Washington Gardener Magazine December 2021 by Kathy J

DECEMBER 2021 VOL. 16 NO. 10

WWW.WASHINGTONGARDENER.COM

WASHINGTON

gardener

the magazine for gardening enthusiasts in the Mid-Atlantic region

Aucuba Plant Profile Snow and Ice Tips Growing Delightful Dwarf Daffodils U.S. Botanic Garden Holiday Display

Photo Contest Entry Opens Meet Caroline Hooks of glassceilingplants DC-MD-VA Gardening Events Calendar

Two New AwardWinning Tomatoes Seed Exchanges Back for 2022

Holiday Plants

Great Gardening Books Reviewed

Winter Watering of Newly Planted Unusual Choices, Care Tips, and More Trees and Shrubs

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, Maryland

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RESOURCESsourc

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 email KathyJentz@gmail.com for available dates, rates, and topics.

Green Spring Gardens

www.greenspring.org

A “must visit” for everyone in the metropolitan 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., Alexandria, VA. Information: 703-642-5173.

RARE AND EXCEPTIONAL PLANTS FOR THE DISCRIMINATING GARDENER AND COLLECTOR Barry Glick Sunshine Farm and Gardens 696 Glicks Road Renick, WV 24966, USA Email: barry@sunfarm.com

www.sunfarm.com

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Izel Plants

Online Marketplace for Native Plants

Ask Maryland’s Garden Experts extension.umd.edu/hgic

We offer cost effective options to cover a lot of ground, including containerized plants and retail-elusive plugs. Easily find the species that are best suited to your specific needs, from popular ones to those that are rare and hard to find.

$10 OFF your next order use code: WG191 at checkout.

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INSIDEcontents

FEATURES and COLUMNS

Caroline Hooks said, “I thought of the name ‘glassceilingplants’ while walking across the gutters of the glass greenhouse I work in. I thought to myself how my mother would scream if she saw me. I thought, ‘Isn’t it just perfect that the only thing my parents ever encouraged me to pursue, led to me doing all of the things they disapproved of.’ ”

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.

Aucuba japonica is rated a “B” in Rutgers’ ratings of deer-resistant plants—“seldom severely damaged.” Deer are known to eat the foliage when desperate enough, but this does not normally kill the plant. As with all deer-resistance ratings, your mileage may vary.

The U.S. Botanic Garden outdoor holiday display features G-gauge model trains, including the popular Thomas the Tank Engine, as well as miniature agricultural displays from across the United States and around the world, all made from plant parts.

ASKtheexpert 22 Winter Watering of Newly Planted Trees and Shrubs, Switching to Native Plantings, Reusing Container Soils BOOKreviews 18-19 Beautiful Flowers, Plant Clinic, Sustainable Food Gardens COVERstory 14-16 Holiday Plants HORThappenings 12 Procrastinator’s Market at the National Arboretum, Holiday Display at U.S. Botanic Garden NEIGHBORnetwork 8-9 Caroline Hooks NEWPLANTspotlight 11 Award-winning Tomatoes PHOTOcontest 17 Entries open for 2022 PLANTprofile 15 Aucuba SEEDexchange 6-7 Registration opens for 2022 TIPStricks 10 Delightful Dwarf Daffodils, Snow and Ice Tips

DEPARTMENTS

ADVERTISINGindex BLOGlinks EDITORletter GARDENcontest GARDENDCpodcasts LOCALevents MONTHLYtasklist NEXTissue READERreactions RESOURCESsources

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ON THE COVER

‘Princetia White’ poinsettias in the U.S. Botanic Garden’s greenhouses, Washington, DC.

In our January issue: Growing Mushrooms Inside Garden Trends and much more . . .

Be sure you are subscribed! Click on the “subscribe” link at washingtongardener.com DECEMBER 2021

WASHINGTON GARDENER

EDITORletter

Credits Kathy Jentz Editor/Publisher Washington Gardener 826 Philadelphia Ave. Silver Spring, MD 20910 Phone: 301-588-6894 kathyjentz@gmail.com www.washingtongardener.com Ruth E. Thaler-Carter Proofreader Charlotte Benedetto Charlotte Crook Melena DiNenna Melinda Thompson Interns Subscription: $20.00

Photo Shoots and Outtakes

As every monthly issue deadline rolls around, I realize I need a photo for the Editor’s Letter column and that makes me scroll back through the last few week’s of saved photos on my iPhone. Inevitably, it is slim pickings because I am not one for taking many selfies and I tend to forget to hand my phone to someone else to take a photo of me at an event or location. When you are the one taking all the pictures to capture a story, you don’t bother to turn the camera around on yourself. Last month, I met up with my The Urban Garden: 101 Ways to Grow Food and Beauty in the City book co-author Teri Speight in the Fenton Community Garden and we traded taking photos of each other with various backgrounds and poses. It was a warm fall day and the garden plots were still full of produce and flowers. We wanted some pictures to use in our social media posts as we promote the book’s release next spring. The shot above is one outtake that shows I clearly need a stylist (white socks with black slacks and shoes!), as well as a mirror (tuck in that visible hoodie!). We got a few usable pics, although not the ones we’d hoped for. The mission wasn’t exactly accomplished, but we had fun and are scheduling a session with the professional photographer soon!

• Washington Gardener Blog: www.washingtongardener.blogspot.com • Washington Gardener Archives: http://issuu.com/washingtongardener • Washington Gardener Discussion Group: https://groups.google.com/g/ washingtongardener/ • Washington Gardener Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/WDCGardener • Washington Gardener Instagram: www.instagram.com/wdcgardener • Washington Gardener Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ WashingtonGardenerMagazine/ • Washington Gardener YouTube: www.youtube.com/ washingtongardenermagazine • Washington Gardener Amazon Store: www.amazon.com/shop/wdcgardener • Washington Gardener BookShop: bookshop.org/shop/WDCgardener • Washington Gardener Podcast: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/ • Washington Gardener is a woman-owned business. We are proud to be members of: · GardenComm (GWA: The Association for Garden Communicators) · Green America Business Network · National Garden Bureau · One Montgomery Green · Ladies in the Landscape · Perennial Plant Association

Happy gardening,

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

No material may be reproduced without prior written permission. This magazine is purchased by the buyer with the understanding that the information 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.

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READERcontt

Reader Contest

For our December 2021 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, we are giving away a Centurion three-piece lawn and garden set (prize value: $30). Available now at Lowe’s (https://www.lowes.com/pd/Centurion-3Piece-Lopper-Hedge-Shears-and-PrunerSet/5001605563). This three-piece lawn and garden set from Centurion delivers everything in one package to get any yard in tip-top shape. The ergonomic steel lopper, heavy hardened carbon steel hedge shears, and comfortable molded grip pruner make trimming and cutting tree branches, bushes, and plants a breeze. Featured non-slip PVC foam hand grip handle saves energy and time while reducing strain on wrists and arms. Plus, bright-yellow handles make them easy to find in the garden. To enter to win the three-piece lawn and garden set, send an email by 5:00pm on December 30 to WashingtonGardenerMagazine@gmail.com with “Centurion” 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 January 1. o

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

Thoughts on Past Issues Of course I enjoyed the entire November 2021 issue, but I found Charlotte Crook’s article “Visit the Ephemeral Temperance Alley Garden” especially interesting, but upsetting. This is exactly what we need in our city! Why do we need more apartments? This “living classroom” is the very best use of the space for the human and wild communities. ~ Trish McKenzie, Washington, DC I loved the article on Goth Gardens [in the October 2021 issue]! I have some of those already in my yard. Fun. ~ Alison Mrohs, Henniker, NH I was fascinated by the article on the White Gardens Horticultural Park [in the October 2021 issue]. I had to Google Map it and found that I drive by it all the time on my way to dance lessons in Annandale! I am excited to stop one day and take a walk around the park— maybe once this fall and then again in the spring when things are coming back again. Thanks for a lovely magazine as always! ~ Dawn Szelc, Sterling, VA My favorite article in the October 2021 issue of Washington Gardener was the one on Hardy Begonias because I had only known about the non-hardy ones— and ironically enough, I got two at the Takoma Horticultural Club’s Plant Swap, too. Woo-hoo! ~ Madeline Caliendo, Washington, DC

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 normal 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 someplace 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.

