Last week Holly and I extolled the virtues of our dogs for helping to keep our gardens and landscapes relatively deer-free even though we live in areas with high deer pressure. Of course, letting dogs roam your property is not an option for everyone. So what are some other options to keep deer from turning … Continue reading Oh Deer! Part 2
One of my colleagues emailed me a couple of pictures last week taken in Puyallup, WA. As you can see, there’s a trellis supporting a massive old trunk… …and crown… of an ancient Hedera helix ‘Baltica,’ a cultivar of English ivy. For those of you not in Washington or Oregon state, English ivy is a designated noxious weed. Thousands … Continue reading When history and good stewardship collide
The comments on Friday’s puzzle have certainly been imaginative! (Tribbles indeed!) But this weekend nature cooperated to give me some more information. My little fungus family expanded over the weekend. As this photo shows, we definitely have a mushroom-type fungus: Looking at a young member, you can see what look like stalked spores emerging from … Continue reading Fungal fun continues!
Today is such a good day. Really good. Almost as good as my wedding day and the birth of my kids good. Better than the Eagles won the Superbowl good (I’m a big Philadelphia Eagles football fan — Mike Vick and his transgressions aside of course). Just for today I don’t care much about the … Continue reading Happy Days
Much as I am itching to continue the current discussion on cultivars of native plants, I’ve got to wait until next week (my seminar schedule has me hammered – doing my third one this week tomorrow). So instead I thought I’d throw out some suggestions for those nonscientists who blog and/or write about all things … Continue reading Tips for garden writers from a science writer
I was working on something entirely different, but thought better of it. I’d like to continue Bert’s (now Dr. Mister Smartypants) really intriguing discussion. Because when I read it, I felt a pang of…guilt? Confusion? I’d describe my usual perspective on the “native” topic as ultra-liberal, highly plant-introduction-centric. New plant? Gimme!!! (“Native” shall appear in … Continue reading Cake and Cultivars
So we last left off discussing the issue regarding the fact that the point is incumbent on us that one can’t refer to a native as "invasive" withou… Look! What’s that??! There! Amongst the Pachysandra! Is it a freshman? Perhaps passed out in our campus garden in despair after yet another stinging defeat of the … Continue reading It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a …Butt?
Since we’re back on the alien train (spaceship?), I thought I’d bring up another of my least favorite shrubs – Scots broom – as our next installation of WOW (why oh why?). Scots (or scotch) broom (Cytisus scoparius) is a much-reviled intruder in the western and eastern United States. Originally introduced as a sturdy ornamental, this … Continue reading W.O.W. (aka Why oh why do nurseries sell this plant)?
Loyal reader and thoughtful commenter Ray Eckhart posted a while back (something along the lines of) wouldn’t it be nice if we could come to some agreement on all this “what’s invasive” terminology. This has been flitting in and out of my brain but has not found sufficient gray matter to come to rest. Regardless, … Continue reading Defining Your Terms
One of the advantages of having a couple acres (and not being especially fastidious about weeding) is that sometimes you get your landscape plants for free. I always keep an eye out for interesting plants that may turn up on their own – or a least get left behind by our bird friends. Here are … Continue reading Volunteering for duty