Hamamelis Mollis

Icon of the southwest, organ pipe cactus (Stenocereus thurberi) is one of the best known species of cacti in the United States.Reaching up to 26 feet in height and 12 feet wide, this slow

“If you know the basic science and a few techniques with home dairy,” says Alana, author of “The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making” (Amazon affiliate link), “the whole world opens up and you can make a zillion different things.”That first book has been lavished with praise from food stars including Mollie Katzen, and Alana just delivered the manuscript for “The Homemade Kitchen,” due out in fall 2015. She’s a keen gardener whose grow-your-own passion and cookbook writing both began in 2008 with a job selling vegetables in our local farmer’s m

Q. The subheadline of your edible landscaping book is “With a Permaculture Twist.” What’s that about?A. Permaculture is a holistic landscape design technique that was born in the late 70s. A Tasmanian woodsman-cum-professor and one of his students, Bill Mollison and David Holgrem, generated the design of what permaculture is.It’s ecological design in that it observes natural ecological patterns, and then imitates those in ways to create human-centered habitats.It combines form, function and production—and also includes all the elements of alternative energy, sustainable forestry, of course your market gardening, and all the social dynamics. So it doesn’t isolate any one design element; it puts them all

THE ADVENTURE IN Mollie Katzen’s “The Heart of the Plate: Vegetarian Recipes for a New Generation,” begins even before the first recipe page. It starts in the delicious, intimate endpapers—which came from illustrated journals that the author has been keeping since she was a teenager, which were also the origin of her beloved, bestselling “Moosewood Cookbook.” The musings (that’s one in the photo above), in drawings and hand-lettered words, speak to how Mollie—a keen gardener, and the guest on my latest radio show—approaches food today. Learn how she suggests we re-define “vegetarian;” how she “paints [her] rice,” and makes her simplest, most delicious tomato sauce. And maybe win her newest book, too. 

In 2008, when I was shifting my life from city-dwelling corporate executive to rural dweller, I met Alana Chernila. We aren’t close in age—she’s was at that time a mother to two young girls—but I recognized in her right away some common essential elements.The natural world was the anchor we were both intentionally gravitating back to—and we each were obsessed with having a well-stocked freezer and pantry (or else!). We were also both brewing books. Alana’s “The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can

A statuesque tree and lover of disturbed places, if you’ve been to the eastern portion of the United States, you’ve probably encountered black walnut in the wild before.This native tree loves roadsides, abandoned fields, an

Alchemilla Mollis also known as Lady’s Mantle.

Carson Downing

Denizen of roadside ditches, marshy edges, and wet pond shores, spotted joe-pye weed is the stand-out inhabitant of some often overlooked locations.This tall member of the sunflower family, Asteraceae, can grow

Tall and leggy members of the sunflower family (Asteraceae), the rosinweeds are excellent perennial naturalizers, capable of colonizing a multitude of garden conditions.Also known as cup plant, compass plant, and p