Female (left) and male spruce cones at the Arnold Arboretum. It's a more common sight to see separate male and female cones like this. (Courtesy William "Ned" Friedman) Every spring the conifer trees ...

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Look up, look down, and look all around because it appears to be another banner year for cones. Pine cones, spruce cones, fir cones when we talk “pine” cones ...

In much of the country, much of the landscape goes barren from fall through spring. Evergreens are typically the workhorse plants that carry us through. But not all evergreens are created equal. A ...

Look up, look down, and look all around because it appears to be another banner year for cones.:Pine cones, spruce cones, fir cones. When we talk "pine" cones, it includes them all and today that's ...

As you admire your holiday decorations, pause to examine a pine cone (or a spruce cone or a fir cone). What is this dry, brown thing in your hand, with its airy rows of scales? Think of it as ...

The pine cone was so huge that as I passed a garage sale near home, I could see it from the road. And I knew I had to have it. Best of all, this wasn’t really a sale, rather a large pile of items no ...

In much of the country, much of the landscape goes barren from fall through spring. Evergreens are typically the workhorse plants that carry us through. In much of the country, much of the landscape ...