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Archive for July, 2011

I’ve known about Echinacea, the herbal supplement, since childhood. In Europe it’s been an essential ingredient of several cold and flu medications. Most of the research on the uses and benefits of this plant was done in Europe, Germany in particular. Although there remains some scepticism about the validity of the studies, researchers contest that […]

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Lobelia siphilitica is another short lived perennial (2 to 3 years) native to eastern and central Canada and US. It grows 3 to 4 feet tall, and produces blue flowers from August to October. These lobelias seem to be more at home in my yard than the related cardinal flower, even though they have similar […]

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The diversity of the fauna in my backyard never ceases to amaze me, the other day I discovered a bug that was so well camouflaged, I thought it was a breadcrumb or a piece of lint. I was brushing it off my shirt when I realized the breadcrumb had legs. Hours of nature show watching alerted me […]

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Lobelia cardinalis produces spikes of bright fire red flowers for about a month. I added these to the woodland garden to attract hummingbirds, and so far they have not disappointed. These little avian wonders have a smorgasbord to select from, with bee balm and a nectar feeder to boot, but they make the extra effort […]

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The common name of this natively European plant comes from an old tale about Queen Anne, a fervent lacemaker, who pricked herself on a needle, causing a drop of blood to fall on the lace. The flower structures of the plant are very much lace-like. In some of the flowers there is indeed a tiny […]

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Summer meadow interlude

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For the past two months I have been on a bug killing spree. I am guilty of being a very non-eco friendly person lately in my treatment of bugs and I am not happy about it.  I would definitely never make it in one of those religions where you’re forbidden to kill living things. First I committed premeditated […]

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I know my woodland garden is entering a new phase when the beebalm starts blooming. Summer and humid days are here, the canopy above is much more stingy with letting light through (even the caterpillar damaged twigs are sprouting new leaves), and lush growth is all around. At the same time days are getting noticably […]

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I noticed this flowering creeping perennial at the wildflower garden at the Museum of Natural History. I thought “how lovely” because I had no clue what it was, initially. Moneywort, as this turned out to be, is native to Europe, and was introduced in North America as a horticultural plant. It first got here in […]

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This yellow-flowering perennial is native to Europe, Asia and North Africa, but can now be found worldwide. The name comes from the leaves that seem to be arranged in threes, resembling a flat-footed bird’s foot. In actuality those are just the most visible leaves out of a quintet. The plant will flower until September and […]

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