should i go ahead and get him a rose for valentines day?

Question by Brittany D: should i go ahead and get him a rose for valentines day?
my man and me been together for a year and before when we started seeing eachother i would go and buy him a rose to show him that i cared, (he kept the roses in a book). now this valentines day i got him a couple of gifts and i have to get a rose but he dont want one said roses are for ladies. i dont know if this is a mix single but should go get him a rose or not?

Best answer:

Answer by jessie
Honestly guys do not care for flowers or candy or even valentines day. He wont tell you that so as not to hurt your feelings but he did tell you no rose so no it is not a mixed signal. where ever you got the idea that guys want roses for valentines day you are wrong. If it makes you feel better about it then go ahead and continue your traditions but I do not think he cares about the roses and don’t let that hurt your feelings because it is a guy thing.

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My roses will not bloom…?

Question by LORI: My roses will not bloom…?
I planted some “Don Juan climbing roses” probably 9 months ago and the stems, thorns and leaves are beautiful it has doubled in size and climbing like crazy but it hasn’t bloomed yet. I have not pruned it at all and it has the best spot in the yard to get plenty of sunlight, water and rest. So it just looks like greenery, pretty greenery with no blooms can someone give me some tips please.

Best answer:

Answer by Yarddoccarol
Rose ‘Don Juan’ is one of my favorite roses. It’s tough, has little problem with black spot and tends to bloom all the time – usually.

For best blooming roses ned at least 6 to 8 hours of sun a day, regular water and fertilizer. Also, they should not be sheared when pruned. Since you said there is plenty of sun, water and they have not be pruned, then it must be something else.

My best guess is in your statement “the leaves are beautiful it has doubled in size.” This indicates the possibility of not of sun or too much nitrogen. Leaves and plants stretch in low light, so check your light again.

Most likely you have been very kind applied lots of fertilizer. If you have lots rich, dark green leaves and rapid growth this would indicate lots of nutrients. Unfortunately, some plants are lazy. Growing flowers is hard work, if you have an abundance of nutrients around why do the work of growing flowers? Cut back a bit on the nutrients and you should see a few blooms.

Don Juan rose profile – http://www.learn2grow.com/plants/rosa-don-juan/

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April Is The Natural Time To Plan

April is a busy month in the garden. Even though spring is late this year, there are still signs of the season about to start in earnest. April is the month for planting, sowing, feeding and weeding, so make sure you spend as much time as you can preparing the garden for the season ahead.

April is the natural time to plant. Every keen gardener would agree that there is always room for a few more plants. A visit to the garden centre during April will reveal a wide choice of fabulous spring flowering trees and shrubs. These will have been grown in containers and although they can be planted almost all year round, it is much better to plant them in spring or autumn. Improve the planting soil with a quality planting compost, this will help the plant roots grow easily into the surrounding soil and provide essential drainage and nutrients to the roots. Water thoroughly after planting even if it has rained as this will settle the soil and compost around the roots and help your plant establish more quickly. After a week or so, top up the compost around the roots where it has settled and mulch the area with an appropriate mulch.

Give trees and shrubs a spring feed to support strong and healthy growth. Use a general balanced feed such as growmore, it’s granular so can be sprinkled around the base of your plants. Organic gardeners can choose pelleted chicken manure, fish, blood & bone, seaweed meal or bone meal.

Weed around the base of trees and shrubs, removing any grass and perennial weeds that cover the root area. Then apply a thick mulch around the base after heavy rainfall to suppress weed growth, improve the soil moisture retention and insulate the roots from extremes of temperature.

Feed flowering shrubs and roses with a dedicated rose food to encourage plenty of rich green foliage and masses of wonderful flowers.

Keep a watch on early shoots for the first signs of pests. Many pests such as aphids coincide their lifecycles with the growth pattern of your plants, so as your roses and shrubs burst into growth this provides vital food for the first generations of this year’s pests. Be vigilant and deal with them as soon as you see them.

If you want to garden organically, feed the birds to encourage them into the garden and plant plenty of brightly flowered annuals to attract beneficial insects into the garden.

Many shrubs can be pruned in April. Dogwoods (Cornus) respond particularly well to hard pruning, as this encourages plenty of fresh coloured stems to develop. Spring flowering shrubs such as forsythia, flowering currants, weigela, deutzia and early clematis should all be pruned after flowering as they all actually flower on stems made last year. If you remove these stems before the flowers have opened you will stop the plants from flowering this season.

Plants that flower on this year’s stems should be pruned in early spring to encourage plenty of new growth and flowers this season, these include roses, the butterfly bush (buddleia), Hydrangea paniculata, and caryopteris.  Feed after pruning.

