For thousands of years people have used flowers to communicate and author Sally Coulthard’s book, Floriography, delves into the ways different cultures and societies have used flowers to convey meaning and express emotion through the centuries. Shes explores history, literature and legend to shed light on the symbolic meaning of various plants that fascinated the people in both the Victorian era and modern times. Covering 50 plants, Coulthard, includes many old time favorites like daffodils and carnations while introducing the reader to less well known plants such as rue and mugwort.
Have you ever found an abundance of produce in your garden and are still figuring out what to do with it all? Storing and preserving your garden harvest is a great way to enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of your labor long after the growing season has ended.
Here are some pointers on storing and preserving your garden harvest to ensure your hard work doesn’t go to waste.
Also known as greasewood, this evergreen spreading or prostrate shrub is native to California and Baja California and is the most abundant species in the California chaparral. It is a member of the rose family, Rosaceae, that also includes cherry, lady’s mantle, and goat’s beard. The plant grows up to 12′ tall and has a wide spreading deep root system with a root crown called a basal burl that facilitates resprouting after fire. The long arching stems that arise from the burl are resinous and oily and have reddish bark when young but gray exfoliating bark with maturity. The olive-green, needle-like leaves are .2-.4″ long and are in clusters spirally arranged on the stems and branches. In spring and summer terminal elongated clusters of flowers appear. The clusters may be up to 5″ long and are composed of small, white tubular flowers with 10-15 long stamens and 5 petals that remain on the fruit (an achene) as it matures, turning rusty brown in color. The resinous substance in the leaves burns rapidly when ignited but the plant resprouts quickly after a fire. The plant is very tolerant of drought, heat, and lean soil, and provides food and cover for reptiles, birds, and mammals. It is useful for xeriscaping and can be used as a wind break or screen and for erosion control. The prostrate variety is valued as a ground cover. The genus name, Adenostoma, comes from the Greek words aden, meaning gland, and stoma, meaning mouth, and refers to a gland at the mouth of the calyx. The specific epithet, fasciculatum, is from the Latin word, fasisculus, meaning small bundle, and refers to the clusters of leaves. Photo Credit Wikimedia Commons
The root beer made famous by the A&W Restaurants, is a non-alcholic, caffeine free, sweet, carbonated soft drink made using the root bark of the sassafras tree . A similar drink that tastes like root beer is made of the smilax vine, known as sarsaparilla. The main modern ingredients include filtered water, sugar, and safrole-free sassafras extract with added flavoring such as vanilla, caramel, wintergreen, black cherry, and licorice. My paternal grandmother, Helen S. Wright, included a recipe for root beer in her book, Old Time Recipes for Home Made Wines, published in 1909. The recipe includes a brief fermentation time so was probably slightly alcoholic. Photo Credit Wikipedia
Also known as San Luis purple sage and gray sage, this semi-deciduous shrub is native to coastal Southern California and Baja California where it grows on dry open hillsides. It is a member of the deadnettle family, Lamiaceae, that also includes mint, coleus, and beebalm. The plant grows 2-5′ tall and has arching branches bearing puckered, gray-green leaves that are 3/4 to 3″ long. Both leaves and stems are covered with fine soft white hairs. From mid spring to early summer, 6-8″ long spikes appear bearing whorls of purple to lavender-pink flowers that are highly aromatic and attract hummingbirds, butterflies and bees. The seeds provide food for birds. Purple sage is tolerant of lean soil, drought, and heat. It is a good choice for a xeriscape and can be used for erosion control, hedge, or ground cover. The genus name, Salvia, comes from the Latin word word salvere, meaning to save and refers to the healing qualities associated with some species of the genus. The specific epithet, leucophylla, comes from ancient Greek words λευκός (leukós) meaning, white, and φύλλον (phúllon), meaning leaf, referring to the white hairs on the leaves. Photo Credit Noah Elhardt Wikimedia Commons
Author and natural historian, Daniel Mathews, draws attention to the alarming plight of the conifer forests of the dry American West, from British Columbia to New Mexico. He discusses the intertwined causes of the forests’ decline including fire, pests, diseases, and drought, all made more devastating by global warming and misguided management practices of the past. While acknowledging that the forests of the future will be different from those of the past, Mathews is hopeful that in the future we can optimize forest cover where possible through big changes in attitudes and forest management techniques. This, of course, will not be popular or easy, but lies within our grasp.
