You might be surprised to see the words health food in the same sentence as the words fast food and maybe you thought fast food is the ultimate sin unless you are trying to gain weight. It is possible however to include fast food in your diet, even if you are trying to eat more healthily or lose a few pounds.

Stuffing yourself with fast food three times a day is not going to shrink your waistline but having an occasional treat doesn’t do any harm, whether your preference is a hot dog, a taco or a few pieces of finger-lickin’ good fried chicken. Healthy eating is something that is always in the news these days and fast food restaurants are starting to offer healthier options and low calorie side dishes as well as the hamburgers and fried chicken.

Confusing Fast Food Options

Every day, one in four Americans will eat fast food and a lot of fast food choices pack in enough calories, fat, and sodium to provide your complete daily requirements. In addition to that, many people do not know enough about nutrition to make good choices. A green salad might look like a healthy choice but if it is smothered in high fat dressing and covered in deep fried croutons, it might contain more calories than a hamburger.

China roses are the oldest of the old roses. They are ancient hybrids raised, selected, and grown in China for many centuries. Examples are ‘Old Blush’ and ‘Slater’s Crimson’, which can be traced back at least 1,000 years. They are the result of hybridization between Rosa gigantea, Rosa chinensis and, probably, Rosa multiflora.

They are short bushes whose flowers repeat constantly: in hot climates they are ever-blooming. When they were introduced to the West and widely distributed, from about 1750 onwards, they gave rise to a European-raised clutch of hybrids which are known as China roses. Examples include Tabvier’ and ‘Hermosa’. Tea roses are similar to China roses, and share their hybrid ancestry.

No one knows the origins of the Centifolia roses, or how to define them. They certainly have similarities to the Gallica roses, and to the Damasks (see below). All we know is that they arc hybrids, and that they first occurred in the Netherlands in about 1600. They have large, globular, pink flowers, very sweetly scented. The bushes are lax, open and prickly, growing to about 1.5m (4-5ft). Good examples include (Centifolia’ itself and its sports, `Unique’ and `Spong’. Many of the other roses sometimes classed as Centifolias, including Tantin Latour’ and ‘Tour de Malakoff’, are best regarded as hybrids with China roses. While all the above old European roses are onceflowering, some of the Damasks are repeat-flowering.

Artificial plants

If you have not seen artificial plants in a few years, you might be surprised by how much they have changed for the better. Back in the day, your average artificial plant was not likely to be a very convincing decoration. Generally, they were molded out of plastic with visible seams. The texture and the look were all slightly wrong. To a very casual glance, most of them would look more or less like the real thing, but to someone who knew what they were looking for, it was obvious that the artificial tree or shrub you were looking at was a clear forgery.

Nowadays, however, artificial silk plants have changed this all. I have been a gardener for about 15 years, and sometimes I can’t tell if I am looking at an artificial plants or a real one! I don’t really know how they do it, but I have started to appreciate them much more. I didn’t like the fake look that artificial plants used to have, but now that they are more realistic, I understand the appeal.

A beautiful wrought iron weathervane is not only functional, but also decorative. Initially they were designed to determine the direction of the wind. But even though such a need is no longer necessary, wrought iron windvanes make a handsome addition to any yard and home.

The weathervane became particularly important to farmers. Men have realized for many years that wind direction was an almost certain indicator of weather patterns. So farmers relied heavily on the weathervane mounted on their outhouse roof. Many linked their livelihoods to those weathervanes. As time has gone on, the wrought iron weathervane has taken on a more creative form and purpose so that now they are sought after more for decoration then livelihood.

There functionality and eye pleasing characteristics make them versatile when it comes to placement around your home. The wrought iron weathervanes are most often given a nice black finish and are often designed to look like they are antiques. Wrought iron is much more durable; they do not corrode and are still very pleasing to the eye.

Grapes grow in a wide variety of soils but do best in sandy, highly organic soil of pH 5.5 to 7.5 that has been supplemented with compost or manure.

Heavy clay soil usually induces many leaves but relatively few, inferior grapes. Plant two-year-old vines in very early spring as soon as the ground can be worked.

A type of pruning that is especially suited to such European varieties as Black Monukka, Blackrose, Cardinal, Emperor, Muscat, Pearl of Csaba, Red Malaga, Ribier, Tokay and White Malaga, as well, as most wine grapes, is called spur pruning. Each vine is grown against a single stake, and each year the growth of the current season is cut back to two or three buds. In parts of the Southwest where there is a deficiency of zinc in the soil, daub each cut with a zinc-sulfate solution, 1 pound to a gallon of water, within two hours after pruning.

If the stems of the grapevines seem weak, feed plants in early spring with 1/4 to 1/2 pound of ammonium sulfate scattered widely beneath each vine.

