Dear Garden Problem Lady by Wendy Blair

Interior Renovation and Space Planning

Whether remodeling, new construction or simply rearranging your current layout we handle complex and simple projects with equal care.

We integrate the design and construction disciplines, so all your needs can be addressed with one point of contact. We keep costs in check and projects on time.

CONTACT US TODAY FOR A CONSULTATION

301 o 642 o 5182

derek@thomasdesignconsultants.com

CHECK OUR GALLERY AT: thomasdesignconsultants.com

EB REALTOR ®

Experience Matters When it Comes to FINDING YOUR DREAM HOME.

Over 30 years assisting clients in residential, multi-family & probate estate sales in the DMV.

EVELYN BRANIC

REALTOR

® 202-741-1674 Ebranic.cbintouch.com Ebranic@cbmove.com

350 7th St SE, Washington, DC 20003

Architects & Builders on The Hill since 1986

Serving Capitol Hill & SW DC for Over 30 Years!

Locally Owned

$20 Off

Your First Clean

NEW CLIENT SPECIAL

DAILY • WEEKLY • BIWEEKLY • MONTHLY PET & FAMILY FRIENDLY

GET STARTED WITH YOUR FREE ESTIMATE! 703-719-9850 703-447-5500

standardcleaningservicesinc.com

REFERENCES • BONDED & INSURED

Because Local Experience Matters.

p: 202.546.3100 210 7th Street, SE, Suite 100 monarchtitle.net

G G

ROOFING

AWARDED BEST WASHINGTON, DC CONTRACTOR OF 2012 BY ANGIE’S LIST

FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED • “50 YEARS EXPERIENCE”

• Flat Roof Specialists • Modified Bitumen • Skylights • Shingles • Slate • Chimney Repairs • Roof Coatings • Gutters & Downspouts • Preventive Maintenance • Metal Roofs

10% OFF WITH THIS AD 202.425.1614

The Capitol Hill Garden Club Presents Dear Garden Problem Lady,

by Wendy Blair

Is there anything good about the vile weather we have been su ering?

I assume you mean gardenwise. Rapid switches back and forth between mild and below freezing along with harsh wind is the worst possible weather for tender perennials such as camellias. A cold snap kills o some pest insects. Some seeds -- hollyhocks, foxgloves, poppies -- need to have their heads cracked open in order to germinate -- which only a hard freeze can do. But that’s not worth the deaths of tender camellia buds.

I covered our spring-blooming Camellia to protect it from icy winds, but of course the temperature plunged too low. What can I do now with the brown buds?

When the weather warms reliably you can carefully prune away the damaged buds and twigs. But rst – try doing nothing. The plant might heal itself and come up with something in the way of owers just to surprise you.

My clematis has now blown o its protecting (we thought) wall and is apping around in the freezing wind. Can it be saved?

Are you out of your mind? Get out there and secure it – somehow. Do not be a sissy when a clematis

is apping. It can be pruned back in late winter before April’s new growth. Much will depend on its roots. If green shoots emerge later, it has pulled through.

May I share a small discovery? Great prices for used gardening books online. I found a beautiful glossy $6 text on planning small gardens, and another that originally cost $19 for $2.

It seems when they are still in print you can nd used hard cover editions for wonderful prices. But if the book is out of print, prices rise. My crush on the witty British house and gardening enthusiast, Beverley Nichols (born 1898), led me to nd astronomical prices for his wacky trilogy “Merry Hall” (1951), “Laughter on the Stairs” and “Sunlight on the Lawn”. Nichols felt that his garden would probably be the cause of his death because “... One of my grandfathers died of a clump of Iris stylosa. It lured him through snow on an angry winter evening. He died of double pneumonia a few days later. It was probably worth it.” Nichols, who wrote 100+ novels, plays, and seven memoirs, died in 1983, not from gardening.

Meetings of the Capitol Hill Garden Club are free and open to all. On Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 7:15 pm. by Zoom, Carolyn Mullet will preview her new book Adventures in Eden: An Intimate Tour of Private European Gardens. An award-winning garden designer with a 30-year career in the DC area, Carolyn Mullet owns Carex Tours, which offers international garden tours each year for the discerning garden traveler. Details at capitolhillgardenclub.org.

Feeling beset by gardening problems? Send them to the Problem Lady c/o the Editor, Hill Garden News. Your problems might even prove instructive to others, and help them feel superior to you. Complete anonymity is assured. ◆

NOW IS THE TIME TO REFRESH,

RENEW AND REPAINT THE HOME YOU LOVE.

Your home – it’s now a place that serves you in many different ways. Inside and outside, your home is a place of refuge where you can feel comfortable and safe. Let CertaPro Painters® of Washington D.C. serve you and your home by painting it with the care and attention to detail that only a local neighborhood company can offer. We focus on the right things to make your home improvement experience easy and worry-free.

Schedule your FREE estimate today and let us help you refresh your home.

$200 OFF YOUR NEXT PAINTING PROJECT*

**Offer applies to your residential painting project of $2,500 or more. Must be presented at time of estimate. Not valid with other offers. Not valid on current estimates or proposals. ExpireCertaPro Painters® of Wasington DC. Expires 02/28/22.

202-849-7050 certapro.com/washington-dc

Each CertaPro Painters® business is independently owned and operated.

Your Capitol Hill hardware store

with a wide range of tools, paint, building materials & gardening needs.

WE HAVE YOU COVERED FOR ALL OF YOUR WINTER HOME PROJECT NEEDS Let’s Get to Work!

Snow Blowers • Snow Melt Indoor/Outdoor heaters & Much More! wsjenks.com | (202) 529-6020