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| Gardening safely in a pandemic: the birdcage protocol. |
The month of June brings the strangest sights to the garden. Heliconias, for example. Now these imposing plants are related to the edible banana. Heliconias are, however, not to be eaten; rather, one must enjoy the eye-catchingly colorful bracts and bold demeanor they flaunt. But there is, as usual, confusion about numbing nomenclature; you see, botanists are a fickle bunch (bad pun says my ever-vigilant editor, sipping on a banana daquiri spiked with hydroxychloroquine). Yesterday they swore Heliconias were related to the banana (Musa species). Today they insist upon placing it in the Zingiberales family (i.e. ginger) and I am only slightly embarrassed to bring such dissension to your attention. The modern covid predicament: not only must one garden with masks and gloves, one must deal with quacks and the raves of family-swapping thugs. I protest.
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| Heliconia rostrata |
