Garden Tripod 7

garden tripod A Redbubble Country Gardens come grow with us Group Members Magazine

Cover Image Garden Tripod

All The Materials Contained May Not Be Reproduced, Copied, Edited, Published, Transmitted Or Uploaded In Any Way Without the artist/writers/ photographers Permission.

These Images/writings Do Not Belong To The Public Domain Any images and inforation within in the Garden Tripod magazine is the responsibility of the owner/artist/writer/photographer & not the Country Garden come grow with us group or the garden tripod magazine Country Garden come grow with us 2012

GARDEN TRIPOD A Redbubble Country Gardens come grow with us Group Members Magazine

7 Issue

Welcome to 2013 Garden Tripod Web Site www.gardentripod.com

Editor TheAgency Contributors: Cover image TheAgency News Hound Tree of life 2 by Annie Lemay Photography Feature

by Fara 2012 Poinsettia by Lois Bryan Hellebore by Wendi Donaldson Book of Threads by Kerryn Madsen-Pietsch Rainbow Connection by urmysunshine French horn. by Ellen van Deelen The Holiday Serenade by Tammara Red Petals by geoff curtis Eternally Seen by Pamela Phelps Grains by Nicole W. Hedgehog having diner by peterwig English Cottage Garden by hans p olsen Sultry by Nicole W. September by EbyArts Morning by Lois Bryan Leek & Potato Soup by Barry Norton Through the gates by vigor Palm House, Adelaide Botanic Gardens

by Graham Jones Cat's eye view. by Paul Pasco Colourful Hydrangeas by marens Magnificent Bloom of the Saguaro

by Lucinda Walter Pink Waterlily bud by Meeli Sonn Magnolia 0718 by João Castro Spring Rains & Nature by Ruth Lambert Allium ampeloprasum by Helen Lush Sunflower Sunrise by aprilann Foxglove by TheAgency Featured Featured Members: Marilyn Cornwell, Bev Woodman, João Figueiredo Vine weevils by RichardFenwick

Horticultural Segment RichardFenwick Vine Weevil Vine Weevil by Deborah Durrant weevil by XplosivBadger 2013 Snowdrop Bloom by Joy Watson Memories by Carlos Phillips After the First Frost by karina5 Up by Jess Meacham Frosty Leaves by Jurgen Dabeedin Natures Letters by jeanlphotos Bitter Sweet Night Shade by Gary Fairhead Windflower by Jacky Parker Onion seed head....no need for tears,

by Ron Summers Bees Pond Treasures ~ Part Three by artisandelimage discovering honey by Cara Johnson Honey Bee Swarm by Laurie Minor Honey Bees & Beeswax by Laurie Minor Bumbling Along by Robyn Carter Collecting Pollen by Robyn Carter Summer Bee by Robyn Carter Tri-Colored Bumblebee

by Gary Fairhead Cruel Dilemma by RC deWinter Smoke Untitled by Amanda Roberts Equine Flame by steamkitty Day Fifty-Four by Elizarose Smoke Trails 1 by Steve Purnell Abstract Colored Smoke by Mike Taylor Smoke # 1 by Dale Rockell A smokey ladder. by Nick Egglington White by Mark Williams Blue Smoke by kenelamb

Welcome new members RichardFenwick Agnes McGuinness MsSLeboeuf dsslvdgrl Melissa, Sue Ball Bob Daalder Eleanor Mann linfranca photosbytony YelenaFiske pencreations Jacki Stokes Bette Devine Frederick Jame...

Johnny Furlotte PollyBrown Helen Cherry Robyn Carter njchip123 AbigailJoy lenspiro Adam Asar James Iorfida KUJO-Photo Laurie Minor Cara Johnson Jacky Parker Kathilee Dean Prowd Pan...

Jurgen Dabeedin ElsT Michael Matthews Bill D. Bell cclaude Colin Metcalf ctheworld Eileen McVey Annie Lemay P...

Mike Finley louise linskill TranceNova NatureGreeting...

garden tripod A Redbubble Country Gardens come grow with us Group Members Magazine

Happy New Year everyone, hope all is well with you and yours.

As we are almost all still here the much publicized end of the world has not arrived .. yet !

