Pinterest business account?

Pinterest formally announced that businesses are now able to create commercial accounts … of course with new Terms of Service and a conversion feature for existing members.

 I like Pinterest (here is our account) but I am not sure how this would work in the long term … so far there are no differences between these services and no visual indication that you are running a “business account” … what I am trying to say is that I don’t want to lose pins and friends just because people would hesitate to re-pin your “business content.”

How long ‘till we’ll start to see “filters” buttons to block “business accounts”?! 

Pinterest is not the first social media company to do this (have different accounts for people and companies), Facebook being another example. How do you “like” the Facebook business page?!?!

Anyhow, it’s worth taking a look at how businesses would use this social networking:
Time Magazine, General Electric, Allrecipes,  even Etsy is using Pinterest now … hmmm.


This is our ScentedLeaf Profile Widget, don't be shy, click on it ;-)


... this is our Geranium and Pelargonium Pinterest Board:


... and this is the miniature Garden and Bonsai Board widget.


Will you create a Pinterest account for your business? Let me know your thoughts. 

100 year Old Compton Oak moved to a new location

The "Ghirardi Compton Oak" has been a piece of League City's history for over 100 years. Named after the Italian immigrant on whose land the tree first sprouted, this "Bonsai" tree stands 56 feet tall, has a canopy that is over 100 feet wide, and is 135 inches around. It also weighs an incredible 518,000 pounds.

A county road widening project put the future of the Ghirardi Oak in jeopardy. Council voted to use park dedication funds to move the majestic oak.

Watch the incredible process from start to finish in this video:



October, 5th, 2012 update:

Approximately two months after the Ghirardi Compton Oak was transplanted, the tree began showing stress by defoliation. This is a normal post-relocation response, and a few days later, the tree stopped defoliating. Shortly after the tree stopped defoliating, Hess Landscape Construction and the City’s arborists observed new bud formation and good fibrous root growth.

Congratulation to the League City on this fine and worthwhile project!
Check also this BonsaiBark article for  more in depth Bonsai analysis.

Bird's Nest Spruce Bonsai

We've introduced long time ago spruce trees in our bonsai's collection due to their sturdiness and forgiveness.  We have mostly quite large specimens of conifers which impressed us by their structure. Like usual when choosing a plant for starting a bonsai, we are searching for a dramatic overall looking of the tree or attractive surface roots, or a gnarled trunk with some character continuing to the apex of the tree, a natural looking driftwood  and  for nicely curved branches evenly distributed into canopy.

Bird's Nest spruce aka Picea abies 'Nidiformis' bonsai

The common alberta spruce (picea glauca conica) dense foliage always fascinated me. Also its upright growing habit, very suitable for training in formal-informal upright styles, determined me to add more and more specimens.




Of course, I really needed to bring some dwarf varieties, thus "dwarf globe spruce" (picea pungens globosa) became my favorite and remained on top of my preferences for long time. Later on I was also attracted by "Bird's Nest" spruce aka picea abies 'Nidiformis'", considering that it is challenging to shape such a "nidiformis" mound. I am convinced that itwas named " Bird's Nest " due to its overcrowded indentation of foliage masses towards the middle of the branches' mound.

 Picea abies 'Nidiformis' foliage- Bird's Nest Spruce needles

I like "Bird's Nest" spruce that it readily produces buds on older wood (it is really forgiveness if you decide to change somehow its shape). It grows quite slowly, about 4-5 inch a year, but we prune regular away the outer ends of older twigs (few times a year) to avoid to return it into a ragged bush in few months.

Bird's Nest spruce gnarled trunk

I like also its gnarled trunk with cracked gray bark and how smooth the branches are raising up. We have been wiring many times branches only to find that it snaps off at the base as soon as we start to move them or that the shoots are very easily dislodged. I'm really sorry that we did not maintain a journal of our uncertainty and fuzziness when shaping them in various bonsai styles...
 
Important is that our enthusiasm grown  with the overall knowledge gained in those tries and enabled us to develop with confidence new trees like this one.

 Picea abies 'Nidiformis' bonsai - Bird's Nest Spruce

Pelargonium x Hortorum

Pelargoniums x hortorum (Common Geranium, Zonal Geranium, Bedding Geranium, or Geranium) are bushy perennials, very popular in containers, hanging baskets and garden landscapes due to their showy single, or double flowers with  red, dark red, salmon, violet, white, lavender, pink, rose, magenta or multi-color petals.