My favorite article in the February 2021 issue of magazine this month was “6 Houseplants That Thrive in Low Light.” I liked this article because we are staying inside the house so much due to COVID-19, but plants that thrive are sure to lift our spirits during the isolation! Thanks for producing such a helpful magazine! ~ Mavis Burdett, Silver Spring, MD My favorite article in the February 2021 issue was the winning photographs of the Garden Photo Contest. They were all so wonderful and a treat to enjoy on a wintry February day! ~ Lisa Lyon, Bethesda MD o DECEMBER 2021

WASHINGTON GARDENER

Join us for: Seed Swapping Planting Tips Expert Speakers Goody Bags Door Prizes Washington Gardener Magazine presents the

17th Annual Washington Gardener

Seed Exchanges

on Saturday, January 29, 2022, 12:30–4:00PM

National Seed Swap Day! at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD Registration is now open at WGSeedEx.brownpapertickets.com

and on Saturday, February 5, 2022, 12:30–4:00PM at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, VA Registration is now open at WGSeedEx.brownpapertickets.com

COVID POLICY We require all attendees to show proof of full vaccination at check-in.

Space is limited, so act today! Washington Gardener Magazine subscribers get $5 off the $20 attendee fee!

WASHINGTON GARDENER

DECEMBER 2021

Overview

Washington Gardener magazine, the publication for DC-area gardening enthusiasts, is hosting the 17th annual Washington Gardener Seed Exchange at Brookside Gardens and Green Spring Gardens. These seed swaps are in person and face to face. You bring your extra seeds and swap them with other gardeners. Everyone will leave with a bag full of seeds, new garden friends, and expert planting advice.

When

Two Seed Exchanges will be held: Saturday, January 29, 2022, in MD and Saturday, February 5, 2022, in VA from 12:30–4:00PM

(Foul weather that day? Call 240.603.1461, for updates about possible snow/ice delay.)

Where

We are holding a duo of Seed Exchanges one week apart on opposite sides of the Washington Beltway. We urge you to attend the one closest to you. One exchange will be held at Brookside Gardens, 1800 Glenallan Ave., Wheaton, MD. The other will be at Green Spring Gardens, 4603 Green Spring Road, Alexandria, VA.

How to Register

You can easily register online at WGSeedEx.brownpapertickets.com. Be sure to select the correct date and location for the Seed Exchange you are going to be attending. OR you can fill out the form on the opposite page. Send the form, along with payment, to Washington Gardener, 826 Philadelphia Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910, Attn: SE Registration. Please make checks out to “Washington Gardener.” Registration fee is $20 per person. Friends of Brookside members, Friends of Green Spring members, and current Washington Gardener subscribers receive a discount rate of $15 per person. We strongly urge you to register in advance. There is a limited enrollment of 100 participants at each location!

We are GREEN!!! Garden Book and Seed Catalog Exchange

Seed Exchange attendees are encouraged to bring their used or new garden books and seed catalogs to swap and share at this year’s event. We also ask you to bring your own water bottle or reusable mug and a home-made nametag. We will have a “best nametag” contest, so get crafty!

Hashtags #GardenDC and #SeedSwapDay

Washington Gardener Magazine’s 17th Annual

Seed Exchange Details

If You Have Seeds to Bring and Swap

Please package them in resealable plastic zipper or wax sandwich baggies. Put an average of 20 seeds per baggy—more for small seeds like lettuce, fewer for large seeds like acorns. Label each baggy with a white sticker (such as Avery standard 5160 address label sheets) giving all the information you have about the seeds. If known, include the plant’s common and scientific names; its soil, sun, and watering needs; and, its origins—where and when you collected the seeds. If you don't know all the information, that is okay; just provide as much as you can. Yes, you can bring unused or opened commercial seed packs.

What If You Don't Have Any Seeds to Swap?

Come anyway! Even if you don’t have any seeds to trade, you are welcome to attend. We’ll have plenty of extra seed contributions on hand and many attendees will be there just to learn, network, and prepare for next year’s seed collecting.

Education Program

Expert speakers from the local gardening community will give short talks on seed collection and propagation tips. There will be ample time for individual Q&A throughout the program with the featured speakers, and invited experts as well.

Schedule

(Note: This schedule is subject to change.) 12:00-12:30 Registration check-in 12:30-12:40 Introductions 12:40-1:20 Gardening talk 1:20-1:55 Gardening talk 2:00-2:15 Snack break and room reset 2:15-2:30 Seed Swap preview time 2:30-3:00 Seed Swap 3:00-3:30 Photo Contest winners 3:30-4:00 Door prizes and closing talk

How Do We Swap?

As you check in, staff will collect your seeds and place them at the appropriate seed category tables. You will be assigned a random seed swap number. There will be a short period for attendees to preview all the seeds brought in and available for swapping. You will be called in by your number to pick a seed pack from each of the category tables (if desired).

After the initial seed swap is complete, attendees are free to take any of the leftover seeds and to trade seeds with each other. Dividing of packets is encouraged and extra baggies with labels will be on hand for that purpose.

What Types of Seeds?

Seed swap categories will include natives, edibles, herbs, exotics, annuals, perennials, and woodies (trees/shrubs). If you can pre-sort your seeds in advance into which of these seven major categories fits best, that would help us speed up the process on the swap day.

Door Prizes! Goodie Bags!

Each attendee will receive a goodie bag at the seed swap. The bags include seeds, publications, and garden items donated by our sponsors. In addition, we have some incredible door prizes to give away especially for area gardeners. If your organization would like to contribute seeds or garden-related products for the goodie bags and door prizes, contact Kathy Jentz at 301.588.6894 by January 25.

