18 Jul

Garden Close-Up: The Legend of the Dragonfly

Author: admin // Category: Home Gardening, Tips

I have always had a fascination with dragonflies in the garden. I had never really seen them before but when we got our pool in 1996 there became an abundance of them hovering around the water and even landing right next to me with not a single fear. An appreciation for their beauty and gracefulness became instilled in me while there was still a mystery to be unraveled.

I started to do some research on the legend of the dragonfly and found that there is indeed a legend….a story to be told that is quite fascinating. Dragonflies have been around for millions of years and were one of the first insects. The family that the dragonfly belongs to, Odonata, is believed to have been related to the Damselflies and the myth states that the Dragonflies were once Dragons. These creatures had measured over two feet in length at the time and although they have shrunken down in size their appearance and function has remained the same. Dragonflies have been welcomed in the garden for years since they are carnivores and feast on garden pests such as mosquitoes, flies, gnats and aphids. An interesting fact about dragonflies is that most need light in order to fly and will land briefly even if a cloud goes by. The dragonfly exhibits iridescence on its body and both wings. Iridescence is the ability of colors to change based on the reflection and refraction of light which puts on a show of color magic as they fly through the air. Dragonflies are water creatures in the first stage of their life then emerge to land as adults. The adult lifespan is short, only long enough to reproduce then they die off when winter arrives. The following year the cycle begins again when the offspring emerge. Dragonflies are often attracted to pools, ponds or other bodies of water. I often watch as they dance around the pool and delicately balance on the tips of taller flowers in the garden.

Now onto the legend of the dragonfly. In most cultures dragonflies are followed with many superstitions. The dragonfly symbolizes growing, changing and sense of self. When a dragonfly lands on you it is a sign that you will hear excellent news from someone dear and a dead dragonfly symbolizes sad news. In Japanese paintings they are the symbol for new light and joy, happiness, courage and strength. In European culture the dragonfly was given the name of “Devil’s Darning Needle” because of a superstition that the dragonfly would sew shut the mouths of lying children while they slept. The Swedish name for dragonfly is trollslanda, which means “hobgoblin fly” or “goblin fly” in English. In Swedish culture it was believed that hoggoblins, elves and brownies would live in the woods and that dragonflies were considered to be the hobgoblin’s twisting tools. To the Chinese the dragonfly is a symbol of summer but also a symbol of instability and feebleness.

While in some cultures dragonflies are called the witches’ or devils’ animals they are honored in others. Some people believe that the dragonfly symbolizes emotional and passionate early years of life and balance and clarity with age. There is an expression of mental and emotional stability as one matures. Dragonfly symbolism combines somewhat with that of a butterfly and change. The iridescence or reflective property of the wings and body symbolizes a clear vision to the realities of life and self-discovery and a loss of inhibitions. The dragonfly symbolizes growth over past self-created illusions that hold back our progression. It represents a sense of self that comes with age and maturity and clarity of the deeper meaning of life.

There are numerous superstitions, myths and beliefs about the dragonfly. Next time you encounter one in your garden think of not only the benefits but also all the legend that follows this mysterious creature. Gaze upon the dragonfly, unravel its mystery and jump into a world of imagination!

As Always~ Happy Gardening!

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18 Mar

The Importance of Sunlight

Author: admin // Category: Home Gardening, Tips

There has been a lot said for the detrimental effects of fluorescent lighting on mood and sickness and the benefits of natural sunlight. In the home, we cover up windows for privacy and flood the inside with lamps, forgetting that natural sunlight is right outside the window.

The purpose of windows was to let sunlight into a home back when people didn’t have light bulbs. It saved the precious fuels they used for lighting until the nighttime, when it was truly needed. With the creation of cheap electrical light, windows became more decorative, and natural light was put to the wayside.

People forget that we need natural light. Sunlight actually provides important nutrients to the body, and without it, we can become sick. During the Industrial Revolution, when pollution clouds blocked out the sun, people developed a disease called rickets (a vitamin D deficiency that affects metabolism, among other things) because of the lack of sunlight. When babies get jaundice when born, the first treatment is a few hours a day in direct sunlight. I know I had to do that for all three of my children for a few days.

Natural lighting also helps create heat, and for anyone who has seen their electric or gas bill lately, you know how expensive it can be to provide artificially. Sunlight comes through the window and heats the inside of your home for free. It’s nice to know that Mother Nature isn’t charging us per kilowatt hour.

If you have a little do-it-yourself knowledge, then you can put in a skylight and let in more light. During the day, this can be a primary way to light and possibly heat the home on slightly cool days. You can replace small window pairs with a large bay window that can illuminate an entire room.

It’s springtime, so the temperatures are rising and the sun is coming out more and more. Why not open the windows, throw back the curtains and let Mother Nature flow into your home? The benefits are many, and there is no cost to you.

