Ice Fest

Well first I would like to thank Chambersburg, PA for putting on yet another great year of their ice festival.  With that said, I am going to assume that every year is always this wonderful, as I have to admit that this is the first year I attended.  I've lived in the area for over ten years and was only able to go this year for the very first time.

Secondly, I'd like to thank whoever carved this perfect throne for me.  I crawled right up and immediately knew I was meant to sit there and rule the winter world from my ice throne. 

There really could not have been a better day to go to Ice Fest.  Perfect frozen flakes fell from the sky, while families, photographers, and couples of all ages filled the main streets of Chambersburg to enjoy this winter day.  It was cold with no wind, perfect to enjoy the winter wonderland.  Food vendors endured the cold while shop owner welcomed you in for some hot chocolate. 

I found one shop particularly interesting.  Gypsie's, as it is titled, is a cute little shop right off the square of town.  There was an eclectic array of antiques, homemade food products, old books, pottery, and soaps.  This is my type of shop!  We had a nice little chat with the shop owner who told us his inspiring story of going from the corporate lifestyle to a quaint corner shop owner.  He told us of the stories behind the products, tales of the town, and an insight into an entrepreneurs dream.  By the end of the conversation I just had to buy the olive oil soap made in France that apparently everybody raves about.  Oh, and of course I had to buy yet another old book that I probably won't read.  It is called Sesame and Lilies, it has a flower in the title so it must belong on my bookshelf.  Find out more about this nifty little shop at www.gypsieonline.com or check them out on facebook.

 

Here are a few more sights from the day.  It truly was a great one.  I think the dinosaur is my favorite.  I hope everyone can get out and get some enjoyment out of this winter.

 

      

Great Garden Read

I am a little behind in my reading. There are so many great garden and plant books out there.  One of my New Years resolutions is to make more time to read my stack of books I've been accumulating, both plant related and fiction novels.
I just finished a great book that all plant geeks should take a peak at.  Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart.  The book includes a wide variety of common plants that most everyone has come across either in their own yard or while out and about. Check it out! 

Winter Floral Traditons

Every Christmas I chuckle at the floral bias that the green industry has created through the mass marketing of poinsettias and amaryllis.  This year has been no different than the rest, I bought the traditional red pointsettia and received the traditional red amaryllis box set for Christmas.  And as always I've been asked tons of questions about both.

The number one question is about poinsettias being poisonous.  I am super glad that someone at some point put in general public's mind that pointsettias will harm your pets and children. Yes they are poisonous but you would have to eat upwards of 500 leaves to have any toxic effects and even then it is not deadly but it would make you ill, similar to food poisoning.  Oh there are some many plants out there that have toxic effects if eaten, many of which are more common and are in more homes than pointsettias.  

I love amaryllis bulbs as well. They are easy to grow. They come in so many wonderful colors, even though most people will stick with white or red. They really do make quite a statement. I do however have a problem with how they are mass marketed. I cringe when I scan the shelves at walmart and lowes and see yellow, green amaryllis heads poking out through the boxes sitting in a warm store.  Perhaps storing the boxed bulbs in a cooled area such as a refridgerated display case is too difficult.

Not only do the stores selling these homeless amaryllis kits need improved knowledge of the bulb but the kits themselves could use improvement.  It is most difficult to regulate hydration on these little fellas when the supplied pot has no drainage holes and the supplied media ultimately turns to muck. I always suggest to anyone growing from the traditional kit to poke some holes in the bottom of the plastic pot.  I also suggest mixing in some potting soil with the provided media. 

Sigh... I'm not sure if this will ever be resolved.  Until it is I will rant about these issues every year until I am unable to rant.

Winter Dread?

Putting up my Christmas tree I inhale the sweet fragrance of my fraser fir and think this could be one of the last outdoor smells I sniff for the next 4 or 5 months.  Just as that thought brings me into winter dread I turn to my plant and seed catalogs to start planning.  Perusing through catalog after catalog is perhaps one of my favorite parts of gardening.  I make my dream list of plants and seeds to buy and then make my reality list of plants and seeds to buy.

There are other things to do in the cold dreary winter to prep for the spring garden.  When I'm going through my catalogs I also am looking for any tools I need or new gadgets which reminds me to clean and sharpen my tools.  A routine maintenance to clippers and such will keep them cutting for quite some time.  Get some steel wool to get off any rust or hardened debris, sharpen the blade for clean cuts this spring, and finish off with a rubbing of some oil to keep the parts working smooth.   

