Garden

Ferida Wolff writes: "We also planted a lilac bush in our backyard. It was a different variety with darker flowers and a more delicate scent. It grew tall and leggy and did not do as well. For two years it reluctantly put out leaves, no flowers, and half stopped growing at all. This year it bloomed with vigor; each day we look out at the rejuvenation of this beauty." more »

Tam Gray writes, '"The flowers bloom like tiny enchanting fireworks: a star burst of bracts surround the spray of small flowers and splashy groups of buds shoot out from branched stems like the finale on the Fourth of July". The flip flops? Wearing the astrantia blooms on my feet is quite another pleasure.' " more »

Ferida Wolff wries, "The Redbud is an early blossoming tree and stands out against the slower developing trees. The fruit hangs in pods like peas and is edible. The flowers can be used in salads. Native peoples used the bark to make a medicinal tea to treat fevers and congestion like whooping cough. And all summer long its heart-shaped leaves will remind me to keep looking for the spirit in all life forms." more »

“Our study raises important issues regarding pesticide authorization procedures. So far, they mostly require manufacturers to ensure that doses encountered on the field do not kill bees, but they basically ignore the consequences of doses that do not kill them but may cause behavioral difficulties.” more »