Home/Posts Tagged ‘flowers’
Posts Tagged ‘flowers’
Videos & Documentaries, Feb 16th, 2011,
With Valentine’s Day, 2011 already on the books, we saw some recent press attention being given to the impact of the rose industry on Kenya’s ecology. The rush to buy flowers on Valentine’s Day in Europe basically sucks up huge amounts of Kenya’s water – an increasingly scarce resource in the East African nation. For more on that story see the Valentine’s Day article in the Guardian. While Europe’s flower basket is Kenya, the US mainly sources its blossoms from Colombia, though the South American country is increasing its market in Spain and the UK. From an AFP report: The…
Tags: Colombia, Europe, fair, flower farms, flowers, Kenya, roses, trade, Valentine's Day
Health, Nature, Weird Stuff, Wildlife & Flora, Jul 13th, 2010,
Did you know that the Peace Lily is actually toxic; that corn was responsible for a nasty illness which affected 3 million Americans in the early 20th century; and that although beautiful, the Water Hyacinth is actually the world’s worst aquatic weed? If not, then there’s a book you should definitely check out. Last week, I picked up a new book, called Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities, by Amy Stewart. This book teaches the reader about more than 60 plants that are deadly, illegal, painful, offensive, dangerous, intoxicating, or destructive. These are plants…
Tags: book, botanical assassins, dangerous plants, deadly plants, destructive, dinner, flowers, fruit, garden plants, harmful plants, herbs, houseplants, illegal, mistaken identity, offensive, painful, TOXIC, trees, vegetables, weeds, Wicked Plants, wild plants
Weird Stuff, Wildlife & Flora, Jul 2nd, 2010,
Are there areas in your community that are obviously lacking in plants (or green space)? Do you sometimes wish you could add more of that missing green space to your surroundings? Would you like to get your community involved, too? Then check this out: The Common Studio has developed an awesome idea known as Greenaid-Seedbomb Vending Machines. The machines are old gumball machines that are fixed up for a new purpose: the giving of seedbombs. These seedbombs are made from a mixture of clay, compost, and seeds. All it requires of you is to put some pocket change into the…
Tags: California, flowers, Go Green, Greenaid, Greenaid-Seedbomb Vending Machines, greenspace, gumball machines, Los Angeles, native species, plants, seedbombs, seeds, The Common Studio, urban greenspace
Weird Stuff, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 14th, 2010,
Here’s a little bit of fashion that’s both earthy and awesome: the Wild Clothes collection, by Beatrice Oettinger. This German artist and costume designer takes items directly from nature to make these fabulous outfits. Twigs, leaves, berries, nuts, flowers and seeds are among the many things that make up her clothes, though you certainly wouldn’t know it at first glance! If you ever wanted to plan some fairytale or faerie-themed event, one of these gowns would be perfect for the occasion. You can check out photos of the Wild Clothes collection here or visit the artist’s website here (in German)….
Tags: Beatrice Oettinger, berries, collection, costume, design, ECO, fashion, flowers, German, leaves, natures, seeds, twigs, Wild Clothes
Science & Technology, Wildlife & Flora, Jan 24th, 2010,
Flowers have been used in a number of environmental projects over the past year. Toyota created 2 new species of plants to help offset their emissions. France is planning on adding a bunch of nectar-bearing flowers along their roadsides to help honey bees. Now, there is a project turning towards a giant amongst flower-kind: the sunflower. The idea behind the Genomics of Sunflower project is the crossbreeding of a standard sunflower with the Texas Silverleaf species (one that grow up to 15 feet tall), thus creating a hybrid that will produce a vast number of edible seeds and also have…
Tags: DNA sequencing, ethanol, flowers, genome, Genomics of Sunflower, hybrid, plants, project, study, sunflowers
