Washington Gardener Magazine August 2022 by Kathy J

AUGUST 2022 VOL. 17 NO. 6 WWW.WASHINGTONGARDENER.COM The PlantingBrightensNativeEnchantingGeraniumGoldenStreetsCompetitionPublicSpacesPlantingPeasintheFallUsefulTipsforFlowerBulbsGreatGardeningBooksReviewedFallLandscapeCareWhatarePublicFoodForests? Meet Janet Crouch: A Crusader in Greening Your HOA DC-MD-VA Gardening Events Calendar the magazine for gardening enthusiasts in the Mid-Atlantic region WASHINGTON g a rdener Canna Power Tropical Color P unch

2 WASHINGTON GARDENER AUGUST 2022 RESOURCESsourc Green Spring Gardens A “must visit” for everyone in the met ropolitan Washington, DC, area. It’s a year-round goldmine of information and inspiration for the home gardener. It’s an outdoor classroom for children and their families to learn about plants and wildlife. It’s also a museum, a national historic site that offers glimpses into a long, rich history with colonial origins. Located at 4603 Green Spring Rd., Alex andria, VA. Information: 703-642-5173. www.greenspring.org Specializing in Garden Renewals & Renovations Yard By Yard Makeovers, LLC 7304 Carroll Avenue, #229 Takoma Park, MD Weyardmakeovers@yahoo.com301-270-464220912www.yardmakeovers.comcanreshapeandbeautifyneglectedyards. ooo o o o Need a Garden Club Speaker? Washington Gardener Magazine’s staff and writers are available to speak to groups and garden clubs in the DC region and ONLINE! Call 240.603.1461 or KathyJentz@gmail.comemail for available dates, rates, and topics. Your Ad Here Contact kathyjentz@gmail.com or call 301.588.6894 for ad rates The ad deadline is the 10th of each month. Please submit your ad directly to: KathyJentz@gmail.com Ask Maryland’s Garden extension.umd.edu/hgicExperts �� Summer Creek Horticultural Soil Mixes HiDra2-Seed Starter MultiMix2–Raised Bed Mix Organic - Local Sustainable Pro Grade Most sustainable horticultural mixes available. Available at Mom’s, Direct & select ACE Hardware www.summercreekfarm.com - Thurmont, M aryland Barry SunshineGlickFarm and Gardens 696 Glicks Road Renick, WV 24966, USA Email: RAREwww.sunfarm.combarry@sunfarm.comANDEXCEPTIONAL PLANTS FOR THE GARDENERDISCRIMINATINGANDCOLLECTOR

AUGUST 2022 WASHINGTON GARDENER 3 FEATURES and COLUMNS BOOKreviews 18-20 Ver tical Veg, Faerie Habitat, Blooms and Dreams, Ultimate Flower Gardener’s Guide EDIBLEharvest 14-15 Fall Peas EVENTreport 8-9 Golden Streets Winners GARDENbasics 21 Fall Landscape Care GOINGnative 22 Geranium maculatum HORThappenings 16-17 Leesburg Fest, MoCo Farm Tour, Garlic Fest NEIGHBORnetwork 6-7 Janet Crouch NEWPLANTspotlight 11 Queen Tut Papyrus PLANTprofile 12 Canna TIPStricks 10 Public Food Forest, Discovering a Previously Extinct Oak, Bulb Planting Tips ADVERTISINGindexDEPARTMENTS 23 BLOGlinks 11 EDITORletter 4 GARDENDCpodcasts 15 LOCALevents 1 3 MONTHLYtasklist 11 NEXTissue 3 READERcontest 5 READERreactions 5 RESOURCESsources 2 ON THE COVER A grouping of Canna lilies in con tainers at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD. In our September issue: Perennial Favorites Garden Books Local Garden Tours and much more . . . INSIDEcontents o 14 6 o Click on the “subscribe” link at washingtongardener.com Janet Crouch success fully defended her right to keep a pollinator garden at her home despite fierce opposition from her HOA and prompted a change in Maryland law that protects a homeowners’ right to make wildlife-friendly and environmentally conscious decisions for their property. Got a Garden Question? Got a gardening question you need answered? Send your questions to KathyJentz@gmail.com and use the subject line “Q&A.” Then look for your answered questions in upcoming issues. 22 Peas are an ideal crop for “second season” or cool-season edible gar dening in the Mid-Atlantic. They prefer the cooler temperatures of autumn or early spring. In fact, pea seeds will germinate in temps as low as 35 degrees F. Wild Geranium has few pests, although deer will eat the flowers (and occasionally the leaves). It prefers to grow in rich, moist soil with plenty of organic matter added in. It does well in shady borders or open woodland gardens.

4 WASHINGTON GARDENER AUGUST 2022

Credits Kathy Jentz Editor/Publisher Washington Gardener 826 Philadelphia Ave. Silver Spring, MD 20910 Phone: Ruthwww.kathyjentz@gmail.co301-588-6894mwashingtongardener.comE.Thaler-Carter Proofreader Jamie Oberg Victoria Vandergriff Interns Subscription: $20.00 • Washington Gardener http://issuu.com/washingtongardener•www.washingtongardener.blogspot.comBlog:WashingtonGardenerArchives: • Washington Gardener Discussion Group: •washingtongardener/https://groups.google.com/g/ Washington Gardener Twitter Feed: •www.twitter.com/WDCGardener Washington Gardener •www.instagram.com/wdcgardenerInstagram: Washington Gardener Facebook Page: WashingtonGardenerMagazine/https://www.facebook.com/ • Washington Gardener YouTube: •washingtongardenermagazinewww.youtube.com/ Washington Gardener Amazon •www.amazon.com/shop/wdcgardenerStore: Washington Gardener bookshop.org/shop/WDCgardenerBookShop: • Washington Gardener https://anchor.fm/gardendc/Podcast: • Washington Gardener is a woman-owned busi ness We are proud to be members of: · GardenComm (GWA: The Association for Garden ·Communicators)GreenAmericaBusiness Network · National Garden Bureau · One Montgomery Green · Ladies in the Landscape · Perennial Plant Association Volume 17, Number 6 ISSN 1555-8959 © 2022 Washington Gardener All rights reserved. Published monthly. No material may be reproduced without prior writ ten permission. This magazine is purchased by the buyer with the understanding that the infor mation presented is from various sources from which there can be no warranty or responsibility by the publisher as to legality, completeness, or technical accuracy. All uncredited photos in this issue are © Kathy Jentz. EDITORletter Your editor at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair.

I also offer hearty congratulations to fellow garden podcasters Dee Nash and Carol Michel for winning a second-place award from the National Federation of Press Women in the category of “Web and Social Media - Podcast.” Their show, The Gardenangelists Podcast, is one of several that inspired me to start the GardenDC Podcast.Speaking of inspirations, I was happy to see so many fellow garden writers’ names among the 2022 American Horticultural Society (AHS) Book Awards. Too many to list here, but bravo to all!

This international award recognizes individuals and companies who achieve the highest levels of talent and professionalism in garden communications. Recipients of the Silver Medal represent the top winners in each competition category. The Silver Medalists then go on to compete for Gold Level categories and those winners are announced in October at the GardenComm annual meeting.

I’m thrilled to announce that Washington Gardener Magazine received the 2022 Media Awards Silver Medal of Achievement for Consumer Magazines (Circulation < 20K), presented by GardenComm: Garden Communicators International. We also won a Silver Medal for our Social Media, specifically our Twitter account. The entries are judged for “accuracy, content, and style.”

Accolades All Around

In other award news, the summer interns and I submitted several items grown in our community garden plot and my home garden to the Montgomery County Fair. We won several ribbons, including a first place for specimen flowers and second place both for our peppers and tomatoes While I’m on the subject of award winners, I’m happy to share that Izel Native Plants, based in Washington, DC, received the 2022 Retail Sales Award from the Perennial Plant Association. The award was presented at the 2022 National Symposium in Lancaster, PA, earlier this month. We are thrilled for them.

Editor/Publisher,KathySincerely,Jentz, Washington Gardener, KathyJentz@gmail.com

~ Anne Hardman, Silver Spring, MD

For our August 2022 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, we are giving away a Cobrahead Weeder and Cultivator tool. The prize value is $128. Gardening is a relaxing and enjoyable hobby, but it comes with some tedious tasks. Pulling out reluctant weeds or breaking up tough soil can be frustrating and time-consuming without the right tools. The Original CobraHead Weeder and Cultivator is here to make those jobs easier so that you can focus on planting and nurturing your garden. This hand cul tivator comes with a blade designed to cut through any soil, even clay. Its slender design gives it an unprecedented level of precision without sacrificing durability. The combination of the specialized blade and the comfortable, ergonomic handle let you get at every weed in your garden without worrying about damaging your flowers. Whether you need to get in between rows of vegetables or cracks in your walkway, the CobraHead Weeder and Cultivator will get the job done. See more at https://www.cobrahead.com/.ToentertowintheCobrahead tool, send an email by 5:00pm on August 31 to WashingtonGardenerMagazine@gmail.com with “Cobrahead” in the Subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us what your favorite article was in this issue and why. Please include your full name and mailing address. Winners will be announced and notified on/about September 1. o contt Your Ad Here Are you trying to reach thousands of gardeners in the greater DC region/MidAtlantic area? Washington Gardener Magazine goes out in the middle of every month. Contact KathyJentz@gmail.com or call 301.588.6894 for ad rates (starting from $200). The ad deadline is the 5th of each month. Please submit your ad directly to: KathyJentz@gmail.com.

