Garden Wisdom Blog — category: Garden Resources

What the heck is xeriscaping? Simply put, xeriscaping is a system of landscaping with water conservation as the priority. In areas that receive little rainfall in the summer, some thoughtful xeriscaping will allow flowering plants to thrive, adding visual appeal – as well as important forage for pollinators. While most communities have watering restrictions in the summer, places like the Gulf Islands are restricted to well water - which makes it a seriously valuable commodity. There are five principles that are key to xeriscaping success: Plant selection is fundamental to xeriscaping because different plants have different needs when it comes...

Most of the vegetables we eat on a regular basis are cultivated adaptations from some older source. A good example is broccoli, which is the very same species of plant as cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, and kohlrabi. All of these were bred over time from a common ancestor. The modern tomato, even in its various heirloom forms, is highly developed through generations of breeding from its original wild form. Plant breeding is in no way a bad thing — rather, it has given us a wealth of variety from a handful of sources. There are a minimum of 296...

There are some very interesting facts about tomatoes. No one can say for certain, but the ancestor of all modern tomato varieties appears to have been a scrambling vine that was native to the highlands of Peru. Archaeological evidence suggests that these wild plants were harvested for their small green berries. The first domestication of the tomato was by the Aztec people of central Mexico who grew it for its small, cherry-sized yellow fruits. They gave it the name Xitomatl (swelling fruit), from which we get the modern English word, “tomato.” Both of the explorers Cortes and Columbus are credited...