A lot of people are choosing tankless water heaters rather than the traditional kind. They have the added benefit of providing a virtually endless supply of hot water. As such, they are also terrific for saving energy. That is one of the top tankless water heater advantages. After all, every little bit of energy saved helps.

The only disadvantage to purchasing tankless hot water heaters is the cost. They tend to be more expensive than traditional water heaters. However, when you consider how much energy you will save and how much money that will save you in turn, it is a very small price to pay.

There are some types which can take a while to get the water hot enough to use. However, it does depend on what kind of tankless heater you choose. There are quite a few tankless hot water heaters which do indeed provide an endless supply of hot water. One example of these are electric tankless hot water heaters. They have the added benefit of remaining turned on for quite a bit. The water thus has plenty of time to get warm.

The warm-growing orchids include the popular phalaenopsis, and ideally they should be grown at a minimum winter night temperature of 18C (64F), with a summer day maximum of 32C (90F). However, in indoor conditions, where the atmosphere is naturally drier than in a greenhouse, they seem to do well at temperatures that are closer to those of the intermediate orchids. If you are growing your orchids indoors, you can usually find various positions around the home to suit these different temperature-range plants.

In more severe cases, direct sun will burn the leaves, causing black areas where the sun’s rays have destroyed the leaf cells.

Very small greenhouses are unsuitable because the sections created will be very small and the temperatures extremely difficult to manage. Ideally, two or three small greenhouses where the various temperature-range orchids can each be given their ideal would be best, but this is rather an extravagant option for the home grower

In winter, most orchids, with the exception of the phalaenopsis and paphiopedilums, can take all the light that is available. This will ensure that sufficient ripening of the pseudo bulbs takes place, which is also an important factor in their flowering.

In countries with a temperate climate, it is safe to place those orchids that will benefit from the air outside in their pots by the end of late spring or the beginning of early summer.

By this time the danger of should be well past, and the temperature change from inside to outside let so great as to cause undue stress in a day when the weather is stormy and heavy rain or wind. Keep a close eye on the athids and note any changes that act .

Any plant that immediately loses a iot of leaves may not be well suited to lurdoor culture and would be better off back inside. Otherwise, expect lecne leaf-loss as the plants adjust to luta new environment.

Some need a lower temperature at night if they are to bloom, and may need to be brought indoors at night, where air conditioning maintains a lower temperature.

Before bringing the plants back inside, check for pests. Out-of-doors they can harbour insects, such as earwigs and woodlice, which will be out of sight beneath the leaf-bracts and will need to be searched out.

Synonym is Amaranthus spp.

Common names are Giant Taro, Giant Alocasia (Eng.); Alava, Alu (Ind.); Sente (Indon.); Birah (Mal.); Kape (Pacif. Is.); Uvea (Polyn.); Toyoeu (Braz.)

Local forms are selected for specific areas.

Center of origin and distribution is India.

Widely grown in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa; Zaire; the West Indies; and Indonesia.

White or green soko is an erect, short-lived annual herb, up to 150 cm in height. Leaves: alternate, light green, 2 cm X 6 cm; leaves on flowering shoots longer, 2 cm X 15 cm and dark green; margins at the base of the laminae recurved; some cultivars have crescent-shaped stipules in the leaf axils. Inflorescence: flowering spike pink, becoming white when seeds reach maturity. Flowers: perianth segments 5, length 6-10 mm; stamens 5 with filaments fused at the base; style 5-7 mm long and conspicuous. Seeds: small, 1 mm in diameter, biconvex, black; approximately 1000 seeds/g. Red Soko is similar in many respects to the green form, but this is generally taller, growing up to 180 cm in height, with many branches and long lateral shoots up to 150 cm long. Leaves: the young leaves, which are pink, have a prominent dark purple marking; leaves on seed-bearing plants often 28 cm X 8 cm, other leaves about 17 cm X 8 cm. Flowers: deep purple, similar to those of the green form.

To drop on a plant, remove its pot by up-turning and tapping the pot on the edge of the bench. It should slide out easily, and you should see a ball of white roots holding the compost in place. Select a new pot that is about 5cm (2in) larger to give sufficient room for another one to two years’ growth.

Any leftover pieces of less than three rood pseudobulbs will not flower for another two to three years. Because such plants may have been in their present pot for more than two years, they will be extremely potbound and difficult to remove. You can try tapping out, and running the pruning knife around the inside rim to loosen the roots, but if it is still firmly attached you may have to cut away the pot. This is often necessary with cattleyas, whose roots will adhere to the inside of the pot. Before you start, lie some newspaper on the bench and keep the plant on this.