Latin – Well it’s Greek to me!  I mean, who understands Latin?  Most people today don’t. however, in the mid 18^th century, Latin was common amongst the educated class.  This is when identification of plants by their “so called” botanical Latin names began.  

So lets look at this Latin and see if we can’t make some sense of it.  Take the Rhododendron quinquefolium.  Try saying that 5 times fast.  It’s a mouthful but it does describe the plant.

Rhodo: means red coloured

Dendron: means tree like

Quinque: means five

Folium: means leaves (foliage)

So rhododendron quinquefolium actually means red, tree-like plant with groups of 5 leaves.

Often colour will be included in the Latin name.  Take the foxglove for example.  The Latin name is digitalis purpurea . 

Purpuria tells us it has purple flowers

Alba = white

Caerulea= blue

Rubrum=also red such as “Acer Rubrum” or Red Maple

Nigra = black, as in  Black Walnut – Juglans Nigra.

As maddening as it is to the average person, the latin botanical names greatly help those of us int the nursery business since common names for plants can vary from region to region. Latin allows us to fall back to a botanical name to identify what it is you’re looking for.  There are many other components to a botanical name such as plant parts, size, shape, texture and location.  We will take a glimpse at them all to see what some of them mean!

Until then

Gauisus ortus

better known as “Happy Gardening”

Well with spring just down the lane, I’ve been doing some research as to what we should expect!

“Ahem…”

According to the weather Network’s meteorologists, we should expect near normal temperatures and precipitation.  Ok, so what IS normal?  For us in the Maritimes, according to Environment Canada, “normal precipitation” is notably dry with about 3” of rain. “Normal temps” can be anywhere from 8°C in April to 21°C in June and the lows ranging from 0°C in April to 9°C in June.  

So what does all this mean to me?  Spring will be what spring will be!  What ever “Momma N” decides we are going to get is what we get, ‘Nuff said!  However, all signs point to an early warming and melting this year.  Just look at the trees and watch the birds and animals.  Spring is in the air my friend.  Everything is becoming “Twitterpated” and that is no reference to any Social website!

Happy Melting! 

2 weeks! 2 weeks! 2 weeks!

Did I mention it’s 2 weeks ‘til spring?  Wow light at the end of the long boring winter tunnel Woo Hoo! And a relatively mild winter we had.  Mostly above seasonal temps and well below seasonal snowfall.  Humph!  (Pouting here!)  Grumble grumble. 

If the trend continues we could find ourselves with a warm dry spring.  Ha Ha Ha oh I made a funny! ‘Ole man winter won’t give up so easily and Mother Nature likes to toy with us so I’m hoping but I’m not holding my breath for some nice weather.  

Well whether we get nice weather or not, spring will still officially arrive on Saturday March 20^th.

We made it! Winter’s almost done; spring is just around the corner, up the hill and over the bridge.  

Ladies and gentlemen start your engines!

Happy Gardening

Ok! So the last time the weather man predicted 30cm of snow, all we got was a big ‘ole bunch of rain.  This time, I’m ignoring the forecast and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but 20+ cm of snow, or so I hear!  Ok this is good! Really, it is, for 2 reasons.

-Reason 1: I’ll get to ski again.  The one time that I have been out was a disaster but that’s a whole blog on its own.  

-Reason 2: If March comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb.  Oh I think 30+cm is a pretty big lion’s roar.  Wouldn’t you agree?  So this should mean that at month’s end, the weather should be pretty good. Ha! That’s a load of bull compost!  In my heart, I really want to believe it but my mind knows better. My mind is wise.  It relies on past experience!  It knows things! Many things!

Things like Momma N is a sadist and will thump us every chance she can, giving us the weather we want least!  What my mind doesn’t know is “what we can do to get on Mother Nature’s good side?”  Hey, I’m not above begging!  It won’t be pretty but I will if I have to!

Happy Gardening, oops, I meant shovelling.    

Well I had such a good response to the weather lore blog that I thought it would be a hoot to look a little further and dig a little deeper, (add some compost and lime-no not in the Cerveza!) and find some general garden sayings and lore.  For your amusement and to aid in the maintenance of your sanity, (drum roll please!), garden lore and a little bit more! …some call them “Ole wives tales”.

-When the corn wears a heavy coat, so must you.

