That thing you do

That thing you do...
Why do plants do what they do?
"This says if leaves drop late, it will be a hard winter; if they drop early, it will be mild--that doesn't make sense."
Well, yes, it sort of makes sense. The longer the leaves hold on, the more energy is converted and stored to help plants make it through the winter.
What is this late-season new green pine cone telling us?
When I searched to see if green pine cones are typical in the fall, I found an interesting article, Thirteen Things You Never Knew About Pine Cones..." (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…/thirteen-things-you-never_b…). Purportedly, Celtic women put pine cones under their pillows when they were trying to conceive. Who knew? It must be true. I never put pine cones under my pillow, and I never had children, although, I don't recommend banking on this.

~ LowTide explorer, Carolyn Fjeran


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"War of the rubies ..."

Image
LowTide Morning - August 25, 2018 "War of the rubies ..." On my deck, a cherry tomato is climbing, clinging to life inside a wire cage. The vine looks like sin, but the hummingbirds love perching on the top of the cage as if they are king of the hill. Male hummingbirds are aggressive and territorial. I wonder, do birds have testosterone? I have a couple of ruby-throated hummers going at it in my backyard. "Your mama..." "I know you are, but what am I?" The fight is on. They dart, dive, twist, and smack talk. I just refilled the feeder yesterday. There is plenty of nectar for all. For now. But they don't understand that there is an endless supply. I suppose they fight for what they fear is expendable. I was about to say there is no need for all this fighting. But who knows what tomorrow will hold; I might forget to refill the feeder. Yes, that has been known to happen. Don't judge. Just as children fighting for love and attention, hummers don't ...
Read more

PIECES OF A PUZZLE

Image
January 31, 2016 Ann Crammond, second executive director of the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, was looking forward to a post-retirement trip to the Antarctica. The trip was scheduled one year after her 11 year tenure as executive director. She was an avid horticulturist featured on Atlanta's WXIA TV "Noonday Gardener." In her lighthearted style, she quipped that she was looking forward to the Antarctica because, "No one would ask her to identify any plants." Understood. There are thousands of plants in cultivation and exponentially more in the wild. Gardeners are prone to share bits and pieces of a plant hoping for a positive ID. Horticulturists can be like a dog with a bone if they cannot immediately provide an answer. Plant keys are an old tried-and-true method, but slow and laborious. Today, one of my favorite gardeners presented a lovely clipping of a shrub neither of us could name. Next came an internet search for a plant key. In the process, I found an intrigu...
Read more