Jacksonville, Florida. ©Calvin Palmer 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Zeiss Planar T* 1,4/50, ISO 400, 1/125 sec, f/2, Canon 40D

Feeling a little stressed out yet?  The holidays are here and about to get in to full swing which means more demands on your already limited available time.  Holidays can also lead to increased stress including anxiety, tension even depression as we all try to do too much in a short amount of time.

Stress is a serious problem and we all have a certain amount of stress that just is a part of life from our everyday events.  Everyday stresses most of us can cope with.  Add holidays, increased demands of family, friends and business and it can easily become a recipe for full-blown panic attacks.  And stress can lead to more health problems like high blood pressure and a lowered immune system.  Severe stress can be so debilitating that you lapse into full blown depression. 

The ideal solution is of course to try to eliminate the underlying cause of stress.  Sometimes that is easier said than done, however there are a few things we can do to help restore balance and calm brought on by temporary increased stresses like the holidays.  Take a deep breath and  relax.  Aromatherapy offers great natural stress relief and you can experiment with different essential oils until you find the one that is right for you.  Once you experiment with one or two oils, you may find that blending oils can provide an enhanced synergistic effect.

Roman chamomile, clary sage, everlasting, fennel, frankincense, geranium, lavender, marjoram, melissa, neroli, orange, rose, sandalwood, tangerine, vanilla, vetiver and ylang-ylang are oils that are known for their abilities to counteract the effects of daily stress. 

Try diluting your oils with a carrier oil like Sweet Almond or Jojoba and use in a massage.   Massage offers one of the most effective ways to alleviate symptoms brought on by stress.  Massage promotes relaxation and it actually causes your body to release endorphins.  Endorphins are both natural painkillers and increase your sense of pleasure. You can also diffuse your oils into the environment to release tension and anxiety or try adding a few drops of your favorite oils to your bath to create a soothing aromatic experience.   You can add one or two drops to a cool light bulb (never hot as this could cause the bulb to explode) or to warm candle wax (not while candle is burning).  Personally, I like to add a few drops of oil to a tissue and simply inhale.  It’s completely portable, discreet and easy to use.  Plus many essential oils also provide anti-viral and anti-bacterial support.

Remember, essential oils are generally not recommended for internal use unless you are working directly with a certified medical professional.  Essential oils are highly concentrated and although organic in nature, can be toxic if misused.   There are certain conditions that should avoid the use of essential oils.  If you are pregnant, trying to become pregnant, have high blood pressure or suffer from epilepsy, consult your physician or medical care provider before using any essential oils. Do not use essential oils direct on skin without first testing for sensitivity as some oils like clove, cinnamon and peppermint to name just a few, can cause itching and skin irritations. Some oils like neroli, or orange (and there are quite a few essential oils that can cause photo sensitivity) can also cause increased sensitivity to sunburn.  Try to limit your sun exposure when working with these and other photo sensitive essential oils to prevent  damage to your skin.

So when you are out shopping for your family or business associates don’t forget to add a few things to your shopping list for yourself.  In fact, you may want to share!  Essential oils are wonderful and offer natural stress relief.  Essential oils range in price from just a few dollars to well, a bit more depending on the oil like neroli, rose and sandalwood. For example, it takes over 2000 pounds of rose petals to make one pound of rose oil and sandalwood trees must be 30 years old before the wood is sufficiently matured to yield essential oils. 

The finest essential oils are natural, organic essential oils.  If possible, try to limit your oils to certified organic.  Synthetic or adulterated oils can not duplicate the therapeutic abilities of pure extracts gathered from plants, trees and flowers.  If you are on a budget (and just about everyone I know is these days) start with just one or two oils and build your aromatherapy cabinet.  You can buy essential oils from reputable health food stores and also from on-line ecommerce retailers.  Personally, I like to buy direct from local sources when possible but I have also found a few vendors online that are good sources and have money back guarantees.  Do your homework and check prices.  Essential oils, when stored properly (away from direct sunlight in a cool dark area, in a tightly closed bottle – amber glass is the best) will last for years.

