Book Review: About Birds: A Guide for Children
Karen Birds are easy to love and Cathryn Sill’s book, About Birds, is an excellent way of introducing birds to young children. The book presents the basic characteristics of birds and…
Weeds and Their Control: Hemp Nettle (Galeopsis tetrahit)
Hemp nettle is native to Europe and northwestern Asia but has been introduced into North American and is a problem in the cool areas of the United States. It is…
Plant Profile: Large Purple Aeonium (Aeonium arboreum) ‘Zwartkop’
This tender succulent subshrub is a native of Gran Canaria Island in the Canary Islands of the Atlantic Ocean. Also known as ‘Schwartzkopf’ and ‘Schwarzkopf’ meaning “black head’, it can…
Top Five Exhibition Hybrid Tea for the 2014 Show Season
The American Rose Society published its list of top exhibition roses in itsMarch/April 2015 issue of its magazine, American Rose. If you are interested in competing successfully in local or…
Plant Profile: Actinidia kolomikta
This twining climber is native to eastern Asia and is grown for both its variegated leaves and its small fruits. The leaves emerge with a tint of purple and then…
Book Review: Zen Gardens: The Complete Works of Shunmyo Masuno
Shunmyo Masuno, “wearing two pairs of straw sandals”, is both a Zen Buddhist priest and landscape architect. He has combined his talents and interest to design Zen gardens in both…
Butterflies in the Garden and How to Attract Them: Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes)
With a wing span of up to 6.3 inches the giant swallowtail is one of the largest butterflies in North America. It is found from southern Canada east of the…
Plant Profile: Chinese Gooseberry aka kiwi (Actinidia chinensis)
Closely related to camellias, Chinese gooseberry is a fine garden plant with its fragrant flowers and edible fruit. Although also known as kiwi, however, A. chinensis is not the same…
Botanical Latin: Acanthus
Acanthus (uh KAN thuhs) Latin form from Greek akanthos, meaning thorn or prickle Acanthus is used as the name for the family Acanthaceae composed mostly of perennial herbs and shrubs…
Plant Profile: Climbing Monkshood (Aconitum hemslehannum)
The slender stems of this climbing monkshood look especially well scrambling over medium sized shrubs. Indigo-violet flowers are produced in pendulous clusters with about seven flowers per cluster. Each flower…