Name This Plant Game: Gymnosperms 2
Chuck This simple game tests your gardening knowledge by identifying five plants shown in photos from a list of possible names. Photos of each plant are accompaned by a clue describing…
Botany for Gardeners: Reproduction-Ten Interesting Facts about Conifer Cones
Karen When the holiday season comes cones of various sorts appear hanging on trees and laying on the ground offering an almost irresistible opportunity for collecting and using them in holiday…
Plant Profile: Creeping Fig (Ficus pumila)
Native to East Asia, this fast-growing woody evergreen vine is a member of the mulberry family, Moraceae, that also includes banyan, osage orange, and rubber plant. It grows up to…
How to Make an Easy Inexpensive Indoor Christmas Wreath
I love wreaths on the windows at Christmas and have experimented with various possibilities over the year. My most ambitious project was making 45 boxwood wreaths one for every window…
Plant Profile: Common Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)
Also called English thyme, this well branched aromatic evergreen shrub is native to the western Mediterranean region to southern Italy. It is a member of the mint family, Lamiaceae, that…
Name This Plant Game: Gymnosperms 1
This simple game tests your gardening knowledge by identifying five plants shown in photos from a list of possible names. Photos of each plant are accompaned by a clue describing…
Varieties of Poinsettias for Christmas
Florists, big box stores, and grocery stores offer a huge array of poinsettias every year but most of the ones you see are red, cream, or pink. Go to a…
Plant Profile: Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia macrophylla syn. A. durior)
I have been looking for a perennial vine for a particular pot in my formal garden and I came upon Aristolochia macrophylla. It’s large, dark green heart-shaped leaves and vigorous…
How to Make and Inexpensive and Easy Outdoor Wreath
The homes that have wreaths or other outdoor decorations on their windows always seem to me to look like a scene from a Christmas card and I enjoy doing something…
Plant Profile: Sweet Bay (Laurus nobilis)
Also known as bay laural, this aromatic evergreen shrub or small tree is native to the Mediterranean region and a member of the laurel family, Lauraceae, that also includes sassafras,…