Red Breasted Nuthatch "Sitta canadensis"

The red-breasted nuthatch is a small songbird. The adult has blue-grey upperparts with cinnamon underparts, a white throat and face with a black stripe through the eyes, a straight grey bill and a black crown. It's call, which has been likened to a tin trumpet, is high-pitched and nasal.  It forages on the trunks and large branches of trees, often descending head first, sometimes catching insects in flight. It eats mainly insects and seeds, especially from conifers. It excavates it's nest in dead wood, often close to the ground, smearing the entrance with pitch.

 

Great White Egret

The great egret, also known as the common egret, large egret or great white egret or great white heron is a large, widely distributed egret, with four subspecies found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world.

 

Hide and Seek Beach: The Miracles of Nature in Odisha

This world is full of so many places to discover, that even a lifetime of travelling will not be sufficient for it. An Indian strange Chandipur beach, located in the Balasore district of Odisha, is a place waiting to be discovered. This is called the Hide and Seek Beach, actually a miracle of nature. Hide and Seek beach always spellbound us by its lovely and unusual creations. Due to its rare and exclusive phenomenon, it is globally popularized as ‘vanishing sea’. Apart from this, there are other amazing features which add to its exceptionality.

One place which is every person would look at through his own perspective, and that's what discovery really means. A phenomenon that is rarely seen in any other part of the world, the sea here recedes by as much as 5KM every day.  Odisha, fondly called the “Soul of India”, is highly rich in its culture and heritage, making it one of the most visited tourist destinations in India. Also, every year in the month of February, a beach festival takes place here to setting folk dance, art, and culture of the State. The beach is also home to biodiversity and supports a wide variety of sea animals.

Well, believe us or not, the beach is not a constantly existing feature on the map. At least it doesn't look the same every time. Is it surprised? Hence, whenever you are at the Chandipur beach, you can actually see the sea disappear in front of your eyes, and come back again and see the area of sand dunes. So, when you are at the beach during the ebb, you can see the water receding massively from the beach and then coming back during the high tide in order to fill up the emptiness. This Hide and Seek of the sea comes to play with you twice a day. However, the locals are fully aware of the time of the high and low tides.

This is the reason why the beach is home to a host of unique species, i.e., horseshoe crab and the red crab. It’s a surreal experience to watch the sea disappear before your eyes and walked on the exposed sea bed. One can find pearls, seashells, crabs and tiny fish on the shore during the times of low tide. This is not something that every other beach offers. The sight of Casuarina trees and sand dunes also call for a visual treat. The ultimate golden colored sea beach has gorgeous casuarina trees and the solitary sand dunes which make the ambiance over there more peaceful and soothing.

However, travelers can visit this dramatic beach anytime. The best time according to the locals is from November to March. Hide and Seek Beach is in depth feel of magic of nature, to feel the wet soft sand under your feet and live up the unforgettable experience. A trip to Hide and Seek Beach will leave you mesmerized on how beautiful and interesting place in India. If you’re visiting beach in the afternoon, then don't miss the spectacular sunset here.

 

Unbelievable Beauty of Socotra Island

Socotra is an isolated island, situated around 250 miles off the coast of Yemen. It is a small archipelago of four islands in the Indian Ocean. The exclusive characteristic of Socotra Island is to home of some of weirdest looking plants that are found nowhere else on planet earth. The largest member of the archipelago also called Socotra.

The Socotra is also spelled Sokotra, Arabic Suquṭrā, Island. Actually, Socotra Island is an archipelago formed of four islands, near the Gulf of Aden. It is very isolated, and has a harsh, hot, and dry climate, used to be part of Africa six million years ago. The trees are out of Land of the Lost and the feeling you have is like nowhere else.

Tabebuia Tree Care

Tabebuia tree is commonly known as the golden trumpet tree. It is semi-evergreen/semi-deciduous shedding foliage for a short period in late spring tree. Tabebuia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae. Tabebuia is very similar to Tabebuia ochracea. Tabebuia “Handroanthus chrysotrichus, synonym Tabebuia chrysotricha,” is the national tree of Brazil. The golden trumpet tree is grown outside Brazil as a street tree and garden tree. Tabebuia genus is being a flowering tree and comes in a variety of colors. It has big yellow, pink and rose-colored and even white Tabebuia

Growth of Tabebuia

This tree normally grows at a height of 15 to 25 ft, sometimes up to 50 ft.  Tabebuia spread around 25 to 35 ft. This tree is evergreen in the warmer zones. It blooms before the new leaves appear and it puts on a flamboyant show of color. Tabebuia trees are deciduous trees meaning they will lose their leaves in the fall and winter. It has a moderate growth rate and can even be grown in a container when small. Tabebuia “buffer strips” is good where temperatures are high and soil space limited.

Tabebuia Tree Care

The plant is the seed pods, anywhere from 3 to 12 inches. It dangles long into the cold season, providing winter interest. Tabebuia tree care is very easy, perfect and breezy in warmer zones in many locations and has no root problems. White, magenta or red blooms Tabebuia is harder to find. Tabebuia growing conditions must include a warm location with no freezing possibility.

