Nepeta cataria I was recently reading a study from The Iowa State University Department of Entomology on common catnip. They concluded that an essential oil in catnip is very effective at repelling mosquitoes. When placed in a garden, small doses of catnip oil were 10 times more effective than DEET ! While the […]
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LEAF CUTTER BEE
The Megachilidae Many clients, during the summer season call to say they found these perfectly cut out holes in the plant leaves ! A mystery no more ! – these are actually made by a group of bees !!! Typical leaf cut out in roses A common solitary garden bee that […]
BASIL
Origins While most of us associate basil with Italian food, it is actually native to India and Southeast Asia. The earliest known reference stretches back 5,000 years to Indian Vedic texts. It comes in many varieties; sweet basil used in Italian recipes, “holy” basil in ayurvedic medicine, small leaf, large leaf, purple, Thai, and […]
Window boxes
You only get one chance to make a first impression – sounds simple enough ! and makes total sense to me ! Your window boxes on your brownstone should be just that – a first impression – one that you only get to make once! The four seasons (or more!) The window […]
Going Banana’s
Ornamental Bananas Ornamental bananas differ from the edible kind only in that they are mainly used for decorative purposes. Although the genus of all bananas is Musa – the species or both edible and ornamental differ immensely. The subgroup Ensette is also an ornamental banana. NOTHING screams tropical summer display more than an ornamental […]
PLASMOLYSIS
Turgidity Normal cells are in a state that is called ‘turgid’. That is, they are pretty full of water and hence there is enough pressure against the cell wall for the cell membranes to keep their shape. If the plant does not receive water in time – it wilts. It’s basically a result of […]
Water
The water molecule Water is chemically known as H2O – that is, 2 atoms of Hydrogen stuck to one Oxygen. This assembly is kept together by their attraction to each other at the atomic level. Hey – maybe its the water inside us that makes us attracted to one another ! I wonder? Diagram […]
The Lonely Tree Pit
The urban walkway Side walks in New York can be narrow and sometimes tricky to maneuver. But they can also be like an obstacle course ! Between dogs on leashes, strollers, dog doo doo, chalk drawings, sidewalk sales and the odd person extoling the virtues of commitment to – well – almost anything ! […]
Sweet little Pansy
The Go To plant for Spring One of the questions that I get multiple times is what is the best long lasting Spring Flower. One that can cope with erratic spring weather and can handle the common fluctuations in temperature and still look good. Soo many colors and varieties ! To be […]
