Flowers & Herbs

Fragrant sweet pea flowers are native to Sicily and Southern Italy. A Sicilian monk name Cupani sent seed to Dr. Uvedale in Enfield, England, in the 17th Century. (The sweet pea flower named ‘Cupani’ is thought to be the most like the native.) In 1730, a sweet pea flower named ‘Painted Lady’ was developed. Eckford, … Read more

A perennial flower garden is rewarding, less expensive and less work than having to replant annual flowers every year. With proper planning, you can have flowers blooming in your perennial garden all summer long. But what are the best perennials for our area that can anchor your perennial garden? I asked seven of our employees, … Read more

 by Jan Cashman 4/29/12 You can’t go wrong with pansies.  We all love their smiling faces in the spring.  And now, pansies are also available without faces, in intense solid colors like white, yellow, orange, blue, even black.  Many are sweetly fragrant.  Pansies, considered an “annual” flower, are sometimes perennial here—in a winter with good … Read more

By Jan Cashman 11/20/11  Even though winter has set in and your gardens are under snow, you don’t have to be without fresh herbs.  You can plant an herb garden on your kitchen windowsill.   Here are some hints on how best to grow herbs indoors: Most herbs are not hard to grow indoors, but they do … Read more

by Jan Cashman Perennial flowers are great because they don’t have to be replanted each year.  Sure, a plant might have to be replaced here and there, but generally a perennial flower bed costs less and is easier to maintain than one planted with annual flowers.   Some perennial flowers, such as iris and lilies, have … Read more

What is a native or indigenous plant? One definition is “a plant that occurs naturally in a particular area of the U.S., that was here before the Europeans came.”  The word endemic means a plant that grows in one place and nowhere else.   Endemic plants and animals are most often found on isolated islands like … Read more