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A Beginner’s Guide to Perennial Gardening

Many gardeners prefer to use a mixture of plants, perhaps using shrubs as the backbone and main structure of the garden and mixing in other plants to give differing colors throughout the year. Perennials are perfect for this role, particularly as there are large numbers that like to grow in the light shade that is provided by being planted under or close to shrubs.

Although shrubs form the structure, the perennials usually provide the majority of the plants. In some cases these may be a single large clump, but drifts of the bigger plants and carpets of the lower growing ones look better than scattering the plants around at random.

What are potted perennials? It is often thought that the only place for perennials is in a large garden, but perennials are suited to all sizes of garden. They can be grown in a patio garden or even on a balcony or roof garden. As long as you are prepared to water them, they may be grown in containers, which can then be placed anywhere, including in gardens that are paved over and have no native soil at all.

What are hardy perennials? Hardy perennials, as their name implies, are those that will tolerate frost and will reappear every year. Some tender perennials may be killed by frosts, although sometimes the frost will just kill off the exposed foliage, and the plant will regenerate from the roots. Although it is mainly temperature related, hardiness can be affected by soil conditions, and often a borderline plant will be hardier in a free draining soil than in a heavy damp one.

There are more varieties of perennial plants than any other type of plant available to the gardener. Some gardeners make a virtue of this and indulge their love of plants by creating special collections. Others collect a particular specifies pinks (dianthus) or hostas, for example, pr favor broader groups – variegated plants are a very popular subject.

Perennials are not dependent on their flowers for their attractions. Many earn their keep as foliage plants, with the shapes and color providing plenty of interest. Many perennials, such as lily, are ideal for tubs. Just move into position when in flower. There are also gardeners who seek out rare and difficult to grow plants, just to rest their skills, and others who might make a collection of plants mentioned in, for example, the works of Shakespeare. The possibilities are almost endless.

About the Author

To learn more about the different types of perennial gardening and plant nursery supplies for your garden, make sure to visit http://www.plantnurserysupplies.com. Make sure to get your free catalog on gardening while you are there.

Does anyone have input to “Royal Blood Diseases”-(there’s a movie “The Madness of King George”)

When I was visiting “The States” few years back,I saw the movie (Funny enough,I never saw in UK, but on a visit to USA, I did-)-”The Madness Of King George” III”,fascinated me because I have a cousin that “Almost LOST IT completely, for it took her somewhere around 18 years suffering “unbelievable pain,Grand Mal seizures,always sick, and she looked like 90 pounds total weight-I recall visting her over “3″ dozen times in hospital-Her life plus of course the entire family’s as well!-After 18 years,the surgeons did possible torturous medical test possible-”Finially”, on a fluke, an amazing,very young Indian “Student,in med school who “suggested to his Apprentice Dr.that they rule out an extremely rare disease he read up on whilst starting his studies 1st inbefore going to USA-BINGO,at last she came up positive with Variegate Porphyria,and all said the current books show:”It is a Royal Blood Disease,1-4 people get it in USA-UK”Drs she has Royal blood??”(“title” I would’nt want)ANY input?

I remember that movie and also thought it fascinating. Another famous royal blood disease was one that affected Russia’s royal family (Czar Nicholas I think) – Hemophilia.

I found this article very interesting….

July 21, 2005 — Dead men don’t talk, but hair from a long-dead English king may prompt a rewrite of the monarch’s madness.

The dead royal is King George III. He had five major bouts of madness, and arsenic in his treatment may have made matters worse.

That’s the verdict of researchers investigating the case, more than two centuries after the king’s death. The results appear in The Lancet.

Royal Madness
King George III lived from 1738-1820. He reigned from 1760 until his death.

During that time, England had epic highs, like defeating Napoleon and spreading its empire. It also had a stunning low in losing the Revolutionary War and a constitutional crisis during one episode of the king’s madness.

King George III’s woes probably weren’t just burdens of wearing the crown. They may have stemmed from a metabolic disorder called porphyria and was aggravated by arsenic in the king’s treatment, write the researchers.

They included Professor Martin Warren, PhD, of the biosciences department at England’s University of Kent.

