One of the most fascinating native plant groups are the bottle gentians. There are some that have flowers that open to the most amazing shade of blue. Then there are others which don't open at all. If the flowers don't open, then how do they get pollinated? Great question, I am so glad you asked. The humble bumble does the trick. The bumble bee is the only bee strong enough to pry open the petals, climb inside buzzz around a bit then retreat and move along to the next f

The moist summer of 2017 gave us an overdose of mosquitos. The wet conditions created the perfect breeding grounds for the pesky critters. Since mosquitoes are know to carry such diseases as: Zika virus, West Nile virus, Chikungunya virus, dengue, and malaria, finding an effective repellant is a top priority for some scientists. I have always preferred natural remedies. I would crush Pycanthemum muticum, Short-toothed mountain mint leaves and rub them on my kids. We found