will be eligible to receive $1 for every square foot of turf that they replace with less thirsty alternatives. Las Vegas has had a similar scheme for years and, as a result, has saved almost a tenth of its annual water supply. Read more..

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Another gadget that caught my eye is this Garden Shower. Just what you need to cool off after a hot day in the sun. The shower consists of a 30 inch diameter disc that is completely portable. Just hook it up to your garden hose and step on the pad to activate the jets. Read more..

One gadget that would be really useful and would be the answer to every gardener’s prayers would be one that kept cats out of your garden. Numerous methods have been suggested but I have yet to find one that is truly effective. Listening to the radio the other day I heard of a novel suggestion that was said to be absolutely foolproof. Make a noise like an elephant and cats disappear in a flash.

Talking of four footed intruders a few months ago I found this cheeky fellow sunbathing in the flowerbed. He let me get quite close before he slowly strolled away.

Perhaps it wasn’t a “he” after all because look who came to show off her family.

I had to take the picture through the window so as not to disturb them and that is why the photo is rather fuzzy.

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