To grow Tabebuia in containers, choose a well-drained potting medium to prevent root rot. Tabebuia trees are attractive and adjust too many growing conditions. Adding this tree to your landscape is worth as the rewards are great and the care is minimal. Trees should be protected from frost, as some leaf out following a freeze; the tree is often weakened and grows poorly.  

Tabebuia is rich in nectar and thus the tree is a useful honey plant. Tabebuia is not especially popular with hummingbirds, i.e. glittering-bellied emerald and white-throated hummingbird. The tree seems to prefer them over the flowers of other Tabebuia species. Tabebuia are not very messy and have never had to rake the leaves as they fall gradually over time. Tabebuia yellow varieties do better on the sides of the home or to add color in the rear of the home.

A concern has been raised, that it is a weed in tropical and sub-tropical Australia, but yet not declared. Tabebuia tree produces long, slender seedpods late in the season and can be propagated by seeds from those pods. It is recommended that developing high, arching branches in many years by removing the lower, drooping branches for the first few years.

The wood becomes brittle with age and can break easily in strong winds. However this is not usually a problem since trees are small with an open canopy and should not be cause to eliminate this beautiful tree from your tree palette. The tree will provide good shade when mature, and no pest problems were mentioned. Therefore, no doubt that one of these beauties would be a fine addition to any landscape and could likely give our old standby, the orchid tree, a run for its money. Hence, wear protective gear when pruning trees. Source: CP

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cherries from the Orient

For hundreds of years, cherry trees have been cultivated in the Far East for their ornamental blossoms. These same trees are now being planted in Britain there they bring a welcome splash of color to our towns and cities in spring.

Among the most attractive of all the trees in Britain are the ornamental cherries. So called because they are planted for their appearance rather than for their fruits, which are usually inedible. Ornamental cherries are becoming increasingly popular in towns and cities since many are small compact trees, ideal for growing in the confined space of a street or a small garden,

There is now a wide range of varieties to choose from, with differing flower colors and branching patterns. Even outside their flowering period, some ornamental cherries have distinct and beautiful harks and on many the leaves are brightly colored, both in spring when they emerge and in autumn before they fall.

Oriental cherries ! Britain's native cherries, the gean or wild cherry and the bird cherry, have been valued for their ornamental qualities for hundreds of years. But almost all the ornamental cherries being planted nowadays originate in the Far East, especially in China and Japan. Both these countries have a profusion of cherry species growing wild. Which have long been cultivated for their ornamental value rather than for their fruits. In Japan, especially, flowering cherries are venerated.

Temples, shrines and other holy places are planted with them. They are frequent subjects for Japanese art and there is a host of legends and traditional stories surrounding them. Japan is famous for its massed plantations of cherries, which attract hundreds of thousands of visitors at blossom time each year.

The oriental cherries were introduced to Europe during, the 19th century, when trade routes to the Far East were opened up. But many of the varieties that had been cultivated in the East for so long arrived in Britain only during this century. Their introduction and subsequent popularization was due to one man-Captain Collingwood Ingram.

Japanese cherry ! The first oriental cherry to be introduced to Britain was the Japanese cherry (Prunus serrulata), also known as the oriental cherry. It arrived in Britain in 1822 from Canton in China, though it is more commonly grown in Japan. Where are varieties of this species are greatly treasured and known as Sato Zakura (Japanese liar 'village cherries`). Despite its popularity in Japan, this species is actually native to China but was introduced to Japan many hundreds of years ago.

The Japanese cherry is the most widely planted ornamental cherry in Britain. And the hundreds of varieties that have been developed around the world, at least 60 are grown here. They differ mainly in the color and arrangement of the flowers and in the flowering period. They all have purple-brown barks with rows of protruding lenticels. The leaves, which are oval with a long, tapering point and toothed margins, turn a handsome pink, red or golden-yellow in the autumn. Japanese cherries can grow as tall as 15m (50ft), but most are much shorter than this.

Common varieties The most popular variety of Japanese cherry grown in Britain is 'Kanzan', which hears masses of deep pink, produced that the branches, which for most of the year are fairly upright, hang down under the weight.

Another commonly grown variety is 'Shimidsu', which has pendulous branching clusters of flowers. Each cluster consists of three to six large, white, double flowers. They open just after `Kanzan1 in late April or early May. Two other common varieties with very different habits are `Amanogawa' and `Cheat's Weeping'. The former has a narrow upright shape and resembles a Lombardy poplar; its flowers are pink and semi-double. The latter variety has very pendulous branches that may almost touch the ground; its flowers can be either pink or white. Both these varieties flower earlier than `Kanzan'.

The variety 'Tai-Haku' has a most unusual history. In 1923, Captain Collingwood Ingram noticed an unusual cherry tree growing in a garden in Sussex. At first he could not identify it; but, during a visit to Japan, he discovered that it used to grow there but became extinct during the 18th century. The Japanese called it 'Tai-Haku'. Ingram later reintroduced it into its native country, but no one yet knows how it came to be growing in a Sussex garden. The flowers of `Tai¬1-1aku' are white and spectacularly large up to 8cm (3in) across, which is larger than those of any other variety.

