HORThaenings
Local Gardening Event Wrap-Up By Hojung Ryu and Dorvall Bedford
Dutch Tulip Days
The Netherlands’ Floriade takes place once every 10 years in a different city in the Netherlands. Although many Washington, DC, residents will not be able to see the event in person, this year, Dutch Ambassador André Haspels brought a little bit of Floriade to his residence for the annual Tulip Days event to give us a taste of this international horticultural exposition. The press event on March 30 focused on horticulture innovations in urban societies under the theme of “Growing Green Cities.” “Because the tulips are our national flower, a day to enjoy these tulips means so much to me,” Haspels said. The tulip displays at the residence were designed by Dutch florist Susanne Schrijivers, who is currently the Biden White House florist, with the vision of recreating the national flower tributes in the Netherlands. Floriade event organizer and the host Frank Cornelissen focused on the sustainability of the event in urban horticulture. “All the tulips used here will be used as natural compost after the event,” Cornelissen said. Haspels also pointed out the ways to make our cities greener for better food production, health, and energy. 8
WASHINGTON GARDENER
APRIL 2022
Every registered media guest who walked in received a gift of a large bouquet of tulips.
Seed Exchange
The Washington Gardener held its annual Seed Exchange this year on February 26 at Brookside Gardens. Editor Kathy Jentz invited people from all over the Maryland-Virginia-Washington, DC, area to come and bring seeds to trade at the event. The event was originally planned to happen in January, but was delayed due to the pandemic.
The Seed Exchange started at around noon, with dozens of people dropping off their seeds and hearing introductory remarks. That was followed by presentations from guest speakers Niraj Ray of Cultivate the City and Debby Ward of Prior Unity Garden. Ray spoke first about “Top Tips to Indoor Seed Starting Success.” Some of the topics he covered in his talk included why it’s important to save seeds, designing your own soil, and growing new plants from cuttings. Ward’s presentation was about “Four-Season Garden Planning” and discussed growing and harvesting techniques. She also mentioned how she grew her biggest pumpkin. After the presentations from the guest speakers, the winners of the Most Creative Name Tags were announced. Then the seed swap began, which was interspersed with short breaks for prize drawings and discussions about the seeds people shared. Attendees brought many seeds of all kinds of plants to the event. Most of them were taken by the end and the rest will be donated to local community gardens. Save the date for next year’s Seed Exchange on Seed Swap Day: January 28, 2023. o Hojung Ryu and Dorvall Bedford are interns this spring with Washington Gardener.
