Plant Profile: Bitter Apple (Solanum incanum)
Karen Known by many common names including thorn apple, bitter tomato, apple of Sodom, and bitterball, this tropical perennial is native to Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle east, eastwards to India.…
Plants for a Mary Garden: Great Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) “Our Lady’s Candle”
Karen Meyers It is unlikely that Mary was familiar with candles as we know them because oil lamps were the usual source of artificial light in her time. By the late 4th…
Plant Profile: Crystalline Ice Plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum)
This evergreen prostrate annual or biennial is native to southern Africa, Sinai, Canary Islands, and southern Europe where it grows on cliffs, coastal bluffs, sand dunes and disturbed areas. It…
Book Review: Bee & Flea and the Puddle Problem
Bee & Flea and the Puddle Problem by Anna Humphrey is a delightful chapter book in a series about two insect investigators, Bee and Flea. Written for children ages 6-9…
Edible Mushrooms: Monk’s Head (Clitocybe geotropa aka Infundibulicybe geotropa)
Also known as trooping funnel, this mushroom is found during the fall in Europe and North America growing in fairy rings or troops in mixed woodlands including forest clearings and…
Plant Profile: Narcissus Flowered Anemone (Anemone narcissiflora)
Narcissus flowered anemone is a herbaceous perennial native to northwestern North America and Eurasia where it grows in high mountain grasslands, thickets, grassy meadows, pastures, open woods and along roadsides.…
Plants for a Mary Garden: Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis) “Mary’s Heart”
Hearts have traditionally been associated with the love, compassion, and sorrow of the Virgin Mary. The unique shape of bleeding heart’s flower which resembles a heart with a droplet falling…
Plant Profile: Yellow Bedstraw (Galium vernum)
Native to grasslands and meadows of Europe, North Africa and southwestern Asia, this rhizomatous, herbaceous perennial is a member of the coffee family, Rubiaceae, that also includes gardenia and Pentas.…
Book Review: The Container Victory Garden
Maggie Stuckey’s book, The Container Victory Garden, is about growing vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers in containers. Aimed at beginning gardeners, the book shows readers new to container gardening how…
Edible Mushrooms: Mosaic Puffball (Calvatia utriformis aka Handkea utriformis aka Lycoperdon utriforme aka Lycoperdon caelatum)
Native to northern temperate zones, this puffball has been found in Europe, continental Asia, Japan, eastern Atlantic, North America, Mexico, South Africa, Chile, and New Zealand. It usually grows alone…