Best Garden on the Web

truly great gardening sites 11 4 03

next | previous | oct | top

I recently received harsh critiques of my site on SitePoint Forums as I mentioned in the last entry, so I have been looking on the web for ideas to improve BGW. One site I found today is called A Weed's Worth at www.weedsworth.com. This site is absolutely fantastic in overall layout and design. It is also fluid. Although I don't want to change the overall feel of Best Garden, I will be making changes based on my research from such truly great gardening sites.

For Post-a-Plant, I have great news. I found another moderator for the forum. His name is Gary, and he will be moderating 4 categories--Master Gardeners, Plant Exchange, Unidentified Plants, and a new category called Online and Mail Order. Hopefully, the forum will have more members than moderators soon.

I will write again tonight. I am at lunch at work, and just wanted to give brief updates.

- Danielle

changes 11 3 03

next | previous | oct | top

I haven't written much since last month, but the site has went through a whirlwind of changes.

The Post-a-Plant forum has been converted to phpBB. This is a great free software supported by my hosting company, Lunarpages. The Guestbook is next on the agenda for such a conversion: It will be run using the free Advanced Guestbook 2.2 php software.

After posting a request for a critique on SitePoint Forums, I found out how long the main page was taking to load. I have opted to remove the rollover animation changes with text color changes, although the top images on the nav bar have been retained. Also, I recently found out about Server Side includes (SSIs) from SitePoint, and the shtml conversion, iframe replacements, and navigation overhaul are related to replacement using SSIs.

On the online gardening forefront, I have joined 2 gardening forums, Plant Traders and Real Gardeners, in addition to running Post-a-Plant. I am hoping to build a network of regional and national gardeners for BGW. So far, I have managed to get 1 person to help in moderating at Post-a-Plant, and Plant Traders' owner is wanting to do an exchange of photos between the two sites since she is building up a perennial database.

Gardening outside is basically over now, although there are some hardy pinks mums still blooming that I will try to get a picture of before they are gone. Indoor gardening, however, is underway. I recently purchased a new bromeliad and now have 5 orchids from ICOS in my kitchen window sill, which are surprisingly alive and healthy. Although none are now in bloom, I am planning to take pictures to post along with their names so I can track their progress.

I will write tomorrow, and wish you a fruitful evening.

- Danielle

a welcome retreat 10 22 03

next | previous | sept | top

The retreat on the October 10-12 weekend was fantastic. The monastery is located outside Rock Island, Illinois with the wood surrounding the grounds. I took lots of photos and have added them to my website with the Retreat link. One of the particularly nice photos is pictured to the right.

warm weather and fall colors 10 10 03

next | previous | sept | top

Well, just as we had an early frost at the very end of September, we now have warm temperatures with leaves turning color. As always, this is Iowa's typical capricious weather. In my garden, I don't have many large trees for an autumn display of color, but am considering taking pictures of neighbor's yards. One of the faculty in the department where I work suggested this idea. I will note soon if I decide to do this.

I will be attending a retreat from this evening until Sunday (as mentioned in the previous entry), so I won't be doing any work on the website until Sunday. I really need to work on completing more information in the Plants Index since I still haven't finished the Cs. I did, however, recently indoctrinate new plants into the index such as Marguerite, Michaelmas daisy, and my beloved Orchid. As always, if I have incomplete or inaccurate information, please feel free to contact me at danielle@bestgarden.net to offer assistance. I strive for accuracy, but I appreciate any corrections or additions provided.

Sorry for the short blog again today. I will be busy for the next week or so, but will begin doing regular blogs every other day by November 1. Also, the next BGW Newsletter will also be released at the end of the month, so don't forget to sign up if you would like an electronic copy.

asters alive with butterflies 10 6 03

next | previous | sept | top

On Saturday, the asters (Aster novi-belgii) were filled with painted lady (Cynthia cardui) butterflies. They were alighting and fluttering on the flowers so densely that I even took a short mpg movie of the breathtaking event (I have included a still picture of this spectacular sight to the left). I am considering putting the movie onto the website under the Cats & Butterflies section. First, I need to test the download quality and speed before making the decision.

