Plant Profile: Great Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)
Karen Meyers Also called common mullein and woolly mullein, this native of Europe, Africa and Asia, is a herbaceous biennial and a member of the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae, that also includes butterfly…
Book Review: What a Bee Knows
What a Bee Knows, by Stephen Buchmann, is a guide to understand the complexities of bee behavior. As a pollination ecologist, the author has extensive experience with bees and the…
Plants for a Mary Garden: Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis),”Sweet Mary”
Lemon balm has a long history as a medicinal herb and was valued for its calming, healing, and uplifting properties. The ancient Greeks believed it had the power to improve…
Plant Profile: Quaking Grass (Briza media)
Native to meadows and pastures of Europe and Asia, this creeping perennial grass is a member of the grass family, Poaceae, that also includes wheat, rice, and bamboo. It is…
Book Review: The Complete Beer Course
This revised, updated and expanded second edition of The Complete Beer Course by Joshua M. Bernstein, reflects the many changes in the craft beer industry since 2013 when the first…
Plants for a Mary Garden: “Our Lady’s Delight,” Pansy (Viola tricolor)
Before the early 19th century the name pansy referred only to the plant that we call Johnny jump up, not the large flowered hybrid that we know by that name…
Book Review: DIY Guide to Ponds, Fountains, Rain Gardens & Water Features (Revised Editiion)
This comprehensive up-dated edition provides information on all the aspects of designing and installing home garden water features such as ponds, rain gardens and various moving water features such as…
Plant Profile: Water Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis scorpioides)
Also known as scorpion grass, this rhizomatous herbaceous perennial is in the borage family, Boraginaceae, that also includes lungwort, heliotrope, and Siberian bugloss. It is native to Europe and Asia…
Book Review: When will it be Spring?
Catherine Walters’ book, When Will it be Spring, is the charming story of a mother bear and her cub looking forward to spring as they get ready to hibernate. Written…
Plant Profile: Northern Wolfsbane (Aconitum lycoctonum)
This herbaceous perennial is is native to Europe and parts of western Asia, where it grows in woodlands and moist meadows between the lowlands and the subalpine zone. It is…