I promised you some answers to last week’s quiz, and they’re at the bottom of the page. First, however, here are some pictures to remind you that Saturday is Valentine’s Day.
It Takes Two
Category: Gardening
Phloem is for “Phood”
Last week’s post about xylem explained how it carries water from the roots to the rest of a plant. But there’s another transportation problem that plants have to solve. As you know, plants make food (sugars) through photosynthesis. (See my previous posts on photosynthesis.) This food factory requires both chlorophyll and sunlight, and can only take place in the green parts of a plant. Usually this means the leaves, although cacti and other xeric species (such as this Palo Verde, above right) often have chlorophyll in their stems.
Botany for Gardeners: Phloem & Xylem
Today’s (and next week’s) botany lessons are brought to you by “xylem” and “phloem.” You may remember these terms from a biology class, but I bet you haven’t used them lately. It’s time you did. You’ll be a better gardener as a result. Besides, I used to teach biology, and once a teacher, always a teacher. There will even be a quiz at the end.
Like all forms of life, plants have to solve a very important problem: how do you move nutrients and water from one part of your body to another? Animals (at least the more complicated ones) have a circulatory system, but what do plants do?
Gardening Quiz: Answer
Today’s post is the answer to last week’s post, so if you haven’t yet taken a look at that, I suggest you do so now.
So, did you solve my little botany quiz? The correct answer is…
But wait a minute. Did you recognize all those plants? Going clockwise from the upper left corner, we have Spanish moss, a lovely orchid, a tropical bromeliad, and a pineapple.
Now do you know the answer?
A Gardening Quiz
Here’s a little puzzle to keep your gardening brain from going dormant during the cold winter months. Which of these things is not like the others? Can you figure it out? I’ll have the answer next week.
New Year, New Garden Advice
My, how times change. I remember sitting in my 7th grade health class, watching a film strip (you’re as old as I am if you remember those!) about hygiene. It recommended washing your hair at least every two weeks! An old magazine I recently unearthed advised housewives to put on a dress and make-up to greet their hard-working husbands at the door. And, the book that accompanied PBS’s Crockett’s Victory Garden (copyright 1977) offers a recipe for disaster with their diagram on how to plant a Christmas tree. Don’t blame Crockett, however—his directions followed what was then standard procedure. Yes, we’re always learning something new, even about gardening.
A Gardener’s New Year’s Resolutions (revisited)
I had an idea for a post for today.
Instead I got the flu.
So instead of new insights, I hope it’s okay
To repost this for you.
A Gardener’s New Year’s Resolutions
Posted on December 28, 2009 by LAH
Lots of people like to make New Year’s resolutions. Gardeners are no exception. A quick web search turned up plenty of lists, with gardeners around the country vowing to stay ahead of the weeds, thin their carrots, and learn the Latin names of all their favorite plants. If you like to garden, you probably have your own list of good intentions. And if you’re like me, you’ll struggle to keep even one of them.
This year, I’d like to propose a list of gardening resolutions that any enthusiastic gardener can keep. Your garden may not be perfect, but at least you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you achieved your New Year’s goals.
A Gardener’s Christmas Tree
May your Christmas be filled with wonder and love. I’m taking a break next week to focus on our house full of family. See you December 29 with a year-end post.
You can tell a gardener lives in this house… here are a few favorite ornaments on our tree:
Top: Apple, wowing Santa,wunshine, flowering maple (Abuliton)?
Middle: Tomato, ladybug
Bottom: White rose, strawberry, carrot, grapes.
Photos Make Special Gifts
Today it’s time for my once-a-year photography promotion. Does someone on your gift list go wild for wildlife or bonkers for birds? Do they laud landscapes? Are they passionate about plants? How about giving them a photo expressing their special interest?
You can visit my online store at mountain-plover.com, view my line of blank greeting cards here, or contact me directly for prints of any of my photos that appear anywhere on this blog. (Note that prints not in stock will take a few extra days.)
Winter in the Gardens
Dead leaves, bare branches, brown grass. It’s hard to create a landscape that looks attractive when everything appears to be dead. Yet, we live in a place where winter can last six months, or more. I want my yard to be attractive all the time, not just during the growing season.
With that in mind, this week I paid a visit to the Denver Botanic Gardens. They’re open in every season, so surely they’ll have ideas for making a garden worth visiting, even in the winter. How do they do it?
Mountain Plover 