READERreactions Reader Feedback

I liked the article on Mourning Doves [in the July 2022 issue], since we have so many in our yard/garden. It was inter esting to learn more details regarding their breeding and feeding. Also, it was good to read about maintaining bird baths (we have a bubbling rock which they like).

Plant a Row for the Hungry (PAR) is an easy program to participate in and really does not take any extra resources than what you may have in your garden. In nor mal times, about 35 million people wonder where their next meal will come from. Most of these are children. That’s where PAR steps in. PAR is such a simple program: It urges gardeners to Plant A Row (or a container) dedicated to feeding the hungry, and then take the harvest to some place or someone that needs it. Once you have donated, send an email to KathyJentz@gmail.com with the total (in pounds and ounces) of what you gave. That is all there is to it. Easy. Effective. Adaptable and Helpful.

~ Greg Nelson, Odenton, MD

I really enjoyed the article [in the July 2022 issue] about the Tomatillos, because this is the first year I am growing them and they are doing great and are about 6 feet tall. I never grew or tasted them before. This is a new adventure for me. Thank you for all the information in your magazine.

My favorite article [in the July 2022 issue] was “Zinnia Pizzazz: A Rewarding Annual Flower.” Besides the rose, zin nias are my favorite summer flowers. I have several planted every year and this year I started them from seed. I especially loved the purple one you had featured on the cover. I am always interested in ready about caring for ~them.Carol Yemola, Drums, PA

I really enjoyed the article about the Well at Oxon Run [in the July 2022 issue]. The urban farm is bringing peace and fresh produce to an area that has been a food desert. DC Greens has developed a space that brings the community together around improving the food system in DC.

I actually enjoyed the Springing Back intro from Kathy Jentz [in the May 2022 issue]. The title alone is uplifting, even though I’m now watching local Covid cases trend upward.

~ Susan Loewy My favorite article [in the May 2022 issue] was Song Sparrow. I love to bird-watch as much as I garden. I have changed my gardening over the years to make my yard much more critter~riendly.Patty o

READER

AUGUST 2022 WASHINGTON GARDENER 5 Reader Contest

~ Joanna Protz, Lynch Station, VA

HOAs make rules about subletting homes, what vehicles can be parked where, trash pick-up, storage, and more. They are also responsible for the visual appeal of a neighborhood, making them very invested in landscap ing. Often, HOAs will advocate for and enforce the use of turf lawns despite the harm such lawns do to the envi ronment.

For passionate and environ mentally conscious Maryland gardener Janet Crouch and her pollinator garden, this wasn’t going to stand. What is your background and are you native to this area? I am a life-long Maryland resident, having grown up in Bowie and lived in Howard County for over 30 years. I have been surrounded by beauti ful gardens and discussions about plants and flowers for as long as I can remember. Both of my parents received degrees in floriculture and my father, Roger Lawson, earned a doctorate in plant pathology and worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he directed the florist and nursery crops laboratory and served as a national By Jamie Oberg

After nearly two years of living under the threat of having our garden destroyed, we filed suit against the Beech Creek HOA in August 2019. We feel very fortunate to have worked with Jeff Kahntroff of Skipper Law, the only law firm in the area dedicated to help ing defend homeowners against HOAs. Jeff’s understanding of the law, as well as HOA tactics used against homeowners, were invaluable in helping us through this process. Through our lawsuit, we learned that this all started because of the complaint of one neighbor. The HOA had ignored him until he began using his work title and .gov email—for his high-level assistant inspector gen eral for Investigations, Legal Services Corporation position—in his communi cations pushing for replacement of our garden with turf grass. What was the resolution of that fight?

A Crusader in Greening Your Homeowners Association

We have nurtured an environmen tally friendly garden in Beech Creek, a Columbia outparcel (not part of the Columbia Association) since approxi mately 2004. Our garden’s footprint had been in place for over a decade when the Beech Creek Homeowners Association’s hired law firm sent us a “Notice to Cease and Desist” letter demanding that we replace our entire garden with grass in 2017. We fought back because we believed that the HOA board was abusing its authority, not fol lowing the HOA architectural guidelines, and treating us differently from other neighbors.Inbullying letters and court docu ments, the HOA’s lawyer wrote that gardens with plants that help birds, butterflies, and other pollinators do not belong in our community or in any planned community. Even though we pointed out that this was untrue and that the nearby Columbia Association promotes eco-friendly pollinator garden ing and that such gardens are found throughout Columbia, the Beech Creek HOA dismissed us and required that our garden be replaced with grass.

program leader. Our garden in Bowie reflected my dad’s passion for flowers and landscape design. After moving into our own home many years ago, my husband and I began to plant a garden and have been greatly influenced by my sister, Nancy Lawson, author of The Humane Gardener. We are drawn to the basic tenets of gardening with native plants, understanding that we have an oppor tunity to support flora and fauna with the choices we make in our yard. Given the opportunity to not only benefit pol linators, provide food and shelter for wildlife, and positively contribute to the environment, we have chosen to garden in an environmentally friendly manner with mostly native plants for the last 20 years. Can you explain the issue you had with your homeowners association? What motivated you to fight back?

Janet Crouch

After three long years and over $60,000, we settled our case in December 2020 and were able to retain virtually all of our garden as long as it was set back a few feet. The HOA spent approximately $100,000 on attorney fees in this matter without even making the community aware of theirAroundactivities.thetime we filed our lawsuit, my husband and I began attending environmental events in our community and meeting our state legislators. Our

6 WASHINGTON GARDENER AUGUST 2022

A homeowners association, or HOA, is a private entity that markets, sells, and manages homes in a residential subdivision.

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Email: j.crouch1@verizon.net. o Jamie Amadea Oberg is a rising senior at the University of Maryland (UMD). Jamie is an intern this summer session with Washington Gardener. Photos by Nancy Lawson.

Some of my favorite plants in our garden are those that draw the most butterflies and hummingbirds. These include phlox, coneflower, Joe Pye weed, golden ragwort, and swamp milkweed. I am also very fond of the ferns in our shady backyard, including Christmas and ostrich ferns. We recent ly planted paw paw trees and I can’t wait for them to mature and ideally host zebra swallowtail butter flies. What or who would you say is your biggest inspiration in life? My beloved father passed away last year and I continue to be inspired by his endless curiosity and determina tion to make positive change no mat ter the odds or the time it takes to do so. He was devoted to his family and also had an extraordinary career and found great personal satisfaction with his work. In his retirement years, he participated in numerous community activities and pursued his hobbies. He spent a few years before he passed away fighting the over-development of his neighborhood shopping center. He researched every law, attended every hearing, testified when he was able, and was determined to stand up to the developers to stop the project. Shortly after his death, the project was voted down with a razor-thin margin and the official who cast the deciding vote cited one of the arguments that my father advanced in opposition to the project. I am so proud of his life and legacy, and try to honor him in the way I live my life. What do you do in your free time? In my free time, I like to spend time with my family. I enjoy traveling and if I’m not traveling, I am planning our next trip. Recent trips include Provence, Iceland, and Sicily. I also love to spend time in the garden and meet others who are struggling with HOA-related garden issues. Kind people helped us along the way and I want to extend a helping hand to others. How should readers contact you?

Habitat destruction over time has resulted in fewer places for animals to live. Just one suburban yard such as ours with a mixed garden of mostly native plants can provide habitat for a wide array of birds, butterflies, and other animals seeking sanctuary. It brings us great joy to provide an oasis for wildlife in a community of mostly turfgrass lawns.

health, positively benefit the environ ment, and connect with our neighbors. Seeing gardens through the eyes of neighborhood children has helped us maintain our love of nature and con nection to the Earth. What is the importance of native plants and wildlife-friendly gardening? Native plants are suited to local condi tions and provide nectar, pollen, seeds, and leaves that supply food for butter flies, insects, birds, and other animals.

Because native plants are adapted to the local weather and soil, they thrive if planted in the right conditions.

What do you think are the best local native plants and pollinators? It’s hard to rank them because they are all beautiful and helpful to some one, whether a bee or a rabbit or a bird or all three! For people nurturing habitat in residential gardens, the key is to have a layered garden of native tree, shrubs, grasses, wildflowers, and groundcovers that will provide food, shelter, and nesting opportunities for a diversity of wildlife. We love watching the hummingbirds sip nectar from the Turk’s cap lilies and scarlet bee balms while the goldfinches eat the seeds of native sunflowers and the rabbits nib ble on violets in the pathways and the chipmunks gather nuts and seeds. What are your favorite plants to grow in your personal garden?

AUGUST 2022 WASHINGTON GARDENER 7 ordeal led to the introduction of a bill that was passed into law in Maryland effective October 1, 2021. The law prohibits HOAs from requiring turfgrass and requires them to allow gardens that benefit wildlife and the environ ment. What would you recommend to people facing similar issues with their homeowners associations?

In working with other homeowners who are being targeted by their HOA boards, I have found that boards often double-down on their demands when homeowners stick up for themselves. Given the innate power imbalance in HOAs, homeowners should become very familiar with their community’s governing documents and ensure that they are compliant with them. Once a homeowner is armed with the facts of their case and the community guide lines, they should try to work with their board to bring the matter to resolu tion if at all possible. If that approach is not successful, homeowners may consider familiarizing themselves with relevant state and local laws; retaining an attorney; seeking out local commu nity groups or other homeowners who have been through similar experiences; and posting on relevant social media groups for assistance. We decided to hire a law firm right after receiving the first letter from the HOA lawyer because they threatened to destroy our garden and turn it into turf grass if we did not do it ourselves. Their extreme position and unwilling ness to negotiate a reasonable solution led us to file our lawsuit.