17th Annual Washington Gardener Seed Exchange Advance Registration Form

Please ﬁll out this form and mail with your check/money order to: Washington Gardener Magazine, 826 Philadelphia Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910

Name:____________________________________________________________________________________ Street Address:____________________________________________________________________________ Email:____________________________________________________________________________________ Seed Exchange Date and Location:  Jan. 29 at Brookside Gardens  Feb. 5 at Green Spring Gardens (We will only use your email address for Seed Exchange notices and will never share them with anyone else.) Seed Exchange Attendee Fee: $20.00 __________ Discount (if eligible*): -$5.00 __________ Optional: Washington Gardener Magazine Annual Subscription: $20.00 __________ TOTAL_____________ *The following groups are eligible to pay the discount attendee rate of $15.00; please CIRCLE if one applies to you: • Washington Gardener Magazine subscribers • Friends of Brookside Gardens members • Friends of Green Spring Gardens members A portion of the event proceeds will go to beneﬁt Native Seeds/SEARCH for conserving crop genetic resources. COVID POLICY: We require all attendees to show proof of full vaccination at the check-in desk. DECEMBER 2021

WASHINGTON GARDENER

NEIGHBORnwork donations from my business partner, a very happy 10-year-young rabbit named Bubber. During the peak season, the back garden was truly an oasis. Plants in stock at the store include Meyer lemon trees, string-of-pearls, boob cactus (Mammillaria elongata), bunny-ear cactus, Papyrus, tropical passion flower vine, night-blooming cereus, and more. If glassceilingplants. com is on the label at FFDC, it was grown by yours truly in my tiny apartment or in a small space where I work. Other products in stock include “Plant Witch Hand Salve,” suet bird feeders, pots and trays, bioactive terrariums, butterfly and moth wing earrings, painted gnomes, and more. Any support is much appreciated!

Caroline Hooks

Intersectional Hor�icult�rist

By Charlotte Crook

Content warning: childhood sexual abuse (there are no graphic descriptions but it is mentioned) Caroline Hooks is the creator and owner of glassceilingplants. She holds a bachelor of science in horticulture from West Virginia University and is pursuing a master’s of professional studies in applied entomology at the University of Maryland. She cites Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, PA, as her true alma mater, though. There, she said, she “was introduced to the practice of true integrated pest management and learned the value of community-building through gardening.” While growing up in West Virginia, Hooks faced sexual abuse from her father. Now an adult, Hooks pursues gardening with a mindful and intersectional approach that emphasizes community and recovery. Tell us about glassceilingplants—what do you do? glassceilingplants is my modality for bringing all of the fragmented memories of my life together and finding my 8

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voice. As a horticulturist, writer, and artist, I am documenting my career in the male-dominated industry of horticulture/agriculture/landscaping and my journey through complex PTSD recovery at glassceilinplants.com. And Femme Fatale DC—how are you connected with them? Femme Fatale DC (FFDC) is a collection of more than 40 small businesses selling their art, curated clothing, jewelry, ceramics, and more. The 3409 Connecticut Ave. NW, WDC, location is easily accessed at the Cleveland Park Station on the Red Line. This location is open Wednesday-Sunday, 11am–6pm, until December 24, 2021. It’s the perfect place to do some last-minute, locally made holiday shopping. This past growing season, I used my newfound creative freedom to test the limits of my container-growing skills (and test the patience of some people as my lush Alocasias and Washingtonia palms took over in places). I gave it my all, reusing waste for my growing supplies, resurrecting half-dead dumpster plants, while fertilizing 100% with

What started your interest in horticulture? I’m 30 years old, but it’s only been two years since I started processing what brought me to horticulture. Horticulture was basically encouraged by my abuser and father; a fact that I was ashamed of for a long time. How would you define mindful gardening? How can one practice it? At the moment, my definition is gardening with a set intention and experimenting, making mistakes, and learning from those mistakes with that intention in mind. Mindful gardeners can trust that the act of gardening will always lead to learning, growth, and future harvests to come. It helps to use all of your senses: touch, sight, sound, smell, taste, time, planning, preparation, hoarding supplies, labor, intuition, fortune-telling, and on, and on... For this reason, gardening is one of the most grounding forms of recreation, and a powerful tool for coping with anxiety. Grounding is a common mindful gardening intention. Simply caring for a plant and observing its growth is a great way to ground yourself in the passing time as it grows. Seasonal garden routines can serve as reliable time markers. For example, I sow perennial seeds every winter. Just like us, these seeds need a period of rest during the coldest days of the year, before the tiny cotyledons emerge in the spring. As an MPS Applied Entomology student, grounding myself in the present

NEIGHBORnwork place and time also means celebrating seasonal phenology and conservation of the land’s natural history and biodiversity. (Phenology: the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate and plant and animal life.) However, my idea of a “mindful garden” does not have to be the same as someone else’s. Mindful gardening could have specific cultural or historical intentions. A mindful garden could be helpful with grounding in memories of places, loved ones, events, etc. Gardening to serve the community is also a mindful intention. Whatever your intentions, I think the mindful gardening concept has the potential to be one of our best tools for finding a little solace amidst the chaos and darkness, and may encourage more mindful land management decisions. You discuss intersectionality and privilege so much in your posts. How do you stay mindful of these philosophies while you garden? Unlike most people who have suffered from adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), I have the privilege to be in recovery. That may not have been the case if I were not a white cis-gendered woman who grew up in the middle class. From my limited experience, I know that our food, street trees, and ornamental plants depend on industries that exploit workers and the land. I will be processing and learning about that fact as long as I live. You stay vulnerable about your trauma. What inspires you to be so open? I would not have this strong sense of self in a “man’s industry” without listening to countless women share their own experiences through podcasts. I’m inspired by all the people who have had to make up their own leadership strategies because the cards were stacked against them. Anti-anxiety medication has played an important role in helping me feel safe while expressing vulnerability. I am proud of my identity as a survivor and have always dreamed of feeling empowered enough to share my story in a meaningful way.

I want to share my story as a service to help hold space for survivors, denormalize ACEs, and stop the cycle from continuing within ourselves. Surrounding myself with people whom I can trust to respect my boundaries has helped make me feel safe enough to be vulnerable in leadership positions. Just the fact that groups like Ladies in the Landscape (ladiesinthelandscape.com) and FFDC exist is validating. That validation of vulnerability is what makes people believe in themselves, and in my opinion, that is pure magic. Groups like these provide support and fuel creativity. What advice would you give to beginning gardeners in our area? As a container gardener, I’ve discovered bunny litter is magic. (It has become a common occurrence that tomato seeds Bubber has eaten will germinate straight from his litter; i.e., magic.) Maybe it’s the gentle and playful rabbit energy, or maybe it’s because it has the highest NPK levels of any animal manure. Either way, I will probably never buy any other fertilizer again. Please email me at glassceilingplants@gmail.com if you’d like to trial a sample of bunny litter in your garden! Even if you don’t have a rabbit, you can still do amazing things with containers and other types of organic fertilizer. One fast and cheap tip for watering your containers is setting them in a holeless dish, tray, or cachepot filled with water. You can adjust the watering depending on the pot and plant needs. This method suits many aquatic plants, too. Just make sure if the tray stays full for longer than a week, you dump the water or add a piece of Mosquito Dunk (Bacillus thuringiensis). To learn more, visit Hooks’ blog, glassceilingplants.com, or go to @glassceilingplants, her Instagram account. o Charlotte Crook is a senior journalism major minoring in history at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. She is an intern this fall with Washington Gardener and is passionate about raising house plants (to varying degrees of success). This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The Urban Garden: 101 Ways to Grow Food and Beauty in the City Coming Soon! By Kathy Jentz and Teresa Speight Published by Cool Springs Press/Quarto Homes Pre-order it today at: https://amzn.to/3yiLPKU

GardenDC Podcast

The GardenDC podcast is all about gardening in the greater Washington, DC, and Mid-Atlantic area. The program is hosted by Kathy Jentz, editor of Washington Gardener Magazine, and features guest experts in local and national horticulture. The latest episodes include interviews with experts on camellias, garden trends, and Thanksgiving from the garden. You can listen online at https:// washingtongardener.blogspot.com/ or on Spotify, Apple, etc. o DECEMBER 2021

WASHINGTON GARDENER

TIPStricks

Snow and Ice Tips to Protect Our Yards This Winter

Narcissus ‘Minnow’. Photo courtesy of ibulb.org.

