ABOUT INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

hi all..nothing much to share except yesterday actually was International Women's Day..lets do some reading what exactly it was all about...

IWD is now an official holiday in Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal (for women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia. The tradition sees men honouring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother's Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.

The new millennium has witnessed a significant change and attitudinal shift in both women's and society's thoughts about women's equality and emancipation. Many from a younger generation feel that 'all the battles have been won for women' while many feminists from the 1970's know only too well the longevity and ingrained complexity of patriarchy. With more women in the boardroom, greater equality in legislative rights, and an increased critical mass of women's visibility as impressive role models in every aspect of life, one could think that women have gained true equality. The unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women's education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men.

However, great improvements have been made. We do have female astronauts and prime ministers, school girls are welcomed into university, women can work and have a family, women have real choices. And so the tone and nature of IWD has, for the past few years, moved from being a reminder about the negatives to a celebration of the positives.

Annually on 8 March, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements. A global web of rich and diverse local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women's craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more.

Many global corporations have also started to more actively support IWD by running their own internal events and through supporting external ones. For example, on 8 March search engine and media giant Google some years even changes its logo on its global search pages. Year on year IWD is certainly increasing in status. The United States even designates the whole month of March as 'Women's History Month'.

So make a difference, think globally and act locally !! Make everyday International Women's Day. Do your bit to ensure that the future for girls is bright, equal, safe and rewarding.

How To Grow Mulberry (Morus Alba)

my unripe mulberry fruits
cant wait for this mulberry to ripe
nice to do mulberry lassi wth ths fruits..very refreshing
The Mulberry Tree (Morus alba) is a handsome, deciduous (looses its leaves in the winter), shade tree. Easily grown, this tree makes an attractive, fast growing landscape tree. Here is some information on how to grow a Mulberry Tree.




The Mulberry tree has large, palmate leaves of a rich green. It grows from 30' to 40' in height with a full, wide head which makes it ideal for shade. All too often it is planted where a smaller tree is preferred and is then regularly topped. Topping is a practice that is unhealthy for the tree and shouldn't be done since it encourages long, weak, spindly growth. It is much better to grow the Mulberry where it has adequate room to grow unfettered and show off its natural beauty with little maintenance. All this chopping not only hurts the tree, but it is a regular drain on the budget!





You can find fruiting and non-fruiting Mulberry varieties. Fruiting Mulberries can be very messy dropping dark, juicy fruits and staining pavements. On the other hand, fruits are tasty and nutritious for those who are willing to crop them - assuming you get to them before all the squirrels do!




Roots of the Mulberry can become a nuisance as they can travel along the surface of the ground ready to trip up unsuspecting feet. If you plant your Mulberry with a root guard around the root ball, you can encourage the roots to go down before they spread wide and avoid the surface root problem

Read more: How to Grow a Mulberry Tree (Morus alba)

Variety of Phals

i love phals.it is cute and has a nice smell..these phals below are my new additions.but the first pic is not a phal.it was given free by the nursery owner because we sapu lots of the orchids that day.i think it was a wild orchid from our jungle.but it has a nice flower and the smell is quite pungent.

Orchids Everywhere

my mom, my sister and i went for orchids shopping frenzy at Mambau Nursery last week. My mom totally crazy about the orchids displayed. she bought almost every hybrid species till the owner of the nursery thought we were going to celebrate Chinese New Year . but we told him why not? we also malaysian and we hold on to
1malaysia concept dearly..hehehe

i dont want to talk much. and as usual dont ask me the name or id. and i also bought few pots but my first choice is alway a phals. here is the photos..hope you will enjoy it as much as i enjoy it too.

but the phals i will show to you later..:)

New Blooms

pink lotus...

yellow frangipani..nice fragrance..

bellina pink ...

bellina blue..

nice pink and purple

red beauty..

How to Grow Roses - 5 Tips to Grow Healthy Roses

There's nothing more beautiful than a rose bush covered with lush blossoms and healthy green leaves. How to grow roses without a lot of strain and effort? Follow these 4 tips and you can grow healthy roses.

Prepare the soil

If you're planting a rose bush dig a hole about 1 and half times as deep as the rose bush container and twice as wide. Add slow release fertilizer per package directions to the bottom of the hole, then a shovel full of compost, a shovel of the soil you removed and a bit more fertilizer. Remove the rose bush gently from the container and set in the hole. The soil line on the rose bush from the container should be the same as in your garden. If it's too high remove a bit more soil from the planting hole. If it's a bit too low add another shovel of soil. When it's just right, gently scratch the roots from the bottom of the root ball and around the sides. That will encourage the roots to start branching out into the new hole.

Fill the hole half way, alternating soil and compost with a sprinkle of fertilizer. Water thoroughly. When the water has been absorbed by the soil, fill the hole to the top and water again.

Refresh the soil

Dig a few inches deep around the base of your rose out to the edges of the bush. Remove about half of the soil and replace with compost, or bagged topsoil, mixed with slow release fertilizer - follow package directions. Add a layer of mulch a couple of inches deep to retain the moisture in the soil. The mulch will break down over the season and add organic matter to the soil.