Pelargonium x hortorum "Moulin Rouge" flowers

The botanical name is Pelargonium x hortorum but they are mostly known as zonal geranium or pelargonium zonale. There are many varieties available on the market and every year is bringing even more and more choices.

Pelargonium x hortorum "Maverick Violet" flowers

The leaves have zones of creamy, maroon, dark red or yellowish-green with various shape of zoning's.

Pelargonium Zonale"Simply Red" flower

Pelargonium x hortorum "Frank Headley" flower

They are vigorous plants which make large flower heads exceeding pollen from spring to frost and are very attractive to bees and hummingbirds.  





We've  started from seeds many varieties of pelargonium x hortorum like: "Moulin Rouge", "Maverick Pink", "Maverick Violet", "Maverick Rose",  Frank Headley, "Simply Red" and  "Red Star", although they are also easy to propagate from cuttings (the traditional method).

Pelargonium "Maverick Violet" flower with unusual heart-shaped markings on lower pettals

Growing Pelargonium "Moulin Rouge" from seeds was also our 2012 Raising Pelargoniums from seeds project as members of  Canadian Geranium & Pelargonium Society.

Pelargonium x hortorum "Moulin Rouge"  "2012 CG&PS project  - raising pelargonium from seeds "

Scarifying the seed before planting helped aid germination (to 1-2 weeks to germinate and sprout). As we said many times, growing pelargoniums from seeds is sometimes challenging and time consuming, but very rewarding; plants grown from seed are generally more vigorous than cuttings.

Pelargonium x hortorum " Simply Red" flowers

Removing the entire flower stalk after the flower fades and gathering the seeds encourage more blooms, and, believe me, they are prolific bloomers almost year round.



Pelargonium x hortorum are easy to raise, disease and over-watering resistant and withstand a wider temperature range than scented leaf pelargoniums. In Vancouver's climate, they may over-winter outside if the winter is mild (we succeeded last winter with some plants potted in jardinieres and  hanging baskets), although it is better to provide them some protection against winds and excessive rain (especially to those plants potted in shallow bonsai pots). 

Pelargonium zonale "Frank Headley"

On top of their hardiness and easy to care,  Pelargonium zonale (zonal geranium) are a vivid colored completion to our scented garden, and make appealing displays and eye-catching flower arrangements.

Pelargonium zonale " Moulin Rouge"

Pelargonium Myrrhifolium var. Myrrhifolium

Pelargonium myrrhifolium, originated in South Africa (Western Cape),  is a compact pelargonium with finely dissected foliage which may reach 30-40 cm high at maturity. Most known varieties are:  

• var. myrrhifolium with white or lilac flowers dark purple markings
• var. coriandrifolium with vivid pinkish-purple flowers  
• var. fructicosum with white flowers with dark red markings

I 've liked since always the myrrh scent, so we decided last year to enlarge the collection of flavors from our scented garden with  Pelargonium myrrhifolium var myrrhifolium. 
 

Pelargonium myrrhifolium var myrrhifolium flower and leaves

Pelargonium myrrhifolium var myrrhifolium is a shrubby pelargonium with finely divided leaves, not so sticky and covered by glandular hairs, which are releasing a scent like fresh myrrh if rubbed.

Pelargonium seedlings germinated in soil  blocks

The plants were started from seeds ordered from South Africa in small soil blocks formed with special molds (together with some balsam scented varieties), latter on being moved into larger soil blocks, and after 4 months, into their pots. The plants grow quite slowly,  but started to bloom within one year from seed germination.






The flower is quite large, very attractive with a pale lilac color and dark purple markins (I'm still waiting to see if any of plants will make white ones). I cross my fingers to be followed  by the distinctive cranesbill seed heads to gather also their seeds.

Pelargonium myrrhifolium var myrrhifolium flower

Pelargonium myrrhifolium var myrrhifolium  is a drought tolerant plant that require a sandy well drained soil. It is said that it is hardy to frost pelargonium which will bloom till January, thus we will overwinter them outside, with some protection against winds and rain (last winter we kept them indoor, like all seedlings, under artificial light).  Initial the stem looked green and herbaceous, but it became woody, and somehow brownish with the age - and as we estimated, could be wired easily and make interesting pelargonium bonsai.

