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Archive for March, 2010
Flower And Foliage Fragrance
You can add fragrance to you plantings this year by using a variety of flowers or foliage such as leafy plants, herbs or evergreens. The area where you will be planting nay define what type of fragrant plants to use, but the idea is to maximize the ability to enjoy the fragrance. The motto “the closer the better” is a good thought to keep in mind. Fragrant flowers placed at a level closer to the nose and/or near locations that you frequent will maximize the enjoyment of fragrant plants.
When choosing fragrance, plan carefully to avoid choosing fragrances that conflict with each other. Gardeners have created standard categories of fragrances to help differentiate floral scents from one another. They are as follows:
- Balsamic – found in leaves that contain menthol or minty oils-includes mints, sages, rosemary, lavender, wormwood, balsam and eucalyptus.
- Fruity-found in a wide range of plants-includes flowering fruits, fruit-scented geraniums and roses, grape hyacinth and magnolia.
- Heavy-found in flowers with a strong perfume fragrance-includes gardenia, jasmine, roses and orange blossom.
- Honeyed-found in different flowers-includes hawthorn, barberry and hybrid musk roses.
- Rose-the smell of old European garden roses-includes roses, peonies and honeysuckle.
- Spicy-this fragrance is often combined with other scents and is found in leaves and flowers-includes carnations, pinks, azaleas and nasturtium.
- Sweet-found in flowers, grasses and ferns.
- Unique-even more distinct and refined than the heavy scents-includes lily-of-the-valley, sweet pea, some iris, wisteria and common lilac.
- Violet-only in a few plants such as sweet voilet, Siberian crabapple and orris root.
You can use various gardening ideas to promote your fragrant plants such as in containers at a level “closer to the nose”, in combination with an arch, arbor or trellis, along a path where they will brush your leg to spread the fragrance, in a raised garden or as a landscaping point. Ask your gardening center which plants will produce the fragrance that tantalizes your sense of smell and will grow in the situation you desire. Of our five senses, smell can be one of the most rewarding. Enjoy the fragrance of your plants.
Lighten Up!
Everyone loves to go to a summer barbecue that starts early and ends late. Patio and backyard seating is key to hosting a good party. No matter how laid back your guests are no one want to sit on the grass that’s infested with biting insects. Picnic tables, benches and assorted lawn chairs are all needed if you plan on having more than a few people over. Outdoor lighting in also key to hosting a good party.
During the summer, many people like to stay outside long after the sun sets. And, good lighting makes the outdoor experience more enjoyable. Some people choose to hang brightly-colored lanterns around their yards and others prefer the subtle glow of in-ground garden lighting. You can even find affordable solar powered garden lights that will also keep your energy bill low. No matter which lighting direction you take you should be fine as long as your outdoor guests can see one another.
Signs Of Spring
While walking the other day, I heard the song of a meadowlark. In our country, that is one of the first signs of spring. We, fortunately, missed the wet March snowstorm that we normally get this time of year and the temperature is finally starting to thaw the ground. We even have a few green shoots trying to pop up.
I am seeing many posts for flower and garden shows around the country. The commercial greenhouses are already transplanting their seedlings and I am thinking of bringing my potted strawberries out of hibernation. Spring is my favorite season-new plants, young animals and longer days. But, all of this talk of spring means that I must get into action and start cleaning flower beds and planning my garden.
I read an interesting fact that vegetable gardening was up 12% and that 38% of households in the United States grew a vegetable garden in 2009. There is also a new, more unconventional trend in gardening of mixing edibles with ornamentals. This broadens the idea of what a garden is and what it should look like. Imagine a vegetable garden with flowers intersperced among the edibles. Now my creativity is kicking into gear and I am thinking of garden decor that I could add to make it look more interesting such as a decorative trellis for my cucumbers to hang on. I might even add a path with stones.
They say that gardening is good for your mental and physical health. I say that gardening and planting is good for the soul. The meadowlark is saying that it I will be planting soon. I hope he is right.
History Of The Mailbox
Letterboxes and mail slots were first used in Paris, France in the late 1700s. They became more popular in Europe in the middle-late 1800s when the British Post Office decided to begin mail delivery and asked people to install letterboxes. Previously, all mail was picked up at the local post office.
In 1863, the U.S. Postal Service began the Free City Delivery. Mailmen delivered mail to each door waiting for a patron to answer the knock. This method of mail delivery took extra time and patrons were not always home or able to answer the door. Patrons began to install mail slots and letterboxes at their doors.
The Rural Free Delivery (RFD) was introduced by the U.S. Postal service in 1896. The Postal Service researched ways to save time and solve the problem with mail-carriers delivering mail to the scattered rural patrons. They proposed that mailboxes be placed at curbsides and roadways. In 1923, the Post Office mandated that every household have a mailbox to receive mail rather than a tin, basket or wooden box. Soon after, mailboxes sported a signal flag. At first the flag was used to signal both incoming and outgoing mail.
In 1915, Roy J. Joroleman, a Postal employee invented the curved, tunnel-shaped mailbox that we are familiar with today. The shaped was designed to prevent water and snow from collecting in the mailbox. This design has been the top-selling type of mailbox since the Postmaster General released the design for manufacture and production.
Since that time, the U.S. Postal Service has retained the authority to approve specifications for size and characteristics of all curbside mailboxes. Approved mailboxes are always stamped with “U.S. MAIL” and “APPROVED BY THE POSTMASTER GENERAL”.
Gifts for a Gardener
For the avid gardener or green thumb on your holiday shopping list, here are a few gift ideas sure to perk up their garden this spring and summer. Shopping for gardening gifts during the holidays can also yield some great discounts!
~Garden Fountain – great for bringing water, one of the four natural elements, to your garden, and also for the sweet serenade of trickling water.
~Windchimes – the windchime is a timeless gift that offers visual and aural appeal to an outdoor space.
~Garden Statues – these bring earth, another of the four natural elements of your garden, and provide great aesthetic appeal.
~Birdfeeders – great for attracting animals of the avian breed to your garden; birds will also eat harmful insects and prevent some insects from nesting in the yard.