Wildlife at the Garden
Nature’s Medicine Cabinet BENEFICIAL QUALITIES OF PLANTS Healing Yarrow Achillea milefolium, commonly known as Yarrow, has been used for millennia as a powerful medicinal plant around the world. Yarrow was found in the teeth of Neanderthal skulls in Spain dated to 60,000 years ago. Legend tells that Achilles, the great warrior in the battle of Troy, used yarrow to clean his wounds and stop the bleeding. There are around 130…
Nature’s Medicine Cabinet
Nature’s Medicine Cabinet BENEFICIAL QUALITIES OF PLANTS Healing Yarrow Achillea milefolium, commonly known as Yarrow, has been used for millennia as a powerful medicinal plant around the world. Yarrow was found in the teeth of Neanderthal skulls in Spain dated to 60,000 years ago. Legend tells that Achilles, the great warrior in the battle of Troy, used yarrow to clean his wounds and stop the bleeding. There are around 130…
Native Texas Foods
Native Texas Foods FAVORITES THROUGHOUT HISTORY Pecan Care Many of us have seen majestic and productive pecan trees in neighborhoods near us. Seeing these lovely trees thriving can be quite the motivator to try growing pecans at home. While the idea of growing pecans can be quite attractive, unfortunately, the effort to grow them can make the reality less pleasant. Pecans are messy; they attract pests, most notably squirrels and bag…
Native Grasslands
Native Grasslands ENDANGERED COASTAL PRAIRIE Planting to Support Wildlife The Houston Botanic Garden is an urban oasis for birds. The Garden’s diversity of native plants, wide open space, and plentiful food and shelter offer ideal habitat for migrating birds. Houston Audubon has counted almost 140 species of birds on site, a number that has grown by almost 40 percent since work began in the spring of 2019 to take the…
Fungi
Friendly Fungi SOIL BIOLOGY Forest Floor Biodiversity Plant root systems are active and complex. There is more than meets the eye in these seemingly simple – typically out-of-view below ground – forms. The root exists in the rhizosphere, a wonderfully alive zone filled with bacteria, protozoa, and fungi. Plant roots secrete a solution known as exudate to manage, nourish, and protect this zone. Chemical messages from the exudate communicate to nearby…
Culinary
Culinary Garden EDIBLE & MEDICINAL PLANTS Growing Tomatoes Tomatoes are self-pollinating, meaning they have both male and female parts within one flower. Pollination results when bees get into the flower and vibrate (a sort of pollination dance). Wind can also create a similar vibration, while gardeners can also pollinate tomato plants with their hands or a toothbrush. The Incas and Aztecs, who first found the delicious and juicy fruit growing wild…
Butterflies
Beautiful Butterflies GARDENING FOR POLLINATORS Pollinator Syndromes The co-evolution of flowering plants and pollinators, like butterflies, is awe-inspiring. Each organism involved in the pollination process has evolved morphological characteristics to ensure the most successful interaction possible. Flower type, shape, color, odor, nectar, and structure vary by the type of pollinator they wish to attract, and that specific pollinator’s vision, mouthparts, sense of smell, and physical capabilities fit these flowers perfectly! These…
Bananas
Bananas VERSATILE FRUIT Panama Disease Did you know that the common bananas you get from the grocery store are all the same variety? The Cavendish is now the most common banana, although that was not always the case. Until the later 19th century, the Gros Michelle was the most delicious and popular banana variety. Unfortunately, Panama disease (Fusarium oxysporum) decimated the global plantations growing the Gros Michel banana in the 1950’s and…
Bamboo
Bamboo AN AMAZING PLANT Spreading vs. Clumping Varieties Removing the human spine-like rhysomal runners of a decades-old planting of running bamboo from a backyard can lead to much consternation and extraction efforts. For Houstonians who have had this experience, bamboo is considered a wildly problematic plant. They are half right. Bamboo, the fast growing plant on the planet, and the largest grass genera, comes in two major catergories: clumping and running. For…
Arid Plants
Arid Plants SOIL MECHANICS Agave and the Aztecs Agaves may bring to mind for adults the smoky flavor of mezcal, or the sharp taste of tequila in your margarita, but historically and ecologically, it is so much more. Did you know that the indigenous people of the Americas, including the Aztecs, used agave leaves as thatch for dwellings and the fibers for making rope? Their thorns were used as needles, and…