Monthly Archives: January 2015

Cloching lets you enjoy your vegetable garden longer

Posted on January 26, 2015 by tedmanzer

I guess we always want what we don’t have. When I was living in Maine I wanted to grow crops that wouldn’t quite make it there. Our sandy loam soils were great for cucumbers, squash and pumpkins, but we had … Continue reading →

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Wild strawberries

Posted on January 26, 2015 by tedmanzer

In late spring local strawberries are on the shelves of area grocery stores. Mine usually produce pretty well too. For small fruit lovers this is a great time of the year. Strawberries aren’t really berries though. Berries have their seeds on … Continue reading →

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It’s usually important to watch your spelling – Don’t lose a letter

Posted on January 26, 2015 by tedmanzer

Sometimes one letter can make a world of difference. Take the Yucca plant (Yucca filamentosa) for example. It is a common landscape plant for dry areas. You see it a lot in old cemeteries.  Some confuse it with the yuca, … Continue reading →

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Loquat – A prolific subtropical fruit

Posted on January 26, 2015 by tedmanzer

Back in mid-June of 2013 I took several students on a plant identification outing to prepare them for competition. Loquats weren’t on the list of plants they needed to learn, but the kids were attracted to them. Fruits were at … Continue reading →

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Sometimes I wonder how people come up with crazy plant names

Posted on January 26, 2015 by tedmanzer

A common garden and lawn weed in the Southeastern US is Asiatic false hawksbeard (Youngia japonica). That’s a pretty unusual name considering hawks don’t even have beards. I honestly can’t begin to understand that one. Numerous plants have crazy names … Continue reading →

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Shiny cudweed and rabbit tobacco: Weird names, same plant

Posted on January 26, 2015 by tedmanzer

I wandered my yard on Thanksgiving Day and found the most obvious plants still green and growing I’d already featured in this column. Then I noticed a low growing annual herb that had to join the rest. I smiled since … Continue reading →

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Aromatic tree from down under

Posted on January 26, 2015 by tedmanzer

I recently pruned my eucalyptus tree (Eucalyptus polyanthemos) at school. It has grown into a gorgeous specimen in the last ten years or so. Several times I’ve been tempted to buy a stuffed koala to stick in its branches and … Continue reading →

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Prickly Pear is a Desert delight

Posted on January 26, 2015 by tedmanzer

Anyone who has ever walked the dunes of the outer banks has seen them. Prickly pear cacti (Optuntia sp. and Nopalea sp.) are something you definitely want to notice. I remember over 25 years ago when my oldest son came running to … Continue reading →

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Magnolias are fixtures of the south

Posted on January 26, 2015 by tedmanzer

Is there another plant that symbolizes the southeastern US more than the southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)? No other tree has such large shiny leaves or larger flowers. Fragrant white blooms can be as much as a foot in diameter. No … Continue reading →

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Aloe plant is useful for more than treating burns

Posted on January 26, 2015 by tedmanzer

Aloe Vera is a succulent houseplant in the lily family, so it’s related to onions and garlic. Many people keep it around to topically treat various types of skin problems especially burns. If that was its only benefit Aloe would … Continue reading →

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