-Balance delayed gratification with instant satisfaction.  In other words, buy plants and sow your seeds around them, get the best of both worlds.

-Planting seeds at noon means they will grow.

-The worst day to plant is the 31^st of any month.  

-Plant tender crops after the full moon in June.

-Fennel prefers to be by itself

-Light enough to root-firm enough to stay (this refers to the soil in the garden)

…more soil lore.

-Till the soil on midsummer’s day, not feast, aye famine will come your way. (meaning don’t till your soil when it’s too dry or your crops can’t grow.)

-Till the soil when April showers, you will not have fruits nor flowers.  (Don’t work the soil when it’s too wet or you’ll destroy the texture.  

So cross your fingers for an early spring! No, I’m not superstitious!  These sayings have worked out well for me in the past!  Knock on wood!

Happy gardening!

The full moon in February is called by many names depending on where you live and what culture you are from.  

To the Cherokee Indians, the February full moon is know as the bony moon.  This is the time of year when people and animals use up their stored fat reserves and grow lean.  

To the Dakota Sioux, this moon is known as “The moon when trees pop”. In late winter when the sap begins to run, trees are vulnerable to extreme temperatures and can literally POP when it gets very cold right after a warm spell.  The expanding sap then bursts the bark open as it freezes, sometimes with a rather loud POP.  (Now it’s time to check your trees for winter damage).

To the Ancient Celts, this moon was the “Quickening moon”; the time when new life is just beginning.  Pregnant animals due in spring begin to feel new life, or “quickening” stirring inside them.  

With spring just around the corner, restless people tired of dreary days are longing for the first green shoots of grass.

…And if you’re like me, you are ready for those green shoots to appear.

Like NOW, yesterday Even! Next week at the latest.

Happy Dreaming

Yes, here at long last is an update on the weather lore I talked about a few blogs posts ago.  Most lore derived from farmers and sailors whose lives and livelihood depended on the weather.  They lived close to the land and sea observing and connecting with the rhythms and patterns of weather. 

Many weather proverbs are nothing more than light hearted rhymes.  Some have survived the test of time and have been proven reliable.  All are rooted in the observations of atmospheric conditions i.e. “a ring around the sun or moon means rain or snow is coming soon” and usually it does come within the next 24 hours.  It’s very interesting to see just how accurate most of these sayings are. 

Here are a few of the more accurate ditties and sayings:

-Sound traveling far and wide, a stormy day betides. 

-Cold is the night when the stars shine bright.

-Chimney smoke descends, our nice weather ends.

-If bees stay at home, rain will soon come.

-If bees fly away, fine will be the day.

…and Charlie’s personal favourite- Mackerel sky, mackerel sky, never long wet, never long dry. 

There are so many that I can’t include them all here but I explore more in the future.   If you think of any, you know where to find me.

Happy Gardening

I bought a bird feeder from my store at Christmas time.  I had been looking for just the right one for quite some time.  Finally, I found the perfect one.  It’s a window feeder, one that has suction cups that stick to the glass so you can see the birds as they perch inside to eat.  It’s is very cool!  Really it’s much better than satellite TV and is highly entertaining.  My cats are enthralled and a wee bit, ok, A LOT frustrated that they can see, but not catch the “birdies” through the window.  I’m very amused watching them try. 

I’ve noticed a female goldfinch has joined the crew but I haven’t seen any males yet.  What surprises me most is the bird hierarchy, or “pecking order”, pardon the pun!  The rulers of the feeder are the nuthatches and this has been quite a surprise as they have always seemed so quiet and shy.  NOT!  They are mean, aggressive and just plain bossy.  When the nuthatches want to eat, they will bully even the biggest birds.  Can you say “feathered cruise missile”? 

Pee-Wee, my nuthatch bows down to no one!  He has figured out that the cats can’t get him through the glass and so he sits in the feeder and eats while the rest of the flock “grab and go”.  Oh this does drive the cats crazy and I’m sure this little bird knows it.

I could sit and watch the spectacle for hours except that I have to keep filling the feeders.  Now that the population has doubled, it’s twice the feeders, and twice the filling up for these little piggies!  I don’t mind at all because I love my little feathered friends and it’s a small price to pay for the hours of enjoyment they provide, not to mention the torments they provide the cats!

Oh excuse me; I have to go fill the window feeder!  Pee-Wee is knocking! 

Happy bird watching