 | 1261.Prickly PearOne species of prickly pear was first brought to Australia with the First Fleet to help establish an industry in cochineal – the red dye used to colour the coats of the British soldiers. The dye was extracted from the cochineal beetle, which lives and feeds on prickly pear. By the late 19th century a different species of prickly pear had spread out of control in New South Wales and Queensland, and by the 1920s covered more than 25 million hectares. The spiky cactus formed dense stands that made the areas it infested nearly impossible to raise animals on, driving many farmers from their land. Various methods of chemical and physical control of the cactus were tried without much success. In 1926, the caterpillars of the Argentinian Cactoblastis moth were first released into affected areas. The moth larvae burrow into and eat the cactus, eventually killing it. Cactoblastis was a great success, and in less than 10 years after its introduction the prickly pear population had been brought largely under control. Prickly Pear is a Noxious Weed in Australia. | |
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 | 1263.Wildflower Festival 2004Colourful photos of the large variety of unique Wildflowers from the vast areas of Western Australia displayed together in the 2004 Wildflower Festival at King's Park. | |
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 | 1264.Wildflower Festival 2003A colourful display of Wildflowers in a bushland setting, plus displays of Carnivorous Plants and Dendrobium Orchids at King's Park in 2003.
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 | 1265.Garden FlowersGardening is another of my hobbies and I hope you enjoy these Flowers as they grow in my garden. | |
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 | 1266.Scenery and NatureA selection of Images photographed in Western Australia -- please enjoy! | |
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 | 1267.Channel Islands Birtday Trip 2007We celebrated both another birthday and a guy's weekend. The addition of McMurdie to the mix was a welcome change. Perhaps 2008 sees the women join the club and dive SoCal. | |
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| 1269.SamplesBrookside Gardens is a private home and spiritual retreat being developed on 17 acres of land in New Bethel Township, Rockingham County, North Carolina. Visitors are welcome. Please call or email for more information.
While flower gardens are planned, current activities include landscaping and developing trails along the stream and through the woods. Over 300 pictures are available in the other ten shared albums. | |
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| 1270.Deming Heights ParkSome "creative" photos taken one morning in Deming Heights Park in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They've had a quick prune, but I have not yet made final decisions about the ones I like best and want to keep, nor have I given any of them the PhotoShop beauty treatment. Some day, some day… | |
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 | 1272.American Greenhouses Order 4/28/07American Greenhouses (Hostagardens of Burr Ridge) (ordered 2/15/07, first order from them, * - arrived 4/28/06, ** - B/O until mid-May):
Frances Williams *
Heat Wave *
Magic Fire *
One Man's Treasure *
Katsuragawa Beni *
Yellow River *
Fern-Leaf Peony Rubra Plena (2) *
Daylily Big City Eye **
Daylily Catherine Woodbury *
Daylily Eleonore *
Daylily Dan Mahony **
Daylily MacBeth **
Daylily Light Years Away *
Daylily Sabine Baur *.
The three B/O Daylilies did not arrive by the first of June.
After sending an email the first of June they said crop failure, I have been waiting for a refund since June 5, I sent email on 6/13/07 inquiring about when to receive a refund, on 6/15/07 they sent an email saying "We'll make arrangements to have a refund issued early next week".
On 6/25/07:
I sent an email asking when the refund will be issued & I said "This is taking too long."
They replied "I'm sorry for the delay in replying to your request.
We recently had a hard drive crash & no longer have a record of this order. If you can email us copy of the order we'll be happy to issue your credit.
Fred".
I sent an email with the information about my order and I also said "I hope
we can get this taken care of today."
They replied "Thank you for sending the order copy. We'll have your refund issued this week."
On 6/25/07, I called the credit card company and they opened a dispute for the refund amount.
On 6/28/07, I received an email from PayPal saying they were notified by the credit card company of the disputed (non-refunded) amount.
The prices were low, BUT the plants were SMALL. They are growing. Single-fan Daylilies, five of six Hostas were single-eye.
Note to self, NEVER, EVER order from here again.
*Click here for American Greenhouses (HostaGardens Of Burr Ridge) Website*
*Click here for Wildrose Hostas Group* | |
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 | 1273.Lilipons GardensShots from the Lilypons safari conducted 7/14/07
Find out about other safaris at www.vasafaris.com | |
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 | 1274.Sarah's HummersThanks to my sister, Sarah and her love for hummingbirds too that I was able to capture their beauty! | |
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