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Blank Canvas
In 1916, the property that is now Reeves-Reed Arboretum changed hands. The Wisner family, who built the house that currently serves as the heart of the Arboretum (and bears the family's name), sold the property to John and Susan Reeves. About six months after the Reeves moved into their new home, the United States entered the first World War, which had already been raging for nearly three years. It was the end of an era in every sense of the word. But the end of one era marks the beginning of...
A welcome visitor to the Square Foot Garden
Last year the Black Swallowtail butterfly was named the official State Butterfly of New Jersey. On September 14th as I tended the RRA Square Foot Garden, I was rewarded with the sighting of one of these beautiful butterflies fluttering about.
On close examination, I noticed that this butterfly was not on an excursion for nectar. In fact, it was depositing its tiny yellow eggs on the tops of the leaves of the carrot plants that we have growi...
Boon
Etymologically speaking, the title of this post may or may not be related to the subject of this post – the heirloom gladiolus 'Boone', named for the North Carolina town where it was rediscovered. Boon in the sense of a gift or an unexpected benefit comes from the Old Norse. The name Boone – the town was named after famed frontiersmen Daniel Boone – comes from either the French locale Bohun, or from the Norman word "bon," for good, or from the Dutch word "boene", or bean, denoting someo...
