Plants of the Bible: Coriander (Coriandrum sativa)
Karen Also known as cilantro and Chinese parsley, coriander is a warm weather annual native to southern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean but is widely cultivated elsewhere as a culinary herb…
Butterflies in the Garden and How to Attract Them:Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)
One of the most familiar butterflies in the eastern part of the US from the Rockies to the Atlantic coast, the eastern tiger swallowtail inhabits broadleaf woodlands, fields, roadsides, gardens,…
Plant Profile: Black Cherry Plum (Prunus cerasifer) ‘Nigra’
Prunus cerasifer is native to southeastern Europe and western Asia and is a member of the rose family, Rosaceae, that also includes apple, almond, and lady’s mantle. The cultivar ‘Nnigra’…
Plant Combination: Four Angled Sundrop (Oenothera tetragona) and Yellow Flag Iris (Iris pseudacorus)
These easy to grow perennials make a bright combination in a sunny border. Blooming together in early summer, the masses of yellow sundrop flowers at the base of the yellow…
Plant Profile: Rosa ‘Dainty Bess’
Beloved by Bob Hope, ‘Dainty Bess’ loose clusters of 3-5 single flowers on long stems in flushes throughout the season. Each flower has 5-6 pale pink ruffled petals with a…
Plants of the Bible: Cumin (Cuminum cyminum)
Cumin is a herbaceous annual native to the eastern Mediterranean east to India and has been known from ancient Egyptian times. Although there have been many claims about the medicinal…
Old Time Recipes for Home Made Wines: Currant Wine
True currants are deciduous shrubs in the genus Ribes and are related to gooseberries. They are are found in northern climates where winters are cold an summers are warm. The…
Plant Profile: Purple Beach (Fagus sylvatica f. purpurea)
Purple beech is a deciduous tree resulting from a natural mutation of European beech (F. sylvatica), that is native to most of Europe from southern Sweden to northern Sicily and…
Poisonous Plants: American Liverwort (Hepatica americana aka Anemone americana)
Known as one of the earliest flowers to bloom in the spring, American liverwort is a herbaceous perennial and member of the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, that also includes columbine, hellebore,…
Plant Profile: Chilean Bellflower (Lapageria rosea)
Native to damp coastal woodlands of Chile and Argentina, this twining evergreen vine is a member of the Philesiaceae, a small family endemic to Chile. The plants grow over 30′…