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Do you have any plans or hopes for home gardens moving forward? My hope is that more home gardeners become familiar with gardening with native plants and incorporate them into their landscapes. There is great joy in watching butterflies, birds, and all of nature’s creatures find habitat in your garden. Equally rewarding is witnessing children delight in the beauty of the flowers and butterflies. What makes gardening important? Gardening has provided an opportunity for our family to spend time outdoors, improve our mental and physical This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

People who garden with native plants typically go lighter on the Earth, avoid ing pesticides and fertilizers. In con trast to turf grass lawns, many native plants have deep and intertwining root systems that absorb water and mitigate flooding and pollution of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

BID members pay a special tax to cover the expenses of the services provided by the BID (which are outside what local governments offer), according to the Project for Public Spaces site.

By Tori Vandergriff

Golden Streets Winners

8 WASHINGTON GARDENER AUGUST 2022 ated in 1999 to enhance the accessibil ity, attractiveness, and appeal of this commercial district. Today, more than 450 stores, restaurants, and institu tions are a part of this BID, according to itsThewebsite.Golden Triangle is an area in downtown Washington, DC, that In June, the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District (BID) named five winners of the 2022 GLDN+ Streets competition. The Golden Triangle BID has partnered with Smithsonian Gar dens and garnered the participation of more than 20 businesses throughout the central business district in Washing ton,BIDsDC.are non-profit organizations “cre ated to support the economic vitality of a geographic region,” said Leona Agou ridis, executive director of the Golden Triangle BID. The definition of “econom ic vitality” varies depending on the spe cific needs of the geographic region but essentially, BIDs are meant to create clean and attractive environments for people to open businesses, live, or visit.

The Golden Triangle isn’t the only BID in DC; Georgetown has a historic charm to it that its BID is actively working to improve and protect.

The BID was cre spreads from 16th Street and Black Lives Matter Plaza at Lafayette Park up to Dupont Circle and over to Washing ton Circle. One way the Golden Triangle BID has aimed to create clean and visually appealing spaces is through a street plantings “competition,” as Agou ridis called it.

EVENTreport

BIDs are actively working to provide visitors, business owners, and residents all around DC with attractive and clean environments. The GLDN+ Streets competition is one way the people of DC can get involved with and learn more about local gardening. This year’s competition was a success and the pro gram is likely to remain a success with continued support from the local busi nesses and advocates for a healthier and cleaner DC. o

Victoria Vandergriff is finishing up her senior year at the University of Maryland as a journalism major with a history minor. She is an intern this summer session with Washington Gardener

AUGUST 2022 WASHINGTON GARDENER 9 �� The BID began the competition back in 2011 to beautify the area while bring ing more visitors to downtown, since most of the Golden Triangle is home to office buildings. Agouridis said the GLDN+ Streets competition has been a success in that more people have learned about urban/sustainable gar dening, and all of the business owners involved with the competition maintain a sense of pride over the street plant ers.This year’s GLDN+ Streets competi tion theme was “Happy Habitats,” which is an extension of the Smithsonian’s “Habitat” exhibition exploring the con nections between habitats and life. The street gardens emphasize sustainability andWinnerspollination.ofthis year’s GLDN+ Streets Judge’s Choice 2022 awards were: • 1120 Connecticut Avenue NW | Blake Real Estate • 800 17th Street NW | Jones Lang •LaSalle1700 K Street NW | 1700 K Associ ates, LLC • 1025 Connecticut Avenue NW | Blake Real Estate • 1250 Connecticut Avenue NW | Brookfield Properties These winners were selected by a panel of expert judges, such as James Gagliardi and Sarah Dickert, Smithson ian Gardens horticulturists, and Amelia Draper of NBC 4. Agouridis noted that in addition to the streetside gardens maintained by these businesses, there are also rooftop gardens that many people don’t know about. For instance, the Army and Navy Club grows various herbs for their res taurant and the MedStar offices located on the roof of the Lafayette Center do bee harvesting to make honey. These gardens aren’t involved in the competi tion, but they are more examples of the ways businesses in DC are getting involved with sustainable gardening.

The Golden Triangle has dedicated their efforts to promoting sustainable gardens and neighborhoods through other programs, such as the 19th Street rain gardens and installing bike racks, as well as the Smithsonian Gardens’ recent installation of pollinator habitats in Longfellow and Monroe parks.

“The United States Botanic Garden is thrilled about the success of this part nership and collecting trip that rediscov ered such a rare oak,” said Susan Pell, Ph.D., executive director at the USBG, which is funding and collaborating on the project. “This discovery is just the beginning of the conservation work we are doing in partnership with The Morton Arboretum to better understand and conserve threatened trees.” o

5: Plant bulbs in layers on top of each other; this is called lasagna or tiered planting. Since the flower bulbs are planted in layers, the earliest to bloom, such as crocuses, will emerge first. These will then be followed by the bulbs that will flower later. This succes sive flowering means that you can enjoy the results for a long time: from January until May, depending on the kinds of bulbs you plant. Learn more about planting flower bulbs and the many varieties available at www.flowerbulbs.com o

To read the entire blog, food-forests/.com/2022/07/22/what-are-public-https://sustainable-secure-food-blog.visit

Tip 2: To create a “wow” effect in your garden early in spring, don’t hold back: Plant bulbs in large clusters. The more bulbs, the more spectacular the effect. There are so many options: a large number of mixed varieties and colors, a cluster of the same type of bulbs in different colors, or bulbs all of the same variety and color.

Only 20% of towns that included food production systems in their plans fea tured food-bearing trees and shrubs. (Most included vegetable gardens and annual crops.) The majority (80%) didn’t include municipal ordinances for imple menting food forests.

The research team has several sug gestions to increase adoption of public food forests, including:

Coffey and her colleagues surveyed mayors of towns in Virginia with fewer than 25,000 residents.

o Researchers Rediscover Oak Thought Extinct Botanical researchers representing a coalition of more than 10 institutions have discovered an oak tree once thought to be extinct, and now in imme diate need of conservation, in Big Bend National Park in Texas. Researchers led by The Morton Arboretum and United States Botanic Garden (USBG) were thrilled to find a lone Quercus tardifolia (Q. tardifolia) tree standing about 30 feet tall, even though it is in poor condition. First described in the 1930s, the last living specimen was believed to have per ished in 2011.

Scientists anticipate that by studying why this tree is going extinct, they may be able to protect other organisms from the same fate. Whether this specimen of Q. tardifolia can be saved remains in question.Theteam that made the discovery described a dire scene. The trunk is scarred by fire and shows signs of severe fungal infection. A drought or another fire has the potential to end its life, said the scientists. Climate change makes this outcome more likely every year.The group is now working with the National Park Service to reduce the immediate wildfire threat to the tree, and conservationists in this collabora tive effort are moving quickly to search for acorns and attempt propagation.

Tip 3: Don’t let the appearance of flower bulbs fool you. It may seem impossible that stunning flowers will grow from the often unusual-looking bulbs and tubers, but it’s true! Once the bulbs start growing, they undergo a true metamorphosis, not unlike caterpillars turning into butterflies.

• Emphasize the benefits that are aligned with those of traditionally val ued green space.

The study found the mayors’ greatest perceived concern was how the food forests would be maintained in the long-term. This included aesthetic and safety issues associated with downed fruits and obstructing visibility in rightsof-way. A lack of physical space and competing with other, more profitable uses were other barriers.

“This work is crucial to preserve the biodiversity that Earth is so quickly los ing,” said Murphy Westwood, Ph.D., vice president of science and conservation at The Morton Arboretum. “If we ignore the decline of Q. tardifolia and other rare, endangered trees, we could see countless domino effects with the loss of other living entities in the ecosys tems supported by those trees.”

Tip 4: Some bulbs flower for a sea son, but there are also varieties that flower every year. These are called perennial or naturalizing bulbs. These bulbs can be left in the ground, which makes the bulbs larger and stronger. In fact, naturalizing bulbs even create new bulbs so they will grow in number each year.Tip

10 WASHINGTON GARDENER AUGUST 2022

• Partner with non-governmental orga nizations, land trusts, schools, or places of worship to address long-term mainte nance concerns.

Public food forests exist on publicly owned or stewarded land. They are designed to be open to local residents to participate in their implementation and development. The Sustainable, Secure Food Blog looked at recent research into some obstacles for small cities and towns in developing more public food forests.

TIPStricks What are Public Food Forests?

Useful Tips for Planting Flower Bulbs

“Our findings suggest that stressing these aspects of a food forest rather than just food production and ecologi cal benefits could increase acceptance by elected officials or city/town staff ers,” said Coffey.

If you like a garden filled with color and atmosphere, plan to plant flower bulbs this fall so you can enjoy colorful flow ers next spring and many years into the future. Here are five tips for getting you started.Tip1: Many flower bulbs thrive under shrubs and trees. They get less rain and light there in winter because of the fallen leaves, and flower bulbs like it this way during the cold season. After flowering, the trees and shrubs grow their foliage again and the bulbs go dor mant. During the hot summer months, the leaves of the trees and shrubs keep the bulbs pleasantly cool.

