Until this winter, I only knew Japanese umbrella pine (Sciadopitys verticillata) as a handsome but dinky conifer I’d seen at garden centers selling for what could feed a family of four for a month. Then I learned in Phyllis Reynolds’ Trees of Greater Portland (Macrophyllum Press, 2013) that Portland is home to several mature specimens and that I could see this… Read more →
Birders sometimes use the term “LGB.” It stands for “Little Gray Birds” and is a shorthand way to note sightings of birds that are too unremarkable in plumage to ID. In the Pacific Northwest, we gardeners might adopt a similar lumping acronym: “BGC.” To the untrained eye, the bounty of evergreen trees here with soft sprays of foliage, like redcedars,… Read more →
Are you opposed to GMOs, but secretly wish you knew more about the details to better back up your case? Are you OK with GMOs, but don’t know how to refute anti-GMO arguments? Are you undecided? GMOs Get Personal At different times in my life, I’ve held all three of these points of view. The issue got personal last fall,… Read more →