During this time of year, my windows are all open, the sun shines into my home and it just makes me feel better. It lightens my mood and gives me the energy to do what needs to be done. Why not let it do the same for you?

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/52477967@N00/365542069

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16 Mar

I’m Branching Out Into Archaeology: Blame the Wisteria

Author: admin // Category: Home Gardening, Tips

Posted by CoolGreenGardens

I’ve yet to see a documentary on the ancient migratory trail of the Wisterians, who evidently passed through Santa Barbara, leaving barely a trace. Without a reliable body of research I can only conjecture that they appeared about 14,000 years ago.

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31 Oct

GARDEN PESTS Control

Author: admin // Category: Home Gardening, landscaping ideas, Tips

If we could garden without any interference from the pests which attack plants, then indeed gardening would be a simple matter. But all the time we must watch out for these little foes little in size, but tremendous in the havoc they make.

As human illness may often be prevented by healthful conditions, so pests may be kept away by strict garden cleanliness. Heaps of waste are lodging places for the breeding of insects. I do not think a compost pile will do the harm, but unkempt, uncared-for spots seem to invite trouble.

There are certain helps to keeping pests down. The constant stirring up of the soil by earthworms is an aid in keeping the soil open to air and water. Many of our common birds feed upon insects. The sparrows, robins, chickadees, meadow larks and orioles are all examples of birds who help in this way. Some insects feed on other and harmful insects. Some kinds of ladybugs do this good deed. The ichneumon-fly helps too. And toads are wonders in the number of insects they can consume at one meal. The toad deserves very kind treatment from all of us.

Each gardener should try to make her or his garden into a place attractive to birds and toads. A good birdhouse, grain sprinkled about in early spring, a water-place, are invitations for birds to stay a while in your garden. If you wish toads, fix things up for them too. During a hot summer day a toad likes to rest in the shade. By night he is ready to go forth to eat but not to kill, since toads prefer live food. How can one “fix up” for toads? Well, one thing to do is to prepare a retreat, quiet, dark and damp. A few stones of some size underneath the shade of a shrub with perhaps a carpeting of damp leaves, would appear very fine to a toad.

There are two general classes of insects known by the way they do their work. One kind gnaws at the plant really taking pieces of it into its system. This kind of insect has a mouth fitted to do this work. Grasshoppers and caterpillars are of this sort. The other kind sucks the juices from a plant. This, in some ways, is the worst sort. Plant lice belong here, as do mosquitoes, which prey on us. All the scale insects fasten themselves on plants, and suck out the life of the plants.

Now can we fight these chaps? The gnawing fellows may be caught with poison sprayed upon plants, which they take into their bodies with the plant. The Bordeaux mixture which is a poison sprayed upon plants for this purpose.

In the other case the only thing is to attack the insect direct. So certain insecticides, as they are called, are sprayed on the plant to fall upon the insect. They do a deadly work of attacking, in one way or another, the body of the insect.

Sometimes we are much troubled with underground insects at work. You have seen a garden covered with ant hills. Here is a remedy, but one of which you must be careful.

This question is constantly being asked, ‘How can I tell what insect is doing the destructive work?’ Well, you can tell partly by the work done, and partly by seeing the insect itself. This latter thing is not always so easy to accomplish. I had cutworms one season and never saw one. I saw only the work done. If stalks of tender plants are cut clean off be pretty sure the cutworm is abroad. What does he look like? Well, that is a hard question because his family is a large one. Should you see sometime a grayish striped caterpillar, you may know it is a cutworm. But because of its habit of resting in the ground during the day and working by night, it is difficult to catch sight of one. The cutworm is around early in the season ready to cut the flower stalks of the hyacinths. When the peas come on a bit later, he is ready for them. A very good way to block him off is to put paper collars, or tin ones, about the plants. These collars should be about an inch away from the plant.

Of course, plant lice are more common. Those we see are often green in colour. But they may be red, yellow or brown. Lice are easy enough to find since they are always clinging to their host. As sucking insects they have to cling close to a plant for food, and one is pretty sure to find them. But the biting insects do their work, and then go hide. That makes them much more difficult to deal with.

Rose slugs do great damage to the rose bushes. They eat out the body of the leaves, so that just the veining is left. They are soft-bodied, green above and yellow below.

A beetle, the striped beetle, attacks young melons and squash leaves. It eats the leaf by riddling out holes in it. This beetle, as its name implies, is striped. The back is black with yellow stripes running lengthwise.

Then there are the slugs, which are garden pests. The slug will devour almost any garden plant, whether it be a flower or a vegetable. They lay lots of eggs in old rubbish heaps. Do you see the good of cleaning up rubbish? The slugs do more harm in the garden than almost any other single insect pest. You can discover them in the following way. There is a trick for bringing them to the surface of the ground in the day time. You see they rest during the day below ground. So just water the soil in which the slugs are supposed to be. How are you to know where they are? They are quite likely to hide near the plants they are feeding on. So water the ground with some nice clean lime water. This will disturb them, and up they’ll poke to see what the matter is.

