Full Cold Moon 2015

Full Cold Moon 2015

On the night of Christmas on a December that ends a very wet year, a Full Cold Moon will be shinning if the clouds will let it appear. This is a full moon that happens only on occasions, the last being in 1977. It will be at 99% both on the night of Dec 24^th and on 26^Th.The fullest being on 25^th at 6:11 am EST. just as it sets; this rare occasion will again appear in the skies in 2034.

This has only appeared 9 times in American History the first was December 25^th, 1776, when Washington and his troops crossed Delaware. Fortunately, it was cloudy and the moon was hidden as Washington was able to cross and surprises the Hessians then taking the town of Trent will little resistance. This changed history as if they had been seen there might not be the United States.

With any luck and if clouds will allow maybe I can get another great moon picture.

This entry was posted in Weather on December 22, 2015, by Ken Wilson. Edit

Rainbows

RAINBOWS

Rainbows are common but yet still are exciting to see. Rainbows are the sun passing through water crystals. When nature does not give you a full rainbow you must work with what you get.

GLADIOLAS

GLADIOLAS

Gladiolas Pink

Gladiolas or Glad’s as some people call them are a great summer bulb. Their attractiveness has diminished in the last decade or two. They were highly used as a cut flower in massive bouquets. They do not winter hardy and have to be dug and stored over the winter and planted the following year. As it is not a native and the time involved to grow them many a Gardner has chosen not to grow them.

If you grew them this year it is the time to dig them and store in a 45. degree non-lighted area. Do not let them freeze.

However, this all said they are a glorious addition to a garden and are a great cut flower. Look now for some great looking colors for next spring.

This entry was posted in Horticulture Tips and tagged Cut Flowers, Gladiolas, Summer Bulbs on September 27, 2015, by Ken Wilson. Edit

History of Bees

Bee History

We are in the dog days of summer and many summer flowers are the stopping off place for many insects that also enjoy the summer flowers. Bees are looking for pollen and nectar that help maintain and build their hives over the winter. Honeybees are one of the first animals that were domesticated by man. Honey and beeswax have long been a sought after products by man. These little workhorses are good at turning pollen and nectar into a food fit for Kings and the wax was used for many things. It does not go bad without refrigeration and stays good for some time. It was also fermented to make mead a drink talked about in ancient times used by Vikings and Roman Gods. The wax used as a preservative and a source for light.

The honeybee is not native to North America and was brought to the colonies along with other English livestock to help settle the United States. They were difficult to bring over onboard ships but once here they established and were foraging ahead of the colonization of America. As agriculture grew and we moved west honeybees went also giving homesteaders food and sugar to use to survive the stark and bleak farm homesteads.

There is a law of supply and demand that at about a radius of 4 miles is what a bee can travel and bring pollen back to hive. The forage out in this radius and bring back the best pollen and nectar that can be gotten in the shortest time but the easiest to harvest. If you live on the outer region of this radius bees may be at your flowers one day and somewhere else the next. It is wise to grow several types of flowers that bloom at different times ensuring a constant supply of pollen and nectar.

Honey bees are under attack for many reasons, but planting many types of flowers where they can get pollen and nectar to make honey and beeswax to live through the winter will help. The horticultural crops that they pollinate in spring and early summer have long gone and now they need more summer and fall flowers a must to sustain their health and the health of the hive.

©Ken Wilson & Gardening Whisperer 2015

This entry was posted in Horticulture Tips, Insects and tagged Honey, Horticulture tips, Native, Pollen on September 12, 2015, by Ken Wilson. Edit

Book Review 100 Easy To Grow Native Plants

100 Easy To Grow Native Plants

For American Gardens In Temperate Zones

Lorraine Johnson

100 Easy To Grow Native Plants, For American Gardens in Temperate Zones. This book is reviewed by Kenneth Wilson “The Gardening Whisperer”.

This review is prepared to be on www.Gadeneningwhisperer.com Lorraine is a writer and gardener, she has written over 23 books mostly on gardening in the urban settings and other topics. On her posts in ‘The City Farmer”; http://www.cityfarmer.info/2010/05/01/lorraine-johnsons-city-farmer-adventures-in-urban-food-growing-coming-on-may-22-2010/, she writes on gardening and topics that are important for a city garden. The book is published by; ‘A Firefly Books copyright© 2009.’

The title of this book wants to make you think that there are 100 plants for native gardening. Then in the introduction, she states that there are actually 101 plants on her lists. After reading the book twice I came to the conclusion that if you add in all the related species and companion plants there are many more plants discussed here. The short snippets are great for someone wanting to grow native plants.

I was naive to think I could pick up a book and have 100 native plants that I could grow in my back yard. Within America and Canada, there are volumes of plant possibilities each with its own growing climate. In the back of the book, there are listed plants for specific conditions it is a quick reference as to what plants grow best in what areas. There is also a list of native plant nurseries listed in each region.

I would recommend reading this book as a starter informational book on native plants; it does not go into great depth on any plant or climate. After looking up references on Larraine Johnson she has some great information on urban gardening. I am going to look up some of her other books.

This entry was posted in Book Reviews and tagged Gardening Books, native plants. on July 19, 2015, by Ken Wilson. Edit