Cool Garden Things » Things & Stuff

7 Plants That Can Poison Pets

CoolGardenThings — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 12:52:02 +0000

Got this from my sister and thought you might find it helpful

7 Plants That Can Poison Pets

Caladium

Symptoms of poisoning include severe burning and irritation of the mouth, lips and tongue, excessive drooling, vomiting and difficulty

Cyclamen

Ingesting the plant can cause excessive salivation, vomiting and diarrhea. Large ingestions of tubers can result in heart rhythm abnormalities, seizures and death.

Dracaena

Munching on the plant can result in dilated pupils, abdominal pain, increased heart rate and drooling in cats, and vomiting, depression, loss of appetite, drooling, loss of coordination, and weakness in both cats and dogs.

Philodendron

Ingestion can result in intense burning and irritation of the mouth, lips and tongue, excessive drooling, vomiting and difficulty in swallowing.

Aloe vera

A perfect reminder that we shouldn’t make assumptions about safety. Though aloe vera juice is marketed as a health tonic for humans, and its gel is used to treat burns, the plant is toxic to pets. Signs of poisoning include vomiting, depression, diarrhea, anorexia, tremors and change in urine color.

Mistletoe

Though it inspires kisses around the holidays, the traditional plant causes gastrointestinal disorders, cardiovascular collapse, erratic behavior and a host of other ills.

Lucky bamboo (aka ribbon plant)

Vomiting (occasionally with blood), depression, anorexia, hypersalivation and, in cats, dilated pupils.

Watch after your loved ones!

Originally posted 2009-01-27 16:19:25. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Get Cool Garden Things at CoolGardenThings.com

7 Plants That Can Poison Pets

-- Weather When Posted --

Temperature: 20°F;
Humidity: 56%;
Heat Index: 19°F;
Wind Chill: 16°F;
Pressure: 30.34 in.;

Best Way To Identify Poison Ivy

Three Northern Natives For Your Garden

CoolGardenThings — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 12:51:50 +0000

It is winter. The ground is frozen. What should a gardener do? The only thing left for an obsessed gardener to do is make a wish list of things to plant in the summer. Some plants that should be on any northern gardeners wish list are these three midwest natives: Coneflower, Black-eyed Susans, and False Indigo. Why should you care that they are natives? Any gardener worth their dirt knows that choosing native plants for your garden saves water, time, money and helps the environment by providing food for local wildlife.

Photo by melolouConeflower or echinacea is a native plant that is a wonderful contribution to any garden. As a flower it is quite simply pretty in pink and as a native it provides food for the wild life that visits your garden. It makes a great companion plant with many grasses and roses and sedum. It also has roots that can survive in drought weather and clay soil. It will reseed itself and spread in a friendly and non aggressive manner. It should certainly be at the top of any gardeners to plant list.
Black-eyed Susans should be second on a gardeners list of native plants to add to the garden. Black-eyed Susan or rudebeckia as a flower provides stunning yellow and brown daisy like flowers that seem to bloom and bloom forever.
Photo by mbgrigbyThey add dramatic color effect and pizaz to your flower beds. They are native plants that provide lots of food for birds and insects. They are also quite prolific and will quickly fill up a bed within a year or two with a wondrous stand of flowers. Because of their drought tolerant and sun or partial shade tolerance they are extremely versatile and can go just about anywhere. They are a must have native for any flower garden.

False Indigo or baptisia is the third native plant to consider for your garden because of it’s vibrant blue flowers.
Photo by Bitter JewelerExperienced gardeners know that blue flowers are hard to come by. This northern native is one of the best blue flowers you can choose. It may take some time to get established but it is well worth the wait. It is a show stopper with upright bushy blue spires and elegant foliage. It can handle full sun to partial shade, drought or moist soil and clay.
These are all great additions to any garden. They continue to look good and contribute to your garden even after they are done blooming. Add some fountain grass and some gazing globes and garden decor to the mix and you have a garden wish list to get to work on in the spring!

Originally posted 2010-01-13 14:42:44. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Get Cool Garden Things at CoolGardenThings.com

Three Northern Natives For Your Garden

-- Weather When Posted --

Temperature: 25°F;
Humidity: 74%;
Heat Index: 25°F;
Wind Chill: 12°F;
Pressure: 30.13 in.;

New Picture – Free Computer Desktop Backgrounds

CoolGardenThings — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 12:51:37 +0000

I just put this new page up and I think you will like it and here
is why…

http://www.coolgardenthings.com/Free_Desktop_Backgrounds_31.html

Over the years I have traveled to many different countries. Being
that I love to take pictures, there are usually a few good ones that
turn out that others like too.

