Plant Profile: Purple Milk Thistle (Galactites tomentosa)
Karen Purple milk thistle, also called boar thistle, is an annual or biennial and a native of the Mediterranean area where it grows in disturbed soil such as wastelands, pastures, and…
Book Review: Front Yard Gardens
If you are tired of fertilizing, spraying, watering, weeding, and mowing your lawn Liz Primeau’s book, Front Yard Gardens, might be the perfect pick for you. Writing from her experience…
Plant Combination: Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’ and Allium nigrum (aka A. multibulbosum)
The large round flower heads of Allium nigrum contrast sharply with the long thin leaves of the ornamental grass Miscanthus ‘Morning Light” while the silvery color of the allium flower…
Plant Profile: Chocolate Cosmos (Cosmos atrosanguineus)
Chocolate cosmos is a tender perennial native to Mexico where it is extinct in the wild. It is a member of the aster family (Asteraceae) that also includes daisy, yarrow,…
Shakespeare’s Garden: Aspen
Shakespeare’s aspen was probably Populus tremula a native of the cool areas of Europe, Asia and North Africa and should not be confused with the aspen of North America, Populus…
Plant Profile: Rose ‘Jeanne Lajoie’
Large clusters of ten to forty flowers are produced in profusion continuously. The flowers are flat, round, and full of petals that are rich mid-pink at first fading to pale…
Book Review: Cultivating Chaos
Does a meadow of colorful flowers make your heart sing? Does a forest filled with ferns and spring ephemerals take your breath away? With help from the book, Cultivating Chaos,…
Edible Flowers: Violets, Johnny Jump Ups, and Pansies (Viola spp)
These three members of the genus Viola are spring blooming plants known for their pretty five petaled flowers. The common violet (V. odorata) also known as sweet violet is a…
Plant Profile: Miner’s Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)
Miner’s lettuce is a rosette-forming annual native to Western North America from British Columbia to California and Mexico where it grows is moist disturbed areas. It is a member of…
Weeds and Their Control: Spiny Pigweed (Amaranthus spinosus)
Spiny pigweed is an annual native to tropical America but has spread into the eastern US and California where it inhabits disturbed areas including cultivated fields, roadsides, and lawns. In…