by Karin Uphoff | Jan 9, 2018 | Blog
January is a month that embodies the true starkness of winter on the coast. While it may be sunny, much native foliage, has tucked its juiciness under the soil. This natural inclination towards vegetative slumber when the sun draws a low arc across the sky is a sign...
by Karin Uphoff | Nov 17, 2016 | Blog
The damp coastal weather invites an incredible variety of fungal flowers (otherwise known as mushrooms) to pop up everywhere. Though mushrooms grow in soil and were originally believed to be an offshoot of the plant kingdom, recent studies have shown that most fungi...
by Karin Uphoff | Aug 5, 2015 | Herbs
Chamomile is one of the old favorites in traditional herb gardens and kitchens and is still a popular herbal medicine throughout the world. The name stems from Greek “ground apple” for its lovely apple-like scent. In Spanish the name Manzanilla (“little apple”),...
by Karin Uphoff | Mar 30, 2015 | Herbs
Mullein has long been one of my favorite tonic herbs and a special winter into early spring companion. This magnificent plant is like the elephant of the garden with its ears of broad, basal, furry leaves and its flowering trunk of nearly six feet tall. It is a native...
by Karin Uphoff | Nov 19, 2014 | Herbs
Boneset herb (Eupatoria perfoliatum) is a perennial native of northeastern America and was commonly used by the Native Americans living there. It likes to ‘keep its feet wet’ by growing in the margins of swamps, marshlands and streams. The leaves are slightly rough...