To your health and a stress free holiday season!

Pam Tirado, Organic Skin Care Tips, Luminoso Salon & Spa

Follow me on Twitter: “SkinCarePam” for daily tips

Music has always been a source of inspiration for me in my career as an artist. My tunes are always on. A song is constantly streaming in my brain. Rock shows make me feel alive.

My latest concert experience is one that I’ll never forget. Here’s a souvenir:

I created this poster in reference to the Dirty Projectors’ song Two Doves. The lyrics are as follows:

Geranium kisser
Skin like silk and face like glass
Don’t confront me with my failures
Kiss me with your mouth open
For your love, better than wine
For your cologne is really fragrant
Call on me, call on me, call on me

Your hair is like an eagle
Your two eyes are like two doves
But our bed is like a failure
All day up in the family
At the waning of the light
To the chamber that conceived me
Call on me, call on me, call on me

Geranium killer
Throat of soil of and mind like stone
Please don’t defend a silver lining
Around the halo of what is already shining
When all the planets are aligning
For an afternoon that’s never ending
Call on me, call on me, call on me

Pink geranium

We have this huge geranium bush in our garden that has lovely salmon-pink flowers.  Every time Lucy walks past this geranium, she likes to pick the flowers.

 Salutare tuturor,

Asa cum v-am obisnuit in ultima vreme scriu, mai rar , si eu si colaboratorii mei, pentru ca ne concentram foarte mult pentru realizarea unei imagini pentru acest brand pe care ne-am aventurat sa-l promovam.

  Iubim ceea ce facem! Facem ceea ce iubim!Iubim ciocolata Dolfin!

 Va mai amintiti vremea copilariei, atunci pe cand LASSIE (il prindeam intai pe canalele tv bulgaresti), si cartile de Jules Verne erau la moda ? Dar vremea pe cand stateam la bunici si asteptam cu infrigurare ora 7.30 pentru desenle animate de pe TVR? Da?

 Atinci cu siguranta va amintiti si de jocurile copilariei noastre -” De-a v-ati ascunselea” , “Gardiana 10″ , “1-2-3 Stop” ( asta parca asa se numea, help), “Bidonasul”, “Leapsa” ( in toate veriantele ei), “Tara-tara vrem ostasi” si “Flori fete si baieti ! “

Imi placea teribil acest ultim joc pentru ca aveam un mic crush pentru “Ana”, o fetita bruneta, tenul inchis, ochisori mari, negri,voios si nu par lung si cret – asa ca un tufis. Amintirea asteptarii si a planurilor copilaresti de a ii atinge mana si a-i sopti mareata strategie de joc, amintirea serilor de iarna in care ne cu-mic-cu-mare in curtea scolii  din satul bunicilor, sumedenia de intamplari hazlii si de vise inocente de copil au un gust pregnant pe care imi este imposibil sa-l mai simt ( si-i duc dorul – cu totii cred suntem uneori apasati de acest dor).

Ce frig…… ce vreme rea…..ce prilej de a da gandurilor forma de ciocolata, ciocolata fina, simpla sau amestecata cu cu flori puternic inmiresmate, tocmai pentru a ne “unge” rana lasata de dorul trecutului….

Imi chem prietenii…..incalzesc lapte la foc mic,  scot din dulap fulgi de ciocolata ( ceva mai mari decat primii fulgi de nea cazuti ieri), fiecare cu concentratia lor de cacao( 60%, 77%,  mix de ciocolata neagra si alba), ca sa fie pe gustul fiecaruia din noi si pregatesc pentru servire petale de ciocolata neagra amestecate cu ce alt ceva decat petale de trandafir de Damasc si petale de Geranium ( noi ii spunem muscata ).

Iata ca au sosit…… canile sunt pregatite, laptele este fierbinte, fulgii gata sa fie aruncati in lapte, petalele gata de a fi savurate, iar eu ….eu sunt gata sa spun povesti si sa mai ascult o barfa ( de parca nu am avea asa- ceva la TV, zilnic).

