

THE LIST
Borrowing from the Monty Python Flying Circus intro, now for something a little different . I recently introduced and for this month's offering will direct you to the yellow home page bar entitled and linked to THE LIST. It is a self-explanatory 15-page read that those of you brave enough to peruse will find interesting, in part shocking, and certainly revealing -- brave because part of my intent was to overwhelm, cause you to think WOW or OH MY. The idea for THE LIST came
Jan 1


In Praise of Larch
I am fond of conifers. One of my favs is what we call larches ( Larix spp.). These coniferous trees produce 1-2-inch-long flat and delicate leaves that are pleasantly soft to the touch. The branches are dimorphic. The needle thin leaves are arranged individually on new shoots but in older stems they are located in brush-like clusters at the end of spur-like shoots. The emerging fascicle (10-40 leaves per, depending on species) looks something like a basally attached se
Dec 1, 2025


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, 2025


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, 2025


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, 2025


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, 2025


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, 2025


ELDERBERRY
One of my favorite garden plants is elder or elderberry -- not to be confused with boxelder ( Acer negundo ) or groundelder/goutweed (...
May 31, 2025


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, 2025


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, 2025