Growing Plants from Seed: Dill (Anethum graveolens)
Karen Dill is an annual in the celery family (Apiaceae) and native to the Mediterranean and southern Russia. It is a tall, 3-4 foot, beautiful plant and deserves a place in…
Plant Profile: Pacific Madrone (Arbutus menziesii)
Pacific madrone is an evergreen tree native to the west coast of North America from British Columbia to California. It is a member of the heather family, Ericaceae that also…
Garden Plants for Flower Arrangements: Norway Maple (Acer platanoides)
Norway maple is a large deciduous tree native to central and eastern Europe, and Asia but grown widely as a shade tree in parts of the US. The small yellow-green…
Plant Profile: Golden Currant (Ribes aureum)
Also known as clove currant and buffalo currant, this deciduous shrub is a native of North America from Saskatchewan to British Columbia, south to New Mexico and California where it…
Book Review: How to Eat in the Woods
Author Bradford Angier in his book, How to Eat in the Woods, a guide to surviving in the wild. He points out that although many people like to go camping…
Earth Kind Roses: Most Fragrant
Everyone likes roses with fragrance and bemoan the many cultivars on the market today that have little or none. Eight Earth Kind roses, however, combine outstanding fragrance with low maintenance…
Plant Profile: Sweet Birch (Betula lenta)
Sweet birch is a deciduous tree also known as black birch, cherry birch, mahogany birch or spice birch, and is native to eastern North America from southern Maine and Ontario,…
Beneficial Insects and How to Attract Them: Big-Eyed Bugs (Geocordiae spp.)
There are over twenty five species of bug-eyed bugs in North America some of which live coast to coast in the US. They are tiny but very abundant and considered…
Plant Profile: Hairy Garden Pink (Dianthus knappii)
Hairy garden pink is a short-lived herbaceous perennial native to eastern Europe where it grows in grassy places and scrub. It belongs to the carnation family that includes baby’s breath,…
Botanical Latin: Crispus
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…