Plant taxonomists are the scientists who make it their business to classify the world’s flora according to common characteristics. In the last thirty years or so, DNA has become a major player in this effort. Now plants that dirt gardeners, horticulturists and plant scientists only suspected of family relationships have been grouped or regrouped based … Read more
I hate to brag, but my hellebores are glorious. Little plants that I bought several years ago and installed in my front strip on a wing and a prayer have arrived at maturity. The gentle, open winter, with few really cold days and little snow has been a tonic for them, coaxing them into bud … Read more
I blame my daughter for bringing Charmelia into the house. We have been trading a nasty cold back and forth for weeks, alternating stages so that one of us always has a congested head and the other a hacking cough. Last week, she was temporarily in the recovery stage of her particular cold and went … Read more
One of the great joys of gardening and writing about plants is amassing a collection of books. These days, you might argue that everything is available online, via e–books or other electronic means. That may be so, but it would be hard to find a substitute for Botanicum by illustrator, Katie Scott, and scientist, Kathy … Read more
In light of 2016’s many significant events, you may not have noticed that it was the “Year of the Cosmos”. But noticed or unnoticed, Fleuroselect, the Netherlands-based horticulture trade group, decreed that last year, cosmos were the brightest stars in the horticultural heavens. It may be a coincidence, or not, but at the same time, … Read more
