In 1979, writing in the first edition of The Plantsman, a publication of the Royal Horticultural Society, Sandra Raphael, a senior editor in the dictionary department of the Oxford University Press, noted the term “plantsman” is intended to mean a connoisseur of plants or an expert gardener.

What is a microgreen? Microgreens are essentially baby vegetables! Typically picked once they are 10 to 14 days old, microgreens differ from sprouts (baby vegetables in their first two to five days after germination) in looks, taste and nutritional value. Microgreens are the second phase of a plant’s life cycle, and they provide many key nutrients, minerals, vitamins and antioxidants. Any type of salad green, herb and many garden vegetables can be grown as microgreens.

Jo Batzer paints with plants. She draws with driftwood and sketches with saplings.  One look at her garden and you see she is an artist.  Colors, textures and shapes flow together and then play off each other.

What is a specimen tree? Specimens are often highly ornamental or eye-catching trees planted apart from other trees or tree groupings. Their interesting attributes make them the perfect centerpiece for your garden’s design.

Step down into Debbie Hadley’s Webster Groves garden and be engulfed in green: the dark forest green of the towering Norway spruce, the Canadian hemlock and feathery false cypress that form the perimeter of property. Spotted throughout to provide winter interest and architectural form, deep green spreading yews, blue tinged spruces and Weeping Blue Atlas cedar add nuances to the verdant theme.