Fungi Identification (mushrooms)

During my nature walk today by our ravine I came across these fungi.  Anyone know what kind they are?

Chia Pets Coming to a Highway Near You?

Westbound Interstate 70 east of  Columbus, Ohio is planting something akin to Chia Pets to muffle highway sound. The Department of Transportation will test a 12-foot-high wall of sprouting plants and grass.  Is this innovative or what?  A great alternative to the concrete walls that line highways to minimize traffic noise. 

Let's hope they have learned from a previous attempt in Wisconsin that saw weeds infiltrate the wall and plants die from lack of water.  Portions of the wall collapsed.

A Washington state company has sought proposals to work with Deltalok, USA for the project.  Deltalok has used a patented bag system somewhat similar to this concept but its purpose was to control erosion, protect stream banks and repair slopes.

"It is like a Chia (Pet) wall - basically filling bags with dirt and seed, watering it and watching it grow up and out," said ODOT spokesman Scott Varner. "And much like the novelty plant on the windowsill, it will take some care in the beginning and ongoing maintenance."

This pilot project is a two-year experiment to decide if the vegetative wall can survive the season and the salt applied to the roads in the winters.  How much maintenance and water this wall requires as well as its ability to muffle the noise like a concrete wall, will determine its viability.

For more information on this project select this link: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/07/sound_wall_made_of_vegetation.html

Peonies

Peonies are an old-fashioned favourite.  So easy care.  I absolutely love them, despite the ants.  Too bad they are about finished in my garden.

Quotable

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in." --Greek proverb

Taxonomy - What's in a Name

My thanks to Hermes at http://goldenagegardens.blogspot.com/2010/07/getting-plant-names-right-and-up-to.html for posting the following link to RHS Plant Finder where one has free access for updated and correct names for plants of all kinds.

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantfinder/

Another interesting site is The Transatlantic Plantsman: http://transatlanticplantsman.typepad.com/transatlantic_plantsman/

Re: Black Knot Disease

black knot on local Schubert Chokecherry Trees

As per my previous post regarding Black Knot on Schubert Chokecherry Trees (prunus), I have confirmed with a horticulturist that it is not necessary to wait until the trees are dormant to prune out the disease.  Please, do it now.  Cut at least 8 inches below visible signs of infection, disinfecting your tools between each cut.  A 10% bleach or alcohol solution will kill traces of the disease.

For photos and more information on Black Knot see
http://shirley-agardenerslife.blogspot.com/search/label/black%20knot%20disease

If you see this in your municipality, feel free to contact the horticulture department so they may address the problem.

Giant Hogweed Like Something Out of a Science Fiction Movie

It's like something straight out of science fiction!  A larger than life weed that can burn or blind those who encounter the sap of this hogweed.  Beware this weed is spreading across the country. 

CTV News and Global News both recently ran pieces about this plant.  It looks a bit like a giant lady's mantle but this weed grows upwards of 20 feet and its flower head can reach a metre (just over three feet) across.  It is an attractive plant with purple markings on the stem.  Stay clear if you sight this and tell your local municipality of its location.  Hogweed has been found on Vancouver Island, Toronto and Ottawa area, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador.  It grows in wasteland and ditches.  Flowering only once in its lifespan, between June to August.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100711/hogweed-100711?hub=MSNHome

http://news.sympatico.ctv.ca/home/contentposting?feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V3&showbyline=True&date=true&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20100714%2fgiant-hogweed-100714

Become informed and beware of this giant hogweed.

Inundated With Scavenger Birds!!

It's true!  It seems the crow and magpie population has grown exponentially here in Edmonton.  Neighbours are seen shewing them away from garbage set out to be collected, or yelling at them as they peck through the gardens.  Yesterday morning there were two magpies sitting atop our Young's Twisted Weeping Birch and another four on the fence!  I reached for my camera.  Batteries dead.  Replaced the batteries and when I returned, only two remained on the fence. 

Some friends said they were "attacked" by a magpie as it dive bombed them as they were walking by.  Apparently the bird had a nest nearby.  Has anyone else noticed an increase of crows and magpies?

Washington's Blog

Another gardening blogger recently posted photos of her trip to the southern States including the oil that was making its way ashore.  (Sorry I tried to find it again but couldn't). It shocked me and yet it didn't.  Having never been there, I cannot comment from a personal perspective but today I checked out the Blogs of Note and came across one called Washington's Blog. One of its latest entries caught my attention, that of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The photos are graphic of the damage caused to wildlife. Like this one taken in May and posted on the Washington's Blog.  It is saddening and makes one wonder if anything, any amount of money, substitute for the lives lost? For the habitat ruined, at least for now?  How long does it take to recover from such a disaster? For those whose livelihood depends on the fishing industry this is catastrophic. Residents in Louisiana and Mississippi, still rebuilding as a result of Hurricane Katrina, now face certain financial despair due to the devastation of the shrimp, fish and shellfish industry that they built their independance on.

Washington's Blog shares with the reader photos and information not readily available to the public due to previous publication bans. Herein you find the answers to questions you may have asked about the condition of the area, the progress made, the implications to the wildlife and humans alike.

If it affects our planet, it affects us. Take a moment to read this blog:

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/

In the Spotlight - Bog Rosemary

 Blue Ice Bog Rosemary (Andromeda polifolia)

This is a wonderful little clumping plant that grows like a small bush and retains its leaves all year long in my zone 3 garden.  It flowers with small pink blooms in May and is otherwise a blue/green.  It loves a moist soil and even a wet soil will suit this easy going little shrub.  Bog Rosemary flourishes in peat bogs, thus its name. I've grown it for years in an area of the garden that tends to be more wet than others.  Facing east with no afternoon sun, though that is not necessary, I am always pleased with this little early bloomer.  No pests or disease problems.  Just don't let it dry out nor plant it in hot baking sun.

Sorry this picture is not the best.  It was taken shortly after it was planted a few years ago.  When planting, I amended the soil with wet peat moss to assist with friability, a breathable soil.  Wet clay does not breathe and since peat bogs are its natural habitat, it makes sense to simulate that environment.  I use the same fertilizer I use for my evergreens with a higher first (nitrogen) number.  This year the two I have put on an amazing show, amassed with pink blossoms in the spring.  Definitely a great plant for that wet spot in the garden.