A 66-year old Sydney man died in hospital on Wednesday after an altercation with a younger man over watering restrictions. The man had been watering his lawn via a garden hose at 5:30pm when an argument between the two started.

It's great to see that the younger man was so invoked by the common practise of many gardeners to water their gardens despite the drought, that he confronted the older man about this. Yet, how immensely sad it is that someone would kill another human being for watering their lawn.

Even more regretful is that the older man was complying with the water restrictions.

Source: CNN.com/Asia

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So, you've been taking a few pics around the garden. Now its time to claim some honour for all that detail macro work you've been doing.

The Garden Photographer of the Year competition is on thanks to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Five categories ranging from Plant Portraits, Life in the Garden, Trees, Garden Views and My Garden should inspire you to get your shutter speed moving faster than a hummingbird's wings.

Plus, there are prizes up to £10,000 on offer. So, if you're an amateur garden photographer you really must enter this awesome competition and be quick about it - you only have until the end of July to register.

UPDATE:

I've been recently informed by Jane Nichols, the Marketing and Sponsorship Director of Garden and Landscape Photographic Arts Ltd. (the company promoting this competition) that the deadline is actually 31st January 2008.

There you go, you have a little more breathing space.

Source: Amateur Photograper

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This recent article mentions how a woman had her $1000 necklace swiped while she was out enjoying a spot of gardening.

As I clicked on the article headline, I anticipated writing a post on the virtues of locking your house while outdoors - even when your only just outdoors - and it seemed too enticing to pass up. However, as I read the article it became overtly clear that this woman didn't lose her necklace while her back was turned.

In fact, it was physically ripped from around her neck by a drive-by heist...

Which begs the question, "Why is a woman gardening while wearing a $1,000 necklace?" Is this part of the new summer gardening range?

While I feel sorry for this woman, firstly for the trauma of dealing with a theft like this and secondly for losing her prized necklace, I struggle to feel any empathy. Who gardens while wearing expensive jewellry? Certainly no one in my neighbourhood...

Could this happen to you? Do you wear expensive clothes or jewellry pieces while working in the garden?

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Manor Park Allotments, came under increasing pressure from the London Development Agency (LDA) as works commenced on the 2012 Olympics and looked like they would lose their 100 year old growing plots. However, it seems that this may have been averted now as allotmenteers are offered an alternative until the Olympics have come and gone.

GTNI first mentioned this story back in February when Manor Park gardeners were begging for people to sign their petitions.

The LDA originally proposed an alternative venue but when it couldn't be secured they reneged on their promise and ordered that allotment owners leave their plots empty-handed. The Manor Park allotmenteers then sought legal advice and planned to sue the LDA in London's High Court.

Well, it seems the LDA has finally taken a more gentle approach and has secured land in Marsh Lane Waltham Forest. However, while there are 64 plots to be made available at this new site, 80 will be bulldozed at Manor Park. Still, it seems this may be the best resolution and if allotment owners can guarantee entrance to their plots until September the court action may be dropped.

Eventually, the allotments will be returned in 2014 however, the land will have suffered greatly due to the Olympics construction and subsequent use. The ground will be more compacted with possible drainage problems and the fruit trees will have all gone.

So while allotmenteers may be savouring some limited success in their quest they may end up reaping more problems in the future.

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Jordan (aka Fred), our eldest son, turns 11 on Wednesday and already he's begun his own blog. He's a Lego freak and combined with his Star Wars obsession he's rolled the two passions into creating his own online presence.

He's so cool and I really like enjoy his posts. He's currently working on a little slideshow cartoon involving some of his Lego men. It's not finished yet but should be up on his blog very soon.

Head over to his blog Fred's Lego Creations and say hello...

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The Olympic Games - this insane festival of sport aimed at forcing countries into logistical nightmares and higher levels of debt - is approaching the UK for 2012. All fine if you can sit in front of the TV and watch the highlights oblivious to the destruction that was caused for your viewing pleasure.

