Plants for Rain Gardens: Spring Blooming Native Perennials Wet Conditions
Karen The moisture conditions in a rain garden vary and four regions can be identified: areas with 1. shallow water most of the time, 2.wet soil with occasional standing water, 3.…
Plant Profile: Hybrid Columbine (Aquilegia x hybrida)
Hybrid columbines are herbaceous perennials and members of the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, that also includes monkshood, delphinium, and anemone. There are a large number of hybrid columbines and many are…
Botanical Latin: Pedata
Ped A ta from Latin pes, pedis meaing foot The term is used to describe plant structures, often leaves, that are divided so that they resemble a bird’s foot, with…
Plant Profile: Rose Altissimo
The cup-shaped to flat flowers appear singly or in clusters on long stems, and give way to large orange hips. The petals are uniformly blood red and surround a center…
Book Review: In Defense of Food
How can we decide what to eat when we are bombarded by all the ever-changing information from nutritionists, the food industry, and scientific studies? We all want to eat healthy…
Plant Fiber in the Diet: Soluble and Insoluble
We hear a lot about the virtues of eating foods such as fruits and vegetables that are high in fiber and know that there are two kinds of fiber, soluble…
Plant Profile: Grayleaf Cranebill (Geranium cinereum)
Also called ashy cranebill, this semi-evergreen herbaceous perennial is native to the Pyrennes. It is a member of the Geraniaceae family that also includes the common bedding plant called geranium…
Genus: Armeria (Thrift) for the Garden
Thrifts are members of the plumbago family, Plumbaginaceae, that also includes leadwort (Ceratostigma) and statice (Limonium) . There are about fifty species but only a few are considered good garden…
Plant Profile: Lombardy Poplar (Populus nigra) ‘Itallica’
Lombardy poplar is a deciduous, short-lived, male clone of Populus nigra. It is a native of Italy where it grows in moist areas and is a member of the willow…
Book Review: Apples Grow on a Tree
If you want to teach a child that fruits and nuts grow on trees, Mari Schuh’s book, Apples Grow on a Tree, is a possible option. It is a no…