Recently I saw some really beautiful pictures as computer desktop
background images. This got me to thinking about some of the many
pictures that I’ve taken in beautiful areas.

With that in mind, I proceeded to making some of these images into
formatting for…

you guessed it, computer desktop background images!

http://www.coolgardenthings.com/Free_Desktop_Backgrounds_31.html

There are a couple of pictures up already that you can have and use
starting now. All you have to do is go to the website using this
link, find one that you like and follow the directions to getting
it to your computer. It is pretty easy.

Enjoy,

Jeremy

P.S. The images that are up now are from a batch of pictures I took
while in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Ho Chi Minh City all on different
trips.

*also, by the way, we will be putting up several more. I’ll be sure
to let you know when they are ready. Here is the link to the ones
that are ready now…

http://www.coolgardenthings.com/Free_Desktop_Backgrounds_31.html

Originally posted 2009-02-17 21:59:30. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Get Cool Garden Things at CoolGardenThings.com

New Picture – Free Computer Desktop Backgrounds

-- Weather When Posted --

Temperature: 34°F;
Humidity: 63%;
Heat Index: 34°F;
Wind Chill: 28°F;
Pressure: 29.87 in.;

FirePots and Cool Outdoor Decor

The Zebra Longwing, Beautiful and Unique

CoolGardenThings — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 13:10:55 +0000

The Zebra Longwing, Beautiful and Unique by Diana Cooper

The Zebra Longwing, also known as the Zebra Heliconian, was declared the official butterfly of my home state Florida in 1996. These beautiful and unique little creatures, actually insects, with long narrow black wings and yellow zebra-like stripes (purposely designed by nature to help avoid and warn off predators) live throughout Florida and are plentiful on my land in the North Central section. You can also find Zebras in warm and damp tropical areas of Texas, Mexico, Central America and South America.

Certain passion vines are the host plant for the Zebra Longwing; it is the only plant the larvae will eat. A corky stemmed passion vine is a favorite of theirs which grows wild in Florida, classified as a weed. Eggs are laid in groups of 5-15 on leaves of the host plant. The larvae will hang in a “J” position waiting to form a chrysalis. In about 10 to 14 days the adult emerges. No time is wasted with this life cycle for an eager male will mate with a female as she is about to emerge from the chrysalis. The Zebra Longwing can go from egg to butterfly in a little over three weeks.

Zebra Longwings live a longer life than most butterflies, up to 6 months compared to a week or two. Experts believe this is because of their diet. Not only do Zebras feed on nectar, they are the only known butterflies to eat pollen which is rich in protein. If denied pollen, their life span is greatly decreased. Zebras feed off of a variety of plants. I noticed my group feeds off many, including the lantana, porterweed, mexican sunflower, powder puff, milkweed and candy corn but the one they seem to enjoy the most is the red penta.

During the daytime hours the Zebras will fly slowly and gracefully, almost as floating, through the air instead of fast and fluttery like other butterflies; however, they can pick up speed when threatened. The Zebra Longwing is less fearful of predators, not only because of their warning colors, but because of their foul taste. Passion vines, consumed by the larvae, contain a toxin that makes adult Zebras poisonous to predators. Once a predator experiences such a taste they will never forget.

Another unusual feature of Zebra Longwings is that adults roost in groups of up to 70 at night. The Zebras on my land will huddle together (about 18-20) on a strand of moss hanging from an oak tree near one of my gardens. Each night they return to the same spot and on cold and gloomy days they will remain there. Although Zebras are commonly in flight all year in South Florida, I have seen a few survive on my land during the cold winter months.

Zebra Longwings are wonderful to have around. If you live in their territory and don’t have the native plants required, just plant some of the above mentioned flowers and in no time you should have your own family of Zebra Longwings.

Diana Cooper specializes in nature and wildlife photography. You can visit her websites at http://www.dianasphotography.com (gallery, articles, links) and http://www.cafepress.com/dianasphotos (photo cards and gift items of flowers and butterflies).

Article Source: http://articlecrux.com

Originally posted 2009-01-30 01:16:57. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Get Cool Garden Things at CoolGardenThings.com

The Zebra Longwing, Beautiful and Unique

-- Weather When Posted --

Temperature: 26°F;
Humidity: 70%;
Heat Index: 26°F;
Wind Chill: 13°F;
Pressure: 29.83 in.;

Passion Vine Trellis

Great Ground Cover Suggestions For A Northern Garden

CoolGardenThings — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 13:10:53 +0000

One of the problems that a new northern landscape may encounter is a lack of plant material to fill the landscape with. A new garden can be a little sparse sometimes as you wait for the young plants to mature-which can take about three years when you live in a northern climate. So instead of looking at mulch for the next three years, get pro-active and plant some ground cover! And a lot of it. Use ground cover to help fill in between plants, fountains and garden decor, or around stepping stones.
Before you start planting just anything you need to choose your ground cover based on the light, water, and traffic conditions in your garden. Here are just a few of the many ground cover ideas a gardener in a northern climate garden might want t
Photo by zophoniaso consider.