Several other plants are still doing good despite the low temps--mums (Chrysanthemum x morifolium), snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus), and, most surprising, treasure flowers (Gazania rigens)! Also, the windflower (Anemone coronaria) is blooming, but it was affected enough by the frost to make it appear distorted, so I didn't take any pictures of it. Below is a picture of the mums hidden amongst the butterfly filled blue asters.

This will be a short post tonight. I wish you a blessed evening and will try to write before this weekend, since I will be on a religious retreat at St. Mary Monastery in Rock Island, Illinois from Friday to Sunday, thus, making working on the website during the week a priority.

sept's early frost and winter gardening 10 1 03

next | previous | sept | top

As expected, temperatures have been at or approaching frost levels since Sunday. Every morning when I wake up, I see the devastating effects of frost on the garden. Despite this, many plants are still flowering (such as the asters) and many different colors of flowers are still gracing the yard with beauty. The most affected plants so far have been the Elephant's Ears (Colocasia esculenta) and Dahlias. A surprise recent bloom is a red windflower (Anemone coronaria) in a pot (my anemone's bloomed months earlier from May to July). Even with the frost, this flower is still alive and looks like it will open within a few days.

Since the last two entries, infrequent as they were, focused too much on the website, I am going to keep this blog dedicated to gardening:

The indoor gardening season has begun. My outside plants are starting to come inside, leaving me with less room. The plants that were already inside are doing okay except for the cyclamen. It looks worse daily, leaving me to believe it is a goner. I hope I am wrong...

On another note, I am planning ahead for winter and deciding what to do on my site for gardening. Since I have always shied away from winter flowers (who wants to be outside in cold weather?), I am going to take a new tack this year and photograph my garden. I am actually excited at this idea. Let me know what you think when I start a section on "My Winter Garden". It will be a blast!

So, stay warm and cozy inside, enjoying the display of fall colors starting to emerge. As always, I will be working on improving the site and welcome your comments.

 
Oh, and a gratuitous picture to make the post seem less naked!

Danielle
 
 
 
 
 

cats, butterflies, and an early frost 9 28 03

next | previous | aug | top

Although I haven't been keeping my blog up-to-date, I have continued to make many changes to the website. Hopefully, all of these changes are improvements.

I will attempt to blog another entry within the next few days. Until then, stay safe and good luck with the weather!

Danielle

a new computer, camera, newsletter, and plant classifieds 9 12 03

next | previous | aug | top

Due to the computer problems mentioned in the last entry, I have been slow in updating content on the website. Happily, that situation should be rectified now that I just received my new Dell computer and Sony camera two days ago. I will be spending as much time as I can to add information, pictures, and working links.

Another recent flower acquisition is a Cyclamen from the Hy-Vee Floral Shop. My roommate works there, so I visited and found this beautiful flower. In the books, I always had difficulty in understanding how the cyclamen flower is organized since its shape is difficult to see in photos (see photo to the right). After seeing one up cloase, however, I now understand that it has upswept petals and the flower has a nodding or bowing aspect. With the simple beauty of the flower, cyclamen also adds some of the most gorgeous foliage I have ever seen. I can't recommend it yet for length of flowering or ability to grow indoors (it is a fall and wintering flowering plant that needs specific temperature conditions), but right now I am excited about how it spruces up the house with its deep red color.

a picture says a thousand words 8 26 03

next | previous | sept | jul | top

I spent Saturday at my workplace to have access to a computer to work on my website. As such, I rearranged my pictures and got them all into order. This evening, I stayed late to add some of the new plant pictures to the Plants Index, so I have obedient plant, loosestrife, etc. included in the Plants Index now.

The content in the Plants Index is progressing slowly. I am still on the early Cs, but will try to finish the Ds as soon as possible.