Our governments purport environmental change; sign the Kyoto agreement and barrage those that don't; espouse the goodness of "An Inconvenient Truth" and talk up decisions to improve the world's worsening climate. Yet, when it all comes down to it - money is still the winner.

And it will win again to the detriment of some 100 year old garden allotments at Manor Garden.

See, the problem is that Manor Garden lies smack-bang in the middle of an already congested Olympic Village design. Fortunately for the designers and landscape architects it has very little effect. A few bulldozers and other earth moving equipment and the problem...well, it's no longer a problem.

Look on the bright side. After the four weeks of Olympic hysteria the allotments will be returned to their rightful owners and they can continue as if nothing happened. Albeit their 100-year old plum trees will no longer exist. The soil will be severely compacted and the micro-climate that's taken more than a century to create and maintain will no longer be present.

Apart from that there should be no problems.

According to lifeisland.org this is not where the rot will end;

The fundamental flaw in the Olympic masterplan is that it responds to the Lords of the Olympics rather than to the opportunities that the site offers as a legacy for London.. In other words, the failure of landscape planning taking the lead role to respond to the existing legacy and providing for its upgrading to the benefits of East London. The scale of the opportunity has not been realised and there is a distinct danger that it will suffer, like Sydney, with the difficulty of trying to find a legacy and the finance after the damage has been done. Few Olympic Cities have cash left after the event to invest in this. The morning after the night before is generally a depressing moment.

Money wins again. And the moment it runs out the problems will continue to fester.

Fortunately that's not my problem. London's more than 14,000km away from Busselton so it's not in my backyard. Plus, I only plan to watching the opening and closing ceremonies and a few of the basketball matches. You probably need to tell someone who cares...

Well it may be time to care?

Take some time to read what others are saying about this debacle here and here. And then go and sign the petition... [Note: You must be a British citizen to sign it]

But for those who can't sign, use your blogging voice to create a groundswell throughout the blogosphere. This hypocritical environmental destruction needs to end.

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If you've been keeping up with my blog you would have read my post on how devastating it would be if bees no longer existed. Well it seems that the chance of that ever happening may become an increasing reality.

Just recently the Washington Post reported that a mystery ailment was sweeping through bee colonies in more than 22 US states. Beekeepers are reporting losing tens of thousands of bees with some stating more than half of their hives were dying due this illness.

As if the varroa mite wasn't enough- destroying more than half the population's honey bees and devastating native bee colonies - this mystery ailment could threaten bee stocks beyond the unimaginable.

Researchers are still conducting tests with no answers bearing any light yet.

It will be interesting to see how the bee industry recovers and manages this latest upset to an already embattled market.

Found via The Last Link

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I HATE SPAMMERS!!

Was that loud enough? Did anyone miss the emotion and context that was emanating from my inner spoilt child?

Yesterday, as I was looking for inspiration through Technorati's list of gardening blogs I came across this list of spammy sites that Technorati has been cataloging - here's the link.

Then I'm scrolling through my del.icio.us RSS feed looking for a morsel to inspire my posts this morning and it seems that fireballxl5 feels the need to bookmark every item they read in multiples of 50. So rather than read some good articles and posts I'm restricted to what fireballxl5 thinks is important - PUNK!!

Not to mention the constant barrage of promiscuous Trackbacks that await me each morning or the comments from Texas Hold-em Poker as he shares what an interesting site I have.

I know I'm not the only one who has to suffer through these juvenile delinquents but I just want to know, WHY? Why are you a menace to society fireballxl5? Why don't you contribute rather than be a nuisance to all and sundry?

Enough ranting... I might go and garden and let off some steam instead. I pity the poor shrub that needs pruning today!

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As a parent, ensuring that my gardening tools are all safely kept away from my children should be of paramount importance. Unfortunately, this isn't the case as we've been working on multiple gardening projects and have limited storage space available - yet!

