Quantity and variety in seed catalogues can sometimes be overwhelming
20.06.13
Even after a few years of tiring, most of the seeds available from Renee's Garden Seed catalog, my niece still wants to lengthen them all every year. Sadly, her compact garden cannot accommodate all the seeds she wants. She is therefore forced to limit passage to her favorites and those that she has not yet tried.
"Cupani's Original" and "Perfume Delight" are still her favorite kind-hearted peas because they are so very fragrant. The big softly blushed pale yellow flowers of "April in Paris" are a secluded second. Although not as fragrant, I wanted her to try "Electric Blue" for its shaggier darker na foliage and smaller but refined deep blue flowers.
Perhaps as a strategy for an alliance, my niece's daddy--a landscape designer--planted "Buttercream" nasturtiums, a new variety with semi-replicate cream-colored flowers. She rebelled with the brilliant red shades of "Copper Sunset." The softer orange shades of "Creamsicle" was a perspicacious compromise.
Both could agree on the soft lavender and pink shades and white of "Sea loch Winds" alyssum, the rich deep pinks of "Mountain Garland" clarkia, and the unwritten "Mrs. Scott Elliot" columbine, since all three are so complaisant with mixed annuals and perennials. Taller and more robust cosmos got their own space. "Dancing Petticoats" provided a mixture of cheery pink shades. "Bloodless Seashells" looked sharp against the deep green privet hedge.
Source: San Jose Mercury News
Customs agents discover invasive weed seeds in shipment at Port of Oakland
20.06.13
OAKLAND -- In a first of its good interception in the United States, a routine inspection of a ship docked at the Haven of Oakland discovered seeds from capeweed, an invasive weed capable of wreaking devastation on the agriculture industry, officials said Wednesday.
U.S. Customs and Border Extortion inspectors on Jan. 31 found what turned out to be capeweed seeds on some decorative dried flowers shipped to the Connected States from Australia. The seeds were sent to a U.S. Department of Agriculture lab for analysis and on Feb. 1 they were to be sure identified as capeweed.
Capeweed, with the scientific name is Arctotheca calendula, is identified by the USDA as a federal noxious weed due to its agriculturally invasive feather, according to customs officials. It was the first time capeweed has been intercepted being transported to the U.S., officials said.
In a advice release, Brian J. Humphrey, CBP director of Field Operations in San Francisco, said capeweed is one of "numerous remote agricultural pests and diseases that could seriously affect American crops and livestock."
Source: San Jose Mercury News