Plant Profile: Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)
Karen Also known as absinthe, this wood-based subshrub is native to Mediterranean Europe, temperate regions of Asia, and northern Africa where it grows in dry open areas, often on rocky slopes.…
Plant Combination: Brazilian Verbena (Verbena bonariensis) and Arkansas Blue Star (Amsonia hubrechtil)
A “see through” plant like Brazilian verbena creates a beautiful sight when paired with the delicate foliage of narrow leaf blue star. The action starts with the emergence of the…
Plant Profile: Rose ‘Frontenac’
Masses of cupped shaped light crimson or deep pink flowers are produced in clusters of three to eight. A patch of white adorns the center and forms streaks into the…
Book Review: Embroideries from an English Garden
One look at the pictures of the competed projects will tell you that this book is special. Embroideries from an English Garden by Carol Andrews present fifteen projects inspired by…
Growing Plants from Seed: Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)
Lettuce is one of the most successful crops for the home gardener. There are four basic of types of lettuce. 1. Leaf lettuce such as ‘Black Seeded Simpson’ and ‘Oakleaf’…
Plant Profile: Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica)
Heavenly bamboo is a semi-evergreen to evergreen shrub growing 3-8’ tall and a member of the barberry family, Berberidaceae, that also includes heavenly barberry, Oregon grape (Mahonia), and barronwort (Epimedium).…
Garden Plants for Flower Arrangements: Trumpet Gentian (Gentiana acaulis)
This evergreen herbaceous perennial is native to the mountains of southern and central Europe where it can grow in full sun but have cool roots. This is a very demanding…
Plant Profile: 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,…
Book Review: Garbage Helps Our Garden Grow
Linda Glaser’s book, Garbage Helps Our Garden Grow, follows the activities of a family as they create a compost pile for their vegetable garden. They put in everything from Dad’s…
Poisonous Plants: Fool’s Parsley (Aethusa cynapium)
Fool’s parsley is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa but was introduced into North America where it has naturalized in sunny moist…