Weeds and Their Control: Common Burdock (Arctium minus)
Karen Take a walk with your dog in a place where common burdock grows and you will spend the following half hour pulling the brown burs off your clothing and pet’s…
Growing Plants from Seed: Cosmos
The white, pink, or rose flowers of this annual cosmos native to Mexico are a welcome addition to the garden along with its fine fern-like foliage. They are easy to…
Weeds and Their Control: Green Alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens)
Also known as evergreen bugloss, this perennial weed is native to Western Europe where it grows in damp shaded areas especially those with calcareous soil. It is a member of…
Growing Plants From Seed: Green Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris)
Green beans, also called snap beans and string beans, are in the same genus and species as kidney beans, navy beans, and pinto beans but differ in that their pods…
Weeds and Their Control: Soapwort (Saponaria officinalis)
Soapwort goes by many names including bouncing bet, wild sweet william, and latherwort. A member of the carnation family (Caryophyllaceae) it is native to Europe and Asia but has naturalized…
Growing Plants from Seed: Spider Flower (Cleome hasslerana)
Spider plant is an annual that heavily self-sows so once a few plants established more plants are likely to follow in the following years. The flower color is variable and…
Beneficial Insects and How to Attract Them: Tiger Beetles
There are over two thousand species of tiger beetle worldwide and over one hundred in North American where they can be found in sandy areas such as beaches and sand…
Weeds and Their Control: Moneywort (Leonurus cardiaca)
Also called lion’s tail, lion’s ea and cowthwort, this perennial weed is a member of the mint family and is native to Eurasia. It has spread to North American and…
Collecting Seed: Orange Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida)
Orange coneflower is a perennial in the Asteraceae family and is native to North America. It grows one to three feet tall and has flowerheads two to three inches across…
Beneficial Insects and how to Attract Them: Praying Mantids
Mantids, also known as praying mantises, are a group of insects that include about twenty different species in North America where they live grasselands, meadows shrublands, and gardens . The…