Spring Blooming Perennials with Blue to Lavender Flowers for the Mid-Border
Karen Blue and lavender flowers in the spring garden are a treasured commodity because they are often difficult to find. But the effort of ferreting them out is worth the trouble…
Plant Profile: Jacaranda (Jacaranda acutifolia aka J. mimosaefoliae)
Jacaranda, also called black poui,is a deciduous tree native to South America and a member of the Bignoniaceae family that also includes hardy gloxinia, trumpet vine and catalpa. The bark…
Book Review: The Perennial Matchmaker
Beautiful plant combinations can make a garden memorable but such combinations are not easy to create. If your garden is like mine it is a hodgepodge of plants collected over…
Choosing Plants for the Vegetable Garden With Health Concerns in Mind
Most of us don’t live on large parcels of land where we can grow anything we like and we have to make choices. When you first start listing the vegetables…
Plant Profile: Arizona Ash (Fraxinus velutina)
Also known as velvet ash, this deciduous tree is native to southwestern North America. It is a member of the olive family, Oleaceae, that also includes jasmine, privet, forsythia, and…
Weeds and Their Control: Yellow foxtail (Setaria glauca)
This warm-season annual weed originated in Africa but has spread throughout Eurasia and North America . It is found throughout the US where it often invades moist fertile lawns, croplands,…
Plant Profile: Rose ‘Compassion’
Classic Hybrid Tea-like buds open to flowers with ruffled petals in a mixture of apricot, salmon pink and orange. The flowers fade to a dirty white and fail to drop…
Book Review: Two Little Gardeners
This classic Little Golden Book tells the story of a brother and sister who plant a garden in the spring, take care of it all summer, and enjoy the fruits…
Weeds and Their Control: Mousetail (Myosurus minimus)
A member of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), mousetail is an annual native to the Northern Hemisphere including North America, Europe, Asia and north Africa. It prefers light shade and moist…
Plant Profile: Chinese Parasol Tree (Firmiana simplex)
Also known as varnish tree and Phoenix tree, this deciduous tree is native to China, Japan, and Korea. It is a member of the mallow family, Malvaceae, that also includes…