I am forever adding new gardening blogs to my reading list. I mean how could you not, there are so many gardeners out there producing great blogs. Follow one and you discover 5 more. After a while though the list got a bit unruly. Add to that all the work related sites and news feeds and, even with RSS (Really Simple Syndication) through my bookmarks, things were becoming a little overwhelming. Then I discovered Google Reader.
So what is Google Reader?
A free, web-based reader for RSS feeds, technically Google Reader is a news aggregator. It let’s you follow your favorite websites, blogs and news feeds all in one easy to use location. New content appears in your Google Reader feed when it’s posted, so you don’t need to visit individual sites. Once you’ve read an item it disappears from your feed (unless to decide to keep it), so you only see unread items every time you come back. Items are organized by site, allowing you to decide what to read first.
Think of it as something like having a separate e-mail basket for your blog feeds and news sites. Everything in one location, you choose what you want to read, delete the rest.
Another great benefit of Google Reader is the ease with which you can follow blogs. Even if they don’t have an RSS feed button it’s easy to add most sites. Any blog you want to follow must have an RSS or Atom feed associated with it, but nearly all blogs do. Just copy the URL of your favorite blog. The address of the feed associated with that blog is usually a more than just the blog’s address, but that doesn’t matter. Google will find the feed associated with that page for you. Click on the Subscribe button in Google Reader, paste the URL of your blog into the entry box and Google will add that feed to Google Reader for you. It’s that simple.
While I won’t bother writing about how to use Google Reader (there are lots of posts out there about that already) I will say that you need a Google account to use it. Mine is integrated with my Google Plus account but you don’t have to have Google Plus to use Google Reader.
So if you are an avid follower of blogs (gardening or otherwise), or are looking for an easier way to follow more and aren’t using RSS yet, why not try out Google Reader. Whether you log in once a day or once a week, I’m sure you’ll find it a great way to keep in touch.
Well February is here, and it’s looking a little dreary outside. The snow has once again melted and when I look out my office window all I see is a lot of gray and brown with a bit of dull green thrown in. So to liven things up until spring arrives I’ve decided to post some colour this month in memory of the season past.
Today’s color is pink, from vivacious to soft, pink can run the gambit from almost purple to almost red. Named after the flowers called pinks (Dianthus), it seemed a great choice to start.
Pink is not just a color, it’s an attitude. ~Author Unknown
Deep pink blooms of Bergenia.
Spring just isn't complete without some pink tulips.
Magnolia 'Susan' bloom.
Peonies provide an array of pink blooms from the soft pink of Cheddar Charm....
to the deeper pink of Gay Paree.
Soft pink blooms of Kolwitzia amidst a sea of green.
Invincibelle Spirit (a new pink blooming version of Annabelle Hydrangea) amidst other pink bloomers in the garden.
Geranium macrorrhizum in bloom.
Gotta love the variety in shades you can get from mixed annuals.
Contrasting colour from this asiatic lily, one of the few to survive the rabbits and deer.
I love the softer shades of pink from mass planted hydrangeas in the fall.
And how can you talk pink in the garden without including echinacea.
These zinnias bloom in dramatic pink from mid-summer to frost.
One of my favourite shrubs, Neon Flash Spirea.
Of course the softer pink of Shirobana amidst the white blooms is a close runner up.
Bring some different colour into fall with pink berries from Marlene Snowberry.
And while I don't have many roses left, I'll finish off with the beautiful small blooms of my climbing rose Rosa Angela.
by everchanging gardener on January 30, 2012
in Weather
We finally had some winter weather on the weekend dropping about 4 inches of lovely, fluffy snow. Everything looks lovely today, all white and pristine. Unfortunately it does not look like it is going to last as they are predicting a return to unusually warm temperatures again this week.
So far this winter we’ve had only 10 days where the high for the day remained below freezing. A far cry from the typical Canadian winter. So what is happening to winter? Apparently the cause is something called The Arctic Oscillation. This interesting weather pattern dictates how much arctic air leaves the pole region and is driven down into the middle portion of the northern hemisphere. When positive, which it is now, low surface pressure in the polar region and higher pressure below means that the jet stream remains strong and relatively high in latitude, keeping cold Arctic air trapped in the polar region. When negative, strong pressure in the Arctic drives the jet stream lower, hence our normally cold winters.
Last winter the Arctic Oscillation was negative, driving down temperatures and increasing snow cover, this year it has been positive (no I’m not referring to the upside of not having to shovel). All I know is I hope it stays ‘positive’ for spring.
The Hawthorn Grove during snowfall Jan 29, 2012
The back woodland looks like a winter wonderland.
by everchanging gardener on January 20, 2012
in Garden Rants
OK I am going to start out this post by saying that I am already happily married but must admit to being intrigued by a new approach to dating. It’s called Weed Dating. Really. Participants sign up and meet over rows of produce, weeding and chatting in a farmers version of speed dating. Organized by The Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) of Vermont, daters pay $10 to meet and weed with their fellow, single, farming and gardening enthusiasts.
Being happily married myself, I have no need for the meet portion of this event but was thinking perhaps I could organized the weeding portion at my own place. Call it a home gardeners version.
... Of Bud To Bloom
