Amy Stewart’s Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers is an incredibly entertaining and informative book on an industry that most of us, well at least me, knew nothing about and pretty much took for granted. The cut flower industry has rich lessons in history, economics, botany, biology,Continue reading “Book Review – Flower Confidential by Amy Stewart”
Tag Archives: Flowers
Native Plant Spotlight – Rudbeckia
Rudbeckia, or Black Eyed Susan, is a common ornamental garden flower. It is a perennial nativet that requires little maintenance and adds great color and shape to any flower garden. Rudbeckia is easy to get started either from seedlings or seeds. I tossed seed heads from spend flowers into an area I had covered inContinue reading “Native Plant Spotlight – Rudbeckia”
Native Plant Spotlight – Jerusalem Artichoke
This Pennsylvania Native is not from Jerusalem, nor is it an artichoke. It is, however, a lovely perennial with edible tubers. Sometimes referred to as a sunchoke its scientific name is Helianthus Tuberosus. The flowers strongly resemble sunflowers, or another PA native, the Ox-Eye Sunflower. It’s a great addition to those aiming for an edibleContinue reading “Native Plant Spotlight – Jerusalem Artichoke”
Native Plant Spotlight – Mountain Laurel (or Spoonwood, or Kalmia Latifolia)
I can’t believe it’s taken this long to get to Pennsylvania’s state flower. But to tell you the truth, I’m not super familiar with Mountain Laurel, or Kalmia Latifolia. I know it’s Pennsylvania’s state flower, but that’s about it. This is a learning experience for me as well. Mountain Laurel does not belong to PennsylvniaContinue reading “Native Plant Spotlight – Mountain Laurel (or Spoonwood, or Kalmia Latifolia)”
Natvie Plant Spotlight – Bee Balm or Monarda
Sticking with the flowering natives we’ve been talking about, this week is one of my favorites! Bee Balm, or Monarda, is an excellent plant for many reasons. Few plants can beat it for its striking beauty, its importance to wildlife, its fragrance, and its tall upright form. Bee Balm is a perennial that has manyContinue reading “Natvie Plant Spotlight – Bee Balm or Monarda”
Native Plant Spotlight- Columbine
Red Columbines, or Aquilegia Canadensis (or Candadian Columbines), are a perennial that we found growing wildly in our yard without planting them. When they sprouted up, I saw interesting foliage and decided to see what it was before calling it a weed and yanking it out. When the flower opened, it looked familiar, and itContinue reading “Native Plant Spotlight- Columbine”
Native Plant Spotlight – New England Aster
This is installment number 2 in our native plant spotlight series. Native plants have many benefits over exotic or non-native plants. That’s not to say that there isn’t a place for exotics in the garden. Exotics can bring beauty, utility, and positive ecological benefit, but natives really help the local ecological community. The Pennsylvania DepartmentContinue reading “Native Plant Spotlight – New England Aster”
Native Plant Spotlight – Purple Coneflower
Native to North America, Purple Coneflower, or Echinacea is a great addition to any garden. This plant is great for pollinators, as a food-source for wildlife, and is drought tolerant and deer resistant. I have a row of this hearty perennial along my driveway. It is very low maintenance. Some weeks grow between them, mostlyContinue reading “Native Plant Spotlight – Purple Coneflower”
Weekly Nursery Update – June 5
This week we had an issue when I noticed one of our pepper plants had small black bugs on it. I’m not 100% sure what they are, but they may be black aphids (I’ve seen white aphids bushes before). They could have been pepper weevil larvae too, but I’m not certain. They were pretty small,Continue reading “Weekly Nursery Update – June 5”
Meneely Family Nursery 