Cultivating Herbs

Since no self-respecting modern cookbook leaves herbs out of its recipes since courses in herbal medicine are springing up all over the place, and since cosmetics which rely on plants are taking the place of the synthetic beauty treatments what one might ask is a herb?

What is a Herb

Until recently the word has always conjured up pictures of food, which imposed an artificial limit on the range of plants. Now that herbal usage has been revived so much in other disciplines, the definition has expanded to include plants usually grown nowadays for garden ornament, such as the Christmas rose (Helleborus niger), marigold (Calendula) and the Florentine iris; plants which were regarded as weeds, such as tansy, comfrey, yarrow and herb Robert but are being treated with respect as their usefulness for all sorts of reasons is realized again; and plants which supply dyes, cosmetics, insect repellents and fragrances.

Strictly speaking a herb is any perennial plant who’s soft or succulent stems die down to ground level every year, but many herbs are shrubs and trees, such as hyssop, the sweet bay and rosemary. A modern definition of a herb could be any plant, generally aromatic or fragrant, whose parts whether leaf, flower, seed or root are of use in food flavoring medicine, household and cosmetics. 

Herbs were, first and foremost grown primarily for healing and flavoring and as such, were grown in a place reserved for them, whether it was part of a monastery garden, or part of the vegetable patch of peasant or yeoman farmer. As times passed, inevitably, people began to arrange their herbs in patterns when they planted them, until eventually the herb patch became ornamental, and was a garden in its own right. The physic gardens of the monasteries were mostly formal, with rectangular or square beds, but the gardens attached to private homes were developed from these simple plans into intricate designs of curved beds edged with dwarf hedges of box, southernwood or lavender.

Propagation of Herbs

Since herb is an umbrella word covering all types of plant, it follows they can be propagated by most of the methods used for plant increase, but there are two commonly used; seed and division. A third sometimes used is cuttings, mainly for the shrubs or trees. Most of the herbs wich can be grown from seed are hardy and can be sown outdoors in temperate climates; some examples are dill, coriander, savory purslane and lovage. Spring is generally the season in which to sow, but some germinate better if sown in late summer or early autumn, that is, as soon as the parent plants have flowered and set seed, and the seed has ripened. The seed of such plants loses its viability ability to germinate more quickly, so that a spring sowing is likely to result in fewer seedlings. Some seed should not be covered with soil because it needs light to germinate, some needs an acid reacting soil, and some needs a period of cold between harvest and sowing. But most herb seeds germinate like weeds not surprisingly.

Division is a 2^nd method which is perhaps more certain, provided the separated sections each have some root and some buds or potential shoots. It can be done in spring or autumn when the soil is moist, but not waterlogged or dry, and if it is still warm from summer, or beginning to warm up as the spring sun appears. Divided plants will take hold of the soil and grow new roots more quickly if they’re replanted so quickly that the plant hardly knows it has been out of the ground. By doing this its vitality is not completely stopped, it somehow goes on flowing, and the plant, as it were simply gulps a little, and gets on with expanding. 

Nurseries and Garden Centers

Division is all very well, but you must first catch your plant, and in order to do this, it means applying to nurseries or garden centers. Local outlets of this kind will have a choice of all sorts of garden plants and nowadays, a separate area is often reserved specially for herbs. Some garden centers make a point of having a particularly good collection of herbs and if they do it will have well-grown plants considerable variety and correct naming. If there is such an outlet in the neighborhood, it will be a more satisfactory source than a mail order nursery because you can see what you are buying, you can check that it is the plant was named on the label, and you can make sure of getting a strong healthy specimen free from pest or disease. 

Furthermore the herb can be planted without disturbance to the roots almost immediately after buying, whereas those sent through the post may spend many days travelling in inadequate packing having been dug up or removed from a container. Even plants which were well grown and vigorous to start with, are unlikely to do well after such treatment, and unfortunately the mail-order nurseries have no control over postal treatment or delays. As far as cost is concerned there is little difference between the two sources since the cost of postage I offset by the extra cost of the container plants from a garden center. 

But it must be said, that even with the best garden centers, the range of herbs is not great, and consists mostly of the culinary type. For the widest selection, it is better to apply to a specialist herb nursery of which there are now a good many. If there is a local one, then that is far and away the best place to go, otherwise there is avoiding a postal order. A specialist nursery has the advantage that it can advise may be available on the various ways of using it. Some nurseries run short courses on cultivation, cooking with herbs, perfumery and other uses. 

