Collecting Seed: Snapdragon (Anthirrhinum majus)
Karen Snapdragons are tender perennials usually treated as annuls. They are cool weather plants and often grown in the spring and fall as they do not do well in summer heat.…
Plant Profile: Box-Elder (Acer negundo)
Box-elder is a short lived deciduous tree native to eastern and central North America and is also called ashleaf maple. It is often planted for its rapid growth while other…
Weeds and Their Control: Mulberry Weed (Fatoua villosa)
Mulberry weed is an annual in the mulberry family (Moraceae) and a native of East Asia where it lives in wetlands and other moist shaded areas. It appeared in Lousiana…
Plant Profile: Silver Mullein (Verbascum bombyciferum)
Silver mullein is an evergreen biennial or short-lived perennial native to Turkey where it grows on dry, rocky hillsides and open woodlands. It belongs to the figwort family (Scrophylariaceae) along…
Book Review: Butterfly Park
Butterflies delight both young and old but we can’t take them for granted because sometimes there are no butterflies where we expect. Elly MacKay’s book Butterfly Park shows how children…
Plant Combination: Yellow Fumitory (Corydalis lutea) and Hosta ‘Autumn Frost’
A shady location is the perfect place for this charming combination. Hosta ‘Autumn Frost’ emerges with its yellow variegated leaves in spring as fern-like leaves of yellow fumitory push through…
Plant Profile: Mexican Hyssop (Agastache cana)
Also called mosquito plant, Texas hummingbird mint, and double bubble mint, this herbaceous perennial is native to New Mexico and western Texas where it grows on dry slopes of mountainous…
Best Hybrid Musks with Hips
Hybrid musks date to the early twentieth century so must be considered modern roses. Although their parentage includes the musk rose (Rosa moschata), it also includes other parents such as…
Plant Profile: Vine Maple (Acer circinatum)
Vine maple is a deciduous small tree or large shrub native to the Pacific Northwest where it grows in mountainous area from British Columbia to Northern California. It has twisted…
Book Review: Shrubs: A Gardener’s Handbook
Many gardeners may consider shrubs second class citizens of their garden but these perennial plants actually have a great deal to offer. Ian Cooke’s book, Shrubs: A Gardener’s Handbook, introduces…