Delightful Dwarf Daffodils Dwarf daffodils are often referred to as mini-daffodils or short-species daffodils. They remain short in stature and produce robust, cheerful little flowers with roguish diminutive trumpets in the center. You can buy them in single- or double-flowering varieties, and some are even delightfully fragrant. They are available in white and various shades of yellow, salmon, and orange; the trumpet can be the same or a different color from the petals. • Dwarf daffodils don’t grow very tall, so they won’t get blown over easily. This is why they make good plants for pots and containers. • The best places for them in the landscape are in rock gardens or between the roots of trees and shrubs. • Daffodils are indigenous to regions in western Europe. • Daffodils symbolize a new beginning, because their flowers announce the coming of a new season. • If you want to combine daffodils with other flowers, some good choices would be grape hyacinths or the larger blue hyacinths. This is because they will all flower at the same time and their contrasting colors—yellow and blue/purple—will make a beautiful display. • Some daffodils produce clusters of flowers on a single stem; two examples are Narcissus triandrus ‘Hawera’ and N. triandrus ‘Petrel’. More information about daffodils is available at www.flowerbulbs.com. o 10

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More people are extending their outdoor time in the winter by adding fire pits, outdoor heaters, and other features. Even in the wintertime, it’s important to take care of your yard. The TurfMutt Foundation, an environmental education and stewardship program that encourages outdoor living and caring for green spaces, offers the following snow and ice tips to help us protect our yards this winter. • Stop cutting your lawn once it freezes. Trim your grass to the height recommended for your lawn variety before it freezes. Cutting your grass too short can leave it dry and exposes it to the elements, not to mention insects and disease. • Add a thin layer of mulch to your lawn before it’s too cold. A thin layer of mulch can protect your grass roots from snow and frost. It can even prevent deeper layers of soil from freezing, making it easier for your lawn to bounce back in the spring. • Check your trees for dead or damaged limbs. Removing dead or damaged limbs before inclement weather arrives, is one way to protect your shrubs and yard from damage (not to mention people and pets!). Snow and ice can weigh heavily on dead branches and make them snap and fall. Remove any dead branches carefully with clippers, a chainsaw, or a pole pruner, following safety precautions. Consult an arborist for problematic trees. • Mark the pathways and areas that you will need to clear of snow and ice, as well as areas you want to avoid, like flower beds. Stakes or sticks can help. If you run a snow thrower, you won’t accidentally cut a path through the lawn and can stick to your walkways. Always follow manufacturer’s safety procedures and never put your hand inside the snow thrower. Always use a clean-out tool or stick to clear a clog. Be sure that children and pets are safely inside and not near outdoor power equipment while it’s being operated. • Keep new (and old) plantings well-hydrated. Caring for trees and shrubs even in the winter is still important. Plants and trees that are well-hydrated are more likely to survive a hard freeze, so water well before the cold snap sticks. Newly planted trees can only survive about two weeks in the winter without water, so be sure to water any new trees you’ve added to your landscape if they aren’t getting water naturally from rain or snow. If your outside hose is already shut off for the winter, then use a bucket and add 5 gallons to the area around the tree. • Continue watering plants and trees even after the leaves drop. Older plants and trees should enter winter well-hydrated. Even in the wintertime, hardy evergreen plants continue to lose moisture through their needles and if it’s a dry winter, they need supplemental water, too. • Don’t shake heavy snow and ice off branches. It may be tempting for children (or adults) to wiggle those branches and watch the snow come off, but snow or ice can damage a branch. Shaking them can cause the branches to snap. It’s better to wait until the snow melts to assess any damage. • Remove damaged branches as soon as the weather allows you to do it safely. If snow or ice have snapped a limb, look at the cut and assess the damage. Try to get a clean cut on an already-broken branch or limb, because this will make it more difficult for insects or disease to enter the stressed area on your tree or shrub. Follow all manufacturer’s safety precautions if using a chainsaw or pole pruner. • Be careful about salt. Salt can melt snow and ice, but it can also damage plants and trees by drawing water away from their roots, so keep salt applications away from your trees and shrubs. Salt should also be cleaned off pet paws after they enjoy a romp outside in the snow. And remember to get outside, even when it’s chilly. It’s good for our mental and physical well-being to spend time in our family yards and breathe in the fresh air— and it also helps us connect to each other and with nature. For more tips, sign up for Mutt Mail, a monthly enewsletter with backyarding ideas and all the news from the TurfMutt Foundation at TurfMutt.com. TurfMutt was created by the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute’s (OPEI), an international trade association representing manufacturers of outdoor power equipment, small engines, battery power systems, portable generators, utility and personal transport vehicles and golf cars, and their suppliers. o

GARDENnews

Quick Links to Recent Washington Gardener Blog Posts • Poinsettia Plant Profile • The Joy of Bok Choy • Grow Your Own Salad See more Washington Gardener blog posts at: WashingtonGardener.blogspot.com o

New Plant Spotlight December–January Garden To-Do List

Two new tomatoes win AllAmerica Selections awards. Tomato Purple Zebra F1

‘Purple Zebra’ tomato (pictured above) is a fun new addition to striped tomatoes, producing fruits that are rich with complex flavors and a moderately firm texture. Dark-red fruits with green stripes and a deep mahogany-red interior do not produce muddy coloration like other tomatoes of this type. The taste is sweet and acidic, leaning to sweet. Overall, this tomato has a better taste and thinner skin than comparisons, with excellent disease resistance. All-America Selections judges say this is a very marketable fruit for farmers’ market growers. Distributed by A. P. Whaley Seed Company.

Tomato Sunset Torch F1

‘Sunset Torch’ has strong, dramatic striping from stem to tip. This is a very vigorous grower and was among the first to ripen. As one All-America Selections judge explains the appeal, “The open growth habit displays fruit that pleases the eye before reaching the mouth!” Overall better performance; less splitting; good yields; a mildly sweet, fruity flavor; and disease resistance make this cutie a winner. Sunsetcolored fruits are produced on easyto-harvest trusses. Distributed by A. P. Whaley Seed Company. o

Photos courtesy of All-America Selections.

