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 […]
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 […]
Big and Beautiful !
I am of course I am referring to – Hydrangea paniculata “limelight” Summertime These fantastic and eye catching plants do well in containers as well as in ground. They can be as wide as they are tall at about 6-8′. Super easy to care for, prune and feed – a good choice for […]
Flowers & herbs and their meaning
What do yellow roses mean ? How about red roses ? The language of flowers has been around forever. Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and Chinese myths are all full of the subtle meaning of flowers. We nowadays give flowers to our moms for Mother Day or to our loved one for St Valentines – […]
How do I care for my indoor plants
Indoor plants are on a boom ! – we have never seen this level of interest in decades ! People are increasingly interested in bringing nature into their interior spaces. Having plants in the home is a therapeutic and inexpensive way to bring the outdoors in. Plant Specialists started as an interior plant company in […]
WHAT gender is that flower in the window?
Sexual reproduction Primitive plants – ferns, mosses and conifers do not produce flowers. Modern plants (Angiosperms) create flowers as a way of expressing their sexual reproduction. These vary immensely in their shape, color, size, and even pertinent parts! We say a flower is “complete” when it has all the parts necessary for reproduction. They […]
Nomenclature
What is it ? The word nomenclature is derived from the Latin nomen (‘name‘), and calare (‘to call’). It is a system of names or terms, or the rules for forming these terms in a particular field of arts or sciences. In Botany – it is they way we identify a particular plant species or variety. It is also related […]
Where did all my Butterflies go?
The Basics Butterflies and moths are two evolutionarily related group of insects. They are in the Lepidoptera. All of them have wings covered with scales. Their family name comes from the words for scaly (lepido) and winged (ptera). Most butterflies are very colorful and usually active exclusively during the day. In contrast, most moths […]
