Shakespeare’s Garden: Bachelor’s Button
Karen The plant known as bachelor’s button today is Centaurea cyanus, an annual native to Europe. It is in the aster family, Asteraceae that also includes daisies, sunflowers, and lettuce. Intense…
Shakespeare’s Garden: Thistle
Thistle refers to plants that have leaves with sharp prickles on the margins. Most of them are in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, and are native to Europe and Asia.. There…
Shakespeare’s Garden: Turnip
The turnip (Brassica rapa) belongs to the mustard (Brassicaceae) family that also includes cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprout and radish. Brassica rapa has several subspecies including bok choi, pak choi,…
Shakespleare’s Garden: Crown Imperial Lily (Fritillaria imperialis)
This spring blooming bulb is a member of the lily family, Liliaceae, and native to Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. It stands three to four feet tall and has…
Shakespeare’s Garden: Crowflowers
The crowflower of Shakespeare has been various identified as ragged robin ( Lychnis flos-cuculi), buttercup (Ranunculur spp), and common bluebell or scilla (Hyacinthoides nonscripta) but ragged robin is the most…
Shakespeare’s Garden: Box (Buxus sempervirens)
Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens), as it is called in America, is a slow growing evergreen shrub or small tree (15-30 feet tall) native to North Africa, western Asia, and Europe where…
Plant Profile: Cowslip (Primula veris)
Clusters of bright yellow flowers wave on downy upright stems above bright green leaves in spring. The flowers are funnel shaped and may be single or double. They have red…