Growing a Gigantic Gourd Depends On the Preparation
By Wes Porter Saturday, March 17, 2012
According to a study by Queen’s University in Ontario, it is true: in spring, a young man’s (and woman’s) fancy turns to thoughts of love: teenagers, the researchers found, are more likely than adults to conceive during the month of March. The thoughts of gardeners, ever ready to march to a different drumbeat, turn to growing one of those enormous pumpkins that grace the pages of the tabloids early every fall.
Landscaping Loses Ground In CanadaBy Wes Porter Saturday, March 10, 2012
“At least he cuts it up into stove lengths,” Grandfather Thurnow, quoted by Paul Hiebert (1947). And, lo and behold, that is what is happening to horticulture in Canada.
Celebrating St. Patrick’s with greenBy Wes Porter Friday, March 2, 2012
May the blessings of St. Patrick be upon you, as they say across the sea in the Emerald Isle, for the 17th March ‘tis the day upon which we celebrate everything Hibernian. This brings to mind the Irish-Canadian botanist who crossed a shamrock with poison ivy – and got a rash of good luck.
Questions We’re Often Asked: Hormone Rooting PowderBy Wes Porter Saturday, February 25, 2012
Artificial rooting powders have been in widespread use for over half a century. The plant hormones auxin and cytokinin, usually naphthalene acetic acid (a-NAA), are often part of commercial rooting preparations.
Is Ornithomancy Strictly for the Birds?
By Wes Porter Wednesday, February 15, 2012
In Ancient Greece, it was the practice to ornithological observation in the hopes of predicting future outcomes. The Romans, great admirers of all things Greek, adopted this form divination with gusto.
According to British media, ever eager to enter into such suggestive behaviour, lasses looking for love on Valentine’s Day should turn to bird ornithomancy to discover whom they will marry. The practice dictates that the first bird an unmarried woman sees on Valentine’s Day is an omen of her future husband’s character.
By Wes Porter Monday, February 13, 2012
“Despite these glorious shenanigans of blooms and birds and bees, plant sex is really plant-to-plant,” recently wrote Susan Milius in Science News. This research field, she explained is not just the familiar and huge endeavour to understand how flowers lure, manipulate and even betray the animals carrying pollen from he parts to she parts.
Dion O’Banion – Chicago’s Famed Florist RevisitedBy Wes Porter Thursday, February 9, 2012
Last November, we wrote of the life and death of Dion O’Banion, Chicago’s famed florist – and mobster. A correspondent and descendant residing in the southeastern U.S. has written to question whether O’Banion was indeed both a Roman Catholic and son of a recent Irish immigrant.
Winter half over: Green thumbs are twitchingBy Wes Porter Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Halfway through winter and down in the valley the willows are indicating spring is on the way. Twigs of our native black willow, Salix nigra, have turned orange, while those of introduced weeping willows, S. babylonica, from eastern Asia are a bright yellow. Just a minute there – didn’t you just say weeping willows are from eastern Asia? So why does the botanical name suggest they originated in the fabled Babylon?
Questions We’re Often Asked: Something’s Bugging My Plants!
By Wes Porter Wednesday, January 25, 2012
First you notice something is amiss with your indoor plants. The foliage is becoming mottled. Eventually it dies and falls to the floor. As you pick up the leaves, you notice a strange substance like soot there. The remaining leaves are sticky with glossy patches and again, perhaps spotted with black powder.
It’s the End of the World, Baby!By Wes Porter Thursday, January 12, 2012
Yes, indeed: it’s the title of the 2012 Campari calendar featuring Hollywood actress and model Milla Jovovich in various fetching poses. This will make it the thirteenth edition of said calendar. But then if you suffer from triskaidekaphobia you will not want to have been counting to that dread number.
That Was the Year That WasBy Wes Porter Monday, January 2, 2012
Unfortunately the editors of Bartlett’s and similar standard reference books seem singularly uninterested in quotations pertaining to horticultural affairs. In an effort to correct such erroneous exclusions, we have collected a few made over the past year by those either engaged or otherwise in gardening and associated pursuits.
Gardener’s healthBy Wes Porter Monday, January 2, 2012
“The money for these delights I earned in the winter by shoveling snow in our driveway and various sidewalks in the neighbourhood.” Katherine Hepburn: Me: Stories of My Life (1992)
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