If you have a sunny garden you might want to consider planting some sedum. It comes in many different foliage and flower colors ranging from yellow and white and bright green to pink and burgundy. Sedum is great for a garden that does not receive a lot of water as it is drought tolerant and actually thrives in poor soil conditions. It is often used on a lot of those new fangled green roof tops to give you an idea of what kind of environment it likes. Hot, hot and hot! It is not a great ground cover choice if there is going to be a lot of foot traffic, though.

Photo by mmwmAnother good choice for a sunny garden with a path and some stepping stones, is the kitchen herb called thyme. Thyme is great for an area that gets some foot traffic because it smells good when you step on it. Give your landscape a cottage garden feel with this herb that also comes in a variety of growth habits and color choices such as creeping thyme, woolly thyme or lemon thyme, to name a few.

Photo by mbgrigbyIf you have a shade garden you really should consider some pachysandra. Pachysandra is a good deep shade ground cover that can handle some partial sun. It can be grown under a walnut tree and it will allow bulbs and hostas to grow through it without competition-nicely camouflaging unsightly dead leaves and other such garden blemishes. It has a neat growth habit that is easy to control.And it is less invasive than it’s popular counter-choice called vinca: vinca is a garden no no because of its rampant invasiveness into woodland areas-so when in doubt choose pachysandra.

If you are a fan of native or woodland plants and your are looking for a shade loving ground cover consider wild ginger. It has handsome dark green circular leaves and forms a dense matte with little ground hugging flowers that are popular with toads and woodland critters. Plant it around the base of a bird feeder to hide the cast off seeds. There are even some evergreen varieties for more mild climates.
Whether you have shade or sun a ground cover is always going to enhance your garden landscape. Ground covers help cool the roots of plants in your garden and hide unsightly looking spots. Ground cover can be a unifying element in your garden design for many years to come. Put some gazing globes in a patch of ground cover for an easy garden decor idea and just enjoy!

Originally posted 2010-01-02 11:51:55. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Get Cool Garden Things at CoolGardenThings.com

Great Ground Cover Suggestions For A Northern Garden

What Style of Fall Clean-up Is Best For You?

CoolGardenThings — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 13:10:49 +0000

Photo by lepiaf.geo (better off slipping into blur)In November in Michigan it is time to put your garden to sleep for the winter. There are perhaps three different approaches to this and each one has its advantages and disadvantages to consider.

The “tidy clean-up” basically cuts every plant-except woody herbs and shrubs- to with-in an inch of it’s life and removes every ounce of dead plant matter with-in a mile. This method looks very clean. Reminiscent of your living room after the maid service leaves. This technique will ensure that very few diseased leaves are left behind to infect next years plants.It may also help hinder the slug and pest population. The cons of this technique outweigh the pros, because by removing all plant matter you have also removed all the vital nutrients the decomposing plant matter provides. You have also removed the winter protection and that plant matter provides for roots. Which means that you will have to add expensive fertilizers and amendments to your garden to make up for this. More expensive and less healthy for your garden this technique is not the best approach to a healthy garden.

The next approach to fall clean up is perhaps a balance between vacuuming your beds and the doing nothing approach-this is what I call the “High/low maintenance” approach. Low maintenance does not mean no maintenance, though. Think of low maintenance as meaning less work in the spring, but still a good work out in the garden this weekend and probably next week end too. In this approach one would remove dead annual plants,sprinkling the seeds as you go. These should germinate if you don’t use preen in your garden. Proceed to cut down your perennial plants to two thirds with the exception of woody herbs and shrubs. You do not want to touch those until the spring when all danger of frost is past. Leave seed heads on some of your native plants and grasses for the birds for the winter. If you cut down your grass leave about one foot to provide winter protection. Rake out the beds and remove all of the cuttings and most of the leaves that have come down from the trees. Use a blower and blow leaves onto your lawn and mulch those with a mower. Mulching the last of the autumn leaves into your lawn keeps things looking tidy and is like free fertilizer for your grass. Supposedly oak leaves mulched into the lawn are a weed inhibitor. Encourage you lawn care people to mulch leaves as much as they are able to. You may need to bury some of your tree roses. You may want to put some wilt spray on your rhododendrons in December as well as build some burlap houses for them. But don’t let burlap touch the plants. You can leave them be, but taking the extra time to protect rhododendrons, roses and hydrangeas will give you more flowers next year.