So we have a bumper edition of the Garden Tripod for you.. Now big news ... we have another writer joining us, Richard is a tutor in horticulture, and will be writing for us each month. Also our regular office temp is still rambling for us this time we take a little look at bees. Bees are often controlled with smoke so we have selected a wonderful collection of smoke images from across the bubble.

We thought it would be fun to take a look back over all our past issues .. all six of them, they have come a long way from the first tiny one posted into the groups forum page.

The issue of art theft has been raised again, and I would like to remind you all that your images are show with your watermarks and your title and name are displayed on the same page as your image. On the little web page and face book page the Garden Tripod now has, only the cover of the magazine is shown. Due to the nature of free e-publishing the active links are unavailable at the moment. Advice of finding an image in Redbubble are at the back of the magazine.

Redbubble has a page in their support area that covers this: Theft vs Sharing ‘If you find your artwork on another site or in another location on the internet, it doesn't necessarily mean bad news. Redbubble exists as a place where you can share your art with the world and gain greater recognition and exposure for your works so we encourage and support the sharing of work if done correctly and with respect to the original artist.

If you are credited and the thumbnail image links back to your Redbubble profile, these are signs that the person who has placed your work there has done so with good intention. It's likely they are trying to give your work more exposure because they admire it. They are directing people back to the source and they're not claiming the work is their own. If you're still not comfortable with your work appearing there, then you can ask for it to be removed. Most people will be happy to oblige. Our experience has shown a polite email to the person, requesting the image is removed is usually all it takes to resolve the situation. We suggest you try this as your first course of action.

In cases where people are not crediting the original artist and where they are claiming the work as their own, we may have a more serious issue. Again, it's worth keeping in mind that the person may not be acting maliciously. In many cases we find there's a real lack of understanding when it comes to issues of both etiquette and law relating to works found online.’ Please copy the browser address to view the full page of Redbubble advice on internet theft http://support.redbubble.com/kb/advanced/is-my-art-safe-on-the-internet-2 Reflexio & Agen

Garden Tripod 6

38

8

horticultural segment

news hound

Index

11

43

The house of an artist

2013

Index

56

23

Bees

2012

Index

36 featured

65 smoke

Welcome New Members RichardFenwick

Agnes McGuinness

MsSLeboeuf

dsslvdgrl

linfranca

photosbytony

YelenaFiske

pencreations

njchip123

Adam Asar

Cara Johnson

Robyn Carter

Helen Cherry

PollyBrown

lenspiro

Eileen McVey

James Iorfida

KUJO-Photo

Jacky Parker

Kathilee

Mike Finley

louise linskill

Michael Matthews

ElsT

TranceNova

Bill D. Bell

cclaude

Colin Metcalf

ctheworld

Annie Lemay Photography

Dean Prowd Panoramic Photography

Frederick James Norman

Johnny Furlotte

Laurie Minor

Jacki Stokes

Jurgen Dabeedin

Bob Daalder

Bette Devine

Melissa, Sue Ball

Eleanor Mann

AbigailJoy

NatureGreeting Cards Šccwri

A little word from our Office News Hound Hi Folks ..

I am officially the office dog for the Garden Tripod Magazine.

I must say I am a little confused about the New Year thing !

How is it new when everything is the same as when it was old. For example, the trees I stopped at in the old year look, smell and feel the same in the new year. My dinner tastes the same as .. yes my water was a little colder. but only for a very short time, then it was the same. So what makes things new in the new year.

Well I think its all to do with numbers, we don’t write 2012 any more its 2013 .. so the number is new.

So I had to sit through tons of fireworks and shouting just because one number changed.. this realley is a mad world.

On a very sad note, I would like to leave my condolences to Tracy Faught, who has given us the very sad new of Haida, a wolf who was killed at the Haliburton Forest Wolf Center on Jan 1st.

I also hope that they get the wolves back and find and punish the people that did this.

Stay Safe Princess Summer

Garden Tripod 7 8

Tree of life 2

by Annie Lemay Photography

Garden Tripod 7 9

Feature Pullout

Garden Tripod 7 10

The House Of An Artist

by Fara

All The Materials Contained are Š Fara They May Not Be Reproduced, Copied, Edited, Published, Transmitted Or Uploaded In Any Way Without the artist/photographers Permission.

These Images Do Not Belong To The Public Domain.

