Monthly Archives: April 2014

I first encountered a xeriscape garden in 1990, while living in Austin, Texas. Xeriscaping is gardening with plants that require very little or no watering. It certainly made sense in a hot, dry (though humid in summer, ack!) place like … Continue reading →

What can I add, really? Here’s some of what is currently flowering (or interesting) in the Medicinal Herb Garden. Not bad for April.                 nootka rose, fringecups columbine and fairy bells nodding in … Continue reading →

The Medicinal Herb Garden is lucky to belong to an international seed exchange network. Many hundreds of botanic gardens around the world participate and each garden produces a catalog of its available seeds, called an Index Seminum. By agreement, all … Continue reading →

When I venture into the garden on spring mornings, I’m generally looking at the big picture. What work requires immediate attention? Maybe it’s weeding or deadheading or cutting down cover crops, planting out starts or filling in holes dug by … Continue reading →

  It’s late nettle season around here. Even in the city, nettles abound in the green spaces. In the Medicinal Herb Garden, there are two types of nettle. In section E, from the eastern USA and Canada, is Laportea canadensis … Continue reading →

It’s still early in the flowering season but it’s worth a virtual tour. We’ll start on the west edge of the garden, in and around Cascara Circle. This American plum will produce delightful fruit, about the size of apricots. As … Continue reading →

The great variety of plants in the Medicinal Herb Garden attracts a wide range of pollinators, mostly insects but also two species of hummingbirds. Throughout the year there are Anna’s hummingbirds (Calypte anna). How such a small bird survives our … Continue reading →

In 18 years at the Medicinal Herb Garden, I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with medical practitioners and medical researchers from China, Taiwan, Japan and India. The one thing they have in common is surprise when they learn that the … Continue reading →