• Keep watering your poinsettias and give them plenty of light. Ensure they are away from drafts and that pots drain freely. • Last chance to plant bulbs or, if you have waited until the ground is frozen, pot them up for forcing indoors. • Gather holiday greens. Some, like holly and boxwood, benefit from being pruned by growing thicker. • Feed birds and provide them with a fresh water source. • Check houseplants, and any plants you brought indoors for the winter, for insects. • Provide some special protection to tender or early-flowering plants like Camellias. • Stake newly planted large trees or shrubs to protect them from winter winds. • Check any tropical or summer-blooming bulbs, corms, tubers, and bare root plants in storage for rot or desiccation. • Apply scale and dormant oil treatment to evergreens. • Spread ashes from wood fires on your vegetable beds. • Keep succulents and cacti on the dry side. • Water your cut Christmas tree daily. • Gently remove layers of snow from outdoor evergreens with a broom. • Start organizing your pile of incoming garden catalogs. • Keep an eye out for damage to tree bark from rabbits and deer. • Spray broadleaf evergreens with anti-desiccant to prevent dehydration. • Use the branches from your Christmas tree as bedding mulch or a windbreak. • Keep watering newly planted trees and shrubs as needed. • Cover strawberry beds with straw or pine needles. • Prune stone fruit trees such as cherries, plums, and peaches. • Clean, sharpen, and store your garden tools. • Reduce fertilizing of indoor plants (except Cyclamen). • Set up a humidifier for indoor plants, or at least place them in pebble trays. • Continue to rotate houseplants to promote even growth. • Attend a local garden club meeting. • Start new indoor plants from cuttings—try an easy one, such as violets. • Check the plants under tall evergreens and under the eaves of the house to see that they have sufficient moisture. • Weed. Weed. Weed. • Pick a budding gardener to give some inspirational garden books and magazines, then watch the new gardener blossom. • Store your fertilizer and seeds in rodent-proof containers. • Do any filling and grading needed around your yard. The soil will settle during the winter months. • Vent cold frames on sunny days. • Avoid walking in frozen planting beds. • Remove and destroy gypsy moth egg masses. • Clean your gutters. • Prune maples, dogwoods, birches, elms, and walnuts—if needed. • Consider using alternatives to de-icing salts, such as sand, beet juice sugars, light gravel (grit), or non-clumping kitty litter. Using de-icing salts around driveways and sidewalks can harm your garden plants and turf. o DECEMBER 2021

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HORThaenings

FONA’s Procrastinator’s Craft Sale and Tree Sale By Charlotte Benedetto

On a breezy and balmy December Saturday, the holiday tree and greenery sale at the National Arboretum was a hot destination for dozens of DMV families. The first Friends of the National Arboretum (FONA) Procrastinator’s Holiday Market and Christmas Tree Sale was coordinated in the spirit of the German Christmas Market tradition—an outdoor market with vendors of handmade work, upscale gifts, and fine foods, along with a variety of local suppliers of the finer things in life. Sweet Dames (sweetdames.com) offered a tasteful array of niche confections—glamorous, perfectly formed, dairy-free, and gluten-free delights. Genelle Drayton of Sweet Dames said not only did FONA make her feel welcomed as a local entrepreneur, but they were “very responsive, and it was easy to sign up.” Early though it was, cars packed every parkable inch of ground. To say there is a near “cult” following Roaming Rooster (roamingroosterdc.com) is not an understatement—at 10:15am, chicken connoisseurs queued up, anxiously waiting for the Roaming Rooster truck to open. “Modern Ceramics”—mugs, spoonrests, and timeless ceramic gifts with a high-touch, high-tech esthetic—were on offer from Bethany A. Slater (www. bethanyslater.com). “So far, so good,” she remarked, as diverse customers bustled in from the wind under her FONA-provided tent. I loved the sophisticated modern earrings by Patience Moore. These ultracool, ultra-matte works of wearable art were so uniform and highly crafted—like smooth petals or nodding orchids. See patientlycrafted.com. Nearby, Republic Restoratives Distillery (republicrestoratives.com) featured an array of gem-like tones of bottled potions, glimmering in stylish rows. “We just launched this line yesterday!“ exclaimed Emily, a Republic brand representative, gesturing at a “ready to drink” cocktail called “Tuxedo No. 2,” which looked very intriguing to the senses. But it wasn’t all boutique booze and glorious art mugs. I was touched to see 12

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that at the Procrastinator’s Market, we returned to normalcy, slightly—people removed their masks and ate cheese together, a skilled DJ played the hits, and two teenagers were seen dancing (possibly ironically); many adorable dogs were in attendance, especially appreciated by Arboretum aficionados under age 5. FONA’s wise inclusion of a children’s train ride let families connect over choo choo’s together in a comfortable, casual community environment. Vendors and shoppers alike would do well to look for this outdoor Procrastinator’s Sale next year—participating could be a real holiday bonus. o Charlotte Benedetto is a writer, artist, and gardener living in Great Falls, VA. She is enrolled in the Northern Virginia Community College horticulture program and is an intern this fall with Washington Gardener.

U.S. Botanic Garden’s Outdoor Holiday Display By Melinda Thompson

A visitor in the U.S. Botanic Garden can hear the “choo choo” of the train as it travels over a bridge that leads to tracks going through representations of different farms around the world. The U.S. Botanic Garden Holiday Display 2021 is outdoors, with a display that wraps around part of the garden. When walking into the garden, right behind the Patrick Dougherty Stickwork Sculpture, you will see the train. There are two parts with multiple tracks wrapping around models of various types of farms from around the world: a Sorghum-Millet-Cowpea Cropping System in Mali, Africa; an Onion farm in Mexico; a wheat and corn farm in Kansas; a hillside vineyard in South Australia; and many more. While looking at the display of the vineyard, you can see that the detailing is amazing. Every grape on the tiny grape vines can be seen clearly. Devin Dotson, the U.S. Botanic Gar-

den media contact, said that all of these model buildings and displays were made from plants. “They’re made out of plant parts: cinnamon sticks, acorns, acorn squash, sweet grape vines, and hundreds of different plant parts,” Dotson said. One of my favorite displays was a miniature greenhouse that had small plants lined up inside. I also spent a lot of time watching the train pass over my head as it crossed from one side to the next. Children of all ages ran around, circling the display to catch a glimpse of Thomas the Tank Engine trains. Many faces looked in awe at the trains and the intricate displays. Dotson said that normally the train display is done inside the Conservatory, but the Conservatory is closed due to COVID-19. He said that once it was on the front terrace of the Conservatory, but for the last 16 years, it was inside. By the train display, a small gift booth under a tent had various garden items for purchase. The trains are not the only part of the holiday display. Window displays feature Washington, DC, buildings and monuments. The biggest had a replica of the U.S. Capitol. The other two windows featured multiple museum and memorial replicas. These replicas were so detailed that in the replica of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, the facial features were clearly chiseled, along with the buttons on his jacket. Windows in every replica building were shown along with each and every brick on the buildings. “They’re lit up throughout the day and well into the evening, ” Dotson said. “For people who are ‘out and about,’ whether it’s daytime or nighttime, we’ll have some fun displays” Dotson said that the replicas are usually placed inside the Conservatory’s Garden Court. All of these replicas—both the ones in the train display and the window display—were built by Applied Imagination. “We’ve been working with them since 2004,” said Dotson. “This is their specialty: building models of things out of plant parts.” Surrounding these intricate replicas are varieties of poinsettias. Each variety is labeled with a small plant tag.

