Si Pak Tani

Once again I am stunned by a flowering plant in my yard, a nonnative variety I inherited from a previous homeowner. It went unnoticed until today, when I watched a hummingbird flit from flower to flower in search of sweet nectar.   Wow, my red blooming hollyhocks are gorgeous. The Hollyhock (Alcea rosea) is part of the Mallow family, which includes a variety of plants - hibiscus, cotton, and even the cocoa tree.   Like Sweet William, it is a cottage garden favorite that is short lived but readily reseeds. It grows up to 8 feet tall, with single or double flowers in a spike and large leaves at the base.    It flowers in a wide range of colors, grows in all kinds of soil, and tolerates partial shade. Traditional gardeners find the hollyhock to be high maintenance as the leaves at the base die early, creating a shabby or leggy look unless hidden by flowers planted in front.   It is susceptible to disease and pests, and may also require staking to keep the tal...

As one who hates to water my garden, I’ve worried the last few weeks of hot, dry weather would be hard on my flower garden, parching even the hardiest perennials and shortening their flowering seasons.    But some of the early bloomers are still striking (penstemons, sweet william, jupiter’s beard), and the late season bloomers are beginning to put on a beautiful show.   Particularly my Golds. Black-eyed Susan Most visible of my Golds is a cultivated variety of the Black-eyed Susan ( Rudbeckia hirta ), a member of the sunflower ( Asteraceae ) family.    I planted an annual variety that reseeds ( Rudbeckia hirta “Irish Eyes”) and am pleased to see it has returned this year.   It isn’t as showy, though, as a perennial variety I planted at the same time, a variety I thought was native but now I'm not so sure.    Each Susan is at least 2 feet tall, has hairy leaves and sturdy stems holding a dozen or more daisy-like yellow flowers, each 4 inches in ...

Picture Courtesy University of Leeds These hard-working animals help pollinate over 75% of our flowering plants, and nearly 75% of our crops. Often we may not notice the hummingbirds, bats, bees, beetles, butterflies, and flies that carry pollen from one plant to another as they collect nectar. Yet without them, wildlife would have fewer nutritious berries and seeds, and we would miss many fruits, vegetables, and nuts, like blueberries, squash, and almonds . . not to mention chocolate and coffee…all of which depend on pollinators.  But they are disappearing and at an alarming rate.  While all pollinators are impor tant, we will be focusing on honeybees (though many of the causes relate to all pollinators not just honey bees). Picture Courtesy National Audubon Society There are a number of pressures on pollinator populations, but there is lack of information about their relative importance or to what extent they have led to the declines we are now seeing. Possible causes inc...