Your Backyard Garden Information Source
Heirloom Vegetables and Tomatoes In the 70’s, my father would pack all of us in the station wagon, and drive for what seemed an eternity to visit my relatives. I was pretty young, but I can remember two details quite vividly. My brother getting me to ask, “Are we there yet?” and, visiting my Grandparents. My Grandma was an avid […]
Planting the vegetable seed There is no part of the garden work which calls for such nice judgment and careful attention as the sowing of seed. Most of the failures originate right here, and a large share of the blame devoted to the seeds and seedsman, if traced back to its original source, would be found to rest on the […]
Galium – Sweet Woodruff, Waldmeister Sweet Woodiuff (Galium odorata) is a small growing, graceful, sweet scented herb. It has small, white flowers and deep green, whorled foliage. The flowers and leaves when dried have an odor like new hay and when laid among clothes, perfume them and keep away insects. It grows from 6 inches to 8 inches high and […]
Plume poppy, Macleaya cordata, Bocconia, Tree Celandine The Plume Poppy (Bocconia cordata, Macleaya cordata) is perhaps one of the most imposing plants of the hardy border, for it grows from 6 feet to 10 feet high. The general aspect of the plant is grayish-green in color with very large and deeply cut leaves. The flowers are not very conspicuous but […]
Hardy Ferns – Shield Fern, Hay-scented or Gossamer Fern, Lady and Male Ferns, Royal Fern, Maidenhair Fern, Cinnamon Fern, Walking Fern, Climbing Fern Almost everybody has a spot in the garden around the home which is so shady that very few plants will grow there and consequently these spots are bare eyesores. Have you ever taken a walk through dense, […]
Your transplanting success will increase if you’ll observe a few simple rules that take into account the plants’ needs. Basic as they are, simple as they may seem, they are still the fundamentals around which successful transplanting is built, so follow them and give the plants the best of care following their transfer. These are the general rules. Those which have […]
The pea is a vegetable which helps the soil, has an interesting history, is easy to grow, and is a more versatile food than you might know. It is loaded with helpful vitamins, protective phytonutrients that provide antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits, protein and fiber. They’re low in fats but, what they have, are healthy omega-3 fats. Some research (whfoods.org) indicates […]
CALLISTEMON—Bottle-Brush Tree (Calliste’mon). Tender evergreen flowering shrubs from Australia which belong to the Myrtle family, Myrtaceae. They are well adapted for growing outdoors in California and in similar mild climates and for greenhouse cultivation elsewhere. They have narrow, dark-green, leathery leaves, which are slightly aromatic when crushed. The flowers are densely packed in terminal cylindrical spikes resembling a bottle brush […]
Basil is a well-known culinary herb that’s popular in many Italian dishes. But did you know that there are many other uses of this herb, including its use as a tonic to aid in digestion? The most common use of basil is for cooking, such as in tomato sauce, pesto, or vinegars. But it also can be sprinkled over salads […]
Low-growing, annual and perennial hardy plants found wild in many countries and suitable for the rock garden and flower border. They belong to the family Rubiaceae. The word Asperula,from asper, rough, refers to the leaves. Planting and Propagation. These plants thrive in a well-drained, woodsy soil and may be planted in early fall or spring. The best method of propagation […]