The third approach to winter preparation is the “no maintenance” approach. The pro of this technique is you can just be lazy and nature will pretty much tuck all of your garden in naturally for the winter. The con’s of doing nothing now are that your neighbors will hate you for your messy yard and you will have a lot to do in the spring at a time when lots of plants are starting to peek through the debris. These plants and bulbs are very tender in the spring and will get mangled as you tear through the beds with your rake and pruning shears. Not only that, but the soil in the spring is at it’s most vulnerable time and stepping in the beds now will compress it terribly and prevent the tender roots of plants from growing at their best. Also remember that many weeds will continue to grow through the winter so if you did not pull them out they will have grown stronger.

What ever your clean-up approach be sure to put away your garden decor for the winter as you don’t want it to get ruined. Also remember to clean out your bird feeders and stock up on bird seed before the snow falls so you can sit back and watch the animals in your garden while it sleeps.

Each individual gardener has their own preferences of how to tackle their garden before winter comes.This article is intended to be a guide to help you decide which approach is best for you.Good luck and many blooms to you!

Originally posted 2009-12-03 15:47:47. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Get Cool Garden Things at CoolGardenThings.com

What Style of Fall Clean-up Is Best For You?

-- Weather When Posted --

Temperature: 42°F;
Humidity: 60%;
Heat Index: 42°F;
Wind Chill: 35°F;
Pressure: 29.8 in.;

Building a Fire Pit – Simple Steps for Building a Fire Pit

CoolGardenThings — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:33:56 +0000

Author: Jay Ruppel
One of the best additions you can make to your back yard is a fire pit. People are naturally attracted to fire, and there is a long history going back to the days of prehistory of people gathering around a fire to exchange stories and enjoy each other’s company.

This concept is being brought forward to today’s culture with the fire pit. There are a couple of ways that you can accomplish this. One is to build your own fire pit. It can be as simple as a hole in the ground, or it can be as dramatic as a large stonework above the ground, complete with natural gas plumbed into it with an elective starter.

Building a basic fire pit is simple enough. It needs to be located away from buildings and trees so that the ashes don’t spread the fire. Make sure you aren’t near utility lines, and dig a hole about 3 feet across and a couple of feet deep. Pack the sides so they don’t collapse, and its a good idea to line the edges with stones or racks. Stacking them up several inches will add a nice visual touch and keep folks from stumbling into the pit. Adding rock to the bottom of the pit will help to stabilize it.

Another very popular alternative is a fire pit table. These tables look very much like a typical patio table, often with matching chairs. The table has a cavity in the middle where the fire can be built. You can use wood to build the fire, or there are some models that use propane gas to fuel the fire, making it quite convenient to start and stop a fire. Often these fire pit tables come with a cover for the pit opening in the middle of the table, so when there is not a working fire in the table it can be used as a normal patio table.

Fire pits add warmth more ways than one to your home!

Source: Articlesbase.com

Originally posted 2009-09-23 14:26:30. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Get Cool Garden Things at CoolGardenThings.com

Building a Fire Pit – Simple Steps for Building a Fire Pit

-- Weather When Posted --

Temperature: 34°F;
Humidity: 69%;
Heat Index: 34°F;
Wind Chill: 24°F;
Pressure: 29.94 in.;

Amazing Hummingbird Encounter

CoolGardenThings — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:25:51 +0000

This is amazing! Some people have some kind of magic with animals…This little hummingbird clip is astounding!

–GartenGrl

Click here to view the embedded video.

**video owner disabled embedding…you can click on this link and check it out: Cool Hummingbird Video

Extraordinary – After an hour of fly bys around the yard this hummingbird found the confidence to confront the gardener.

Originally posted 2009-06-15 09:11:45. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Get Cool Garden Things at CoolGardenThings.com

Amazing Hummingbird Encounter

-- Weather When Posted --

Temperature: 64°F;
Humidity: 88%;
Heat Index: 64°F;
Wind Chill: 64°F;
Pressure: 29.85 in.;

Bird Watching Basics

CoolGardenThings — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:04:37 +0000

by:Albreht Moy

Bird watching or birding is a very popular hobby that includes the observation and study of birds.Because visual observation of birds is complemented with auditory observation, the term “birding” is more accurate. Birding is the second most popular outdoor activity in America, second only to gardening as the number-one recreation.

