Plant Profile: Cushion Baby’s Breath (Gypsophila muralis)
Karen Cushion baby’s breath, also called low baby’s breath, is an annual native to Europe, Asia and North Africa where it grows in disturbed sites such as meadows, fields, and roadsides.…
Garden Plants for Flower Arrangements: Love-Lies-Bleeding (Amaranthus caudatus)
Also known as tassel flower, this annual is native to India, Africa, and Peru, and a member of the Amaranth family (Amaranthaceae), a diverse family that also includes beets, spinach,…
Book Review: Because of an Acorn
Introducing children to ecology when they a young is a very good thing and Lola Schaefer’s book, Because of an Acorn, is a good way to do it. The author…
Earth-Kind Roses: Old Garden Roses
Old garden roses are those types that existed prior to 1867 when the first hybrid tea, ‘La France’ was introduced. These roses were generally extolled for their form and fragrance…
Plant Profile: Blue Palo Verde (Parkinsonia florida aka Cercidium florida)
This small deciduous tree to large shrub is native to the Sonoran desert of southeastern California, Arizona, and Mexico where it grows in intermittent streams, arroyos, and riverbanks. It is…
Beneficial Insects and How to Attract Them: Minute Pirate Bugs
Minute pirate bugs are predatory insects belonging to the Anthocoridae family. There are up to six hundred species worldwide of which about seventy species occur in North America. Most are…
Plant Profile: Showy Fleabane (Erigeron speciosus)
Showy fleabane, also called aspen or garden fleabane, is a herbaceous perennial native to open woods, prairies, meadows, and roadsides from Alberta and British Columbia, south to the Black Hills,…
Book Review: The 420 Gourmet
To the uninitiated a gourmet cookbook devoted to recipes using marijuana seems like a oxymoron but The 420 Gourmet is a foodies delight. Written by an author who calls himself…
Plant Profile: Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora)
Multiflora rose is a multi-stemmed shrub or climbing vine that is probably the parent of ramblers and the popular Polyantha roses of today. It grows five to twelve feet tall…
Invasive Plants and Their Native Alternatives: European Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia)
Also known as rowan, this deciduous shrub or small tree grows up to 40’ tall and is native to light woodlands in almost all of Europe, parts of Asia, and…