Plant Profile: Japanese Spirea (Spirea japonica)
Karen Also known as Japanese meadowsweet, Japanese spirea is native to riparian areas, bogs, and other wetland habitats in Japan, China, and Korea but was introduced into North America as an…
Book Review: In My Kitchen
Award winning chef and author, Deborah Madison, presents one hundred new and favorite recipes in her book In My Kitchen. Drawing on many years of experience Madison’s recipes reflect both…
Old Time Recipes for Home Made Wines: Morello Wine
Morello cherries are a sour, very dark red cherries native to Europe and southwest Asia. They were cultivated by the Greeks as early as 300 BC and were popular with…
Plant Profile: Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)
Common buckthorn is a suckering deciduous shrub or small tree growing up to 25’ tall and a member of the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae that also includes wild lilacs (Ceanothus) It…
Edible Flower: Tulips (Tulipa spp)
Tulips are spring-blooming perennial bulbs that do well in in many areas of the US. They grow best in areas where summers are dry and winters are cold so thrive…
Plant Profile: Green Columbine (Aquilegia viridiflora)
Green columbine is a mound-forming herbaceous perennial native to China, Japan, Mongolia, and Siberia where it grows in forests, grassy slopes, valleys and wet places. It is a member of…
Book Review: Eating on the Wild Side
When faced with an ever increasing array of fruits and vegetable in grocery stores, specialty stores, and Farmers’ Markets, it is difficult to decide what foods to choose for the…
Weeds and Their Control: Goosegrass (Eleusine indica)
Also called wiregrass, this small annual grass is a member of the grass family, Poaceae, that also includes oats, bamboo, and rice. It is native to warm climates around the…
Plant Profile: Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)
Also known as absinthe, this wood-based subshrub is native to Mediterranean Europe, temperate regions of Asia, and northern Africa where it grows in dry open areas, often on rocky slopes.…
Plant Combination: Brazilian Verbena (Verbena bonariensis) and Arkansas Blue Star (Amsonia hubrechtil)
A “see through” plant like Brazilian verbena creates a beautiful sight when paired with the delicate foliage of narrow leaf blue star. The action starts with the emergence of the…