Pelargonium myrrhifolium var myrrhifolium bonsai

Scented Potpourri using a Dehydrator

Our journey along the fascinating world of fragrant potpourri started with some classical recipes but as always we've let our imagination run free. I am always exploring new combinations as I love to have at my fingertips a jar (or an unusual container such as an ... oyster shell ) with fragrant mixture of dried scented pelargonium leaves, flowers and materials gathered from the garden.
 

Potpourri with rosebuds, mint flowers and scented pelargonium leaves and flowers

The recipe for "Cheerful Roses" potpourri: 

• • 2 Cups rose petals 
• • 1 Cup miniature rosebuds 
• • 1/2 Cups mint flower buds 
• • 1 cup pelargonium / geranium flowers 
• • 3 Cups of rose scented pelargonium leaves: 1 Cup "Candy Dancer" leaves  , 1 Cup "Attar of Roses" leaves and 1 Cup "Skeleton Rose" leaves

Last year I've detailed how to make "The smell of Autumn" potpourri using dried leaves of pelargoniums x fragrans, Citrosum, Quercifolium and Tomentosum.  At that moment we've dried naturally the materials, on an wooden rack placed in a warm and well ventilated spot. It is the oldest way to dry herbs and spices, letting the time to work for you, but sometime the shape and the color are modified during the drying out process.

As we try to keep out of any chemicals (drying flowers using Silica Gel) we've started to think about to improve our way of preserving leaves using a Dehydrator. So, this year we've made a new step and decided to purchase one.

We were following the time and temperature estimates provided by manufacturer, but of course we have dried similar batches with different results, varying due to the type, quantity and quality of plant materials and harvesting conditions.

Potpourri with rosebuds and scented pelargonium leaves and flowers

I'm convinced that using a Dehydrator to dry herbs saves time and space ... but I still fancy the old way ... slow and steady. The leaves & flowers are better preserved and maintain better their color and shape, very important attributes in any potpourri, but somehow the smell was a bit diminished.

Pelargonium " PJ Miranda"

Pelargonium "PJ Miranda"  is a magnificent hybrid of regal pelargonium (pelargonium x domesticum), which have been hybridized few years ago by Jean and Phil Hausermann, members of our "Canadian Geranium & Pelargonium Society" .

Pelargonium "PJ Miranda" in bloom

They gave us a young plant at one of the monthly meetings (photo - right side),  which make it even more valuable for us.
















As per their suggestion, we have cut the blooms, letting the plant to grow without flowers for 3 more months.
The plant seems to love direct sunlight and was growing quite quickly,  investing in multiple branches and now is making a nice flowering centerpiece.




Pelargonium "PJ Miranda" has serrated leaves and huge ruffled satiny flowers (almost 5 cm each), similar with "Elsie Hickman" pelargonium.  Its eye-catching blooms have light pink base and scarlet red overlay on the top petals with darker veining markings and blotchings.

Pelargonium "PJ Miranda" flowers

Aren't you impressed, too, by its florets which are opening into full flowers and are almost covering the fuzzy velvety foliage?

Ficus Religiosa Bonsai

Ficus Religiosa it is known also as  “bo-tree fig” “sacred fig” “aswattha fig” or “peepul fig" and  is renowned worldwide as the "The Tree of Enlightenment (Bodhi tree)" .

Ficus Religiosa  (Boo tree)  Bonsai

One of our projects, started almost two years ago, is to have our own "Ficus Religiosa Bonsai". This experiment (you may read more in our previous blog post: Ficus Religiosa Seedlings) convinced us once more that the best way to grow your own bonsai is to start it from seeds.

Ficus Religiosa seedling

You may shape easy your young ficus bonsai  when the stem is not woodified yet and to develop a nice root system accordingly with the pot's shape. We've kept couple of the seedlings at home and re-potted them gradually in larger pots at every half of year, now having one with dimensions: 2 cm high, 20 cm long and 12 cm wide.  The stems and branches became woody after first year of life and once the days have passed, the sapling became bigger, wider  and stronger.




Each  of them, like any other plant, told its own story, but today will feature just the best of them, in whose shadow is meditating a beautiful ceramic Buddha statue.

At one point we almost lost it due to an unexpected invasion of white flies in our room after we bought a new ficus retusa from a store. Indeed, was our mistake to bring home a plant and to put it in our room together with other plants without check it carefully against pests - another tough lesson to pay attention when you buy a plant ;(   Anyhow, we resolved quickly the problem spraying the plants with a diluted solution of insecticidal soap and monitored the plants in next couple of weeks, to be sure that we really rid off them.

