Reiki: Good for Plants?

I finished my Level 2 Reiki training last year, and I'm thoroughly enjoying my new practice. Reiki is a Japanese-derived (now international) form of stress reduction, healing, and relaxation. Reiki has been around for nearly a century now. It's primarily used with people and sometimes animals, in homes, clinics, and hospitals. Some practitioners have been using Reiki in their gardens, but there's been no research on plant Reiki that I can find.

Morikami Japanese Gardens, Delray Beach, Florida, MR

I'm thinking of developing a research project, as controlled as possible given that it won't be done in a lab, that looks for a possible correlation between Reiki and plant growth/ health. Tillies seem like a good choice for subjects, as they are small, portable, and don't involve dirt.

Are there any other Reiki practitioners who also garden out there who'd like to try along with me, once I develop a home-based protocol? Could be interesting!

If you're curious and want to get involved, let me know!

My Favorite Winter Ritual

One of my favorite winter pleasures is growing hyacinths in forcing vases, which used to be called "hyacinth glasses", centuries ago....

The delicate colors and intense fragrances are extraordinary, and particularly comforting in the depths of winter. Now of course, winter on my sand dune is not really too bad. In Northern Europe, though, after months of slippery ice, snow shoveling, and drear, I learned to love these flowers....

"Hyacinth in Winter", MR, 2014

The one above bloomed white, and had an intensely sweet, tropical scent, but of course I can't resist the pinks! The pinks seem to have a spicier perfume, but maybe that's just my imagination.

"Pink Hyacinth" MR, 2014

After they are done blooming, I plant them outside, and they generally keep growing. Some people throw the bulbs away, but I like to keep them, as they've given me so much happiness and beauty.

A Great Read: Victoria Padilla's "Bromeliads" (1973)

I have about a dozen wonderful tomes on mesembs and succulents in my home library. But not too many on Tillandsias. In fact, until last week, I only had one book on the subject. Now I have two. Only a scant 3 or 4 books on Tillandsias have ever been published in English, and not too many more on bromeliads in general. My local library used to have Padilla's book on their shelves. I'd checked it out, returned it, then found to my dismay that they had thrown it out. OK, it was published in 1973, but it's a brilliant book, and one of the most comprehensive on Tillies ever published in English.  So off I went in search of a used copy. After a couple of months, I found one in good condition for under $15!

Victoria Padilla's book is chock full of info on over 100 species of Tillies. The book covers all bromeliads, but the Tillandsia section is particularly rich, with historical and scientific data, and unique photos. For example, here's an astounding image of wild Tillandsia straminea growing in profusion over a vast area of Peruvian desert during the last century:

Padilla, "Bromeliads", pg.  1

That is some kinda Tilly party!  Here's the wee T. straminea in my collection:

T. straminea, MR, 2013

Anyone seriously interested in bromeliads in general and Tillandsias in particular would enjoy thumbing through this book. It's occasionally available on Amazon, ebay, and through other booksellers. Paul Isley III published the beautiful "Tillandsia II" in 2010, and I aspire to own that book someday, though it's around $100. For now, I'm thoroughly enjoying my 1970s copy of Padilla's "Bromeliads".
What Tillandsia books have you found, and in what languages?

Desert Gardening: Not Just Cactus and Succulents Anymore!

Of course, I think cacti and succulents are perfect all on their own.

The Hairy Perfection of Los Tres Amigos, MR

However, we have a planet full of people to feed, diminishing fresh water sources, and a whole lot of ocean water and desert moving in. What to do? We need a pot o' gold at the end of the rainbow, in other words, a miracle or two.

According to a recent edition of Science Insider:

A project to “green” desert areas with a mix of technologies—producing food, biofuel, clean water, energy, and salt—reached a milestone last week. A pilot plant in Qatar, built by the Sahara Forest Project (SFP) and supported by Qatari fertilizer companies Yara International and Qafco, produced  75 kilograms of vegetables per square meter in three crops annually, comparable to commercial farms in Europe, while consuming only sunlight and seawater.

In SFP’s greenhouse, fans blow hot desert air through a honeycombed curtain with salt water trickling down it to produce cool, moist conditions suitable for growing veg- etables. Some of that moisture is recaptured by condensation to provide fresh water to irrigate the plants. Similar evaporative cooling is used to grow more crops outside, such as barley and arugula, and an onsite concentrated solar power plant provides electricity for the whole facility.

That a greenhouse with just 600 square meters of growing area produced such good yields suggests that a commercial plant could do even better, says SFP chief Joakim Hauge. SFP is now engaged in studies aimed at building a 20-hectare test facility near Aqaba in Jordan.

Source:  

http://news.sciencemag.org/asiapacific/2013/11/desert-farming-experiment-yields-first-results

Of course, tackling global climate change and population pressures would render such radical farming methods unnecessary, but coping with environmenal change, and growing adequate food is imperative here and now. Seawater farming makes sense, and I hope the test facility expansion in Jordan succeeds. 

Two Friendly and Charming Cacti

Is this the Face that Launched a Thousand Ships??

Mammillaria brauneana in bloom: MR 2014

Cactus flowers in winter always make me smile. But if flowers aren't your thing, how about a distinctive hair style?

Cephalocereus senilis: "Cousin It"- MR 2014

I love Cousin It's funky side-cowlick! Which denizens of your garden are making you smile this week?

Someone's Having Fun With Tillandsias....

While researching my Tillandsia Care series, I came upon a remarkable site. (Disclosure: I have not bought anything from them, and I'm receiving nothing from them, but if I ever go to San Francisco, I will surely visit them, because they really seem to have a flair for housing Tillandsias!) Please check it out if you want some creative ideas on how to keep your airplants in a stylish manner.

http://floragrubb.com/florasblog/?p=1020&cat=4

I particularly like how some of the Tillies are housed upside down, which is exactly the way some live in nature:

Flora Grubb Gardens: Tillies Upside Down

The only caveats I have about creative decorating with Tillies is that they need to be free enough for watering fully once a week (removable or soakable in situ), they need to be situated where they have adequate (filtered bright) light, and should not be mounted on metal that contains iron, copper, or zinc, as those metals seem to be toxic on contact to them. Sealed metals seem to be fine.  I'll go into more detail later, but for now, enjoy the great ideas on Flora Grubb's blog.

Flora Grubb Gardens: Tillie Sculpture

Friday Fun: Lithops Photography

I really love having fun with photos. Especially photos of wonderful plants like Lithops. Today, as I only have a half day at work, I'm having fun with my Lithops photos...who wants to join me?
Here's the base photo:

Lithops have bold, abstract patterns all their own, so I thought I might play with these patterns a little. Here's what I came up with:

Lithops Abstract, MR, Jan 2014

I would love to see this on a fabric for pillows or table settings. I believe there is a company that does just that, I'll have to research it and perhaps order some Lithops fabric. I have it available as a print in my e-gallery at Society 6.

http://society6.com/MarlaRobb/The-Genus-Lithops_Print#1=45

Here's a closeup of an L. dorotheae:

Lithops dorotheae abstract, MR, Jan 2014

I hope many gardeners out there are having fun with photographs of their plants. Have a wonderful, creative weekend!