Lark Label

Farming & Agriculture: 'Chinese Pompeii' 300m-year-old forest preserved i...

2012-02-27T12:21:00.001-08:00

Farming & Agriculture: 'Chinese Pompeii' 300m-year-old forest preserved i...: Researchers have unearthed a forest in northern China preserved under a layer of ash deposited 300 million years ago. Preservation of the forest, just west of the Inner Mongolian district of Wuda, has been likened to that of the Italian city of Pompeii.

The researchers were able to "reconstruct" nearly 1,000 sq m of the forest's trees and plant distributions.

This rare insight into how the region once looked is described in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The excavations sampled three sites across a large expanse that was covered with about a metre of ash.

Due to the pristine preservation of some of the plants, the team estimate the ash fell over the course of just a few days, felling and damaging some of the trees and plants under its weight but otherwise keeping them intact.

"It's marvelously preserved," said study co-author Hermann Pfefferkorn of the University of Pennsylvania in the US.

"We can stand there and find a branch with the leaves attached, and then we find the next branch and the next branch and the next branch. And then we find the stump from the same tree. That's really exciting."

The team identified six groups of trees, ranging from low-lying tree ferns to now-extinct 25m trees Sigillaria and Cordaites, as well well-preserved specimens of another extinct group called Noeggerathiales.

Based on the findings, the team worked with a painter to depict what the forest would have looked like before the ash cloud descended.

Prof Pfefferkorn said that, as a particularly complete and well-caught moment in time, the forest would serve as a "baseline" for assessing future finds.

"It's like Pompeii," he said. "Pompeii gives us deep insight into Roman culture, but it doesn't say anything about Roman history in and of itself.

"But on the other hand, it elucidates the time before and the time after. This finding is similar. It's a time capsule and therefore it allows us now to interpret what happened before or after much better."

Flowers in Winter!

2012-01-19T07:36:00.000-08:00

There is nothing like a garden show in the bleak midwinter to lift a gardeners spirits. Trees, shrubs and flowers in riotous bloom months early. Fantastic landscapes and amazing designs. New plants and color combinations. I've put a link below to a list of the bigger shows in the United States. You will come out of it refreshed, inspired and maybe with a few purchases in your arms.

Take some time speculate how much effort it takes to put the gardens together. Don't forget to tell the booth attendents how much you enjoy it. Go to the nearest one or better than that, treat yourself to one half way across the country. You deserve the vacation!

Click here for a list of Garden & Flower Shows!

Accolades for the Accolade Elm

2012-01-16T13:36:00.000-08:00

One of the first AABGA (now APGA) events I attended, I got to meet Dr George Ware. He was close to retirement from Morton Arboretum and specialized in Elms. One of his introductions has just been selected as the 2012 Urban Tree of the Year by the Society of Municipal Arborists.

Municipal Arborists are the folks who select, install, maintain and remove the trees in the towns and cities where 80% of our population lives. The trees make our neighborhoods more enjoyable.
However life for trees in the city is not necessarily good with cramped and harsh growing conditions. For a tree to make the tree of the year list is quite a compliment.

American Elms were the mainstay of city streets until they were wiped out by Dutch elm disease. The Accolade Elm is resistant to that as well as other minor elm problems. It is fast growing, has decent autumn color and has the traditional elm vase shape.

If you are looking to add a tree to your landscape, consider this one.

Take a closer look at the Accolade Elm here.

Plant Markers in HD: Bringing vivid images to the garden.

2011-09-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

For years our plant labels and signs, though beautify engraved, have been only words on a solid colored background, but no longer! Our new Spectrum Plant Markers have taken us into the world of high definition, so to speak, with vivid colors and custom graphics. They even border on 3D with custom shapes, like the hosta leaf shown here.

This new adventure in signs gives the opportunity to provide more information for visitors, including photos of other varieties, maps of the origin, charts popularity and much more. They can also be used to create a self-guided tour of your garden with a map and trivia along the route.

Consider adding HD to your garden with our Spectrum Signs & as for the 3D glasses, you don't need those in the garden yet.

Customer Spotlight: The Pennsylvania Horticulture Society.

2011-06-23T09:23:00.000-07:00

Since I'll be in Philadelphia for the conference tomorrow (June 21) I thought it might be nice to tell you about one of my customers, PHS. Their mission is to improve the quality of life by encouraging and supporting horticulture. They may not plant all the gardens in Philadelphia - but they are available to help them all grow!

