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Golden Zest is a Jackson & Perkins rose from before the company was sold. I don't know whether J&P carries Golden Zest for sale anymore. If not, that is a shame because this is a fabulous rose. Much neater growth habit and less sprawly than the Austin Rose Golden Celebration. I had a Golden Celebration and replaced it with Golden Zest.

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Pink Lemonade is a lovely honeysuckle that blooms nonstop most of the summer. If it has any scent, I can't detect it, but the flowers are so nice that I don't mind the lack of scent.

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Everyone should grow Chives and Garlic Chives. I find that chives work well in salads or as garnish. They also can be substituted for onions. It is so easy to go out into the garden and just snip some fresh chives when needed. I grow my chives in pots.

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Winter Waltz is well named as the color of the flower reminds me of the sky on a winter day.

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Pursuit of Happiness is one of my favorite irises because the flowers are just so pretty. Still, I do wish it had taller stalks. It has a great name, by the way, because the flowers make me happy.

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Midnight Blue has a small bloom and often varies greatly in color. At its very best, it is a dark dusky purple that looks almost black. At the other end of the color possibilities are the reddish light-purple blooms that still don't look bad.

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Narrowleaf Silkgrass is a Florida native that blooms during the summer and fall. It's easily identified by the dense silky hairs that cover the stems and leaves which gives the plant a grayish green appearance. The species latin name graminifolia refers to the long, grass like leaves. This plant will form dense colonies in the wild by underground rhizomes and by self seeding.

Narrowleaf Silkgrass is a food source for the Gopher Tortoise.

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does anybody knows the origin of this plant? never heard before...

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does anybody knows where the name come from - who sells this plant?

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comment from Alan C. Smith
(from "Sempervivums & Jovibarbas" 2. edition 1980)

Brunneifolium (dark form) - We have re-named this form as only one clone is permissible to occupy a single Cultivar name. The new name we have chosen is 'Chocolate'.

A very fine plant having slightly less compact rosettes than Brunneifolium with dark chocolate coloured rosettes. Mr. Hugh Miller verbally mentioned that he received this form from Praeger under S. marmoreum f. brunneifolium No. 2

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addition from me:

S. marmoreum 'Brunneifolium' = S. marmoreum f. brunneifolium - but this botanical name was never accepted by the botanists; so it was renamed like a cultivar;

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Many Native American and other spiritualists burned Sweetgrass in ceremonies to invite the presence of good spirits after they had burned sage to remove bad spirits and unwanted energy. Sweetgrass is a sort of incense that comes in a braid and is made available at many small metaphysical and apothecary stores. The Dakota name for Sweet Grass is Wachanga, while the Omaha name for it is Pezhezonsta. The Winnebago name for sweet grass is Manuska and the Pawnee call it Kataru. The most common scientific name for sweet grass is Hierochloe odorata. which might also be spelled Hierochloe odorada. You might find useful information under its other scientific names, which include Torresia odorada and Savastana odorada. We who use it to bring blessings and harmony to our home atop a hot Three Kings, Holland, or Swiftlite charcoal just call it Sweetgrass.

Sweetgrass prefers wet clay-like soil called Wet Mesic, where the soil often contains clay and the water drains very slowly. Moisture and water content in the soil is very high over long periods of time. If you live in USDA zones higher than 7B, keep it in the shade.

The seeds have a very low germination rate of 10 percent, so if you are trying to grow them from seed, make sure you buy 50+ seeds. Sweetgrass is mostly grown by root division.

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The roots of black walnut produce juglone, which may be toxic to some plants, such as tomato, potato, blueberry, blackberry, azalea, rhododendron, camellia, red pine, mountain laurel, and apple. These may be injured or killed within 2 months of planting within the root zone of the black walnut, but not all plants are sensitive to juglone, and many can be grown in close proximity to the eastern black walnut.
This is native to eastern North America & grows from Ontario to South Dakota to the Florida panhandle & to central Texas.
Slow to come to fruit, these trees may not fruit until around 8 years of age and will not bear heavily until at least 20 to 30 years of age, after which they will produce for another 100 years. They bear most when in an open setting rather than a forest setting.
The fruit ripens and falls to the ground in October. It is about the size of a large lime you buy in the grocery store and is green in color. This is the husk which covers the nut inside. For best flavor, the husk should be removed while it is green, before it turns brown. It is very difficult to remove the husk. People use hammers and whack the heck out of them on a concrete surface or they drive over them with their cars. You will work to get the meat of this nut, and work hard! They also stain terribly --- your hands, concrete, almost anything they come into contact with. The stain has been used to dye women's hair and in coloring textiles, as well as in Hollywood from the 1930's into the 1960's to stain the skin of actors playing the part of Native Americans.
The nutmeats are, of course, used in foods, and oil is pressed from the seeds. The wood is used in furniture making, flooring, and the stocks of firearms.
White tailed deer are known to graze on the leaves. Squirrels will eat the nutmeats; they also bury the nuts, which results in "volunteer" seedlings sprouting up.
It is extremely difficult to transplant black walnut as it does not like to be disturbed, and its deep taproot makes the task tricky, if not impossible.
The male flowers are borne in catkins, with pistillate female flowers being borne on the same tree but at slightly different times. It is good to have complementary pollinators within range.
Information on fruiting varies, with some reputable sources saying they are alternate bearing (years) and some othe reputable sources saying that they bear heavily only once every 5 years.

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Beautiful true blue flower, bee magnet. Self-sows freely. Dip blossoms in egg white then sugar and let dry, very pretty for cake decorations.

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Native in the Pacific Northwest from British Columbia to California, mostly west of the Cascade Mountains, found in the forest understory. A much more delicate form than the sword fern. The plant has two types of fronds: sterile evergreen leaves that are often pressed to the ground, and upright fertile deciduous leaves. Leaves may be used for skin sores, and are an important winter food source for deer and elk.

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Rub the leaves against one another when wet and it will squeak like a pig. Cut flower stems to the ground after bloom.

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Small burgundy bells in early summer followed by shiny black berries in late summer. Used medicinally as a narcotic, antispasmodic, for tumors and inflammation. Use with extreme caution, all parts are potentially toxic. The berries in particular are attractive to young children and are not unpleasant tasting. It is said that as few as 4-5 berries can be fatal. The plant is toxic to dogs and cats, although rabbits and cattle will eat the leaves and birds eat the berries. Will self-seed and/or be seeded by birds.

Atropos was one of the three Fates holding the shears that can cut the thread of life. Belladonna refers to its ability to dilate pupils which was believed to increase attractiveness.

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Let the fronds stand until ratty looking, then cut them to the ground.

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Cut back ratty or brown fronds in spring. The new foliage will fill in quickly. I think this plants looks best in the fall when it is lush and thick.

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One of the best yielding open pollinated zucchini. Firmer and less watery than dark green varieties.

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Yellow starthistle has been listed as a noxious weed in at least 11 states as well as 2 Canadian provinces. In California, it is listed as one of the most widespread and invasive wildland pest plants.

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