Good Morning Everybody! Rise and Shine with the Sun!
There is a very important place in every home-the Kitchen. In all the homes I have ever seen, there is a kitchen sink. Now this kitchen sink is the location where some of the Greatest Things about You happen. While You are doing your chores of cleaning, cooking, whatever; your mind is free for Your Thoughts.
Ideas, dreams, plans for what matters to You are free to dance in your head.
Try to build on these thoughts as you process the chores. Allow them to come in and grow!
One of the greatest home designs of all times is the window above the kitchen sink. A Window on the World. I planted a bush outside my kitchen window. An Althea Bush (also called Rose of Sharon). I invite you to come in and stand next to me at my kitchen sink and look out my window on the morning. You are welcome to do the dishes while you are here!!!!!
Enjoy my window photostudy:
Althea Shrub Landscaping Ideas
The Althea shrub is ideal if you have a sunny entranceway just begging for the right shrub.
It is popular, colorful and an excellent choice for any area. Make a spot for the beautiful Althea shrub, better known as Rose of Sharon.
With an interesting choice of colors this beautiful shrub is best known for its large showy flowers (in single or double flowering form, with solid colors or bicolors) that bloom all Summer long.
Having color choices of white, red, purple, mauve, violet, or blue, or bicolors with a different colored throat, you are sure to find the perfect variety to complement your garden.
Why The Althea Shrub?
This wonderful summer blooming shrub is a member of the amazing mallow family, an incredible group of gorgeous bloomers including hollyhocks, cotton, okra and even marsh mallows, plus the tropical hibiscus (Hibiscus sinensis).
Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) can reach a height of 8'-10' with a spread of 4'-6' making it an excellent and beautiful choice for hedges.
But don’t stop there! With its beautiful upright vase-shaped form it makes a great addition to a shrub border or your sunny garden bed.
For a cottage garden, the Althea shrub blends beautiful with daylilies, viburnum, Belinda’s dream rose, apple blossom yarrow, homestead purple verbena, rosemary, and lantana.
- It works just as well in a traditional setting with boxwood, trailing lantana, columbine, st. johns wort, lily turf, miniature petunia, mono grass, and lilies.
- This shrub looks beautiful underplanted with spring bulbs like grape hyacinth and small daffodils.
- Plant smaller shrubs and medium-sized perennials such as yarrow, daylily or salvia to hide the leggy lower trunk.
Varieties of the Althea Shrub
You may be more familiar with the traditional Rose-of-Sharon shrubs, generally in many shades of pink. But there are lots of varieties to choose from making this shrub a beautiful and very versatile choice for your garden.
Try some of these:
Try some of these:
- Aphrodite: A single, ruffled dark pink petal with a dark red eye.
- Diana: A single, ruffled pure white flower.
- Minerva: A single ruffled, lavender pink flower with a red eye.
- Helen: A single, ruffled white flower with a maroon eye.
- Blue Bird: A single lilac-blue flower with a red eye.
- Tri-Color: Double red, pale pink and blue-purple blooms on the same plant.
- Lucy: Double, red-purple flowers
Growing Conditions
The Althea shrub grows happily in full sun to part shade, doesn't fuss over soil, withstands heat and cold and tolerates drought and wind; and even transplants well.
Self sown seedlings may be a minor pain, but they are easy to pull and fun to share with other gardeners.
Since it blooms on the new wood each summer, it is easily controlled and its size can be maintained by cutting it back in late winter or early spring. You can plant the Althea any time of the year and is easily rooted from cuttings.
Since it blooms on the new wood each summer, it is easily controlled and its size can be maintained by cutting it back in late winter or early spring. You can plant the Althea any time of the year and is easily rooted from cuttings.
Pests and Diseases
One of the most common Rose of Sharon health issues is "Flower Bud Drop." Your shrub may be in bud or full bloom and then the next day the buds or flowers have fallen off. To avoid this, the soil moisture must remain constant; it can't fluctuate excessively between dry and moist.
This is why a rich, organic moisture retentive soil is recommended. To reduce evaporation and maintain a cooler soil temperature, apply a 3-inch layer of mulch under the shrub. This should curtail any future bud drop issues.
