# 16 (2) 2011

PLANTAHOLIC COLUMN

Ugu, a Nigerian Feel-good Food

Do you have an insatiable desire to continually obtain new and exotic plants to the point that little else matters? Is your condition worsening, where you need a botanical fix weekly or more? If this is the case, then you have become a plantaholic suffering from the incurable disease, Collectioplantitis... This story is about one of the most curious plant and a rare collectible from Africa...

LEGENDARY PLANTS

The Scarborough Fair: Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme 

...Possibly an even greater debate than that of the ballad itself has been the meaning of the refrain, "parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme"... Those four herbs brought with them much discussion though, all of which seem very relevant to consider, for they have always denoted a sense of old world power...

GROWING OUTDOORS

Perfume Garden: Fragrant tropical plants for Southern landscapes and container culture.

Which plants to chose for Southern fragrant garden?
Can their fragrances be mixed?
How to plan and design the fragrant plant landscape?
Are there any special needs for those plants?
Can they all be grown indoors, in a greenhouse, or in low light spots?
These and many other questions will be answered in this article to make your fragrant plant project enjoyable and successful.

ASK THE PRO'S

Q & A on growing “the best fruit in the world”

...The delicious fruit of Lychee Tree (Litchi chinensis) makes many gardeners look for this plant and try to grow it in the yard (in warm climates) or in a greenhouse, since this slow growing compact tree looks promising as a convenient container plant. Although growing Lychee is not really a rocket science, there are still a few possible bumps on your way to long-awaited harvest. Two of the most important factors that affect successful growing are – 1) sufficient water and 2) nutrition/micro-element availability; of course, providing proper care for the plant to establish after shipping stress if it was purchased mail-order...

EXOTIC KALEIDOSCOPE

Mandarin or... Sundrop!

... Eugenia victoriana - Sundrop. The bright orange fruit is very sour, but makes a delicious juice reminiscent of passion fruit juice, and is a good source of vitamin C containing double the amount of the average orange. The aroma is absolutely fantastic, you can't stop tasting it over and over, and will appreciate it even if you are a sweet fruit lover and don't care about acidic fruit at all...

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Too good to be true 

...Is this not the most beautiful blue orchid that you have ever seen in your life? It truly is amazing, and there are only two of them like it in the entire world! Okay, so maybe that is not entirely true. Sorry that I have to be the one to tell you this, but it is not a real blue orchid...

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