However, my radar senses perked up after reading this horrible account of a two year old boy who was bashed by his 8 year old brother with a garden hoe. As to why this 8 year decided to bash his brother is not mentioned, although an inquiry will most probably happen.

The big question, for those of us who are parents, is how did this boy get hold of a gardening hoe? I know myself that I'm fairly apathetic towards ensuring my tools are put away safely. But, as I considered what I had in my gardening shed, a hoe is the least of my worries...

Here are some of the tools aren't secured;

• Axe
• Chainsaw - although my 11 year old still can't start it
• Lawn Mower
• Spades and shovels
• Fuel for the power tools
• Gardening secateurs
• Pruning saws
• Garden Edger/ Whipper Snipper
• Garden Fork

...too list a few.

Becoming paranoid is not the answer and much of keeping my kids safe in the garden is about helping them see the dangers of these tools.

But even the best parenting will not be there for a spontaneous burst of rage as kids argue over a toy. It's far better to ensure that tools are out of sight and out of reach.

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Like most Australian's who celebrate our special day, we'll probably do the obligatory trek to the beach.

And why not when the mercury's forecast to tip 41C (106F) - it's not like I'm going to be doing a lot of gardening today. I might even take some of my plants down for a swim just to cool off.

It's a weird celebration, really. Weird in the sense that while I guess we should feel patriotic about our nation, culturally we're apathetic and thankful for the extra day off.

Sure, we'll embellish our car with a $2 tacky Aussie flag that was made in China. We'll put away the Stella Artois and reach for a Carlton Crown, and we might even turn on the telly to see the Harbour Bridge ablaze with fireworks.

But despite the government's incessant drive to make Australia Day an art and cultural feast, unless they start doing these things at the beach - we probably won't make it.

Happy Australia Day!

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Susan Teitelbaum, assistant professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, recently completed a study looking at the effects of household pesticides on breast-cancer risk among women on Long Island.

Her research concluded that many pesticides contained DDT (or at least other carcinogens) that increased the risk of woman contracting breast cancer.

Studies had been performed before in occupational settings but it was until this research project that household gardeners were under the microscope for their use of these chemical sprays.

In this article by Christine Dellamore it was reported that there was a direct association between women using pesticides in the home and garden and an increased risk in breast cancer.

The study, published online Dec. 13 in the American Journal of Epidemiology, found an association between lifetime residential pesticide use and breast-cancer risk in a sample of 1,508 women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1996 and 1997, as compared to 1,556 random controls.

And the biggest culprits were;

In the analysis of the blood samples for organochlorine, it was interesting to find women who reported using pesticides especially for lawn and garden problems did show an increased risk for breast cancer.

It makes searching out organic remedies for pest control a little more tempting, doesn't it?

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Months and months of trying and countless applications through numerous providers and today I can finally celebrate a turning point in blogging.

It's a small step forward because it means I can now start to visit more blogs. In the past I've been accessing your blogs using dialup and due to its lack of speed have been unable to visit very many. Most of the pics that you want to show take an aeon to download and it hogs all my commenting time waiting for your pages to load.

But now I have no excuse. I'll be on your doorstep more often and enjoying more of your awesome articles.

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ONE YEAR OLD TODAY...ONE YEAR OLD TODAY...

Twelve months ago I set about delivering a brand new type of gardening blog. Full of facts, tips, ideas, inspiration and general gardening news I have tried to deliver a blog that might help benefit gardeners who are just starting out in their journey just as I did a few short years ago.

What I found though was that I met a heap of other gardeners who were also willing to share their knowledge, debate their opinions and generally show off their awesome gardens. I've been humbled by the interactivity and willingness of gardeners far superior to my talent to come and share and participate in this world known as the blogsophere.

So, after 66,774 pageviews; 43,874 visitors; 419 posts (including this one) and more than 679 comments I wanted to make my first blog birthday a celebration of your involvement. In particular I wanted to highlight those gardeners who have commented the most on my blog over the past twelve months and have compiled a list of the top 10. To you, and others who have dropped in over the year - THANK YOU!

