Plant Profile: Firecracker Plant (Cuphea ignea aka C. platycentra)
Karen Also known as cigar flower, this tender evergreen sub-shrub is native to Mexico and the West Indies but is often grown as an annual in elsewhere. It is a member…
Book Review: Forks over Knives: Flavor!
Darshana Thacker’s cookbook, Forks over Knives Flavor!, brings a very international approach to whole-food, plant based cooking. Believing that chronic aliments can be prevented, halted and oftentimes reversed by omitting…
Weeds and Their Control: Common Lamb’s Quarters (Chenopodium album)
Lamb’s quarters is a summer annual and member of the amaranth family, Amaranthaceae, that also includes beet, spinach, and cock’s comb. It is native to Europe and Asia , possibly…
Plant Profile: Love in the Mist (Nigella damascena)
Also called ragged lady and devil in the bush, this annual is a member of the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, that also includes anemone, columbine and delphinium. It is native to…
Edible Mushrooms: Dirty Tricholoma (Tricholoma terreum)
Also called grey knight tricholoma, dirty tricholoma is found growing in troops during the autumn on calcareous soil under conifers especially pine and spruce in Europe and North America. It…
Plant Profile: Purple Leaf Sand Cherry ( Prunus x cistena)
Purple leaf sand cherry is a deciduous medium sized shrub or small tree and a member of the rose family, Rosaceae, that also includes almond, pyracantha, and ladies mantle. It…
Book Review: The Gardener’s Guide to Common-Sense Pest Control
The Gardener’s Guide to Common-Sense Pest Control explains the concepts and techniques of an environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that uses information on pest life cycles and their interaction…
Plants That Attract Beneficial Insects: False Aster (Boltonia asteroids)
False aster is a herbaceous perennial native to the Great Plains where it inhabits wetlands. It is a member of the aster family (Asteraceae) and the flower heads resemble those…
Plant Profile: Woollyhead (Craspedia uniflora)
Native to New Zealand and Australia, this herbaceous perennial is a member of the aster family, Asteraceae, that also includes daisy, sunflower, and lettuce. It has simple, opposite green leaves…
Genus Asarum (Wild Ginger) for the Garden
Asarum is a genus in the pipevine family, Aristolochiaceae, and includes about sixty species including several that are considered garden worthy plants. It acquired the common name, wild ginger, because…