Eu am desfacut din ambalajul de 350 g

....dar..... exista si mai mici ....varianta refill nu da niciodata gres... nici la buzunar nici la spatiu ( daca nu aveti loc prin camara)

Laptele se scurge,  muzica se aude clar ( de la pc), tigari se aprind…apare si o narghilea cu tabac de mar….fulgii se rostogolesc in cantitati generoase in cesti  iar petalele incep sa se topeasca usor in gura prietenilor mei curiosi si mari amatori de mici si fine rasfaturi ( unele rasfaturi sunt ceva mai mari, dar eu nu am acces acolo ) .

micu si finul rasfat din indepartatul Damasc

aroma intensa a rasfatului, nasuta in zodia finetii - un singur cuvant: Geranium

Fumul de tigare si narghilea se amesteca cu sunetul muzicii, chicotelile noastre, cu gandurile fiecaruia din noi, cu nostalgia noastra si cu sperantele noastre, iar noi….noi povestim, ne incalzim, ne punem la punct agenda ( cu noutatile personale si barfele noi) , analizam gustul fulgilor, apoi al petalelor, apoi apreciem ciocolata Dolfin .

Sosesc intrebarile despre fulgii si petalele de ciocolata …

“- Ei? Cum merge treaba? Pe unde mai gasim ciocolata ? “

- Pai am mai inceput  livrari in magazinele Angst din Lacul Tei si Chibrit sper ca in foarte scurt timp, pana in sarbatori  sa facem si niste plasari suplimentare in locatiile cheie Brezoianu, Regina Elisabeta, Ceasornicului si Domeni.

“-Cum adica? “

- Pai destul de simplu : avem niste “biblioteci” pe care le vom umple cu  tablete de ciocolata, fulgi de ciocolata si petale de ciocolata, ba mai mult, purtam discutii si cu Mega Image pentru nou lor magazin din zona Vitan unde speram sa mai ducem o biblioteca – speram noi sa se concretizeze…  

Incerc sa trec repede peste discutia cu ciocolata dar nu uit sa imi invit prietenii la “Festivalul de Dulciuri pentru Toti” unde Dolfin  va avea un stand in cadrul caruia se vor face numeroase degustari . !!!YUM!!!]

Asa se degusta Dolfin - cu toata fatza

Sufletele s-au incalzit, aromele s-au amestecat, gandurile s-au schimbat, lumea a pleacat…iar eu…EU…. AM RAMAS SA SPAL VASELE….DAMN IT!!!! ;p

oare as putea sa le "spal" aici?

Some images are fine on their own. Others? Well, they need a little help. Take this lovely red ivy geranium, for instance. Overall, I was pleased with the shot of the flowers, but wasn’t so thrilled with the background. Sooooo, I decided to play a little with filters in my “digital darkroom”.

"Red Velvet" (Ivy Geranium) Nikon D300, 70mm, F/4, 1/1600s, -0.7EV, ISO 400

Using the Antique Plate filter from Nik Silver Efex Pro, I was able to mute the tones and add a soft vignette all in one shot. However, now the entire image was monochromatic (not the look I was going for). Therefore, I then needed to pull the vibrant red color of the geranium blossoms back to the forefront.

Bingo! With just a few keystrokes (and a nice software package ), I achieved the artistic look I wanted. Yay!

When I began gardening, I had never heard of hardy geraniums; I learned about them from a book on perennial gardening and was captivated by the photos. I now have hardy geraniums growing in almost every part of the garden, and my collection includes at least a dozen different varieties.

I love these plants not only for their beautiful flowers, but also because their foliage remains attractive when they are not in bloom. Geraniums grow well in my sandy soil, they are among the easiest of plants to divide, they are pretty much free of diseases and pests, and even the varieties rated for zone 5 have survived in my garden on the zone 4/5 border.

