Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Etsy Lush - The Best of Etsy

Recently I came across a web page called Etsy Lush. It is a site that showcases the best of etsy. You can submit one item from your shop every 24 hours. There are some specific criteria for submissions, ie: no political items, no items with real animal fur etc. The submission process is quite simple, kinda like a short new listing on etsy. Items accepted are displayed like a treasury on the front page which is constantly changing. If you click on the item, it will take you to that particular listing on etsy. You can go to a category and view items specific to that category. I have no idea of the effectiveness of the site, but it does provide much needed backlinks to your individual showcase listings. Thought some of you may want to check it out @  www.etsylush.com
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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Combining Two Addictions

You all know about my love of miniature gardening. Another favorite of mine are African violets.  They just add a little something special. Even when the weather is gloomy, steaming or freezing, these little suckers are blooming. Finding new colors and flower patterns is always a challenge. UNTIL NOW!!! Let me introduce you to The Violet Barn. They specialize in unusual varieties with superior blooming and growth habit.
 

African Violets: Every kind imaginable

Ma's Red RoverRob's ScrumptiouRob's BoolarooShown from left to right:
Standards.
 Grow 10-12" or more in diameter.
Miniatures.  Grow 6" or less in diameter.
Trailers.  Spreading plants. As baskets or as
     ground covers.   


They also have all sorts of  plants for the indoor garden, including MINIATURES!!! Just take a look at these lovelies. Now my two addictions are combined, miniature gardening and violets.
 
  miniature violetsThis is just a small sampling of what they offer. I just kept looking and looking and looking. These are their own hybrids. Rare colorations and varigated foliage. I THINK I'M GOING TO FAINT.....

 http://violetbarn.com/index.html

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Butterflies

I recently began following some blogs on wildlife gardening. I came across a blog that is authored by the keepers of the BioWorks Butterfly Gardens at the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, Florida. There are so many interesting facts about butterflies that I had no idea of, so I wanted to share some with you today. Butterflies each have four wings, two fore wings and two hind wings. Butterflies and moths belong to the order Lepidoptera. This name means "scale- wing" in Latin and refers to the scale cell structures found on the wings.
Scales: These tiny scales are not very noticeable to the eye when looking at a whole butterfly wing, but if the wing is touched you will find a fine colored dust left behind. That dust is actually the tiny scales that cover the wings of the insect.  In butterflies, these scales overlap in orderly rows just like shingles on a roof.  Without the support of the wing scales, butterfly wings are not as structurally sound and are more likely to break.
 These tiny wing scales plug into equally tiny sockets on the wings and are individually colored to create the incredible wing patterns.


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Special Scales: Lastly, some butterfly scales are very specialized. Androconia are a specialized scales on male butterflies that are scented to help attract mates during courtship. The tiny hairs that can be seen on a butterfly's head are actually scale that stand straight up and just look like hairs. WHO KNEW???