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Experienced gardeners are well aware of this reality and have even come to enjoy the ephemeral nature of their outdoor spaces.
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The allspice tree produces both edible seeds used as spices, and leaves to add flavor to your dishes when fresh. Our guide shares more!The allspice tree is a lovely tree on its own and provides dried berries that make everyone’s favorite fall flavor: allspice. The tree is the only spice crop grown exclusively in the western hemisphere, and provided you have the right conditions you can grow it at home too! Allspice originates in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. In these tropical areas, growers cultivate regional allspice trees that have distinct flavors. Each region has specific culinary uses for dried berries, and the result is an aromatic cuisine that is unforgettable. So what do allspice trees need to thrive? And how can home growers outside its tropical range help their trees produce berries and harvest them? Keep reading, and we’ll cover all these things, and more… like where the name allspice comes from.The allspice tree (Pimenta dioica) is commonly referred to as Jamaican pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, pimento, pimenta gorda, Jamaican allspice, Mexican allspice, and Guatemalan allspice. It was first cultivated by Maya and Aztec people in Central America, circa 2600 BC and 1250 AD, respectively. The name allspice came about because the flavor of the dried berries is similar to cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. There is only one species of allspice in the world. Pimenta dioica is a tropical, ornamental, evergreen shrub in the myrtle family that grows up to 59 feet tall. The tree’s bark is white-grey and peels in sheets like that of birch trees. The root system is deep and spreads wide. Allspice leaves are dark green, oblong, and leathery, and they are high in aromatic content. In mid-summer, the trees grow small white flowers on pyramidal stems that produce pea-sized green berries. Allspice trees are either male or female, and growers should encourage cross-pollination to produce berries. These clustered berries are removed when they’re still green for access to the delicious allspice flavor. They are then sun-dried on concrete until they are dark red and ground into allspice. It takes roughly 3 to 5 months for berries to form after the trees are pollinated. Allspice trees are native to Central America and the West Indies, specifically Jamaica, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Brazil, and Leeward Isle. Allspice was historically used to preserve meats in the Caribbean, specifically Jamaica. It’s cultivated as a key ingredient in jerk seasoning, barbecues, curries, and stews. The spice is also popular in German and British cooking. It’s combined with nutmeg to make pumpkin pie spice in the US. The allspice tree leaves are used with smoked meats to provide a woodier, less intense flavor and aroma. The leaves lose flavor within a couple of days. Therefore they must be harvested and used right away. Cooking with allspice and a combination of other dried spices can fill your kitchen with a pungent aroma that you’ll seek out often.
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Agertum’s easy-going nature and unique blooms make it an excellent addition to cut flower gardens, flower boxes, and planters. If you want to grow it at home, join flower farmer Briana Yablonski to learn planting and care tips.If you’re looking for a flower that serves a supporting role in the garden and floral studio, ageratum is one of your best choices. These easy-to-care-for annuals produce clusters of blooms topped with tufts of silk-like ray flowers that give a unique and soft look. While they won’t steal the spotlight in the garden, they add a soft texture and subtle pop of color. Most of the flowers are blue, but you can also find varieties in shades of pink, purple, and white. The plants continue to pump out new blooms for multiple months, providing long-lasting color. Plus, the blooms hold up well when cut and attract pollinators of all kinds.Ageratum goes by several names, including floss flower, blue mist flower, and bluemink. It’s an annual plant that’s native to Central America but widely grown throughout the world as an ornamental. In some locations, it’s escaped cultivation and become a nuisance plant. You can find multiple varieties of Ageratum houstonianum that vary in height and flower color. Some of these cultivars work well as short bedding plants, and others produce long stems that make them suitable options for filler flowers in arrangements.Ageratum is a flowering annual that grows best in summer. It has a mounding growth habit with densely packed, branching stems covered with slightly fuzzy, ovate leaves. Some varieties rarely grow more than six inches tall, while others send out two-foot-long stems. Clusters of small, round flowers appear on the top of the stems. Blue is the most common flower color, but you can also find varieties with white, purple, or pink blooms. All of the flowers have elongated ray florets that look like tufts of silky floss. Some people confuse ageratum with blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum). While both of these plants produce similar flowers, the latter is a cold-tolerant perennial that’s native to the eastern half of the United States.
