Flying Flowers: The Beauty of Butterflies

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz

Butterflies must be one of the most beloved creatures of all time. They exist almost everywhere on the planet and their diverse forms are absolutely one of the most astounding feats of creation. In Missouri alone, there are 198 recorded species of butterfly; from the seemingly dull skipper to the fantastically impressive swallowtail. The Ozarks have enough butterflies to keep even avid butterfly lovers happy.

Seed Saving Time: Peppers

By Jill Henderson – Editor, Show Me Oz

If you started your hot and sweet peppers inside this spring, you are probably beginning to see flowers and young fruit.  In our garden, the Cayenne peppers were the first to fruit, exceeding the flowering time of the Ozark Giants, the California Wonders and the variegated Fish peppers by more than three weeks!  I’ve already tagged these early fruits for seed production, specifically because they did fruit so early – a characteristic I want to see perpetuated in my future cayenne crops.  By selecting those very first fruits for seed saving, I have essentially ensured that at least some of the seeds I save will carry the genetic information needed for early fruit production.  If you would like to learn more about how to save your own hot and sweet pepper seeds, this week’s Show Me Oz is for you!

The Hillbilly Stereotype and the Modern Ozarker

For many years I have written about the Ozarks.  Most of the time I write about the natural landscape and the plants and creatures that inhabit it.  But that’s not where my love for this place ends.  For what is a place without its people, its culture and how it sees itself compared to the rest of the world and how the rest of the world sees them?  Ask anyone who doesn’t live here about the Ozarks and most will eventually use the word hillbilly in some shape or form.

Fenugreek: The Forgotten Herb

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz

Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) is an ancient herb from the Legume family of plants, Fabaceae.  It is sometimes called Foenugreek, bird’s foot, Greek hayseed or goat’s horn.  Not often seen in modern gardens, fenugreek is herb, spice, vegetable and medicinal all rolled into one tidy little plant.  Grown primarily as an arid-land crop in countries such as India, Nepal, Argentina, France and Spain, fenugreek does well in xeriscape gardens.   Because of its diverse uses, this herb deserves a much stronger presence in the kitchen, the medicine chest and the garden.