This old-fashioned shrub was common in gardens around the turn of the centrury and is coming back into vogue once again. The newer varieties have bigger blooms and longer bloom periods and as a result, are experiencing resurgence in popularity with gardeners, not to mention hummingbirds and butterflies, which find them irresistible.
http://www.northwestgardenplants.com/althea-shrub.html
Hi Everybody!! I am new on Planet Earth This Althea Bush is my Home!
| Carolina anole | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conservation status | |
 Secure (NatureServe) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Polychrotidae |
| Genus: | Anolis |
| Species: | A. carolinensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Anolis carolinensis Voigt, 1832 | |
| Subspecies | |
Anolis carolinensis carolinensis
Anolis carolinensis seminolus | |
Carolina anole
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
he Carolina anole (Anolis carolinensis) is an arboreal lizard found primarily in thesoutheastern United States and some Caribbean islands. Other common names include thegreen anole, American anole and red-throated anole. It is sometimes referred to as theAmerican chameleon due to its color-changing abilities; however, many lizards are capable of this, and anoles are not true chameleons. They are a small lizard, usually measuring 6-8in, about half of which is comprised by tail, and weighing 3–7 g (0.11–0.25 oz). Exceptionally, these anoles can measure up to 20 cm (7.9 in).
Distribution
This species is native to North America, where it is found mainly in the southeastern parts of the continent. Anoles are most abundant on the Atlantic Coastal Plains in North Carolina,South Carolina, Florida and Georgia, and the Gulf Coast in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisianaand Texas. The species has been introduced into Hawaii and the Ogasawara Islands.
[edit]Behavior
Anoles are often territorial. In fact some have even been witnessed fighting their own reflection in mirrored glass. Stress in an anole can be identified by several symptoms. These symptoms include a constant shade of brown and a persistent black semicircle behind their eyes and chronic lethargy.
Like many lizards, anoles display autotomy of the tail to escape predation.
Anoles are curious creatures. A healthy lizard usually has a good awareness of its surroundings. The males are very territorial and will fight other males to defend its territory.[4] Many times the other male will be an extremely invasive Cuban Brown Anole.
[edit]Reproduction
The typical breeding season for green anoles starts from as early as April and ends to as late as August and lasts even occasionally into September. It is during this time that the most brilliant displays of these creatures can be seen, as the males must court the females with their elaborate displays of extending their brightly colored dewlaps while bobbing up and down, almost doing a dance for her while she runs in temptation from the male. The pursuit will continue until the two successfully mate. Usually, when the female is ready to mate, she may let the male simply "catch" her and he will thus grasp a hold of a fold of her skin above her neck area, or she will bow her head before him and simply "let" him take his grasp. At this point, the male will position his tail underneath the female's near her vent and the mating ritual will take place.
After a 2–4 week span following mating, the female will lay her first clutch of eggs, usually ranging from 1–2 in the first clutch. She will continue to lay eggs during the season until a total of 10 or so eggs have been produced. When it comes time for her to lay her eggs, she will bury them in the soft soils or compost nearby, and after that she no longer takes any care for it. The egg(s) are/is left alone to incubate by the light of the sun and if successful will hatch in 30–45 or so days.
The hatchlings must fend for themselves, anoles are by nature solitary animals since birth and are not cared for by the mother or the father. The young hatchlings must be wary of other adult anoles in the area as well as larger reptiles and mammals who could eat them.
[edit]Coloration and color morphs
The typical coloration for a green anole ranges from the richest and brightest of greens to the darkest of browns, with little variation in between. The color spectrum is a resultant of three layers of pigment cells or chromatophores: the xanthophores, responsible for the yellow pigmentation;cyanophores, responsible for the blue pigmentation, and melanophores, responsible for the brown and black pigmentation when the anole is cold or stressed.[5]
There are a few exceptions which are caused when a lack in one of the pigment genesoccurs. These color mutations are also called phases. The rare blue-phased green anole lacks xanthophores which results in a blue, rather red, often baby or pastel blue, anole. These specimens have become a recent popularity in the trade market. When the anole is completely lacking xanthophores it is said to be axanthic and the animal will have a completely pastel or baby-blue hue. They are extremely rare—usually produced in 1 out of every 20,000 individual anoles in the wild. Another 'phase' is the yellow-phased green anole, which lacks cyanophores. Colonies of these rare color-phased anoles have been reported, but anoles with these color mutations rarely live for long, since the green color provides camouflage for hunting down prey as well as hiding from predators.
Turning brown indicates distress. Some catchers prefer not to catch a Carolina anole that turns brown, so as to avoid causing undue stress to the animal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_anole
Feature Presentation!!!! Just Push Play
Mating Anoles at Kates Cabin Bird Sanctuary
Mating, Just Push Play
Shedding Skin, Just Push Play
Big Anole, Just Push Play
You are not going to believe this!
Just Push Play
Of course, one more great performance
Just Push Play
O+O
hello Brenda, very nice pictures and very nice expression
ReplyDeleteHello Berat! Thank You and good to hear from you! Please extend Texas greetings to my friends in Turkey! Happy Day!
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