Since I have been getting to work early and leaving from work late, I haven't had much chance to get additional photos to post to the site (other than those added to the Plants Index), so the title of this entry might fool you as no photos are included in this post. The reason for the title, however, is due to the importance of pictures as a visual tool for understanding my ardor for flowers, nature, and gardening. Every flower I include in the Plants Index will have a picture, and, eventually, a slideshow of photos will be available for each plant in the index. So, the visual aspects on my site hopefully tell a good story at least until more of my content has been completed. Have a good week and evening.

web gardening without a computer 8 20 03

next | previous | sept | jul | top

Again, I have not kept good on my promise to write daily, but this time I have a reasonably legitimate excuse--my home computer is not working. I had a 90 day trial of Windows XP, which expired last week. Unfortunately, because my CD ROM drive is broken, I can't put a licensed copy of Windows XP on the computer and it won't revert back to Windows 98, the previous OS on it. This is causing me much grief and lost time in producing my website. I have been working at lunchtime at my job as well as coming into work early and leaving late just to work on my site, but I will have to get a new computer at home soon. It is impossible to get much done without one.

For gardening news, the last Blog noted that Kevin would be leaving, but he has now decided to stay for awhile longer, so I won't have to worry about doing major gardening work on my own yet.

Since I haven't written for over a week or put any new pictures online, I am including a sneak peak at a plant that will be put into the Plants Index shortly. It is a chartreuse-colored gladiolus of the grandiflorus group. For some reason, Kevin decided not to plant other colors of gladioulus this year, so this is the only one I have (discounting the gladiolus callianthus which is already in the Plants Index.

That is all for today. I can't promise I will write tomorrow, but I will try. I will also try to add the C-D Plant Index descriptions by the end of the week. If you ever have any questions, please let me know by e-mailing me at danielle@bestgarden.net.

gardening inspiration 8 14 03

next | previous | sept | jul | top

As a child, I tried to grow wildflowers one summer. I bought a packet of seeds, dug several holes in my yard, and waited. I waited for months upon end without any results. Finally, one lone flower grew. It was a wild poppy. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. After that year, I didn't try to grow any more plants since my parents told me I was wasting my time and money. Additionally, the flower didn't grow back next year (I didn't realize it was an annual so it wouldn't return). Years later, I found out why I had such terrible results. I dug holes 16 inches deep, so the seeds never had a chance to germinate. Alas, this experience with gardening caused me to avoid planting flowers for years. My interest became renewed, however, when my roommate, Kevin, starting living with me in January 2000. He had a garden at his previous residence and asked if he could do one at my place, so I told him to go ahead. Since then, the beautiful flowers he has grown have inspired me to first learn about plants and, more recently, to desire to grow my own. This website was created due to my blossoming interest in flowers and has further spurred my interest.

Now I will have a chance to find out how to do gardening on my own since Kevin will be moving out at the end of August. This both excites me and fills me with dread. I hope that I am up to this challenge of caring for over 160 different plants. I am glad that I had the chance to learn about flowers, how to grow them, and how to care for them since Kevin has been here. Although having a roommate might have been trying, I will always treasure the gardening inspiration I have received.

cats and the forces of gravity 8 12 03

next | previous | sept | jul | top

I love my cats with their energy, curiosity, and playfulness, but they reek havoc on my plants. Outdoors, they target some plants to eat and others to use as a litterbox. Indoors, the same playful nature I love causes items, including plants, to break and fall.

I had a beautiful, thriving common bamboo plant (Bambusa vulgaris). At over three-and-a-half feet high, it was one of my most successful indoor acquisitions (it was only 9 inches tall when I purchased it one year ago at Wal-mart). This exotic treasure had the misfortune to be positioned on a shelf in front of the window with a fan on the dresser behind it and to the side (a picture of the bamboo plant a month ago is on the left). My cat, Pooky, loves to recline next to the fan and kick it. One night, he kicked the fan so hard that it fell sideways on top of the bamboo, breaking the plant's largest stalk. Resiliently, the bamboo survived with the loss of quite a bit of height and growth. I was very frustrated at the time, thinking "How could the fan fall sideways?" It seemed a leap beyond the forces of gravity, and I never could have foreseen it. So, I learned the important lesson of acceptance of the random path nature can take. I can protect my plants, give them everything they need, and still risk losing them regardless of my actions. They will either survive or die based on variables beyond my control and even what might seem contrary to the laws of gravity. And, unlike my cats, they don't always land on their feet.

