Permaculture – beginning a discussion

Among other things, part of my job involves reviewing educational materials for use in WSU’s Extension programs related to urban horticulture.  One of the books is “Gaia’s Garden: a guide to home-scale permaculture” (T. Hemenway).  It occurred to me that my review might also be of interest to our GP readers.

I’ve created a fairly extensive review and I will break it into separate posts over the next few weeks.  So let’s start the discussion off with a topic we already know is inflammatory:  invasive species. … Continue reading this article “Permaculture – beginning a discussion”

Call for “visiting professors”

I’ll be posting my usual blog later today…but in the meantime we’ve got an invitation for you.

Are you, or someone else you know, a "Garden Professor?"  In other words, do you use current, relevant plant and soil sciences to inform yourself and others?  If so, we invite you to submit a guest posting to our blog.   

We’ll post your article without editing, though we may make comments. 

If you’d like, send a photograph of yourself and any other illustrations you want posted along with your blog. … Continue reading this article “Call for “visiting professors””

End of the Semester Evaluations

It’s that time of the semester to hand out the lovely SPOT evaluation forms (Student Perceptions Of Teaching) here at Virginia Tech. Students fill in the circles (number 2 pencil of course) as to how you rate as teacher, your knowledge of the field, the value of the textbook, etc. A box is available, though seldom used, for students to hand-write comments – to many of us, the most valuable part of the evaluation process.  So as I was distributing the scan forms, I was thinking about feedback. … Continue reading this article “End of the Semester Evaluations”

Killing with Kindness

With the advent of Spring comes a myriad of calls on distressed plants from homeowners, nurseries and landscapers.  One of our better tree service companies (I’ll call the owner/operator ‘Mark’ to protect his clients’ identities) in southeastern Michigan called with a series of problems this spring so I decided to take drive over and get a first hand look. We looked at several problems on plants ranging from trees to ground covers but there soon emerged an consistent thread: overwatering. … Continue reading this article “Killing with Kindness”

Friday puzzle untangled

A few of you bravely hazarded guesses about this plant, and while it is a contorted specimen, it’s actually Ulmus glabra ‘Camperdownii’, otherwise known as Camperdown elm.  Here’s a photo of a lovely example at Marymoor Park near Seattle:

As plant geeks already know, this odd tree was propagated from a mutant branch discovered on the Earl of Camperdown’s estate in Scotland in the 1800s.  All Camperdown elms are grown from cuttings originating from this single tree grafted onto a Ulmus spp.… Continue reading this article “Friday puzzle untangled”

Friday puzzlement

On a recent spring day, I photographed this Medusa-like structure:

But rather than snakes, these are branches – and they are typical of a particular type of tree commonly used in landscapes.  What is it?

Answer and fun facts on Monday!

A Dangerous Game

Every once in awhile I become infatuated with some idea and can’t stop for looking for information on it.  It usually starts when I want to find a good quote for a particular article or column that I’m writing and then ends up swallowing two or three days.  Well, it happened to me again yesterday and spilled over into today.  I’m currently finishing up a project with an old friend of mine from college who happens to be a political science professor at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. … Continue reading this article “A Dangerous Game”

Lunar control? Or lunacy?

Yesterday one of my dear skeptical colleagues sent me a link to a new article on lunar influences on plants (you can find it here).  Briefly, the authors argue that scientific evidence supports the concept of a lunar cycle influence on plants.  Interspersed within the discussion are references to seasonal and daily plant cycles, along with legitimate references to these verifiable phenomena.  (Had these references to circadian and diurnal rhythms been left out, the literature citations would have been rather paltry.) … Continue reading this article “Lunar control? Or lunacy?”

Do These Come In Control Top?

For those color-conscious gardeners who can’t bear to have visible tomato ties (or panty lines):

Only $2.99 for eight pieces?  Whatta deal!

Do you know how many tomato ties you can get from a pair of hose? Especially if you are a “long”? About fifty. Of course they’ll be nude or black, unless you bought into that purple trend last season.

Yeesh.

ps:   I do like Lusterleaf’s (company responsible for the above) can o’ twine with the handy cutter-top, though.… Continue reading this article “Do These Come In Control Top?”

Selling dawn redwood

As with last week, this past week and weekend were largely occupied by my role as a faculty advisor for the MSU Horticulture club.  This weekend was our annual Spring Show and Plant Sale.  Each year our undergraduates commandeer the Horticulture department’s conservatory, bring in a boatload of plants, pavers, turf and mulch and design and install a landscape.  It’s actually quite a process to watch.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NTPzB6YVSk
In addition to the Spring Show the Hort Club puts on a plant sale, which is the group’s principle fund-raiser for the year. … Continue reading this article “Selling dawn redwood”