Robby

St John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) is a flowering plant that has been used medicinally for centuries. It gets its common name from the fact that it blooms around St John’s Day on June 24th This cheerful yellow-flowered plant has a long history of use in treating nervous disorders, wounds, and burns But one part of … Read more

Your geraniums haven’t bloomed yet, but your tulips are dying off. What should you do in this time of change? Wait for summer? No! Fill in the gaps with Senetti! The Senetti plant is a colorful “inbetweener.” It is a type of Pericallis, which used to be called Senecio but has since been reclassified. Pericallis … Read more

While I study plant biotechnology, I often think about how bad it is for nature when people don’t know enough about it or spread false information. That is why I am so passionate about bringing people and nature closer together again. Favourite fruit: raspberries, strawberries and pineapple Favourite vegetables: courgettes, broccoli and cucumbers. Rhododendron blooms … Read more

Ornamental grasses add drama and motion to any garden with their elegant plumes and graceful foliage. Best of all, there are many varieties that stay compact under 2 feet tall – ideal for small spaces or tucking into beds and borders. Let’s explore 10 fantastic choices for dwarf ornamental grasses guaranteed to elevate your landscape … Read more

One glimpse of a male rat reveals a rather shocking anatomical feature – massive testicles dangling behind their rump, These giant “pillows” seem exaggerated and rather comical in proportion to the rat’s body size But why exactly do rats have such large testicles? There are some fascinating scientific reasons behind this evolutionary adaptation The Link … Read more

People think of geraniums as very low-maintenance summer flowers, and they’re right! But there are four things that geraniums don’t like. If you avoid these things, they will thank you with beautiful blooms. In this article we tell you what geraniums can’t stand. We’ll tell you how to tell when your geraniums aren’t doing their … Read more

Catkins resembling lambs tails, and late-summer nuts. Hazel is one of the most useful trees for its bendy stems and as a conservation saviour. And its nuts are loved by people, squirrels and hazel dormice. Hazel was grown in the UK for large-scale nut production until the 1900s. Today, most of our hazelnuts are imported. … Read more

You will never see blossoms on a fig tree. The fruit is the blossom — and it’s actually an inverted flower. When the fig is fully grown, the inside only has the flower’s remains, which include the small, gritty structures we normally call seeds. These “seeds” are actually ovaries that were fertilized but didn’t grow. … Read more

Some fall leaves provide color to a green carpet of of moss growing in the lawn.The Oregonian/Oregonlive.com Reality can be skewed when there are a lot of places to get it. Books, magazines, newspapers, nurseries, and especially the internet and social media leave a lot of room for disagreement. So, how do you find the … Read more

When I started gardening as a “hobby,” I was broke and in college. I quickly learned that pre-made seed starting mix was way too expensive for me (sigh), even though I was getting a discount because I worked at a hardware store. With a small or large garden, it can feel like you’re losing money … Read more