As with any plant, when buying it look for a specimen which is undamaged and healthy, and with plenty of potential growth in the form of small new shoots and buds. Avoid those with broken or hanging stems, wilting leaves, dry compost, and any pest or leaf discoloration at all and preferably buy a plant not yet flowering, though the buds may already be visible.  Tall lanky plants in small pots are not likely to be good buy. Be very careful if the herb has flowered and started to set seed, because if it is an annual, or a biennial, it will shortly die in the natural course of events. This is why it is worth finding out in advance what type of herb it is. 

The correct naming of herbs is a third aspect which unfortunately is not yet as good as it should be. Mail-order plants that turn out not to be the ones ordered are tiresome enough, but when they are labelled as the plant ordered, and are not that plant, it is particularly irritating. Herbs to keep an eye on are the marjoram’s, of which there are at least three different kinds tarragon, dill and fennel, which hybridize very easily, garden mint which is often a cross with horse-mint or may even be that species, lovage which can look like ground elder while young, and French sorrel which is invariably confused with the inferior tasting English sorrel. 

Besides mail-order herb nurseries, there are also seed firms supplying nothing but herbs and wild plants. These will be much less expensive on postage charges and are more likely to be true to name. For success in growing from seed, there is a book entitled, seed Growers Guide to Herbs and Wild Flowers by Helen McEwan available from Seed bank), which has detailed instructions on seed germination and seedling cultivation for herbs together with information on their eggs. 

Many specialist herb nurseries are planned so that the visitor can inspect the plants and their condition at close range. Each herb is labelled with both its botanical and common name. The leaf pattern of fennel is similar to that of dill. When buying a fennel plant, check that it is true fennel. Well (Foeniculum Vulgare), which has a strong anise flavor. Coriander is easily grown from seed but should be planted outdoors and not in a confined space. Until the seeds ripen, it has a strong and disagreeable odour. French tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) is one of the most distinctive and delicious culinary herbs. Its close relation, Russian tarragon (Artemisia dracunculoides) has a greatly inferior flavor and should not be substituted in the garden or the kitchen for true tarragon. Source: Charismaticplanet.com

Superlative Photos of Wild Foxes in Russia's Snowy Landscape

In the cold depths of Russia's northeastern Chukotka region, Magadan-based photographer Ivan Kislov captures stunning colorful signs of life in the snow through his magnificent photographs of foxes in the wild. Ivan Kislov, who actually enjoys hiking to distant spots and photographing wildlife in between his long shifts as a mining engineer, presents a spectacular look at the foxes that live and hunt in the icy region. Set against the vast, empty landscape, Kislov's furry subjects display a magnificent personality and spirit, instantaneously playful, mischievous, loving, and fierce. Although Kislov photos all sorts of wild animals, from reindeer to bears to wolves, he says that foxes make for some very willing models, thanks to their curiosity and bold nature. Foxes are inquisitive and can come very close, and I tried to capture with wide angle and telephoto lenses.

South Africa’s humungous Sunland Baobab tree is world-renowned for its extraordinary proportions.

South Africa’s humungous Sunland Baobab tree is world-renowned for its extraordinary proportions. But what really makes it truly unique is the fact that visitors to the 6,000-year-old tree can grab a drink at a bar located in the hollow of the trunk. The Sunland Baobab Pub took residence inside the tree in 1933, and today it can still comfortably serve 15 lucky patrons.

Burney Falls (Height: 39 m), USA.

Burney Falls is a waterfall on Burney Creek, in McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, Shasta County, California. The water comes from underground springs above and at the falls, which are 129 feet high, and provides an almost constant flow rate of 379 million litres per day, even during the dry summer months. The falls were called "the Eighth Wonder of the World" by President Theodore Roosevelt, and were declared a National Natural Landmark in December 1984.

Seljalandsfoss Waterfall

This is Seljalandsfoss, arguably Iceland's most famous waterfall. In a boundless green field, the cascade drops a whopping 200 feet from rocks above into a serene little pool below. The most insane part of Seljalandsfoss, though, is that you can hike through the back of the falls and view them from the inside out.

