Plant Profile: Nordmann Fir (Abies nordmanniana)
Karen This stately evergreen tree, native to Asia Minor and the Mediterranean, has a dense pyramidal form with many branches from the ground up. Dark, shiny green needles with two white…
Book Review: Creative Concrete Ornaments for the Garden
Concrete offers many possibilities for creating garden ornaments and Sherri Warner Hunter’s book, Creative Concrete Ornaments for the Garden provides you with all you need to know to get started.…
Botany for Gardeners: Taxonomy of Gymnosperms – Identifying the Pine Family (Pinaceae)
The Pine Family includes the gymnosperms that are most familiar to everyone; pine, spruce, fir, and hemlock plus the not so familiar larch. It also includes Douglas fir which is…
Plant Profile: Rosa ‘Sexy Rexy’
The medium pink flowers of this compact floribunda open flat into camellia like blooms with lightly ruffled petals. They are produced in large clusters of 5-15 on strong straight stems…
Christmas Ornament: Holly Leaf Elf
Making Christmas ornaments is a lot of fun especially when shared with children. This quick simple ornament uses easy to find materials and can be done by young children once…
Plant Profile: Noble Fir (Abies procera)
Noble fir is the largest of the firs in terms of height, diameter and wood mass and perhaps that is why it earned its common name. Native to the mountains…
Book Review: Pete the Cat Saves Christmas
Fans of Pete the Cat know that Pete is a cool, likeable guy, with a positive attitude and he shows himself to be just that in Eirc Litwin’s Christmas story…
Weeds and Their Control: Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare)
Bull thistle is a biennial weed common in Europe and Asia. It was introduced into North America in the 1800s and has naturalized all over the United States including Hawaii…
Plant Profile: Macedonian Pine (Pinus peuce)
A native of the mountains of Yugoslavia, Albania, and Greece, this evergreen tree is popular in Scandinavia due to its cold tolerance and adaptability. It grows consistently and slowly, and…
How to Care for Bonsai: Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides)
Few plants offer the delicious fragrance of a gardenia when it blooms. It doesn’t take many flowers to fill a whole room with the sweet scent so one small plant…