One geranium that grows in many places in my garden is G. x cantabrigiense ‘Biokovo.’ This is a low-growing groundcover that makes a great edging plant for the front of the border. Biokovo graces my garden in June with masses of white flowers tinged with pink; and when it is finished blooming, its foliage provides a neat band that remains attractive throughout the season. The leaves and roots emit an astringent but pleasant aroma when they are touched. I became acquainted with Biokovo at the wonderfully eccentric nursery that Jean Moss used to run at her home in mid-coast Maine. Six years ago, at the end of the season, Jean sold me two divisions of this plant for $5 each and explained that I could pull the roots apart with my fingers to divide them into smaller clumps. I divided my two pots into eight small handfuls of roots and spaced them out along the front of the deck border. The following spring, each of those small divisions came up as a clump about 9” in diameter, and by year after that they had doubled in size and grown into the solid band that you see here. Because these plants expand in all direction by sending out shallow roots, I do need to thin them out each year. (I don’t consider them invasive, though, because they are so easy to pull up where they are not wanted.) I can’t bear to throw these lovely plants away, so I’m always looking for new homes for the ones I’ve thinned out. At this point, I have a 35’ edging of Biokovo along the front of the deck border, I have planted a 25’ row of it along the front of my property, and I have used it as edging in both the circular bed and the fence border. In addition, I’ve established divisions in my Gettysburg garden and I’ve given them away to countless relatives, friends, casual acquaintances, and co-workers in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Maryland. And all this from the two $5 pots I bought six years ago! If my retirement portfolio yielded even half this return on investment, I’d be retired by now.

The circular flower bed that marks the turn into my driveway is 8’ in diameter and designed as three concentric circles of plants with a tall purple delphinium at the center. For the outer perimeter, I interplanted Biokovo with a rose pink variety of G. x cantabrigiense called ‘Karmina’ and with Alchemilla mollis (lady’s mantle). I so love the delicate pastel look of this when it is blooming in June, that I’ve repeated this combination at the front edge of the new fence border. G. x cantabrigiense is not the only species of geranium that I am growing in the circular bed. The ring of plants just inside the outer perimeter includes several taller geraniums. Two of these are varieties or hybrids of G. pratense, which form clumps 2’-3’ tall and bloom later in the summer. One of these, ‘Splish-Splash’ has white flowers variously splashed with purple (or are they purple splashed with white?). Another, ‘Johnson’s Blue,’ has been a favorite with gardeners since the 1950s. (I also have other clump-forming geraniums, varieties of G. sanguineum and G. maculatum, growing in my bedroom border.)

Because Johnson’s Blue does not bloom reliably for me, I’ve begun to grow some of the newer blue geranium hybrids that include G. endressii as one of the parents. Geraniums in the endressii family are my favorites. These plants begin as clumps; but as they begin to bloom, the branches get longer and become trailing rather than upright. They don’t look floppy and messy, however, because they continue to grow new upright foliage at the center of the clump and because the trailing branches tend to drape themselves over nearby plants in a very charming way. I think of these plants as “weavers” because their flowers tend to peek out among the flowers of nearby plants, tying them all together. Those are the blue flowers of ‘Brookside’ blooming above and behind Biokovo and Karmina in the circular bed. I also have Brookside growing in my blue and yellow border, along with a closely related variety, ‘Nimbus.’

Many of the G. endressii varieties and hybrids are pink. I have both G. endressii ‘Wargrave Pink’ and G. x oxonianum ‘A.T. Johnson’ growing in my deck border. These two plants, originally planted side by side, have grown together so that I now have trouble distinguishing them, except that one has flowers that are slightly more salmon and the other has flowers that are more silvery. I love them both and have included a division of this combination in the new fence border.

Even with all these hardy geraniums in my garden, there are so many more I would like to grow. I know that I will keep dividing old varieties and adding new ones as I develop new areas of the garden in the years to come.

Frost has finally come to my little corner of Maine, a light frost two nights ago and then a more serious freeze last night.