The text present information on wildfire issues such as prescribed burning, bark beetles, and white pine blister rust, through accounts of visits to endangered sites where scientific researches are investigating the problems and formulating possible solutions. We learn about the Great Basin bristlecone pines that have survived everything the environment has thrown at them for 5,000 years, the tree ring analysis used to reveal the severity of past spring and fall fires, and the evidence from packrat nest middens to determine species composition and fire frequency of sites. All of this carefully presented material is written in a very readable style and is enhanced by beautiful sketches of the various trees that are the concern of the book. Mathew’s work brings awareness to a problem that affects a large and important resource in our country and, hopefully, will help bring about needed changes.
The basic garden trowel has a handle with a scoop-shaped blade that is wider near the handle and pointed at the far end. The point may be sharp or not but is always sharp enough to easily dig into the soil. The trowel may be made entirely of plastic, or have a metal blade with a wooden, metal, or plastic handle. The better trowels have carbon steel or stainless steel blades and some blades may be etched with measurements that aid in such tasks as determining depth of planting or space between plants. Handles vary but should be smooth and fit comfortably into the hand. The strength of the tang (bar that connects the blade with the handle) is significant to the life of the trowel as if it bends the usefulness of the trowel is over. Trowels are easy to lose in the garden so consider one that has a bright colored handle that will not blend in with the garden soil or plants. In some cases, an inexpensive plastic trowel can be a reasonable selection if the rate of trowel loss is high. Photo Credit Wikipedia
Native to California and Baja California, this variable annual, perennial or subshrub, is a member of the aster family, Asteraceae, that also includes sunflower, daisy and lettuce. It usually grows 1-2′ tall and forms a greenish to gray-green clump or stand of erect stems and deeply 4-5 lobed or divided leaves. From winter to summer, terminal clusters of up to 30 bright golden yellow flower heads appear. Each flower head is flat, about 3/8 ” across and consists of a few rounded to oval ray florets surrounding a large center of disc florets. The fruit is a tiny achene with a very small pappus. The flowers are attractive to bees and other pollinators and the fine foliage adds texture to the garden but the plant is winter deciduous and may also lose leaves in the summer if stressed. The genus name, Eriophyllum, comes from the Greek words erion, meaning wool, and phyllon, meaning leaf, and refers to the woolly looking hairs on young leaves. The specific epithet, confertiflorum, comes from the Latin words confertus meaning crowded and floris meaning flower and refers to the densely packed florets in the flower head.
With their soft fuzzy appearance and resemblance to teddy-bear’s arms these shrubs or small trees have a strong visual appeal that belies their danger to passers-by. They grow up to 8′ tall and have a stout, upright trunk with many jointed branches that fall off with maturity leaving a tree like plant. The trunk and branches are green and densely covered with silvery white, 1″ long spines that create the soft fuzzy look. In spring and summer, yellow-green flowers appear at the tips of the stems and give way to fruits that contains few viable seeds. Pack rats use the stems that fall off the plant as a defense around their burrows. Teddy bear cholla does well in a xeriscape and is a popular choice for cactus, desert, rock, and Mediterranean gardens.
Also called California brittlebush, this shrub is native to coastal southern California and Baja California, and is a member of the aster family, Asteraceae, that also includes daisy, yarrow and lettuce. The plant usually grows 3-4′ tall and has many thin brittle branches covered with widely-spaced, ovate to lanceolate green leaves 1-2″ long. The leaves tend to drop in summer in response to drought. During the rainy season from winter to spring, solitary flower heads appear. Each head is about 3″ wide and has 15-25 bright yellow ray florets around a protruding center of yellowish to purplish brown disc florets. The florets give way to tiny dry fruits that lack a pappus. The flowers attract butterflies and other pollinators, the seeds provide food for birds, and the plant is a host for the larvae of the Bay checkerspot butterfly, an endangered species. In addition, the flowers are good in the vase. Fast growing, easy to grow, and drought tolerant, California bush sunflower is valued as a ground cover and for erosion control. Photo Credit Daderot-Wikimedia-Media
