March 30, 2007
Filed under: Flowers — admin @ 11:40
For me certain types of flowers bring back a flood of memories. I remember in my early teens visiting my best friend who had moved to the country. We would spend hours in the field next to her property, talking and picking the petals of daisies in a game played by many, he-loves-me, he-loves-me-not.
This memory can rushing back two days ago when I was waiting in line at the supermarket and happened to glance at the bouquets for sale. Amongst the mixed bouquets, there were daisies. This flower has special meaning in my heart. I associate it with my best friend who I lost to a car accident when we were both 17.
flowers definitely bring an emotional response and we remember our happy and sad times through them.
The first time I inhaled the sweet fragrance of a carnation I was enthralled. It happened when my father, took us to Greece to visit his parents. As a 7 year old, this strange land captivated me. I vividly remember my first response when we made our way up the hill where my grandparents’ house was, to find myself staring up at the handing grapes from the porch roof and the carnations which were planted along the edge of the porch.
Blood red, I can still recall their sweet aroma. They were the pride and joy of my grandmother who nurtured them and allowed me to help care for them. I had been instantly impressed by this glorious flower, not having seen it before.
If you are a woman, most of your flower memories may be romantic ones. Can you recall the first time you received flowers? Or the time when you were impressed the most with your date’s thoughtfulness?
The first time I received flowers was at the early stages of the internet. I loved meeting and chatting with people from around the world and one such person was Rowan from London. We hit it off right away and till this day have remained good friends.
I was at work when a courier came in with a gigantic bouquet of flowers. When the receptionist came into my office to usher me to the reception not for a minute did I think they were for me. But they were. The gesture was so unexpected, so thoughtful, it will remain in my heart forever.
What are your flower memories?
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About The AuthorÂ
Copyright © Gina Stathopoulos
Looking for a gift? Let Gina and Nick show you what we buy for friends/family and each other. At our site you will find popular gifts, gift information and stories from our readers. Come have a look http://www.we-recommend.comÂ
Filed under: Gardening — admin @ 11:22
The design of your garden has an amazing affect on your family’s health and well-being. Here is how you can create harmony in your garden—which is considered a living entity—and bring peace and happiness within your home.
Vastu Shastra is an environmental science written about some 7,000 – 10,000 years ago in India by rishis, or men of great wisdom. They observed the workings of Nature and recorded how different rays of the sun, the magnetic poles, the makeup of the land, soil, slope, structures, etc. affected all living things.
It is the oldest recorded architectural treatise known to man and it is from this science that some of the world’s most enduring structures have been created.
According to the science of Vastu Shastra, all five elements (earth, water, fire, air and space) need to be in harmony. When a seed is planted, it requires that all five elements be balanced for a seed to germinate, sprout and become a strong, healthy plant. The disproportion of any one element— whether it is the quality of the earth (soil ph), the amount and quality of water, wind (air), sun (fire), or the amount of space it is planted in—will inhibit its growth.
In this way a wise gardener sets up a balanced environment for his plants to grow free from disease and stress.
Briefly, each area of your garden is associated with one of the five elements. The earth element is associated with the southwest area of your garden and creates a sustaining and grounding force. In the northeast, the water element is at home. This element allows plants to flourish. The fire element in the southeast supports disease-free plants. The northwest is related to the air element encouraging cross-pollination.
The space element is associated with the central area of your garden, enhancing the flow of beneficial influences that nourishes the other elements. Positive magnetic energies coming from the north and the positive solar energies coming from the east promote harmony and balance.
Here are five great steps you can use to bring the five elements into balance within your garden and make it a sanctuary that is not only beautiful to look and wonderful to spend time in, but will actually have an empowering affect on the health and well-being of you and your family.
1. Build up the southwest area of your garden to produce the stabilizing force of the earth element. You can do this with a rock garden, tall trees and even a stone statue. This will help to collect and hold the positive solar and magnetic energies coming from the east and north. Since yellow is the color associated with the southwest, choose daffodils, roses or wisteria to accentuate this area. This is also a good place for a storage or tool shed.