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For easy crops to grow in April choose a mixed salad seed that can be sown weekly in small pots of compost in a greenhouse, cold frame or even on a windowsill. You can easily grow enough for several family servings of salad from one packet of seed and you can’t get it any fresher than home sown salad, simply pick it on demand.

In a cool greenhouse or propagator sow tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, courgettes, runner beans, French beans, sweetcorn and half-hardy annuals. Sow into small flowerpots full of good quality seed compost, or for large seeds such as sweet peas, beans and peas use Root Trainers that allow the roots to develop undisturbed until they are ready to plant out.

Outdoors, if the soil is crumbly and not stodgy, sow broad beans, leeks, summer cabbages, cauliflower, summer spinach, French beans, peas, celery, parsnip, and Brussels sprouts. Make a shallow trench in the soil about 1in (2.5cm) deep, line the base with a loam based multi-purpose compost, water gently and then sprinkle the seed thinly on top. Cover over with more compost and protect with cloches or fleece tunnels.

Beetroot, parsnip, peas, spinach, turnip, lettuce, carrots and radish can be sown in shallow drills lined with compost, without extra protection. However if you are in an exposed position, or the weather is particularly harsh, a covering of fleece or a cloche will help speed germination.

Plant onion sets out into the garden 10-15cm apart.

Plan to sow a few seeds of each vegetable every two weeks so that they mature at different rates to provide a succession of produce for the table. Some crops such as carrots can be sown in small amounts right through until July so that you get plenty of fresh carrots all through the summer and autumn and into winter too.

Feed permanent crops such as herbs, artichokes, asparagus, rhubarb and fruit in early spring with a balanced fertiliser such as growmore.

Continue to plant potato tubers 5-6in (12.5-15cm) deep and about 12in (30cm) apart. Cover over with fleece to protect emerging shoots from frost. As shoots appear cover them over with more soil. This encourages more tubers to form underground.

Keep the garden weed free. Weeds not only compete for any available food and water, but they also provide shelter for a number of garden pests and diseases. Dig out any perennial weeds making sure to remove all the roots and hoe off any annual weed seedlings as they appear. Always hoe when the soil is slightly dry and on a sunny day so that the uprooted weeds seedlings will quickly wither.

Protect fruit bushes, especially currants and gooseberries from bird damage. Cover with fleece to keep the birds off while the new buds are bursting. Remember to remove the protection as the flower buds start to form, otherwise pollinating insects will not reach the flowers, and you will not get any fruit.

Pot up Dahlia tubers, Begonia corms and rooted cuttings and keep in a frost-free environment until the last frost has passed. Choose other summer flowering bulbs such as lilies, gladioli and Eucomis from the wide range on offer at garden.

If the soil is still warm and not waterlogged then continue sowing annual bedding plants in their flowering positions in the garden. If you are new to gardening it may be better to grow them in a greenhouse or cold frame and get them established before planting out. Sow them into pots of seed compost as these are formulated to give the seeds the very best possible start and everything that they need to start growing.

Don’t be tempted into putting out half-hardy bedding plants into the garden. A warm spell can be very encouraging; especially to beginner gardeners, but at this time of year a cold snap won’t be far away. Keep them in a frost free greenhouse and harden them off before planting out. If your plants are shooting early they may need a little additional protection. Place a layer of horticultural fleece over any plants that are unexpectedly beginning to develop strong spring growth, especially if a frost threatens.

Dead head any early spring flowers and bulbs as they die off. Feed the plants after flowering with a balanced general fertiliser such as growmore so that the plants can build up the bulb for next years’ flowers. Don’t be tempted to cut off the leaves of bulbs that have flowered, simply bend over the foliage to ground level and allow them to dry out and wither naturally. The leaves manufacture essential food reserves to ensure that the bulbs can over winter and flower again next spring.

Divide overcrowded perennial plants and replant the pieces around the garden.

Check on overwintering plants such as geraniums and fuchsias in the greenhouse. It’s too early to put them outside but they may be sprouting new growth that is perfect for taking cuttings. Pot the plants up into fresh and start to water them gently, ensuring that they are not too wet and not allowed to dry out either. As the new shoots start to develop take softwood cuttings.

If you are growing your container plants from seed then make sure you sow them now so they are established by early June. There’s a huge variety that can be sown during April and May that will flower this year. Alternatively take cuttings of existing plants or visit the garden centre and choose some contrasting plants for containers. These will need greenhouse protection until the danger of frost has passed.

