Comments on: The Triffid

By: Ben

Ben — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 21:56:45 +0000

Get rid of it and plant something nicer. You can ask the people at Native Seeds on 4th Av. Or plant bougainvillea – it’s not native to the Sonoran desert, but it grows well, likes a lot of sun, doesn’t need much water, provides some shade, and is attractive, unlike triffids. I have some alongside my house in Tucson and it does very well. It looked dead after the winter frost, but after being cut back to the roots, is now growing back very enthusiastically.

By: J Thomas

J Thomas — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 20:20:36 +0000

I’d guess that even in Tucson A/C units dribble a little condensation.

In fact, given the swamp coolers that add vital humidity, it’s more accurate to say “especially in Tucson.”

If the roots can find a leaky water pipe, or even better a leaky sewer pipe, the tree can grow very, very fast. It will of course do its best to force more roots deeper into the pipe until it starts to clog it.

By: nick s

nick s — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 17:13:05 +0000

In the U.S., the whole bit of property behind your house is the back yard. And since it hasn't been clarified, the British 'yard' (esp. back yard) is an area without planted greenery of any kind.

By: mds

mds — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 16:16:57 +0000

Or were weeds, like Guinea worms, GM’d by Satan after the fall?

This is a bit of a clichéd observation, but “GM’d by Satan” belongs on a T-shirt.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 13:49:21 +0000

Day of the Triffids gave me my only repeating nightmares as a kid. No chainsaws, it will kill you! Shhhhhh….

By: tony

tony — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 01:18:12 +0000

i am surprised i am the only one who knows this: if you pluck out the golden flower from the green cup, you can suck out a drop of sweet nectar from the bottom of the flower. one drop per flower.

By: Linkmeister

Linkmeister — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 00:28:33 +0000

I was wishing Google had an image match search just this weekend for a similar problem. I can imagine how difficult it would be to write something like that, but boy howdy would it be useful.

Ours turned out to be an African tulip (we think; tree guy is coming tomorrow to confirm).

By: a

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:22:03 +0000

Maybe you should climb it, retrieve the hen which lays golden eggs, and kill the giant before you cut it down?

By: James Wimberley

James Wimberley — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:38:02 +0000

What’s the creationist take on weeds? Did Nicotiana Glauca etc flourish in the Garden (paradise) of Eden, and if so what kept them under control? Or were weeds, like Guinea worms, GM’d by Satan after the fall?

By: Kieran Healy

Kieran Healy — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:13:54 +0000

“it always amazes me that established bloggers don’t use google to answer inuitively obvious posed questions – yours: “plants of tucson” + images

You try that (as I in fact did) and see how many pictures you get. If you already know what it is, there’s no problem. But otherwise, no.

You’ve done an great job adapting to Tucson. That’s a superb example of trash talk about the Valley.

Yeah, I couldn’t resist.

By: mds

mds — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 13:27:38 +0000

it disturbs me that anything so ugly could grow quite so big, quite so fast. (I feel the same way about Phoenix.)

You’ve done an great job adapting to Tucson. That’s a superb example of trash talk about the Valley.

I’d guess that even in Tucson A/C units dribble a little condensation.

In fact, given the swamp coolers that add vital humidity, it’s more accurate to say “especially in Tucson.” And hasn’t there been a bit more rain than usual down that way? I’m surprised that southeastern Arizona isn’t engulfed in swiftly-growing mutant plants.

By: SamChevre

SamChevre — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 13:17:38 +0000

And what “yard” means varies from place to place withing the US too. To me, a yard has a fence around it—so people wuite often have a lawn, only part of which is a yard. Of course, older people have “yards” that are just bare, swept dirt.

By: aaron

aaron — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 13:12:08 +0000

Smoke it?

By: mollymooly

mollymooly — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 12:59:29 +0000

#26.1: the measure of success as a blogger is that it’s quicker to ask a question on your blog and wait for your devoted readership to answer than to do the do the tiresome googling yourself.

#1, 6, 20, 22, 33: the garden/yard thing definitely calls for some Venn diagrams.

In the US, is the lawn really not part of the garden? And the rock garden is not part of the garden but the vegetable garden is? Weird. What about the swimming pool?
Then, in the UK, is the drive part of the front garden? What if you pave over the entire front garden: is it still the garden? If you move into a newly-built house without landscaping and show guests the brown patch out back, do you say “that’s the garden”, or “that’s where the garden will be”? Is the patio in the garden or of the garden?
And is a garden gnome the same as a lawn elf?

By: Chris Bertram

Chris Bertram — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 10:04:40 +0000

Had a similar experience with solanum crispum , another South American climber. Bits of it are still hanging off the upper storey of my house because I don’t have a ladder long enough.