Sargent's cherry is another popular ornamental species is Sargent's cherry (Prunus sargentii). This is named after Charles Surgent, of the Arnold Arboretum in Boston USA.  Who on a visit to Japan in 1890 discovered it growing on the slopes of Mount Fujiyama? Sargent's cherry sometimes grows as tall as 20m (65ft), which is a notable height for a cherry. The bark resembles that of the Japanese cherry, except that it is smoother and glossy. The flowers open in the middle of April and are borne in clusters of two to five densely massed along the branches. The flowers themselves are pink and single.

The leaves on a Sargent's cherry are also attractive. Appearing slightly after the flowers have opened, they are reddish-purple at first and, with the pink flowers, make a striking combination of colors. As the leaves mature they turn dark green, but in autumn become a spectacular bright orange or crimson. Sargent's cherry is one of the first trees to change color in the autumn, often as early as the beginning of September. In shape, its leaves resemble the leaves of a Japanese cherry.

Rose-bud Cherry! This is another species of ornamental cherry native to Japan. The rose-bud cherry (Prunus subhiriella) is also known as the spring cherry was introduced to Britain in 1895. There are many varieties of this species, including those with double flowers and others with a weeping habit. But one variety in particular, `Autumnalis', is especially popular since it flowers throughout the winter.

Not surprisingly, it is also known as the winter-flowering cherry. The majority of its pale pink flowers appear in November or April, but in between these months a small number of flowers regularly appear on its otherwise bare branches. In the wild, the rose-bud cherry can grow to a height of 20m (651t), though cultivated trees are usually much smaller.

Tibetan Cherry! not all ornamental cherries are grown for their flowers. The Tibetan cherry (Prunus serrula) is planted primarily for its unusual and attractive bark. In autumn the outer bark peels away in narrow bands from the trunk and branches to reveal new bark of a rich mahogany-brown color with rings of paler lenticels.

Unfortunately, the flowers are relatively insignificant for an ornamental cherry, being small and white. Since they emerge at the same time as the leaves, they tend to be obscured.

The Tibetan cherry is native to western China and was introduced to Britain in 1908. In cultivation it grows to a height of about 8m. Also Read: The Tree of 40 Fruits

A Profusion of Hybrids

These four species and their varieties cover most of the ornamental cherries grown in Britain. But there are also many hybrids that have been developed from these and other species. One particularly common hybrid is the Yoshino cherry (Prunus x yedoensis), which is a cross between the rose-bud cherry and the Oshino cherry. The Yoshino is one of the earliest cherries to flower, appearing in March. The single flowers are pink or white. Many other hybrids and varieties are still being developed.

The Tibetan cherry is unusual among ornamental cherries in being planted for its brightly colored bark rather than its flowers. Its bark is at its best in the autumn, when the outer layer peels away in bands to reveal rich mahogany-Coloured new bark. Source: CP

Relaxing Video of Lake Saiful Muluk

Relaxing Video of Saiful Muluk, Feels The Clam, Serenity, and Soothing. Saiful ul Muluk is one of most beautiful lake in the world, as no one can judge the depth of it. Its a wonderful lake, but somehow tourists are destorying its natural beauty by dumping garbage in them. Which is so sad. Whenever you go there, please feel the real natural beauty. If you like the video, plz hit the like button and smash to share.

The UFO Shaped Lenticular Clouds

Lenticular Clouds are also called Altocumulus lenticularis are stationary lens-shaped clouds that form in the troposphere. It is usually in perpendicular alignment to the wind direction. Lenticular clouds can be separated into ACSL, (Altocumulus Standing Lenticularis) or SCSL (Stratocumulus Standing Lenticular), and CCSL, (Cirrocumulus Standing Lenticular). Because of their rare shape, they’ve been observed as an explanation for some UFO (Unidentified Flying Object), sightings. As air flows along the surface of the Earth, it comes across obstacles. However, our atmosphere, the envelope of air surrounding of planet, is always in motion. We have a tendency to to think of the motion of our atmosphere as horizontal across the ground, namely wind. Though, air can move vertically as well. Also Read: Glowworms Transform Cave into a Fascinating Starry Sky
Source: CP

Rainbow Mountains China

Rainbow Mountains China had a hard time believing that this mind-blowing mountain formation was actually real. But believe it or not this Technicolor range actually exists. It is located inside of the Zhangye Danxia National Geopark 30km west of Zhangye City, Gansu Province, China.

