18 Jan

A Winter Oasis is On Its Way!

Author: admin // Category: landscaping ideas

Each year, as winter charges through, every commercial break on television chimes in with the daydream of a tropical paradise–swimsuits, warmth, and salsa music. Suddenly a car horn blares and the vision fades, leaving a woman with a headcold shivering at an icy New York bus stop. It’s as predictable as the sun rising. But while we can’t just let you hop through the visitor gates in your neon two-piece, The New York Botanical Garden brings more than a mirage to the table; the daydream becomes reality this month. Starting January 21, the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory brings the tropics to the city with Caribbean Garden.

News anchors keep telling us how this winter is so mild and balmy, but who are they trying to fool? I still had to step out of the house in two layers and a scarf this morning.

At the NYBG, you can dance off the chill during one of our Saturday salsa lessons–you’ll feel like you’re in old Havana among the palm trees. Bring your camera and better your craft with a few keen pointers from an expert photographer, or test your skill with a lens through our International Garden Photographer of the Year partnership. And new this year, we’re pointing the kids’ wild energy toward a tropical scavenger hunt! When they’re finished exploring the Conservatory with their field notebooks, checking off exotic species and rare flowers, follow them to the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden to help pot up Caribbean plants of their very own. (You can’t take your kids anywhere without bringing home a souvenir. I think it’s a rule.)

RR is most definitely on the agenda if that’s more your speed.

There’s escape from the miserable cold, so take advantage of it! Make the trip to our oasis in the city. Because even if you can’t find your way to the Virgin Islands this winter, we can still bring the heat of the tropics to New York.

Our Caribbean Garden runs from January 21 through February 26, but you’ll need a ticket to enjoy the Conservatory’s color and warmth. Stop by our online reservation page before you head out to ensure you don’t miss it!

Tags: Caribbean Garden, Conservatory, Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, New York Botanical Garden, NYBG

This entry was posted
on Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 at 1:00 pm and is filed under Exhibitions.
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Article source: http://www.nybg.org/plant-talk/2012/01/exhibit-news/a-winter-oasis-is-on-its-way/

This Weekend at the Garden: Get Outside!

Author: admin // Category: landscaping ideas

Did this week fly by for you, or are you having trouble getting back into the groove of the everyday? Either way, the weekend has finally come chugging back around the bend, and we’re ready to keep on with our holiday celebrations. The weather is going to be beautiful this weekend, so why not hop on the train, or clamber into the car for a visit to The New York Botanical Garden. The weather’s great so head into the Forest for a beautiful winter walk!

Saturday, with very few exceptions, is the day of our morning Bird Walk with Debbie Becker. Meet at 11 a.m. at the Reflecting Pool near the Leon Levy Visitor Center for a chance to see owls, hawks, and all sorts of other avian guests. Debbie’s been doing this for over 25 years, so she knows what she’s talking about! Be sure to bring binoculars if you can, as we have a limited number on loan before the group gets moving.

For both Saturday and Sunday, we’ll also be holding Conservatory Tours at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m.–just meet at the Conservatory entrance. One of our talented Docents will guide you in your exploration of our acre under glass, visiting rain forest, desert, and aquatic habitats. If you haven’t been before, now’s the perfect chance to escape the cold and view the lush displays we have year-round.

And if you thought the holidays were already spent, you’re thankfully mistaken! The Holiday Train Show is still running strong in the Conservatory through January 16. This past Monday also marked the beginning of our Thomas the Tank Engine™ mini-performances, running weekdays and weekends alike. If you’re planning on bringing your child, make sure to check for special ticket availability online before you head out–seating is limited and reservations are disappearing quickly!

Tags: bird walk, Holiday Train Show, NYBG, Thomas the Tank Engine

This entry was posted
on Friday, January 6th, 2012 at 11:00 am and is filed under Around the Garden.
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Article source: http://www.nybg.org/plant-talk/2012/01/around-the-garden/the-weekender/

A Few March Gardening Chores Accomplished

Author: admin // Category: Home Gardening, Tips

This past weekend the weather was perfect for what else? Gardening! I spent most of my time outdoors getting the garden ready for the growing season. There’s always a lot to do in the spring to prepare the garden for a great year. The most frustrating thing about this weekend was my riding mower battery. When I went to start the mower it was dead – way dead. Since the soil is still wet I couldn’t bring the car to the back and had to push it all the way to the car – there’s some exercise for you! I managed to get it jump-started and was able to get the yard mowed.

