Saturnalia: Christmas in the Time of Julius Caesar and his Friends
Karen The title of this post is misleading; Caesar and his friends lived decades before the birth of Christ so could not have celebrated it. But they did celebrate a festival…
Plant Profile: New South Wales Christmas Bush (Ceratopetalum gummiferum)
A native of southeastern Australia, this Christmas bush is a small tree or tall shrub that has bright carmine red flowers at Christmas time in its native land. Like poinsettas,…
Book Review: Weeding Without Chemicals
If you garden you have weeds and know the aggravation of trying to eliminate them. A weed, of course, is a plant in the wrong place so yesterday’s treasure might…
Weeds and Their Control: Common Vetch (Vicia sativa)
Common vetch is climbing annual vine brought to North American from southern Europe as a covercrop but has since escaped and become a troublesome weed in shrub and perennial beds…
Plant Profile: Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles speciosus)
A native of China, flowering quince, was widely grown for in this country and Europe in hedges for many years until they were replaced by Japanese barberry which was more…
Christmas Butterfly (Papillon demodocus)
The Christmas butterfly is a swallowtail native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is also known as citrus butterfly because of the damage it does to citrus crops, and as orange dog…
Plant Profile: Water Arum (Calla palustris)
A relative of the tropical calla lily and peace lily, water arum has the same type of inflorescence consisting of a showy white spath cuped around a fleshy central spadix…
Book Review: Flowers and Herbs of Early America
Growing out of research at Colonial Williamsburg, curator Lawrence’s Griffiths book, Flowers and Herbs of Early America, provides the historical background on fifty eight species of plants that were available…
Herb Companions for Old Garden Roses
There is nothing new about growing herbs and roses together. Roses were traditionally grown as an important part of the herb garden because of their supposed value for curing a…
Plant Profile: ‘Blackbird’ Spurge (Euphorbia ‘Nothowlee’)
The velvety dark purple foliage of ‘Blackbird’ spurge is striking in the garden from spring until fall. The foliage color is stimulated by sunlight so plants grown in full sun…