Plant profile: Sweet Marjoram (Origanum majorana)
Karen The subtle taste of marjorum is likely to go unnoticed in spicy dishes but it is a great herb for use in salads, sauces, pasta, soups, and with many meats…
Name This Plant Game: Trees 3
Chuck This simple game tests your gardening knowledge by identifying five plants shown in photos from a list of possible names. Photos of each plant are accompaned by a clue describing…
Botany for Gardeners: The Leaf-Margins
When you read the description of a plant you may see terms like “entire”, “dentate”, and “crenate”. They are probably referring to the margin/edges of the leaf and are important…
Plant Profile: Crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)
Crape myrtle is an outstanding plant with the only drawback that it is hardy only to zone 7. It comes in many varieties that produce frilly, crepe like flower heads,…
A Visit to Prince Gong’s Garden, Beijing, China
I had no idea what to expect as we were driven to Prince Gong’s palace and garden north of the Forbidden City in Beijing but once we arrived we were…
Plant Profile: Catnip (Nepeta cataria)
Native to Eurasia, this short lived herbaceous perennial is also known as catmint and is a member of the mint family, Labiaceae, that also includes rosemary, basil, and beebalm. Plants…
Name This Plant Game: Trees 2
This simple game tests your gardening knowledge by identifying five plants shown in photos from a list of possible names. Photos of each plant are accompaned by a clue describing…
Botany for Gardeners: The Leaf-Shape
Leaf shape is an important characteristic when gardening because it is used for the identification of plants and, more importantly, influences the texture that the plant will give to the…
Plant Profile: Japanese Weeping Cutleaf Maple (Acer palmatum dissectum ‘Viridis’)
The small walled garden off of our bedroom needed a diminutive, delicate tree and the weeping cutleaf maple I found at a local big box store filled the bill perfectly.…
A Visit to a Hutong Residence and Garden, Beijing, China.
Most of the gardens we visit on our travels belong to the rich, super rich or government but occasionally we are able to visit a garden belonging to an ordinary…