Beside these most common of pests, pests which attack many kinds of plants, there are special pests for special plants. Discouraging, is it not? Beans have pests of their own; so have potatoes and cabbages. In fact, the vegetable garden has many inhabitants. In the flower garden lice are very bothersome, the cutworm and the slug have a good time there, too, and ants often get very numerous as the season advances. But for real discouraging insect troubles the vegetable garden takes the prize. If we were going into fruit to any extent, perhaps the vegetable garden would have to resign in favour of the fruit garden.

A common pest in the vegetable garden is the tomato worm. This is a large yellowish or greenish striped worm. Its work is to eat into the young fruit.

A great, light green caterpillar is found on celery. This caterpillar may be told by the black bands, one on each ring or segment of its body.

The squash bug may be told by its brown body, which is long and slender, and by the disagreeable odour from it when killed. The potato bug is another fellow to look out for. It is a beetle with yellow and black stripes down its crusty back. The little green cabbage worm is a perfect nuisance. It is a small caterpillar and smaller than the tomato worm. These are perhaps the most common of garden pests by name.

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18 Dec

Snow Removal Techniques to Avoid Back Injury

Author: admin // Category: Tips

Snow Removal Techniques to Avoid Back Injury

Snow removal injuries

One of the more common causes of back injuries during the winter months is snow removal. Using the wrong body mechanics when shoveling snow can put undue stress on the spine and lead to muscle strains, falls, or more serious back injuries.

The following snow removal tips can help you to avoid low back injuries and pain during the snowy winter season.

Pick the right snow shovel
An ergonomic snow shovel can help take some of the effort out of your snow removal chores. A shovel with a curved handle or an adjustable handle length will minimize painful bending, requiring you to bend your knees only slightly and arch your back very slightly while keeping the shovel blade on the ground. In addition, a small, lightweight, plastic blade helps reduce the amount of weight that you are moving.

Warm up thoroughly
Cold, tight muscles are more prone to injury than warmed up, flexible muscles. Do your back a favor by warming up for five to ten minutes before shoveling or any strenuous activity. Get your blood moving with a brisk walk, marching in place, or another full-body activity. Then, stretch your low back and hamstrings (the large muscles in the back of the thigh) with some gentle stretching exercises. Limber up your arms and shoulders with a body hug.

Pace yourself during snow removal
Removing small amounts of snow frequently is less strenuous than removing a large pile at once. If possible, removing snow over a period of days will lessen the strain on the back and arms. In deep snow, remove a few inches at a time, rather than attempting to shovel the full depth at once. When shoveling, take a break for a minute or two every 10-15 minutes or if you feel overworked at any point. Use this opportunity to stretch your arms, shoulders, and back to keep them warm and flexible.

Use ergonomic lifting techniques
Whenever possible, push the snow to one side rather than lifting it. When lifting the snow shovel is necessary, make sure to use ergonomic lifting techniques:

Always face towards the object you intend to lift
Bend at the hips, not the low back, and push the chest out, pointing forward. Then, bend your knees and lift with your leg muscles, keeping your back straight
Keep your loads light and do not lift an object that is too heavy for you
If you must lift a shovel full, grip the shovel with one hand as close to the blade as comfortably possible and the other hand on the handle (handle and arm length will vary the technique)
Avoid twisting the back to move your object to its new location – always pivot your whole body to face the new direction
Keep the heaviest part of the object close to your body at your center of gravity
Walk to the new location to deposit the item rather than reaching or tossing

When gripping the shovel, keep your hands about 12 inches apart to provide greater stability and minimize the chances of injuring your low back.

Keep your feet on the ground
Slippery conditions while shoveling can lead to slipping and/or falls and strains that can injure your back. Shoes or boots with good treads will help to minimize injuries from slipping. Spreading sand, rock salt, or kitty litter on your sidewalk or driveway will increase traction and reduce the likelihood of slipping on the ice.

If possible, stop shoveling – use a snow blower instead. When used correctly, a snow blower can put less stress on your low back than shoveling. Avoid stressing your back by using the power of your legs to push the snow blower while keeping your back straight and knees bent.

Be a good neighbor
Elderly residents or residents with health problems that prevent them from shoveling snow may need help with their snow removal. Using your new knowledge about ergonomic snow shoveling, you can help your neighbors remain active and mobile during the winter months and help prevent them from sustaining an injury from icy walkways or trying to remove the snow themselves. If low back pain, recent back injury, or another back condition makes shoveling a hazardous task for you, ask for help from your neighbors or a snow removal service rather than attempting to remove the snow yourself.

These tips can help to make snow removal less of a strain on your low back. Keeping these guidelines in mind during the winter season will lessen the chances of a new back injury or worsening your low back pain while shoveling, and hopefully make your winter a healthier and more enjoyable experience.

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