Wes Porter is a horticultural consultant and writer based in Toronto. Wes has over 40 years of experience in both temperate and tropical horticulture from three continents.
The Rubber Plant, Ficus elastica, is a popular indoor plant. More accurately known as the Rubber Tree, in its native habitat of Eastern South Asia and Southeast Asia it may reach a mighty 200 feet. Strangely, it has also been called the Rubber Bush or Rubber Fig. But why ‘rubber’ when commercially such is obtained from the Para rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis?
It is played by presidents and prime ministers – wish should warn us about something. Mark Twain regarded it as a good walk ruined. More enthusiastically, on Jerry Lewis’ opinion, “A great golf course is like a beautiful, unattainable woman – full of challenges, surprises, difficulties and delights.”
“You were practically sure of landing your article on ‘The Language of Flowers’” suggested P. G. Wodehouse in Over Seventy (1956). In fact, the ‘Language of Flowers,’ or Floriography, to be more formal is far, far older than Wodehouse implies.
Sending a message through flower arrangements might sound like something dreamt up by advertisers for the Interflora company. But it finds mention in both the Bible in the Song of Songs and Shakespeare’s plays which contain over 50 references. In fact, the using or arranging flowers to communicate a message, floriography if you like, has long been practiced in cultures of Europe, Asia and Africa.
It may have been planted by Jefferson at Monticello and chilled, a favourite dessert of Washington, but the native pawpaw has not fared well since then. This could be for two reasons. The ripe fruit deteriorates fast and ships poorly. For home gardeners, unless two genetically different varieties are planted, there is likely to be poor pollination – and it could be four to eight years before fruiting anyway, although grafting can shorten this.
As with many other flora, the Greek poet Homer was familiar with saffron at the opening of the first millennia B.C.:
In saffron-coloured mantles from the tides
Of Oceans rose the Morning to bright light
To Gods and men
Bad enough for a scurry of squirrels to rip tulip flowers apart in a spree of vandalism every spring, but then urban deer invade to snack on them. And, of course, no sooner have fresh tulip bulbs been planted this fall than the wretched rodents dig them up. This past March, Britain’s famous Royal Horticultural Society took matters in hand to advise gardeners to abandon tulips in favour of daffodils. All daffodils are botanically Narcissus. They are also poisonous. Not surprisingly, squirrels, deer, mice and other pests shun them.
Selecting flowering shrubs, double your pleasure. Some easy-to-find have colourful berries as well. While many lists may be found, not all mention some recommendations have drawbacks. Not the least of these in eventual size. For example, Russian Olive Elaeagnus angustifolia can grow to be a small tree. Its Canadian equivalent, Silver Buffaloberry, Shepherdia canadensis, is a large, 15-foot, shrub and likewise probably not for a small garden.
Tobacco use is “the single most preventable cause of death in the world,” according to the World Health Organization (WHO). But could the noxious plant be used to create helpful health products?
So many Scottish gardeners south to the Sassanach that the two are almost synonymous. Indeed James Boswell, himself a Scotsman, tells in his biography Life of Johnson, his subject once pungently pointed out, “The noblest prospect a Scotsman ever sees, is the high road that leads him to England.”
When songwriter Harry Dacre penned those lines in 1892, he was commemorating a hot-blooded London socialite named Daisy Granville. She is perhaps better known today as the respectable Lady Warwick – and much less respectable mistress of ‘Dirty Bertie’ the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII of the British Empire.
Plant are extraordinary living things. They can recognize sounds and touch – and don’t like some of them. They seem to be able to remember. They communicate with one another. They even become numb under the effects of .anesthetics. But let’s not get too anthropomorphic. This is emotional language. From Prince Charles on down, many people believe their plants respond to being talked to. But those same people obviously appreciate their plants to the extent of taking care of them. So their plants respond. So perhaps we had better forget about plant neurobiology, suggests research appearing in the journal Trends in Plant Science.
In one word: Yes. But with more and more people raised and living in urban areas, there is a disconnect with nature. A simple rule then: if you don't know for sure, Hands Off!
Stinging caterpillars--some of the most widespread in North America are listed below--have urticating, hollow hairs containing toxins. When touched, these break off, enter the skin and release their poisons. This may result in anything from a discomforting itch to excruciating pain. Top contenders include:
Fences, it is said, make good neighbours but Dean Fosdick suggests considering a hedge if you're in need of a fence. Writing in The Washington Post, he notes that, when managed properly, hedges cost less and outlast wooden fences. But hedges require regular watering, weeding, fertilizing and, unless informal, shaping. Other than the ubiquitous chain-link fence, apparently almost indestructible, fences made of treated wood will need maintenance every few years. Even then they will succumb while living barriers continue to flourish. Nevertheless, as Robert Frost once advised: "Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up."