Forsythia blooming in the front corner garden. Flowering almond on right.

Colors are coming out just about everywhere now. Spring is in full swing right now here in Tennessee! One of the other garden chores I accomplished was the planting of a white dogwood. Its destiny will be to replace the Bradford pear tree behind it in the picture one day. I toyed with the idea of cutting down the Bradford pear this year but decided to let nature take care of it for now. It provides us with privacy on the front porch and it will be a while before our dogwood can do the same. I’ll tell you though, they are stinking up a storm right now!

The front garden is coming along nicely. I can’t wait to show you the creeping phlox when it blooms but today I’ll give you a picture of a self-sown Salvia lyrata also known as Lyre leaf sage. It’s found a home between two border rocks there in the front garden.

I gave the birdbath garden some much needed attention too. I pruned the butterfly bush back to about 18-24 inches. It would grow to gigantic proportions if I didn’t prune it each year! I also weeded much of the henbit and chickweed from the garden. The tricky part was removing it without accidentally pulling the plants growing around it out. It was weaving in between salvia, mums, and achillea. I also moved some of the salvia to other places and opened up the space for the irises to grow. Termites finally found and took out the wooden stand for my copper birdbath. I’ll have to find a new solution for the birdbath and to find a way to prevent the termites from finding our house!

The ‘Shasta’ viburnum is beginning to put on some leaves. It won’t be too long before it’s beautiful white blooms are decorating our garden.

I finally got around to cutting back the miscanthus. Some people recommend burning them to the ground but I think if I attempted that I might burn the neighborhood to the ground! I’ll settle for cutting them back – it’s just safer that way!

I dragged the miscanthus leaves to the back for a special project…

Mulch! I mowed the miscanthus repeatedly with my bagger mower and ground up the leaves and stalks into hay. If you do this remove the seed heads first to prevent any potential miscanthus from growing up in places you don’t want it. I put the miscanthus mulch around a couple hydrangeas in a garden bed next to the garden shed.

I transplanted several plants and even cleaned up the vegetable garden. I’ll share the raised bed vegetable garden with you in another post this week! How was your weekend?

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Originally written by Dave @ The Home Garden
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Target Coupons: $5 Off $50, Free Shipping on Select Furniture

Author: admin // Category: Home Gardening, Tips

Furniture shopping can be a pain. Not only can your furniture be expensive, but the transportation from the store to your home is also a headache that can cost you even more money. If you’re fortunate, then some furniture stores offer free shipping, but you can never really be certain, so you should always consider the added costs to your purchase.

Not too long ago, I went through this experience. I was planning on buying a new bed, since my old one was getting worn down and kept giving me back problems. I didn’t think I would have such a difficult time, but it was definitely a struggle to find the right bed for the right price. I went from store to store comparing and making sure I was getting a quality bed for the price I wanted. After finally choosing the bed I wanted, I knew it wouldn’t fit into my two-door car. I was charged a little extra for shipping. Overall, I spent more than I had planned, and the experience of furniture shopping left a bad taste in my mouth. Fortunately, for many of you, Target has a great offer that can save you from what I went through.

Shop at Target.com and you can take an extra $5 off orders of $50 or more on select furniture. Choose from a variety of living room, bedroom, kitchen and office furniture. The best part is that Target will also include free shipping! Just make sure you use coupon code CM5OFF50FUR when checking out. This offer is valid up to Aug. 1, 2011.

With Target, furniture shopping cannot get any easier or any more convenient. No need to drive from store to store and stress about shipping costs!

Be sure to keep checking our Target coupons page to find the latest deals and discounts!

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/doubleimagephotography/5141250962

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The Battle of the Garage: Choosing What to Keep Snow-Free

Author: admin // Category: Home Gardening, Tips

My entire life, I never had a garage, and in a state where winter seems to last 10 out of 12 months, that meant I had years of scraping off snow and ice from my car. When I moved into my current home, I was thrilled to finally have a garage.

I had dreams of walking into the garage after 8 inches of snow and not seeing any frost on the windows and not worrying if the bitter cold had drained the battery to the point that it wouldn’t start. For the first few years, I lived in a state of bliss.

Having a garage was everything I dreamed of, but then it started to get complicated. It was a one-car garage, and there was barely enough room for my car, let alone anything else that we may have wanted to store in there.

