For many years I only used the soft, young tips of spruce branches for cooking, but recently I tried some mature, first year branches, harvested on a snowy December walk. I kept the branches in the freezer, waiting for a special occasion, and pulled them out last week to use in spruce tip ice cream. Their flavor is different from…
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Depending on where you live, yuccas may be a wild plant in the landscape, a valued ornamental in the garden, or a traditional food. This is no ordinary plant. Most people think of yuccas as denizens of the desert, and they are indeed drought tolerant and tough as nails. But they’re also at home in containers and gardens in many…
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The first time I saw mugwort in my garden I thought it was a chrysanthemum. I left it in place, expecting a riot of bloom in autumn, but alas, all I got was more mugwort. The foliage isn’t unattractive, and it smells terrific, but it’s a thug in the garden and not something you want to let run rampant among…
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Last weekend I was in Austin for the 10th annual Garden Bloggers Fling. Garden bloggers from all over the country convened to visit, admire, and be inspired by private and public gardens. I was apprehensive at first, because I’m more of a plant person than a garden person. I don’t get a thrill out of magnificent, cultivated landscapes, or perfectly groomed yards…
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Every once in a while I make something I’m really proud of, and this is one of those times. The New Mexico locust trees (Robinia neomexicana) have burst into bloom here in Santa Fe, and their purple-pink flowers are so fragrant, I was sure they’d be tasty, too. I’ve used the flowers of black locust (R. pseudoacacia) in fritters, but I…
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