A flower is a flower right? Not if you are me. Orchids lend endless fascination for me. Sitting here with my coffee this morning admiring an orchid that I purchased at a sale at the Franklin Park Conservatory a couple of years ago. I have no idea what type of orchid it is. Orchid growers call these noids. Doesn’t matter, it is amazing. Not only is it beautiful, it has a wonderful chocolate fragrance early in the day.
Read moreMy wife and I have had a very hard time deciding how to protect our family from the flu. The general flu vaccines aren’t available through our pediatrician and the kids can’t get the vaccines at the local clinics. Many of our family and friends already have the flu, well before any H1N1 vaccines are available. We haven’t come up with any solutions but a family member who is a nurse forwarded us some general ways to protect yourself. It is interesting because it suggests that it is almost impossible to prevent being exposed. For what it’s worth, here are their suggestions.
Read morePeppers are quite promiscuous. Peppers have “perfect” flowers, meaning that each flower has both male and female parts. If a pepper is left alone, it will simply fertilize itself. But, if you have other varieties near by, bees and other pollinators will make sure that your peppers will have two parents. If you are adventurous then this can be a great thing. Save some seed from peppers in a mixed planting bed and you will likely be surprised next season. You may even be able to tell which plants were responsible for your next generation of peppers. You will certainly know the mother as long as you make note of it when you collect your seed.
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