TOP AREA GARDENING EVENTS Classes, Events, and Plant Shows/Sales

The outdoor holiday display was filled with people. There was excitement in the air because the display was up again after being cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19. “We didn’t have one all last year, and people are super-excited it’s back,” Dotson said. “And it seems to be doing very well. Now that it’s outdoors, there’s a little bit more space for people to move around, and before we were constrained inside the gallery space. People have enjoyed the extra space to have the kids freely roam and explore the trains in the train display.” The replicas are not the only thing that makes this year’s holiday display festive: There are also lights and other holiday decorations. Surrounding the whole garden, trees are wrapped with lights to set the holiday mood. In the front entrance area, there’s a tree on top of a giant urn planter decorated with lights and big, silver ornaments. More of these large silver ornaments are on the ground by evergreen trees. On the outside wall, there is a line of two types of Juniper trees, each one covered in different color holiday lights. The lights are also on the trees in Bartholdi Park garden in back of the Conservatory. This outdoor holiday display opened on November 24 and closes on January 2. It’s open every day (except December 25) from 10am to 5pm. o Melinda Thompson is a senior journalism major with a vocal performance minor and a concentration in women’s studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. She is an intern this fall with Washington Gardener.

• Saturday, December 18, 1–2:30pm Winter Solstice Celebration in the Garden Come to Green Spring Gardens to celebrate the rebirth of the sun and the beginning of winter. Learn about one of the most ancient rituals in the world with legends, crafting, and games. Fee: $10 per person. Register online at www. fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/parktakes with code 8ED.8SQU. • Now through January 9, 2022 A Longwood Christmas Wrap yourself up in the warmth—and the chill—of the holiday season at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. Purchase timed tickets online at https://longwoodgardens.org/eventsperformances/longwood-christmas.

Looking Ahead to 2022 • Wednesday–Friday, January 5–7 Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show MANTS is back in person at the Baltimore Convention Center. The premier green industry marketplace brings together close to 1,000 vendors to kick off the new year with opportunities to meet and reconnect with colleagues, check out the latest industry products, and stock up on inventory for the year ahead. Attendee registration is $30 per person and good for all three days. Visit MANTS.com for additional show details. • Saturday, January 22, 10–11:30am Layered Sand Terrariums Workshop Make a mini terrarium with succulents and add a touch of whimsy or sparkle with fun decorations. These succulent containers create a beautiful optical illusion. The trick is a smaller glass vessel within the large one, allowing you to water the plant without ruining the layers of colorful sand around it. All materials, included as well as care instructions for your succulent. Fee: $35. Register at https://apm.activecommunities.com/montgomerycounty/ activity_search/layered-sand-terrariums/122673.

• Thursday, January 27, 1–4pm Virtual Native Plant and Sustainability Conference Topics this year include how to create layers in your landscape, great natives for our region, organic tree production, and highlights from award winning local gardens. Hosted by the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. Early bird registration costs $40 for Phipps members and $45 for nonmembershttps:// www.phipps.conservatory.org/. • Saturday, January 29 Washington Gardener Seed Exchange at Brookside Gardens See pages 6–7 of this issue. • Saturday, February 5 Washington Gardener Seed Exchange at Green Spring Gardens See pages 6–7 of this issue. • Friday, February 18 GreenScapes Symposium Hosted by Brookside Gardens, this a day of virtual lectures focusing this year on native plants for tough garden conditions and how to design a small garden space that will still provide ecological benefits for pollinators and wildlife. To learn more and register, visit www. brooksidegreen.org

Event Listing Updates See updated event listings on the Washington Gardener discussion list. Join by emailing WashingtonGardenersubscribe@googlegroups.com.

How to Submit Events To submit an event for this listing, email washingtongardenermagazine@gmail. com with “Event” in the subject line. Our next deadline is January 5 for the January 2021 issue, for events taking place after January 15. o

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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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COVERstory are a more “tender” plant because they’ve been bred in greenhouse conditions. They are meant to be houseplants more than outside plants. They come in warmer tones, like red, pink, peach, and white. They need bright, indirect light; some fertilizer; and cooler temperatures (around 60°F). When caring for these azaleas, make sure to never let them dry out. Tip: When they start to drop leaves, they’re either overwatered or dried out.

Christmas Cactus

Holiday Plants for a Truly Green Season By Melena DiNenna

The holiday season has officially arrived. Many people are scrambling to find gifts for loved ones and dust off old boxes from the attic, shed, or basement to bring out the decorations, while trying to enjoy the holiday season themselves. This winter, we encourage you to use plants to ease some of that holiday stress. Plants can be great gift ideas for party hosts, a beautiful centerpiece for your dining room table, and a form of self-care this winter. This fall, Washington Gardener Magazine editor Kathy Jentz gave two presentations for Homestead Gardens about how to make the most out of the holiday season with forced bulbs and beautiful house plant arrangements. Here are some of the best holiday plants she discussed and how to care for them.

Amaryllis

While known for the traditional red type (‘Red Lion’), amaryllis also comes in many other colors (pink, white, burgundy, and so on). As a gift, a red or white amaryllis would be perfect for the holiday theme. If you buy a new amaryllis bulb, it’s been pre-chilled for you. It even may already be springing into bloom in the box on the shelf! Amaryl14

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lis is a “set it and forget it” plant. After you’ve gotten the new bulb, put it in a heavy clay pot with good drainage. And make sure it’s snug—try to get a pot that’s only slightly bigger than the bulb. If you already have an amaryllis bulb and want to get it to bloom again, here’s what you do. Once it’s done flowering, cut back the flower stalk and compost that. Leave the leaves on, though. Try to give it an outdoor summer “vacation” if you can. In midAugust, bring it in, stop watering, and let the leaves die. Then, store it in a cool, dark, and dry place—like a cardboard box in a closet—for its dormancy for at least eight weeks. Then, bring it out, repot it, and begin watering (sparingly!). Put it in a sunny window, and once you see some growth, increase watering. You can also buy cut amaryllis flowers already in bloom at the florist, and their vase life can last up to 10 days. Start by trimming the stem ends by an inch or more, and if curling has begun, trim off two or more inches. Make sure not to put it in direct sunlight or heat.

Azaleas

Azaleas are another beautiful holiday gift plant. Florist azaleas, in particular,

Another popular holiday plant is the Christmas cactus. You may have even received it as a gift before. However, the Christmas cactus is often confused with the Thanksgiving cactus—the two look very similar. To identify a Christmas cactus, look for more rounded edges on the leaves compared to a Thanksgiving cactus’ sharp, pointier edges. In addition, Christmas cacti bloom later than Thanksgiving cacti—typically around mid-winter. You can force Christmas cacti into bloom by placing them in a cool room (between 55°F and 60°F) for 13 hours of darkness. When watering, make sure to keep your cactus on the dry side. As the flowers fade, pluck them off to keep the plant looking fresh. This cactus is also fairly easy to propagate. Pinch off a set of three cactus leaves and put it in a little cup with water, and place it in a sunny windowsill. After two to three weeks, it will have formed roots and you can pot it up in soil.

Cyclamen

Cyclamen are another great holiday gift choice because, like azaleas and amaryllis, they come in a variety of colors that are perfect for the holidays. Their leaves are even heart-shaped. To care for cyclamen, keep the root ball moist and fertilize them every two weeks. Cyclamen often give owners trouble with watering because of how easy it is for them to rot. This is because water sits in the top of the corm rather than sinking into the soil. To avoid this, water in a tray and allowing the roots to take up the water, rather than watering from above.

