The Mystery of the Curled Honeysuckle (Lonicera)

I have been trying to solve this mystery for quite some time now.. my honeysuckle gets enough water and I can't spot anything on its leaves or bark which I guess rules out pests.  I'm guessing it may be some sort of nutritional deficiency but I'm not sure of how to go about sorting the problem out using organic methods... Any suggestions?! 

Ceratonia siliqua, Carob

-----   Saturday, 26th March  2011   -----

 

 -----   Friday, 4th March 2011   -----

 

The Vertical Aspect

It took me just under a couple of hours to construct the three trellises below!  I did it all myself using a brush and wood glue, a hammer and some nails.   The only help I received was Nannu cutting out the bits of wood into the right size from a strip of wood which was once part of a door.  I aim to train my climbing roses (once they grow) and my honeysuckle onto and across the structures to drape the wall with green. 

Rosa spp., Climbing Roses

Next on the list of garage constructs is a large trellis or two, to train the vertical shoots from the two climbing roses onto.   The plants in the first two pictures below were potted yesterday, in huge pots that I purchased specifically for the roses which, I was told, like deep soil.  Megan gave me this advice when I bought my first rose, shown in the third picture, and it has been doing well so far.  I have therefore applied the same principles to my two new climbing rose plants. One is supposed to have pink flowers, and the other yellow - we shall find out!  Updates with respect to my three Rosa species to be posted here in the future. 

Lilium columbianum, Tiger Lily

I am overjoyed to discover that the Lily babies I had separated last year are both sprouting healthy new shoots! :) I shall document their progress (and potential offspring) here.

For those who don't know, Lilies are bulbs that produce shoots every year.  As bulbs grow, they produce other baby bulbs that you can separate off and pot elsewhere! :)

Balsam

I received a plant raising kit from Megan as a birthday present and decided to put it to immediate use!  My first attempt features Balsam seeds (no idea what the genus and species are - must do some research) that Megan also gave me :) 

This is ideal as the only space I have to grow anything here is the roof, and as you can imagine this is a rather harsh environment for germinating seeds and seedlings.  This kit enabled me to create the perfect environment for germination in the balcony of my own bedroom (parents can't complain about me causing clutter here - and by parents I obviously mean my dad).  The balcony is great as it functions exactly like a greenhouse, trapping heat with its many glass panes.  Here is a picture of one of the first germinating Balsam seeds.  

This should be a hardy type - I do so hope it survives on the roof once it grows more!  I shall update the story as the seedlings grow :)

Bat & Bird House

The inspiration for building a bat & bird house came during my visit to the States last December.  I was familiar with the concept of bird houses but not bat houses!  My gaze fell upon its first bat house, believe it or not, in Disney World's Animal Kingdom.  I came across the idea once again only a few days later when I was back in Virginia visiting a system of caves called Grand Caverns - the little museum outside the caverns was encouraging individuals to create habitat for bats by handing out the plans for building a bat house.  A couple weeks and some research minutes later I stumbled across the idea of combining a bat and bird house in one structure, and of course I fell in love :)