Garden Notes

Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) is a hardy perennial in the mustard family  (Brassicaceae, or Cruciferae) admired not only for its pungent character but also for its deep cultural and botanical roots. Though most often thought of in its culinary context, horseradish’s story spans geography,…

After a cool, crisp fall day, there is nothing as comforting as a warm, hearty meal. One-pot meals are an answer to the perfect fall dinner. With no use of multiple pots and pans, there is the additional bonus of cleanup being a breeze. You can just toss all your ingredients into one pot, sheet pan, skillet,…

Here are a few plants that are blooming in my garden now or were until very recently.   Layia platyglossa, or tidy tips, is an annual California native with a sweet scent and sunny innocence. It is easy and quick to grow and you will be rewarded with a profusion of  2-inch blooms…

 “I hate manzanita!” is the sentiment of a friend of mine who in the early 90s, while working in the U.S. Forest Service with archeologists, was on the lowly field crew, surveying areas scheduled for logging. They were hunting for historic and prehistoric artifacts, often spending way too many hours…

Tropism (trow-piz-em) n. in botany. An involuntary orientation by an organism or one of its parts that involves turning or curving by movement or by differential growth and is a positive or negative response to a source of stimulation. Out of curiosity, I looked up the word for how sunflowers…