During 2015 at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, we are preparing to focus our educational programming around the theme of Myth, Magic, and Medicine of Plants. Over the past couple of weeks, our horticulture staff has been researching plants to support this theme. As part of that effort, I dove into the plant listings from some […] The post Cat’s Whiskers Plant (Orthosiphon stamineus): A Stunning Bloomer with a Medicinal Past appeared first on PITH + VIGOR by Rochelle Greayer.|
The Japanese flower from Japan—that’s literally what the Latin name Nipponanthemum nipponicum translates to in English. I like to imagine the botanists who named this plant had a wicked sense of humor, or maybe they were just feeling particularly literal that day. Japanese Daisy – locally known as Montauk Daisies Latin name aside, this week’s […] The post Nipponanthemum nipponicum – The Japanese Flower From Japan appeared first on PITH + VIGOR by Rochelle Greayer.|
I trust that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We loaded up our car Tuesday night and departed Maine for North Carolina at 4 a.m. on Wednesday morning. It was a long drive, but our kids were great—no small feat considering we were covering over 1,000 miles in a single day. We finally rolled into my […] The post The Shockingly Tall Dasylirion wheeleri – Wheeler’s Blue Sotol appeared first on PITH + VIGOR by Rochelle Greayer.|
Along the coast of Maine as we are readying for Christmas, our outdoor cultivation has come to a screeching halt as the ground is covered by a foot and a half of snow. To add emphasis to this being the time of the shortest days of the year, a half inch of ice fell the […] The post Ulf Nordfjell: A Visionary in Garden Design appeared first on PITH + VIGOR by Rochelle Greayer.|
There are plants that people love, and then there are plants that people hate. And then, there are those rare plants that manage to charm just about everyone. Columbine (Aquilegia) falls into that last category—a plant that seems universally admired. I’ve always found columbine to be a particularly elegant plant. Its light green, somewhat fleshy […] The post A Columbine To Add To Your Garden appeared first on PITH + VIGOR by Rochelle Greayer.|
This Summer has been absolutely fantastic here in Maine. There has been plenty of sunshine and enough warmth to make everything grow and prosper. The plants have leaped from the slow, cool spring to take in all that summer seemingly has to offer. Just like the throngs of tourists that visit Maine. The cold winter […] The post Gillenia trifoliata, Bowman’s Root – My Vote For Garden MVP appeared first on PITH + VIGOR by Rochelle Greayer.|
It feels great to be home. For the past week and a half, I’ve been on the road between Maine and Pennsylvania, Boston and Denver. Now, I’m back—jetlagged, but happy to be home with my family in this wonderful Maine summer. This morning, I took my usual first-day-back ritual: a slow walk through the garden, […] The post Cape Fuchsia (Phygelius) : A Bold Experiment That’s Paying Off appeared first on PITH + VIGOR by Rochelle Greayer.|
Occasionally, I will get the urge to obsess over a group of plants. I have gone mad for Magnolias, frenetic for Fothergilla, hysterical for Hydrangea, but now I am going crazy for a rediscovered genus. That genus – Cuphea – I am currently crazy for it. Species of Cuphea Cuphea plant takes me back to my college days and plant […] The post The Irresistible Beauty of Native Cuphea Plants appeared first on PITH + VIGOR by Rochelle Greayer.|
Again, blame it on this long, drawn-out, cold, and snowy winter, but I am really digging into certain groups of plants and wanting to add more and more of them to the garden. One genus that we already have in abundance at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is Epimedium (commonly known as Horny Goat Weed, bishops […] The post Planting and Growing Epimedium a.k.a. Horny Goat Weed in your garden appeared first on PITH + VIGOR by Rochelle Greayer.|
When it seemed things might be getting serious, I told Rodney I’d choose my dog, Taubensee, over him if it came down to it.| Emily Suess
Who You Gonna Believe: Chapter 4 Based on a true story. “I’m starving,” Rodney complained. “How long can one pizza take?” He angrily punched buttons on the TV remote and stopped flipping channels when he found a rerun of Seinfeld. It was the episode where Kramer tries to operate his own movie phone service. When […] The post Suicide Is Painless appeared first on Emily Suess.| Emily Suess