The answer to today’s puzzle will depend on YOU! I have no idea what this is. (I’m not a mycologist. And did you know that fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants?)
Anyway. I found this on our wood chip mulch today. We always get interesting fungal fruiting bodies on wood chips – one year we even got morels. But I’ve never seen this type before.
If you can’t tell, these are round and furry. … Continue reading this article “Friday fungal fun”
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 this post surrounded by quotes throughout, as a safety measure.)
Commenter Wes perceptively noted “part of the gardening public is becoming so enamored with the concept
of natives that I think they are grasping at straws to to assuage their
belief in ecological principal.… Continue reading this article “Cake and Cultivars”
A few brave souls dared to take on Friday’s puzzle. Here’s a more revealing photo; the "tongue" is actually the top of a pitcher plant:
Kudos to Hap for correctly identifying the genus (Sarracenia) of this carnivorous plant. This particular one is S. purpurea, which is distinctive in that it has dark red, open pitchers rather than hooded ones. You can easily see the downward slanting hairs in the throat of the pitchers. These hairs, as Diana pointed out, keep trapped insects from climbing back out of the pitcher. … Continue reading this article “Mystery tongue identified”
Well, maybe it’s not a cat tongue (no way my cats would put up with this), but what is it? Name both the plant and the function of this tissue for full credit!
Answer and more photos on Monday – have a great weekend!
I’m a big Barbara Kingsolver fan. Just finished “Prodigal Summer” – her tall, lanky, introverted, 40-something forest ranger-heroine encounters handsome, mysterious, much younger guy in the woods; sparks fly, etc. Rowr! Ahem.
I really enjoyed “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” when it came out a couple of years ago. It was the perfect dead-of-winter read as she captured flawlessly the itch to grow things, the scent of thawing soil, the joys of mud, the overwhelming greenness of spring, the mess of canning tomatoes.… Continue reading this article “Animal, Vegetable, Irritable”
Now I feel a little guilty. You tried to answer Friday’s puzzle so seriously, and I was taking liberties with photography:
I think this is the coolest garden stairway I’ve seen yet. The buffalgrass tolerates moderate foot traffic, and it lends a fluid look to the otherwise hard edges of the steps. And you can’t tell from looking, but it both felt and sounded silky. Best of all, it doesn’t require mowing. (This is the Rolston/Cohn garden, part of the garden tour put on by the GWA in Dallas last week.)
During my trip to Dallas last week, I saw several low-water lawns, including this one using buffalograss (Bouteloua dactyloides):
The question is – why does have this wave structure?
Another revealing picture and answer on Monday!
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 Hokies?
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Nay, ’tis a pair of Calvatia gigantia – Giant Puffballs.… Continue reading this article “It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a …Butt?”
I’m in Dallas for the next 4 days attending the GWA (Garden Writers Association) annual conference. (I get to give a talk on Horticultural CSI on Sunday!) Tonight we had a slew of vendors to explore, and among the offerings I found this plant:
So today’s question – what is this plant? And what makes it so unusual? The first question might be easy – the second one, not so much.
Answer and more info on Monday!
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, here goes. I’ve attempted to capture these concepts in as few words as possible. My opinions in no way reflect those of the Garden Professors, blog host Washington State University, or anyone else important, for that matter.… Continue reading this article “Defining Your Terms”