Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, Feb. 22

Some lovely winter photos from long-time lurker Rex Nemorensis, with assists from Perfessor Squirrel and Misanthropic Humanitarian:

Not sure who to send these to but I am just happy we have some actual snow here and wish to share with those who abhor the slithy slush of Icy Hades.

The photo above, and those below, do show some appealing aspects of winter. Plus a good artistic eye.

And from somewhat warmer climes:

From 40 Miles North:

Not much blooming . . . except for the rosemary. The bees are all over it. I had been watering it, but the recent rain made the rosemary start spring early. The fig trees are already starting to wake up.

Yes, the bees love that rosemary. Though they may not have many other choices . .

I took this picture of the bougainvillea across the driveway from my apt a couple weeks ago. Yesterday was very windy so today there very few blooms left. They come back quickly so it won’t be long till beauty reigns again. Winter in Yuma, AZ.
AlmostYuman.

Edible Gardening/Putting Things By

From "A Daily Dose of History"

The Bartlett pear is the most popular variety in the United States. In Europe the Williams pear is the most popular. The varieties are, in fact, one and the same. How did that come to be?

In 1765 English schoolmaster John Stair discovered a wild pear growing near Aldermaston, a village in Berkshire. Stair planted cuttings from the tree and cultivated the variety, which he called “Stair’s pear.” He later sold cuttings to an English nurseryman named Williams, who marketed the variety as “Williams’ Bon Chretien” (Williams’s Good Christian). It became popular throughout England as the “Williams pear.”

Around 1799 Massachusetts nurseryman James Carter imported a few of the Williams pear trees and they were planted on the farm of Thomas Brewer in Roxbury. After Brewer’s death his farm was purchased by Enoch Bartlett. Unaware of the origin of the pear trees on the farm, Bartlett began marketing them as “Bartlett pears.” Not until 1828, when a shipment of Williams pears came into the U.S., was it realized that the “Bartlett pear” was in fact the “Williams pear.” But by then the Bartlett had become extremely popular and the name had stuck. And thus, it is the Barlett pear on one side of the Atlantic and the Williams pear on the other.

By the late 19th century the most commonly-grown pear on American farms was not the Bartlett, but rather the Kieffer. Peter Kieffer was a Philadelphia nurseryman who grew imported Chinese sand pears. In 1863 he discovered that one of his seedlings had an unusual foliage and he began to cultivate the variety, discovering that it was a cross between a Barlett pear and a sand pear. The large, fast-growing tree produced an excellent fruit, and Kieffer introduced it at the Philadelphia world’s fair in 1876 as the “Kieffer pear.” The Kieffer became very popular on American homesteads, particularly in the South. An excellent pear for cooking, the Kieffer also stored easily, causing it to be widely called the “Keeper pear.”

But during the second half of the 20th century the popularity of the Kieffer declined, as home canning and preserving became less common, and as consumer preferences shifted from cooked pears to raw pears. Because the Bartlett has a much softer flesh when eaten raw, it regained its place as the most popular pear variety in the United States.

One catalog in the Northwest noted that the Kieffer is easy to grow, and "best for throwing at packs of dogs."

There are many more choices now. The Kieffer, as noted above, is more suited to the South than the Bartlett - winter chill requirements and such.

And there are "strains" of the Bartlett that are sold as "Bartlett" that are not the original. This also applies big time to "Red Delicious Apples".

The walnut orchards are starting to wake up around here, too. This looks great to me:

Walnuts freshly picked from the tree are the most delicious. pic.twitter.com/gP4cEVrT5h

— The Figen (@TheFigen_) February 16, 2025

Adventure

Shelby Hamblin:

African Oryx / Gemsbok - White Sands National Park
My dad thought I was crazy when I told him I was looking for wild *African* Oryx in New Mexico, he thought I was making it up, but they were introduced by the New Mexico Game & Fish in the 1970’s and are now estimated to number around 7000 in New Mexico, Texas, and Colorado.

Did you know about these dramatic animals in the USA? Considered invasive by some, apparently.

Gardens of The Horde

Are you able to do any pest control yet?

Watch it vanish… pic.twitter.com/TEfDOBUNtG

— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) January 25, 2025

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

If you would like to send photos, stories, links, etc. for the Saturday Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, the address is:

ktinthegarden at g mail dot com

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Week in Review

What has changed since last week's thread? Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, Feb. 15

Any thoughts or questions? The almond trees have started blooming here now, a little later than those in Israel, and the beehives are set in the orchards.

I closed the comments on this post so you wouldn't get banned for commenting on a week-old post, but don't try it anyway.