Collecting Seed: Orange Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida)
Karen Orange coneflower is a perennial in the Asteraceae family and is native to North America. It grows one to three feet tall and has flowerheads two to three inches across…
Plant Profile: Silky Stewartia (Stewartia malacodendron)
Silky stewartia is a multi-stemmed shrub or small tree native to the southeastern coast from Virginia to Florida and west to Louisiana where it grows in woodlands, woodland edges, and…
Garden Plants for Flower Arrangements: Hybrid Japanese Anemone (Anemone x hybrida)
Hybrid Japanese anemone are herbaceous perennials that form a substantial mound of handsome dark green leaves carried on long stems (petioles). Each leaf is palmately compound with three toothed leaflets.…
Plant Profile: Fall Astilbe (Astilbe taquetii)
Fall astilbe is a clump forming herbaceous perennial native to China and a member of the saxifrage family, Saxifragaceae, that also includes Bergenia, foamflower (Tiarella), and coral bells (Heuchera). Hairy…
Book Review: Blueberries Grow on a Bush
As kids gobble up blueberries do they think about where they come from? Probably not yet learning a little about blueberry bushes brings a greater appreciation of food and it…
Explorer Series: Red Roses
The Explorer roses were developed at the agriculture research station in Ottawa, Ontario and l’Assumption, Quebec to withstand the cold Canadian winters. Using Rosa rugosa, R. kordesii, Hybrid Teas, and…
Plant Profile: Blood Flower (Asclepias curassavica)
Blood flower, also known as cotton bush, Mexican butterfly weed, and scarlet milkweed, is a tropical perennial subshrub native to South America often grown as an annual in the US…
Beneficial Insects and How to Attract Them: Robber Flies
Also called assassin flies, these true flies belong to the Asilidae family. There are over seven thousand different species in the family, with over one thousand in North American where…
Plant Profile: Silver Mound Artemesia (Artemesia schmidtiana)
Silver mound is a semi-evergreen perennial native to Japan and a member of the aster family, Asteraceae, that also includes daisies, sunflowers, and lettuce. The species is rarely seen but…
Book Review: Everything I Want to Eat
Comfort food is great but sometimes I just want something new and unique. Jessica Koslow’s cookbook, Everything I Want to Eat, provides a plethora of such items. They are unique…