Plant Profile: American Senna (Senna hebecarpa)
Karen American senna is a herbaceous perennial native to eastern US from Michigan and Maine through the Appalachians and Atlantic plains south to Georgia where it grows in moist open woodlands,…
Plant Profile: Mountain Heliotrope(Valeriana sitchensis)
In spite of its common name, mountain heliotrope is not a true heliotrope and is not even in the same family. It is a member of the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae,…
Plant Profile: Rosa ‘Fame!”
Cherry pink buds open to semi double flowers that are carried singly or in clusters of up to 5 and strong straight stems. The notched petals are dark pink with…
Plant Profile: Rough Menodora (Menodora scabra)
Also known as broom twinberry, this subshrub is native to the northern Mexico and southwestern US from Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California to Colorado where it grows in deserts…
Plant Profile: Long Bracted Wild Indigo (Baptisia bracteata)
Long bracted wild indigo is a long lived herbaceous perennial and a member of the pea family, Fabaceae, that also includes mimosa, lupine and black locust. It is native to…
Plant Profile: Yellow Wild Indigo (Baptisia sphaerocarpa)
Yellow wild indigo is a herbaceous perennial native to south-central US from Missouri south to Alabama, and west to Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas where it grows in prairies, meadows and…
Plant Profile: Mexican Heather (Cuphea hyssopifolia)
Also known as false heather and elfin herb, this small evergreen sub-shrub is native to Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. It is a member of the loosestrife family, Lythraceae, that also…
Plant Profile: Largeflower Valerian (Valeriana pauciflora)
This herbaceous perennial is native to Eastern US from Pennsylvania west to Illinois and south to include Maryland, Tennessee and West Virginia, Kentucky and Alabama where it grows in moist…
Plant Profile: Roundheaded Bushclover (Lespedeza capitata)
This herbaceous perennnial is a member of the pea family, Fabaceae, that also includes lupine, mimosa, and black locust. It is native to priaires, meadows, glades, and waste areas such…
Book Review: From Seed to Sunflower
Written for children in grades 1 and 2, Camilla de la Bedoyere’s book From Seed to Sunflower describes the life cycle of the sunflower plant from seed to flowering plant…