Alpine strawberries cause confusion, as sometimes they’re considered wild, and sometimes they’re not. They’re generally of the genus Fragaria vesca, which grows wild in northern Europe. They can be both red or white.
If you do a search online for white strawberries you will likely get a lot of results. Many will have pictures of pure white berries. They are found in seed catalogs, I have never found these in any greenhouse. They are called pineberries. Some of those offering plants and seeds of these berries are calling them alpine strawberries. There is considerable misinformation about white strawberries in general.
White alpine strawberries are varied. These are called “Pineapple Crush” and are grown in a 12″ pot from seed.
Over the past ten years or so, water fountains have almost become a craze. More indoor and outdoor water fountain models are available in more choices of styles, sizes, colors, and materials than ever before! Office desks may sport miniature water fountains, logo water fountains are used for corporate signage; hospitals and dental offices use water features to calm visitors; outdoor water fountains are increasingly called for in residential developments, parks, even children’s playgrounds. Municipalities are incorporating water fountains in high-traffic locations.
Everyone loves water fountains! Why?
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We live in an increasingly stressful world…the sound of water flowing from a water fountain has a magically relaxing effect. Imagine yourself at the ocean, or by a babbling brook, and you may start to unwind… Ambient noise–traffic sounds, sounds of appliances, televisions–all take their toll on our nerves, sometimes without our realizing what’s going on.
How about the sound of water? That question can only be answered subjectively. In general, water fountain sound will be influenced the materials used in making the fountain, the size of the water fountain, the height from which the water falls, and the number of surfaces to which the water falls. External ambient qualities will also come into play…is the location for the fountain very “live” acoustically, i.e. do sounds bounce off the surfaces and echo, or does the space muffle sounds…with acoustic design elements, or just lots of carpets, soft furniture, and the like? How loud are the sounds that the fountain will be used to mask? You can see that the criteria are numerous to determine a fountain’s sound.
Of course, water fountains also disperse more water into the air, and we all know how much better our skin feels in a room with the appropriate humidity level than in a dried-out environment. Negative ions are produced by falling water…and they have a calming and cleansing effect…notice how clean the air smells after a thunderstorm! A water fountain will have a similar effect.
My okra plants are producing
now! Grown from seed started indoors in April.
It was first cultivated
in Ethiopia. Records of its cultivation in ancient Egypt date to over 3000
years ago! In the following centuries was spread throughout Africa,
the Middle East, and Asia. Okra was first brought to the Caribbean and
Southern United States by the slave trade sometime in the 1600s.
It’s a member of the mallow family, related to plans like
hibiscus, cotton, and hollyhock. Though it does well in hot climates and will
tolerate drought, okra performs best in rich, moist soil.
There are many okra
recipes including many kinds of gumbo. I slice the pods and fry them along with
summer squash.