Maui Water Falls United States

The islands of Hawaii are known to have some of the most impressive waterfalls to see; and Maui boasts some of the world’s best! Honokohau Falls (Hono ko hau) is the tallest waterfall on Maui which reaches 1,119 feet. Tucked away in the depths of the West Maui Mountains, this breathtaking waterfall must be seen from the view of a helicopter tour because it is located in a valley that is otherwise inaccessible. Honokohau Fall’s cascading waters down the cliff face may remind of the movie “Jurassic Park”. This waterfall was actually featured in the movie, so it’s definitely a bucket list location not to be missed!

Your Own Butterfly Garden

One of the most popular ways of assisting with butterfly conservation is by planting lots of suitable food plants in the garden. The most “helpful” plants are those which flower late in the season, these can make a real difference to those butterflies which roots or hibernate, as they need to build up their fat reserves for the long winter ahead. The flowers need to be rich in nectar and also attractive to butterflies in the first place. 

Good examples include the Iceplant (Sedum Spectabile), Valerian (Valerianaceae Spp), and the Michelmas Daisy (Aster novi-belgii). It is not so important to have plants that flower during the summer as there are usually plenty around for the butterflies to choose from. However, if like most people you want to encourage butterflies whenever possible, it’s a good idea to plant a wide range of flower species to maintain a food supply at all times. Those that flower early in the year will help the winter’s survivors in early spring. 

Some people also plant things which will be suitable for larval food plants as well as for the adult butterflies. Nettles are very god for many of the “Nymphalids” so it is common for several well-meaning gardeners to leave a patch somewhere out of sight. 

Unfortunately this is only too often behind a shed or under some overhanging trees where they won’t get in the way. They then feel justified to say that they have “done their bit” in the cause of conservation; sadly though the patch is usually damp and lacks sunlight. This will nearly always be rejected by discerning female butterflies, as they will not lay eggs where they are likely to fall victim to fungal problems caused by lack of warmth ventilation and light. 

 Source: Charismatic Planet

Acrobatic Blue and Great Tits

Acrobatic blue and Great Tits

Well, the colorful agile little blue and great tits which frequent our gardens in winter area a delight to watch as they cluster round a bag of peanuts. Blue and great tits, both colloquially known as tomtits, are popular garden birds which visit bird tables regularly in winter. Both are widespread throughout the British Isles and you will see them in deciduous woodland, scrubland, hedgerows and farmland everywhere. The blue tit is an agile, aggressive, always excitedly active little bird which specializes in hanging at awkward angles to feed, while the great tit, larger than the blue and twice as heavy often prefers to feed on the ground like a finch. Male and female blue tits are very similar in appearance. Among great tits a distinguishing features between male and female is the black line which runs down the Centre of their primrose yellow breasts. This is faint in the female but very bold and wide in the male. 

Seasonal foraging; 

Well, in summer blue tits feed mainly on insects searching for them at the tips of twigs and shoots. In winter this diet is supplemented with occasional nuts and seeds. Since insects are neither active nor easily visible in winter, blue tits have to spend considerable time peering and probing round buds and under flakes of bark to find hibernating adults and larvae. If you observe the apparently aimless you will see that it is in fact purposefully searching every potentially rewarding nook and cranny. In the garden the boldness and agility of blue tits as they attack peanuts hung in a plastic mesh sock is a delight to watch. They feed on almost everything put out on a bird table except bird seed, but above all they prefer nuts and fat. Great tits eat much the same food as the blue, but take more vegetable food in winter particularly seeds and nuts which have fallen to the ground. 

Feeding for breeding

The breeding season for great tits begins in late March and for blue tits in early April. To get into peak condition for egg laying as early as possible earlier broods tend to the larger and healthier than later ones the female must eat prodigiously. In the three weeks before laying begins, she puts on weight at an extraordinary rate, increasing her normal weight by at least a half and sometimes more. Then over 10 or 12 days she produces almost her own weight in eggs, laying one each day. This remarkable feat cannot be achieved by the female unaided. The male must feed her. The behavior called courtship feeding may be essential if breeding is to be successful.  The female tit does all the best building, choosing a hole or crevice in a wall, tree or garden nest box. The nest a cup of moss, grass, wool, leaves, roots and spiders webs is lined with hair or feature. 

All Eggs in one Basket

In summer in deciduous woodland, both great and blue tits often rely heavily on just one species of insect as food for themselves and their young. In oak woods this is the winter moth which frequently produces huge numbers of caterpillars. The parent birds need to synchronize the maximum food demands of their young with the single, short lived peak in the caterpillar food supply. They therefore produce a single large brood each year. This is unlike most other small birds which rear two or even three broods a year and thus have two or three chances if anything goes wrong. It is almost literally a case of the tits putting all their eggs in one basket!

