‘the gifts of the crow,’ with john marzluff

Did you know that citrus fruits are one of the only fruits in season during the winter? Not too long ago, the joys of taste-testing some unique citrus fruits was limited to winter, but now we can enjoy many citrus fruits (and their many benefits) all year long. One delicious type of orange that you may not be familiar with is the cara cara orange. A relatively new kid on the block, the cara cara is not only beautiful, but it also has a flavor profile that might just make it your new favorite citrus.

No other plant native to South Carolina has such fragrant and beautiful spring blooms and stunning fall color as the witch-alders. Fothergilla was named after Dr. John Fothergill, an English physician and gardener who funded the travels of John Bartram through the Carolinas in the 1700’s. These beautiful shrubs have been planted in both American and English gardens for over 200 years, including gardens of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

NOW THEY’RE SAYING NOT JUST THE F WORD BUT THE S WORD, TOO: snow. It finally frosted here last night, but don’t we get a moment to adjust to that before you-know-what begins? Last year the first snowfall came October 28, as I noted then; this year the Almighty NOAA (the national weather guru) says snow the end of this week.

The boys and I extend a huge thanks to Adrian, whom you can meet in the videos he’s been creating on The Post’s website. I loved this video about tomatoes, in which he combined visits with DC-area community gardeners and with our mutual friend Amy Goldman, the heirloom tomato queen who lives not far from me. Adrian’s recent story on Amy is a must-read as well.Also thanks to my very dear friend Erica Berger, who performed trick photography during the Washington Post photo shoot, so that (finally) a photo of Mother of the Frogboys that’s more recent than me at age 3 appears here.  I didn’t see any of Erica’s photos that ran in the paper, or others from her shoot including this one, on The Post’s website…just the story itself is there…

Tip Number 2: CHRISTMAS CACTUS is another story altogether. I grew one plant for more than 20 years, a family hand-me-down, that only perished after literally falling apart because it got so big and brittle and I had to move it, sadly, which did it in.The plant’s requirements are simple: Though its name says “cactus,” this isn’t some desert creature inclined toward basking in blazing sun, but rather a tropical forest native and an epiphyte at that (a plant that in its native habitat doesn’t grow in soil at all but nested in trees). Bright indirect light is fine; full sun will burn its tissue, which sometimes reddens up first, as if slightly sunburned, like it’s trying to warn you you’re getting close to the danger zone.No drafty spots for Schlumbergera up against a winter window, nor any radiators (what plant really likes either condition?). It can withstand temperatures in the 40s, if need be, but not the violent blasts of hot and cold, hot and cold.

I actually have no certain diagnosis; so many of these issues look somewhat alike, unless you are a plant pathologist, and so far I only have a relative few affected leaves. I nevertheless love Cornell’s diagnostic tool, a photo-driven system arranged by plant part (leaves, stem, fruit).What I do not seem to have, thankfully, is the late blight that’s been the source of the most dramatic headlines, and of a thorough story by Adrian Higgins of The Washington Post, late last week. This dramatic outbreak has also prompted warning bulletins from Cornell and other extension services. My plants have none of its characteristic early sign: dark stem lesions.This is the affliction (affecting tomatoes and potatoes) that caused the 1840s Irish Potato Famine, and it has never been recorded this early in the United States, apparently, nor this extensive

Few people have a more practiced eye about ferns than Judith, a.k.a. The Fern Madame, who joined me from Fancy Fronds in the State of Washington to introduce us to some distinctive favorites from among her vast collection: ferns with pink-to-bronze early color, with glossy foliage, with forked, divisifine-textured cresting (like the crested uniform wood fern, above).Read along as you listen to the March 5, 2018 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).fern q&a with fancy fronds’ judith jonesQ. I’ve known about you and your catalo

The latest longing for a way to store my garden produce properly overtook me last week, when I was looking for images of roots (as in those ant-farm-like diagrams of a cross-section beneath the soil surface of the prairie).  One of the “autofill” suggestions that appeared when I started typing r-o-o-t into a Library of Congress photo-archive search was the phrase “root cellar,” and I could not resist.Suddenly, down the rabbit hole into underground repositories of yesteryear I went, touring historic root cellars around the United States that had been surveyed as part of a Histori

Chris Earle, from Olympia Washington, has a doctorate from the University of Washington, and describes himself as a “complete biophile,” someone who loves living organisms, with the trees leading the list, it seems. Since 1997, he has been the passionate creator of conifers.org–a massive Gymnosperm database described as, “the web’s premier source of information on conifers and their allies.”Basic information about the biology of every species of conifer in the world is arranged by species, with essays by Chris rounding out the exhaustive coverage.Ever wonder what the most common tree on the planet is, or how the giant sequoias are so successful, and impressive—what’s their secret, genetically speaking? Or why Arborvitae is called

It’s certainly true that not all birds do well living with us—but some species have adapted and actually even thrived. So why is that, and what can we do as human neighbors to foster more such success stories?Marzluff is a renowned ornithologist and urban ecologist, and professor of wildlife sciences at the University of Washington.“Welcome to Subirdia: Sharing Our Neighborhoods With Wrens, Robins, Woodpeckers and Other Wildlife,” from Yale University Press is his fifth book. In his research, he applies a behavioral approach to conservation issues and has particular expertise in crows, ravens, jays and their relatives, as well as birds of prey, and also in so-called pest species of birds.He joined me on my public-radio show and podcast to talk about birds that do, and don

The brown creeper is about 5 inches long (much of it tail!), but weighs just 0.2 to 0.4 of an ounce, or 5 to 10 grams—though it never lets being petite get in the way of business. With a beautiful voice and the best camouflage ever, it’s what I’d call a do-er. The brown creeper starts at the base of old trees—preferably with loose or shaggy bark—heading upward in search of insects and spiders. Once it reaches the top, it flies to the base to start again.Hazel Wolf, a Seattle-based longtime activist for social justice, admired that trait when she saw the bird in action on her first birding trip, at age 64. The creeper’s determination inspired her to take on advocacy projects in behalf of the environment from that day on, until her death.“I saw it work its way up the trunk, moving quickly, always up, up, up—then fly back to the base…” Haz

It begins with a dedication that includes these words:“…to everyone who tears up their front yard to plant big chaotic wildflower gardens, to farmers who think hedgerows and wildflower field borders are just as important as crops, to urban planners and landscapers wh