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What does it mean to be self-pollinating? As a gardener, I’ve always been fascinated by how all the different plants in my yard flower and then fruit. We commonly associate the term “fruit” with the fleshy, seedy, sweet, or sour parts of plants like bananas (which are, in fact, herbs and berries in the world of botany), apples, lemons, and mandarins. But scientifically speaking, a fruit is the structure on a plant that disseminates seeds, including squash, cucumbers, beans, peas, peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes. These vegetables are known as self-pollinating plants; that is, they reproduce via the transfer of pollen from the anther (male part) to the stigma (female part) of the same flower, or another flower on the same plant. Self-pollinating plants do not have to receive pollen from other plants in order to produce fruit and set seed. (This is why they’re sometimes referred to as self-fruitful or self-fertile.) Some plants, like tomatoes, grow with both male and female parts on each flower (known as “perfect,” or complete flowers). Tomatoes can be pollinated simply by growing outside in the breeze, or—for greenhouse-grown plants—sitting near a fan or having the vines lightly rattled to help some of the pollen drop from the anther to the stigma. Related: My favorite tips for growing the best tomato crop Subscribe to Garden Betty Sign up below to get my free weekly emails and I’ll teach you how to keep your plants alive, maximize your garden bounty, and preserve the harvest. I agree to my personal data being used for interest-based advertising as outlined in the Privacy Notice. Website Your Email... Yes Sign Me Up! Other plants, like corn, have separate male and female parts on the same plant that have to be pollinated by wind. Each corn stalk has (male) tassels and (female) silks, which are fertilized when the wind shakes some of the pollen off the tassels and onto the silks. When this happens, babies happen—in the form of every fertilized silk turning into a corn kernel. Missing kernels on an ear of corn means the silks weren’t fully pollinated, or there wasn’t enough pollen to go around (since a stalk may have three or more ears waiting to be pollinated). Another type of self-pollinating plant is summer squash and winter squash (and all other members of the Cucurbitaceae family), which have separate male and female flowers on each plant.
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If you’ve noticed gorgeous fall foliage lately and want to bring some to your landscape, we have just the thing. Here are 15 trees with the most spectacular fall foliage around. Join gardening expert Melissa Strauss in learning more about these trees that flaunt such vivid autumn leaves! The autumn landscape can be a most breathtaking scene to behold. Trees change their leaves to shades of crimson, mahogany, bronze, and gold, rolling over hillsides and lighting up the sky. Paired with the cooling temperatures and holiday anticipation, it’s truly an enchanting time to be outdoors enjoying nature. When it comes to fall color, not all trees are equal. Scientific reactions are responsible for those vivid hues. As the equinox passes and we see fewer daylight hours, the decrease in daylight means less photosynthesis. The decrease in photosynthesis means that the tree produces less chlorophyll. When you see those brilliant shades of yellow and orange, you see the color of the leaves without chlorophyll. Some leaves are brighter underneath than others, which simply turn brown. Shades of red and violet appear because of the presence of anthocyanins, which develop when sugars get trapped in the leaves. Maples, oaks, and dogwood trees are likely to produce these colors. Science aside, autumn leaves are one of my favorite things about the season. Not only are they beautiful to behold, but they are also a harbinger of celebratory times ahead. Here are 15 of my favorite fall trees with the best leaves. American Beech American beech is a slow grower with smooth, gray bark and a full, dense canopy. The leaves are simple, heavily veined, and slightly toothy. In spring and summer, they are a gorgeous blue-green shade. When autumn starts to creep in, those leaves change to brilliant bronze and gold. These trees need at least partial exposure and grow quite large over time. They need moist, well-drained soil that is slightly acidic and rich in nutrients. After the first few