Dirt, plants, trees...
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The Mac's
....When the weather permits and the "gods of green" are smiling we like to putz in the garden. Putz is a term best describing the novice nature in which the job is attacked, or sometime surrendered. Or often the exercise might often be described as necessary.
Perhaps I should mention the proposed photos and links below are not what I use as a source but a guide. Some of the sites that sell their wares are VERY expensive in Canadian funds and shipped by the most costly carrier, hmmmm... Something my Scottish blood doesn't permit.
Ever notice that when you find a really spectacular specimen or a name of a plant you think you can remember, that it never seems to stick with you. Either the plant cannot be found or the name is completely wrong, worse yet you go to the nursery and they think you are from another planet.
The links below are from the U.S. and the few above them are the Canadian sites I have found.
Next, use your Note Pad on your Mac to jot down something about the species.
-drag and drop the image from the web site to your Mac desktop and you have it. If the name doesn't go with it (the ALT IMG tag) then quickly give it one.
Also remember the sites mentioned have photo's of prospective plants and their names. The names help even if you cannot obtain the item at the local nursery they might know what you are talking about.
Calgary's gardening societies are somewhat standoffish, if you get my drift. On the phone they are a little better but the City offers their help from a paid horticulturist or two.
This just in, a Gardening '99 page has been started.
This year I hope to remember to take more than a single shot of the deck garden to attempt a method of keeping track of what works and what does not. The soil is important and the moisture level as you can see some of the planting was very much in the shade and yet others are always in the full sun. This makes it a challenge at best. The pots can be moved (gloomy days esp.) to allow some sun or shade as required. Hail has been a problem around here lately and with it comes a bit of scrambling to determine the direction of origin before the back of my head gets pelted. 
1997 West Deck at left. Evenings the perimeter is illuminated with diffused recessed lighting. During mid day the area is in full sun.
The very large pots are great for our unusual weather when a storm hits we can move the plants rather than run around looking for alternate methods of protection. Where do you store a tarp big enough to protect things and have it handy at a moments notice, if we are there when it happens. The flower beds are also "decked" out but the winters here are again a challenge. During the winter of '98-'99 it never did snow during February and the ground was clear, frozen but clear. What protection was this? Moisture is also a problem from lack of it during the winter where some shrubs need water I lose one every so often. My method of gardening is if they survive our 4 seasons here they will do it all the more. The model is the Mrs. |
To view the "movie" you need Apple's QuickTime Virtual Reality software (and you know where to get that, eh)
WARNINGS:
1. The file you are about to click on is a large uncompressed 470K chunk.
2. OK, so I'm not a movie producer but I tried a sample piece of software to bring you a 360 shot of the front street from autumn c.'92.
You will be able to pan up and down and zoom in and out in a 360 degree panorama. Nifty.
The software is not on my future shopping list (demo copy) due to it's very poor quality. The blended size of frames is very limited so you too can get a laugh out of what it did to the old white Toyota. If you choose to use this software for yourself try and overlap the individual frames (raw image data) by a margin of at least 20% both left and right sides. My best advise is to find another VR offering.
Once in a while I get carried away with an idea and common sense leaves me entirely. With complete abandon I sometimes do things such as this.
990501 - The season is upon us. A few more weeks of warm weather has been good to the schrubbery. About 4 weeks ago on the north side of the house green growth was noticed! Today I heard what I thought was a lawn mower! Oh man, has that begun already? I don't mind the gardening and pruning et al but the grass stirs a primal battle within. It's one of those things that does nothing for me but cause grief. It grows well in the shade and yet only where it wants, then again it will prosper in the sun but not always. When I think about it the soothing notion of savagely chopping it to but a mere few inches of it's former self with a multi horsepower machine is more than comforting. Not only that but the clippings will be crushed by the 7 AM trip in the garbage truck only to be buried and rot, oooh I feel better.
Composting would be an option but to have rotting grass clippings anywhere near the house is somehow flawed.
Dry is the word of the day. During the first Sunday of May I watered the flower beds and hedge for SEVERAL hours. The under ground system was soaking the area nicely but the soil just kept on taking it in. Perhaps a bit more rain than our sprinkle of last week is needed! They say it will be warm and clear but we all know weather(persons) lie. When they tell untruths in our favour more often than not it is during the weekend. Hardly welcome.
990513 - The on-going garden projects are under way and fruition is one of those hills that are seldom seen over. Preliminary seasonal planting stuff has been obtained but the actual plants and schrubbery has yet to be purchased. The chilly nights are still here so I thought it best to keep the horicultural homicide to a minimum and safely keep the plants at the nursery until needed. That is don't buy them until the weather is better, eh.
Customary disclaimers apply
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Know of any Canadian gardening sites? Let me know and I will post the links here on the page |
Check this site out often I will try and keep up to date on gardening as the spring and summer allows |
D2M © 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 MacMcLellan A graduate of Curmudgeon Emeritus.