We all know that flowers are a beautiful touch to any yard or home. And vegetable gardening is a sustainable source of nutrition. In a city as large as Philadelphia there are many neighborhoods that don't have room for a full garden. But, there are many roofs!

On Tuesday for example there will be a tour of the PECO green roof showing people how they can use rooftop spaces for growing.

"The vegetative roof consists of a variety of plants ranging from four to eight inches in thickness. The roof will help reduce stormwater runoff by absorbing 60 to 70 percent of the approximate 1.5 million gallons of annual rainwater that falls on the Main Office Building. The new roof also will save on heating and cooling costs by reducing the summertime peak roof temperature by 60 to 80 degrees. It also will absorb air pollution, which helps alleviate common respiratory problems." PECO website

Along with assisting in developing the "green" initiative, PHS also has programs to help people learn to turn vacant lots into community gardens and introduces children to growing plants through activities like the Kids Grow Expo.

I'll be back in Philadelphia for the American Public Garden Association conference and I'm looking forward to seeing all the new gardens. If you're going to be in Philly for the conference or on vacation be sure to take time to smell the flowers. It's well worth the time.

Pineapples, Labels & Me in Hawaii

2011-05-11T10:59:00.000-07:00

Did you know that pineapples are actually a berry? True - but that's another story. Pineapples make me think of my trip to Hawaii and how I saw the berry growing in it's natural climate.

One of the things I love about my plant label business is getting to travel to botanical gardens. Late last year I went to Hawaii. The National Tropical Botanical Gardens are actually a group of of 5 gardens located in Hawaii and Florida, all growing out in the open. Most of the times you only see these plants in special green houses or glassed in displays, but because the gardens are located at or under the Tropic of Cancer, the climate is just right for outside growth.

And as you might imagine, the plants are beautiful and exotic. A member of the nightshade family, the brunfelsia grandiflora in it's purple and lavender tones is a plant I wish we had here. The blossom, as the name "Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow" suggests, is different every day starting at a deep purple then lightening to white before it drops to the ground.

The exquisite Siam Rose from the ginger family is more breathtaking in person but as you can see from this photo it definitely lives up to the name of Rose. The species name: Etlingera corneri is taken from the first person to catalogue the plant, Edred John Henry Corner.

I am very pleased that the National Tropical Botanical Gardens are using plant labels by Lark Label, it means I'll have more opportunities to visit Hawaii.

Saving the earth, one carton of plant markers at a time.

2011-04-29T14:04:00.000-07:00

Earth day was earlier in the month and it caused me to thinkabout my history with it. I am old enough to remember the very first earth day,April 22 1970. I was in high school and had some neighbors who were veryexcited about going to the downtown park and participate. Mom who grew up as adepression child thought that rather amusing because they threw aluminum foilaway after one use rather than cleaning, saving and reusing it like she did.

My generation failed. Today while we supposedly are moreaware of our environmental impact, we are hauling more junk to landfills thanever before. Can you purchase anything not wrapped in layers of virgin plastic?Corporations spend a few dollars on environmental goodness and many more PR andadvertising bucks telling us all about it. My neighbors who should have learnedfrom our 40+ years of awareness still fill their trash cans full of leaves andlawn clippings. They think I am crazy when I ask for their yard “waste” to feedmy compost pile.

A couple years ago an environmental change was made to a newproduct. New improved thinner plastic bottles that use less raw material tohold the $1 worth of water. What happened to glass tumblers, with a few icecubes and filled from the tap? We get more junk mail today than ever, if youare lucky it may be on a partially recycled stock. By the way, once a year wecontribute to the mail stream and send out our product and price list. If youget it and have no need for it or no one else to give it to, call or e-mail meand I will take you off the mail list.

A few years ago we were buying giant bags of plastic peanutsto cushion Lark Labels during shipment and doing the right thing by hauling myold newspapers to the recycler. One day I received a package that was firmlycushioned in shredded newsprint. The Aahaaa light went off.

While we at Lark Label have brought several new products andinnovations to the market, we are not too proud to steal a good idea. So youmay have noticed the last year or so your order has been packed in layers ofshredded Wichita Eagle, the local news rag. I am thrilled we are Reusing it(you know the R between Reduce and Recycle) and hope you can continue the trendby reusing it in another manner, if not send it to the recycler …. Just don’tsend it to the landfill.