The park covers an area of 322 square km and contains 2 separate Danxia regions. Seven Colored Mountains and Ice Valley (Bing Gou Danxia) is its own separate park. The naturally formed landscape is alive with shades of green, orange, blue, emerald, red and yellow. Also See: Amazing Cambodian Bamboo Bridge Rebuilt Every Year

Source: CP

Kalabagh PAF Base, The Coolest Places in Nathia Gali

Kalabagh PAF Base is a nice and clean place in Nathiagali. It was designed as old England, and that’s what they got— Unpredictable weather. The cool breeze, low clouds, sporadic rain, and fog greets you while walking along the old England road in Nathiagali.Everything is nicely set and clean and functional. Food is very basic, but freshly cooked and tasty. This is undoubtedly a very scenic place, like most other places in the area. However, it is not accessible to general public. It is Pakistan Airforce property and one has to be a guest of someone from Pakistan Air Force to enter the property. If you do not have a booking through someone known to you in Pakistan Air Force, you will NOT BE ALLOWED to enter this place. Its strictly not available to the foreigners.

13 Amazing Places You Should Visit in Your Life

Here are 13 Amazing places you should visit in your life once. The magical spot captivate your heart, and entice you to travel these areas. Almost everyone love to travel to see amazing places. We are sure, this list will help you to select at least one place you will travel in 2018.

Fragrance and Aroma

Fragrance is associated with beauty smell with ugliness, yet both are odours. Fragrance and aroma is nature’s way of warning us of possible danger? Smells unpleasant odours, come from rotting vegetation of animal matter, both of which are likely to be toxic, whereas fragrance is mostly given off by beautiful parts of plants. Of course there are exceptions to these generalizations there are some flowers which smell exactly like decaying meat, and unmentionable animal parts which supply prized perfumes.

Historical uses of Fragrance and Aroma!

But it does seem that fragrance and aroma is associated with pleasure and for health, and it is a pity that sweet smelling perfumes are not now in everyday use in the home, as they were in the past. The Romans great sybarites that they were had perfumed doves flying above banquets; they scattered tons of rose petals on festival days, and sprayed their rooms with perfume as effeminate and made its sale illegal.

The Greeks thought perfume was divine in origin, and the ancient Egyptian who originally confined the use of perfume to religious rituals, gradually allowed its personal use until it became an essential part of the toilet. From Rome its use spread throughout northern and western Europe to Britain, and thence eventually to the new world in 16^th and 17^th centuries by the first settlers. There it must have met the long-standing tradition of herbal medicine practiced by the Indian tribes already established, who would have appreciated the therapeutic use of aromatic oils.

In mediaeval times in Britain, and even more so in Europe aromatic and fragrant herbs had a hundreds everyday uses. One has a vague impression that those  times and later, perhaps up to the end of the 18^th century, were distinguished by a general lack of hygiene; dirt, smells, fleas, sores, boils and skin complaints in general were common place things. Yet in fact people had a good deal of natural material available to overcome all these. For most people life was a rural one, and many families probably had a little bit of ground outside their homes on which to grow plants. For those that had not, there were many herbs which were native plants growing wild and in much greater quantity than they do now.

It would have been a common habit to strew aromatic and fragrant leaves on floors to combat insects, to use them in all one’s clothes and household linen, and to burn sprigs of such plants in various rooms to offset unpleasant odours, or  simply to provide a sweet fragrance. Finger bowls contained flower petals, gloves were perfumed, pomanders and tussie mussies were carried, and scented candles burnt. Lavender was used in washing water and potpourris were an essential part of everyday life. Furniture polish was perfumed.

Perfume as such consisted at first of the simple natural oils. Such as rosemary, sage and lavender but those with an alcoholic base began to make their appearance in the 14^th century with the production of Hungary Water. It is of note that a writer of 1560, described an English home thus; the neat cleanliness the pleasant and delightful furniture, wonderfully rejoiced me, their chambers and parlors strewed over with sweet herbs, refreshed me. Gerard described meadowsweet as far excelling All other strewing herbs to decked up houses, to straw in chambers, halls and banqueting houses in the Summer time; for the smell thereof makes the heart merries, delighted the senses.

It would do no harm, and probably a great deal of good, to follow some of these practices, in scenting our homes or parts of them; it might even be possible to use them in the  same way that color is to create a certain mood for instance, for soothing and tranquillizing in resting rooms, for stimulating in living rooms, and for making the heart  merry at dinner parties.

How Do we get Fragrances  and Aroma!

Odours of any kind are detected by a small piece of lining membrane at the top of the nose cavity. On the surface of this there are olfactory hairs which connect with a nerve fiber ultimately in contact with the central nervous systems. If these filaments are covered with a thicker layer of mucous fluid than normal as with catarrh, or if this layer is replaced with a dry one, the ability to distinguish between smells is reduced or even temporarily destroyed.

Different reactions to smells and perfumes, when some people cannot detect any odour, and others different is probably due to one’s genes, though smoking can interfere, and prolonged sniffing blunts the ability. Incidentally the Latin for to smoke is fumere; par or per means through perhaps perfumes is so called because herbs were burnt for various reasons. Fragrant originally meant simply smelling and its meaning of sweetness is a modern one. There are said to be only seven primary odours ethereal, camphoraceous, musky, floral peppermints, pungent and putrid, and all other odours are compounds of these; almond, for example is a mixture of floral, camphoraceous and peppermints ingredients.

Methods of Extracting Perfume!

