Much has been made in the news about the heat this summer. No wonder. Nobody needs much reminding, with large swaths of the country sweltering. There’s been drought too. This weather is tough on our infrastructure and most living things—plants are no exception. How does heat affect them, and how do they adapt to it? […]
Mid-summer—before kids start football, soccer, or whatever practice—is vacation time. And for us, it’s no different. Agree with me or not; I think California’s a great place to visit. But as with any visit, the best part often is going home again. So that’s what we did for our summer vacation. We went to Chicago […]
High above the Wabash River with night falling, it was still almost as hot and humid as it had been all the way across Missouri and Illinois. Now with the flat tire, it seemed unlikely that I’d make it the remaining 330 odd miles home that night. As I removed the jack and straightened up, […]
Fagus sylvatica ‘Pendula’ Weeping Beech Fagus sylvatica ‘Pendula’ Weeping Beech Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas Fir) ‘Graceful Grace’ Pseudotsuga menziesii on the left and at front right is Taxodium distichum (Bald Cypress) ‘Cascade Falls’ Taxodium distichum ‘Cascade Falls’ with Seed House roof Another view ‘Graceful Grace’ again Pinus parviflora ‘Glauca Nana’, a rare cultivar of Japanese White […]
For a long time, I used to say that crows like nothing better than pizza crust. But that’s not strictly true; crows seem to eat and to enjoy most table scraps. They don’t obviously roost near our house, but they must watch us because when we put out stale bread, old pasta, or anything else […]
Recent history books such as ‘Founding Gardeners’ by Andrea Wulf have revealed the botanical, horticultural and agricultural enthusiasms of the Founding Fathers and signatories to the Declaration of Independence, who recognized the most valuable assets of the colonies were diverse economic plants. In time, their experiments became passions. For Washington, Madison and Jefferson they became […]
Amid the noisy coverage of high cost health care and high-tech medicine, one inexpensive, low-tech therapy has received scant attention. This approach has proven a highly effective adjunct therapy for a broad range of conditions: mental illness, disabilities, AIDS, autism, orthopedic recovery, brain injuries, substance abuse, depression, cancer, Alzheimer’s, attention deficit disorder, obesity and burn […]
We had the opportunity last year to meet an extraordinary group of conifer specialists and professional arborists: Ridge Goodwin of Ridge Goodwin & Associates and Martin Brooks of Rare Plant Nursery, as well as the team of Fred and Cheryl Vieth of Creative Essentials. Cheryl and Fred collaborated with Ridge and Marty on all aspects […]
The Delaware Valley can rightfully proclaim itself the capital of American public gardens. Our region is home to an unrivalled collection of world class gardens and arboreta, remarkable for their quality, distinctive personalities and specialties. The fortunate residents of the Philadelphia region, can, by travelling a short distance, find themselves in other worlds. One might […]
I don’t know why the previous inhabitants of this house kept the yard so wet. “Over watered”, I noted when I originally saw it. But it’s since occurred to me that the purpose might have been to suppress the gophers and preserve the lawn while they were attempting to pass the house off to us. […]
