The best organic food is what’s grown closest to you. Use this website http://www.localharvest.org/ to find farmers’ markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies.
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.localharvest.org%2F&h=4fdea
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Via Shawna Coronado http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com/2011/04/i-get-to-go-to-p-allen-smiths-garden.html
Author and tv personality P. Allen Smith is an award-winning garden and lifestyle designer and host of the public television program, P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home and the syndicated 30-minute show P. Allen Smith Gardens. Below you see a photo of his amazing property.
Twenty of the top garden bloggers in the nation are wined, dined, and toured around the retreat and gardens all across the Little Rock, Arkansas area.
Many of these writers are organic gardeners so good information. Here is a link to some of the best blogs in the garden world. Check them out!
Laura - http://punkrockgardens.com
Steve - http://grumpygardener.southernliving.com
Helen - http://www.gardeningwithconfidence.com
Fern - http://www.LifeontheBalcony.com
Mike - http://www.urbanorganicgardener.com
Robin - http://www.urbangardensweb.com
Brenda - http://www.bggarden.com
Teresa - http://www.seasonalwisdom.com
Jean Ann- http://www.gardenertofarmer.net
Dee - http://reddirtramblings.com
Shirley - http://edenmakersblog.com
Annie - http://www.manuretea.com
Andrew - http://www.gardensmackdown.com
Jacqueline - http://www.southernpost.net
Shawna - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com
Kerry - http://containergardening.about.com
Kylee - http://ourlittleacre.blogspot.com
Stephanie - http://evolvedmommy.com
Adriana - http://www.anarchyinthegarden.com
Janet - http://www.arhomeandgarden.org/janet_carson.htm
Beth - http://www.uaex.edu
Jenny - http://www.jpetersongardendesign.com
Thanks Shawna for the links!
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RT @RichLouv A great report on the public health benefits of trees (and to the kids who plant them) from Canopy http://bit.ly/iheSPL
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by Yolanda Vanveen, Moderator Garden Naturally Group
Dainty daffodils ready to bloom but snowstorm predicted-Create a greenhouse over the top of them and they should be safe!
While the Midwest and East Coast has had a wicked winter with snow covering the ground most of the season, the Pacific NW has enjoyed a mild winter with a little bit of snow at Thanksgiving but rain ever since. Until today. Snow storm predicted for the next few days with a few inches of accumulation.
It is the end of February and my snowdrops are in bloom and my daffodils are about to pop! It is going to get down to twenty degrees they say so these precautions may not help but worth the effort so you don’t lose your precious blooms!
Snowdrops in bloom in February in the Pacific Northwest. When a late snowstorm hits you can save them by covering them with recycled materials or even a sheet!~
The goal is to create a mini greenhouse with anything you have around the house. It could be as simple as placing some sticks in the garden beds and covering them with plastic so that all is kept dry and away from the snow. A sheet will even help tremendously.
Some people say to make sure they are wet but I have found the opposite. Cut flowers can handle cold temperatures if they are dry much better than wet. If covered in water, they turn in to ice cubes.
Creating cloches with recycled items is the best way to save them and it is easy to do:
1. Wash out a juice or milk container:
______________________________________________________________________________________________2. Cut the top off of the container:
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3. Cover flower buds with cloche (glass bowl, recycled juice or milk container):
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4. You can use plastic and glass bowls as well:
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5. Look through your recycle bin and garbage-plastic containers can be used to cover short blooms like snowflakes-
For added protection you can always cover the beds with a sheet or plastic tarp so that they are protected by two layers-the cloches and the cover. If it gets down to twenty degrees for a long period of time, it may not be enough to save them from freezing but it is worth the effort! Happy winter gardening!!
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Photo courtesy of http://www.supafreshyouthfarm.org/
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A dozen roses and a box of chocolates are the traditional Valentines Day gifts. What most consumers don’t realize is that ninety percent of flowers in the United States are imported. They are covered in chemicals banned from this country and are not tested because there are no regulations.
