foxgloves

Swollen Blooms

by
yellow flowers

Lately I have been fascinated by plants with ugly names—a few weeks ago it was streptocarpus, better and more euphoniously known as Cape primrose. Right now, as my snapdragons prepare to bloom, it is their plant family, known as the “figwort” family, or Scrophulariaceae. Gardeners have long celebrated members of this family, which includes summer … Read more

Foxglove Smackdown

by

The garden looks desolate right now because winter does not have the good sense to pack up its snowy bags and go away.  Despite that, the foxgloves thrive.  Even when wintery mix threatens in April, their lettuce-like basal rosettes spring up stubbornly from the earth, challenging the elements to a seasonal smack-down.  Old man winter … Read more