The art of perfumery is extremely complex, and the professional perfumer has literally thousands of sources of fragrance and aroma, which to call when blending a new perfume. In general, perfumes are based on a solvent such as oil or pure alcohol and it is possible in spite of the potential for complexity, to make one’s own perfumes based on the flowers and or leaves of herbs in the same way that potpourris can be satisfactorily made. Pure alcohol is usually not obtainable but a good substitute is isopropyl alcohol, and for oil, and vegetable oil can be used, though olive or sweet almond will give a better product. They will keep longer if 10% of wheat germ oil can be added after infusing.

There are four main methods of extracting the perfume or more precisely  the essential oil which contains the perfume or aroma of a plant; distillation, extraction with alcohol or volatile solvent, maceration and enfleurage. A 5^th is expression, used largely on fruit, in which considerable pressure is exerted to squeeze out the oil. For perfumes made at home, maceration and enflueurage are the most practicable methods to try out.

Maceration in effect is the way in which attar of roses is said to have been discovered. The story is that Persian princess and her bridegroom were rowing on a lake after the wedding in which rose petals had been prodigally used, and the surface of the lake became covered with them. The princess, trailing her hands in the water, discovered that they were covered in sweet smelling oil, and so the method and the perfume were born. At home, it is simply a case of steeping fresh flower petals or other scented material in water, topping up with new material until sufficient oil is obtained, and then extracting it with isopropyl alcohol.

Enfleurage involves the use of fat applied to perfectly clean sheets of glass. Each sheet is held in a wooden frame, of any convenient size, and fat or grease spread over each surface. The flowers or other scented material are pressed into the fat, without the stems, and left in a dark place for 24 hours, when fresh flowers are used to replace the old. This continues until the flowers are no longer available. In this way the fat absorbs the perfumed oil and then becomes pomade; the oil can be extracted with alcohol.

Alternatively olive oil can be used, placing it in a bottle and filling the bottle with the scented material. After 24 hours in a warm dark place, the flowers and oil should be strained through a net or muslin (cheesecloth) bag and the resultant oil, now slightly perfumed placed in a second bottle and again filled with flowers. This can be repeated until there are no more flowers available. Then an equal quantity of isopropyl alcohol is added and the mixture shaken together thoroughly every day for three to four weeks. The alcohol will then extract the essential oil and be perfumed. However, the now perfumed olive oil can be left as it is and used as an after bath oil. Rose’s lavender, honeysuckle, clove pinks and wall flowers can all be tried for perfume.

For aromatic oils for cooking, rosemary tarragon, marjoram, sage and thyme can also be soaked in the oil, using complete sprigs. Use freshly dried material in this case, to avoid cloudy oil, and again keep it warm hot the higher the temperature, the quicker will the extraction occurs.

Potpourris and how to make them?

The art of potpourri making became sadly lost until recently, but with the renewal of interest in herbs and all things herbal, many of the old recipes are being revived together with detailed directions for preparing the contents and putting them together. The word potpourri literally means rotten pot and is derived from the French pot and pourrir, to rot. Originally  such a mixture  contained what  were regarded as disinfectant herbs; rosemary, lavender, sage, southernwood and they were mixed with spices oils and fixatives, and left in a closed container to mature or rot into  moist mixture, strongly aromatic  and long lasting. Later, perfumed material became popular and gradually replaced the original formulae.

Potpourris now basically consist of the material to be used, whether it is flowers or leaves to which spices and fixatives are added, and sometimes also essential oils. The spices may be such seeds, fruits roots etc., as coriander, caraway, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg or ginger; fixatives include orris root, sweet flag root calamus sandalwood, common salt or bay salt that is sea salt, and the essential oils can be any extracted from perfumed flowers, from the aromatic  herbs and citrus fruits and from the fragrant timbers.

Dry Potpourris!

The dry version of potpourri is the one most often made at home or available in stores and is easier to make as well as being visually more attractive than the moist kin which however, lasts longer and is stronger and more penetrating. Dry potpourri consists of petals and leaves dried in the same way that culinary herbs are, and collected at the same time of day and in the same condition. Darkness is especially important to preserve the color of the flowers. The material should be crisp but not powdery when finally ready, and may take a day or a week or longer to reach the right stage. It can be added to as the season goes on.

All are mixed together in, preferably a glazed earthenware container or at any rate not a metal one, the spices then added and also thoroughly mixed  in, and then the essential oil, drop by drop, depending  on the fragrance achieved already. A dry potpourri relies in the last analysis on the added spices and oils for the strngthand lasting qualities of are fragrance. The spices should be ground up very finely, and for this a pepper mill, coffee grinder or heavy pestle and mortar are suitable. For the oil, use a syringe or eye-dropper.

Moist Potpourris!

Moist potpourri uses petals and leaves which are only part-dried, so that they are slightly flabby and limp, a little bit like moist chamois leather. The drying method is the same, but stops much sooner you may need to examine the material more frequently to prevent it from drying too much. It takes longer to complete, as several months are required for maturation. Quite a lot of salt will be needed, in what proportion of 3 parts petals and leaves to 1 of salt. Put a layer of petals an inch thick in the bottom of the container, and then cover with the salt sprinkled evenly all over it and firmed down, and repeat these two layers until all the current supply of material is used up. Moreover keep the layers pressed down hard and weighted well, and continue to add salt and flowers as they become available, stirring the material already in the container thoroughly before adding the new.

