Plant Profile: Great Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)
Karen Meyers Also called common mullein and woolly mullein, this native of Europe, Africa and Asia, is a herbaceous biennial and a member of the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae, that also includes butterfly…
Book Review: What a Bee Knows
What a Bee Knows, by Stephen Buchmann, is a guide to understand the complexities of bee behavior. As a pollination ecologist, the author has extensive experience with bees and the…
Edible Mushrooms: The Poplar Agrocybe (Cyclocybe aegerita aka Agrocybe aegerita)
Karen The poplar agrocybe is found growing singly or in tufts on rooted stumps and roots of popular, willow, and elder from spring until fall. It prefers warm climates including southern…
Plant Profile: Grape Leaf Anemone (Anemone vitifolia)
Native to Asia, this herbaceous perennial is a member of the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, that also includes delphinium, clematis, and hellebore. It grows 3-4′ tall and forms a clump of…
Plants for a Mary Garden: Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis),”Sweet Mary”
Lemon balm has a long history as a medicinal herb and was valued for its calming, healing, and uplifting properties. The ancient Greeks believed it had the power to improve…
Plant Profile: Quaking Grass (Briza media)
Native to meadows and pastures of Europe and Asia, this creeping perennial grass is a member of the grass family, Poaceae, that also includes wheat, rice, and bamboo. It is…
Book Review: The Complete Beer Course
This revised, updated and expanded second edition of The Complete Beer Course by Joshua M. Bernstein, reflects the many changes in the craft beer industry since 2013 when the first…
Edible Mushrooms: Shield-Shaped Entoloma (Entoloma clypeatum)
Also known as the Roman shield, this gilled mushroom appears in clusters or troops from spring until summer usually under hawthorn and other trees in the rose family such as…
Plant Profile: Dakota Mock Vervain ( Glandularia bipinnatafida)
This short-lived herbaceous perennial is a member of the verbena family, Verbenaceae, that also includes teak and lantana. It is native to open grasslands and prairies from Wisconsin to California,…
Plants for a Mary Garden: “Our Lady’s Delight,” Pansy (Viola tricolor)
Before the early 19th century the name pansy referred only to the plant that we call Johnny jump up, not the large flowered hybrid that we know by that name…