Plant Profile: Chinese Lantern (Physalis alkekengi)
Karen Also called bladder cherry and strawberry ground cherry, this herbaceous perennial is native to southern Europe and parts of Asia. It is a member of the nightshade family, Solonaceae, that…
Genus Alchemilla for the Garden
Alchemilla is a genus of herbaceous perennials in the rose family (Rosaceae) that also includes cherries, spirea, and hawthorn. Most of the three hundred species of the genus live in…
Plant Profile: Hyssop (Hysoppus officinalis)
Hyssop is a small semi-evergreen subshrub up to 24″ tall native to southern Europe, the Middle East, and the area around the Caspian sea but has naturalized in parts of…
Book Review: Martha’s Flowers
Martha Stewart and her Executive Design Director Kevin Sharkey, collaborated on this book, Martha’s Flowers, that celebrates home grown flowers and the arrangements that can be made with them.. The…
Shakespeare’s Garden: Savory (Satureja spp)
There are two kinds of savory: summer savory (Satureja hortensis) an annual, and winter savory (Satureja montana), a woody perennial. They belong to the mint family ( Lamiaceae) and are…
Plant Profile: Red Cuphea (Cuphea llavea aka C. blepharophylla)
Also known as bat cuphea, this tender evergreen sub-shrub is native to Mexico but is grown as an annual or houseplant in areas with hard frost. It is a member…
Invasive Plants and Their Native Alternatives : Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii)
Japanese barberry is a thorny, deciduous shrub growing 3-6’ tall with obvate green leaves that are up to 1 ¼” long and turn yellow to red in the fall. Pendent…
Plant Profile: Virginia Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum)
Virginia mountain mint is a herbaceous perennial native to eastern US from Maine and north Dakota, south to Georgia and Oklahoma where it grows in wet prairies, and on stream…
Book Review: Peck, Peck, Peck
Lucy Cousins’ Peck, Peck, Peck is a delightful tale of young woodpecker whose daddy teaches him to peck and takes off to peck with all the enthusiasm of any youngster…
Plants That Attract Beneficial Insects: Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus)
This easy to grow annual is native to Mexico and belongs to the aster family (Asteraceae) that also includes daisies, sunflowers and lettuce. The medium green foliage is greatly dissected…