If liquid appears at the bottom of the container, drain it off and use I in the bath, and if frothing occurs, stir the mix to absorb it. When the container is full, there will be a sacked mass of petals and leaves. Break this up with a fork and then add to it a mixture of species and a mixture made up separately of dried herbs and citrus peel, sprinkling all over the potpourri and blending them thoroughly and gradually. At this stage the mix will be strongly aromatic and a drop or two of essential oil of your choice may be necessary, but often no further additions are required.

The final mix is then returned to the container, tightly pressed down and the container covered mainly to keep out dust, but it should not be airtight. After about six weeks the finally matured perfume will be apparent, and will then last for years. It is usually kept in a closed jar and opened when the fragrance is required to scent to room.

Fragrant  Gifts!

Recipes for potpourris fragrant and aromatic oils, and culinary vinegars will be found in the descriptive list of herbs but in addition to these, the following make delightful gifts and are easily made..

1.       Orange Pomander! Use a thin skinned orange, and make a narrow slit  in the skin round the circumference, removing about 6 mm width, then make another at right angles to this, so that the orange is marked in quarters. Put the orange in a warm place for a day or two to dry out, and then push whole cloves into it closely enough to ensure that the heads are virtually touching. Use a thin knitting needle to make holes if the orange is tough. When the whole orange is covered, roll it in a mixture of powdered orris root  alone, or a mixture with spices of your choice, such as cinnamon, ginger, mixed spice etc. and then wrap it up for two weeks and store in the dark. Take of the wrapping tie colored ribbon round the orange over the cut sections and use for hanging in cupboard or wardrobe.

2.       Scented Sachets! For these, use lavender or the dried version of potpourri or make up your own mixtures of aromatic herbs depending on whether you want them for fragrance or for warding off moths and other insects from clothes and household linen. Lavender should be cut just before the  flowers are fully open, and hung upside down for a few days to dry, then rubbed down to remove the flowers. Used alone it is a pungent fragrance, long lasting and pervading. Insect repellent mixtures can contain any of the following costmary, southernwood tansy, rue, and rosemary, mint all cursed, and powered cloves in whatever combination you prefer. Make up the small bags to contain them from muslin (Cheesecloth) or nylon net or any thin material in pretty designs, pack them fairly tight, and finish with ribbons or cords. They should remain effective for one to two years.

3.       Tussie Mussie! This is a tiny bunch or nosegay of fragrant flowers and herbs, principally used in mediaeval times for carrying in the hand and warding off unpleasant smells and infection from plague and other diseases. The formal Victorian posies were a derivation, but by then were merely a pretty conceit to provide decoration and perfume. As a modern gift they can be made up, suing small, perfect blooms, fresh leaves, with perhaps a rose bud or pink as the centre, and the outside finished off with a white paper doily and secured with ribbon. It should be as neat a formal as possible, with blooms arranged in concentric circles, interleaved with folilage. Diameter should be about 6.7 cm.

The Mud Volcanoes of Azerbaijan

In 2001 in Azerbaijan, the ground start to move in an unusual way seems some supernatural powers trying to get out of the ground. This is extremely happened in unexpected way, when a massive explosion causes a huge flame coming from the three hundred meters high hillside. The massive flame surrounded by dense black smoke, and heap of mud was being thrown into the air. Bubbling and belching away like witches’ cauldrons, mud volcanoes are one of nature’s more murky oddities. So, Azerbaijan is the first place in the world for the amount of mud volcanoes, local people call them “yanardagh” (burning mountain), and other kind of mud volcanoes is found out in wells. It is believed, that volcanoes start to erupt in this territory about 25 million years ago.Source: CP

15 Terrifying Creatures Found In 16,000 ft Deep Ocean

The ocean life is extremely hidden to human life. No one exactly knows, how much creatures are living at the bottom of ocean. Every day scientific are finding new species which are rare to humans. In this video, you will see some of rare species living at ocean bed.

Water Pouring out from Tree in Montenegro

The first question comes in our mind why the water pouring out from this tree in Montenegro? A unique natural phenomenal video shared by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in a village named “Dinoša”, located in southeastern Montenegro a small country on the Adriatic coast. The mulberry tree standing in the meadow there that turns into a fountain whenever it rains heavy. From a hollow on the tree trunk water can be seen gushing abundantly. Although, actually, the rains had flooded the underground springs and the extra pressure formed pushed water up the tree trunk through cracks or hollows on the trunk, until it poured out of a hole a few feet above the ground.

The Ultimate Secrets of Wild Herbs

The ultimate secrets of wild Herbs were originally all wild plants; in fact many of the plants now grown in gardens are wild plants in their native countries, and are not the result of many years of plant breeding and hybridizing under cultivation. The blue morning glory for instance with its exquisitely shaded blue trumpet flowers is a rampant invader in its native south Africa as the British white funneled bindweed is an obstinate and recalcitrant colonizer of herbaceous borders shrubs and roses.

