From the Greek echinos, a hedgehog, opsis, like, referring to the spiky appearance of the flower heads which resemble a rolled-up hedgehog (Compositae).
Common Name: Globe thistle. Hardy ...
Grow Japanese Red Maple Trees from Seed
Most Japanese Maple seeds ripen in the fall. Watch the tree and wait for the seeds to turn brown. The seeds are ready to be harvested when they are brown and can be easily removed from...
Plant garlic in your garden
The fall is the perfect time to plant garlic in your garden. Compared to spring-planted garlic, fall garlic produces larger bulbs, matures earlier, and often has fewer disease problems. Additiona...
Pumpkins are Cool!
Don’t just chop them up at Halloween, used in soups, pies, and stuffed, pumpkins make a delicious addition to our autumn menus. Fiona Lawrenson spills the beans
I’ve seen grown men cry...
How to Germinate any Seed – Growing Seed Requirements
A seed is an embryo plant and contains virtually all the materials and energy to start off a new plant. To get the most from one’s seeds it is needful to understand a little about their ne...
Is Crabgrass in your lawn?
I admire tenacity. It is a trait that I strive for myself and have tried to instill in my child. I am moved when I hear stories about people who overcome adversity or achieve great things by try...
Fabulous Fir Trees to Plant
Even if you’re not a gardener, you may know the fir tree from the popular balsam firs sold as cut trees over the holidays. This tree and other related fir trees make beautiful landscape plants, ...
Pegging Down Roses
There are exceptions, as may well be imagined, among the wonderful variety that is found in roses at the present day. The first exception is found in those varieties that make vigorous growth ev...
Easy House Plants – Umbrella Plant
The umbrella plant may be seen as octopus tree—both names from the spreading leaves with large leaflets in an umbrella spoke pattern. It often goes just by the genus name of Schefflera (said as ...
Gone but not Forgotten
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
There is a beautiful, rather elegiac song by the American composer, Samuel Barber called “Sure On This Shining Night”. The piece has a particularly luscious phrase&...