Two days ago, I had a surprising number of flowers still in bloom.

Petunias and dianthus were still blooming in a container on the deck,

Rudbeckia ‘Herbstsonne’ and Coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’ in the blue and yellow border, and deep pink blooms of Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ and Spirea japonica ‘Magic Carpet’ in the deck border.

In the fence border, Phlox paniculata ‘David’ and Tradescantia ‘Zwanenburg Blue’ still bloomed,

… and morning glory buds still struggled to open on the fence.

On the back slope, daylily ‘Happy Returns’ was trying to open one last set of flowers, and chives were coming around for a second blooming.

Today, after two nights of frost, the morning glory vines are hanging limp on the garden fence.

But I am surprised to find some things still in bloom. The annuals growing on the deck have somehow survived for another day.

The ‘Autumn Joy’ sedum is a deeper wine red, but is still beautiful.

And oregano blossoms still grace the back slope.

But even without flowers, there is much beauty in the fall garden:

…in the feathery foliage of amsonia,

and in the fall-tinged foliage of geranium and rhododendron,

and in the seed heads of astilbe and siberian iris that remind us of the cycle of life and the promise of flowers for next year.

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Yellow-orange fragrant rose by the back fence

Geranium weed flowers: These were identifies as wild geraniums by UW botanical guests at Farmer’s market. UW (University of Washington) sends experts every Saturday to Redmond Farmers market; many people seek guidance on identifying plants, starting a garden, bugs, pests, organic gardening etc. Many times King county plant and wildlife department also holds informative sessions on ‘Invasive weeds and control’, ‘Identify friendly/invasive plants/bugs/animals’. Thank you for such a great service.

It’s wonderful to see rice growing in a simple residential street garden, alongside geraniums and other ornamentals. The rice is nearly ready to be harvested. Below you can see that it is growing in a blue plastic pot and a white styrofoam box. What it lacks in aesthetics it exceeds in frugality and resourcefulness.

I haven’t seen this neighbor in a while, since she offered us some beer on a warm day; unfortunately, we did not have time to stop then.

In the hospital

courtyard: a red geranium.

I’m getting blood drawn.

I don’t know exactly why it’s so, but 2009 has been a terrific year for allyssum.   Above is a close up of some of the purple variety, which grows in waves on the backside of the driveway garden.   To the side is a look at the white allyssum, which reminds me of the way waves off the ocean break into little foamy edges as the waves stretch onto the shore.

Anyone who’s looking to duplicate this look has good news coming to them.   While weather conditions in the individual season have their obvious impacts, this massive showing of allyssum came from one of the least bits of garden work I did all summer.  Once I had weeded the bed in the spring and added a few annual seedlings in between perennial plantings, I tore open some packets of allyssum seed and sprinkled them atop the soil at the edge of the bed, and in between the other plants.

As the seedlings of that sprinkling began to emerge, I seeded in a little more to fill in some gaps.   Since I tend to buy too many packets of allyssum during the course of the winter (they’re not seeds in February, so much as little envelopes full of hope, honestly) and received a few more as gifts, I also re-seeded at the beginning of July and also again in early August.    The result of that is before your eyes…and I only wish (as I have many times about a variety of flowers) that I could take a picture of the way the scent catches me as I walk out the front door.   Mmmmmm.

The imperial mums are branching and getting rather tall, some of the bud stalks now reaching above the top of the fence.   Like the garden heliotrope before it, which towered above me earlier this spring, I can’t help but wonder just what’s in the soil in this garden bed that’s encouraging such growth.   I really was pretty lazy about tending the garden this year and for my plants to be responding so very well to my “interested neglect” is a little remarkable to me.  I’ve never see this plant grow this way before.   I suppose I have those rains of June to thank.

Anyway, there’s much gratitude, as well as some anticipation:  it looks like the first of these mums will begin blooming within the week.   Those delightful purple asters are well-involved in blooming of their own by now, just about a foot away from the mums and the show will be quite lovely.