years, they need little pruning or maintenance and provide a lot of interest in the landscape. Black Tupelo Famed for the honey produced from its nectar, the Black Tupelo is an easy-going tree with reliably wonderful autumn colors. Its flowers are inconspicuous but are a great food source for bees. In addition to its fall leaves, it has interesting, scaly bark that adds interest in winter. The foliage lights up in shades of red, orange, yellow, and purple, with small bluish-black berries that attract birds. It has an oval growth habit and matures to between 30 ‘and 70’ tall. It’s not picky about exposure or soil as long as it doesn’t have wet feet. Ginkgo Ginkgos are amazingly long-lived and fascinating trees. The oldest specimen in the world is more than 3,000 years old! These truly get better and more beautiful with age. They have beautiful and unique fan-shaped foliage that is a lovely bluish-green in summer. For as lovely as they are throughout the year, ginkgos are a glorious golden spectacle in fall. Plant your ginkgo in a place where it gets a lot of light. They are drought tolerant and prefer sandy, well-drained soil. Make sure to loosen up and amend your soil if it is clay-heavy or compacts easily. They can live in Zones 3-9 but thrive best in more of a mid-range. Too much heat will decrease a ginkgo’s drought tolerance. Serviceberry Serviceberry is a member of the rose family and a more compact tree. At a mature height of 15 to 30 feet, it fits well in more modest spaces, and you can plant it closer to the house without fear of root damage. First, this tree is known for its spectacular spring floral display. When it blooms, it looks like a fluffy white cloud. As the days get shorter, serviceberry’s foliage changes to glowing red, gold, and orange embers. It glows in any garden space. In its first year, remember to keep the soil moist. Giving your serviceberry a layer of mulch around the base will help retain moisture in the soil. Trees that get more moisture produce more and better-quality, edible berries. Sugar Maple You’ll find sugar maple on any list of this kind. It’s simply one of the most flamboyant and reliable sources of autumn foliage around. Its attractive rounded crown makes it an ideal shade tree, and the vermilion, orange, and yellow foliage stands out in fall. Maple trees are generally well-loved for this reason. Sugar maple has the highest concentration of sugar of any species, which adds a lot of red tones. Sugar maples like well-drained, acidic soil, but they prefer it not to be too wet or dry. Give your sugar maple space from footpaths or driveways. Their roots are a bit sensitive. Sassafrass Sassafrass is a North American native with a rich history of use among Indigenous people. Female trees produce pretty yellow flowers in the spring, and the resulting berries feed birds and other wildlife. The plant also plays host to the spicebush swallowtail butterfly. The foliage is an interesting part of sassafras. The leaves aren’t all the same shape—some are ovoid—but the ends of branches hold interesting, tri-lobed leaves. When young, they have a citrus aroma. In autumn, they change to shades of orange, yellow, and red, sometimes even a deep burgundy. Eastern Redbud This member of the legume family is a double threat, with stunning spring flowers and incredible autumn foliage. It’s a compact tree with peeling bark that also provides winter interest. The heart-shaped leaves change from bright green to various warm colors, and the ‘Heart of Gold’ cultivar turns bright yellow. Full sun exposure will make Eastern redbud produce the most flowers. The rounded crown is a product of many horizontally tiered branches. Moist, well-drained soil is ideal, and it needs a winter chill to set buds. Ohio Buckeye Ohio buckeye is another mid-sized tree that blends well in most landscapes. It has a broad crown that is often slightly pointed on top. This is a bloomer, but the flowers are not highly visible among the leaves. They are, however, attractive to pollinators. The resulting fruit is poisonous. The fall color can span the spectrum from red to gold, with orange being the most common. Ohio buckeye makes a lovely shade tree. It prefers well-drained soil and is otherwise unfussy about composition and pH. It likes moderate moisture.
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An Italian-inspired meal made even more heart-healthy and protein-packed with quinoa!
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