Book Review: Plant Breeding for the Home Gardener
Karen Few gardeners carry out plant breeding programs in their home gardens but perhaps more should do so. book, Plant Breeding for the Home Gardener, is a great introduction to the…
Weeds and Their Control: Green Alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens)
Also known as evergreen bugloss, this perennial weed is native to Western Europe where it grows in damp shaded areas especially those with calcareous soil. It is a member of…
Plant Profile: Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
Redbud is a deciduous large shrub or small tree native to the open woodlands, woodland edges, meadows, and roadsides of Eastern US from Pennsylvania and Nebraska, south to Florida and…
Garden Plants for Flower Arrangements: Plume Poppy (Macleaya cordata)
Plume poppy is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial native to east China and Japan where it grows in woodland margins, along lake and river edges, and within scrub. Plants have lobed…
Plant Profile: Tree Wormwood (Artemisia arborescens)
Also known as old woman, this tender everygreen shrub is native to the Mediterranean where it grows in rocky areas along the coasts of Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Greece.…
Growing Plants From Seed: Green Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris)
Green beans, also called snap beans and string beans, are in the same genus and species as kidney beans, navy beans, and pinto beans but differ in that their pods…
Book Review: Growing a Feast
We often hear the phrase “farm to table” but Kurt Timmermeister’s book , Growing a Feast, brings a whole new meaning to it. The author chronicles his two year experience…
Plant Profile: Annual Baby’s Breath (Gypsophila elegans)
Annual baby’s breath is a short lived annual native to the Caucasus where it grows in disturbed sites such as roadsides, meadows, and fields. It is a member of the…
Beneficial Insects and How to Attract Them: Damselfly
Damselflies belong to a group of insects that have very small antennae, very large eyes, two pairs of transparent wings, and colorful elongated bodies. There are over 2500 species of…
Plant Profile: False Goat’s Beard (Astilbe biternata)
Astilbe biternata False goat’s bedard is a herbaceous perennial native to the southern Appalachian Mountains where it grows in moist mountain woodlands, roadsides, ditches, and seepage slopes. It belongs to…