2. Represent the water element by using low plantings in the northeast that will allow the flow of positive solar energy. Add a fountain or reflection pool or pond in this area to reflect this beneficial energy throughout the garden. Herbs, white pansies or geraniums can be used as accents.
3. Add a barbeque or a fire pit in the southeast as your fire element. Red symbolizes this direction so plant tulips, geraniums and dahlias here.
4. Use wind chimes to balance the air element in the northwest. Since blue is the color of this area, plant bluebells, forget-me-nots and iris to enhance the influences coming from this direction.
5. Represent the space element by an open area in the middle of you garden. It can either be a patio or grass. Finally, by keeping your garden neat and tidy you will be maintaining balance and attracting the positive influence of each of the directions.
A well-designed and tended garden, using the principles of Vastu Shastra, will benefit you and all the members of your family for years to come. By reconnecting with the natural balance inherent in the environment, you will encourage better personal health, improve the quality of relationships and enhance well-being.
About The AuthorÂ
Michael and Robin Mastro’s synergistic approach successfully assists people in living in peace and harmony with themselves and others, and in creating balanced lives filled with unlimited possibilities.
Visit us at http://www.vastucreations.com                       Â
March 29, 2007
Filed under: Gardening — admin @ 15:12
Every fall, millions of lady bugs (or what seems like millions) swarm around my house here in west central Wisconsin, looking for a place to spend the winter.
Actually, they are not “true” lady bugs. They are “Multi-Colored Asian Lady Beetles.” The beetles are beneficial to the environment because they control aphids. And from what I’ve read, the multicolored lady beetles are much better at controlling aphids than the ‘real’ lady bugs.
How can you tell the difference between native lady bugs and the multicolored beetles? Lady bugs are bright red. The multicolored lady beetles come in shades of orange, from light to dark. They also have many variations of patterns of spots. Some have almost no spots at all, and some have many spots. When you look closely at the multicolored lady beetles, it doesn’t seem much of a stretch to say that no two are alike.
Unfortunately, on warm, sunny fall days, the swarms of lady beetles are so thick around my house that in the afternoon, I hesitate to even go outside to get the mail. The beetles land in my hair, crawl behind my glasses and work their way down the collar of my shirt.
Thousands of the bugs also find ways into my walk-out basement. I have swept them up by the snow-shovel-full (literally). My basement faces south, and the insects are attracted to light-colored structures with southern, sunny exposures that are on a hillside.
The beetles come in around the screen door upstairs, too, and the next thing you know,
I’ve got hundreds of them crawling on the walls and across the ceiling.
In the spring, when it warms up, the beetles emerge from their winter hiding places. Beginning in March, dozens of beetles crawl around my home office, the kitchen, the dining room, the basement and in other parts of the house, looking for a way to get outside.
Multi-Colored Asian Lady Beetles are not harmful when they are inside the house, although they can be annoying if present in significant numbers. It’s a little disconcerting to pick up your coffee cup and almost swallow a beetle that has landed in your coffee or is crawling around the rim of the cup. And two or three lady beetles landing in your bowl of soup can definitely make you lose you appetite. If you have company coming, you also don’t want guests to find lady beetles in their food or beverages.
Although the beetles are not necessarily harmful if they’re inside the house, when they swarm in the fall, they can create problems if they crawl into furnace vent pipes and plug them up. I have heard of them plugging attic vents, as well. And one woman reported to my husband (he is an Internet technician), that a lady bug crawled inside of her computer and shorted it out.
When the beetles are present in large numbers, you can also smell them. The odor is a little like burned rubber or hot asphalt. When the beetles are threatened, the odor is particularly strong. They apparently view being swept off the walls (or vacuumed off) as a threatening situation.
Sometimes when threatened, the beetles ooze an orange liquid, as well. I have read that the liquid can stain walls and fabrics, although I have not yet seen any evidence of that around my own house.
Here are five ways that I’ve found to deal with lady bug infestations:
• Vacuum up the beetles with the vacuum cleaner attachment.
This may be somewhat time-consuming but it is a non-toxic and safe method to remove the bugs. As far as I’m concerned, time-consuming doesn’t seem so important when thousands of lady beetles are invading my house.