World’s Biggest Osage Orange

2011-03-22T07:26:00.000-07:00

Did you grow up around Osage Orange Trees? It has other colorful names like Horse Apple and Bois D'Arc. In our area it is just commonly just called Hedge. No, it is not an Orange, the large fruit is not edible, coarse looking, thorny and it is quite messy. It is not a tree you would desire in your landscape. Even though they are now naturalized in most of the states, you would probably have a tough time finding it in your local nursery.

Its main function seems to be in hedge rows … primarily shelter belts. More than 18,000 miles of them were planted throughout the plains states during the dust bowl days to help stop soil erosion. So why am I talking about a tree you would not use in your garden?

Hagly Museum and Library in Delaware recently had the specimen on their grounds measured and it tied for the largest in US. The other large specimen is in Charlotte VA. How cool would that be …. Having a record tree in your yard or neighborhood? The American Forests Organization runs a program called the National Registry of Big Trees. On their web site you can see the sizes of the largest trees in nation and where they are located.

The most popular genus is Quercus … the Oaks with 67 species followed closely by the pines weighing in at 44. We all know the tallest tree in the US is the Giant Sequoia at 321 feet but what is the tallest short tree? That honor is tied between the Cornus alternifolia and C. sericea both at a whopping 12 feet tall. The widest spread is a black walnut in Oregon at nearly 460 feet … is that nearly 5 acres? Skinniest big tree … a Stewartia in Chesapeake, VA …. Largest trunk circumference a Sequoiadendron giganteum in Sequoia National Park in Northern California.

There are a few facts that are not quite so easy to dig out. Which state has the most record size trees? It is Florida with 99 species. How about second place? That would be Arizona with 89. Sure that would be easy with all their unique desert plants but how does that account for the 3 of the largest poplars in the US are there? Or how about 7 of the largest Oaks, 6 of the largest pines and 5 of the largest Ash. Way to go AZ!

733 record large trees are on their list yet there are hundreds more that have not been recorded. Check them out … the new record might be waiting near you. Also on the website are links to lists of the largest trees in each state available. So maybe the biggest tree in the nation is not in your neighborhood …. But the biggest in your state might reside there.

It is fun to dig into these unique trees but are they any more special than the ones in your landscape? Memorialize your specimens with a Lark Label Classic sign. Start with the common name, botanical name, cultivator, maybe the date you planted it. See our samples page for design ideas. Send me a note and I will help you get started.

For more fun information about the Osage Orange, read this article at Yahoo.

Memories of Dad's Garden

2011-03-21T15:33:00.000-07:00

There is nothing better than a BLT sandwich. But I only eat them when my local tomatoes are available. Just thinking about the crunchy smoky saltiness of the bacon contrasting with the rich red ripeness of fresh tomatoes … Good bread lightly toasted soaking up the juices. Yum Yum Yum.

Why am I talking tomatoes? Spring is approaching here in Wichita. Days are getting longer, tree buds are swelling. The forsythia popped into bloom earlier this week. That means garden fever is rising in most people who have access to some soil. Especially those of us who claim to be gardeners.

But I don’t grow tomatoes. Too much shade and my interest is flowering ornamentals. So I get my tomatoes at my local farmers market from the area growers. However growing up my dad was a heck of a good tomato grower. After Christmas the various seed catalogs would start arriving. He was in heaven, reading about the new introductions, dreamily looking at the color pictures, planning out the garden in his head all while the plot lay sleeping under the snow.

If you want tomatoes fresh from your garden this year, here's an article about how it's done with a little wisdom from my dad thrown in: Growing the Perfect Tomato.

Viva Italiano!

2011-02-14T13:49:00.000-08:00

It's been a very cold winter with record amounts of snow. What's a gardener to do? Go to Italy! Airport closed? Well at least you can get a touch of Italy when you grow your own herbs inside during winter. Italian parsley, rosemary, basil, oregano and many others can be grown in doors during the cold season, actually all year round if you wish.

Key elements to growing herbs inside?

Southwest sunlight is best but watch the leaves for brown spots which could mean they are burning. Rotate the plants every week so they manage to get equal
Herbs are sensitive to over watering so be careful not to drown them. You'll know they are over watered because the leaves tend to turn yellow.
You're growing these to eat so it's okay to cut on them, it actually encourages growth, but don't take more than 1/3 at a time.
Make sure the herbs are out of the cold draft but get good air circulation. If you see "rust" spots on the leaves go ahead and clean with mild soapy water then rinse.

You may want to purchase small plant labels to go in the pots to remind you of what is growing. Plus it adds a nice decorative touch.

Happy growing!