One in Ten Survive

In spring each breeding pair of tits is generally composed of one adult bird which bred the year before and is at least 21 months old, and one young bird which is about nine months old and breeding for the first time. One half of each breeding pair dies each year. For the population to remain steady, only one youngster would need to be reared per pair to replace the dead adult. On average, however, ten youngsters leave each nest in summer. This means that nine die by the following spring a staggering 90% mortality rate. Gruesome though it sounds, this is an insurance against catastrophe and is quite usual in the bird world. Indeed, if one extra youngster per brood were to survive each year, the whole countryside would soon be overrun by hordes of tits eating up all available resources and precipitating a disastrous drop in the population. 

Plenty of Predators

The high mortality rate is largely the result of natural causes, especially starvation, since inexperienced young birds have difficulty finding enough food in winter. Moreover also at the start of the season, competition for nesting holes is fierce. Larger birds such as the starling may oust tits from the bigger holes, and tit may oust tit from smaller ones. The larger great tit does not always succeed in evicting the smaller but more aggressive blue. Tree sparrows can squeeze through an entrance apparently only just large enough for a blue tit, and often build their untidy nest on top of a clutch of tit eggs or as tree sparrows are late nesters, even on top of a flourishing brood of chicks. 

Predators also play a significant part in the high mortality rate, and may account for a third or more of the deaths. Great spotted woodpeckers have a taste for tit eggs and young and can easily open up a nest hole with their strong beak. Woodpeckers capitalize on the fact that well grown tit chicks are alerted by a shadow falling across their nest hole and jump up to the entrance to grab the expected food from a returning parent. As soon as the unfortunate chicks appear, the woodpecker catches them. In the early days after fledging the inexperienced youngsters may fall easy victims to hunting sparrow hawks. 

Strangely enough wood mice and sometimes voles climb trees readily and enjoy any eggs they happen to find. The prime predatory mammal however, is the weasel which can squeeze through the nest hole without much difficulty. Often the weasel will gorge on young birds to such an extent that it has to sleep off the meal until it slims down enough to squeeze out again. Weasel predation is particularly high in summers when the weather is poor and the young tits are underfed. The hungry chicks squeak noisily for more food and are heard by patrolling weasels on the lookout for prey. 

Irruptions

The general trend in tit numbers is more or less steady, but there are some fluctuations from year to year. Often, after a series of good summers and mild winters especially on the continent), mortality is lower than usual and consequently tit numbers far higher than average. In this situation, the sudden onset of a severe winter, or a shortage of natural food, produces a massive westward movement called an irruption as hungry birds move about in search of food. When these hordes cross the channel, autumn numbers in the eastern counties of England reach spectacular levels. Strange reports sometimes appear of tits eating the putty round window frames and even entering houses and tearing strips of wallpaper off the walls. Irruptions occur irregularly, perhaps only once a decade. 

Ringing results show the at most of the birds in irruption are of continental origin, coming from as far away as eastern Poland. Winters in mainland Europe are generally more severer than in much of Bri9tain and Ireland, so Continental blue and great tits migrate south and west in autumn to escape climatic hardship and to find easier feeding .British birds, on the other hand, tend to stay close to home, and although they may roam around several parishes, rarely make journeys of more than 30 miles. Many establish a circuit of known good feeding spots and visit each in turn. 

Mixed Flocking

Anyone walking in deciduous woods between August and March is likely to encounter a tit flock. These roving bands of birds operate from ground level to the top of the tree canopy, probing for food and flying from perch to perch. In late summer young willow warblers and chiffchaffs, fattening up before migration, may join the tits. Later gold crests, nuthatches and chaffinches also turn up, as well as wrens and tree creepers. Wrens tend to search the ground for food, while tree creepers probe the tree trunk for concealed insects. The small coal and blue tits favor the ends of twigs high in the canopy, as do the even smaller, warblers which hover in front of the twigs, picking off insects. Lower on branches and trunk, you will see great tits and nuthatches whose greater weight excludes them from the canopy. Great tits often feed with chaffinches on the woodland floor, picking up seeds and nuts. One advantage of mixed flocking is that a large group of birds has many eyes to watch for predators and give the alarm quickly. Another is that the trees are exploited for food on every level.

Source: Charismatic Planet