• Develop ordinances that protect food forests from competing uses.

According to blogger Sarah Coffey, public food forests can vary in their design. An ideal design would use the vertical space of the forest well: low shrubs with tall trees, ground cover replaced with herbs.

New Plant Spotlight

Start shopping for spring bulbs.

• Inspect for powdery mildew. If seen, prune back perennials to create needed circulation. Discard properly (i.e., not in your compost bin).

• Clean your hummingbird feeders and add new sugar-water every three days.

• Plant fall crops such as Chinese Cabbage, Lettuce, Radish, Mustard, Broccoli, Kohlrabi, Cauliflower, Turnips, and Beets.

• Deadhead Garlic Chives before they go to seed. They make nice cut flowers. o

• Check for mosquito breeding grounds. Dump out any water that sits stagnant for more than three days.

Turn your compost pile weekly and don’t let it dry out.

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This fun grass-like plant is sure to grab attention wherever you use it. It is a unique thriller in container recipes. Queen Tut Dwarf Papyrus (Cyperus prolifer) can be used in smaller combinations where other versions of the plant are too large. It is an excellent item for landscapes, where it can be used in a variety of applications. It’s great when grown in a mass or incorporated with other plants. It also works well at the edge of ponds or in water gardens. Papyrus is not hardy enough to sur vive winters in our region and is not a candidate to overwinter inside. It is a very fast grower and will quickly grow when replanted in the spring. The plant can be planted in pots, along the water’s edge of a pond, or even in a pond. The crown of the plant should never be covered in water; in fact, all of these varieties can thrive in water as shallow as a few inches. The purpose is to keep the bulk of the soil or root mass wet. The root ball can be submerged, but it isn’t necessary. If the plant is put in a pot, plug the hole or holes in the bottom of the pot to keep as much water as possible in the container.

• Harvest your herbs often and keep them trimmed back to encourage leafy growth. Dry them indoors if you can’t use them right away.

Graceful Grasses® Queen Tut™ Dwarf Papyrus

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AUGUST 2022 WASHINGTON GARDENER 11 Quick Links to Recent Washington Gardener Blog Posts • Little Bluestem Grass Plant Profile • A Golden Bloom Day • Gardening with Children • Dipping into a New Tomato See more Washington Gardener blog posts at: WashingtonGardener.blogspot.com oGARDENnews

• Renew your container plantings, which may be looking a bit ragged at this point. Pinch back overgrown plants. Pull out any spent ones and pop in some substitute annuals or Mums. Keep them well-watered and add a little liquid fertilizer every few weeks to keep them going through early autumn.

• Weed and weed some more.

Queen Tut will also do well when planted in normal garden beds. It is best to keep the soil moist, but once established, it can be surprisingly tol erant of dry conditions. When temperatures get colder, the plants should be treated as annuals. Once the grass turns brown, it can be removed either immediately or in the earlySeespring.more growing details at www. provenwinners.com.

• Take garden photos and make notes in your garden journal.

Divide and cut back Bearded Iris and Peonies.

It is harvest time and a good time to start taking stock of what worked well for you this season and what didn’t.

• Check your pond pump for debris and clean it out every few weeks.

• Hand-pick or cut out any bagworm cocoons.

• Switch your deer-deterrent spray.

• Watch for slug damage and set out traps or Sluggo bait.

•

August—September Garden Task To-Do List

Start collecting plant seeds for next year and for trading.

• Wash out birdbaths weekly with a diluted bleach solution.

• Apply grub control to your lawn.

• Cut back any leggy Asters or Mums.

Let the lawn go dormant for now; it will green back up in the coming rains.

Check your local garden center for end-of-summer bargains.

•

• As the days get cooler, plant hardy Mums.

• Start seeds for fall annuals such as Pansy, Calendula, and Kale.

If your pond water gets low from prolonged drought, top it off with tap water and add a dechlorinator according to package instructions.

• Prune evergreens to get them in shape for fall/winter.

• Buy raspberries and peaches at a local pick-your-own farm or visit a local farmer’s market.

• Order Garlic, Onions, and Shallots for fall planting.

• Attend a county fair and enter some of your garden bounty.

•

• Preserve gourds and dry flowers for display in the fall.

•

• Water thoroughly, especially if you receive no rain for more than seven days.

•

• Divide Hostas and Daylilies.

Bring Christmas Cactus and Poinsettias indoors if you took them out for the summer, in preparation for holiday blooming. Fertilize them and put them where they’ll get 10 hours’ bright light per day.

Canna

By Kathy Jentz

All Canna lilies originated in the tropical and sub-tropical Americas. They went to Europe in the mid-16th century and then on to Asia, South Africa, and Austra lia. Canna breeding took off in these regions and they have returned many won derful cultivars to our gardens in recent decades.

12 WASHINGTON GARDENER AUGUST 2022 PLANTprofile

Canna can be purchased in three forms: seeds, rhizomes, and potted plants. Due to the Canna yellow streak virus, it is recommended that Canna be started from seed or if rhizomes are offered, you should ensure that they be certified virus-free.Ifyoustart from seed indoors in early spring, you can then transplant them outdoors when any danger of frost is gone. Canna do best in full sun and moist, rich soil. If you are satisfied with having only the foliage, Canna can be planted in part-shadeGardenersconditions.inourregion have found that their Canna may reliably over-winter and return when they are planted against brick walls, along greenhouses, and in south-facing locations. You can give them extra mulch as some insurance against an exceptionally cold winter. You can also pull the plants in October, cut off the stalks, and store their rhizomes in peat moss (or similar material) in a dark, cool spot.Canna are useful in the summer garden at the back of mixed borders, in con tainers, and as a privacy screen. Canna sizes span from dwarf forms around three feet tall to tall standards over 10 feet. Two of our favorite varieties are ‘Ermine’, which has a creamy-yellow flower and thrives in a wide variety of growing conditions, and ‘South Pacific Orange’, an AllAmerica Selections winner that is a compact grower, perfect for containers. o

Kathy Jentz is the editor and founder of Washington Gardener

Canna is an annual tropical flowering plant that lends drama to the landscape with its fabulous foliage and colorful blooms in mid-summer in our Mid-Atlantic region. The foliage can be green, bronze, burgundy, solid, or striped. The flowers can resemble an orchid, iris, or gladiola and have a sunset-like color range from pinks to yellows to oranges to reds.

The festival, held at Green Spring Gar den, will have activities for the entire family, including classes for children and adults, a silent auction, a book sale, and a bake sale. Vendors will be selling a large variety of plants and other items. Admission is free. Spon sored by the Friends of Green Spring (FROGS). For more information, contact Green Spring at 703-642-5173.

Saturday, October 1, 10am–2pm USNA Fall Festival & Bulb Sale Unique bulbs and family activities. More details online soon at FONA.org.

takingthecomwashingtongardenermagazine@gmail.emailwith“Event”inthesubjectline.OurnextdeadlineisSeptember5forSeptember2022issue,foreventsplaceafterSeptember15. o TOP AREA GARDENING EVENTS • Saturday,

• Friday, August 26, 10–11:30am Fall Lawn Care Fall is the ideal time to restore coolseason grass, the most common turfgrass grown on lawns in our area. Virginia Extension Master Gardener Joyce Hylton describes how to improve lawns and the underlying soil, and outlines steps for ensuring a beautiful, weed-free lawn, with an emphasis on sustainable practices and minimizing the impact on our native pollinators and wildlife. Live online talk. Free. More details at https://MGNV.org.

Garden Symposium: Urban Gardening and Design 101 Do you have a small space, but big garden dreams? In this half-day sym posium, turn your growing dreams into reality and learn how to build a gor geous and unique garden that showcas es your personal style, while still being functional and productive. Presenters Kathy Jentz and Teri Speight share tips and tricks from their new book, The Urban Garden: 101 Ways to Grow Food and Beauty in the City, to bring style and practicality into your own garden. $62 per person. Code 52Y.ZVNK. Register online at Springgov/parks/parktakeswww.fairfaxcounty.orcallGreenGardensat703-642-5173. Listing Updates See updated event listings on the Washington Gardener discussion list. Join by emailing subscribe@googlegroups.comWashingtonGardener-. How to Submit Events To submit an event for this listing, September 10 only 8 9am Public 9am 4pm*

• Thursday. October 20, 6:30–8pm

Choose from a variety of perenni als, shrubs, and trees—including many native plants. Proceeds benefit Brookside Gardens. The plant list and details to be posted in late August. Find out more at

Family Fall Festival & Plant Sale

The American Horticultural Society’s 100th Anniversary Gala “A Great American Garden Party” Join the society for cocktails and din ner overlooking the Potomac River, then enjoy drinks, dessert, and dancing under the stars. Inspired by the quint essential American garden party tradi tion of strolling and celebrating among brilliant flowers and spectacular views, they are hosting an epic evening mark ing the American Horticultural Society’s historic headquarters success in being able to remain open to the public for ever. Purchase tickets at https://ahs gardening.org/.