Glebe House and Gallery near Letterkenny, Co Donegal

by Fara

The House Of An Artist Glebe House and Gallery near Letterkenny, County Donegal, is well worth a visit by anyone who loves art.

Near Lake Gartan, the house itself was built in 1828 and is a Regency House set in woodland gardens. It is decorated with William Morris textiles, as well as Islamic and Japanese art. Access to the house is by guided tour only. Tours are limited to 15 people and last 45 minutes. The Derek Hill collection is also housed on site and features 300 works by leading 20th Century artists like Picasso, Kokoshka as well as Irish and Italian artists. A variety of exhibitions take place in the gallery adjoining the house. Derek Hill, was the English portrait and landscape artist whose home this was until his death in July 2000.

Panasonic Lumix TZ30 Photo straight from the camera

The Hint Of A Rainbow There was a fine misty rain falling when I took this photo and if you look very very closely you can see the hint of a rainbow above the trees.

Nature at its very best and Irish gardens lush and green as they should be.

The Regency Doorway

The Regency Doorway This is the beautiful doorway of Glebe House in Donegal, the former home of the painter Derek Hill.

Born in Hampshire, son of a wealthy sugar trader, Hill first worked as a theatre designer in Leningrad in the 1930s and later as an historian. His long association with Ireland began when he visited Glenveagh Castle, County Donegal to paint the portrait of the IrishAmerican art collector, Henry McIlhenny, whose grandfather had emigrated to the US from the nearby village of Milford, and who subsequently made a fortune from his patent gas meter.

Hill began to enjoy increased success as a portrait painter from the 1960s; his subjects including many notable composers, musicians, politicians and statesmen, such as broadcaster Gay Byrne, Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek and the Prince of Wales. He was also an enthusiastic art collector and traveller, with a wide range of friends such as Bryan Guinness and Sir Isaiah Berlin.

Greta Garbo visited Hill in the 1970s, a visit which formed inspiration for Frank McGuinness’ 2010 play Greta Garbo Came to Donegal. In 1981, he donated his County Donegal home, St. Columb’s Rectory, near the village of Churchill (pronounced Church Hill), which he had owned since 1954, along with a

considerable collection including work

by Pablo Picasso, Edgar Degas, Georges Braque, Graham Sutherland and Jack Butler Yeats to the Irish State.

An exhibition of his work and personal art collection can be seen at the House and associated Glebe Gallery at Churchill, near Letterkenny. Another collection of his work is held at M o t t i s f o n t A b b e y. M a n y o f h i s landscapes portray scenes from Tory Island, where he had a painting hut for years, and started and then mentored the artists’ community there, teaching the local fishermen how to paint. This led on to the informal but busy “Tory School” of artists such as James Dixon and Anton Meehan, who found that they had the time to paint and their wild surroundings as a dramatic subject.

A Retrospective exhibition was arranged for and by him at the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1998. In 1999, he was made an honorary Irish citizen by Irish President Mary McAleese. He died at a London Hospital on 30 July 2000, aged 83, and is buried in Hampshire in the South of England with his parents.

Memorial services were held for him in Dublin at St Patrick’s Cathedral, as well as Saint James’ Church, Piccadilly, London, and his local Church of Ireland in Trentagh, Co. Donegal.

Glebe House From The Back This beautiful Regency house near Letterkenny in Donegal was the home of the English portrait and landscape painter Derek Hill. It was originally a Church Of Ireland Rectory and it was and is still known locally as St Columb’s House.

While the front of the house is elegant and understated this back entrance is particularly lovely with this red and white iron trellis work.

Located outside Letterkenny, St. Columba House and Glebe Gallery, a former Church of Ireland rectory, exhibits an impressive collection of Victorian, modern and contemporary art. The house was home to the late artist Derek Hill who lived there in the 1950s and donated the house and his collection to the Irish state in 1980. St. Columba House is furnished with period furniture with wallpaper designed by William Morris. The Derek Hill collection includes paintings by 20th century artists and ceramics by Pablo Picasso. Irish artwork is represented by paintings by Louis Le Brocquy and a series of paintings of Tory Island.