Okay, those are my thoughts for this evening. Hope they weren't too deep or disturbing. Have a good and peaceful slumber.

computers and flowers 8 11 03

next | previous | sept | jul | top

Last week, I bought a new computer to help me to get my website done faster (not to mention that my old computer at 6 years old didn't have a CD burner and other neat stuff the new ones do). Well, after spending days upon days transferring everything to the new computer, I found out the floppy drive didn't work. Then, tonight after I arrived home, the computer started automatically shutting down after 2 minutes. So, I took it back to Wal-mart. I guess it just wasn't meant to be. My old computer looks better to me now since I have never had many problems with it.

I hate to make most of this post about computers and the website rather than gardening, but next on the agenda is the new look of the top navigational bar. I changed the pictures and took away the javascript rollovers. In place of javascript, I turned the rollovers into CSS a:hover ones. I am actually impressed with myself on my ability to get these to work. If you are ever designing a website and want advice on how to do these CSS rollovers, just contact me at danielle@bestgarden.net, and I would love to lend my advice.

As the gardening season is winding down, some of my favorite plants are just beginning to dazzle like the dahlias and cannas. My roommate tells me that I shouldn't pick favorite plants, but I just have some plants I prefer over others. This year, my favorite plant has become my pink Brazilian jasmine (Mandevilla splendens). It has bloomed continuously and profusely since purchased in May. The long lasting blooms are not the only reason I like it, however, since the flowers are large and simply gorgeous. I just can't recommend it enough. If you have a favorite plant, let me know via e-mail or by signing in my guestbook. Once I hear from enough people, I will put the results in my blog.

All right, that is it tonight. I will try to write tomorrow and will log what changes/additions I make to the site. Enjoy the cool August rain.

Iowa's native orchids 8 8 03

next | previous | sept | jul | top

I wish I could say that I have orchids in my garden, so don't let the title of this entry fool you. I imagine that many people believe that Iowa and colder regions do not have flowers in the Orchid family. I held this belief myself until a few weeks ago. At that time, a friend of mine had a discussion with my roommate, Kevin, about Iowa having orchids. Kevin said we didn't and bet him $5. Kevin asked me to look up the issue online for verification, so I did. I found over 60 sites that mentioned Iowa orchids, and the best site for information and pictures was based on an article in the Quad Cities Times located here. The Central Iowa Orchid Society used to have a good site (based on photos that various websites have as links), but their website address does not bring up any pages. Another site of interest for those in Iowa City (which is were I am located) is the Iowa City Orchid Society. They have an Orchid of the Month and details on joining.

So, basically, I learned that Iowa does have native orchids and most of them are endangered and protected. I have a Native Plants book that I had read, but I never really noticed that orchids were included in the book. Tonight, when I am at home, I will include the name of the book for anyone who might be interested in checking it out at the local library or bookstore for more pictures and information.

As a lesson, never assume you know everything about a specific plant or plant family. You might just find out that you have an orchid growing in your backyard.

Addendum: The book I refer to in the second paragraph above is "Gardening with Native Plants" by Sally Wasowski in 2002 (published by the University of Minnesota Press).

a weed can be a flower 8 6 03

next | previous | sept | jul | top

I am cutting it close, but it is still August 6 (11:50 PM) and I am determined to get this online in order to get my blog on a daily posting schedule. I have two plants to mention tonight--obedient plant and loosestrife.

Obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana) is a quick growing, almost invasive perennial that has an etheral beauty. Even before the flowers emerge, the plant's bluish to purplish translucent buds arise in spires along the plant's 3-4 feet height. I have included a photo to showcase this plant. It is one plant where the photos simply do not do it justice. Although some gardeners consider it to be a weed, if you give obedient plant a chance, you will not be disappointed. Plus, it will grow anywhere in any conditions, so you can put it into those hard to grow spots and forget about it until it blooms.