Strand of Evidence
Warren and colleagues tested a sample of King George III’s hair. The lock of hair had been snipped when the king died. It’s been on display at London’s Science Museum.

The hair sample was carefully treated to remove any contaminants on its surface. Next, it got a metal test.

If the king had porphyria, exposure to certain metals might have affected his health, write the researchers. The disease, which can lead to personality changes, results from abnormalities in the production of a red blood cell molecule called heme, which carries oxygen. Attacks can be triggered by exposure to various substances including chemicals.

Telltale Findings
Lead levels in the king’s hair were slightly higher than normal. That’s not surprising. Lead was used in plumbing, cooking utensils, glassware, and other items of the king’s day, write the researchers.

Arsenic levels were also high. Arsenic was part of the king’s madness treatment. It became a popular medicine in the 18th century and was widely used for syphilis and skin problems by 1785, write the researchers.

Arsenic was found all the way along the hair. That suggests that it seeped into the hair while the king was alive, write the researchers.

Still, they say it’s impossible to be certain of that, since arsenic trioxide is also used as an insecticide in preservation.

Dreadful Days at the Castle
King George III had to be tricked or forced to get his treatments, write the researchers.

They cite a note written in 1811 by Henry Halford, one of the king’s doctors:

“This has been a day of considerable excitement throughout the whole of it — His Majesty’s medicine was given to him by force at 7 o’clock and this has certainly contributed to increase his irritation and irascibility which has prevailed ever since.”

Here is some general info on Porphyria…

Disorder Subdivisions

Acute Intermittent Porphyria
Variegate Porphyria
Hereditary Coproporphyria
Protoporphyria
Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
Congenital Erythropoietic Porphyria
ALA-D Porphyria
General Discussion

Porphyria is a group of at least seven metabolic disorders that arise as a result of a malfunction in one of the eight steps in the body’s synthesis of a complex molecule called heme. Heme is essential for the transport of oxygen to cells in the body. If any step in the synthesis of heme is blocked, an intermediate chemical accumulates in the cell, resulting in oxygen depletion. Those intermediate chemicals, known as porphyrins or porphyrin precursors, are the substances of which heme is composed.

There are two general categories of porphyrias, those that affect the skin and those that affect the nervous system. The former are called cutaneous porphyrias. The latter are called acute porphyrias. Because the symptoms of the various porphyrias may resemble symptoms of other disorders, diagnosis may be difficult.

Each type of porphyria represents a deficiency of a specific enzyme needed for the synthesis of heme. Treatment is specific to the type of porphyria. The porphyrias are inherited conditions, but don’t all follow the same mode of inheritance.

Finally here is an interesting article I found just with an internet search about this disorder. Hope all this helps you!

King George III and Porphyria

Many of you have read that some historians have speculated that King George III of England suffered from porphyria, namely variegate prophyria. According to notes made by the physicians attending him at that time, he suffered similar symptoms to those seen in an acute attack of porphyria; abdominal pain, constipation, rashes, confusion and severe weakness in his limbs. They also mentioned that he had dark reddish urine during these sieges and that he was often “mad.” The royal physicians were not permitted to conduct extensive physical examinations, so they had to greatly depend on what King George told them about his condition.

On one particular occasion when he was having one of the relapses of the mental and physical symptoms, Parliament was debating his ability to maintain his position as King. Interestingly, he spontaneously recovered. Since George III ruled during the American Revolution, he was thought to have had a significant impact on Britian’s loss to the revolutionaries. His mental and physical lapses were blamed for much of the mishandling of the war. In 1811, George suffered a severe relapse and subsequently was dethroned by the Prince of Wales.

After researching the physician’s reports, Drs. Ida Macalpine and Richard Hunter proposed that King George might have had one of the acute porphyries. They published their theory in the British Medical Journal in 1966 and later wrote a book, George III and the Mad Business, which presented more detailed accounts of King George’s malady. It is important to note that a number of porphyria specialists and other physicians disagree with their theory. However, over the years it has been widely publicized.

Lemurs of Madagascar (Primates) – PREVIEW