In the containers of the deck garden, things are beginning to quiet down a little.   I’d thought the morning glories were all finished, like their companions the cardinal climbers, who seem to have given up the ghost after the string of forty degree nights we had last week.   But this one bloomed in the last day or so.  I was pleased for the backlighting I was able to capture here, since it shows off the red stripes so nicely.

(Here’s a little photography lesson for you…and me, as well:   always make sure the thing you are taking a photo of isn’t the same color as the background.   Note how the dracaena in this window box sort of disappear against the canopy of still green foliage behind.  Oops.)

The cool nights encouraged me to start getting ready for the season ahead and organizing to see what plants I can try to save indoors for the winter.   Not only do I like being surrounded with the growing green in wintertime, but if I can keep alive those plants that might reasonably survive indoors until next season, then my budget for plants in 2010 (!!!) gets a little bigger, eh?

Now, you may recall that I bought a Martha Washington geranium last spring and learned at the time that they winter indoors pretty nicely.  I’d planted that with a pair of dracaenas (those spiky leaved plants), some purple petunias and white lobelia.   The white lobelia didn’t last past the second week of July, sad to say, but the petunias have bloomed on throughout the season, even when the summer heat discouraged the geranium.

I’ve never tried to save dracaenas before, so that is the true experimental part of this project.    They’re quite impressively big at this end of the season and it’d be fun to see what they might do when spared exposure to a killing frost.   They are, sadly, exactly the kind of plant the Catsby likes to munch on, so they may not survive.  I whipped up a spray of lavendar dish soap and black pepper, which I thought would treat against any plant-dwelling tiny insects (*) we don’t wish to invite inside, but more importantly, might deter His Grayness’ munching.  If not, they only cost a buck a piece in spring.   We’ll see.

[*  This is, admittedly, a sort of weak defense against insects and I'll be keeping an eye on this planter to make sure warm indoor conditions don't inspire hatchings of one sort or another.  I'm always a little hesitant about introducing poison into the household.   It's that cartoon image in my head of me and The Purrmeister on our backs, little Xs where we once had eyes, that makes me cautious.  They are only insects, after all.]

In another planter, with the cosmos and margarite daisies, I’d planted a pair of small asparagus ferns, which I’ve had much success in wintering indoors in the past.  To simplify things a little, I decided this past week to do a little transplanting, and swap the petunias out for the two asparagus ferns, leaving me free to bring the entire window box indoors, where it adds a nice bank of green to the corner of our sunny morning living room.

I also repotted this summer’s hibiscus, which has found a place on the sunny windowsill inside, along with the two marine heliotropes, which are currently scenting the Nest with their pretty purple flowers.  Of course, once I’d accomplished all this, our temperatures warmed up a bit, but the short cool snap was nice for encouraging me to a little work now, which will serve all these plants better later on.

Meanwhile, in other parts of the garden, the forsythia leaves have begun to turn reddish-purple as a result of our recent cool evenings.

We haven’t had a hard frost yet; such a thing is possibly still weeks away, although one can never be quite sure.   Perhaps it is a sense of nervous anticipation which is encouraging such delightful bloom on the annuals in the garden bed along the south side of the house.    This may…or may not…after all, be their last chance to bloom and set seed to ensure that their species goes on.

In the neighbors’ yard, some Rose of Sharon saplings are offering a few tiny flowers as the season winds down.

Not far away, some calendula carry on blooming, pretending with their bright yellow blooms that they are little miniature versions of the south-moving Sun.

I’m a little late sharing this with you:  September’s last sunset.

Q: My garden did especially well this year! Is there any way I can bring some of my favorite plants inside to enjoy for a bit longer?

A: As winter is drawing near, it is hard to give up on the plants you nurtured all summer long. When the weather turns colder, it’s time to bring in tropical plants, non-hardy annuals, and tender perennials. Plants such as geraniums, fuchsia, and dahlias may be relocated indoors. No method is totally foolproof, so expect to lose some plants, but you would have lost them anyway if they stayed outside.

