Heron

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?Heron 15 June 2009 Heron

Some photographs taken on a recent camping trip.

Goldfinch at Niger Seed Feeder

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?Goldfinch 26 June 2009 Goldfinch at Niger Seed Feeder

I sat still near the Ivory Silk Lilac Tree with the hanging niger seed feeder for about an hour and got some nice new photographs.

Black Walnut and Squirrels

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?Squirrel 25 June 2009 Black Walnut and Squirrels

Black Walnut nuts are extremely tough and the meat is in the four quadrants around the shell. These nuts are very difficult to crack even for humans. I observed that the squirrels simply gnaw the four corners and remove the meat.

Lily bed

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?LilyB 24 June 2009 Lily Bed
This is the lily bed. I let them do their thing. Fertilize with compost in the Fall and they return each year.

Nasturtiums

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?Nasturtian Nasturtiums are a gardener's dream. They are virtually carefree once established. Snails don't seem to be interested in them. I have three colors but at presently see only two. They self seeded.

Delphinium

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?Delphinium 24 June 2009 Delphinium
This is my one delphinium. It is six years old and was one spike the first year. It starts growing as soon as the snow disappears, and often there is snow on the ground when it shoots up.

Method of Posting Pictures.

The 'bucket" systems are a poor method of posting pictures. The method I use is depicted below. This means one can send pictures over the internet via E mail or to forums by simply sending the URL. There is no space involved on the receiver or the forum resources. This method is simple, but takes a little application, and increases your knowledge considerably, particularly about software and the internet.

Buy Breezebrowser. This simple program formats the HTML pages and allows annotating the photos, and is an excellent program for filing pictures. I file by year, month and day and some mnemonic file name. Here is the purchase link. http://www.durgan.org/URL/?Breezebrowser

Get a web host. This costs about seven dollars a month and stores all your pictures. I use midphase.
http://www.midphase.com/

Get an FTP program. There are many but I use WS FTP Pro. Firefox has a built in FTP plug in.
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?WSFTP

To shorten the URL's use notlong.com, until you desire a better system, which is not essential but convenient.
http://notlong.com/

This is what your postings will look like. You simply post the shortened URL.
http://emoohot.notlong.com

Durgan
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?KWVAQ Garden Journal 2009

Papaver somniferum

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?Papaver 23 June 2009 Papaver somniferum
This is the opium poppy (one type) , and the first bloom of the season. Notice the sort or lettuce like vegetation. This is distinct from the Shirley poppies which have a thinner appearing vegetation. I grow them for the beauty of the flower and they attract bees with a vengeance.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?Danish 24 June 2009 Papaver somniferum (Danish Flag)
A new flower out today. It is called Danish Flag by some. There were a few bees around also.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?PapaverJJ 26 June 2009 Papaver somniferum
More pretty poppies today. The pink is probably new to me.

Electric Windpower Generation Canada.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?Windpower 23 June 2009 Electric Wind power Generation Canada.

The total installed electric generating capacity of Canada is 111000 Megawatts. Hydroelectric 58%, nuclear 12%, natural gas 6%, fuel oil and coal 3%. This is 98% of the total. The other two percent is generated by a combination of biomass, solar energy, and windmills.

The windmills operate about 18% of the time, and will never be a factor in the big picture. The windmills are on the Canada side of Lake Erie, and when touring most blades were not turning due to lack of wind. At best they are a very expensive sop ( mostly subsidized by the taxpayer) to the green faction, and serve little practical purpose. The statistics speak for themselves.

I got much of this information touring the Canadian side of Lake Erie.

Niobe Clematis

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?ClemaisN 23 June 2009 Niobe Clematis
This magnificent bloomer is about four years old. The color varies with the picture taking light to some degree, but the last picture is probably the true color.
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?NiobeColor 24 June 2009 Niobe Clematis
This appears to be the true color.

Asiatic Hybrid Lily

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?ALily 20 June 2009 Asiatic Hybrid Lily

This was a Mother's Day gift five years ago. This lump is the daughter bulbs from the potted plant. It returns each year and gets larger.

Oenothera fruticosa (Sundrops)

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?Sundrops 20 June 2009 Oenothera fruticosa (Sundrops)
This is a native North American plant. It is contained by digging a trench around the clump. There are two clumps in the garden. The vegetation is most attractive even after the flowers disappear.

D'Anjou Pear (Pyrus communis)

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?AnjouP 18 June 2009 D'Anjou Pear (Pyrus communis)

The pollination is improved by having a Bartlett pear tree in the vicinity. There are 51 pears on this tree standing alone. I will plant a Bartlett pear tree to improve pollination. The tree is a fine shade tree for the backyard. This tree has been in the garden four years. Fruit appears to be quality. The fruit is picked when mature and allowed to ripen off the tree. If tree ripened the fruit bruises easily and storage time is reduced.