Next on the weed or not a weed list is loosestrife (pictured on the right). This plant was put into my garden along the drive in one location and has spread to the other side of the drive and even into pots where it wasn't intended to grow at all. Well, at first, I didn't even know what it was (I have been searching my gardening books to classify it). Tonight I finally found out what it was called--loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) not to be confused with loosestrife (Lysimachia vulgaris) which is not related. Loosestrife is a haven to bees, who flock to it like no other plant in my garden. The heights it can reach when watered are astounding (over 6 feet), while the blooms appear for well over 2 months. Although it is invasive, its simple beauty, unique form, long lasting blooms, and magnificent height make it worthwhile to control and keep. So, I would like to recommend it.

To me, very few plants are truly weeds. Heck, I even like dandelions. On that note, I will end my blog and wish you well into the night.

late is better than never 8 5 03

next | previous | sept | jul | top

I haven't kept good on my promise to write daily in this blog, so I apologize. I have been very busy putting content into the site in the Plants Index and taking pictures of my flowers, so it has kept me from keeping up other aspects of the site. I have good news that is an aside from gardening--I was promoted at work and now have more responsibilities. I used to be the backup for my department's website and now I am the primary person for maintaining it and posting on it (maybe, someday, even helping to redesign it). Other good news is that I have finally figured out how to get cgi scripts to run on my site, and I just updated the guestbook over the weekend and the search this evening. Previously, they were powered by Bravenet, but cgi allows me to have more control over the links and content. I will be updating the Plant Exchange (renaming it Post-a-Plant) and Newsletter Sign Up/Submit forms to cgi within the next week. Now, on to the flowers...

The candy lily mentioned in the July 18 post is Pardancanda norrisii, and you can view a photo and information by clicking here. It is amazingly similar to Belamcanda chinensis, another plant I have in my garden. After doing research on the plant, I found out that the candy lily is a cross between Belamcanda and another plant. With the candy lily so new a hybrid, I am amazed it only cost $1.50 at Hy-Vee. Had I know it would flower so long (the buds bloom and die daily, but the plant continues to produce new blooms on a daily basis for over 3 weeks), I would have gotten more than two of them.

Another plant that has begun blooming recently is a pink Stargazer lily. It was planted last year, but this is its first year flowering. I have included a picture on the left. I haven't had a chance to add it to the Plants Index yet, but for a quick low down on the plant, it is an oriental hybrid lily (lilium). I get oriental and asiatic lilies confused easily, so I am lucky that my roommate remembered the common name of the plant. Usually, if I don't know the exact scientific species of a plant, I just put the genus down and hope I find out eventually, so if you ever read or see anything on my website that is incomplete or incorrect, please let me know, and you will have my deepest gratitude.

Okay, I will sign off and try to log some more thoughts tomorrow. Have a blissful evening, perfumed by the wafting fragrance of slumbering flowers.

darling dahlias, lovely lilies 7 18 03

next | previous | aug | top

Last night, it was hot and muggy, but the dahlias were so stunning that I just had to go outside to look at them for awhile. This is the first year I have planted cactus dahlias, and I have a lavendar-colored one blooming now. I have been following the instructions in "Reader's Digest New Illustrated Guide to Gardening," so I pinched off the first buds, and now the dahlia blossoms are huge and extremely healthy. I have included a photo of this dahlia with this message.

Another plant blooming when I returned from work last night was the Candy Lily. I am not certain the exact scientific plant genus/species. I will look it up tonight so that I can properly label the photos before posting them. It is a small, extremely cute flower. This morning, it had already curled up, but several other blooms are almost ready to open on the plant. Can't wait to get pictures.

Well, that is it for now. Don't forget to stop and smell the roses!

my first blog 7 16 03

next | aug | top

This is my first attempt at writing a blog. I just installed Easy Blog Maker, and am off and running. I will try to post daily since this is my attempt to write a web-based journal. Who would have thought that I would have come this far. In late April, I had just begun my gardening website. Although I am still working on it (beginning to think it will never be completed), I have learnt a great deal about web design. Right now, my biggest challenge is learning how to resize a iframe based on content. I just joined Webmaster World a few days ago to find out more about this issue. If I find an answer, I will write about it here.

On a gardening note, my cannas are already blooming. Seems like last year they didn't begin blooming until late July/early August. They are fabulous. So exotic and vividly colored. Will soon be adding pictures of them to the website. A yellow canna photo is included in this post.

So, now I am back to work. Happy gardening!

Danielle