Seed-saving is an affordable way to cultivate variety and preserve heirloom plants in your garden, but how do you do it? Join Amanda Helin, a gardener at the U.S. Botanic Garden, as she discusses the basics of seed-saving, answers questions, and helps you get started with this age-old practice. Free to attend. Pre-registration required at •https://www.usbg.gov/.Thursday,August25, 6:30–8pm Garden Book Club We will discuss Garden Variety by Christy Wilhelmi. (You can order it new or used at our Amazon link: https://amzn.to/31jvN8V or at our Bookshop store: EZL8MMC7hsSyUXFu.ing/register/tZIlcuqprD4jEtBQCPV_https://us02web.zoom.us/meetona/79479/9780063113480.)https://bookshop.org/TojoinusZoom,pre-registerhere:The Washington Gardener Magazine’s Garden Book Club meets quarterly via Zoom and is free and open to all.

Members

Classes, Events, and Plant Shows/Sales

•

•plies*Notebrooksidegardens.org.http://www.friendsofthatthesaleisopenwhilesuplast.Saturday,September17,9am–3pm

Looking Ahead • Saturday, September 24, 1–4pm Uncommon Evergreen and Deciduous Azaleas Plant Sale

Conducted by the Northern Virginia Chapter of the Azalea Society of Ameri ca (NV-ASA). All sales will be outside the Kirkwood Presbyterian Church, 8336 Carrleigh Parkway, Springfield, VA. See details at www.nv-asa.org/sale.

Thursday, August 25, 10:30 11:15am Intro to Seed Saving (Online Discussion)

Sunday, September 4, 12:30 1:30pm Garden Photo Show Opening Washington Gardener invites you to the opening reception of our garden photo show at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, VA. Free and open to all.

Getting Your Garden Ready for Winter Gardeners are often overwhelmed by the long to-do list of garden tasks. Learn what chores are essential and which you can safely skip as you pre pare your garden for winter while making a big difference to the suc cess of next year’s garden. Kathy Jentz shares her best cost-saving tips and teaches you how to “batten down the hatches” for winter’s worst weather. Held live online. Hosted by Brookside Gardens. Fee: $12 | FOBG $10 | Reg ister for class #PBG0062 300001 at •ActiveMONTGOMERY.org.Saturday,October29,9am–12pm

•Saturday, September 17, 6:30pm

AUGUST 2022 WASHINGTON GARDENER 13 •

Event

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Friends of Brookside Gardens Annual Fall Plant Sale

The Snap Pea is believed to be a for tuitous cross between Shelling Peas and Snow Peas. The original snap peas probably were known to ancient peo ples. However, somehow the Snap Pea was lost and only rediscovered fairly recently.In1970, Calvin Lamborn, a plant scientist working on peas, discovered a plant growing in one of his trial fields that produced unusual peas—ones where the pod did not crack and expel theLambornpeas. found the peas and the pods to be incredibly sweet and per fectly edible. The plant he discovered eventually became known as the Sugar Snap Pole Pea and in 1979, it was selected for an AAS award. This pea has spawned a family of very sweet, edible pod peas with names like ‘Sugar Ann’, ‘Sugar Daddy’, ‘Sugar Sprint’, and ‘Sugar Bon’. Pole Peas, like Pole Beans, produce throughout the season. They are not limited to a few weeks production like the dwarf varieties. Because of this fac tor, pole varieties are better suited for small spaces because you receive the maximum yield for the space allotted. The vines of the Sugar Snap Pole Pea grow to a height of 4 6 feet. They pro duce fruit in about 79 days when plant ed in mid-summer. The pods are 2 3 inches and produce six to eight peas. The peas are quite sweet. The plants are known to tolerate mild frosts.

There are two kinds of peas: Shelling Peas (also known as Garden or English Peas) and Edible Pod Peas. The differ ence is that Shelling Peas have a mem brane inside the pod between the pod and the peas. As the pod ripens, the membrane dries, becomes rigid, and contracts. This hardening of the mem brane causes the pod to twist, open, and expel the peas, but renders the podEdibleinedible.Pod Peas do not have this membrane. When the pods are ripe, they are edible. There are two kinds of Edible Pod Peas: Snap Peas and Snow Peas. Snap Peas have round pods and Snow Peas have flat pods. Both types of Edible Pod Peas are believed to be very old, but Snap Peas were lost to the West centuries ago and only redis covered in the 1970s. Snow Peas have been cultivated in Asia for thousands of years and are an important part of the Chinese diet. Peas grow very well in containers. We recommend planting six plants in an 18-inch-diameter container and then constructing a bamboo teepee made of three 8-foot tall bamboo poles tied at the top. This creation will produce many pounds of peas, if the peas are harvest ed frequently. If the pods are left on the vines, the vines will go into dormancy..

Planting Peas in the Fall:

Peas are an ideal crop for gardeners just learning how to “second season” garden. Peas are very cold-tolerant plants and most peas are not affected by mild frosts, but they will stop produc ing when hit with a hard frost. In Zones 5–7, peas should ideally be planted between July 15 and July 31, although some say they can be sown through the second week of September

SweetMarvelouslyAutumnCrop

14 WASHINGTON GARDENER AUGUST 2022

Flower of the Edible Pod (Snow Pea) Pea: ‘Dwarf Grey Sugar’ ‘Dwarf Grey Sugar’ was carried by the earliest American colonists to this country. This is one of the oldest pea varieties still in cultivation. The earli est American seed catalogs describe

English or Shelling Pea: ‘Little Marvel’ ‘Little Marvel’, an English or Shell ing Pea, is a wonderful old heirloom from England that was introduced into the United States before 1908. It is believed to have resulted from a crosspollination of two famous English peas: ‘Daisy’ and ‘William Hurst’. The plants are short, for peas, reach ing a height of no more than 20 inches. ‘Little Marvel’ is quite vigorous and a very high producer. The pods yield six to seven medium-sized, dark-green peas. The time to maturity from seed planted mid-summer is approximately 74 days. Sugar Snap Pea and Sugar Snap Pole

By Barbara Melera

The Urban Garden: 101 Ways to Grow Food and Beauty in the City IS OUT NOW! By Kathy Jentz and Teresa Speight Published by Cool Springs Press/Quarto Homes Order it today https://amzn.to/3yiLPKat:U

GardenDC Podcast

The GardenDC podcast is all about gardening in the greater Washington, DC, and Mid-Atlantic area. The pro gram is hosted by Kathy Jentz, editor of Washington Gardener Magazine, and features guest experts in local and national horticulture. The lat est episodes include interviews with experts on lavender, mulching, and frugal gardening. You can listen online at washingtongardener.blogspot.com/https:// or on Spotify, Apple, etc o ‘Dwarf Grey Sugar’ Pea

The rule of thumb for mid-summer/ fall planting is to add 2 weeks (14 days) to the time to maturity. If you are planting in containers or raised beds, you should not add 14 days to the time to maturity. Most vegetables and flowers mature more quickly when planted in containers or raised beds. The “second season” garden is every bit as exciting and rewarding as your spring garden. It just comes with a whole different set of challenges and rewards. You will find that weeding is not as much of an issue, bugs are not as much of an issue, and watering is not as much of an issue, but a freak early frost can destroy all of your hard work. Mulching heavily with straw will prevent the ground from freezing for a while and may allow you to extend your fall harvest for several weeks. o

AUGUST 2022 WASHINGTON GARDENER 15 EDIBLEharv t this pea. It is also one of the earliestmaturing, requiring only 74 days when planted mid-summer, and one of the smallest of the Snow Pea plants with vines of 2-3 feet. This pea is my personal favorite, not just because of its sweet flavor, but more because of the extravagant show it puts on in the garden, as you can see from the photo below. The magenta blossoms are striking and reminiscent of beautiful fuchsia flowers. When everything else in the garden is shades of green or white, these luxurious blos soms are a sight for longing eyes.

‘Dwarf Grey Sugar’ would be my first choice for a “second season” edible pod pea. The floral display, the sweet pods, the 74-day time to maturity when planted in mid-summer all contribute to making it an excellent selection. But as you grow and harvest ‘Dwarf Grey Sugar’, think about this. When our forefathers were forging a foundation for this country, when our “foremothers” were raising this nation’s leaders and managing farms and fields, this single pea was being grown in their gardens, feeding their people, and nurturing a disparate group of peoples into a nation. This is one great pea! Fall Pea Planting Tips There are some things to think about when growing peas in fall. Peas, unlike most other garden fruits and veg etables, are not plagued with as many harmful diseases and pests. They are easy to grow and many varieties can tolerate mild frosts. They love the cool ofUnlikeautumn.planting in the spring where each day is growing longer, planting in mid-summer and fall must take into account that each day is growing short er. This means that it takes longer for a plant to mature.

Barbara Melera is the president of Harvest ing History (www.harvesting-history.com), a company founded in 2016 to provide horti cultural and agricultural products, largely of the heirloom variety, along with garden tools and equipment.

By Jamie Oberg

A barn full of calves overlooks lines of fruit trees that sit atop a field of flow ers. At the forefront, a charming cream ery. Rock Hill Orchard and Woodbourne Creamery is a deceptively large farm in Mount Airy, Maryland, that offered tours during Montgomery County Office of Agriculture’s Annual Farm Tour and Harvest Sale. At the farm’s entrance is Woodbourne Creamery. The small shop offers a variety of goods, including dairy products, baked goods, produce, honey, and an assortment of sauces. It is the only “cow-to-cone” creamery in Montgomery County, as well as the only dairy farm that sells milk directly to the public.Having tried the malted milk ball ice cream, I strongly recommend trying their grass-fed, Guernsey cow milk products. The non-dairy products were just as good, with the raspberry sorbet being some of the best I’ve ever had. Beyond the creamery, the rest of the The event was largely a way for peo ple to learn more about growing and buying garlic. Kathy Jentz and several members of the Takoma Horticultural Club staffed the Garlic Fest booth, pro viding passersby with the best tips and tricks for growing garlic.