This Valentines Day give your honey a gift that keeps on growing and blooming for more than a few days. At the same time you are supporting domestic companies and that is sustainable. You can feel good about it because you are showing your love for our planet on Valentines Day by giving naturally.
Here are ten sustainable Valentines Day gifts that are sure to delight the special people in your life:
1. Colorful Cyclamen
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2. Bird Houses and Bird Feeders
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3. Cactus
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4. Lucky Bamboo
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5. Flower Seeds
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6. Honey Gift Basket (Photo courtesy of giftbasketsofvermont.com)
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7. Garden Tools
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8. Herb Seeds
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9. Miniature Roses
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10. Orchids
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11. Pansy Violets
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12. Summer blooming bulbs and plants
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13. Books with flower pictures and poetry
“You & No Other – Whispers of Love” from Amazon by E. Elizabeth Tenerelli
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14. Vegetable Seeds
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15. Solar Lighting
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16. Chocolate Truffles-Not harvested in the woods but the chocolate kind because chocolate is actually very good for your heart and your brain and let’s face it, Valentines would not be Valentines without the chocolate!
The packaging may not be sustainable but the items are better choices for Valentines Day. They are sure to bring a smile to your sweetheart’s face! Keep gardening naturally!
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Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden in Cape Town, South Africa. Forty percent of all flower bulbs in the world originated from South Africa.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Garden-Naturally-Group/245120832263
The history of the South African bulb trade is closely linked to the history of the world. World powers – Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, early European explorers – made money by trading flower bulbs.
Today in the United States you can buy South African bulbs at garden shows, farmers markets or grocery stores. You can order them from the convenience of your home on-line or by phone, which is much easier than taking a boat around the world.
Crocosmia lucifer which was hybridized in England in 1966 is much hardier than the native orange Crocosmia found in South Africa.
The early history of the South African bulb trade is vague. We don’t know whether the Egyptians, Greeks or Romans acquired South African bulbs first, nor do we know whether they did so by land or by sea – but they had them.
Sea-going voyages from Europe to the Far East included a stop at the Cape of Good Hope, not only to stock up on food, but to collect bulbs from the area. Early bulb traders became wealthy selling bulbs to royalty, wealthy merchants, schools and churches. The DNA of some bulbs in royal, botanical and church gardens can be traced to original stock in South Africa.
Agapanthus are not really a "Lily on the Nile" but are native to South Africa. The Egyptians traded plants long before Europeans were in the picture.
The Portuguese were the first explorers to travel to South Africa, followed by the Spanish. They found a country filled with unusual and exotic flower bulbs that were easy to transport home and grew easily in their climate. When the Dutch and English discovered South African bulbs, they assumed that they needed to be grown indoors in a conservatory or greenhouse in northern climates.
Kniphofia uvaria, also known at Tritoma, Red Hot Pokers and Torch Lilies are native to South Africa but do well all over the world.
The story goes that an English farmer had a small glass greenhouse with many exotic plants including Kniphofia (Red Hot Pokers) inside. He took all the containers outside to clean the greenhouse and accidently left one plant outside for the winter. It survived.
Now we know that South African bulbs can survive English, Dutch and Northwest winters if protected well. It took only 150 years to figure it out. The moral of the story: In gardening don’t believe anything anyone tells you or anything you read in a book. Plants break rules.
There are hundreds of South African bulbs that grow wonderfully in private and botanical gardens around the world. They can be divided or planted year-round, but I prefer to do it anytime they are not in bloom. They do not grow well in cold shade or in excessively damp soil year round, because they need to dry out in the summer months.
South African bulbs in containers should be placed where they will remain dry for the winter. They will rot before they freeze. They are winter hardy to freezing but can handle colder temperatures if protected, and need at least six hours of sun a day and good drainage to be happy in colder climates. They do best in part shade in really warm climates.
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