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22.10.06

Trade List (under construction)


Seeds I have to trade
Allium: "Schubertii" "Cernuum"
Asiatic Lily: Mix
Castor Bean Red (1 trade collected)
Cathedral Bells (left over commercial pack few seeds)
Celosia Crested (few seeds)
Chinese Lanterns (1 trade collected)
Cleome: Mix White, Pink & Purple
Daffodil
Datura: White and Purple (both from trade)
Delphinium: "Magic Fountain" (from trade)
Echinacea: "White Swan," "Tom Thumb," "Double Decker," "Magnus"
Euphorbia Obesa*
Hibiscus: Trionum "Flower of an Hour" & "Confederate Rose"
Malva Zebrina (from trade)
Marigolds: "Petite Orange" & "Cracker Jack" & "French Vanilla" (FV is from trade)
Morning Glory: Purple white center "Scarlett O'hara"
Nasturtium: "Jewel Mix"
Nicandra Physalodes: "Shoo-Fly Plant"
Oriental Poppy: Mix of pastel colors (same colors also in doubles)
Passiflora: Edulis and Manicata (few seeds)
Sunflower: "Evening Sun" "Lemon Chiffon" (both from trade)
Yucca: "Filamentosa" "Louisanensis" (Both collected)
Zinnia: "Green Envy" "Giant Cactus" (GC is commercial)


Seeds I'm looking for
*Black, Green or Brown: Perennials/Annuals and Tropicals*
Akebia Quinata
Aristolochia: "Brasiliensis," "Fimbriata"
Arum Italicum
Campanula "Kent Belle"
Drimiopsis Maculata
Eccremocarpus Scaber
Pleione

Plants I have to trade
Adenium Obesum
Amaryllis: Seedlings of my crosses
Ceropegia Woodii
Euphorbia Obesa
Huernia: X (cuttings)
Saxifraga Saramentosa
Staghorn Fern
Wandering Jew

Plants I'm looking for

*Black, Green Brown: Perennials and Tropicals and Bulbs*
Aeonium: "Zwartkop"
Allium Atropurpurem
Aristolochia Fimbriata
Asarum Canadense
Amaryllis: Any except "Red Lion" & "Apple Blossom"
Begonia: "Martin Johnson," "Rajah"
Bromeliads
Bowiea
Cerinthe Major "Purpurascens
Crinum Asiaticum
Dahlia: "Bendall Beauty"
Dorstenia Crispa
Dischidia Pectenoides
Epidendrum "Plastic Doll"
Epiphyllum Anguliger
Gasteria Glomerata
Haworthia: "Truncata," "Chocolate"
Larryleachia Marlothii
Lithops
Ornithogalum Arabicum
Orchids: In particular "Lady Slipper" & Pansy Orchids
Peperomia: "Columella," "Asperula"
Primula
Papiopedilum: "Avalon Mist," "Calloso-Argus"
Rhodochiton Astrosanguine
Sansevieria Fisheri
Selaginella
Sinningia Bulbosa
Streptocarpus Wendlandii
Tacca Nivea & Chantrieri: "Bat Plant"
Veltheimia

Bulbs I have to trade

Amaryllis: X seedlings from my crosses
Eucomis: Bicolor*
Gladiolous: Mix- Yellow and Purple
Gloriosa superba "Rothschildiana"*
Peruvian Daffodils*
Voodoo Lily: X (offsets)*
Zantedeschia: Pink (maybe "Dusky Pink"?), "Blackjack" (looks like "Hot Chocolate")*

Bulbs I'm looking for
Allium: "Hair"
Arisarum Proboscideum
Dracunculus Vulgaris

Fritillaria Meleagris: "Snakes Beard"
Gunnera: Tinctoria/Chinensis
Haemanthus: "African Blood Lily"
Iris: "Green Halo," "Green Spot"
Kniphofia: "Green Jade," "Percy Pride"
Ornithogalum Viridi Florum
Pleione
Ranculus "Green Petal"
Sinningia: "Douglasii," "Guttata,"
Tropaeolum Tuberosum

Non plant items
Books:
100 Flowers and how They Got Their Name- Diana Wells
Gardening Made Easy-Jane Fearnley~Whittingstall
Annuals, Bulbs& Perennials-Richard Bird/Kathy Brown
The Bonsai Workshop-Herb L. Gustafson
Growing & Displaying Bonsai- Colin Lewis~Neil Sutherland
Bonsai From Native Trees and Shrubs- Werner M. Busch
Non Gardening Books:
Sim City 4 Strategy Guide
Misc:
4 (12 inch) new terracotta pots
* denotes special trades only
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I like just about all plants but have a soft spot for Black, Green and Chocolate colored plants. I like the unusual and I am in serious zone denial so I grow plants that can't survive the harsh Chicago winters. The list is kind of long and some plants are rare and hard to find but don't be intimidated by it is mostly to give an idea of what I like, and that's just about anything. But I can always find room for caudex forming plants, bulbs, and plants that are native to Africa and anything weird looking.

18.10.06

Cleome Seeds & Junk Mail

After many unsuccessful attempts at collecting Cleome seeds I discovered a little trick. I'd go out and pull what to me looked like a ripe seed pod only to discover that the seeds were still white inside. What I found was that if you take a seed pod in your thumb and forefinger and gently squeeze if the pod is ripe it will start to split. If you apply pressure and it doesn't split in your fingers the pod should be left and checked later.

****

While looking for places to dry seeds I had collected I ran out of paper plates and used an envelope from some junk mail I had received. The envelopes worked great because I could set many of them in one spot side by side and because they are made of paper they absorb the excess moisture on your seeds or seed pods. When the seeds are dried you can take the paper envelopes and compost them.

Green roof saves green in Chicago - Nightly News with Brian Williams - MSNBC.com

Green roof saves green in Chicago - Nightly News with Brian Williams - MSNBC.com

By Kevin Tibbles
Correspondent
NBC News
Updated: 7:43 p.m. CT oct 17, 2006

CHICAGO-It's like a scene from a peaceful meadow: Where wildflowers bloom and the bees are busy. But to reach this slice of Eden, one doesn't travel out of town, one travels up, 12 stories up.

"I talked about building a green roof," says Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, "and everybody kind of looked at me whether or not I kind of lost it, ha ha ha."

But the crazy idea is paying off. Since Chicago installed a 20,000 square foot "green roof" atop City Hall five years ago, the city has saved about $25,000 in energy costs.
(full story and video at link)

Da Mayor is getting some positive press for one of his green initiatives. Say what you will about him and the goings on at City Hall but you have to love what he's done to make the city greener. Too bad the only time I get to see this roof top garden is on television.

17.10.06

Fungal Disease Killing L.A. Palm Trees

Fungal Disease Killing L.A. Palm Trees

Fungal Disease Killing L.A. Palm Trees
by John Rogers, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, October 17, 2006

The city's palm trees-as much a symbol of L.A as the automobile, movie stars and the beach-are vanishing. The Trees are dying of old age and fungal disease, disappearing one by one from parks and streets, and city planners are replacing them with oaks, sycamores and other species that are actually native to Los Angeles and offer more shade, too.
(full story at link)