General Forum

Many of us, not only in North America, will know of Tony and Michelle Avent of Plant Delights Nursery in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The Avents have been a team for a long time and had a most successful partnership, in life and work. Sadly Michelle has passed away after a battle with cancer.
Tony has written the most touching memoriam to her here in the News for February on their website:
http://www.plantdelights.com/February/products/879/

I have received seeds of this from the swap.
I am curious about them coming moist packed as I have
not heard of peony seeds requiring moist packing?
I take it perhaps it is just a requirement of this one?
It only grows 30cm so may be good in rock gardens.

[Moderator's note: We have been a bit remiss at splitting this off into a new thread for 2012, but here it is, finally!
Lori]

A mix of things flowering or looking interesting in the garden at the moment. The garden is waking up with hellebores and many bulbs soon to come.

You find them wherever you find plants. Insects of course but also spiders, millipedes and centipedes; toadstools and other fungi, and all other beings that belong to nature.

Here are a few as a starter.

This one is called Dyer's polypore or Norway Chicken (don't know why; the Norwegian name is "gulrandkjuke" = yellow rim polypore), (Phaeolus schweinitzii). It causes rot on conifers but this one popped up on a dead rose shrub near a pine stump. The fruiting body developed in a month and then disintegrated into a very colourful slime.

There is the traditional method of fashioning styrofoam boxes to look like troughs:
In a nutshell, a chosen form's surface is roughened in whatever fashion by physically scratching and gouging with a favorite tool, the purpose of which is to mimic natural rock or whatever is desired. The surface is heated to solidify the roughened exterior and prepare it for painting, and then painted. But let the specifics of this method be for another topic. Here I want to show some newer ideas that have emerged since Ian Young first invented the very versatile styrofoam trough concept.

Hi,

Does anyone happen to know if Eco Gardens (Don Jacobs) is still in business? I have been trying to get a hold of him on and off for over a year, and have had no response... Just curious, as I was hoping to order some things from him.

I was thinking of making a trip to the Bearstooth Mountains this summer when I visit by brother in southern Alberta. Can anyone give suggestions as to the best time of the year? I heard that Highway 212 takes you through the mountains and into the alpine zones, but I have no idea when would be the best time. Any info would be most helpful, along with any other suggested areas nearby.

Hi,

Off to a chilly start here-- we got to somewhere below -24C/-11F overnight; -18C at noon, going to -13C /8Fthis afternoon! But this is the only cold day this week- back up over night, and +7C /45F tomorrow! Rest of the week from -2 to +9! Normals are -7C day -19C night. We've been mostly above normal since early December..

All the best to members and their friends and family! Happy Solstice and all the best in this holiday season, whether you are in mid-winter or mid-summer-- here's to growth in 2012!