Wes Porter

Viva La Difference – Orthoptera Style

He slaps a box of sexy chocolates onto your tum. Enchanted, you gobble them up only to discover a few hours later you’ve been impregnated. Meanwhile your gallant beau has gone hopping on his way. Such is love life among orthopteran bush cricket Poeclimon veluchianus.

Gift plants for the Year of the Snake

Gung Hay Fat Choy – Happy New Year!

Making an Ash of Themselves?

No one was present to note the arrival of Chalara fraxinea in Zabodny, Poland, some time prior to 1992. Since then, the deadly fungus disease commonly called ash dieback has run rampant through Europe killing almost every ash tree its spores have alighted upon. More recently it has threatened the ashes of Britain.

A Century of Sheridan Nurseries

“A quarter-century ago, on the eve of my departure from London, friends and relatives were sympathetic. A colonial career offers the last refuge to the inefficient, forced out, by competition at home, into the wolf-infested wilderness, the ice and the snow. A much travelled uncle said that Canada might be ready for my profession in fifty years.” Thus did Howard Dunington-Grubb, founder of Sheridan Nurseries, look back a quarter century later to his arrival in the Toronto of 1911.

Indoor Plant Care, Outdoor Chores

This is a bad year for those who suffer from triskaidekaphobia – fear of the number thirteen. But this shouldn’t worry gardeners. When landscaping, as a general rule odd numbers work better than evens. And thirteen, of course, is an odd number.

Horseradish Tree Stimulates Additional Interest

In times past, the British colonial digestive system was one of some uncertainty. Advocates were sought to assist it but alas, one of the most popular of these, horseradish, failed to flourish on warmer climes. Back in Britain it was a virtual weed. Indeed, garden guru Percy Thrower suggested growing it in specifically constructed concrete troughs to restrain its awesome growth. A suitable substitute had to be found. It did not take long to discover such.

Prince Harry’s Chelsea Garden: Like Father, Like Son?

Prince Charles’ enthusiasm for all things horticultural continues a long held interest of many of his rural ancestors. It appears likely that his younger son Prince Harry will follow in the family tradition.

Gifts of the Magi: Two Out of Three Were Plant-Derived

The Book of Matthew (2:11) tells how ‘Magi from out of the East’ brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the infant Jesus. Rather unsurprisingly, two out of the three were – and still are – derived from plants. Even less surprisingly in this day and age, one of them is endangered.

Horticulture for happiness, study discovers

Want the best career for personal satisfaction? According to a British study, 90% of horticulturalists enjoy going to work. Research by City & Guilds found nine out of ten horticulturalists were happy in their job with 80 per cent saying it was because they were able to manage their own workload and have autonomy over their schedule and daily tasks. Florists were found to achieve similar satisfaction, closely followed by hairdressers and plumbers. At the other end of the scale, as the Daily Mail noted, they were in stark contrast – and perhaps not surprisingly – to those professionals who hated their jobs including bankers, IT and data processors, and human resources.

Questions We’re Often Asked: Money Plants

An old saying has it that money doesn’t grow on trees. Perhaps not but there are ‘Money Trees’ and even ‘Money Plants’ aplenty to be discovered inside the house and in the garden . . .

Monsanto’s Genetically Modified Corn Deadly?

Arthur C. Clarke once remarked perhaps a trifle unfairly that the French produce the world’s very best second-rate scientists. However, in light of recently questioned research from a Gallic university, he might have an occasional point.

Keep Planting: The World Isn’t Going to End Next Month

Why do gardeners live for so long? One reason might be that they are always planning ahead – next week, month, year, even decades away. So the idea that the Maya predicted an abrupt ending to our world on 21 December 2012 might be greeted with a healthy shovelful of well-aged manure.

Super Foods: Are They or Aren’t They?

Earlier this year Peter O’Toole, announcing his retirement as a thespian, explained: “I have no intention of uttering my last words on the stage. Room service and a couple of depraved young women will do me quite nicely for an exit.”

A Busy Month for Northern Gardeners

Folklore has it that “Ice in November to bear a duck; the rest of the winter will be slush and muck,” according to David Phillips’ The Canadian Weather Trivia Calendar. Given recent warming trends we can confidently declare that this is one prediction that is not all its quacked up to be.

Across the Pond: A Loon s View of English Gardening

Hell, it was once suggested, is a place where the police are German, the bureaucrats French and the cooks English. Some recent events would seem to indicate that such Gaulish ingenuity has been overtaken across La Manche by British bungleaucrats.

Questions We re Often Asked: What to do with Your Giant Pumpkin

Most growers of the appropriately botanically named Cucurbita maxima admit it their carefully nurtured vegetables end up on the compost heap. Otherwise, the estimate is approximately two pounds, or a kilo, of pumpkin per pie. Thus, you must really dote on pumpkin pie as well as jazz up the frankly bland mush. A recommended recipe involves two teaspoons each of cinnamon, ginger, and allspice, along with a half-teaspoon of ground nutmeg and a quarter-teaspoon of ground cloves.

Environmentally Friendly Lawn Mowers

San Francisco has been using goats to trim airport undergrowth for years. Atlanta recently started a similar program. Now Chicago plans to start kidding around.

Lawns, Mulches, Fall Care of Roses, Pruning, and More

“Ah, autumn in L.A., when the stagehands spray the leaves such pretty colours.” Conan O’Brien In Newfoundland, a “rasher of wind” is a very thin person, recorded David Phillip’s Weather Trivia Calendar. More like a “side of wind” may be heading our way this winter. Arctic sea ice is shrinking at a rate much faster than scientists ever predicted and its collapse, due to global warming, may well cause extreme weather this winter in North America and Europe, according to climate scientists, warns Los Angeles Times, by no means the only source or scientists to get the wind up. And they could, one and all, well be right.

Questions We’re Often Asked: Bromeliads

Many a houseplant has its day in the sun and, after a short time, vanishes from homes and conservatories of all but the most dedicated specialists. Recently, the florist section of supermarkets have been advertising bromeliads.

Covering Lawns with Decks and Patios Increases Flooding

Traditional lawns allow downpours to soak into the soil. Replacing such lawns with decks and patios increases the risk of flooding, as British gardeners learnt the hard way earlier this year.