Beneficial Weeds!

Another name for wild plants which appear unwontedly in gardens is weed but many if not all of these so called weeds once had considerable value medicinally to say nothing of their household and domestic merits. Practically any plant seen during country rambles by the path side, in pastures and meadows growing in hedges and at the side of streams and ponds probably had some significance to the infirmarers and physicians of the past.

Mugwort Artemisia vulgaris is one once used to flavor all sorts of drinks particularly homemade juices to ward off moths and as a cold preventative it is a common weed of wasteland. Eyebright, Euphrasia officinal is another small unremarkable plant, easily trampled underfoot on paths and with tiny white and lilac tubular flowers. It is a member of the Scrophulariaceae,. It was thought by Arab physicians to cure all evils of the eye, and Gerard said that it preserves the sight and being feeble and lost it restores the same.

Cowslisp (Primula veris) were used to remedy restlessness insomnia and in general act as a sedative or corn poppy of Flanders (Papaver rhoeas) is still a remedy for many ailments including tonsillitis, anxiety and coughs. Various species of thistles have been employed for all sorts of needs for making paper, curdling milk as a tonic and diaphoretic and so on. Weed herbs in the descriptive list of herbs include dandelion, nettle, elder, horsetail, marshmallow, mullein and valerian.

Couch grass; that curse of the gardener and nightmare amongst shrubs and herbaceous perennials was formerly much used for a variety of ailments including cystitis and rheumatism, has a diuretic effect and is still a urinary antiseptic. Ground–elder is another invader bent on taking over the whole garden, but its other name of goutweed gives the game away. It is too was once a valued herb supposed to have great affects on gout and sciatic though even in Elizabethan times was often regarded as a nuisance. When it hath once taken root, it will hardly be gotten out again, to the annoyance of better herbs. It could not be better described its very commonness is indicated by the number of vernacular names it has at least sixteen amongst which is “bishop’s weed” because it was so often found near ruined places and similar building having been introduced by a mediaeval monks as a herb of healing.

Even the ubiquitous bramble or blackberry had its place; apart from its delicious jelly and fruits. The jelly was once used to good effect in cases of dropsy. The bark and roots were considered of much value in treating diarrhea and dysentery. The leaves are still recommended as a decoction for treating external ulcers and as a gargle; they are thought to have an anti-diabetic effect, though this is not yet proven.

A country walk then can easily turn into a voyage of discovery if you take a modern herbal with you. The alternatively make notes in advance from a herbal or wild plants which used to be herbs. And take a flora for identification. If you have no herbal take a notebook to enable you to put down details of the plants found, together with sketches or photographs. These will enable you to check with a library copy whether the plants discovered have a history of ancient use. It perhaps a modern one but you will find  the old dye plants those used for shampoos and hair coloring, for skin cleansing, healing poultices an endless number for human needs and remedies.

Bergamot, growing wild in a Michigan landscape, as it is native of North America and also known as “bee balm” because both bees and humming birds are much attracted by its blossoms. Hemlock one of the most common poisonous plants, is often found growing in roadside ditches and on waste ground and bears a dangerous resemblance to cow parsley. Socrates is said to have been killed with the juice of this herb. Cowslip is a common plant in fields, meadows and hedgerows it was once used medicinally for restlessness insomnia and in general as a sedative.

Poisonous Herbs:

But a word of warning, there are also some wild plants once used herbally asemetics, purgatives and laxatives, which are not known to be poisonous. Don’t experiment too far with flavors’ of berries or leaves if in doubt, don’t try it. The Following are poisonous wild plants commonly found growing in Britain and North America. Atropa belladonna, deadly nightshade; Bryonia dioica, white bryony; Colchicum autumnale, autumn crocus; Aconitum anglicum, monk;s hood; Conium maculatum, hemlock; Datura stramonium, thornapple; Helleborus niger, Mandragora officinalis, mandrake; Mercurialis perennis, dog mercury; Solanum dulcamara, woody nightshade; Solanum nigra, black nightshade.

Gardener’s Friends:

It is also worth remembering that herbal weeds may well do well to one’s garden plants provided they can be kept under reasonable control. A light weed cover will keep the soil moist for longer, and provide shade for roots. Hoeing such a cover in before it flowers and seeds provide a kind of instant green manure which improves or maintains a good soil structure. Chamomile is said to be the plants doctor in some way the secretions given off by the roots help unhealthy young plants to recover.

Red clover, Trifolium pretense, will add to the nitrogen content of the soil, and pieces of the hollow stems of angelica will trap earwigs. Compost material can be encouraged to rot down by adding nettle tops to it, and valerian, dandelion leaves chamomile and yarrow leaves mixed together with nettles form a readymade accelerator used in thin layers as the heap is built.

Create your Own Nature Reserve !