Glebe House Glebe House and Gallery near Letterkenny, Co Donegal, is well worth a visit by anyone who loves art. Near Lake Gartan, the house itself was built in 1828 and is a Regency House set in woodland gardens. It is decorated with William Morris textiles, as well as Islamic and Japanese art. . The Derek Hill collection is also housed on site and features 300 works by leading 20th Century artists like Picasso, Kokoshka as well as Irish and Italian artists. A variety of exhibitions take place in the gallery adjoining the house.

This bust is in the garden of Glebe House, the Irish home of the artist Derek Hill. It has weathered with the years and the changing seasons but the beauty of the youth still remains.

Carved Beauty

These lovely informal gardens which sweep down to the lake have a variety of beautiful mature trees and old walled areas waiting to bloom in the summer months.

Gardens Of Glebe House

About I am the grandmother of two gorgeous girls aged six and eight years. I have a keen interest in travel and photography and I hope that I will always remain teachable.

I am very new to photography but I love capturing things of beauty and having a record there to look at. I have travelled quite a lot around the Mediterranean which I just love and it has only been in the last three years that I have taken pictures. I do however live in a beautiful part of the world and much of the beauty is just a short drive away. I am delighted to have discovered Redbubble and I look forward to seeing the rest of this amazing world through the eyes of others.

When I began RBubble I was using a Panasonic Lumix TZ7 I now use a Panasonic Lumix TZ30. I am not sure whether my photographic skills have improved since joining RBubble but my enthusiasm has not waned in any way. I have made so many wonderful friends who are very generous with their time and encouragement.

I do try to reply to everyone who is kind enough to comment on my images and I am aware that I do not always acknowledge those who favourite my work, but I can assure you that it is very much appreciated.

All The Materials Contained are Š Fara They May Not Be Reproduced, Copied, Edited, Published, Transmitted Or Uploaded In Any Way Without the artist/ photographers Permission.

These Images Do Not Belong To The Public Domain.

Garden Tripod 7 34

Cover Image group image This very small first edition was posted on the 8th July 2012 It was an experiment to see if country garden come grow with us members would like their own magazine.

A magazine that could showcase their work and others from within the ‘bubble’ Redbubble had announced big changes for its lay out and with this in mind a very small and rushed magazine type page was put together and posted in the groups forum pages.

The feed back from members was amazing and with nothing more than the mac’s own version of Power Point, keynote the magazine was born.

Sadly my own mac version of indesign and illustrator had a habit of closing down just before I hit the save button.. and so I removed from my system. At this time I made a point of trying to show that you don't need expensive programs to produce good work.

The challenge was then set .. to produce a free e-magazine with out cost .. free to make .. free to view..

After having sampled many free epublications now and think we may settle with issuu, they are easy to view ..

We also have a wonderful member that has started to write a regular column for us, hedgehogs, birds and bees .. very informative and interesting We now also have a Facebook page, web page and twitter account ..

I must thank santa for the gift of the domain name www.gardentripod.com. and the lowest level of hosting at wix to allow us to used the domain name.

The web site and Facebook page will grow as the magazine grows, and the ugly subject of funding has to be looked at. Over the next few months the magazine will look for some-kind of funding to obtain a better level of web hosting and e-publication for displaying the magazine.

So if anyone one know of a company directly or indirectly connected with art and/or horticulture that would like to send some funding our way, do let me know The aim of this magazine is and has always been to be free to view and promote your images, so the wider audience the magazine can reach the more viewers you have of your work.

I hope that 2013 will see The Garden Tripod magazine gain a worldwide following.

Agen

Garden Tripod 7 35

issue

1

Now its not often that the Country Gardens come grow with us group give out featured members badges So it is with great pride that we award three members with a badge for the outstanding help and time spent creating the past Three Garden Tripod pull out features..

Marilyn Cornwell

Bev Woodman

Garden Tripod 7 36

Jo達o Figueiredo

The Garden Tripod Magazine is delighted to welcome Richard Fenwick a new writer within our magazine who is based in England and is a lecturer in Horticulture at Bishop Burton College.

He is also a member of Redbubble, and happy to answer any questions via Bmail or in the Horticultural Help forum page within the Country Gardens come grow with us group

Garden Tripod 7 37

RichardFenwick lecturer in Horticulture at Bishop Burton College.

Hello, May I introduce myself; I am Richard Fenwick, lecturer in Horticulture at Bishop Burton College.