Plants can over winter three ways:
1. Treat the plant like a houseplant and keep it in a sunny, warm location,
2. Put the plant in a cool but bright basement or well insulated garage,
3. Store in a dark, cool place where the plant can go dormant.

General preparation
Only bring in the healthiest plants; a weak plant may not survive the transition. Dig up the plant, trying to keep as much of the root system as possible. Plant the transplant in potting soil in a pot with ample room for the roots and adequate drainage. Prune plants to remove any dead or broken foliage. If you want to bring in container plants, collect them as well. To prepare plants for their journey, spray them with a strong blast of water to remove any pests and debris. Spray with insecticidal soap if there are hangers-on. Move the plants to a shady, cool location for a few days, and then bring them indoors. The plant may drop leaves or yellow a bit during the transition. Check plants regularly for dryness and insects, and mist if the humidity is very low.

Pelargoniums (a.k.a. Annual Geraniums)
After spending weeks looking for the perfect red annual geranium, you enjoyed it all summer long. You want that perfect red again next year, so bring the plant inside or take cuttings.

Bringing it inside: Treat geraniums like a houseplant. Prune the plant to 1/2 the original size, place in a pot and keep in a warm and sunny location. Growing a plant in a sunny window is easy, just keep it watered when the soil is dry and turn the pot occasionally to keep the growth even. Geraniums may get leggy growth during the winter, just pinch back to promote fullness. Move the geranium outdoors in the spring when nighttime temperatures are above 50 degrees. Other plants that like this treatment are coleus, marguerite daisies, hibiscus and salvias.

Taking cuttings:
You can take stem cuttings from geraniums, called ‘slips.’ Cut a piece of healthy stem from the tip, approximately four inches in length. Remove the leaves from the bottom two inches of the cutting. In a container, plant the slips in vermiculite or well-drained potting soil. Dip the defoliated end of the slip in a rooting hormone; then plant it two inches deep and water thoroughly. Place the container in a sunny window or under artificial light until the plants are rooted, about three to four weeks. Plant the rooted slips in individual pots and keep them in a well-lighted area. Keep the soil moist and fertilize with a diluted liquid fertilizer when new growth appears, then every four to six weeks.

Fuchsia
Fuchsia plants appear delicate but can stand fairly harsh treatment. They will tolerate being shorn and parked away in the corner of a basement or garage for the winter. Leave the plants outside until the first frost. Prune the plant to 1/2 the original size; for hanging baskets, prune to within six to eight inches of the main stem. Do not cut the main stalk. Place the plants in a cool but bright 40 to 50 degree unheated basement or well insulated garage. Water the plants whenever they feel dry. In the spring, move the plant to a warmer, sunnier location. Pinch off the new growth at the tip to promote branching. Feed with a diluted liquid fertilizer when new growth develops and move outdoors when nighttime temperatures reach 50 degrees.

Dahlias
Dahlias are another plant that enjoys indoor accommodations for the winter. In our climate, they are tender perennials that don’t survive the winter. Wait until after a hard frost and cut off the blackened foliage. Dig up the tubers, shake off the soil and set aside to dry in a cool place for a few days. Shake off any remaining soil and place in a well-ventilated container in peat moss. Store the dahlias in a dark, cool area, 40- 50 degrees. Calla lilies, cannas and tuberous begonias can be stored the same way. Check every few weeks to make sure the bulbous roots aren’t too dry. You can mist them, but don’t over water because it will promote rot and fungus. In late spring, plant the dahlias in amended soil about 4-6 inches deep, placing the tuber on its’ side.

Contributed by Valerie Smith, Colorado Master Gardener. Photo courtesy of Colorado State University Extension. For answers to your horticultural questions, until Sep 30, 2009 contact the Master Gardener Help Desk at 520-7684 or CSUmg2@elpasoco.com. Access fact sheets and seasonal information on the El Paso County Horticulture website http://elpasoco.colostate.edu/horticulture/.

