Book Review: Chile Peppers: A Global History
Karen Meyers Food historian and author, Dave DeWitt, presents a history of chili peppers from their origin and domestication to their spread and use around the world. Using a variety of sources…
History of Vegetables: Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus)
Karen If you have ever seen a cardoon it was probably a garden specimen planted because of the architectural quality it provides. The recorded history of the cardoon goes back to…
Plant Profile: Greater Burdock (Arctium lappa)
Native to temperate regions of Europe and Asia, this herbaceous biennial is a member of the aster family, Asteraceae, that also includes daisy, yarrow, and lettuce. The plants produce a…
Plants of the Bible: Leek (Allium porrum)
Native to the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, leek is a biennial and are related to onion, garlic, and daffodil. It grows 2-3′ tall and consists of a bundle of…
Plants of the Bible: Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)
Originally native to south Asia, cucumber has been cultivated for at least 3,000 years. It is an annual creeping vine with hairy stems carrying hairy triangular leaves on long petioles.…
Gardens in Art: Medieval Hermit Garden-The Thebaid of Gherardo Starnina
This Thebaid attributed to Gherardo Starnina (1354-1413) is one of many such painting that told the stories of some early Christian monks and hermits who went in the areas of…
Gardens in Art: Medieval Farm-Garden Complex
One of the best and most well-known sources of information on medieval gardening is Petrus Crescentius, jurist from Bologna Italy, who worte an agricultural treatise based on classical and medieval…
Gardens in Art: Medieval Monastic Garden-St. Gall
The plan of St. Gall dates from 820-830 AD and showed an ideal Benedictine monastic compound including buildings and gardens for a total of 110 monks, 115 visitors, and 150…
Plant Profile: Cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata)
This annual warm season herbaceous legume , also known as black-eye pea, southen pea, niebe, field pea, yardlong bean, and cowder pea, is probably native to west Africa where it…
Book Review: The Vegetables We Eat
Gail Gibbon’s book, The Vegetables We Eat, is both an introduction to the different kinds of vegetables and a mini botany lesson. Gibbons begins with the concepts of perennials and…