

YIPPEE - AN ARRAY
Near the end of last month's piece I posed the following. A few Midwest hardy e vergreen plants change color in the cold months, can you name one/any other than junipers ( Juniperus )? My answer: some cultivars and species of arborvitae ( Thuja ), as well as Atlantic white cedar 'Heatherbun' ( Chamaecyparis thyoides ), Oregon grape holly ( Mahonia aquifolium ), PJM rhodo ( Rhododendron X), and boxwood ( Buxus ). The common boxwood is B. sempervirens -- the species means
Oct 31


PHENOLOGY & COLOR
I ended last month's essay with a reference to pretty colors of fall . I will expand on both (hue and season) shortly, but first want to...
Sep 30


MUSTERING INDUSIASM
The title is an instructive pun pointing out two common issues every gardener faces in late summer (1) heat aggravated fatigue/burnout...
Aug 31


Blue Mistflower, y muy occupado
First, the occupation. I have been very busy, especially with garden related work, and in miserable working conditions, so was unable to...
Aug 1


MOWING, with emphasis on Robotic Mower
[SORRY, I needed to go long again] Most homeowners have some lawn -- for many far too much, and often its a chemical dependent attempted...
Jun 30


ELDERBERRY
One of my favorite garden plants is elder or elderberry -- not to be confused with boxelder ( Acer negundo ) or groundelder/goutweed (...
May 31


Tulip Tree, BAD CHOICE FOR THE small YARD
NOTE: I am having trouble staying connected to the editor function on WIX which affected my ability to build the essay this month. I...
Apr 30


Let's Get Something Straight
PROLOGUE: Since related to the main topic, I will here again note that perennial is one of the most misused terms in gardening, and the...
Mar 31


Gardening Injuries - OUCH or worse!
PROLOGUE: I do this blog to encourage people to garden, to help avoid problems as well as to provide better results. A commercial-free...
Mar 1


GARDENING AS WE GET OLDER
[Oops, I went long again, but I think you will find it interesting. There is more "essence of The Mad Botanist" in this edition, i.e., I...
Feb 1