When vacuuming up large numbers of Multi-Colored Asian Lady Beetles, be sure that you don’t leave the attachment hose draped across the vacuum cleaner in preparation for the next vacuuming session, otherwise the beetles will soon find their way out of the vacuum bag and will be crawling around the house again.
One woman from my hometown says she solves this problem by stuffing a paper towel into the end of the vacuum hose.
• Seal up cracks or spaces around doors and windows, if possible.
Sealing up cracks and spaces will make it more difficult for the beetles to get into the house in the first place. The beetles do not need much space to crawl through. Even a door that fits the frame quite well may still leave enough space to allow the beetles access to your house.
• Spray around door frames and window frames with a bug spray containing pyrethrins or permethrin.
I have discovered that the beetles will avoid crawling across bug spray with pyrethrins or permethrin, or if they do crawl across it, they die in a short while. I don’t particularly like to spray bug spray inside my house, but when it’s a matter of spraying or letting thousands of lady bugs into the house, spraying seems like the lesser of the two evils.
I don’t like killing the beetles, either, and would just as soon “live and let live,” but I draw the line at a house-full of beetles.
• Use the garden hose to spray the beetles off the side of the house.
In the fall, when the beetles are crawling on the outside of my house by the hundreds of thousands (sometimes it’s almost difficult to see what color the house is because there are so many beetles), I take the garden hose and use the sprayer attachment to spray them off the side of the house. To make an impact, this must be done two or three times a day on days when the swarms are active.
I have also used an attachment for the garden hose that allows me to spray a soap-and-water mixture on the house. I haven’t noticed that a soap solution is really any more effective at knocking the beetles off the house, although the exterior walls are cleaner when I’m finished!
• Learn to tolerate the Multi-Colored Asian Lady Beetles.
I keep telling myself that the Multi-Colored Asian Lady Beetles are swarming around my house because they are only trying to survive the winter — just like all living things try to survive.
In the insect world, the beetles are known as predators because they eat aphids and other plant pests. A few years from now, the beetles may be in a low cycle, and then, perhaps, I will wish there were more of them when the aphids begin attacking crops, gardens and flowering plants. (I still don’t want the beetles invading my house by the thousands, though.)
About The AuthorÂ
LeAnn R. Ralph is the author of the book, *Christmas in Dairyland (True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm)* (trade paperback; August 2003). For more information, visit http://ruralroute2.comÂ
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Filed under: Flowers — admin @ 12:46
Rose petals will add luxury to a wedding day or any other special occasion. Why settle for throwing ordinary rice when instead you can make the wedding so much more romantic by tossing rose petals! From your flower girl spreading a path of rose petals down the aisle to the happy couple being showered with rose petals upon completion of the services they add that little touch that will make this day special.
Rose petals come in so many different colors and sizes, there is sure to be the exact type of rose petal that you are looking for. However, be aware that regular rose petals may cause staining, so because of that, you may want to consider freeze-dried rose petals. Freeze-dried rose petals will look just like regular rose petals, but you won’t have to worry about any stains on the church floor or wedding dress.
Tips on finding the right Rose Petals.
If you are planning a wedding far in advance, be aware that it is possible to store freeze-dried rose petals for many months without worry of decay. Because of that, it may be wise to order the rose petals far enough ahead of the wedding that you won’t have to worry about them when the wedding day does come around.
Freeze-dried rose petals can be found in any store that sells flowers or flower supplies. If you are looking for a bargain, consider buying your rose petal wholesale. If you would like to buy rose petals now, but are unsure of when they will be needed, it may be wise to buy silk rose petals, as they will never decay.
Whether you use natural, freeze-dried, or silk rose petals, they will add that perfect touch to the wedding and make even more romantic.
About The AuthorÂ
Mike Yeager
Publisher
http://www.a1-flowers4u.com                     Â
March 28, 2007
Filed under: Gardening, Plants — admin @ 12:43
So the water garden bug has bitten. You’ve dug and leveled and sweated and said words you hope that no one else has heard. Now it’s time for the fun part – picking out your water garden plants!
Plant varieties within these four categories are what you need to eyeball: deep-water, marginals, oxygenators, and floaters. (If you think these words are big words, just be happy we’re not talking about medicine.)
