Prunella vulgaris can be found all over the place. It has also been used to treat just about everything. What else would you expect from a plant known commonly as self-heal, heal-all, all-heal, and…| awkward botany
In a garden setting, a successful groundcover is a plant that is durable and adaptable, spreads readily, and fills in space thouroughly. The point of planting a groundcover is to cover exposed soil and create a sort of living mulch. In fact, groundcovers provide similar benefits to mulch. They prevent erosion, help retain soil moisture, […]| awkward botany
In case I need a reminder that the horticulture industry has a history of introducing weedy plants to natural areas, I get one each time I bike to work. Riding along the Boise River Greenbelt, a tr…| awkward botany
Box elder is a maple that doesn’t often get credit for being a maple. Moreso, it is a tree that is not thought highly of, and it may not even be welcome in certain discussions around maples. You could even say that box elder is a “rogue maple,” as Arthur Plotnick deems it in The […]| awkward botany
When you make yourself the weeds guy, and the word gets out that you’re the guy to go to when it comes to weeds, invitations and inquiries start coming your way. Usually it’s just someone asking you to identify a weed or telling you how much they despise a particular plant for its weedy behaviors. […]| awkward botany
Boise’s summers are decidedly hot and dry. Months can pass without any measurable precipitation, meanwhile temperatures regularly peak in the 90’s. In the heat of the summer, multiple days in a row above 100 degrees Fahrenheit is not unheard of. Under these conditions, irrigation is a must if you intend to keep plants alive, particularly […]| awkward botany
Sweetgum is a distinctive tree at any time of year. It stands out among most other deciduous trees with its excurrent growth habit, which gives it a narrowly conical or pyramidal shape. Only in its advanced age does it begin to develop a more rounded and irregular form. Its leaves are star-shaped with either five […]| awkward botany
In part one of this two part series, I introduced you to the Boise State University campus, located in the heart of Boise, Idaho. I’ve been spending the past year walking the campus and cataloging the weeds that I find there. Boise has a fairly mild climate compared to the rest of Idaho, so weeds […]| awkward botany