COVERstory Keep any eye out for yellowing leaves or spent flowers, and remove them if you see them. Around February or March, you’ll notice the foliage start to die back. Don’t worry—it’s not dead! It’s just going into dormancy to restore spent energy, just like any other bulb. In this case, the plant should be left to dry through the summer: start to water it again in the early fall.

consistently moist soil. One way to satisfy its humidity needs is to place a tray of pebbles full of water below the pot. This plant also likes to spend the summer season outdoors, and needs care similar to the gardenia.

Lemon Cypress

Christmas Rose as much direct sunlight as possible. After it blooms, you can prune it to your liking. Make sure to keep the soil moist, but not too soaked. It prefers a relative humidity of 50–60%, so you can mist the plant often. Keep in mind, gardenia is a little harder to keep during this time of year, because most houses have much lower humidity than the plant prefers (around 10–20%). One way to combat this is placing a humidifier in the same room, but don’t be surprised to see some leaves dropping or yellowing. You can buy a potted Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger) as a gift (or for yourself) to enjoy inside temporarily and then add it to your garden right after the holiday. This perennial plant prefers cooler temperatures than inside your home, and it can be planted outside any time as long as you can still dig into the garden soil. If you’d like to display the Christmas Rose flowers inside, here’s a tip. With the way the plant usually sits, the flowers droop down, so it’s a bit harder to see the face of the flower. One way to get around that is to cut them and place them in a shallow basin of water. That way, they’ll float facing up so you can fully enjoy the white, pink, yellow, and spotted colors of its lovely petals.

Gardenia

A common host gift this time of year is a potted gardenia, with its strikingly shiny foliage contrasted with solid-white flowers. It’s fragrant and beautiful to look at while enjoying the perfumed scent. To care for a gardenia, it’s best to place it in a south-facing window with

Norfolk Island Pine

If you don’t have a lot of room or simply don’t want to wait to deal with decorating a large tree, you might be interested in the Norfolk Island Pine. This cute houseplant looks like a small Christmas tree, and can grow to be several feet high. It’s not a true pine, and has softer edges than pine-like needles. The plant is tropical, so it needs humidity and

If you want to get even smaller than the Norfolk Island Pine, then Lemon Cypress is a great choice. It also resembles a Christmas tree, but you definitely won’t fit many presents under it. At around 18 inches to 2 feet tall, the lemon cypress could make a great table centerpiece. Like the Norfolk Island Pine, this plant is tropical, so don’t let it dry out! For care, it needs bright light and to be kept cool (from 55°F to 60°F). It is not hardy to our region, so cannot be planted outdoors in winter.

Orchid

There is an incredible number of orchid varieties out there, but a great type for the holidays are the moth orchids (Phalaenopsis sp.). These orchids often come in white, pink, and pale yellow, and their petals are sometimes spotted. To care for a moth orchid, give it bright, indirect sunlight. You may have heard the shot glass or ice cube trick to watering your orchid—but don’t do that. Orchids are epiphytes, meaning they grow on trees in nature. The best way to water an orchid plant is to simulate a rainstorm by running water over it. Then, drain the extra water out over the sink and put it back in its spot. Repot your orchid every two to three years in an orchid bark mix, so it has fresh growing media to root into. In general, the best way to care for an orchid is to neglect it. Yes, you read that right. The more you mess with it and tend to it, the less successful it will be. As Jentz said, just like a watched pot never boils, “a watched orchid never blooms.”

Ornamental Pepper

Ornamental peppers are a fun way to decorate for the holidays. They are now being bred in so many different colors, like red, purple, yellow, and even multicolor. Some are being bred to have different-colored foliage, from lime green to deep purple. DECEMBER 2021

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COVERstory

Poinsettias

These are a perfect holiday gift because the shape of the peppers make them look like holiday string light bulbs. To care for this plant, it should be overwintered as a houseplant. Place it on a sunny windowsill, and when the temperatures get to 60°F and over, you can move it outside. Remember that ornamental peppers are bred more for decoration rather than eating. Their flavor is typically spicy and bitter. You can do a taste test if you want, but it probably won’t make for a pleasant snack.

Paperwhites

Paperwhites (Narcissus papyraceus) are a beautiful plant related to daffodils, with a long, green stem and dainty white flower at the top. Their elegant appearance makes a great centerpiece for any room. You can buy paperwhite bulbs prechilled, so they’re ready to bloom as soon as you put them in a little bit of water and anchor them. You can put your paperwhites in stones or aquarium rock (or soil if you want, but it’s not necessary). Make sure to fill water only to the bulb’s “hips” or bottom third. If you want paperwhites to bloom all season long, you can do a couple each week rather than all of them at once. Some paperwhites, like the ‘Ziva’, are known for their strong, unpleasant scent. To avoid that, you can check out the ‘Nazareth’, ‘Inbal’, and ‘Galilee’ varieties. 16

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A classic holiday plant is the poinsettia. The striking, petal-shaped foliage is the focal point of this plant, where its flowers are the more subtle part. To select the freshest poinsettias, look for the little yellow flowers in the middle of the colorful leaves/bracts, they should just be breaking open. Poinsettias are native to Mexico and do not like exposure to freezing temperatures. Make sure when you purchase and take them home, that you protect them from extreme cold. To do that, make buying the poinsettias the last stop on your winter errand run. Poinsettias like bright, direct sunlight. To water a poinsettia, take it to the sink and remove the decorative foil. Water the soil around the stem—not on the leaves. In recent years, poinsettias have been bred in many color ranges, patterns, and leaf shapes. More than 100 varieties of poinsettias are now available. Most sales are still of the classic red kinds, followed in popularity by white and then pink. Florists and garden centers are also applying paints to the bracts to come up with unusual colors and combinations (like blue and purple), as well as glittering them. Another fun practice is to train poinsettias into tree forms and topiaries. If you keep it past the holiday season, apply a houseplant fertilizer once a month. Do not fertilize when it is in bloom. After the New Year, cut it back to the green leaves. New growth will sprout and then you can condition it for display in the next holiday season.

Roses (Miniature)

Greenhouse-grown miniature roses are beautiful houseplant for the winter months. To ensure your miniature roses are long-lasting as a decoration, look for buds that are just starting to open when you purchase them. Just as the name suggests, miniature roses are rose plants with smaller flowers. To care for them, give them bright light and deadhead often. Once the flower starts to fade, snip off the bud, which will encourage more flowering. Since roses are usually dormant in the winter, expect leaves to drop throughout the season. This is com-

pletely normal. Just make sure to take the dropped leaves out and compost them, so they don’t sit in the soil and lead to rotting or infection.

Rosemary

If you want a plant that has a pleasant fragrance and will add more green to your space, rosemary is a wonderful holiday plant for you. Rosemary is now being bred as a houseplant, as well as a hardy outside plant, so make sure to check the label when you buy it. You can shape the plant to your liking with pruning—many people favor an oval or Christmas tree-like shape. Give the plant as much bright light as possible by putting it on a south-facing windowsill. Rosemary likes to be on the dry side, so check the soil before watering. Water if the top 1 to 2 inches of soil are dry, and you can check that by using a toothpick or a finger. As a houseplant, rosemary is meant to last about six to eight weeks indoors and then be discarded. As you can see, there’s a holiday plant for everyone! Whether it’s for a gift, a decoration to impress guests, or a way to treat yourself, there are many plants to choose from that’ll add cheer to your holiday season. o Melena DiNenna is a journalism student at the University of Maryland, College Park, with minors in Spanish and sustainability studies. She is from Salisbury, MD, and is interning this fall with Washington Gardener.

