Yellow Celosia

Here are our 10 yellow Celosia. We purchased them from Lowe's on May 22, 2010 for $0.99 each and planted them that same day. These pictures were taken June 5, 2010.

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I hope you like them!

Here is some more information about Celosia:
USDA ARS National Genetic Resources Program
NC State University Annual Factsheet
PROTAbase Record Display

All images Copyright 2010 All rights reserved.

Another Garden Safety Moment

Yesterday I attempted to do some gardening.  It was too hot for me.  Very upsetting!  I just had to write another post, geared towards gardening with Cystic Fibrosis.  You may or may not know, but people with Cystic Fibrosis lose a good deal of salt in their sweat.  I've never had huge problems with this throughout my life, but clearly I will have to be more safe.  Yesterday after just an hour or so out in the sun I was down for the count.  The rest of the day I had severe headaches, nausea, and other problems I won't go into here. 

A tip from the pamphlet, "Day-to-Day:  Exercise and Cystic Fibrosis" http://www.cff.org/UploadedFiles/LivingWithCF/StayingHealthy/LungHealth/Exercise/Day-to-Day-Exercise-and-CF.pdf

How’s the Weather?

With exercise, people with CF should be careful when it’s hot and humid. They don’t handle heat stress well.  More sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl-) or salt is lost in CF sweat, so drinking fluids is vital. Drink more fluids and choose fluids that maintain or replace Na+ and Cl- (electrolytes).  Many sports drinks have a certain level of electrolytes to best absorb ions and fluid from the stomach into the blood. For those with CF, the level should be slightly higher.

I didn't drink enough Gatorade.  I may need to add some more salt also.  The following quote is from the pamphlet, "Managing Cystic Fibrosis-Related Diabetes “(CFRD)” http://www.cff.org/UploadedFiles/LivingWithCF/StayingHealthy/Diet/Diabetes/CFRD-Manual-4th-edition.pdf

Salt and Other Vitamins and Minerals

Whether they have CFRD or not, people with CF lose lots of salt each day in their sweat. This salt lost needs to be replaced by using extra table salt and eating salty foods. Salt can be added while cooking or at the table.  Convenience foods (snack items, canned and packaged foods, and processed meats and cheeses), condiments (ketchup, mustard, soy sauce, pickles, olives), and restaurant and fast foods are often high in salt, or sodium. You need at least 4,000 milligrams of sodium daily. One teaspoon of salt contains about 2,300 milligrams of sodium.  Check food labels for the sodium content to help you choose high-sodium foods.
Eating many types of foods from all of the food groups each day plus taking your multi-vitamin pills will help you get all the vitamins and minerals you need. Your dietitian can tell you which multi-vitamin is right for you.

I will check to see if I still need the same amount, being post-transplant, but I will go for that goal on the gardening days at least. 

Yesterday I took a bunch of pictures of some of the plants and flowers.  I got a really great shot of the yellow Celosia.  I love them! 

More to come!

The Beginning

What to do?  It seems overwhelming to start a landscape from scratch, especially if you don't have an unlimited budget.  Gardening is something I never thought I'd do, or like.  After my lung transplant in 2003, I was heavily warned against playing in the dirt, breathing in any dirt, being exposed to sun, having plants, and basically anything required to create or maintain a yard or garden.  I'd basically put the idea out of my mind.  Still, I love flowers, I like to do physical work, I like the sun, and let's face it, I like to get dirty.  So, some six years after transplant, here I am starting a tiny flower garden, and watching it grow. 

Therefore, I will dedicate this first post to garden safety.  Safety, unfortunately, I equate with discomfort, lack of dexterity, warm wear in the already hot weather, and let's face it, looking like a dork.  Can you even have fun like that?  When does it become more of a chore and less fulfilling?  I guess the answer can only be answered by each individual.

First I visited the CDC website for their tips on garden safety:  http://www.cdc.gov/family/gardening/index.htm

They recommend:

• Safety goggles
• Study shoes
• Long pants
• Hearing protection
• Gloves
• Insect repellent
• Permethrin treated clothing
• Long sleeved shirts
• Pants tucked into your socks
• Wide brimmed hats
• Sunscreen
• Sun shades

So far I've been wearing steel toed boots, jeans, two pairs of gloves, a hat, and sunscreen.  I also added a mask and/or bandanna, since the first time I spent any significant time in the garden I think I breathed in three pounds of dirt.  I originally just wore one pair of gardening gloves, but it worried me that I was unable to clean the dirt off of my hands even with them.  So, I added a pair of vinyl gloves under them.  It is hot and yucky but I don't need my hands, often with cuts and tiny pricks of my diabetes lancets, getting an infection.  I don't have a picture yet, but will provide one soon.  I'm sure the neighbors think I'm a freak.

Coming soon:  about USDA zones, sun, soil, butterflies, seeds, bushes, my mole nemesis, etc.!