“Most people don’t know where garlic comes from,” he said. China produces and exports around 80% of the global market’s garlic. This is where grocery stores in the United States get the majority of their garlic.

The Garlic Fest also provided a taste of fresh garlic’s power. Chef Sorángel Rodríguez made garlic-based sauces, chimichurri and peach, served on small pieces of bread. There were gar lic-heavy recipes available to anyone interested.“Itwasa great opportunity to connect with amazing people from our com munity while learning how to grow your own garlic,” she said.

The Takoma Horticultural Club hosted their fourth annual Garlic Festival at the Takoma Park Farmers Market in Takoma Park, MD, on July 24. “Fresh garlic, garlic from nearby, is always better,” said Tony Sarmiento.

Leesburg Flower and Garden Festival

By Dorvall Bedford The 2022 Flower and Garden Festival, which the town of Leesburg, Virginia, calls its “annual rite of spring,” occurred on April 23 and 24. Vendors lined the streets of the town’s historic district selling plants, crafts, furniture, and other Beginninggoods.at10 a.m. on both days, it did not take long until the entire district was heavily crowded. By noon, it was so packed that it was difficult to go from one side of town to the other.

The Garlic Fest, as it has nearly every year since 2018, made growing garlic more accessible and more fun. Attendants could take pictures with a garlic bulb photo stand-in after tast ing Rodríguez’s recipes. Those who had never grown garlic before could pick up garlic basics while the more experienced could pick the brains of the even more experienced. Regardless of skill level, there was something for everyone.Attendees walked away prepared to grow garlic for the first time, amend their growing mistakes, buy garlic fresh, or just appreciate the growth of garlic a little more.

16 WASHINGTON GARDENER AUGUST 2022 HORThaenings

Takoma Garlic Fest

MoCo Farm Tour

By Jamie Oberg

There was a stack of handouts explaining all the information needed to grow garlic, but some gardeners had more-specific questions. One grower wondered why her garlic plants seemed to melt this year (too much humidity), while another asked why his crop was always so small (choice of cloves). Giving advice alongside the guest gardeners was Sarmiento (above), who has been dubbed the “Garlic Guru” by the Washington Post for his exper tise. Sarmiento hoped that the festival exposed attendants to more informa tion about their garlic.

There were plenty of interesting ven dors from around the region. Some of these included Northern Virginia Wholesale Growers, the National Capital Dahlia Society, and Holly Heider Chapple Flowers. While people filled the streets, browsing the many ven dors, there were also musical perfor mances from cover artists such as Gary Smallwood, Levi Stephens, and Geno Marriott & The Spirit of Jazz. Barbara Melera of Harvesting History, who has been attending major flowerrelated events across the East Coast for about 17 years, said this year’s festival in Leesburg went spectacularly well for her. “It’s probably the best festi val we’ve ever had,” she said. According to Melera, the crowd was a little heavier this year than before. She said this was probably due to several reasons: People are tired of being cooped up at home, they love the festival, and they want to support the vendors.“It’samarvelous community and it’s a marvelous tradition,” Melera said. This year’s Flower and Garden Festival at Leesburg was a huge event showcasing how extremely popular the tradition is with the local community.

“That means it’s been in a container ship for a long time and it’s not as fresh,” Sarmiento said. “If you’re eating garlic to take advantage of the health properties, then you’re eating it raw. The fresher the garlic, the more power ful the medicinal effect is.”

Visit DCGardens.com for Photos of the 16 Major Local Public Gardens in the

AUGUST 2022 WASHINGTON GARDENER 17 farm is tiered, meaning every hill you drive over reveals a new opportunity. At the crest, John Fendrick, who owns the farm with his wife, gave a walk-through explanation of where and how their cows are kept. A group of five siblings stared in awe as a robotic arm conduct ed a fully automated milking. “Farmer John” also showcased where the milk gets pasteurized and bottled, making the entire journey of their milk entirely transparent.Rightoutside was a field of grazing calves, an impressively large apiary, and, most notably, a nursery. A handful of calves lay in the sun, each in their own area. They were friendly and calm, enjoying the kids’ hands that poked through the fences to pet them. The orchard’s website explains that han dling the calves leads them to grow into especially docile cows. Below that, stacked one on top of the other, were the fields. For my trip, peaches and berries were available for picking. The 30-acre orchard included lanes of peach trees with couples searching for the best picks, as well as roped-off apple trees enticing me to visit again when they’re ripe. Below the berries, cut-your-own flow ers were also available. The flowers, which decorate the land behind the creamery, included a large variety of annuals and perennials, as well as lavender and sunflowers. Rock Hill also offers pumpkins, rhubarb, cherries, blueberries, various vegetables, and cut-your-own herbs depending on the time of year. To top it all off, the farm was filled with unintended photo opportunities created by the beautiful scenery within the medley of engaging activities. Whether you’re looking for a date idea, an educational field trip, or just a sweet treat, Rock Hill Orchard offers it all.

Jamie Amadea Oberg is a rising senior at the University of Maryland (UMD) and an intern this summer session with Washington Gardener

HORThaenings

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Dorvall Bedford is a journalism major at the University of Maryland, College Park, and was an intern during the spring 2022 semester with Washington Gardener. He is a native of Frederick, MD.

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Region shown in each

Registration Links: 9/9 https://connect.ahsgardening.org/ahs--gardencomm-webinar-series 10/7 https://connect.ahsgardening.org/virtual-programs/ahs--gardencomm-webinar-series-2 11/4 https://connect.ahsgardening.org/virtualprograms/ahs--gardencomm-webinar-series-3 Washington, DC month of the

year. And local resources like... Where to Buy Plants Where to Connect Local Garden Media Where to Volunteer Youth WhereToursWhereGardenstoFindDesignersandEventstoLearntoGarden

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Author: Alice Anne Calhoun

to Your Garden

Reviewer: Jamie Oberg

Each project is just a suggestion as Calhoun encourages the readers to personalize their faerie habitat, a great way to inspire creativity. Calhoun also highlights the impor tance of supporting wildlife every step of the way. She recommends including things like native wildflowers for pol linators, bird feeders, and bird baths. She also encourages the use of wild life-friendly materials like mud instead of glue and vines or twine instead of duct tape. In terms of actual gardening, Calhoun goes over the best flowers for a faerie habitat and includes a list of great options. She says to focus on flowers that can provide both beauty and func tionality, whether that be something faeries can eat, wear, or use as a medi cine. I’m sure most children would be more willing to help fill the garden with flowers if they knew their hard work could bring some mystical visitors to the yard.

�� ou he s, s ure, an

Publisher: Gibbs Smith List Price: $35.00 Order Link: https://amzn.to/3pPHY69 and Reviewer:a/79479/9781423660200https://bookshop.org/ToriVandergriff Blooms & Dreams: Cultivating Wellness, Generosity & a Connection to the Land is the personal journey of the author, Misha Gillingham, from luxury world-travel writer turned farm girl and living on Bainbridge Island, WA. Gillingham takes readers through her experiences of starting her farm, rescu ing animals, growing and donating food to people in need, and more in this hardcover novel-esque book. Gillingham is originally from Los Angeles and was able to work as a luxury travel writer and blogger. She bounced around dozens of countries, staying at all the best hotels and then wrote about them for her audience, according to the introduction to Blooms & Dreams. She says she ultimately found this work unfulfilling and sought a deeper purpose. Gillingham and her husband bought Evergreen Acres, a farm located on a small island in the Pacific Northwest three years after see ing it listed for sale. The book reads like a novel with long paragraph blocks of text and pages filled with pictures in between.Therest of the book details the life of Gillingham, her husband, and two

CalhounAnneAlice

GardenYourtoFaeriesAttracttoHow $15.99

Author: Misha Gillingham

Faerie Habitat is unique and fun way to get a child to help you in the garden or accompany you on hikes. The projects throughout the book encour age creativity, curiosity, and a deeper connection to nature. Calhoun explains how to notice the presence of faeries, shown through mushrooms and fire �� How to Attract Faeries to Your Garden

Faerie Habitat is filled with easy projects that focus on creating habitats for, you guessed it, faeries. These proj ects can use objects that don’t have to be bought and Calhoun recommends scavenger hunts for finding the materi als. The faerie houses themselves can be made from upcycled objects like a boot, a hollow log, or a terracotta pot. The projects for decorating the hous es are all easy to complete and are perfect for people who, like me, love all things miniature.

flies, and encourages offering notes and little treats for the magical guests. And if faeries seem too “girly,” Calhoun goes over a variety of other magical creatures and explains that faeries keep dragons as pets. As a kid, I was obsessed with faer ies and I know I would have loved to make my own faerie house, filled with personalized miniature furniture. In fact, I probably still would. The projects are simple yet fun and the book is filled with beautiful photographs that would make anyone want to add a bit of magic to their garden. o Jamie Amadea Oberg is a rising senior at the University of Maryland (UMD) and an intern this summer session with Washington Gardener Blooms & Dreams: Cultivating Wellness, Generosity & a Connection to the Land

Faerie Habitat How to Attract Faeries to Your Garden Habitat is where creatures live. Five elements must be present to provide a good Habitat: food, water, cover, space, and a layout or setting suitable for the creatures who will live there. In this book, award-winning artist Alice Anne Calhoun shows you how to create spaces where Faeries want to live. She shares advice on selecting Locations, making Paths, building Faerie Houses, designing Features such as Pools, Bridges, Dragon Caves, Stone Circles, and Fairy Forts, creating Furniture, choosing Plants, leaving Offerings, and ﬁnding Evidence of Faerie Habitation, all illustrated with beautiful photographs. Whether you are a child or an adult, this book will enchant and inspire you. More than 275 Photographs of Faeries, Mermaids, Magical Creatures, and Magical Places

Publisher: Ace of Spades List Price: $15.99 Order Link: www.faeriehabitat.com

The first thing Calhoun does is describe the basics. Calhoun explains that faeries are essentially “wildlife” and their habitats require food, water, space, a proper layout, and privacy. This introduction is especially helpful in understanding what path this book is going to take since, with a topic this unique, it could go anywhere.