Ficus religiosa heart-shaped leaf

Now, it is really healthy and I noticed an accelerated growth rhythm after the days become longer and warmer. My only concern is that we will have a long way until the tree will reduce its leaves. Believe me, the heart shaped leaves are really huge: most of them are between 10-15 cm long and 5-10 cm wide. But this will be another story - Ficus Religiosa Bonsai in progress.

Honda Celebration of Light 2012 - first show

Did you miss fireworks?

I've  missed them so much, but tonight we enjoyed again the magic beauty of fireworks  lightening Vancouver's sky.  The weather was so generous with us, and we were really excited to see the pallete of  dancing lights amidst the waters.

 2012's Vancouver's Light Fireworks Festival features 3 countries: this evening was Vietnam's Show, on August 1st will be Brazil's show and on August 4th Italy's show.

The name of this year's festival is Honda celebration of Light because of the main sponsor of the competition: Honda. Of course, Province of BC, City of Vancouver, Tourism Vancouver, Vancouver Airport, Seaspan, Vancouver Sun, Telus, ICBC and many others partners bring their valuable contribution to make happen again this amazing festival, too.

The Vietnam's light show started a little bit latter than 10p.m. (as per my watch), but like every year, the English Bay, Kitsilano Point and Jericho Beach were really packed with people waiting with patience for their favorite show.

You may see,  in my previous post , pictures of 2010's  Vancouver's celebration of light  ' first night ,  and why not, to compare them with  2012's Vancouver's Light Fireworks Festival first show ;-)

I am always amazed to see the sky enlightened by dancing  fireworks among the moon and how the water is reflecting the rainbow of colors, don't you?

Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ as Bonsai

Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ is a very touchable looking plant, with silvery-grey deep-cut leaves with bitter taste and a mild camphor-spice fragrance. It is derived from Artemisia Absinthium (wormwood), one of the renowned "bitter herbs" mentioned in the Bible and Shakespeare's works Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet, used over the years to flavor Absinthe and other notorious liqueurs, wines and vermouth.

We like it because it is a dwarf variety of wormwood, and as you already know, we like to keep them in containers and bonsai pots. This plant was re-potted and  cut back to 20 centimeters in spring ( it is not recommended to cut it back in the fall).  



Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ has an upright shrubby growing habit and its slender stems with downy whitish hairs become woody when aging. Last year it had a display of tiny yellow florets rising from its lace silvery foliage till late autumn, whose beauty is still unseen this summer, perhaps due the capricious and cold weather, although  it is a very suitable plant to be grown in Vancouver's mild climate (it is drought tolerant in sunny summer days and may be overwintered outside (USDA zone 6-9).

It really looks great in herb containers, and makes a beautiful Bonsai too.  We 've chosen this pot with greyish waves to match its foliage. How do you like it?

Artemisia is a genus of plants from Asteraceae family, with many usages all over the world  in herbal medicine, essential oils, liqueurs and food industries.

Artemisia wormwood and Pelargonium southernwood foliage

Most popular are: Artemisia Dracunculus aka "Tarragon",  Artemisia tridentata aka "Sagebrush", Artemisia vulgaris  aka "Mugwort", Artemisia Abrotanum aka "Southernwood" (scent/foliage similar with  Pelargonium Abrotanifolium) , and, of course, Artemisia Absinthium  aka Wormwood .





 

Their leaves make always an impressive array of textures, colors and shapes and their fragrances and flavors have been  appreciated in any scented garden since ancient times.   

Pelargoniums x Fragrans

Pelargonium x fragrans has an attractive foliage with spicy-nutmeg fragrance. There are many x fragrans varieties derived from the wild pelargonium fragrans, all of them prolific bloomers (a real delight for the foraging bees), drought resistant plants with soft, lobed, slightly undulated leaves.