The Garden Tripod magazine has kindly given me a monthly segment to converse in the diverse subject of horticulture.

In the forthcoming months we will be discussing a wide range of topics including; Common pests, diseases and disorders – how to identify them, looking at their life cycle and finally their elimination either by chemical or non-chemical means.

At a later date we will also cover plant propagation, low/high tech methods, correct time of year and the achievement of good rooting percentages.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions/comments.

Richard Â

Garden Tripod 7 38

Overview A former student of Askham Bryan College, Richard graduated in 2000 and specialized in Micropropagation Research & Development.

He was awarded a DTI Smart Award for Innovation in 2002, which enabled the development of a weed suppressant gel, a non-toxic, biodegradable product designed for professional use in container-grown shrubs.

Licensing this product in 2008 allowed Richard to build upon his business portfolio and aid the re-entry into the lecturing circuit.

Previous positions have also included; six years at ‘Vertigrow Plant Nursery’ as a plant advisor, Micropropagation technician at Askham Bryan College & ‘Woodland Barn Nurseries’ growing rare plant species and team leader at ‘Country Gardens’ a landscaping/maintenance company.

Richard Fenwick, lecturer in Horticulture Bishop Burton College.

Garden Tripod 7 39

Adult Lavae

Otiorhynchus sulcatus From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Please Note: Views, comments are my own and any products discussed in this article are not endorsed by myself or Garden Tripod Magazine.

Article produced by Richard Fenwick Horticulture Course Manager & Lecturer

Garden Tripod 7 40

Pest Infestations Otiorhynchus sulcatus Vine Weevil Description:

Reproduction:

Adult

Vine Weevils reproduce parthenogenetically therefore most adults are female and produce up to 1500 eggs in soil or compost over a 4 month period. The eggs develop into larvae after a 2 weeks, feed for 2-3 months [overwinter] and then pupate.

Adult Vine Weevil are approx 10mm they produce damage to leaves and shoots with irregular notches and holes.

Most susceptible to damage being woodland trees and shrubs e.g. Rhododendron, Hydrangea, Daphne, Camellias.

Adults are very rarely seen as they are nocturnal, unable to fly but are great crawlers. They can easily enter a glasshouse or home by edging through doors or ventilation ducts.

I did once find an adult running across my Micropropagation lab in the depths of winter looking for food; he is now forever persevered in alcohol as a specimen for my students.

Larvae Legless, creamy white larvae which are approx 5-12mm long.

Larvae cause the most damage feeding on roots, corms and tubers of many container grown plants e.g. Ferns, Cyclamen, Primulas, Begonias, This destruction to the roots reduces plant growth and vigour.

In some cases it can lead to sudden wilting/collapse of the shoots and leaves.

Prevention & Control: Quarantine any new plants that you purchase or are given for a period of 2-3 weeks observing any signs of damage.

Daily or weekly monitoring of planters, potted shrubs or trees.

If you suspect Vine Weevil wash away soil/compost from the roots this should expose any larvae and re-pot with fresh compost.

This procedure gives good results but only on a small scale, 1 or 2 pots.

On the nursery we previously used Suscon-Green, a soil insecticide but this was withdrawn in 2011 while it was revised by a new regulatory system.

We then changed over to Met52, a biopesticide based on a fungus Metarhizium anisopliase var anisopliae, this provides prolonged control of vine weevil larvae for up to two years.

Garden Tripod 7 41

Traditional Treatment: A traditional treatment [which you still come across] was to mix in gamma HCH dust to the top layer of the soil or compost, this worked for a number of years but with some immunity.

Within the home, one method would be a systemic drench containing Thiacloprid poured over the infected plants.

This could be a product like Provado.

Biological Control Alternatively use a biological control - Nematodes [Steinernema kraussei] This can be used at any time of year providing the temperature is in excess of 5ยบC It is important to remember that Nematodes will kill grubs, but have no effect on the adults or eggs.

Richard Fenwick, lecturer in Horticulture Bishop Burton College.

Vine Weevil

by Deborah Durrant

weevil

by XplosivBadger

Garden Tripod 7 42

2013 Garden Tripod 7 43

Snowdrop Bloom by Joy Watson Garden Tripod 7 44

I think back with fondness to my memories of the past. As a young boy, I recall the crunch underneath the soles of my shoes as I walked across the twinkling snow formed blanket of white in the darkened sky. Then I remember, as a teenager, the light drizzle of rain as I read a favorite book by a slightly opened window. As an adult I think long and hard to remember recent times of joy. My mind comes up empty yet again, so I turn to my memories of long ago.

