Last week I posted about 2 Catskills wildflowers, Dutchman’s Breeches and Squirrel Corn. Both are species in the genus Dicentra, and they are very closely related to the popular garden plant, the Bleeding Heart. I described their special relationship with bumble bees, and mentioned also their relationship with ants. Well,…
The local cast of characters changes throughout the season. The fly fisherman knows that different fly patterns are effective at different times of the season. Throughout our gardening season, different plants flower and fruit at their own particular time. So it is with many insects. Many emerge as adults and…
Last week, I focused on the Bleeding Heart, a popular garden plant which used to be in the genus Dicentra. Dicentra has two species native to the Catskills region. One is Dicentra cucullaria, the Dutchman’s breeches and the other is D. canadensis, aka Squirrel Corn. These two Catskills wildflowers are…
Gardeners often hate it when botanists change the names of plants, but gardeners and botanists use names differently. Gardeners use a plant name as a tag, an identifier, a way of searching on the internet. To botanists, a plant name is rich in information. Botanists use a plant’s scientific name…
Anemone is a genus (a closely related group of around 150 species) with representatives in our gardens and with native species here in the Catskill Mountains as well. The genus Anemone as a whole has a very interesting history to explain all the different types of anemones in different places.…
