Download Mid-Summer Perennial Sale!

August & September, 2011
Vol. 1, Issue 2
Alta Florist & Greenhouse
AA
Names for the
September
Full Moon
Harvest Moon
Nut Moon
Barley Moon
Chrysanthemum Moon
Singing Moon
Mulberry Moon
Fruit Moon
Full Corn Moon
The Harvest Moon is
the full Moon nearest
the autumnal equinox,
which can occur in
September or October
and is bright enough to
allow finishing all the
harvest chores.
Weather Lore
For every fog in
August,
There will be a
snowfall in Winter.
If a cold August
follows a hot July,
It foretells a Winter
hard and dry.
A
Mid-Summer Perennial Sale!
20% Off All Perennial
Stop in and see our great collection of perennials! Everything in the
perennial lot is on sale now, from A-Z. So if you‟ve been putting off
getting those Butterfly Bushes or „Zagreb‟ Coreopsis, stop in while
there is a good supply. Hundreds of perennials are on sale!
For the Love of Plants
People that truly love plants are always looking for plant related
items. Be it the best botanical garden to visit, the most fragrant rose,
or the tallest sunflower. Perhaps you‟ve planted something new or
unusual in your garden or flower beds this year.
The world was explored in the search for plants. Spices could make
an empire or destroy a kingdom. Tulip-mania in 1637 nearly toppled
the government of Holland. People where bought and sold to harvest
plants like cotton and tobacco. In Ireland starting in 1845
approximately one million of the population died and a million more
emigrated from Ireland's shores, for the want of a potato. During the
Civil War thousand of men survived malaria thanks in most part, to
the bark of a South American cinchona tree used to make quinine.
I am sure that we could all quote history after history, time after
time, when one plant or another, changed the course of human
history. Plants have us in their power. No matter what we do to them
or subjugate them to they still have the power. They mostly go
about their leafy lives ignored and overlooked. But when the time
comes they make their selves known. Sometimes in little, quiet ways.
Sometimes in big, loud, messy ways. So the question I pose is …Who
is growing Whom? I think I‟ll have a glass of ice tea and a chocolate
chip cookie and ponder this one for a while.
In The House
Ficus elastic decora ~ Rubber tree plant
Native to India and Malaya, this easy to grow house plant likes shade
to full sun. In its native home it can grow to the staggering height of 98
to 130 foot! Also called by the common names India Rubber Plant,
Indian Rubber Fig, Indian Rubber tree, Ornamental Rubber Tree, Rubber
Tree, and Rubber plant.
This is a slow growing plant enjoys having its leaves wiped off with a
damp cloth or spritzed with water. A tray of pebbles underneath the
pot or a jar of water set on the surface of the soil can fill most of the
humidity needs of the rubber tree. This is one plant that you don‟t
want to over water because the leaves will turn yellow and fall off. So
let the surface soil dry out before you water again and be sure you
have good drainage.
A rubber tree house plant needs bright light, but it prefers indirect
light that isn‟t too hot. Some people recommend putting it near a
window that has sheer curtains. This allows plenty of light, but not
direct sun. Ficus elastic also likes fairly even temperatures and does
not do well in air-conditioning. It could spend the summer outside on
the deck in a shaded area but that might be a problem with the hot
summer we‟ve had this year.
Interestingly enough, this plant does flower and produces a yellow-red
fig shaped fruit with a seed pod. However, the flowers require a
particular species of fig wasp to pollinate it.
Book Review By Stephanie
If you‟re looking for an unusual gift for your plant crazed friend or
something a little different in reading material, here is a little book
that may have escaped your notice.
„Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln‟s Mother & Other
Botanical Atrocities‟, is written by Amy Stewart. This is 223 pages of
murder and mayhem. Set in short, one plant chapters and sub-titled
as „dangerous, deadly, and painful‟ and so on, this reads like a true
crime of plants.
“When a baby comes home we rush to add safety caps to electric
outlets but,” said Ms. Stewart, “ignore the houseplant in the kitchen
and the shrub by the front door – this, in spite of the fact that 3,900
people are injured annually by electric outlets while 68,847 are
poisoned by plants.”
This little, green book is a fascinating read and I enjoyed every
morbidly, rich page.
Amy Stewart
Cut Above
The timber is good for
woodturning, and is
extensively used by
Hawaiian craftspeople.
Limonium ~ Limonium spp.
Sea-lavender, Marsh-rosemary, Statice
Limonium is one of the 120 species of Plumbaginaceae or leadwort
family. Despite their common names, they are not related to either
lavender of rosemary. This tiny flowered, multi-branched plant is
native to Europe, the Mediterranean and eastern Asia including as
far away as the Canary Islands. North America has 3 native species.
The name Limonium comes from the Greek word “leimon”
meaning “meadow”. The common name “statice” is used because
the appearance of this plant changes little throughout its flowering.
Limonium species and cultivars are available in white, lavender,
pink, blue-violet, red-violet and yellow.
Coolest Summer
AVG. TEMP. YEAR
70. 7
1888
71. 9
1884
72. 1
1914
72. 3
2000/1871
72. 4
1891
72. 6
1895
72. 8
1902/1869
72. 9
1956
73. 1
1890
73. 2
2001
Some species have offensive odors, especially the caspia series. It
has been suggested that a capful of bleach be added to the floral
water. I must admit that I‟m not overly pleased with the smell but I
love the caspia varieties. They are light and airy and lift heavier
flowers like roses better than baby‟s breath.
Most types can be dried for everlastings; however, you must be
gentle with them. Vase life can range from seven to 10 days if you
check the water levels daily and re-cut the stem very three to four
days.
GRILLED SUMMER SQUASH
3 or 4 sm. summer squash or zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch
slices
1 med. onion, sliced and separated
1 med. clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp. butter
Italian salad dressing
Layer all ingredients on center of 18 inches of foil (I
recommend non-stick foil.) and spritz lightly with Italian
dressing. Seal securely. Grill over medium coals or in
350 degree oven 15-20 minutes or until crisp tender.
You can add a tomato to this if you like. Serves 4.
Is It In His
Chirp…
Only male crickets can
chirp and will chirp
faster in warm
weather than cool. In
fact, you can
determine the
temperature by
counting the number
of chirps in fifteen
seconds and adding it
to 37. And…
EEEK! What‟s That?
Horned Tomato Worm
=
Hawk Moth
Crickets and katydids
have ears on their legs.
What Stinging
Nettle is Made
Of…
Those little hairs on the
common North
American nettle (Urtica
dioica) are actually a
sharp-pointed cells
called a trichome. The
slender shaft of the
trichome is composed of
silica, and breaks off
with the slightest touch
creating a sharp,
beveled tip similar to a
hypodermic needle. A
little bulb at the bottom
of the trichome injects
toxins into your skin.
The stinging toxin from
this species of nettle is a
combination of
chemicals, including
histamine, acetylcholine
and 5hydroxytryptamine.
There is a variety of
stinging nettle in
Australia that has been
knows to kill horses.
Sphinx Caterpillar
Luna Moth Caterpillar
=
=
Hummingbird Moth
Luna Moth
Clear indications that you have too much Zucchini:
Your neighbor finds them every morning in his mailbox.
You are eating it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, snacks too.
You have a flute made out of a Zucchini.
Your Mother keeps her blinds closed and never seems to be at home.
Even the field mice stop eating it.
You till under the Zucchini plants, but still have more today than you
had yesterday.
Nightmares about a giant Zucchini wakes you in the night.
Your kids are using it for building blocks.
You spray your zucchini plants with sugar water to attract insects.
But, they won't bite.