Isn't the bark of last week's tree gorgeous? I love all of the colors. Thanks to Leslie, Karen and Margaret, we know this is the Lacebark pine (Pinus bungeana).

Your clues for this week:

1. This tropical evergreen shrub is a member of the Acanthaceae family.
2. The common names refer to the plant as a yellow crustacean, a yellow source of light, and a candy.
3. There's at least a couple of scientific names that this plant goes by.

Good luck!

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_{Image by Joe Shlabotnik via Flickr.}

Leslie and Karen are just amazing. Once again they've figured out last week's shrub. It was Lespedeza thunbergii, Pink Bush Clover. Woo hoo!

Your clues for this week:

1. This tree is native to China and often seen around Buddhist temples.
2. It's an evergreen tree.
3. The most distinctive part about this tree is the colored peeling bark, unusual for the genus.
4. It's somewhere on my site already.

Good luck!

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_{Image by ragesoss via Flickr.}

Last week's tree was Argania spinosa, the Argan tree. Congrats to Leslie and Karen. As Karen mentioned, they've created a reserve where these trees can grow, protected from harvesting and climbing goats. They export the oil to help support it all. Such a neat tree.

Your clues for this week:

1. This shrub is a member of the Fabaceae (Legume) family.
2. Some classify it as a subshrub.
3. The common name will remind you of another member of the Fabaceae family, which is found in many lawns. I used to collect the flowers to make chains when I was a little girl.

Good luck!

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_{Image by peganum via Flickr.}

Backyard Wisdom, Leslie and Karen named last week's tree correctly - it's the white pine, Pinus strobus. It is the state "flower" of Maine, though it produces no true flowers.

I was watching Food Network last week - Iron Chef America, to be exact. They showed one of the chefs using an oil that I had never heard about before. The host helpfully explained that in a certain part of the world, goats climbed up this one tree to eat the fruit. They would spit out the pits on the ground. Locals would come and gather the pits, which were made into this special oil.

Name the tree this oil comes from.

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_{Image by dominikgolenia via Flickr}

I've had a tub of soap waiting in my craft cart for a good project. A friend showed me this project from the Candle and Soap Making Guide, and I'm now in love. Basically, you take autumn leaves and turn them into single use hand soaps!

You can put them in a basket next to the sink. I bet this would also be a great project to do with your kids. They could help collect the leaves. The novelty might also get them washing their hands more.

I should go collect some leaves and make these soon. What are your favorite autumn leaves? Which have the best colors or shapes?

• Instructions for Autumn Leaves Soaps

Related Project: Maple Leaf Roses

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I've been playing video and computer games since the 1980s. One of my favorite games in elementary school was a survival/ecological game where planting crops was part of the process. I'm always looking for fun ways to virtually garden.

After I had been on Facebook for a while, I discovered that there were a lot of gardening games you could play on there. One of the first I signed up for was MyFarm. I first planted crops like strawberries and tomatoes, then moved on to planting fruit trees. I currently have over 4000 trees on MyFarm.

Other games I have seen on Facebook alone are Farmville (I read that this is now the #1 social media game, in terms of number of players and growth), Farm Town, (lil) Green Patch, Gardenhood and more.

I also enjoy garden games for the computer. Two of my current favorites are Plant Tycoon and Plants vs Zombies.

So....do you play gardening video games? Which ones? Which ones are best?

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_{Image of Plants vs. Zombies from PopCap Games}

When I was growing up in California, there were basically one season, where it was a riot of color everywhere from all the flowers. Sure, in the summer the hills would turn a little brown because it was hot, but it wasn't really a true change. My mom's roses would burst into bloom in December, and the loquats would ripen not too long afterwards. It was all very beautiful....but when you have color all the time it can get boring sometimes. Not often, mind you...but sometimes indeed.

When I moved out to Utah, I did quite enjoy the new palette that unfolded before my eyes. ( I still do to this day.) But what makes leaves change colors in the first place? Anne from Chemistry has the answer, and it may be surprising to you. Make sure you check out her article on why leaves change colors in the fall.

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_{Image by Ctd 2005 via Flickr}

Last week's shrub is a barberry (Berberis), as pointed out by Nick and Karen. It does resemble a boxwood, to some degree.

Your clues for this week

1. As you can probably figure out from the picture I've provided, this is a conifer.
2. This tree has the distinction of producing the only US state flower that isn't really a flower.
3. It's already on my site somewhere.

Good luck!

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_{Image by harlock81 via Flickr}

Leslie, Karen and Pat got last week's tree right - it's a bristlecone pine tree. Specifically, this is the Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine (Pinus aristata). The sister species, the Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) is the oldest organism in the world. Good job!

It's a no clue week - good luck, tee hee!

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_{Image by meonomous via Flickr}

Karen guessed that last week's shrub was Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus), and she was right! Larked, Shibaguyz and Hashpolitics on Twitter also named it. Congrats to all!

Your clues for this week:

1. These trees live for thousands of years. A sister species features the oldest trees (in fact, oldest organisms) in the world.
2. It's native to the United States.
3. This is the only tree of its genus to feature white resin flecks on the needles.

Good luck!

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_{Image by USDA Forest Service - Rocky Mountain Region Archive - USDA Forest Service - Bugwood.org}