What's it All About?

Well, it's about as much of My Family, My Friends, My Life and its Events, as I can recall and cram in . . . .
On this website I introduce myself, 'The Toynes', my family and their lives, as well as my life and our photographs from more than 70 years - 40 of them hiding in the shrubbery . . .

 

FIRST: A Whole Life

The Toynes, My Life, My Family and Our Travels - That's a 'Me & Mine' click.

 

THEN: A Life in Horticulture

Gardens, Plants, Techniques, Styles, Features, Wildlife - Good & Bad -  and Ideas . . . this is where you'll find my latest photos to look at and use. Yes, USE!


I look forward to reading your comments in the 'About You' (that's 'you' NOT me!) and 'Get In Touch' Sections!

Visitors to this Toyne Website

Thanks for Visiting Folks! How's about telling us something about your life in the 'About You' Section or leaving a message in 'Get In Touch'?

Have a Look at the Toyne Family Tree:

Click on this logo for our Branch of 'The Toyne Family Tree'

For several years I have been putting together a Family Tree for our Branch of the Toynes in Lincolnshire and elsewhere in the world (I have two children and further offspring in Australia and Glenna has umpteen cousins in America) - However, I must admit to being neither very good nor very consistent in my efforts and have resolved to look elsewhere for information and history than just the Web! Time permitting, I'll put this into practice soon . . . 

 

Recommend this page on:

'Home Made' Photographs of 'Most' Plant Types . . .

Gardens, Plants, Techniques, Styles, Features, Wildlife - Good & Bad -  and Ideas . . . this is where you'll find my latest photos and to look at use. I look forward to reading your comments in the 'About You' and 'Get In Touch' Sections!

Geranium phaeum 'Album' - Hardy Woodland Plant

Herbaceous Plants
Plants that live for more than two years (Perennials) and die down for winter but are not woody (i.e. not Trees &/or Shrubs)

Annuals & Biennials

The Corm. Gladiolus murielae
The Rhizome, Iris pseudacorus - The Yellow Flag
The Bulb, Fritillaria imperialis 'Aurora' - (Crown Imperial)

Bulbs, Corms and Rhizomes are all forms of modified plant stems - mostly herbaceous plants and virtually all from the Monocotyledons, plants that have only one seed leaf (cotyledon), like grasses, bananas and orchids. On the left is the bulb, Fritillaria imperialis 'Aurora', the Crown Imperial. There are examples of Corms and Rhizomes above.

Tubers on the other hand are either modified stems (potato) or modified roots, (Dahlia). They belong to the largest plant group the broad-leaved plants with two seed-leaves, the Dicotyledons, and are included in the next section

Dahlia hybrid, 'Bishop of Llandaff'

Tubers 

Stem Tuber:  Stem tubers generally start off as enlargements of the hypocotyl section of a seedling but also sometimes include the first node or two of the epicotyl and the upper section of the root. The stem tuber has a vertical orientation with one or a few vegetative buds on the top and fibrous roots produced on the bottom from a basal section, typically the stem tuber has an oblong rounded shape. 

Tuberous Begonia and Cyclamen are commonly grown stem tubers. Mignonette vine (Anredera cordifolia) produces aerial stem tubers on 12-to-25-foot-tall (3.7 to 7.6 m) vines, the tubers fall to the ground and grow. Plectranthus esculentus of the mint family Lamiaceae, produces tuberous underground organs from the base of the stem, weighing up to 1.8 kg per tuber, forming from axillary buds producing short stolons that grow into tubers.[2] 

Root Tuber: A tuberous root or storage root, is a modified lateral root, enlarged to function as a storage organ. The enlarged area of the root-tuber, or storage root, can be produced at the end or middle of a root or involve the entire root. It is thus different in origin but similar in function and appearance to a stem tuber. Examples of plants with notable tuberous roots include Dahlia, Cassava, Yam and the Sweet Potato, Ipomoea batatas, - which is where we get our name 'potato' from, even though it is a completely different family of plants. The Sweet Potato (photo below) is in the Convolvulaceae, the Bindweed or Morning Glory Family, and our Potato, Solanum tuberosum, is in the Solanaceae, the Tomato, Petunia and Deadly Nightshade Family! 

Ipomoea batatas - Sweet Potato root tubers