HabitatFaerie

Larger projects, which are still mostly faerie-sized, include things like pathways and fencing, pools and ponds, and raised garden beds.

Alice Anne Calhoun

18 WASHINGTON GARDENER AUGUST 2022 BOOKreviews

The smaller projects include a mini bath made from a seashell, a popsicle stick welcome sign, and a clothes line with leaves and petals for clothing.

The book encourages the reader to look at nature in a new way. Fallen logs become a place for faeries to sit while a circle of rocks becomes a gathering place. If your child is reluctant to go in the garden or finds hikes boring, this could be a great way to get them more engaged in the outside world. This is one of many ways Calhoun brings new fun to the outdoors.

Alice Anne Calhoun has been making creatures like faeries and mermaids out of copper since 1994 as the owner of Copper Curls Ornaments and Sculpture. Her obvious love of all things magical comes through on every page of Faerie Habitat: How to Attract Faeries to Your Garden. Faerie Habitat is the perfect book for kids who love faerie, children who are always playing in the dirt, and any person you would describe as “whimsi cal.” This book outlines how to create a good habitat for mystical creatures through easy DIY projects, a connection to nature, and some creativity.

es for individual plants, but as I said, this book is a starting point. Soil preparation is covered, though. And Carey points out that it’s far better to use plants suited to existing condi tions, and to put plants that all happen to want X, Y, or Z together, where those conditions exist or you can provide them. In all, she gives you the ideas you want to start out with, and keep up with, all through the process. She also is a realist, pointing out that there will be mistakes, and that you should not hesitate to re-think, move plants (in some cases, planned moves, where things are deliberately put as “fill-in” plants until others attain their mature sizes, or when something gets large and should be divided), and—let’s face it—correct things that have turned out to be mistakes. Two aspects of the book are less than wonderful. For one, it focuses on herbaceous things, where a more rounded inclusion of trees and shrubs would have been nice. On the other hand, most DC gardens are smaller and this book “fits” that. The other issue is that the book is “stretched” by large margin areas. For the size and thickness (363 pgs.) of the book, could have held a LOT more information than there is.

and (FullReviewer:a/79479/9781643260389https://bookshop.org/JimDronenburgdisclosure:Theauthoris

Order Links:

AUGUST 2022 WASHINGTON GARDENER 19 Book Reviews continue on page 20 BOOKreviews unattainable. I will say, it’s a gorgeous book in detailing Gillingham’s life specifically and could be a fun read if you’re not looking to apply it to your own garden. The images depict a lavish lifestyle even though they live on a farm which feels realistic only for someone with the means to achieve this. Overall, I thought this book had beau tiful photos and it was well-written. Maybe it’s the college student in me, but I almost found it a bit elitist and over-produced for a book that’s meant to be inspiring even for home garden ers. o

Guide:

This is another book that tries to cover all bases (as much as any single book can), and as such is a good start ing point for whatever particular part you will want to pursue. It is a good book for beginners, but also has a lot to say to those who are (ahem) longer in the tooth. Although the book does have a section (the Flower Gardener’s Palette, pp. 95 242) with blurbs about favorite annuals/perennials/bulbs, the thrust of the book is design. The book is divided into A Look at Shape, Role, Presence, and Color; the Flower Gardener’s Calendar; the aforemen tioned Palette; Laying the Groundwork for your Flower Garden; and Putting your Flower Garden Together. In particular, the book goes into the role of any individual plant in a garden scheme; front, mid-border, back border; bold beauty, supporting cast, mixer, background, edger; and what blooms when. Your reviewer could have used more information about soil preferenc daughters built on this farm and how they adjusted to this new lifestyle.

Author: Jenny Rose Carey Publisher: Timber Press List Price: $29.95 https://amzn.to/3pCRCZn the reviewer’s friend.)

Note: These book reviews include links to Amazon.com and BookShop. org for ordering them. Washington Gardener Magazine may receive a few cents from each order placed after you click on these links.

Victoria Vandergriff is finishing up her senior year at the University of Maryland as a journalism major with a history minor. She is an intern this summer session with Washington Gardener The Ultimate Flower Gardener’s How to Combine Shape, Color, and Texture to Create the Garden of Your Dreams

Chapter 2 is called “Lay of the Land” and describes both the features the farm came with and that the family added, such as a pasture with a barn, “The Giving Garden,” greenhouse, chicken coop, pond garden, and much more. The farm also includes a sports arena and guest cottage. The photos included in the book are stunning and clearly taken by someone who knows how to entice people (i.e., a travel blogger). There are vivid images of fresh flowers, close-ups of farm ani mals, and cute candids of the kids play ing in the pastures. The pictures help to break up the long chunks of text and I found myself gravitating toward the photos over the words, if I’m being honest.Aninteresting addition to the book is Chapter 7, “Flowers, Flowers & More Flowers—Year-Round.” Here, Gillingham highlights the varieties of flowers avail able at her farm each month and pro vides pictures of each. I enjoyed this section because it felt helpful to home/ beginning gardeners who are unfa miliar with growing seasons. However, because the farm is in Washington state, this isn’t super-helpful to our area since the temperatures and soil types are a bit different. Truth be told, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I hoped to. I just didn’t feel connected to the LA girl who jumped ship to live the life of a farmer. When looking for gardening books (or books in general), I want something I can relate to and use in my everyday life. This book felt a bit too “self-help” and

BOOKreviews

That said, Carey’s writing style is wonderful, and the pictures are good enough that this would be a coffee table book if there were not such good reviewer is a plant collector, not a designer, but I still very much like what Carey has to say. Jim Dronenburg is a retired accountant and now gardens full-time in Knoxville, MD

The book covers just about every thing you need to know to create a successful and productive container garden, no matter whether you’re grow ing on a balcony, patio, deck, or along side an in-ground garden. It starts with some growing basics, such as what to do when and the tools you’ll need, and moves into choosing containers and designing a space. The entire sequence of food gardening from planting to har vest is explained in detail. You’ll also learn how to save space in a finite environment by making use of vertical devices like trellises, hanging baskets, windowsills, and so forth. A long section describes many crops and particular varieties appropriate for con tainer growing, including suggestions for required pot sizes. I particularly like the final chapter, “A Vision for Urban Living,” which offers reasons to grow food at home, such as health and nutri tion, a lower grocery bill, supporting wildlife and community, and even grow ing as a political act and for the health of the There’splanet.aton of information stuffed into under 300 pages in this volume. But there have to be some negatives, right? The only one I can think of does apply to us here in the DC area; some readers may find it important and some it won’t worry at all. Try this line of gardening instruction (composed by me, not Mark Smith). Plant the mangetout, courgettes, and aubergines in the pots you found in the skip, filled with store-bought compost plus a little extra from the wormery. If you read that without any diffi culty, you may be British, or at least an Anglophile. But for some American gar deners, it could be baffling or incom prehensible. The vegetables referred to are what we’d call snap peas, zuc chini, and eggplant: not hard to figure out in context. Finding containers in a Dumpster is a great way to recycle (and he tells us which types to avoid, too). We would probably call the device in which our pet worms produce drop pings that are great for plants a worm bin, but if I ever start one again, it will definitely be labeled Wormery, and I might well follow Mark Smith’s careful advice. However, I will not leave it out side in the winter, which you might be able to get away with in most of the UK, but not necessarily in our region.

text/captions/information.Inshort,getthisbook.Your

The Vertical Veg Guide to Container Gardening By Mark Ridsdill Smith Publisher: Chelsea Green List Price: $34.95 Order Links: https://amzn.to/3T7kczY and MarkReviewer:a/79479/9781645021506https://bookshop.org/EricaH.SmithSmith(norelation)started

The most confusing noun in that statement is “compost.” Smith would call the stuff we make out of decayed plant matter in a pile or bin “garden compost.” What he’d call compost is what we call potting soil, or any mix of organic (and sometimes inorganic) material you might fill a pot with. Don’t grow your vegetables in 100% garden compost! It’s likely to compress and pack down too much over a season, and doesn’t contain enough minerals.

Another thing to remember when perusing a transatlantic gardening text is that our pest insects are not the same. You can find local sources of information, however, such as an Extension website. That said, if you can get over wonder ing why the author keeps telling you about the rocket in your herb garden (arugula), I recommend this book for the good advice and sensible presenta tion, and also for the encouragement to use all the space we have available to grow great food. o

his edible gardening journey in 2009, on his London balcony. After trying for an opening in a local community garden and realizing he might have to wait decades, he decided to see what he could grow in containers. A lot, it turned out! In his second year of grow ing, he produced 200 pounds of food. He started a blog, Vertical Veg, and the enterprise grew over the following decade. Smith is now a popular garden ing educator, and this book presents what he’s learned in an easy-to-follow format meant for both beginning and experienced gardeners.

