Botanical Latin: Corydalis
Karen Corydalis (kor RI dal is) from the Greek word korydalis meaning crested lark. Corydalis is a genus with finely divided fern like foliage and four-petaled irregular flowers with spurs that…
Plant Profile: Speckled Alder (Alnus incana subsp. rugosa)
Speckled alder is a deciduous native shrub or tree growing in wet soils around ponds, streams, and ditches from Labrador to Alaska and British Columbia, south to Virginia, Iowa, New…
Edible Flowers Sweet Cicely (Myrrhis odorata)
Sweet cicely is a herbaceous perennial up to three to six feet tall and wide, native to southern and central Europe but has naturalized widely in Europe and Asia. It…
Plant Profile: Rose ‘Rhonda’
The deep pink flowers are produced singly or in well spaced clusters of three to seven but sometimes up to fifteen. They are profusely produced and have a good form…
Old Time Recipes for Home Made Wines: Porter
My maternal grandmother, Helen S. Wright, includes two recipes for porter in her book, Old time Recipes for Home Made Wines, one for bottling, the other for immediate use. Porter…
Weeds and Their Control: Soapwort (Saponaria officinalis)
Soapwort goes by many names including bouncing bet, wild sweet william, and latherwort. A member of the carnation family (Caryophyllaceae) it is native to Europe and Asia but has naturalized…
Plant Profile: Sitka Mountain Ash (Sorbus sitchensis)
Sitka mountain ash is a deciduous shrub or small tree endemic to areas in the Pacific Northwest from Alaska and Yukon south to Montana and California, where it grows in…
Garden Plants for Flower Arrangements: Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis)
Lily of the valley is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial native to the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere and is often grown as a ground cover. It grows best where…
Plant Profile: Thunberg’s Astilbe (Astilbe thunbergii)
Thungbergs’s astilbe is a herbaceous perennial native to East Asia. It is a member of the saxifrage family, Saxifracaceae, that also includes Bergenia, foamflower (Tiarella), and coral bells (Heuchera). The…
Book Review: Nature’s Art Box
If you like to collect cones, twigs, leaves, flowers and other of nature’s bounty, Laura C Martin’s book, Nature’s Art Box, will give you a multitude of ways to use…