After you’ve diligently planted your new plants in plastic tubs, pans, or clay pots, packing the fertilizer- and chemical-free soil down tightly, load the container down with pea gravel to keep the soil from floating away. (Don’t ask why this works, but it does.) Plunk your plant into the water at the appropriate depth (You’ll read about that in just a minute) and you’re on ready to go!
Plant-dunking should be generally be done during the growing season. For new ponds, wait four or five weeks for the water plants to do their thing before you add your fish. If you just can’t hold your horses, or your fish, for that long, you can jump the gun a couple of weeks, but the idea is to let the plants first get established.
When picking your plants, you’ll no doubt be wowed by water lilies of the tropical persuasion. These aquatic wonders are popular compared to their hardier cousins with knock-out fragrance, big blooms day or night – depending on the variety – and a habit of blooming their little hearts out nearly every day during the growing season. They love their warmth, though, so unless you live in a year-round, warm-weather climate, be prepared to hasten them into a greenhouse or at least muster up some funds to buy them some “grow†lights to tough it out through the winter.
They will definitely bite the dust at freezing temperatures, but give them night-time temps of at least 65F and daytime temps of 75F or warmer, and your love affair with tropicals will only grow that much more torrid.
Hardy water lilies, while not the showboaters that tropicals are, are . . . well, hardier. Their big advantage is that they can stay in the water year ‘round unless it freezes so deeply the rootstock is affected. And being the tough guys they are, you can plant these puppies deeper than the tropicals, some living it up in depths of 8 to 10 feet.
Both hardy and tropical water lilies are real sun worshippers. At least 5 to 10 hours a day is what it takes, along with regular fertilization, to keep these plant pals happy.
Everybody and their brother with a water garden wants a lotus plant. (Sisters, too, no doubt.) These water-lily relatives come in hardy and not-so-hardy strains, so make sure you know what you’re buying. Much bigger than water lilies, lotus have huge, famously splendid blooms that not only will knock your socks off, but make you forget you have feet altogether. Their leaves and seed pods are so breathtaking, they’re a favorite in costly cut-flower arrangements. Big, bold, and beautiful, with water-depth needs of 2-3 feet, these shouters are really better off in big ponds that get plenty of sun.
Marginals (sometimes called “bog†plants by those less high-falutin’) are grass-like plants that strut their stuff in shallow areas no deeper than 6†that border the water garden. They also do well in mud. Cattail, bamboo, rush, papyrus, and many other plants fall into the family of marginals and grow best with a minimum of at least three hours of sun.
Some plants are there but not seen, working stoically under water and without fanfare to fight algae, oxygenate the water, and provide food for fish. (In lieu of these plants, if your pond is small, you can fake it fairly adequately with an aquarium pump.) Easy on the wallet, varieties of these plants can be bought in bunches and like their soil sandy and/or gravelly. Like hardy water lilies, they, too, will warrior it through the winter.
Water hyacinths have become a recent rage, especially for the lazy among us. No soil is required for these beauties. Toss them in the water and they’re “planted.†A water hyacinth ain’t just another pretty face, though; these plants do their part in the war against algae and blanket weeds by keeping sunlight scarce on the water’s surface. But one note of caution: This plant may take over the world if allowed. It’s invasive as all get out, so keep it under control or you (and your neighbors) may wish you’d never laid eyes on it.
A water garden isn’t a garden without plants. Take your time, know your climate, and choose wisely. Your rewards will be great in return.
To read the full article, click here:
http://www.macarthurwatergardens.com/Newsletters/July2004/pond-plant-selection.shtmlÂ
About The AuthorÂ
Brett Fogle is the owner of MacArthur Water Gardens and several pond-related websites including macarthurwatergardens.com and pond-filters-online.com . He also publishes a free monthly newsletter called PondStuff! with a reader circulation of over 9,000 pond owners. To sign up for the free newsletter and receive a complimentary ‘New Pond Owners Guide’ for joining, just visit MacArthur Water Gardens at www.macarthurwatergardens.com .
brett@macarthurwatergardens.com  Â
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