Garden Tripod 7 45

Memories

by Carlos Phillips

Up by Jess Meacham Garden Tripod 7 46

Frosty Leaves by Jurgen Dabeedin Garden Tripod 7 47

Windflower by Jacky Parker Garden Tripod 7 54

Natures Letters by jeanlphotos Garden Tripod 7 55

Pond Treasures ~ Part Three by artisandelimage Garden Tripod 7 56

Tri-Colored Bumblebee by Gary Fairhead Garden Tripod 7 57

Ramblings from the Office Temp ~ Bee trouble!

Did you hear that buzzing? Chances are, it’s not the bees, because bees aren’t doing so well.

For the last 6 years or so, scientists from all over the world are trying to determine the cause of bees dying by the thousands, all over the world, specifically honeybees. What the fuss is all about should be clear to everyone….without bees there’s no honey, no flowers in your beautiful garden, but slightly more important…no fruits and no vegetables.

NGC did a special about this, showing parts of China where people had to pollinate their very special pear trees by hand, because there are no bees to do it anymore. In California, they couldn’t find enough hives to pollinate the almond trees. Beekeepers complain about bees leaving the hive in the morning, only to never return. Science has put a name to that: “colony collapse disorder”. They fly off and just die.

This is not the first thing you think about when you relax in your garden, enjoying the sound of buzzing around you, but maybe it should be. There is something we all can do to help.

Even if you don’t like bees, remember they are responsible for roughly 1/3 of your daily food, and not to mention a significant part of the insect photo`s on RB. Let’s not just leave it to the various governments and scientists to solve this, because it’s been 6 years and they don’t have a solution yet. Let’s do our part.

What causes the dying of bees? According to the scientists, there are several combined causes: parasites, viruses, bacteria, poor nutrition and pesticides.

Well, some of them are beyond our capabilities to change, and some you have already changed after my article about hedgehogs, explaining the dangers of using pesticides in your garden for the hedgehogs and birds. We can add bees to that now. So none of you are still using poisons in their gardens, because you are all too smart for that. Still, they have found 121 different pesticides in the pollen collected by bees, causing them to die.

Garden Tripod 7 58

So I can’t stress enough, please turn to natural ways to deal with pests in your garden. I’ve got an example for you: Three years ago I saw two different kinds of mites on my chickens. The chickens started to lose their feathers and kept scratching themselves. I had seen them before, many times, and used to kill the mite with poison. But obviously, that treatment didn’t last long, as the mites were back. So I turned to other ways, and bought predatory mite from a company specialized in dealing with pests in natural ways. The predatory mite eats the mite and is not interested in chickens at all. Two weeks later, the problem was solved completely and I have never seen a mite pestering my chickens ever again.

A few other good things about it: the predatory mite cost me about $20, the poison had cost me hundreds over the years, and I had to spray the poison into the henhouse, getting the mites on me (GROSS!), and I tried to not breath in the poison but …well…I have to breath sometimes. Also I didn’t have to close down the henhouse for 3 weeks while the poison did its work, I just placed the predatory mites in the henhouse and I was done. So there really is no excuse for using poison in your garden.

That leaves poor nutrition as another thing that we can help with. As I wandered around in the nearby garden store, I noticed they had put tags on several plants, telling me they were good for attracting butterflies. That means….in most cases….they attract bees as well, because these plants deliver pollen. These pollinator plants are vital for both butterflies and bees.

So go ahead, plant a few, take good care of them and you will be rewarded with lots of flowers and lots of buzzing.

There are two more things we can do.

Winter is a hard time for all of us, but while you and your warm winter-coat cuddle up, the wild bees have nothing but a hole in the ground to survive.

I’m not asking you to start knitting tiny little sweaters, I’m asking you to give them the opportunity to keep that hole. Don’t burry them in your overactive need to have an extremely neath garden, leave just a little mess for the wild bees. In addition to that you can built or buy insect houses. Google for more information please, it helps them survive the harsh temperatures and the moist. This can help reduce the natural fatalities winter usually causes, so more bees will survive. One saved bee can mean a growth of a few thousand.

