Let me introduce myself ...

[Corinne]

Greetings to all,

This pup is Cleo The Provider.  Isn't she  thoughtful?

Cleo, Zoe, (the Ruler), Fritz, (the Follower), and I live in Iowa, USA, Zone 4.

I have been working on a  rock garden for some time.  I raise many plants
by seed, and lose many plants by the weather.

This is a fine group with a grand sense of humor, and curtesy prevails.

Greetings!

[Anthony Darby]

Welcome to the forum Corinne. I hope you enjoy the banter and the pics. Post away as we are all keen to see what other people grow far away from our mild wet climate. 

Per-Åke, I would also like to see a bigger picture of this beastie. We don't have mantids in Scotland, but I do hope to see some of its cousins in Mexico this summer? It looks more Orthoptera than Mantodea though.

[Paddy Tobin]

Hi Corinne,

You are very welcome to the forum. Hope you enjoy your visits and we look forward to your contributions.

One of the delights of the forum is the exchange of comments, photographs and information from across the globe, so a contributor from the USA will be a great and interesting addition.

Regarding courtesy on the forum - I think that with those cute puppies you have that you are guaranteed courtest. Woof, woof.

Paddy

[Lesley Cox]

My welcome too, to two newish members. Not sure if my own software will handle the dots and circles (Anthony?) but I'll try. Very pleased that you obviously have a nice sense of humour Per Ake. You'll never be safe again (look at poor tOOlie)! And Corinne, I'm so glad you posted a larger picture than the one in your atavar. I really thought that was some kind of a kangaroo and wondered what relevance it had to someone not in Australia. Nice dog and such a good provider as well.

[PEAK]

Hi Corinne and welcome, I can only second your opinion concerning this group! It's always interesting hearing from a gardener with a climate colder than the Swedish. Thanks for the welcome Lesley, but humour me, it must be problems with my Language BTW newer mind the dots and circles you won't see them again, afterall this is a Scottish forum.
A larger version of the green guy should be shown with this message. I am a bit embarassed here This is not a Praying Mantis but a bush-cricket the name of the species is The Spiny Devil Katydid, Panacanthus cuspidatus.
Maggi, don't you think you can put the pesticide away. I would say that by introducing one of these to your greenhouse the aphids would die either by fear or laughter

[Paddy Tobin]

Hi Peak,

Is that a real insect? It looks very plastic!

Whichever, you are very welcome to the forum and I look forward to your postings.


Any particular interest in flowers?

Paddy

[Maggi Young]

My dear Per-Åke, I don't care how many aphids the monster will eat, It is my survival I'm worried about... those legs, those spines, those antennae, those eyes , those.... whatever the heck those other bits are!! Help!
On the other hand, Ian says can you send six?!!!!

[Anthony Darby]

Not seen anything like that. Looks like a wingless female, but as well as antennae for analogue signals, it seems to have a bizarre satellite dish too!

[PEAK]

Thank you Paddy! I am quite sure that it is real, another picture of mr Green more of a portrait
http://norb.homedns.org/nwp/storycode/zoo-web/large-40.html

Anthony, if this one is not real, don't tell me. I would like to stay in my belief that something like this is actually walking out there! I have understood that when not appearing in this forum he rests in the forests of Ecuador.

My main interest is in almost all plants with bulbs, corms or caudexes. And then especially what is usually called winter growers. I grow almost all plants from seed, and I like if they have a reputation to be a challenge to grow! Of course this means that I loose many each year, but then it is just to try again with a bit different angle.
Plants I have wanted to try for a long time are the Vellozias from Brazil. I have understood that they are almost impossible to cultivate. Does anyone grow them?
http://mpeixoto.sites.uol.com.br/vellozia/vellozia-cipo1.html
http://mpeixoto.sites.uol.com.br/vellozia/vellozia-ibitipoca.html
Perhaps the green guy will eat them for breafast 

[Maggi Young]

"Spiny devil katydid (Panacanthus cuspidatus);  omnivorous; ears are located on its forelegs; Ecuador"
I rest my case!

I have never seen these Vellozia, Per-Åke. They are most unusual, but I can see that with that thick caudex they would be a nightmare to transplant etc and to keep healthy in cultivation. i wish you luck with sourcing some seed, and the rest of the task!

[Anthony Darby]

That beastie is certainly real. The Great Green Grasshopper/Bushcricket (Tettigonia viridissima) and the Wart Biter (Decticus verrucivorus) are UK equivalents, although not found far from the south coast of England. There are some rare Scottish species, such as the Bog Bushcricket (Metrioptera brachyptera). I seem to recollect that one of its remaining habitats in the Scottish Borders is scheduled to become a landfill site, after all, to quote a famous wit/2 Ronald Reagan "once you've seen one bog you've seen 'em all".

[Paddy Tobin]

What a creature!

Isn't it amazing that with all our intelligence, imagination and creativity we never produce anything as fabulous as that produced by nature itself.

Paddy

[Lesley Cox]

Yes, the green guy is amazing all right! Maggi, that "ears are located on its forelegs" says it all really, doesn't it? I see what you mean Per-Ake, by suggesting he might laugh Maggi's aphis right out of the greenhouse  . The portrait made me laugh too.

The Velloxias are thrilling as well. Some look like enormus bushy Acantholimons. What an  incredible world is out there and how little we (I) know about it.

[Lesley Cox]

What a schmuck that man was, let alone the present incumbent.

Anthony, is the UK govt not interested in saving such sites as the Borders one you mention? Here recently, where a massive coal mining company wants to mine part of the South Island's west coast, they have to locate and re-locate, at massive cost, a small population of endangered native snails before they can start operating. The snails are in very thick scrub and bush and virtually invisible so it is some task. They are working with the Dept. of Conservation and recently, we were shown pics of some of the snails living in boxes in refrigerators, awaiting their new homes nearby. Of course this was the condition put on the consent to mine. Better still, if the consent had been refused altogether. There must be a website about it somewhere. I'll see what I can find.

[Anthony Darby]

They tried Lesley, but it wasn't special enough, citing that they were only using half the habitat. The trouble is, what remains won't be enough to support a viable population.