Erica H. Smith is a Montgomery County Master Gardener whose volunteer activities include the MG Demonstration Garden, the Grow It Eat It program. She is the author of several novels; you can visit her website at ericahsmith.wordpress.com.

Love Reading? These books were reviewed by vol unteer members of the Washington Gardener Reader Panel. To join the Washington Gardener Volunteer Reader Panel, send an email with your name and address to: KathyJentz@gmail. com. We look forward to having you be a vital part of our local publication and its gardening mission o Your Ad Here Contact kathyjentz@gmail.com or call 301.588.6894 for ad rates

The ad deadline is the 10th of each month. Please submit your ad directly to: KathyJentz@gmail.com

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AUGUST 2022 WASHINGTON GARDENER 21

Let healthy perennials stand for win ter. Many provide homes for pollinators and other beneficial insects, and some seeds provide food for songbirds. You’ll enjoy the added texture and motion in your winter garden and the songbirds that stop by to dine. Do remove diseased plant debris and those infested with plant-damag ing insects. Removing these from the garden reduces the source of future infestations, which means healthier plants needing less pest management. Contact your local municipality for guidance on disposing of pest-infested plantThisdebris.isalso a good time to remove any small to medium-sized dead or diseased branches from shrubs and small trees. A saw, like Corona’s 7-inch RazorTooth folding saw (https://amzn. to/3Ab8jjD), is perfect for this size job. The blade tucks into the handle for safe transport and the smaller size makes it easy to tuck into your tool belt or bucket. Disinfect the blade with rubbing alcohol or a disinfectant spray between cuts when pruning diseased plantDon’tmaterial.rakeleaves to the curb this fall. Put them to use in the garden as mulch on the soil surface to help sup press weeds, conserve moisture, and improve the soil as they decompose.

Don’t rake fall leaves off the lawn. Just mow over them as you cut the grass and accomplish two tasks in one. As long as the leaf pieces are the size of a quarter or smaller, they’ll break down, adding organic matter to the soil without harming the grass. Make a sec ond pass with the mower if needed to cut the leaves down in size. After your last cut, clean and winter ize your mower. Remove and sharpen the blades so you are ready for next season. Consider investing in an extra set of blades so you can change them throughout the mowing season. Sharp blades make a cleaner cut for a betterlooking lawn that requires less water and a mower that uses less fuel. Setting aside a bit of time this fall to prepare your garden for winter will result in less replacement and pruning of winter-damaged plants.

Note: This article includes links to Amazon. com for ordering products. Washington Gardener Magazine may receive a few cents from each order placed after you click on these links. Razortooth folding saw photo courtesy of Corona“Inspire.Tools.

Melinda Myers has written numerous books, including Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Any thing” DVD series and the nationally syndi cated Melinda’s Garden Moment television and radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and was commissioned by Corona Tools for her expertise to write this article. Her website is www.MelindaMyers.com.

Landscape Care to Keep Plants and Pollinators Healthy

Fall

As the weather and gardens transition from summer to fall, it is time to adjust your maintenance practices to ensure the health, longevity, and beauty of your landscape. Proper fall care will increase winter survival, support pol linators, and reduce your future work load.Continue watering as needed. This is especially important for new plantings and moisture-loving plants. Don’t over look established trees during extended dry periods. Drought conditions stress these key landscape plants, making them more susceptible to life-threaten ing insects and disease.

Connect. Grow.” National Garden Bureau is a nonprofit organization that exists to educate, inspire, and motivate people to increase the use of garden seed, plants, and products in homes, gar dens, and workplaces by being the mar keting arm of the gardening industry. Our members are experts in the field of horticulture and our information comes directly from these sources. Find out more at https://ngb.org/.

GARDENbasics

By Melinda Myers

Leaves also provide insulation and win ter protection for a variety of beneficial insects and toads. Continue weeding the garden. Cooler temperatures and a shorter to-do list make it easier to squeeze in more time for this task. Removing unwanted plants from the garden reduces com petition with desirable plants for water and nutrients. Eliminating weeds before they set seed means fewer weeds for you to pull next year. Continue cutting the lawn as long as it continues to grow. Leave clippings on the lawn to add nutrients, moisture, and organic matter to the soil. A sea son’s worth of clippings is equal to one fertilizer application.

By Barry Glick When it became my turn to present my current story proposal at our regular editorial board meeting, my pitch was resoundingly well received. It seemed that half of the editorial board had no idea that there was a Geranium native to the U.S. and the other half of the board couldn’t praise this plant highly enough.However, when I proposed the article’s title, the board’s consensus was, “You gonna have some ‘splainin’ to do,” espe cially considering the time of year.” You see, just about everyone is familiar with the houseplant called “Geranium” and know that it hails from South Africa, but they are dumfounded when I explain to them that the name Geranium for that particular plant is somewhat errantly applied. I say “some what” because, although that plant is in the Geraniaceae (Geranium) fam ily, it is (Here we go with the too much information), in the genus Pelargonium. So I regret to tell you that all of those wonderful, bright-red “Geraniums” that your grandmother had on her win dowsills and the deliciously fragrant “Scented Geraniums,” that we have come to love over the years, like the “Lemon Scented,” “Chocolate Scented,” “Peppermint Scented,” et al., are really not Geraniums at all. They are correctly called Pelargoniums. Now that we’ve drifted so far off course (a sometimes delightful and edu cational, yet unpredictable function of my persistent ADHD, etc), let’s get to the point of the article, the fantastic, native, (drum roll, please) Geranium macula tum! Here we have a bullet-proof native plant for the sunnier areas of your gar den. And not only an East Coast native, but also native to 34 eastern states in the U.S. and three provinces in Canada. In botanical nomenclature, the word maculatum refers to some form of spots, usually on the leaves of the plant and although some light spotting shows itself once in a while on Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum), it is uncommon. If I had been Linnaeus, I would have come up with a better specific epithet for this Typicallyspecies.found in abundance on sunny road banks, this

Geranium maculatum was used by many different tribes of Native Americans. They used it medicinally to treat diarrhea and various mouth ail ments. Powdered preparations were used to treat open sores or wounds. It was also used in folk medicine to stop abnormal bleeding, including that related to menstruation and uterine problems. It may be applied topically to help treat hemorrhoids. It can also be used as an antiseptic and can be applied externally for issues involving pus, discharge, and many inflammations. Oh, yeah, about the title, I’ve been asked so many times, by so many folks, “Is there really a native Geranium?, that I’ve just adopted the phrase “Yes, Virginia, there is a native Geranium.” That’s an adaptation of a delightful, soulful reply to an eight-year-old girl’s letter about Santa Claus to the editor of the New York Sun in 1897 by Francis Pharcellus Church, the newspaper’s edi tor. You can read the reply at: virginia-there-is-a-santa-claus/.www.newseum.org/exhibits/online/yes-https://

Barry Glick, a transplanted Philadelphian, has been residing in Greenbrier County, WV, since 1972. His mountaintop garden and nursery is a mecca for gardeners from virtually every country in the world. He writes and lectures extensively about native plants and Hellebores, his two main specialties, and welcomes visi tors with advance notice. He can be reached 304.497.2208.farm.com,com,barry@sunfarm.atwww.sunor

Geranium, also known by its common name, “Cranesbill,” because the seed pods resemble the beak of a crane. That’s where the name of the genus comes from, as well as because the Greek word for Cranesbill is Geranos.

22 WASHINGTON GARDENER AUGUST 2022 GOINGnative

Yes, Virginia, there is a native Geranium! (Geranium maculatum)

is24Plantsinseveralandpinks,shadesbloomsquarter-sizewithflowerperennialeasy-to-growwildgracesusfive-petaled,invariousofviolets,blues,purplesforweeksmid-summer.are12"to"tallandtherealsoararewhite form.

The seeds are food to several species of birds and other wildlife, and are easy enough to germinate, but rhizome divi sion is the quickest way to increase your colony of Geraniums.

AUGUST 2022 WASHINGTON GARDENER 23 Your Ad Here Are you trying to reach thousands of gardeners in the greater DC region/MidAtlantic area? Washington Gardener Magazine goes out in the middle of every month. Contact kathyjentz@gmail.com or call 301.588.6894 for ad rates (starting fromThe$200).addeadline is the 5th of each month. Please submit your ad directly to: kathyjentz@gmail.com Advertising Index A big THANK YOU to all of our Washington Gardener advertisers. Please tell them you saw their ad in Washington Gardener! 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24 WASHINGTON GARDENER AUGUST 2022 Jentz Prints Antique Botanical Prints for the decorator, collector, connoisseur, and art lover. Jentz Prints can be purchased on most Saturdays at the Eastern Market. Antique prints are affordable—most in the $10-$30 range—and they are the perfect gift idea for that plant lover in your life. And don’t forget to buy a few for Foryourself!moreinformation, to make a private appointment, or to get a detailed show schedule, please contact Jentz Prints by email at UllrichJ@aol.com. You can also find Jentz Prints on eBay.com under the seller ID printyman.

Washington Gardener Magazine August 2022

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