Plant Profile: Royal fern (Osmunda regalis)
Karen Royal fern is a deciduous perennial found on all continents except Australia. Its family, Osmundaceae, date back 230,000,000 years to the Permian days before man and other mammals but when…
How to Care for Bonsa: Miniature Holly (Malpighia coccigera)
A native of the West Indies, this is an evergreen shrub that is also called Singapore holly. It has small shiny-green leaves that have spiny-toothed edges and resemble those of…
Plant Profile: Osage Orange Maclura pomifera)
This deciduous small to medium sized tree is a native in parts of Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma but has spread widely through the Great Plains where was planted in the…
Book Review: Home Outside: Creating the Landscape You Love
A home is more than just a house; it is the landscape around the house too. With this premise author, Julie Moir Messervy, takes the reader of Home Outside: Creating…
Plant Combination: Plumed Celosia (Celosia argentea var. plumosa) and Moss Rose (Portulaca grandiflora)
Chuck This combination depends on identical colors with contrasting texture for its effectiveness. Here I chose identical shades of orange but shades of red, yellow or pink would work as well.…
Plant Profile: Green Bullrush (Scirpus atrovirens)
This herbaceous perennial is native to North America where it is found in wet lands such as marshes, low meadows, pond and stream edges, and drainage ditches. In spite of…
Plant Combination: Bishop’s Weed (Aegopodium podagraria ‘Variegatum’) and Viola cornuta ‘Penny Primrose’
For a spring combination that will brighten the wakening garden try growing yellow and white Johnny Jump Ups. Plant the Johnnies in the fall after the bishop’s weed has succumbed…
Plant Profile: Butcher’s Broom (Ruscus aculeatus)
Butcher’s broom, also known by many other common names including knee holly, is a low growing broadleaf evergreen shrub native to the Mediterranean and western Europe. The thick, glossy, dark…
Book Review: Planting a Rainbow
As an introduction to gardening Lois Ehlert’s book, Planting a Rainbow, is hard to beat. It is written for children as young as three and begins with the statement “Every…
Root-Knot Nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) and How to Control Them
Sometimes a plant wilts easily, has a yellow appearance, fails to grow properly, and slowly dies. No signs of insect or fungal damage can be seen; fertilizing and watering does…