• Home
  • About
  • Calendar
  • Plant Database
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Board of Trustees Login

Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest

Become a Member Donate
  • Plan Your Visit
  • Trails and Maps
  • Programs and Events
  • Learn
  • Get Involved
You are here: Home / Deep Connections with Nature / Edible Garden Blog: Happy New Year!

January 21, 2022 by volunteer

Edible Garden Blog: Happy New Year!

Visitors to Bernheim’s Edible Garden never ask, “What is that plant’s scientific name?”  They seem pleased if we rattle off a common name. With the advent of Plant ID apps on “smart phones,” it is common to see someone holding their phone up close to a flower so the two can communicate. Our first thought about how to help satisfy the curiosity of our visitors was to create QR codes to be associated with the garden plant.

Eventually, we were asked to provide content for Bernheim’s Edible Garden’s blog. Cole Alexander, the Edible Garden Steward gave us a list suggesting plant names that were new to us. For that reason, we decided to focus on plants that caught our fancy. We wanted to do more than help garden visitors feel satisfied having a name for what was currently in flower.

We wanted to give readers names whereby they could communicate their observations with others, dig deep into the vast amount of information available online, and realize the satisfaction that comes with connecting with nature. The more we worked with the posts, we gained a deeper appreciation of the complex interaction among the various players and what humans can do to make this world a better place.

Several themes came forward as different subjects were discussed. The most common was nature is more complex and far richer than we imagined; every plant and animal have unique requirements, balance competing needs, and timing is everything.  What good is it to purchase Lady Bird Beetles for your garden in September unless you are going to use them in your greenhouse?

Knowledge creates questions. And questions create more questions. How does Madame butterfly find the perfect flower that will provide food for her caterpillar offspring, or the predator finds its prey?  By chance alone?  All by chance is too simple to maintain a long-lasting connection with nature.

We hope to inform and inspire our readers to be more engaged and active observers of our natural world. We want the reader to dig deeper in garden soil for a better understanding and appreciation of how plants, animals and humans can best live together. In addition to blog posts regarding plants you will see tidbits of information regarding other features to help you connect!

Our Featured Plant Posts:
Cleome
Garlic chives
Horseradish
Celosia
Winged bean
Marshmallow
Milkweed
Fish pepper
Comfrey
Malabar spinach

Cliff Keller and Tony Jevans

Filed Under: Deep Connections with Nature, Edible Garden, Homepage Blog Feed Tagged With: Celosia, chives, Cleome, Comfrey, Edible Garden, Fish Pepper, Garlic chives, Horseradish, Malabar Spinach, Marshmallow, milkweek, spinach, Winged Bean

  • Let There Be Light, George Grey Bernard

Thank you to our Corporate Partners!


Thank you to our Corporate Partners!

  • Brown Forman
  • GE Appliances
  • Luckett & Farley
  • Patagonia
  • Westrock
  • Quest Outdoors
  • Beam Suntory
  • WMB
  • Delta Dental KY

Sign up for our newsletter

  • Sign up and receive special information about our programs and events.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

FOLLOW US

Copyright © 2019 Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest    |   Bernheim is an Arbnet level 4 certified garden
Privacy Policy | Policies and Guidelines | Research | Press Room  | Site Map

Bernheim is closed Tuesday, January 31 due to inclement weather.