Pelargonium x fragrans: Tutti-Fruity (left) and White-Nutmeg (right)

There are  many traits inherited from their parent, the true pelargonium fragrans, the most important being the smell of the leaves: a powerful nutmeg spicy scent having various fruity, chocolate, cloves undertones. Below are just some characteristics of the cultivars from our collection:




- Pink Nutmeg:
     * large rounded fan-shaped leaves with nutmeg-spicy flavor and a slightly chocolate undertone beneath the nutmeg fragrance.
     * short stems with greenish color when young which became woody when aging, having bushy growing habit with clusters of leaves starting freely almost from the same spot of  the stem
     * blooming from spring to autumn with clusters of pink flowers with dark red veins on the upper petals

Pelargonium x fragrans:  pink - nutmeg variety

- White Nutmeg:
     * large fan- shaped leaves with nutmeg-spicy  fragrance and a cloves undertone beneath the nutmeg fragrance,
     * stems with greenish color when young and became woody when aging, having a compact growing habit, columnar  (more than 50 cm high) with many branches.
     * prolific bloomer with umbels of white flowers with pink lines on the upper petals

Pelargonium x fragrans on driftwood: White-Nutmeg variety

- Tutti - fruity :
     * green leaves with small, soft and crinkled undulated lobes exulting fruity-spicy  fragrance, with some cider undertones.
     *  dwarf cultivar with short stems with greenish- redish color when young and became woody when aging, having bushy growing habit with many branches
     * prolific bloomer with clusters of white flowers with pink lines on the upper petals

Pelargonium x fragrans: Tutti-Fruity  cultivar

 - " Old Spicy" 
     * light green lobed leaves, larger than " Tutti-Fruity" cultivar but with similar fruity- spicy smell with cider undertones (is said that "Tutti-Fruity" is derived from it and inherited various traits from "Old Spicy" variety).
     * stems with greenish- redish color when young and became woody when aging, with freely columnar growing habit with many branches
     * prolific bloomer with clusters of white flowers ( larger than flowers of "Tutti-Fruity" cultivar, too)  with pink lines on the upper petals

Pelargonium x fragrans Old-spice cultivar

- " Apple - Nutmeg" 
     * a cross between pelargonium fragrans and pelargonium odoratissimum,
      * green leaves with small, soft and crinkled undulated lobes exulting  a sweet apple-nutmeg  fragrance,
     * bushy plant growing freely, making many short stems when young which became woody when aging,
     * prolific bloomer covered all the summer with clusters of small white flowers, flower buds and seed pods

Pelargonium x fragrans:  Apple - Nutmeg cultivar

Indeed, they come all shapes and sizes, all with fine undulated leaves and plenty of flowers.  Their smell has been fascinating me since first day when I've discovered them.  I can never define it exactly, and I always have fun discovering new perfume notes from the greater world of scented pelargonium  fragrances.

Peppermint Scented Pelargonium

Pelargonium Tomentosum  aka peppermint pelargonium / peppermint geranium is the best variety of mint-scented pelargonium from our collection. Even when raining (that seems to happen almost everyday in Vancouver), its velvety huge leaves are freeing a powerful warm-spicy fragrance of peppermint.

Pelargonium tomentosum  aka  peppermint scented pelargonium

I've promised to do a blog post about Pelargonium Tomentosum (peppermint geranium) when the plants will grow enough to try myself its foliage in my dishes. We started our plants from seeds ordered in South Africa last year and the plants are at maturity, so there is lots of trimmings to be used in cooking, potpourri or ointments.



The leaves are lobed, showy, with an angora-like texture, having a deep green color with gray hairy surface. They have some similarities to balsam scented pelargoniums: require water to encourage a healthy grow and  a neutral to alkaline well drained soil. They prefer a mid-day shade spot but enjoy also to capturing sunlight energy.  Believe me, their leaves are releasing a heavenly aroma in mint liqueur (creme de menthe) ,  pies, herbal teas or herb butter.

Pelargonium Tomentosum leaves capturing sunlight energy

Peppermint Pelargonium hairy leaves

Pelargonium Tomentosum is a rambling plant with vigorous growing habit, which may grow several feet height/ width, whose straggling shoots are spreading out in different directions, including horizontally. So... it is really difficult to decide how to shape them ;-)

Pelargonium tomentosum - peppermint geranium with rambling growing habit

I had to admit that peppermint pelargonium is a great ground-cover in garden landscape, or a leaf addition in hanging baskets and bedding plants. Their delicate fluffy white blossoms in summer are just a bonus, this plant remaining an exceptional useful and showy foliage-plant throughout the year.

Peppermint Pelargonium  fluffy flower buds and leaves

Until we'll decide which is the most appropriate " bonsai style" to molding  our plants .. we are just considering them a delightfully fragrant herb with an amazing growing habit,  which has to have it at your fingertips year round.