And last but not least….don’t squash the bees.

I know I know…some people are scared of them, usually they are confused with wasps which can cause lots of pain by stinging. So check before you squash! If you think it’s a bee hunting you, RUN. Especially when you are allergic. Find water to jump in, find a herd of bee-eating birds, do anything you have to do to get rid of it, but try not to kill a bee. Unless it’s a matter of kill or be killed, then by all means, go ahead and hit hard.

It may sound a bit extreme, but there’s no denying there is a huge problem, and although its been going on for many years, many people don’t even know it is there. Now you do, and I hope you will help.

Ramblings from the Office Temp

Garden Tripod 7 59

discovering honey by Cara Johnson Garden Tripod 7 60

Approx. 20,000 honey bees formed this swarm on a lilac bush. The scouts must be extremely intelligent as the swarm was well camouflaged among the old lilac blooms - These bees are the only ones remaining after the queen bee & a swarm left the lilac branch for another location. The bits of white on the branch and leaves are beeswax deposited when the swarm had begun to build a hive - A colony of honey bees has 50-60,000 bees.

- A single bee colony can produce 100 pounds of extra honey.

- Crops rely on bee pollination, particularly: apple, buckwheat, cucumber, mango, raspberry, blueberry, canola, cantaloupe, pumpkin, watermelon, kiwi

Honey Bee Swarm Honey Bees & Beeswax

by Laurie Minor Garden Tripod 7 61

Collecting Pollen Summer Bee by Robyn Carter

Garden Tripod 7 62

Bumbling Along by Robyn Carter

Garden Tripod 7 63

Cruel Dilemma I was a rose so near to bloom after a harsh and endless winter, a season so prolonged it seemed I’d never feel the sun’s embrace again.

And then it shone – so sudden, steady, hot – and kissed my withered petals all along their frosted tips.

With this bright promise I awoke from my dark dreaming, gratefully unfurling all my hidden summer hues.

Yes, I was impatient for that gold atomic kiss, and for awhile blossomed in the sure caress of sunlight, drinking all the welcome heat deep into my hungry heart.

Luxuriant, I glowed, vain and unguarded, having quenched all memory of winter’s blight.

But surely as the day melts into midnight, the sun again withdrew to clouded sleep.

I, unaccustomed now to grey enshroudment, withered utterly and quickly from the lack.

A new year comes, following in steady course the wheel of time; and though the season’s wrong I feel once again the sun’s caress.

Shall I abandon my tight folds for hazy token, soft unfolding to what may be smoke, or keep myself enwrapped as close I can from what may be another bitter blight?

Can I withstand the season’s cruel blows?

Will I survive a thousand winter snows? © 2013 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Cruel Dilemma by RC deWinter Garden Tripod 7 64

SMOKE a visible suspension of carbon or other particles in air, typically one emitted from a burning substance:

Garden Tripod 7 65

Untitled by Amanda Roberts

Garden Tripod 7 66

Equine Flame by steamkitty

Garden Tripod 7 67

Smoke # 1 by Dale Rockell

Garden Tripod 7 68

Day Fifty-Four by Elizarose

Garden Tripod 7 69

A smokey ladder. by Nick Egglington

Garden Tripod 7 70

Smoke Trails 1 by Steve Purnell

Garden Tripod 7 71

White by Mark Williams

Garden Tripod 7 72

Abstract Colored Smoke by Mike Taylor

Garden Tripod 7 73

How to find your favorite Garden Tripod image in RedBubble First find the image in the Garden Tripod Magazine Then locate the title and artist name leckmelm arboretum, Ullapool by TheAgency

Log into RedBubble and in the search box just type the title of the image

click the magnifying glass and it will take you to the image

click the image and it will take you to the artist page that the image is on

Or just Bmail agen who will be happy to send you a link

All The Materials Contained May Not Be Reproduced, Copied, Edited, Published, Transmitted Or Uploaded In Any Way Without the artist/writers/photographers Permission.

These Images/writings Do Not Belong To The Public Domain Any images and inforation within in the Garden Tripod magazine is the responsibility of the owner/artist/writer/photographer & not the Country Garden come grow with us group or the garden tripod magazine Country Garden come grow with us 2012