The personal look of your garden with angel statues

Have you ever thought about adding more decoration to your garden and lawn? The possibilities are endless. Garden statues can be the best way to start adding your own personal touch. From the simple to the elaborate depending on the mood one wants to create. Garden angel statues are becoming a favorite among many. Especially as times become more and more troubled. Adding the serenity of an angel or two to guard and protect your own personal surroundings and showing all that believe in the spiritual side of life.
The versatility of garden and lawn statues are very broad. Depending on how one wants the mood to be set. When taking the time to enjoy and relax in your own personal outdoor surroundings. Maybe a garden swing with an angel on each side or how about a bird bath with garden angels close at hand. Angels with their feathery friends singing  songs of joy while resting with a cool drink after a long flight.
A rose garden can be a great place to have a statue of an angel close at hand. Enhancing the beauty and color of the many variety of roses in ones own personal garden. We all know angels and beautiful flowers go hand in hand.
Garden and lawn statues of angels come is such a wide variety of poses and sizes. From the large to small. Angels with heads bowed showing a humble look. To those looking up to the heavens as though looking for answers. A garden angel with a rustic look or a statue of one with a more modern appeal.
Let your creativity show all as to how you feel and dream. By creating your own small place in heaven right in your back garden and lawn area. With statues of angels enhancing the very mood you have created

What Is The Face Value Of A Court-Side Seat In The Rose Garden, Blazers V.S. Jazz?

Question by Kevin: What Is The Face Value Of A Court-Side Seat In The Rose Garden, Blazers V.S. Jazz?
I Want To Know The Face Value To The Courtside Seats.

Best answer:

Answer by John
What does it say on the ticket? If you don’t have tickets and just want to know the price, call the box office. Even if they are sold out they can still tell you the price.

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Bon Jovi – Bed Of Roses (Acoustic)

I like this song
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Outdoor Plants Gardening Information

FREMONTODENDRON

This fast-growing evergreen has beautiful yellow flowers from spring into autumn. Prune regularly if it is on a small fence or wall, ensuring the roots are not too wet.

CHINA ROSE

This vigorous China rose is popular, for its dark purple shoots, coppery young leaves, and lovely fragrant summer flowers. It will grow taller than usual against a wall.        

DESMODIUM

From late summer into autumn, long racemes of pink flowers project from soft, downy leaves. Except in cold areas, old growth is best pruned back every spring.

ITEA

On warm evenings from late summer into autumn, long greenish catkins give off a honey-like aroma. The dark green, glossy, holly-like leaves are evergreen.               

SOLANUM

Vigorous and scrambling, this shrub is evergreen in, warmer areas. Loose clusters of star-shaped flowers appear over ,a long period in summer. Needs support.              

PINEAPPLE GUAVA

The summer flowers of this interesting evergreen shrub have fleshy, edible petals and crimson stamens. Edible, egg-shaped fruits are produced after a hot summer.

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ROSE ACACIA

Large rose-pink pea-flowers are borne in drooping clusters from late spring into summer. The leaves, with numerous lush green leaflets, are held on fragile stems.

Shrubs for Sunless Walls and Fences

ROME GARDENERS may perceive a wall or fence that does Ono receive direct sunlight as a curse, and consider it unsightly. It need not be a problem, however, as long as it receives some light. Many shrubs (and climbers) will thrive, and some even prefer the normally cooler conditions of such a site, while others                flower freely in or out of the sun.

WEEPING FORSYTHIA

A vigorous, rambling shrub, this requires regular pruning and training to prevent it from becoming overpowering. Star-shaped flowers wreathe the branches in spring.

ORNAMENTAL QUINCE

Superb in spring, when the previous year’s branches are hidden beneath brilliant red flower clusters. Like `Moerloosei’, best pruned and trained close to the wall.

ORNAMENTAL QUINCE

A reliable, adaptable, and vigorous shrub, this carries large flower clusters in spring and early summer, followed by aromatic fruits. Prune, and train on wires.

SILVER QUEEN EUONYMUS

A handsome evergreen shrub, low and bushy in a bed, but rising higher against a wall if trained. Glossy dark green leaves have broad, irregular creamy margins.

CHINESE ANISE

The aromatic leaves of this slow-growing evergreen are joined by loose clusters of yellow, star-shaped flowers in spring. The wood also has a strong, agreeable aroma.

AZARA

This elegant evergreen will grow to small tree size if allowed. Arching branchlets are clothed with leaves and, in late winter or spring, tiny vanilla-scented flowers. 

SILK-TASSEL BUSH

From midwinter through to early spring the branches are draped with long tassels, which s;emble in the slightest breeze. This shrub-has leathery evergreen leaves.

