A 'soil your undies' campaign aims to improve plant growth in one district of Ontario. Soil with healthy microbial activity should eat away at the underwear buried six inches deep within eight weeks, leaving only the elastic waistband behind a conservation authority said. So, which is environmentally friendlier, Victoria's Secret or Stanfields? Alas, not British "biodegradable" plastic shopping bags. Researchers from the University of Plymouth found that bags labelled biodegradable and compostable were still able to carry a full load of shopping after being left to degrade in the elements for three years. Conclusion: carry groceries home in your undies.
Diversion No. 1
A couple that spent a decade setting up the world's most northerly vineyard in Norway's Telemark fruit growing region have now put it up for sale, The Local: Norway reported. "It's not large production, but it is exclusive," Joar Sættem, the owner of Lerkåsa vineyard, told Norwegian state broadcaster NRK. "We make rose wine, as far as I know, the most northerly in the world."
Stachys officianlis 'Hummelo' has been named 2019's Perennial Plant of the Year by the Perennial Plant Association. Many Stachys are already popular border plants, for example Lamb's Ears (S. byzantina) and Betony (S. officinalis). They are of the Labiatae family--mints--which should tell you they appeal to the black thumb tribe of gardeners.
'Hummelo' is an easy-to-grow plant that provides spikes of purple flowers in late summer, notes Horticulture magazine.
Diversion No. 2
As the Trump Administration prepares to cut in half the budget for the National Invasive Species Council, a group of invasive species experts have issued a warning about the growing peril of biological invasions and the increasing threat they pose to the economy, environment, public health and national security. The warning appeared in the journal Frontiers of Ecology and the Environment.
The popularity of Madagascar's threatened Majestic Palm, Revenea rivularis, raised by nurseries as a houseplant, is increasing. But specialist Costa advices they require specially formulated palm fertilizer, rich in magnesium. Outside of Florida and California, this may not be the easiest to find. A possible substitute might be Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate), available at drug stores. Use with caution, diluting a tablespoon to a quart of water every 12 weeks, taking care not to splash the stems or foliage.
Diversion No. 3
Wealthy people have more pesticides in their bodies because they play golf . . . and the poor carry a higher number of toxic chemicals because of air pollution and from living near landfill sites, it was claimed. The wealthy also have more mercury in their systems because they eat a lot of seafood, said Michael Depledge, Professor of Environmental and Human Health of Exeter University Medical School briefing MPs of the Environmental Audit Committee on toxic chemicals in everyday products, reported The Daily Mail.
Yet another pest imported has been recorded in seven American states. The spotted lanternfly feeds on more than 70 plant species, including grape vines and apple trees. First discovered in southeastern Pennsylvania in 2014, it has vineyard owners in New York State worried--perhaps slightly further north in Ontario's southwestern vineyards. Just one more problem China sends our way while preventing imports of Canadian farm produce on dubious grounds.
Diversion No. 4
Tower blocks can help cut air pollution. All you need to do is plant trees on them, according to the Italian architect Stefano Boeri, whose award-winning Vertical Forest project in Milan is being copied in China, Tom Kington writes in The Times. Steel-reinforced balconies on Boeri's two adjacent Milan towers, which were completed in 2014, support 4,5000 shrubs, 15,000 plants and 800 trees, some as tall as 27 feet.
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Mark These in Your Journal for June
Who thinks these up? Who registers them? Ah well, a day without a smile . . . or as Ogden Nash observed:
Ladies grow loony, and gentlemen loonier;
This year's June is next year's Junior.
Also:
Fight the Filthy Fly Month
National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month
National Pest Control Month
National Ragweed Month
Rose Month
1st Full Week National Gardening Month
4 Hug Your Cat Day
5 World Environment Day
6 National Gardening Exercise Day
9 National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day
10 Herb and # Day
12 Red Rose Day
12 American Hosta Society Convention, Green Bay, Wisconsin
13 National Weed Your Garden Day
16 St Tychon died 5th century Wine growers
16 Fresh Veggies Day
16 Father's Day
17 Eat Your Vegetables Day
21 Finally Summer Day
22 Onion Ring Day
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.
