Plant Profile: Chinese Lantern Lily (Sandersonia aurantiaca)
Karen This tender perennial is native to South Africa and Swaziland where it used to be common in grasslands and forest margins but is now rare. It is now grown commercially…
Plant Profile: Hop-Flowered Oregano (Origanum libanoticum)
A native of Lebanon this ornamental oregano is a herbaceous perennial prized for the masses of shrimp-like, papery chartreuse bracts that hang from the wiry stems. Small pink to mauve…
Plant Profile: Osage Orange Maclura pomifera)
This deciduous small to medium sized tree is a native in parts of Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma but has spread widely through the Great Plains where was planted in the…
Plant Profile: Norway Maple (Acer plantanoides)
Some of us have fond memories of “helicopters” swirling down from maple trees, breaking them open and sticking them on our nose. If you share this memory you may have…
Book Review: The Complete Flower Arranging Book
Whether you are a novice or experienced flower arranger, The Complete Flower Arranging Book by Susan Conder, Sue Phillips, and Pamela Westland, will add to your skills and increase your…
Plant Profile: Blue Throatwort (Trachelium caeruleum)
Native to the western Mediterranean, this tender evergreen perennial is commonly grown as an annual in temperate climates. It forms a clump of stems bearing narrow, dark green to reddish…
Plant Profile: Sacred Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)
The sacred lotus, also known as Indian lotus, is an aquatic perennial native to tropical Asia and Australia. It is one of two extant species in the Nelumbonaceae family and…
Book Review: Tussie-Mussies: The Language of Flowers
The Victorian art of creating a bouquet of flowers with a message has an age-old appeal. Receiving flowers from an admirer is always fun but how much greater the pleasure…
Plant Profile: Noble Fir (Abies procera)
Noble fir is the largest of the firs in terms of height, diameter and wood mass and perhaps that is why it earned its common name. Native to the mountains…
Plant Profile: Incense Cedar (Calocedrus decurrens)
An evergreen native of the Pacific-northwest, California and western Nevada incense cedar is an excellent ornamental tree that can be used in the garden to add a stately ambiance even…