 

 

Composition of coffee shade tree species and density of indigenous arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) spores in Bonga natural coffee forest, southwestern … article from: Forest Ecology and Management]

Composition of coffee shade tree species and density of indigenous arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) spores in Bonga natural coffee forest, southwestern … article from: Forest Ecology and Management]

This digital document is a journal article from Forest Ecology and Management, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
The composition of coffee shade tree species and density of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) spores in Bonga natural coffee forest of southwestern Ethiopia were investigated. This study is the first report on AMF populations of Ethiopian natural coffee forests. The main purposes were to systematically identify the dominant coffee shade tree species, evaluate their densities and quantify and characterize populations of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi particularly in the rhizosphere of coffee plants. Sample plots of 400m^2 with coffee plants and dominant shade tree species were selected. Sampling of soil was carried out at a depth of 0-15cm from the rooting areas of shaded and unshaded coffee plants for analysis of some soil parameters and quantification of AMF spores. Nineteen dominant shade tree species belonging to 14 plant families were identified in considered 10 quadrates. In terms of their stand dominance, Millettia ferruginea (Hochst.) Baker had the highest frequency of occurrence (22.3%) followed by O. welwitschii Friis & P.S. Green (15.5%). High density (503stems/ha) and/or percentage (66%) of Coffea arabica L. were recorded. All soil samples yielded AMF spores and the counts ranged from 4 to 67 spores 100g^-^1 of dry soil. Notably higher mean counts of AMF spores were found under leguminous shade trees compared to non-leguminous ones. AMF spore counts were significantly positively correlated with coffee counts and available soil P content. Five genera of AMF were identified based on spore morphology. Glomus dominated members of Glomeromycota. The other genera found were Gigaspora, Acaulospora, Entrophospora and Scutellospora in order of occurrence. The present investigation has documented species richness among dominant coffee shade tree species along with a fair distribution of relevant numbers and types (genera) of AMF to stimulate coffee growth. Thus, Bonga natural coffee forest seems to be an ideal focal forest for in situ coffee genetic resources conservation and promotion of organic coffee production.

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Choosing and Fitting the Perfect Ceiling Roses For Your Home

Since the minimalist, paired down style of 1990s interior design, there has been a shift to people choosing more romantic, grander looks for their homes, looking to the past for inspiration. This does make sense when you consider how many British properties are not modern builds and do still possess traditional features, like high ceilings and plaster work. If you are lucky enough to own a property with high ceilings, and you wish to create a historic, theatrical look to the room, a ceiling rose could be the flourish you need to finish it off.

There are some really stylish and beautiful designs of ceiling roses on the market, and they don’t need to be put up by a professional either, with a little know how and a good quality product, anyone can do it!

Ceiling roses are available to buy made from either plaster, which is beautiful and looks authentic, but can be extremely heavy and difficult to work with, polystyrene, which is the cheapest (and can look it) or a new product, polyurethane Duropolymer, which is light, hard-wearing and easy to work with.

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There are many different shapes and sizes of ceiling roses to be found, ranging in style from Regency to Art Deco. They are particularly effective for tying together an expanse of ceiling with a large chandelier light, for example, but you must be careful that the intricacy of one doesn’t detract from the other. Also, if you already have cornicing or coving in the room from a particular period, you will need to choose a ceiling rose in keeping with that style. The larger the room, the larger you can go, but think very carefully about whether your room is wide enough to take a large circular rose. You might find a smaller star or diamond shape works better.

If you are intending to put your ceiling rose underneath an existing light fitting, be sure to turn off the electricity before you start and make sure you are confidant about re-wiring the electrical ceiling rose once you have finished attaching the moulding. A junction box system is the most straightforward method when it comes to re-wiring, but if you are at all unsure, it is always worth paying a professional electrician

You will need to fill any uneven surfaces before sticking the ceiling rose and it is also worth priming the surface beforehand as well, so that painting is easier afterwards. PVA bonding painted on to the ceiling as well as the rose will make for a smoother purchase when you come to sticking, but make sure it is dry before applying the adhesive.

Obviously the heavier the rose, the stronger glue you will need. I would suggest using plasterboard screws to attach it to the ceiling (you will need to remove and fill in the holes afterwards), to save you taking all the weight when it comes to sticking the rose down. Specialist coving glue is probably the best adhesive to use as it can be mixed to the right consistency. Spread the glue about 5mm thick, using a spatula. Once the ceiling rose is stuck, it is a good idea to wait for a day before painting and removing any screws. Job done! A little patience and effort is all that is required.

How long will wax preserve roses?

Question by Miikes Girl: How long will wax preserve roses?
I recently received a bouquet containing beautiful orange flowers, I read something online about preserving the roses in wax, I was wondering how long this would preserve them for? i would like some method that will preserve them practically forever and in a way that they are not brittle so i could do something with them, perhaps put them on a necklace?

Best answer:

Answer by terterryterter
If you pick up a dehydrating kit from Michael’s or your local craft store the rose will preserve indefinitely. these kits use silica to pull the moisture from the plant. Silica packets are often found inside packaged items you purchase. To control any moisture that may be present in the package by absorbing it. If the moisture is left in the petals they will begin to decay almost immediately because the hot wax will bake them.

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