By odd combination of birthdays and timing, we have gained two new digital cameras in our household. A rather high-end Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZX1 and a more entry-level DMC-FS6. Both have Leica-branded lenses, or perhaps more accurately, lenses designed and manufactured to Leica standards that carry the Leica name. As Panasonic say, ‘The Leica DC lenses are manufactured using measurement instruments and quality assurance systems that have been certified by Leica Camera AG based on the company’s quality standards.’

The ZX1 has a DC Vario-Elmar and the FS6 a DC Vario-Elmarit lens. As far as I can see these hark back to Leica naming traditions based on the maximum apertures of lenses – Elmars to f/3.5 (f/3.3 in this instance) and Elmarits to f/2.8 (photo.net discussion). In addition, the FS6 uses Panasonic’s Venus IV image processing system, while the ZX1 uses the newer Venus V system.

So, here are four pairs of photographs (ZX1 first): click on the pictures to link through to sources on Flickr, with access to full resolution versions.

• The geranium flower at the top is handled well by both cameras in AF Macro mode, but the ZX1 has the edge for the rendering of the petals, which look slightly unnatural in the FS6 version
• The garden landscape appears to be almost identical on both cameras
• The street scene is noticeably clearer with deeper-hued brickwork in the ZX1
• The last close-up has a more faithful rendering of the red fish; both used ISO 400

Overall I am impressed at how well the FS6 performs in these simple examples. For everyday use it compares well, considering it costs less than half that of the ZX1. I am also relieved that the ZX1 is often noticeably better, and with other features (a longer reach in the zoom range (8x), a wider base angle (25mm equivalent), higher resolution (12MP vs 8 MP – not always a good thing, I know), and HD movie recordings, I think the camera does deliver quite a lot more.

SEVENTEEN FACTS ABOUT AROMATHERAPY

1. Aromatherapy, which falls under the broader category of Complementary or Alternative Medicine, is an industry worth over £1.6 billion (S$4.47 billion) annually in the UK.
2. Lavender, one of the most commonly used scents in aromatherapy, yields 6 litres of essential oils with every 181kg of flowers.
3. Essential oils may be the only pure, natural oils you breathe in today. Most commercial fragrances today are 90 per cent synthetic in origin.
4. 8 million jasmine flowers are required to make less than 1kg of jasmine oil.
5. The International Federation of Aroma Therapists, formed in 1985, is the oldest non-profit association in the industry.
6. Neroli and Sandalwood oils, two of the more exotic oils in the aromatherapy chart, costs about $140 (S$193) per 15ml.
7. There are over 90 types of essential oils used in aromatherapy.
8. 30 roses are needed to make a single drop of rose essential oil.
9. Smelly costs! A basic massage, like Swedish style, average about $90 an hour, but specialty massages like aromatherapy treatments, cost upwards of $120 an hour.
10. Want to be a fully qualified aroma therapist? All it takes is 200 hours of education contact hours to get certification, according to the Alliance of International Aroma Therapists.
11. 6,000 years… How long aromatherapy has been around. It has been used by the ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians.
12. We respond hyper-sensitively to scents because we have 6 million smell receptor cells which can distinguish 10,000 different odours.
13. “The way to health is to have an aromatic bath and scented massage every day,” said physician Hippocrates in 400 B.C
14. Less is more in aromatherapy. Only 2.5 per cent of essential oils in a carrier oil is all that’s needed for it therapeutic effect to take place.
15. The 5 basic, most flexible essential oils for a beginner to start with aromatherapy are: Lavender, Rosemary, Ylang Ylang, Orange and Geranium.
16. 2 years is an average shelf life of essential oils. Carrier oils like grapeseed or carrot stay good for just a short 6 to 15 months.
17. 1928 – The year the word “aromatherapy” was first used by Rene-Maurice Gattefosse, a French chemist devoted to the study of the leading properties of plants.