Why Roses for Valentine’s Day?
Karen Every year at Valentine’s Day millions of roses are sent to significant others as an expression of love. No other flower comes close to being as popular as the rose,…
Name This Plant Game: Trees 5
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: The Root-Characteristics and Functions
Most of the plants in our garden have roots. We take the roots for granted and usually don’t consider them an important visual feature of our garden but they are…
Plant Profile: Kalenchoe (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana)
When I saw a bright yellow kalenchoe plant at one of the local dollar-stores I could not resist buying it. Yes, it was small but it is such an easy…
Plants with Special Meanings for Valentine’s Day: Gift Suggestions
Valentine’s Day always conjures up visions of flowers among other things but why just give the flowers? Why not give a whole flowering plant that would last much longer than…
Plant Profile: Lemon Verbena (Aloysia triphylla syn. A. citrodora)
The scent of lemon is always welcome in my garden and lemon verbena is one of the most delightfully lemony. Just brush by the plant and it will release its…
Name This Plant Game: Trees 4
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…
Plant Profile: Maidenhair tree (Ginkgo bibloba)
The maidenhair tree is one of the most interesting trees alive! Fossil leaves from ancient trees have been found in rock dating to Jurassic times, almost 200 million years ago,…
Ten Interesting Facts about Groundhogs
The furry little critter that emerges from his hole in spring is cute but is he a good garden visitor? He certainly captured the imagination of the American movie going…
A Visit to West Lake, Hangzhou, China
If you like gardens and visit China try to include a visit to the city of Hangzhou, 112 miles south of Shanghai. You will not visit lots of gardens there,…