We had several winners for last week's Mystery Monday. Kate, Pat and Sarah all named it as a Schefflera. This specific one is the common houseplant Schefflera arboricola (extra points to Pat for the species). It's called Dwarf Umbrella Tree or Octopus Tree. I have a lovely variegated one at my house. Congrats!

Your clues for this week:

1. Though it's not related to citrus, this is called a lime tree in Britain.
2. In America, it's called by a name that includes a word that can be a musical instrument or a fish.
3. These are highly perfumed when in bloom.
4. I just found out tonight that the pale honey made from this tree has sedative qualities.

Good luck to you!

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_{Image by pizzodisevo via Flickr}

As a proud garden geek, I enjoy telling people about random horticulture facts. One of my favorites is to say that many of the fruits that are called berries aren't truly berries according to botany. For example, raspberries and blackberries are really aggregate drupes and strawberries are receptacles, with the true fruit being the small seeds (called achenes).

Blueberries also fall into the category of berries-that-aren't-really-berries. They are a false berry called an epigynous berry, where other parts of the flower such as the petals develop and ripen along with the fruit. On the blueberry, you can see the sepals at the end of the fruit.

Blueberries are a common fruit grown in many gardens. On May 8th, 1999, Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman declared July as National Blueberry Month. In honor of that, I've picked some delicious blueberry recipes:

• Lemon Blueberry Pancakes
• Eastern European Blueberry-Almond Cake
• Mango Blueberry Muffins with Lime-Almond Glaze
• Blueberry Sorbet
• Blueberry Ketchup

Check out my blueberry profile so you can start growing your own luscious "berries". One important fact to remember is that they really like acidic soil, so you will need to choose a spot with a low pH or make your soil more acidic.

What's your favorite way to eat blueberries?

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_{Image by Flickr user schopie1}

Congrats goes to SuzOH. Last week's shrub was Salix integra 'Hakuru Nishiki' - the Hakuru Nishiki Willow. Very distinctive and beautiful, indeed!

Your clues for this week:

1. This is often kept as a houseplant. That's why I chose it this week - I am so happy to get my own specimen back from the person who was watching my plants.
2. Common names may make you think of weather gear or a sea creature.
3. The genus was chosen to honor a 19th century German botanist.

Can you name this week's Mystery Tree? Have you ever had one?

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_{Image by (Bill and Mavis) - B&M via Flickr}

Last week's tree was guessed correctly by John. It's a fruit called a limequat. This one was a cross between a Key lime and a kumquat. There's also lemonquats and orangequats. The calamondin is a cross between a sour mandarin and a kumquat. Congrats, John!

Clues for this week:

1. Notice the pink? Those aren't flowers - the leaves on this shrub can be shades of pink, green and white
2. The bark turns red in the winter, so you will continue to have color year round with this shrub.
3. This plant is dioecious.

Can you name one of the prettiest shrubs out there? Good luck!

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_{Image © Fleta Williams}

Did you know that June is National Rose Month? Roses have always been one of my favorite flowers. A highlight of my gardening career so far was when I had the experience to breed roses. The smell in the greenhouses was heavenly, and it was fascinating to see hundreds of varieties in one place.

In honor of National Rose Month, I want to begin on some rose projects for this site. One project that I have in mind is creating several galleries that highlight many of the different varieties available for each color and type. I could explain how to germinate rose seeds. There are many craft and food recipes that use roses, so I could create some of those.

There will also be directions on how to prune the different kinds of roses. I will do a photo tutorial on how you can have fun and experiment with rose breeding yourself.

However, I am so excited by all of these projects that I can't decide which to do first! I thought I would let you decide. Which rose project do you want to see? If you have additional ideas, be sure to leave them in the comments.

How do you plan to celebrate National Rose Month?

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_{Image by *clairity* via Flickr}

Congratulations are in order for SuzOH, who named last week's shrub as Clerodendrum trichotomum. It is known as Harlequin glory bower or peanut butter shrub. I couldn't stop staring at it when I came across the picture on Flickr. I thought it was very unique and would make a great specimen plant. Good job!

Your clues for this week:

1. This fruit is the result of crossing two types of citrus.
2. You can eat the peel, and the seeds are edible too. It has a sweet and sour taste.
3. At maturity, it's about the same size and shape as a grape

Good luck with this week's contest!

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_{Image by srqpix via Flickr}

Last year when I was in the garden area of a chain retail store here in Zone 5, I noticed that they had a lemon tree. They also carried Princess flower and Angel's trumpet. All three of these are tropical/subtropical plants. There were no signs informing people that in this area, these would have to be brought inside for the winter. A friend was interested in the lemon tree for indoors, so we saved that one. I hope the others didn't perish in the snowy winter.

