Plant profile: Alpine Wallflower (Erysimum linifolium)
Karen Native to Spain and Portugal this herbaceous perennial is a member of the mustard family, Brassicaceae, that also includes cabbage, broccoli, and alyssum. The species forms loose mounds of wiry…
Book Review: Gardening the Mediterranean Way
A mediterranean garden has mild, relatively wet winters and long, hot dry summers which offer unique challenges to gardeners that live in such climates throughout the world. Heidi Gildenmeister’s book,…
Plant Profile: Angels’ Trumpets (Brugmansia suaveolens aka Datura suaveolens)
Also called angel’s tears, this tender perennial is a semi woody shrub or small tree and a member of the nightshade family, (Solonaceae) that also includes potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants and…
Book Review: The Ultimate Guide to Gardening
Whether you are an experienced gardener or a novice having a new garden project is fun and can generate enthusiasm for everyone involved. Lisa J. Amstutz ‘ book, The Ultimate…
Clerodenrums for the Garden
Clerodendrums are shrubs, lianas, and small trees growing three to thirty nice feet high/long and native to subtropical and tropical regions in Africa and southern Asia. They belong to the…
Plant Profile: Queen’s Tear (Billbergia nutans)
Also known as friendship plant, this evergreen tender perennial is a bromeliad native of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay where it grows as an epiphyte in low trees and as…
Plant Profile: Leopard’s Bane (Doronicum caucasicum/D. orientale)
Native to woodlands of Europe, North Africa, and temperature Asia, this short-lived herbaceous perennial is a member of the aster family, Asteraceae, that also includes sunflower, yarrow, and lettuce. The…
Plant Profile: Yew Pine (Podocarpus macrophyllus)
Native to southern Japan and southern and eastern China, this evergreen shrub or small tree is also called Buddhist pine and yew plum pine but is neither a pine nor…
Plant Profile: Calla Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica)
Calla lily is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial native to southern Africa in Lesotho, South Africa, and Eswatini and is in the arum family, Araceae, that also includes jack-in-the pulpits, anthurium,…
Plant Profile: Common Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)
Also called English thyme, this well branched aromatic evergreen shrub is native to the western Mediterranean region to southern Italy. It is a member of the mint family, Lamiaceae, that…