Happy planning!


*Side note: The J Lynn Nursery webpage is down for some winter maintenance.  It will be back up and running full speed in the new year.

Invasive Species Cartoon

I absolutely love this cartoon on invasive species.  It's a simple concept that some people just don't get.  Enjoy and plant something native!  -Lynn

Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health: Invasive Species Cartoon: Created by Ellen Schofield for the University of Minnesota Department of Entomology

Bees!

Well we were all there when Idgie Threadgoode charmed the bees to sneak a jar honey and watched Dakota Fanning grow up under the wing of August the bee keeper, but do we really know what goes on in the bee world?  This past weekend I was able to get a small glimpse into the world of bees thanks to an old friend, "The Bee Guy" of Honey Fly Farms. 

"The Bee Guy", Kevin, took me out on a usual checking of the hives.  Basically we lifted the lid off each hive and pulled out each frame. Now I should stress that this should be done carefully.  I quickly learned that loosing your grip on the lid and dropping it makes the bees upset.  Each box holds about a dozen frames.  The frames are inspected for disease, vigor of the hive, unwanted insects such as mites, and of course, we were trying to spot the queen.  The queen is slightly longer than the rest of the bees and has more of a solid coloring on her back rather than the typical black stripes.  As you watch her you'll see her cruising through the crowd of bees like, well a queen.  Once spotted, we were extra careful not to damage that frame, we certainly did not want to hurt the queen.  

Can you spot the Queen?

 And just for an extra bit of information, this little adventure would count as my "walking on the wild side" day because when bees sting me I swell up like a marshmallow peep, some would say I'm slightly allergic.  So Kevin made sure I was safely suited up, which left him without a suit.  Luckily neither of us got stung. 

We visited a couple different hive locations.  Locations are spread out across the county to give the bees different nutrient sources when the surrounding plants are blooming.  But when there isn't an abundance of nectar for the bees we put out nutrient solutions just to be sure the colony had plenty to eat. Basically a simple sweet water solution is mixed up and placed close to the hives to supplement their nutrition.  We were also checking the boxes for ants.  Ants love the sweetness of the hives and the nutrient solution.  I learned that sprinkling some cinnamon on the wooden box lids deters the ants.  The cinnamon burns their little feet!  

      


Next time we will be extracting the honey from the hives.  This will be done in a few weeks.  Hopefully it will be a good harvest. 

Until next time,
Lynn

Tears and Torch

Many things in life bring tears to my eyes, funerals, weddings, stubbing my toe, Grey's Anatomy, and plants (the point of sharing this unknown truth).  This little fact may actually come as a shock to most people, but the ones that truely know me, know this to be a truth about me. 

Here is a case in point.....

I have two greenhouses, one is strictly business.  It's where all the J Lynn Nursery magic happens, where plants are born, grown, and shipped from.  The other greenhouse is more of a personal haven for me and my helpers.  This greenhouse is where all the funky little pet plants live that have absolutely nothing to do with business, it's all fun under the sun in this greenhouse.

The other day my sister was doing some work in there and wanted to show me what she had accomplished.  Now, I had not been in there all day or even the day before that.  She was telling me how she clipped back the strawberry plant and re-arranged some of the benches when I completely ignored her and gasped out loud.  I let out a little squeal, put both hands over my mouth, and started jumping up and down a bit.  Completely confused, my sister thought she had done something wrong.  She tried to get words out of me but my full concentration was on my Torch Cactus in bloom! 

At this point I grabbed it off the shelf and placed it on the center bench to get a better look.  There I stood in complete glee staring at Torch with tears in my eyes.  Yes, a plant has made me cry.

This cactus was a gift from a dear friend of mine.  He bought it for me, along with a couple other cacti, on a trip to Arizona.  The tears were of pure joy that it actually bloomed and of course remembering my friend, whom I haven't seen a quite a while.  When I received this gift I was worried that I would not be able to get it to bloom and my friend would be disappointed, but it had bloomed and he is gorgeous.  :o)

Here are a couple pictures of it:

This is Torch on the first day I noticed the bloom, the flower had already started closing for the night.

This is day 2.  The second flower had opened up and we got a good look at it this time.