Yesterday, the same friend called me again, asking if she needed a second lemon tree to pollinate the first. She was at that same store - they were stocking citrus again.

I know that garden zones are more of a suggestion than absolute rules, and that microclimates can create pockets where you can grow plants that you normally couldn't. We once had a little bit of trouble identifying a plant at the garden where I worked. It ended up being a plant that usually only grows in Zone 9 and up, but it had found a happy microclimate area here in Zone 5. Still, there are the Zone guidelines for a reason.

I see the problem as being twofold:

Garden Centers and Nurseries: Help your customers out. Try to only choose trees and shrubs that have a good chance of actually flourishing in your area. If you have stores nationwide, make sure you are buying plants for each area, not using one master list. Train your employees to know as much as they can about the plants you sell, so they can help customers make good gardening decisions.

If you're going to be stocking tropicals (besides houseplants) in temperate locations, inform the customer that they will need extra care. Put up signs saying that the lemon tree should be grown indoors in this location. Warn them that these plants will be annuals here, not perennials.

Gardeners: Find out as much as you can about the plants you want BEFORE you buy them. It still makes me sad to hear about large trees that were planted in locations that can only handle small ones, or that blueberries were planted in alkaline soil with no amendments to make it acid, or citrus trees are toast because of many nights of freezing weather. Make sure you are choosing the right trees and shrubs for your own situation.

Also, don't assume that all of the plants at the garden center will grow in your area. Chain stores may make blanket purchasing decisions for the entire nation, instead of only choosing plants that will grow in the stores' area. If you still want to have an adventure and grow that plant, go for it! I do that all the time, and have bought banana trees, papyrus and mangroves, among other plants, to experiment with here in Zone 5. You just need to be aware that the plant may require extra care, or may not live as long as usual.

I say all this not to scold (except, perhaps, the garden centers a little for bringing in plants that don't belong), but to implore you to empower yourselves in your garden. Knowledge IS power. You'll save time, money, and frustration if you learn at least the basics about your plants first, instead of falling in love with the plants at the nursery and buying them, only to find they won't work for you.

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The Shibaguyz have it right again! They got bonus points for naming the scientific, as well as all three common names for last week's tree. It was Davidia involucrata, and the common names are dove tree, ghost tree, and handkerchief tree.

Your clues for this week:

1. This can be either a shrub or a small tree.
2. A common name might make you think of romance novels
3. Another common name comes from the fact that some think the leaves smell like peanut butter if crushed.
4. Isn't the bright pink and blue just stunning? It certainly made me stop. They aren't the flowers, though - those are white, and appear in fall. The fruits are the bright blue berries, and the pink parts are called tepals (a flower part that happens in some plants where you can't tell the difference between petals and sepals)

Good luck! Who will be the next winner of Mystery Monday, Shrub edition?

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_{Image by Noël Zia Lee via Flickr}

When I was first looking through pictures for last week's Mystery Shrub, I had the same initial thought as several of you - that this was the sweetshrub, Calycanthus floridus. However, as I discovered and a clue mentioned, this was really its Western sibling, Calycanthus occidentalis. Good job to Pam and Interleafer. In fact, as Interleafer informed me on Twitter, this one doesn't have quite the same sort of sweet smell. It was described as "wine barrel" smell.

Your Mystery Monday Tree clues:

1. The genus of this tree was named in honor of a French missionary plant explorer.
2. The common names refer to the appearance of the bracts (a type of modified leaf - here, the white parts). One refers to a bird, one to a Halloween staple, and the other is something you might carry in a pocket. (Bonus points for figuring out these three common names!)
3. This Chinese native may take more than 10 years to flower.

Can you name the Mystery Monday Tree?

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_{Photo by Jura Wanderer via Flickr}

I hope that your Memorial Day has been lovely. It's time for Mystery Monday too! Last week's tree was Musa velutina - the Velvet banana. Laura from French Language was on the right track, but it was Sharon who got the exact one. The leaves themselves do resemble those of bird of paradise. These little pink bananas are edible, but not usually used since they are full of big seeds. Good job Sharon!

Your clues for this week:

• You're probably more familiar with this shrub's Eastern sibling. This one comes from the West.
• This shrub might make you think of kitchen seasonings with one common name. Perhaps dessert with another.
• This shrub is fragrant, though not as "sugary" perhaps as the Eastern version.

Good luck - can't wait to see who will win this week!

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_{Photo by wolfpix via Flickr}