Ink & Penstemon
Observations on plants and gardening from the Great Basin steppe in the American West.
I&P has a new look! I hope you like this new tiling format; I wanted it to be easier for you to view and access the blog's content. Newer posts will always appear at the top of the page. Clicking on a post's icon—pencil, link, video, etc.—will expand the comment box and other features for that post. Clicking on a photo icon will give you a better look at photos in smaller posts.
Along the bottom of the page is a navigation bar with links to the blog's archive, RSS feed, post randomizer, and one for those who would just like to ask me a question about anything. If you get mired in something while wandering, clicking on the Penstemon barbatus 'Elfin Pink' will return you the homepage.
Search
More Info
Follow I&P On Twitter
Loading Tweet...
FInd me on...
On Tumblr
-
Grains of pollen
-
Green Wheel Rotary Hydroponic System by Libero Rutilo
Developed by NASA this revolutionary rotary hydroponic system...
-
Claude Monet (1840-1926) - Three pots of Tulips, 1883
-
Fluffy fields in Landmannalaugar, Iceland (by lieke_vssr).
-
Eclipse solar anual pôde ser observado em vários países asiáticos e na costa oeste da América do Norte.
-
“The first step in is a stunner.”—
The most frequent comment I have heard between the staff preview, the press preview, and the Member preview of ...
-
The cakes are ready!!
-
Aloe camperi (by FarOutFlora)
-
-
Tag Results
5 posts tagged news
Meet “Plantaholism,” my new tumble blog
You may have noticed a new feature in the sidebar: You’re A Plantaholic When…. I’m taking all of my #youreaplantaholicwhen tweets and I’m compiling them into a traditional tumble blog, plantaholism.tumblr.com. I plan to include some additional goodies like photos and news links, maybe even some conversations. It’s also a communal blog; I’ve set it up so my readers could make their own submissions. The submission link isn’t on the blog page yet, but if you would like to participate, here’s the link. All of the submissions I’ve put down are symptoms of plant addiction that I or my relatives have exhibited, so I’d like to keep things in that vein. All posts are anonymous so you can treat it kind of like a confessional. I have high hopes for your submissions, people.
And never fear, the @inkandpenstemon Twitter feed is still there, just lower down.
Welcome to the Summer of Volcanic Ash
It’s cold, and I’m blaming you, Eyjafjallajokull.
In 1783, when the Laki fissure system in Iceland erupted over an eight month period, it sent an ash could that many speculate reached up into the stratosphere. This cloud dimmed the sun across Europe and much of Asia. In America, record lows occurred that winter and destroyed the food harvest. According to historic record, the last time Eyjafjallajokull erupted in 1821, it kept going for two years.
If you read about the internet, a month ago, scientists weren’t worried about the current eruption affecting climate change unless the eruptions changed and kept erupting and spewing ash, and if it didn’t cause the nearby Katla volcano to erupt.
As of a few days ago, the volcano is spewing ash again and air traffic in Europe is still disrupted. And they’ve noticed that the volcano is bulging.
But they’re not worried. It’ll be fine!
Gardening au Naturel-ly
I’m always up for unconventional gardening, but it seems there are those determined to take it to extremes. At least she was wearing gloves.
Seriously, I don’t know how this woman can be gardening this way. Given that this article was published last week, I presume this happened recently. Was she really out there semi-nude in early March? Can you imagine pruning rose bushes wearing only a thong? I can’t really think of a gardening chore where going au naturel seems appealing; mowing the lawn, maybe. But it would have to be a pretty hot late-July afternoon for me to be tempted. And after reading Wicked Plants, gardening this way seems patently reckless. She is running a huge risk of brushing up against some malevolent thistle or creepy-crawly.
Still, I find it more alarming that this woman is doing this in Boulder, Colorado, at 5400 feet above sea level. Under that sun, her skin would be fried a certain shade of the Colonel’s secret recipe in no time at all. I’m at about 4,700 feet and any exposed skin turns golden to extra crispy in about 20 minutes. Even if she were slathered with sunblock, I can’t imagine how she could even manage to even sit down after a few hours weeding wearing only gloves, a couple of pasties, and a thong. Someone should get her a hat, at least. Dr. Alan Armitage once commented that the most essential tool for any gardener is a large hat. For me, this takes the form of a wide brimmed, Helen Kaminski pink number. I searched a long time for this hat. Leave it to the Aussies to get it right—wide enough brim to fully shade the neck and collar; collapsable, but rigid enough that the it doesn’t flop; made of cotton and washable; in a shade other than dirt or raffia, and reasonably priced.
It’s an indispensable accessory for me, even something of a trademark. My neighbor told me that in spring, she knows it’s time to clean up her yard when she sees the top of it from over the fence. I’m betting she prefers seeing a hat to a thong and pasties.