1. Alice - A Grower's Delight (57)
2. Val - Val Has Her Say (57)
3. Kerri - Colors of the Garden (46)
4. Kim - A Study in Contrasts (33)
5. Nelumbo - The Garden Blog (of a gal growing southern) (31)
6. Annie in Austin - The Transplantable Rose (22)
7. Trey - The Blogging Nurseryman (12)
8. Carol - May Dreams Gardens (11)
9. Lisa - Millertime (9)
10. Colleen - In the Garden Online (9)
11. Corrine - Mallee Native Plants (9)

Okay...so the list was a little more than 10 - but who's counting? I've had a wonderful year despite a few setbacks (namely from my original name) and all that was associated with that dilemma.

I enjoyed starting this post (which BTW became the most commented post on my blog this year) and seeing how others responded to it.

I've made some great online friends from all over the world and I am looking forward to being part of this ongoing gardening blogosphere well into the future.

THANKS AGAIN!

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All you ladies who have been complaining of a lack of male gardening pin-ups, your wait is over. Aussie gardening icon Jamie Durie made his US debut on Oprah yesterday wooing the audience (predominantly female) and obviously making an impression on Oprah herself.

Durie starred in our own Backyard Blitz and has written a few landscaping books inlcuding Patio, The Source Book and Outdoor Kids. He's a perpetual celebrity fave and his charismatic personality has increased gardening's image to wide reaching audiences here in Oz.

It won't be the last of Durie on Oprah either. He's signed a lucrative deal as a regular renovation expert aside Nate Berkus. There is even talk that Durie may be entering into a deal with Harpo Productions for his own show in the US.

Kudos Jamie.

Link

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Irrigation for outdoor plants has been available for aeons yet to water our indoor plants we've used a jug from the kitchen, a watering can or even set up these new water bulbs.

But, there is another alternative. In this great step by step tutorial you can install your own automatic irrigation system that keeps your plants moist even when you're not around. And it only cost US$45 (A$60) to make it.

The downside of the operation is that it relies on a reservoir rather than a constant source of water but for the cost and peace of mind it seems a small price to pay.

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If your head has been in the sand recently you would have missed this article, and many like it, on the stance taken by landscape gardeners Sabrina & Todd Farber.

Their "Christian" viewpoint has permitted them the opportunity to make this comment to one of their potential clients;

I need to tell you that we cannot meet with you because we choose not to work for homosexuals.

I don't usually care about politics and people's opinions. We're entitled to enjoy both. However, when one claims to be a 'Christian' they better stand up for what Christ did and not their personal agendas.

See, the Jesus I know of in the Bible made this statement;

"Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: 'Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people--robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.' "Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, 'God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.'" Jesus commented, "This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you're going to end up flat on your face, but if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself."
(Luke 18:10-14)

Todd & Sabrina, get off your high horse and learn to love the people that Christ loved.

End of rant!

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Sure. I read the news about Heronswood closing down. Heronswood in Washington, that is. Heronswood in Australia is doing just fine, and...thanks for asking.

While I can understand the outpouring of grief that has been shared via many blogs, here, here and here, I can only empathise from a distance.

Here in Oz, we have our own Heronswood. A living, breathing heritage of horticulture found near Dromana in Victoria's south along the Mornington Peninsula.

Heronswood was first built in 1871 and has become famous for it's seed mail-order business Digger's. Clive Blazey started the company with their first catalogue released in 1978 and today is a flourishing business. They specialise in heirloom vegetables saving seed for their own use as well as passing them on via sales.

While I've never been to Heronswood (yet!) I've seen many reports on how this Australian gardening instituion operates and it is impressive. Clive and Penny Blazey, the 8th and current owners of Heronswood, have a great philosophy of gardening growing fruits and vegetables not only as a food source but also for their ornamental value. Their garden beds comprise much of this notion as limited space is granted to the most useful and productive plants.

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