So, if there is enough space to spare in the garden from growing ornamentals and fruit and vegetable crops. It is a good idea to turn it into a kind of controlled nature reserve, in which weeds or wild herbs can be left to grow naturally, without any particular plan of planning. Naturally, the more rampant varieties such as bramble bindweed, nettle, ground-elderand horsetail will need cheking but if these are likely to be a problem, don’t introduce them. Stick to the smaller herbaceous and annual plants, such as scarlet pimpernel, corn poppy, chickweed (Stellaria media), wild marjoram, alexanders, burdock, wild chicory, foxglove, meadowsweet soapwort, teasel, and dyer’s weld to name just a few.

You can have a pretty nature reserve without much difficulty paths in it could consists of clover, yarrow and chamomile, clipped occasionally or even mown and the flowering plants could be mixed with various grasses for a completely natural effect. Such a mixture is what has come to be called a flowering meadow, which is left untouched except for cutting immediately after the majority of plants have flowered, usually about the middle of midsummer. This ensures speeding for next year and encourages the greatest number of species. The cut material should be left to lie.

But you can alternatively just grow the flowering wild plants and be a little more formal, and at the same time more decorative, by planting them in beds, so that the contrast between this section and the rest of the garden is not so great. Some of the prettiest varieties are yellow archangel, Lamiastrum galeobdolon; bellflower, Campanula trachelium; bluebell, Endymion non-scriptus; broom, Cytisus scoparius; dyers greenwood, Genista tinctoria; bugle, Ajuga reptans; meadow buttercup, Ranunculus acris, red campion, Silene dioica; greater celandine, Chelidonium majus; lesser celandine, Ranunculus ficaria; wild chicory Cichorium nintybus cowslip, Primula veris. There are also dandelion, evening primrose, foxglove, harebell, heart’s ease, herb Robert, purple loosestrife, mullein, ox-eyes daisy, field scabious, devil’s bit, sea holly, tansy, teasel, thistles, thrift and yellow rattle, practically all of which have had or still have some herbal use.

Birds Bees and other Fauna !

You will also find that, by growing all these native plants you will attract a good many other living species, representatives of the insect, animal, bird and aquatic orders, particularly butterflies moths, pollinating insects generally such as bees, hoverflies and lacewings. So, species of birds perhaps may have never seen in the garden before, as they discover seeds or berries which are part of their essential diets. However the frogs and toads, newts if you sink a pond, water snails, beetles and other aquatics. A heap of mown hay and leaves will encourage hedgehogs to hibernate; voles field mince and perhaps even dormice will appear.

The average suburban garden is something of a nature reserve in its own right, and insects alone that can be seen in it may consist of over 200 species of moths, more than 80 sorts of bees and wasps, and nearly 2 dozen butterflies. Hoverflies also called flower flies, in particular may be abundant getting on for 100 different species, and these not only do no harm but do a great deal of good partly by pollinating and partly by the larvae feeding on greenfly. Moths mostly fly and feed after dark, in particular at dusk and dawn, and the  garden or nature reserve which contains an abundance of scented plants especially those whose  perfume comes out at night will attract moths in quantity and of course their larvae the caterpillars.

A patch of garden of meadow devoted to this kind of plant may cause visitors to wonder why you have allowed it to revert to a wilderness. However the good that it will do to the rest of the garden in restoring and maintaining a natural balance, and the fact that  native plants are being conserved and increased more than justify its presence. Indeed in the modern world, such areas are now essential if plant, animal and insects species are not to disappear forever. 

The Incredible Hydrothermal Fields of Ethiopia

The hydrothermal fields of Ethiopia look like landscape of an alien plant. The amazing photographs of Dallol Volcano in Ethiopia look out of world. Dallol is actually hydrothermal field, is an endless yellow-orange landscape, craters stretching for several miles around. The volcano fields are located in the northern Danakil depression. This part of world has too many hot springs which discharge brine and acidic liquid. However almost 150 feet below sea level, Dallol’s craters lowest known subaerial vents in the world, the explosion crater are was formed by the intrusion of basaltic magma in Miocene salt deposits and subsequent hydrothermal activity. Source: CP

The Blue Grotto in Malta

The Blue Grotto is a number of sea caverns on the South Coast of Malta, located within the Qrendi village, near “Wied iz-Zurrieq” and right side is alsoacross from the small uninhabited islet of Filfla except for a distinctive species of lizards that live there. There is a unique site every day from sunrise until about 1pm when cave combined with the sunlight lead to the water mirroring showing various shades of blue. There are so many caverns mirror the brilliant phosphorescent colors of the underwater flora; other caverns show a deep dark shade of blue.

Source: Charismatic Planet

The Great Banyan Tree of India

The Great Banyan is a banyan tree; also called Ficus Benghalensis belonging to the family Moraceae, is more than 250 years old tree, which date of birth is yet not confirmed. The Banyan tree is located in Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden Howrah near Kolkata India. The tree has mentioned in several travel books of 19^th century, but no clear history of tree, when was it planted. The Great Banyan tree has survived many difficult situations, like two severe cyclones of 1864, and 1867.Source: CP

Pearl Continental Lahore Pakistan