Plant Profile: Quaking Grass (Briza maxima)
Karen Native to the Mediterranean area, this annual grass has naturalized in many other parts of the world including western US. It has many common names including blowfly grass, rattlesnake grass,…
Book Review: My Secret Garden
British author, TV presenter, and professional horticulturalist, Alan Titchmarsh’s book, My Secret Garden, chronicles the development of his private garden on a four acre plot surrounding a Georgian home in…
Pros and Cons of Drying Herbs
u grow culinary herbs you probably relish the idea of having fresh seasonings for as you cook. There is nothing like fresh basil with mozzarella and tomatoes or fresh cilantro…
Plant Profile: Japanese Jack in the Pulpit (Arisaema sikokianum)
Also called cobra lily, this herbaceous perennial is indigenous to the island of Shikoiu, Japan where it grows in moist shaded woodlands. It is in the same genus as the…
Botanical Latin: Malacoides
Mal a COI des meaning soft, mucilaginous, resembling a mallow; refers to the softness of the leaves Used as a specific name, malacoides is part of the botanical name for…
Plant Profile: Aster x frikartii ‘Monch’
A hybrid of A. amellus x A thomsonii this perennial aster from Switzerland combines the large flowers of A. amellus and the long bloom time of A. thompsonii. The leaves…
Book Review: Living with Japanese Gardens
Authors, Chadine Flood Gong and Lisa Parramore, draw on are their wide experience designing Japanese gardens to show readers how the Japanese aesthetic can be used to create their own…
Growing Plants from Seed: Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)
Parsley is a biennial native to the Mediterranean area where it grows wild from Sardinia east to Lebanon. It is usually grown as an annual by those who just want…
Plant Profile: Rose ‘Alain Blanchard’
The flowers are borne on thin stems in twos or threes and are a mix of crimson and purple. As the flowers mature they become more purple with paler blotches…
Shakspeare’s Garden: Myrtle
Common myrtle (Myrtus communis) is an evergreen shrub native to the Mediterranean area. It grows up to fifteen feet high but takes well to shearing and so is often kept…