… . Amended terra preta soils created long ago still cover 10 percent of the Amazon Basin. It is important to understand that “slash and char” is different than “slash and burn,” which has many negative environmental implications, like … study showed improvement in plant disease resistance when biochar was used. So what exactly is modern-day biochar? Biochar is similar to charcoal, except that it is formulated specifically …
Type: Blog
… and hoping winter will end, cheering a thaw and higher temperatures. What you might not know is that all this snow has a number of benefits that will help your garden and landscape later this spring. Snow is a great insulator! As winter presses on, the ground freezes deeper and deeper. This prolonged … the soil. Warmer soil keeps microbes more active, which helps break down any plant waste that is in the soil, releasing nutrients. As a result of this insulation, your plants will have a much …
Type: Blog
… exquisitely preserved intact in their original three-dimensional shape. One of the new species is in the genus Spondias (hog plums), which today grows in tropical Central and South America and tropical Asia. This new Panamanian species of Spondias is the first fossil record of this plant. The second species is in the genus Antrocaryon (Ameixa or jacaiacá plums), which today are native to the Amazonian …
Type: Research
… the pollinators visiting these plants. A standout plant, looking almost like a small shrub, is white wild indigo  (Baptisia alba).  This is the white-flowered cousin to blue wild indigo (Baptisia australis) ; this  plant, not native … tubular flowers, foxglove beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis) . On the lower half of the flower is a large hairy sterile stamen (the part of the flower that produces pollen); perhaps this …
Type: Blog
… crop plants (e.g., beans, peas, and soybeans) and many other economically important species, is the third largest plant family, with approximately 800 genera and over 19,000 species found in … of the world. In addition to being a source for economically important plants, the family is also important because legumes dominate many tropical ecosystems. An international team of legume specialists, working under the group name “Legume Phylogeny Working Group” is working to develop a better understanding of the diversity and evolutionary relationships in …
Type: Research
… field of vision that helps it avoid predators. The most abundant dragonfly I’ve seen is the eastern pondhawk, with blue dasher dragonflies coming in a close second. I’m also seeing … as aquatic nymphs before they emerge into the beautiful winged insects we see on land, which is why you will often see them around water. They are fierce hunters in both stages. They don’t … dragonfly, male. This is one of the smallest dragonflies in our area, at just more than 1 inch long. Photo ©Carol Freeman.  Widow skimmer dragonfly, male. This is one of the larger, …
Type: Blog
… wild and tasted like candy. We often brought some back to share with the family, but there is nothing quite like a strawberry fresh off the plant. First described by the ancient Romans, … were first cultivated in gardens in the 1300s. The Cultivated Strawberry The garden strawberry is the strawberry we most often think of when we think of strawberries. This is the strawberry from the clear plastic boxes you find at the grocery store. This strawberry is …
Type: Blog
… recently experienced the fascinating bloom cycle with the titan arum Sprout. However, there is an additional denizen of the Araceae (a.k.a. Aroid, a.k.a. Arum) family with rare and … flowers of Japanese cobra lily have a spathe (pulpit) with a spadix (jack) inside. The pulpit is striped purple with white on the outside, while the interior is a dark, shiny, chocolate color. What is different about the blossom of a Japanese cobra lily …
Type: Blog
… In gardening, as in life, patience is a virtue. Twelve years ago, the Garden embarked on a mission to bring a rock star of the plant … Botanic Garden. The titan arum ( Amorphophallus titanum ), also known as the corpse flower, is the largest flowering structure in the world. When it blooms, it puts on a show like no … its display location . Native to the rainforests of western Sumatra, Indonesia, the titan arum is distinguished by its large size, odd shape, and terrible stench (hence its common name, corpse …
Type: Blog
… in trees for shelter and protection from the elements. What you see as a messy clump of leaves is actually a structure formed from sticks and then lined with leaves and other materials to make … Are my neighborhood squirrels somehow related to the Three Little Pigs ? Since I know that is not the case, I started to speculate: Perhaps squirrels are attracted to that particular view. … branch over a lawn. Could it be that this spot also puts their predators at risk and therefore is actually a safer place to live? I don’t know! So, I started looking around to see if there was …
Type: Blog