Catch problems before they start

If you see aphids or other buggy creatures remove them immediately. Don't wait until you get to the nursery for bug spray. Most creatures can be washed off with a strong spray of water. Aphids can be sprayed with a mixture of ½ teaspoon dishwashing liquid to one quart of water. Spray on the aphids. If you don't have a sprayer handy use a sponge. It's messier but it works.

Look at your roses as they grow and treat problems right away. Look at the leaves for disease or brown spots. Don't get too worried if leaves are a bit yellowish-greenish or new growth is kind of reddish, that can be normal. If the veins of the leaves are dark green but the leaf itself is yellow it could be a sign of iron deficiency. That's easily treatable. If the entire leaf is yellow that could be a sign of nitrogen deficiency, again easily corrected.

Water but don't over water

Roses don't like getting their leaves wet and they don't like keeping their feet wet. Don't water on a preset schedule. Water when the top 3 or 4 inches of soil is dry, then soak the plants.

In very humid climates don't crowd your roses with other plants, it invites fungus diseases. In hot dry climates don't water everyday, plant the roses so they receive afternoon shade.

Remove spent blossoms

The only purpose of a flower is to produce seed, well at least to the plant that's the only purpose. Remove the spent blossoms and the rose will continue to bud and flower. The exception is if the rose is of a variety that only blooms once a year. In that case leave the blossoms and enjoy the display.

Follow these easy tips and you'll have no problem growing healthy roses.

Find more tips on growing roses, flowers, fruits, vegetables and trees at Easy Garden Care. Dee Power is the author of several nonfiction books. She and her daughter have created Party Ideas: Kids Read her Blog

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dee_Power

Gardening : Quick Tips and Solutions

Easy Scarecrows
When the local Goodwill has stuffed animals on sale 10/$1.00 I buy any that have real big eyes or that look like snakes. They get laid on the ground between rows or stuck onto tall sticks like comical scarecrows, to discourage coons from entering the garden. You can also cut the head off of those real large stuffed bears and put them on sticks, as well, to scare off coons. Little kids will love your garden!

Leaking Hose Pipe
Once a bed is planted up & watered in well, cover with about 1 cm of fine wood chips. When plants are established water well, if needed, then put in a 'leaking hose pipe' (made from recycled tires) in a ring about 8 cm from stems. Connect to hose & after a trial to see if the water is going exactly where needed, cover with large bark chips. This method retains moisture, reduces weeds & cuts watering to about 20 minutes every week. [Note: 'Leaking hose pipe is another term for soaker hose.]

Create a New Bed with Leaves
Start a new bed in Autumn by placing heavy cover of leaves on the spot then pin a plastic sheet over & leave until late spring. The result will be a spade deep loam easy to turn over during summer when further nutrients are applied ready for late Summer or Autumn planting.

Late Season Containers
I wanted something "Halloweeny" to put pansies in for Halloween. The local Supercenter sells jack-o-lantern trick or treat buckets for 97 cents each. I bought 2, drilled some holes in the bottom, filled them with gravel and potting soil and have great planters. I will transplant the pansies somewhere else in the garden after Halloween & clean out the buckets and save them for next year.

Cucumbers as Insect Deterrent
Put sliced cucumbers on metal trays and place them all around garden for a simple bug deterrent.

Handling Rose Prunings
I save old shower curtains for pruning roses, simply use the cutters to lay the long branches on the curtain and it drags easily to the scrap area, no more falling out of the wheel barrow.

Tomato "booties"
You know the plastic netting bags that onions come in at the grocery store? Late this summer I figured out how to use them on my tomatoes. Every time I had a tomato start to pink up this summer and I would think I was going to be picking it in a few days, the squirrels or birds got to it first. So, I took those onion bags and cut them in half, and wrapped them around my tomatoes when they started pinking up. That way, I got to eat them instead of the birds. I secured the "booties" with bread twists.

A Compost Bonus
Always have a compost heap. Not only does your garden profit but the snails & slugs prefer rotting vegetation to fresh.

Extend the Life of Your Gloves
I tend to poke through the tips of my gardening gloved after weeding with them for a few months. I found that adding splotch of Goop( available in several forms I use the household version) on the end will extend their lives. Simply clean the fingertips thoroughly,add the Goop making sure the finger tips stay separate, Let dry overnight and the gloves are good to go.

Car Protector
I recycle my old shower curtain liners to the back of my vehicle to protect it from dirt and water when buying plants.
—Guest susan chelf
Controlling Fungus Gnats
To combat fungus gnats in the house I simply use a hoover and hose to suck them up (squash them at night when they are sleepy), before they get to adult size and start to mate and lay eggs in compost. Also put sticky tape round rim of pots which acts like fly paper.

Getting Rid of Bamboo
Have you ever tried getting rid of bamboo??? I think I found something that works. Clear it all down to ground level. With a drill and a 1/4 inch blade bit, bore into the root until you hit live plant (greenish). Then put undiluted blackberry killer herbicide in the hole. I use a large syringe. None I have treated have sprouted in the last month. I am keeping my fingers crossed.


Neem Leaves
Use dried neem leaves for potted plants to keep away all types of plant pests and insects.