Plant Profile: Shrubby Deer Vetch (Lotus rigidus)
Karen Also known as wiry lotus, broom bird’s-foot trefoil, and desert rockpea, this twiggy perennial is a subshrub native to southwestern US and Mexico from Utah and California, south to northwestern…
Book Review: Singing Crickets
In her book Singing Crickets, author Linda Glaser introduces readers to the life cycle of field crickets. She begins when Papa cricket rubs his musical wings to attract Mama cricket…
Plant Profile: Red Calico Plant (Alternanthera bettzickiana,)
Red calico plant is an evergreen tender perennial and a member of the amaranth family, Amaranthaceae, that also includes beets, spinach, celosia, and gomphrena. It is native to Brazil but…
Invasive Plants and Their Native Alternatives: Carrotwood (Cupaniopsis anacardioides)
Carrotwood, also known as tuckeroo and beach tamarind, is a slender evergreen tree native to coastal areas and wetlands of Australia, Indonesia, and New Guinea. It is commonly used as…
Plant Profile: Beefsteak Plant (Acalypha godseffiana)
Beefsteak plant is a clump-forming broadleaf evergreen shrub native to Polynesia and is a member of the spurge family, Euphorbaceae, that also includes poinsettia, croton, and caster oil plant. It…
Plant Profile: Trailing Snapdragon (Asarina procumbens)
Native to the Spain and Portugal, this procumbent perennial, often grown as an annual, is a member of the plantain family, Plantaginaceae, that also includes turtlehead, foxglove, and Veronica. It…
Old Time Recipes for Home Made Wines: Malt Wine, or English Sherry
My paternal grandmother, Helen S. Wright included in her book Old Time Recipes for Home Made Wines, a recipe for something she called “malt wine, or English sherry”. The name…
Plant Profile: Sulphur Cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus)
Native to Mexico, Central and northern South America, this half-hardy annual has naturalized in North America and is considered invasive in some areas. It is a member of the aster…
Plant Profile: Rose ‘Mrs. Oakley Fisher’
Pointed buds open to single, lightly cupped flowers up to 3″ across with petals that are a mixture of copper, orange, and apricot. The petals tend to be lighter and…
Plant Profile: Rock Knotweed (Persicaria vaccinifolia)
An Himalyan native, this semi-evergreen perennial is also called whortleberry-leaved knotweed and creeping fleeceflower and is a member of the knotweed family, Polygonaceae, that also includes dock, rhubarb, and buckwheat.…