Choices, Choices

Fall is fast approaching, and it is time to order or purchase spring-flowering bulbs. The catalogs have been with us since the tulips were finishing this past spring, but I set them aside because I don’t like racing the season. This is also why I refuse to buy Halloween candy in August, even as it … Read more

Singing the Bluebells

Common plant names can be romantic, like “kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate” or fanciful, like “yellow archangel”. They can even be menacing, like “wolfsbane” and “bloodroot”. Most often though, common names are descriptive. In the case of “bluebells” this is both helpful and confusing. I know of at least three plant species that go by “bluebells”. All bloom in … Read more

Tangled Up in Bluebells

When it comes time for a spring break, many people head far south to places like Florida.  Last week I headed south too, but only as far as the Brandywine Valley, a place where northeastern Pennsylvania melts into Delaware.  The Brandywine was the site of a famous Revolutionary War battle and gained additional fame in … Read more