Red Haven Peach Tree

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?RedHaven 18 June 2009 Red Haven Peach Tree
This is the third year in the garden, and the first year of fruit production. The plant was purchased in a pot from a garden supply. Fruit quantity and quality appear to be excellent to date.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?CDNAL 17 August 2009 Red Haven Peach Tree
Fruit is excellent in appearance and is almost ready to harvest. Birds and squirrels tend to like the fruit.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?MJISM Summary: Red Haven Peach Tree

Forsythia

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?Forsythia 19 June 2009 Forsythia
The shrub has an upright habit with arching branches and grows to 3 to 4 meters high. It turns a bright yellow in early Spring. It would make an excellent plant to obscure an unsightly area in the garden. The plant almost doubles in size each year and responds to trimming immediately after flowering and can be shaped to almost any form. I let mine grow wild, since it is in an area not used. Neena is rabbit hunting following the spoor.

Weeping White Mulberry

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?WMulberrry 18 June 2009 Weeping White Mulberry Pendula (Morus alba)
Berry-like fruit, best eaten as picked,since they are very soft. It a fight to get the fruit before the robins.There are many of these trees growing on front lawns, and nobody eats the berries but me. The fruit is absolutely delicious.

Ornamental Grass Bed

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?Grass 18 June 2009 Ornamental Grass Bed

Growing these grasses is a delight to me, since I never had success in the places I lived before.

The tallest one, in the rear with the yellow bands on the foliage is Miscanthus sinensis 'Zebrinus' a/k/a Zebra Grass.

The one in the front left of the photo is Northern Sea Oats, Chasmanthium latifolium.

The blue/green looking one is most likely one of the improved cultivars of Little Bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium, like 'Blaze' or 'The Blues'. However, this one also could possibly be 'Heavy Metal' Switchgrass

Weigela florida 'Bristol Ruby'

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?Weigela 18 June 2009 Weigela (Bristol Ruby)
A pretty shrub most welcome in a garden.

Neena Clipped

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?NeenaC Neena clipped to be cooler during the Summer months.

Puccinia malvacearum (Hollyhock Rust)

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?HRust 26 June 2006 Puccinia malvacearum (Hollyhock Rust) This fungus is easily identified.


Hollyhock Rust and Propane Burner.
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?PropaneB 12 May 2007 Propane Flame Device
This hollyhock rust caused by the fungus Puccinia malvacearum can result in serious injury to hollyhocks (AIthaea spp.) and is found nearly everywhere they are grown. Last fall about late October, I flamed my hollyhock plants and the immediate area surrounding. The plants are now about six inches high and there is absolutely no sign of the rust. This observation may be premature, but it is encouraging, since the rust devastated my hollyhocks last year. I tried fungicides to no avail. This flaming procedure does not kill the plant.

Following years I have had outbreaks of rust, but it is almost under control. There is none in 2009 so far.

17 June 2009 Flower Garden Zone 5

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?Flowers 17 June 2009 Flower Garden Zone 5
Not many plants are in full bloom, but there is potential. Cool weather has been inhibiting growth.

17 June 2009 Ontario Zone 5 Vegetable Garden

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?Garden 17 June 2009 Ontario Zone 5 Vegetable Garden
Pictures of growth to date. The weather has been cool, so growth is not outstanding. Flea beetles have been the cause of minor damage to some plants, and the Colorado Potato Beetle made its appearance, but insect damage has been minimal.

The broccoli bolted due to a few days of hot weather after the cold spell. Garlic, onions, and carrots are exceptional. Tomato growth is almost at the disaster stage. The various bush berries and fruit trees are all doing well.

Kohlrabi

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?Kohlrabi 15 June 2009 Kohlrabi
This fine vegetable is eaten raw or cooked. Raw it is very pleasant, and its origin in nature is the same as that of Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Collard greens and Brussels sprouts. It grows well and seems impervious to many insects or I was just lucky. About 12 plants were purchased from a garden supply.

Radish

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?RadishS 15 June 2009 Radish (Fireball)
This radish was planted on 1 May, but the weather was cool so the plants were slow producing. Usually I have trouble producing good quality radishes. The flea beetles cause much leaf damage, and if weather is not conducive for fast growth they are of poor qaulaity. I am a happy traveler this year.

Spiderwort (Tradescantia bracteata)

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?Spiderwort 6 June 2009 Spiderwort (Tradescantia bracteata)
There are four of this plant in different places in the garden. The plant in full Sun and relatively dry seems to grow the best.

Horseradish

Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana, syn. Cochlearia armoracia)
I grow two plants each year. A piece of the root from this years crop is placed in a gallon pot and it grows. Before freeze-up in the Fall, the pot contents is placed in the ground to overwinter and grow in the Spring. Any small piece left in the ground will grow, and in some climates the plant can be a pain due to spreading.

Here is my 2008 planting. The board in the planting hole is a new innovation to make digging the roots easier. This is my first time doing this so I don't know if it is effective or not until the plant is dug in probably October 2009.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?horseradish 5 October 2008 Planting Horseradish

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?horseradishG 5 June 2009 Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana)

The two plants are growing well. Thee are planting between two beds of garlic and three Shirley poppy plants are growing in the area, which will be left until they are finished blooming.

Shirley Poppy

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?ShirleyP 2 June 2009 Shirley Poppy.
This is the first poppy of the 2009 season. These poppies self seed, and they are in various places throughout the garden. One plant under good conditions will produce 50 to 100 blooms over a period of several weeks.