Unlike the attic or the basement, there are certain things that just belong in the garage, such as the lawn mower, tools, garden and yard implements, etc. Why? Because no one wants to lug a lawn mower up or down stairs once a week, sometimes twice a week, during the spring.

Slowly but surely, the garage began to become cluttered. A wheel barrel for my garden needs, a stepladder for when I need to get on the roof and take care of those pesky gutters, a few crates of oil for when I do the oil change, garden hoses and nozzles.

When I put the car in the garage, I began having a hard time getting the car door open, and eventually, the car was barely fitting into it all. The final straw was the garden tiller I bought, at which point my car moved back to the driveway.

Fast forward about three years, and once again I am scrapping frost off the windows while my lawn mower and tools sit all toasty in the garage. So far, the cold hasn’t gotten to the point that the battery had become drained, but that day will come. Every year, I promise myself that I will reclaim my garage for its true purpose, but when I go into it I have no idea where to put anything.

My friends have suggested building a tool shed in the garage, and I am sure that eventually I will get around to it, but for now, I’ll keep my scraper handy. One day the garage will be mine again, but that’s going to have to wait until spring.

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/pauldineen/2096545904/

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Holiday Safety: Don’t Spend Christmas in the ER

Author: admin // Category: Home Gardening, Tips

Odds are that some, if not most, of the people will begin their Christmas sojourn today via a long drive or a trip to a friend’s Christmas party. Christmas Eve is notorious for sending people to the ER for falls and other calamities, so here are some tips to keep you safe this season.

1. Watch the walkways: Ice is perhaps the most dangerous natural phenomenon that can put an early end to Christmas celebrations. Make sure your walkway is well salted with rock salt, or at the very least, use sand or cinder to gain traction. Make sure to keep an eye on the ice when you walk across on the way to the car. If you’re the host, then please, use a doormat.

2. Don’t be afraid to take an extra trip: Humans are naturally impatient, and we will do anything we can to consolidate how many trips we take to the car. That includes piling presents to the point where we can’t see anything. We assume that since we have been taking this route to the car day in and day out for years that a seven-foot-high present tower won’t keep us from it. What ends up happening is you fall and the presents go flying everywhere as do you. Here’s a thought. Only take a few presents at a time and just keep going back. A few extra trips will be less time than a ER visit.

3. Don’t drink too much eggnog: It’s easy to get a little crazy at a holiday party. Eggnog is often spiked, and drinks of various forms are flowing freely, but it is important to drink in moderation and to choose a designated driver. You want your Christmas to be remembered for the fun memories and not for embarrassment and tragedy.

4. Take it slow: Winter can be a treacherous time on the roads, and people will be out in droves traveling from place to place. It’s important to take it slow and to keep an eye not only on the road, but also on the other drivers. Roads can be covered with ice and you may not know it, so just slow down and be careful.

Make this holiday season a safe one so you can enjoy friends and family outside of a hospital environment. They want you to be around for a long time, so please take the time to be a little extra careful this season.

Image Source:flickr.com/photos/betsyweber/2355138776

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The Ups and Downs of Using Snow Throwers

Author: admin // Category: Home Gardening, Tips

Every year after the snowfall, I promise myself that I am going to buy a snow thrower, and every year after the snow melts, I tell myself they are a waste of time and money.

For those of you blessed with warm weather climates, there are basically two ways to remove snow from a sidewalk and driveway. You can shovel it, which can be back-breaking work (and more than one person has had a heart attack while shoveling snow) or you can buy a snow thrower.

This machination basically acts as a snow till. Starting at one end, you turn on the snow thrower and the blades under the machine rotate and catch the snow. The snow is thrown out of the way, thus clearing a path. Growing up, I would see people with these and think, Why would you spend your money on that? Snow shoveling isn’t that big a deal. Then I got older.

Suddenly, lifting up that snow with a shovel takes a lot more effort, and it usually leaves my back aching for several days afterward. If it is a particularly bad snow storm or one that last a few days, my frozen butt is out there several times a day making sure that people don’t slip on my sidewalks and that my car can get out of the driveway.

My neighbor pulls out his monster, and the driveway is clear in five minutes. Then he’s back inside with hot cocoa. It’s during this time that I usually curse the idea that I didn’t buy one when they were cheap during the summer and vow to get one come spring. I am way too cheap to pay full price during the winter.

