Archive for April, 2007
April 23rd, 2007 | 
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Cherry Blossoms
Cherry blossoms are finally beginning to float to the ground in my yard. If you’ve been brushing them off your walks in frustration and wondering why you planted an ornamental cherry, you may want to take a closer look at these delicate flowers. In Japan, they are treasured as symbols of how fragile and beautiful life truly is.
I love cherries, from their lovely, fleeting blossoms to the way light catches on the richly textured bark in winter.
April Edition of Garden Fest – A Time of Renewal
Welcome to the April 16, 2007 edition of Garden Fest. How cute is this baby sparrow? Although you can't quite tell it from most gardens after that Noreaster blew through, it is spring, a time of renewal and this little guy, who is half the size of his proud mama, proves it! Well, whether the snow is piling up or not, gardeners are ready to garden and we have quite a large carnival today:
Davide Petilli presents First time bonsai: a 5 points survival guide posted at Bonsai&Japan.com.
If you've been thinking about growing one of these treasures, this advice should help.
Terrell presents Learning in the Great Outdoors: First Edition posted at Alone on a Limb, saying, "The Carnival of Environmental Education: Learning in the Great Outdoors is now open. Do any of you gardeners have a submission for us? We'd love to see 'em. Come take a look."
Well, I think we all love the outdoors and it is great to see another garden related carnival out there.
Garden Hints
Ted Roberson presents The Perfect Landscape for Your Dog posted at Landscaping Design, saying, "Take a look at these great tips on how to make your yard pet friendly…."
I know I can always use more information on gardening in a pet friendly way, especially with the things my guys get into!
Paul Michael presents Secret lawn tonic recipe from golf course groundskeeper posted at Wisebread, saying, "Amazing recipe revealed by golf course groundskeeper. Simple and easy"
I know some people love their lawns, although I am more of a "What a pretty wildflower!" kind of gal, so if you like green and lush, this post may help you get there! contrary1 presents The Frugal Gardening 10 Commandments posted at Personal Finance Advice, saying, "Some gardening hints that I live by that I have learned over the years"
Gardening can be expensive, so these money saving hints are wonderful.
Eric presents It’s Never Too Early (or Late) To Start Your Garden posted at saving simply.
Allen Galbraith presents Even Without a Garden You Can Grow Your Own Potatoes! posted at Life is a Journal - Self Help For Lazy People! Now with added Life Hacks, saying, "Hi,In this day of people trying to be more organic or more "green" - this is a great way of making a small step towards being more organic. Here is how I am growing potatoes without a garden!"
Sounds fascinating. I love new potatoes.
Garden Memories
Lexi Sundell presents Poppies of the Dawn posted at Energies of Creation, saying, "A poem and a painting extoll the delights of poppies blooming at dawn."
Misc.
Andrea Dickson presents Snail Free Gardening posted at Wisebread, saying, "I love snails. I can't help but not want to kill them. These are some of my tips on how to garden with fewer snails without cruelty."
I have snails everywhere in a few of my garden beds, but I can't kill these amazing little creatures either, so I'm excited about trying a few of these tips!
Jon Rochetti presents The Nation’s Garden posted at The DC Traveler – Washington DC travel & tourism information, saying, "Here's something on the Nation Garden..."
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of garden fest using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Technorati tags: garden fest, blog carnival.
Ask the Gardener: Manual Cross Pollination
Question:
This year the region I live in lost 100s of millions of bees
and they are still researching why. My question is this:
I have 20 blackberry plants and no bees. I know I am
supposed to manually cross pollinate but have had no luck
finding articles on the web that explain methods for doing this.
Can you make suggestions as to how or web links? Same
question for my peaches, lemons & tangerines. Thank you. M.K.
Hi M.K.,
I hope they find a way to stop bee deaths. That is so devastating.
The blackberries, peaches and citrus fruit should actually self
pollinate somewhat when the wind blows the pollen around.
However, to be sure you have a decent crop, you can do it
yourself. To manually pollinate a plant, you should:
* Find a small artist's paint brush.
* Gently collect pollen from a blossom by rubbing the brush on
the stamen's anther.
* Tap the pollen into the flower so it lands on the stigma or brush it directly
against the stigma. You can use pollen from one blossom on several other
blossoms.
Good luck and don’t forget to garden joyfully!
Katelyn
Spring Unfurls
I just love daffodils…They are so cheery and happy. Which spring bulb brings a happy smile to your face?
Of course, there is plenty of other stuff going on in a spring garden. Forsythia blooming, robins and doves chowing down and worms wriggling everywhere.
Japanese Anise Bush Blossoms