Common Names
Blue Chamomile, Ground Apple, Scented Mayweed, Whig Plant, Maythen, Manzanilla, Sweet False Chamomile, Hungarian Chamomile, Matricaria, Pinhead, Babuna
About This Plant
German Chamomile is a delicate-looking but surprisingly tough fast-growing, herbaceous annual from the Asteraceae family with feathery leaves and small Daisy-like flowers. It is an airy, bushy shrub that has a bit of a wildflower look to it and grows one to two feet high and up to a foot wide. The plants can be tall and spindly and sometimes fall over in the garden if not supported by surrounding plants. It can be short-lived in hot summers and is cold hardy to -20 degrees fahrenheit. It grows best Read More
Common Names
Smallage (the original wild plant), Celeriac
About This Plant
Celery is technically an herb, not a vegetable, belonging to the Apiaceae family with cousins of Coriander, Parsley, Fennel, and Carrots. It is a biennial, though normally grown as an annual. Its Latin name, “Apium” comes from the Celtic “apon”, meaning water, and “graviolens” meaning “strong smelling”. Celery has a reputation as a fickle plant to grow, but once you understand what exactly it needs to thrive, you’ll find the task much easier. Most would agree that garden-grown celery is better tasting than store-bought, and less chemically-laden.
Today, there are basically three varieties of Celery available: Green Celery or Smallage, whose aromatic Read More
Common Names
Chili, Chile, or Chilli, Hot Pepper, Capsicum, Cow Horn Peppers, Guinea Spice, Aleva or Bird Peppers, Spanish Pepper, Red Pepper, Pod Pepper, African Pepper, Zanzibar Pepper, Goat’s Pepper, Cockspur Pepper
About This Plant
Cayenne is one of the best known of the chili peppers. It is a member of the Solenaceae family and the Capsicum genus which also includes Bell Peppers, Chilies, Paprikas, and Habaneros. The Capsicum genus comes from the Americas and has been cultivated for use for at least 7,000 years. Cayenne in particular comes from the tropical and subtropical portions of Central and South America. Some of the earliest European explorers brought Cayenne back to Europe and Read More
Common Names
Catnip, Catswort, Catwort, Catmint
About This Plant
Catnip is a short-lived herbaceous perennial plant in the Mint family that is hardy in USDA zones 3-9. It grows to a height of about two to four feet tall. It is a species in the genus of Nepeta and the term “Catmint” is often used to refer to the genus as a whole.
Catnip plants bear some characteristic similarities to other plants in the Mint family. It is an erect plant with loosely branching square stems. Its aromatic, silvery, blue-green, heart-shaped leaves are wrinkled and scalloped. They are covered in a soft, downy hair that is especially wooly on the underneath side of Read More