What we call fresh ginger root is actually rhizome of ginger (Zingiber officinale) plant. Choose a smooth, shiny root that has some buds beginning. These will look similar to eyes of a potato.

•A fun way to start a ginger plant is to suspend a two-inch piece of rhizome over a glass of water. Do this by poking a toothpick on either side of root. Fill glass, submerging about one-third of ginger. When roots grow to about an inch long, plant rhizome just below surface of a rich, moist potting mixture in a pot that has good drainage.

Butterfly gardening is not only a joy, it is one way that you can help restore declining butterfly populations. Simply adding a few new plants to your backyard may attract dozens of different butterflies, according to landscape designers at University of Guelph.

Butterflies, like honeybees, are excellent pollinators and will help increase your flower, fruit and vegetable production if you provide them with a variety of flowers and shrubs. They are also beautiful to watch, and are sometimes called "flowers on wing."

- Begin by seeding part of your yard with a wildflower or butterfly seed mix, available through seed catalogues and garden centers. Wildflowers are a good food source for butterflies and their caterpillars.

- Choose simple flowers over double hybrids. They offer an easy-to-reach nectar source.

- Provide a broad range of flower colors. Some butterflies like oranges, reds and yellows while others are drawn toward white, purple or blue flowers.

- Arrange wildflowers and cultivated plants in clumps to make it easier for butterflies to identify them as a source of nectar.