Rainbow in paradise

100_1585.JPG
Originally uploaded by dewelch.

Our first day here in Hawaii and it is like I expected and yet not. Sort of hard to describe really. The green-ness of everything really stands out after living in Southern California for 20 year.

We were treated to this view from "The Punchbowl". You can just see Diamond Head behind the trees on the left.

Just at the end of this path, I saw my first coconut palms with fruit. So much is different here, both the flora and the fauna, and it is really an enlightening experience. Just what I need to jolt my thinking about everything.

A few more pictures are available on my Flickr account. Click the photo to link directly there.

Aloha!

Preparing your garden for a vacation and Part 2 of our birdfeeding interview

Listen to the Podcast

You can find Keri's blog, AnimalBytes at animalbytes.blogspot.com

To start to answer the question posed at the end of the interview in this episode. There is some evidence that sunflower seed hulls do suppress growth in surrounding plants.

According to the National Gardening Association web site, "Hull-less sunflower seeds are preferred because black-oil sunflower seed hulls are allelopathic; they contain a chemical that inhibits seed germination in other plants. That's why plants don't grow where sunflower hulls touch the soil."

Additional Info at HomeAndGardenSite.com, and a scientific paper, Allelopathic potential of Helianthus annuus L. (sunflower) as natural herbicide

I'll post more info as I find it.

Music: The One by The Woodshedders, aka the Hot Club of West Virginia, courtesy of the PodSafe Music Network

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I'd love to hear what's going on in your garden. Post your comments here or email them to agn@welchwrite.com.

Technorati Tags: garden, gardening, hobby, california, grow, build, make, DIY, howto, how-to, outdoors, losangeles

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Photos: Shade garden

Shade garden
Originally uploaded by croatoan_found.

Flickr User Croatoan_Found has some great gardening pictures in their account., including this nice shot of hostas in a shade garden.

Check the out by clicking on the picture or their user name in the caption.