For many people bird watching is an opportunity to feel close to nature. They also enjoy the relaxation and peacefulness by watching birds.Some birders,however,will travel long distances just to see a rare bird. These birders are known as twitchers. Twitching is popular in Britain and several other European countries.

Most birders start out by watching and attracting birds to their own back yards.Bird feeding can benefit birds and also provide great bird watching.You can attract a variety of interesting birds to your yard by selecting and offering the right kinds of food. The common types of food offered in bird feeding are seeds,nectar,suet and fruit.Early morning is the best time for bird watching since many birds are then searching most actively for food.

Once you start feeding birds, you’ll probably want to identify who is coming to visit. Equipment used for birding includes binoculars,a blank notebook, and one or more good field guides.

Field guides are books with pictures and descriptions of the birds. A field guide shows birds of just one country, or one region of a country, or one habitat.

Binoculars are described by two numbers: 8×32 for example. The first number tells you the magnification power of the binoculars. The second tells you the size of the objective lens at the end of the binoculars in millimeters. Most bird watchers think that 7 or 8 power is about right for most birding.

The next step is to broaden your birding experience beyond your own back yard. Plan a trip to a bird sanctuary, national park and other locations where you can see birds in large numbers. Wherever you go,never harm the birds and always respect other birders.

And don’t forget to join a local birding club. Clubs organize field trips,show films of good bird watching destinations and some of them are involved in local environmental projects. Also visit your local library and check out books on birds and ornithology.

Source: Articlecity.com

Get Cool Garden Things at CoolGardenThings.com

Bird Watching Basics

-- Weather When Posted --

Temperature: 24°F;
Humidity: 85%;
Heat Index: 24°F;
Wind Chill: 13°F;
Pressure: 29.98 in.;

Bird Watching and Gardening Mixed

CoolGardenThings — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:06:12 +0000

Article By: Richard Chapo

Photo by Kuzeytac ( So, SO busy…)

The weather may be frightful at the moment, but spring is not too far around the bend. If you love to watch birds, why not start your own personal bird garden?

Just as certain plants and flowers attract various creatures, birds are immediately drawn to certain types of flowers as well. In fact, one of the best ways to learn what types of birds are in your area is to plant a bird garden, and watch (notebook at the ready) as feathers of all colors flock to your yard. Starting a bird garden is easy, and there is no better time to start ordering your spring garden seeds than right now.

Photo by Reini68To begin, look to the simplistic daisy. Daisies may not be the first flower you think of when it comes to creating an elaborate garden, but birds love this flower for the seeds that it contains. Daisies are nutrient rich, and birds will immediately be drawn to these flowers once they have stopped blooming. Leave the seeds for the birds to eat, and you will see many different types of birds munching happily away amidst your garden in no time.

Another bird favorite is the zinnia. Zinnias are easy to grow; they are colorful and bright; and birds can’t get enough of them. Not only will your bird friends love these beautiful flowers, but butterflies seem to fall prey to their intoxicating aroma as well. Of course, if you want to attract the ever-popular hummingbird, a flower’s scent will do little to lure this swift bird.

Photo by MrClean1982Hummingbirds are sort of like the bulls of the bird world, they love the color red and they will charge at anything brightly tinted. Try planting some fuschias, coral bells, bee balms, hibiscuses, and petunias in your garden in order to catch a flash of a humming bird. If you have not had very much luck with any of the aforementioned flowers, try a sunflower.

Sunflowers seem to have a larger than life power that birds cannot ignore. The sunflower stands tall and beckons to birds from miles around with its large, yellow, petals, and deep, dark, center. Chickadees love to stand on top of a sunflower and peck away at the seeds inside of it for hours on end. Sunflowers are a sure bet when it comes to watching birds in your own back yard.

For long summer days full of bird watching delight, plant a bird garden and enjoy your own personal feathery show. Once you have learned about the types of birds that hang around your own garden, you will be able to spot these species from miles away while you are away from your home – almost like having constant companions wherever you go. Bird watching can take you to exotic destinations, but some of the best birds to watch are waiting right outside of your window pane.

Original Article URL: Bird Watching and Gardening Mixed

Rick Chapo writes for NomadJournals.com – makers of rugged and fine bird watching journals for life lists.

Get Cool Garden Things at CoolGardenThings.com

Bird Watching and Gardening Mixed

-- Weather When Posted --

Temperature: 34°F;
Humidity: 69%;
Heat Index: 34°F;
Wind Chill: 24°F;
Pressure: 29.94 in.;