When the spring finally gets here and the snow melts, my mind once again reverts back to the old ways. It’s probably been several weeks since I shoveled snow, and my back has since recovered. In other words, I am invincible again.

I convince myself that the snow thrower isn’t worth it and that shoveling wasn’t a big deal this year. Ugh, when will I learn? Let me say, for the record, that a day after I shoveled snow, snow throwers seemed like the best thing since sliced bread. OK, now it’s in print and I can’t change my mind this year.

Image Source:flickr.com/photos/11897810@N02/1205439160

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Keeping Tabs: Ensure Your Furnace Is Always Working

Author: admin // Category: Home Gardening, Tips

At 3 a.m. this morning, my wife woke me from a dead sleep because it was 65 degrees in the house when it was supposed to be 74. I freaked out, because I have three small children and cold temperatures can be bad.

Luckily, I was able to fix what was wrong, and before long, the heat was back up and running, but it took me about three hours to get back to sleep, because every time the heater came on, I wanted to make sure the fan kicked on and hot air was blowing out.

I hate winter. Cold weather, high electricity bills and the constant worry that at any moment the heater is going to give out on me drives me insane. I cannot stress the importance of calling a heating and cooling specialist in October or November to give your furnace a good once-over before it starts getting used full time.

They will take a look and identify any parts or worries that might cause the heater to malfunction during the winter months. The last thing you want to do is call a heating specialist in the winter. The cost is going to be much higher, and until he gets there, you’re going to be freezing your tail off.

Your choices are either to stick it out, bundle up and buy a bunch of portable heaters or to head off to a hotel. And that’s not an inexpensive option. It’s like renting a new car because you didn’t get your oil changed. You wouldn’t skip an oil change for your car when it was time, just like you wouldn’t leave your tires deflated. You shouldn’t skip getting your furnace checked out, either.

Since winter has already started, there are a few signs that your furnace may be on the verge of needing repair. It’s best to get help there before it breaks down if you suspect that it’s on its way out.

If the air coming out isn’t as warm as usual, then you could be in need of a new heating element. Any kind of knocking when the furnace turns on should be checked out immediately. If you smell gas when the furnace comes on or afterward, then the furnace should be turned off and a heating specialist called immediately. If at any time you see or smell smoke or something burning, then turn off the furnace.

It can be expensive to get a furnace fixed, and you may to ignore the sounds, but a furnace is one thing you cannot live without this winter, so treat it with the respect that it deserves. The last thing you want to have to do is buy a new furnace.

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/photofarmer/2990892731

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Snow plow Abs Brake system-How does it work?

Author: admin // Category: Tips

Snow plow Abs Brake system-How does it work?

ABS) means antilock brake system , which is a safe and effective braking system. (ABS ) gives the driver the ability to maintain directional stability, control over steering, and in some situations, to help reduce stopping distances during emergency braking situation, particularly on wet and slippery or icy road surface. To gain this safety advantage, drivers NEED TO learn how to operate their ABS correctly. You want to make sure to read the owners manual of the vehicle you drive that is equipped with the ABS system. . ABS simply keeps your base brakes from locking up. In vehicles not equipped with ABS, the driver can manually pump the brakes to prevent wheel lockup

What does the ABS do to my brakes
What ABS does is very similar to a person pumping the brakes. It automatically changes the brake pressure in your truck’s brake lines to maintain maximum brake performance just before locking up the wheels. ABS does this very rapidly with electronics impulses in your brake system.

Why should I think it is important ?
As you know when your brakes lock up on wet and icy or slippery roads or at other times ,during a panic stop, you lose steering control and your vehicle can spin. Rear wheel ABS prevents wheel lockup so that your car stays in a straight line. If your car has ABS control on all four wheels, you also keep steering control. If you have steering control, it is possible to avoid a crash by steering around hazards if a complete stop cannot be accomplished in time So that’s why you should consider this a very important brake feature. When driving you may experience a rapid pulsation of the brake pedal–almost as if the brakes are pushing back at you. Sometimes the pedal could suddenly drop. Also, the valves in the ABS controller may make a noise that sounds like grinding or buzzing. In some cars you may feel a slight vibration–this means the ABS is working. It is important NOT to take your foot off the brake pedal when you hear noise or feel pulsations, but instead continue to apply firm pressure. Not all Abs systems are the same so make sure you read the ABS section in your vehicles owners manual.