Create a herbarium

I. What is a Herbarium? In times past herbariums were the only record of botanicals. Specimens were collected, pressed and then labeled. Some of the oldest herbariums are found in biology departments of Universities the world over. No matter how accurate the artistic rendering of plants were , there is nothing like coming face to face with an actual specimen. To view one, you should get in touch with a University. It will tke your breath away when the drawer slides out and there is the plant with all its parts, painstakingly mounted, with descriptive notes written down hundreds of years ago.
Most of us rely on the camera to give us back the image of a plant and there is nothing wrong with that. However, to preserve plants in its truest form, you need to prepare a herbarium specimen.

Tomorrow Herbarium II: Materials needed.

Off to the Coastal Botanical Garden, Maine

Hi folks, I am off the the Garden Fair of the Coastal Botanical Gardens in Boothbay.
This will be the first Garden show for Heidi's Plant Pep. My husband I are looking forward to exploring the gardens, which as a large children's section, and a fairy house garden.
I hope, that some of you will take advantage of this event, which truly has something for everyone.
There will be no new posts till Monday, June 9.

Climate Vote in the Senate

This is it! The Senate is set to vote next week on landmark global warming legislation. Your help is needed getting the bill passed! Please e-mail your Senators today - ask them to support the Climate Security Act.

It will take just a few moments of your time and could change the lives of generations to come. We need as many people as possible le to take action and urge their Senators to pass the bill.
As we continue working tirelessly on Capitol Hill to garner as many votes as possible , we hope we can count on you to help us neutralize the opposition presented by Big Coal, Big Oil and other special interest groups.
This is truly an historic opportunity to cap and reduce America's global warming pollution and we cannot afford to wait any longer.
This appeal came from the Environmental Defense Action Fund. I am passing this appeal on to you, because I feel deeply connected with this planet and all life forms it supports.

Tree Peonies

This the glorious time of ponies and especially tree ponies. I fell in love with them many years ago visiting the DuPont Estate in Delaware. After putting down roots in NH, I planted 3 tree peonies - all white. Now, fully grown, they opened on the the first of June. Only one is white, it turns out, the other two are pink and yellow, and I enjoy all three!
Over the years I have enriched their location with homegrown compost (our compost consist only of plant matter) . I also tested Heidi's Plant Pep on them and found that fertilizing the peonies just when buds appear, and then once a week for the next four weeks, does increases the size of the blossoms, and keeps the flowers from deteriorating . I have repeated this now for the last three years and feel confident enough to share these findings.
Often you see ants when peonies bud, and you might have wondered why? The ants fulfill a vital function for the peonies. The bud is covered with a sticky syrup which the ants love and carry away as nourishment for the colony. The bud, not constrained by the sticky syrup, can unfurl its bud and and delight us with its delicate, complex blossom. Without this symbiotic relationship, the colony had little nourishment and the peonies would not unfurl.

List of Key Note Speakers

The Garden Fair at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay harbor
has scheduled an impressive speaker forum for the three day event. Talks are free with Garden admissions. Between talks visit with the event vendors, the cafe, gardens, and exhibits.
Friday, June 6 at 1 pm
Stephanie Burnett
Climate Change and Maine Gardens
Saturday, June 7, 11 am
Dan Farenkopf
Lunaform: Maine-made Concrete Vessels Enhancing Gardens on a Global Scale
Saturday, June 7, 1 pm
Rebecca Sawyer-Fay and Lynn Karlin
The Making of Gardens Maine Style, Act II
Sunday, June 8, 11 am
Bill Cullina
Made in Maine: Indigenous Plants Downeast
Sunday, June 8, 1 pm
Paul Tukey
Natural Lawns: How to Grow a Beautiful Green and Organic Lawn

From "Green Tips" - Sierra Club

Eco-parents, consider giving kids a garden patch that they can design and cultivate on their own (younger children will need some supervision, of course). Cornell University's "Greener Voices" study suggests that children are more engaged in learning when they are responsible for planning and decision making.
Even if your child's mini-garden turns out to be a disaster, he or she will still learn a small-scale lesson about the challenges and rewards of caring for the Earth. Check out Cornell's Garden-Based Learning Web site for additional child-friendly garden activities.

Coming Soon: Garden Fair at Boothbay Harbor, ME

Ready for Something New and Exciting?
The Coastal Maine Botanical Garden in Boothbay Harbor, ME, is holding it's first annual Garden Fair and Native Plant Sale from Friday, June 6 - 8 from 9 AM to 5 PM. This will be a special event for all garden lovers! The program includes spectacular display gardens, workshops, native plant sale, gardens' market place, organization displays, floral show and a preview party on Thursday, June 5, 5-8 PM. We feel honored that Heidi's Plant Pep was invited to be part of the garden's market place.

Eight whimsical children's gardens will be created by top New England landscape architects and designers, selected through a jury process and eligible for awards. Appropriately, these display garden will be constructed on the site of the future Children's Garden.

Stay tuned, tomorrow I will tell you about the fabulous keynote speakers.