Neighbours talking over the garden gate has long been a tradition. They share gardening tips, complain about the weather and pests yet are ever eager to discuss their gardens. That is what I had in mind when creating this blog. So stop by my garden gate to find out the latest happenings in my garden.

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
"All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child." ~ Madame Marie Curie"

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Unidentified Flower in Las Vegas

unidentified flower in Las Vegas
Unidentified Flower in Las Vegas
May 9, 2011

One thing we have not done in Las Vegas is wander through a nursery.  This beautiful flower that I think is a member of the orchid family was a common planting at several Las Vegas casinos.  It was quite pretty so next time we visit Las Vegas I am going to make a point to go through a couple of plant nurseries.  Surprisingly when trying to identify plants many overlook visiting plant nurseries and yet these are one of the most valuable resources there are.  I visit plant nurseries at home and in central Florida where our vacation home is quite often.  I just didn't think about it in Las Vegas because there was a lot of other attractions and activities.  If you know the name of this flower could you please leave a comment.  I'd like to find out what it is to see if I could plant them at our vacation home.

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011


Friday, May 27, 2011

A Few Thoughts on the Weather

We left for our spring vacation on May 8 returning home late May 25.  Actually we made a pit stop at home for about 18 hours between flights.  I have pictures to share and got a lot of novel growing ideas during the trips so will share those as well but to start off I have a few thoughts on the weather.  It was a long, drawn-out winter with ample snow fall.  There wasn't a spell of bitter cold that we usually get, the kind that makes the snow crunch under foot.  Winter continued to drag on with snow in April as well.  The boats in the marina where our boat is were scheduled to be put in the water in mid-April but they had to postpone that because the water was still iced over.  By the time we were ready to leave on our vacation, the local farmers were about two weeks behind schedule for planting.  Now two weeks doesn't sound like a lot but it is when dealing with an already short growing season! 

The first leg of our vacation was spent in Las Vegas.  We arrived to cooler temperatures than expected.  The first afternoon it was chilly and raining but as we waited for the valet it started hailing!  We have visited Las Vegas many times and this is only the second time we have seen rain there.  A couple of days into the trip saw the temperature warm up closer to normal although the skies still looked ominous.  We saw sun the last couple of days of the trip.  We arrived home late Saturday (May 14) to obviously soggy conditions.  While we were away it rained quite a bit so there was standing water in the fields and rising water levels in ditches.  It was too wet to cut the grass.  We left the following morning for our vacation home in central Florida where we were met with warmer temperatures.  There had been a fair amount of rain there as well but it had warmed up earlier so we missed the love bugs.  It was hot, humid with popup thunderstorms.  We managed to do a bit of gardening in the front but it really was too hot to do much.  While we were in Florida we followed the tornado devastation in Joplin, Missouri. We left Florida on the 25th knowing our flight was making a brief stop in Atlantic City as we couldn't get a direct return flight.  That day severe storms made their way across the mid-west up through Canada.  When we arrived in Atlantic City we ended up deplaning then delayed for three and a half hours due to the weather.  It was 93ºF when we left Tampa and 57ºF when we landed in Detroit.  Even though it was dark driving home the flooded fields were apparent.  We had to put the heat on in the house to take the chill off.

The combination of cooler temperatures and excessive rain has already affected local farmers.  The fields are too wet to plant.  It is so wet that the local golf courses have had to cancel regular golfing as well as a couple of tournaments.  Home gardeners are feeling the effects of the weather here as well.  On a global scale though, it is hard to fathom how vicious the weather has been.  Whether this is due to global warming or part of a cyclic weather pattern remains to be determined.  It is apparent that the global weather is negatively affecting our food supply. 

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011


Saturday, May 21, 2011

Vacation Observations

While many in our area are seeing visions of their gardens dance in the seed magazines we spent a good portion of May in Las Vegas for the first leg of our spring vacation.  Our house is still for sale so I really don't want to get too attached to starting up the garden beds although I will be focusing on movable containers this year.  At any rate May for us is always spring vacation month that sets my garden beds back a bit but not so much so that I can't have a very successful gardening season.  When we first started going to Las Vegas I noticed two startling contrasts.

There were the xeroscaping landscapes that while taking advantage of rock and low maintenance plants looked rather barren.  Then there were the lush, green landscapes certainly not adaptable to desert conditions.  This year I noticed a change especially with the new, high end casinos.  In place of the xeroscaping was astroturf giving the appearance of the expected green carpet of grass without the environmental impact.  In fact from what I read the astroturf is made from recycled plastic making it an environmentally friendly choice.  It is pleasing to the eye, has a much lower carbon footprint over its lifespan and eliminates a lot of maintenance.

I'm still not 100% sold on astroturf although I do know it has been used successfully for years in sports stadiums and recently for the purpose I described.  I won't cut any corners in saying I really don't like grass as in the pristine green natural carpets.  Lawns are high maintenance and in most cases chemically addicted.  However, I can see where astroturf would be a solution to smaller areas where you want the appearance of grass without the upkeep.  It could be one gardening solution for those types of areas.

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011


Sunday, May 01, 2011

Spring Cleaning

Yesterday was a beautiful spring day so I decided to get a bit of work done outdoors.  It took several attempts to start the lawn mower after its winter hiatus but finally it started.  After cutting the lawns I hauled out the pressure washer to clean some of the winter grim from the windows and doors.  The maple trees are dropping seeds so I pulled a few of the tiny maple seedlings from a couple of the garden beds.  As I worked my mind wandered thinking how I will miss this place a lot if or when we move. 

It has been a very wet spring to the point local farmers have had to delay planting.  I noticed how wet the ground was as I was mowing.  A few times the mower left ruts as I was turning it!  In fact the spring has been so wet only the ducks are happy.  Speaking of ducks, the mallards are back with a nest under our bushes.  I'm not sure how many eggs are in the nest as I try not to disturb them.  As a sign of appreciation the parents always bring the little ones back to visit us. 

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011