Edithcolea grandis

Lindsay Bourque composed today's article. Thank you to scott.zona@flickr for submitting today's Botany Photo of the Day ( original image | Botany Photo of the Day Flickr Pool )! This stunning flower is borne from a decumbent succulent stem; the stem is often eaten as a vegetable in Ethiopia and Somalia. Native to northeastern Africa, it is also found in very localized areas of Kenya, Tanzania and Yemen. Edithcolea grandis is the only representative of its genus. Its natural distribu

The Easiest Way to Make Great Garden Compost

Image via Wikipedia Late winter and early spring are when I start thinking actively about my flower and vegetable gardens. In fact, I’m usually impatient to get new plants and seeds in the ground and sometimes I start planting too soon. One thing that helps prevent myself from losing good seeds and young starter plants is to occupy myself with basic gardening preparation tasks instead. And the easiest one I know of which brings the greatest rewards is making compost . I’m somewhat

The Best Garden Composting Materials

Image via Wikipedia Winter is the time of year I start thinking about my flower and vegetable gardens. It may seem a little strange to some people, because nothing usually grows much in the winter time, but this does tend to be the best time of year to start your compost pile. Now I don’t create “official” compost piles and I don’t have any kind of composting bin either. Instead, I mix a variety of natural materials together in one of my garden beds, and let those decompose on their o

What Should I Plant in My Square Foot Garden?

I’ve already collected a few gardening tools , and eagerly borrowed several gardening books from the library to start planning my garden. I’ve settled on Square Foot Gardening for my vegetable garden, but will also have to do some flower planting this fall to prevent our hill from sliding during the El Nino rains. I’ve pretty much worked out what I plan to grow on the hill, but I need more ideas for our vegetable garden. Square-Foot Gardening Made Simple The All-New Square Foot Gardening b

Vegetable Gardens Have Flowers Too!

Flower gardeners aren’t the only ones that can appreciate a bit of color and ornamental accents in the garden. So while vegetable growers may not be able to smell the roses, there’s no shortage of blossoms and blooms to catch the eye and other senses in an edible garden. Here’s a small sampling of the interesting, attractive and unusual flowers that you will find on display in the backyard vegetable plot: Nasturtium flowers are edible of course and add a bite of peppery flavor in the

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