Plant Profile: Mountain Spinach (Atriplex hortensis)
Karen Also known as orache, this annual is a member of the amaranth family, Amaranthaceae, that also includes beets, quinoa, and lamb’s quarters. It is native to Asia and Euroe and…
Edible Mushrooms: Bay-brown Bolete (Boletus badius)
He bay-brown bolete grows singly or in scattered groups from summer through autumn under coniferous or deciduous trees of Europe and North America. It is especially partial to white pine,…
Plant Profile: Pincushion Flower (Scabiosa stellata)
Also called starflower and drumstick scabiosa, this annual is native to southwestern Europe and North Africa and is a member of the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, that also includes weigelia, Centranthus,…
Book Review: Bazaar
Sabrina Ghayour’s cookbook Bazaar offers recipes for vegetable dishes that are so full of flavor that vegetarians as well as meat eaters would be satisfied and not even miss meat.…
Weeds and Their Control: Wild Oat (Avena fatua)
Wild oat is a tufted cool season annual in the grass family, Poaceae, that also includes bamboo, rice, and corn. It is native to Eurasia but is widely naturalized throughout…
Plant Profile: Chinese Lantern (Physalis alkekengi)
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…