Botanical Latin: Crispus
Karen CRISP us: from the Latin crispus meaning wavy or curly Crispus is a specific or varietal epithet usually used for plants that have leaves with wavy or curly edges but…
Plant Profile: Bigtooth Aspen (Populus grandidentata)
Big tooth aspen is a deciduous tree native to eastern North America from Newfoundland and Manitoba, south to Virginia, Kentucky, and Iowa where it grows in open woods, edges of…
Invasive Plants and Their Native Alternatives: Chinese Tallow Tree (Sapium sebiferum aka Triadica sebifera)
Chinese tallow tree is a deciduous tree growing up to 40’ tall and native to China and Japan. It was introduced in the 1700s as an ornamental valued for its…
Plant Profile: Rhone Aster (Aster sedifolius)
Rhone asters are herbaceous perennials native to southern Europe. They belong to the Asteraceae family that also includes daisies, sunflowrs, and lettuce. The multi-stemmed plants have a bushy habit with…
Book Review: Pure Food
Motivated by a desire to find healthy organic snacks for her children, author Veronica Bosgraaf decided to create her own and started on a journey to make her cooking and…
Plant Profile: Flowering Ash (Fraxinus dipetala)
Flowering ash, also called California ash and two-petal ash, is a deciduous small tree or large shrub native California, northwestern Arizona, southern Nevada, Utah and norther Baja California where it…
Plant Combination: White Sage (Artemisia ludoviciana) ‘Silver King’ and Wallflower (Erysimum linifolium) ‘Bowles Beauty’
This silver and purple duo provides all season interest but is especially striking in early summer when the wallflower blooms. The purple color of ‘Bowles Beauty’ could be garish but…
Plant Profile: Rose Don Juan
Dark crimson ruffled flowers open from pointed ovoid buds and are carried singly or in small clusters on long strong stems. They have the form of a Hybrid Tea and…
Book Review: The Humane Gardener
For centuries mankind has thought of the natural environment as something to conquer and control but that is changing and Nancy Lawson’s book, The Humane Gardener, is an eloquent voice…