It has been a busy few weeks for me — holiday traveling, Green Expo talks (that’s our regional conference), and getting ready for a semester leave this year — I’ll be working on a project investigating how professors transfer information to the public. But during this time I have, for some unexplainable reason, been thinking … Continue reading Canadian Thistle
Certainly not a “Best Of” list (because they’re ALL awesome, of course), just some posts throughout the year that I think got at the root of why we’re doing this and/or had some entertainment value with a message buried within. I’ve included some comments from our astute readers. And I’m not sure if I should … Continue reading A selection of GP posts from 2011 (part 1)
Okay, I’m biased: I’m a whole plant physiologist, meaning that I like to study entire plants in their environment, not just their cells or DNA in a lab. I got hooked on plants as an undergraduate in marine biology when I took plant physiology for “fun” (translated: I couldn’t find another biology elective to fill the … Continue reading The sorry state of whole plant physiology
One of the nice things about my job is that I get to work with a lot of other researchers who work in a lot of different areas. One of these areas is molecular biology and I certainly know people who have genetically engineered plants to do one thing or another. Maybe it’s because I … Continue reading The Genetically Modified Kentucky Bluegrass Problem (The Anger As Promised)
(As an aside, I wrote this before I read Jeff’s Oct. 13 post so don’t read this as a rebuttal!) One of the hallmarks of science is that it pays to keep an open mind. We all tend to have biases so it’s good to get a reminder once in a while that some … Continue reading Smoke ‘em if you’ve got ‘em…
A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to speak to the Portland Garden Club and see some absolutely gorgeous private gardens. But alas…even in the midst of such botanical riches I still managed to find something to make me shudder. Now I have nothing against garden remodels – or boxwood hedges (though I generally … Continue reading High-end WOW (Why oh why)
Here at the Garden Professors we pride ourselves on being on the cutting edge of technology. In fact, we’re so tech savvy we didn’t even whine when FaceBook foisted a new homepage format on us for no apparent reason. So it’s only fitting that we offer you, Mr. and Ms. Garden Professor Blog reader, an … Continue reading Be a Part of History!
This is a tale of three plants in my garden that would make the cruelest of multiple choice answers. Heh. Hence the inclusion of all three in this post: a. Manihot esculenta b. Abelmoschus manihot c. Abelmoschus esculentus d. All of the above e. Aaaargh. Manihot esculenta is Cassava or Tapioca; worthy of … Continue reading Weird and Wonderful Plant Wednesday: Threefer!
This past summer I had the chance to talk with an old friend of mine, Hamado Tapsoba, who I hadn’t seen in 15 years. We had gone to graduate school together, but after graduation he headed back to Burkina Faso, and I headed up to Minnesota. Anyway, while we were talking I told him that … Continue reading Bambara
[So I’ve veered off the “weird” track into “wonderful” already. Whoops.] “Mint!” is tantamount to the cry of “Bear!” to many gardeners. Mints tend to run amok, in just about any environment, and are difficult to remove once established. A pot or hanging basket is useful for containment, but not always successful. It wants out. … Continue reading Wonderful Plant Wednesday