Wordless Wednesday
A new Canna leaf unfurls:
Please only list your name if you have a recent Wordless Wednesday post
Archives for August 2006
Annuals and Perennials
What are Annual, Perennial and Biennial plants?
The difference between annuals, biennials and perennials relates to the life cycles of the plants.
Annuals grow from seed to full maturity within one growing season. Marigolds, ageratums, and zinnias are typical annuals. They flower, set seed and die, all within a single year.
Biennials such as Canterbury bells and some foxgloves, complete their life cycles over two years, sometimes producing a few flowers in the first season, but most often just making foliage growth and establishing their root systems.
Perennials live longer than two seasons and may outlive many shrubs. In fact, strictly speaking, shrubs and trees are perennials, but when gardeners talk of perennials they generally mean plants that don’t develop permanent woody stems.
Perennials occur in several types. Some, such as Acanthus, are evergreen and don’t have a period of total dormancy, though few flower continually except in very mild climates.
Herbaceous perennials – those most common in temperate climate gardens – usually have a period of dormancy when they die back to a permanent rootstock. Most commonly this is during winter, but plants from hot dry areas many be dormant in summer or during periods of very low rainfall.
Some herbaceous perennials have developed the ability to use their roots or stems as food storage organs to enable them to survive extended periods of dormancy. Known as rhizomes and tubers, these storage roots can often be separated from the parent plant and grown on as new plants, in much the same way as bulbs and corms. Dahlias and alstroemerias are well-known tuberous plants, while bearded irises are probably the most widely grown rhizomatous plants. Some plants have specialized rhizomes known as stolons, which spread across the surface of the ground, or just below the surface, taking root as they spread.
Some perennials are treated as annuals, either because they cease to be attractive as they age, or because they are incapable of surviving cold winters. Petunias and impatiens, for example, may live for several seasons if protected from frost, but they become leggy and untidy, so they are usually replaced annually.
It is not uncommon for a genus to contain both annual and perennial species, such as the annual and perennial cosmos, or species with differing growth habits, like the fibrous and tuberous rooted irises and begonias.
In cultivation, the differences between annuals, biennials and the various types of perennials tend to become blurred. The important thing is how you use the plants, and with annuals and perennials you can give free rein to your imagination.
World Naked Gardening Day
Did you know that Saturday September 9th, 2006 will be the 2nd annual World Naked Gardening day? I didn’t either.
The organization is calling for all gardeners, young or old to step into a garden and tend to their plants naked on the 9th of September.
Why garden naked you may ask? Well, the organizations’ site has an explanation for that it seems:
Why garden naked? First of all, it’s fun! Second only to swimming, gardening is at the top of the list of family-friendly activities people are most ready to consider doing nude. Moreover, our culture needs to move toward a healthy sense of both body acceptance and our relation to the natural environment. Gardening naked is not only a simple joy, it reminds us–even if only for those few sunkissed minutes–that we can be honest with who we are as humans and as part of this planet.
What’s that, sun kissed minutes? You mean if I participated I’d have to do it in daylight? But, but, I’m more of a moonlight gardener myself.
Here I was thinking that if I wanted to say that I had participated I could sneak out my back door just after midnight or in the very early morning hours and pick some strawberries or something. Certainly I wouldn’t be tangling with my roses naked. I think I’d end up in the emergency department with a very embarrassing story as I tried to explain my various injuries.
I don’t know that there’s any hard and fast rule that you must participate during daylight hours but if there is it would certainly make it interesting for my neighbors if I tried it.
You see, my backyard abuts onto another neighbors’ – who lives on the adjoining street – driveway. He and his family could easily see me from their yard or any window on that side of their house. Then, I have two neighbors on either side of me. One of whom could see me from their back windows or back porch, and the other who could see me from any window and or through the chain link fence in her yard. There are two other neighbors next to my “chain link” neighbor who also have low fences who’d be able to see me.
I suppose it would only be fair if the people on yet another adjoining street could see me, since I accidentally see them whenever they have a shower at night. Get some curtains people! If I’m out watering in the dark, not being able to see much of what I’m doing, I tend to look around at my neighbors houses and yards. Unfortunately the people on the other adjoining block usually have their bathroom light on at night and they tend to have showers in the evening. Like a moth I’m drawn to look up at the bright light shinning from their window. Occasionally I see human skin toned blurry shapes pressed against that window, sometimes more than one human shape. Now I don’t stand there and stare, but even if I did I can’t see much. Still, I wish they would get some curtains.
Anyway, I guess if they looked out while having a shower, and saw me running around the yard tending to my garden it would only be fair, since I’ve seen their blurry naked forms often enough. But as for the rest of my neighbors … I don’t think they deserve to see me in all my glory. If I participate I’ll do it after dark, and probably when I think most of my neighbors might be sleeping.
Chicken! LOL
If anyone else plans on participating let me know how it goes, and do avoid the prickly plants!