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Copyright President and Fellows of Harvard College. Arnold Arboretum Archives.
“Chinese Wilson” in China.

Between the Rows: Plant hunters

Friday, February 22, 2013

Where do the plants in our garden come from? How did plants get from the heights of the Himalayan mountains, or the Appalachian mountains, to our cultivated gardens? It would be hard to count the number of plants in our gardens that were first seen by the intrepid explorers of the last three centuries. John Bartram (1699-1777) of Philadelphia was possibly the first American botanist and plant hunter. Bartram was a farmer with little formal education, but he was always interested in medicine and medicinal plants. In addition to his regular farm crops, he began keeping a garden of plants that he found interesting. From … 0

Between the Rows: The wonders of Winter Fare

Friday, February 8, 2013

I just attended my sixth Winter Fare! I got to do my small part, giving a talk about the basics of extending the growing season, but mostly I just enjoyed the crowds, visiting with people I haven’t seen in a while and marveling at all the fresh produce that is available in February … 0

Between the Rows: Starting seeds

Friday, February 1, 2013

Seed catalogs are full of seed-starting supplies. There are all kinds of seed trays and flats, peat pots, cow pots, coir pots, tools for making soil blocks, soilless growing mixes, heating mats and grow lights. Where to start? If you have never started seeds indoors, the real question is what do you need? … 0