Ellen Peffley

CUISINE & CULTUREAsparagus is a long-lived, herbaceous perennial that requires patience before tender spears can be harvested. An asparagus plant has as much living plant material below ground as above ground and the below ground portion needs time, four years, to become fully established before the above ground spears can be harvested.But gar...

CUISINE & CULTUREBlack and orange are Halloween colors. Orange is seen everywhere in the autumn—pumpkins, squash, gourds, mums, and (a teaser for next week) marigolds. True black flowers have yet to be bred but there are some blooms that are the deepest, darkest purples, reds, magentas that come close to black. The Old Farmer’s Almanac (almanac.c...

CUISINE & CULTUREGardeners can protect tender crops like tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and flowers from a hard freeze with proper cover. Frost cloths are simple ways to extend a crop’s growing season.Frost cloths are spun-bonded, polypropylene fabric variously called frost blankets, insulation blankets, anti- frost cloths, freeze cloths, thermal...

OLD FRAMES are used in the spring to get an early start for sowing seedlings and hardening off transplants and in the autumn for protecting crops from winter frosts. | iSTOCK PHOTO

FALL COLOR Sequences of biochemical events lead to the expression of color in leaves. | MICHAEL MILLER/TEXAS A&M AGRILIFE

CUISINE & CULTUREFrom the gardenIs a traditional Thanksgiving dinner complete without the sweet potato? Sweet potatoes make their way into casseroles, with or without marshmallows, sometimes just by themselves cut into chunks and drizzled with molasses or lathered with butter, and sometimes right out of cans labeled as candi...

From the gardenConiferous evergreens like pines, spruces, and firs are evergreens, but this term does not infer that their foliage is forever—coniferous trees shed needles as a natural occurrence of tree maturation. Seasonal needle drop occurs when the oldest needles in the interior of trees are shed during the autumn months. And come the next spring...

TINYTREE The Norfolk Island pine, popular during the holiday, makes a terrific houseplant. | iSTOCK

CUISINE & CULTUREDecorations are being taken down and boxed, ready for next year’s holiday season, so now, what to do with those living or fresh cut Christmas trees and ornamental plants after the season has passed?Living Christmas trees can be placed in the landscape. Plant them soon to keep as many roots alive as possible. Plant in holes t...

From the gardenJanuary gardens have little to look at, at least plant wise yet the grey skies over winter landscapes are bustling with hungry birds. The human/bird relationship is reciprocal: we provide sustenance for birds while they give us hours of enjoyment as we watch and tend to them.Easiest sources of winter food for birds are seed or fru...