You’ve seen those gorgeous garden photos published in magazines and newspapers. Enter this year’s competition and have a chance of getting your images published, too! Whether you take the photos in your own backyard, a nearby public garden, or while visiting friends and family in their local gardens, there are so many photographic opportunities to be found. Let’s show off the best in DC-area gardening! This contest offers an opportunity for all photographers to present their best shots of gardens in the greater Washington, DC, area. Contest entries will be judged on technical quality, composition, originality, and artistic merit. More than $500 in prizes will be awarded! Winning images will be published in Washington Gardener magazine, displayed during the Washington Gardener Seed Exchange, and appear in a local photo exhibit.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Each entrant is limited to a total of 10 images. Each electronic file must be identified with your last name and entry category. For example, GardenCreature1-Jones.jpg or SmallWonders8.-Smith.jpg. All photographs should accurately reflect the subject matter and the scene as it appeared in the viewfinder. Nothing should be added to an image and, aside from dust spots, nothing should be removed. Cropping and minor adjustments to electronic images to convert RAW files are acceptable. If an image is selected as a finalist, a high-resolution digital file might be required before finalizing our results. Digitally captured images should be taken at the camera’s highest resolution (3 megapixels or larger). For preliminary judging, digital files must be submitted in JPEG format sized to 1,000 pixels on the longest side at 300 dpi. If photos are taken with a film camera, they must be scanned in and submitted in JPEG format sized to 1,000 pixels on the longest side at 300 dpi. Contest entries can be submitted via email to DCGardenPhotos@aol. com. Use the subject line “WG Photo Contest” and include an entry form for each image in your email’s text field.

16TH ANNUAL PHOTO CONTEST Entries can also be sent as a CDROMs. Please verify their integrity by making sure they are readable and not damaged. We reserve the right to disqualify any disk that is unreadable or defective. Please check your CDs with the latest virus-detection software. We will disqualify any disk that appears to contain a virus or a suspicious file. Label each CD and case with your full name. We strongly suggest mailing CDs in protective cases. We are not responsible for disks damaged during shipping. No CDs will be returned, but they can be picked up after judging. Send your entries and entry fee to: Washington Gardener Photo Contest, 826 Philadelphia Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910. Mailed entries must be received by January 21, 2022. You can print out blank entry forms from the Washington Gardener blog (WashingtonGardener.blogspot.com) or from our Facebook page. We will verify all entries, so please ensure your email address is included on all items. Entrants must not infringe on the rights of any other photographer, landowner, or other person. Photos involving willful harassment of wildlife or destruction of any property are unacceptable. The entrant must have personally taken the photo. By entering, you state this is your work and it is free of copyright elsewhere. Failure to comply with any contest guidelines will lead to disqualification.

category or submit all 10 in one category. Photos must have been taken during the 2021 calendar year in a garden located within a 150-mile radius of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. • Garden Views: Beautiful, dramatic, or unusual perspectives of a garden landscape, including wide shots showing the setting. Subject can be a private or public garden. • Garden Vignettes: Groupings of plants in beds or containers, unusual color or texture combinations, garden focal points, and still scenes. Subject can be photographed in a private or public garden. • Small Wonders: Tight close-up images or macro shots of single flowers, plant parts, fruits, vegetables, etc. Subject can be photographed in a private or public garden. • Garden Creatures: Images of insects, birds, frogs, pets, etc., in a private or public garden setting.

CONTEST ENTRY FEE

Your entry to this contest constitutes your agreement to allow your photographs and your name, city, state, and photo description texts to be published in upcoming issues of Washington Gardener and used for other related purposes including, but not limited to, Washington Gardener Photo Contest promotions and online, live presentations, and gallery exhibits. Entrants retain ownership and all other rights to future use of their photographs.

CATEGORIES

Each entrant is limited to a total of 10 images. You may submit a few in each

PRIZES

Prizes include gift certificates to area camera stores, gardening tools, new plant introductions, and much more! If you would like to be a prize donor or sponsor, contact us today.

WINNERS’ OBLIGATION

Photo contest winners will need to provide high-resolution versions of their images for publication and an 11x14 print suitable for framing. Winners may be asked to provide additional information for press and media coverage. The entry fee is $20.00 or $15.00 for current Washington Gardener Magazine subscribers. The fee includes up to 10 total image submissions per entrant. Please send a check or money order made out to “Washington Gardener” or send a payment via www.PayPal.com to DCGardenPhotos@aol.com.

DEADLINE

Entries are due by midnight on January 22, 2022.

QUESTIONS?

Please call 301.588.6894 or email DCGardenPhotos@aol.com. o DECEMBER 2021

WASHINGTON GARDENER

BOOKreviews

Beautiful Flowers: A Guide and Workbook for Growing, Using, and Enjoying Gorgeous Garden Blooms Author: Janice Cox Publisher: Ogden Publications List Price: $17.99 Order Link: https://amzn.to/3GEtbBi Reviewer: Melinda Thompson Flowers: they’re used for more than just making the space beautiful. In Beautiful Flowers: A Guide and Workbook for Growing, Using, and Enjoying Gorgeous Garden Blooms, Janice Cox writes about how flowers can be used for self-care, eating, and crafts. The first chapter of the book, “Beautiful Flowers,” is a comprehensive guide about how to care for flowering plants and plant them together. In between the instructions for types of soil to use for plants, pruning the flowers, and arranging the plants in the garden, Cox says there is a language that flowers have told throughout history. This guide is beginner-friendly, explaining all the important things that new flower-growers need to know. “Nearly every feeling and emotion can be expressed with flowers,” Cox writes, before listing the Victorian England meanings of giving someone flowers. Some examples include Forgetme-nots meaning true love memories, yellow Tulips meaning you make me smile, and Hollyhock meaning ambition. Throughout the book, Cox says the best part about flowers is giving them to people and seeing the resulting smiles on their faces. The other chap18

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DECEMBER 2021

ters detail the different ways the reader can make something to give to someone they love. The next few chapters are both beginner and experienced gardener-friendly. The second chapter, “Natural Beauty with Flowers,” tells more than just how flowers can light up a room. It describes how you can light up your self-care routine. There are recipes for cleansers, toners, bath bombs, and more. Cox starts with the medicinal and care benefits of common flowers. After explaining the benefits, she explains how a gardener can organize their garden based on those benefits and how to care for the plants involved. The last section of the chapter provides detailed recipes using common garden flowers like roses, lavender, and chamomile. The third section of the book, “Edible Flowers,” explains how common flowers that can be found in the yard can be used to make food or tea. Some of these include roses, sunflower, basil, and mint. Then Cox presents recipes for flower foods, teas, and other drinks that can be shared with friends. These include flower salad spring rolls with shrimp, candied flowers, and lavender margaritas. In this section, Cox makes sure to include where the gardener can find some ingredients that are hard to find in regular grocery stores or where you can find those obscure ingredients in grocery stores. The fourth chapter, “Floral Crafts,” first explains how gardeners can create fun and interesting bouquets. There’s a color wheel chart to help with choosing the color of the flowers. Then, Cox describes different ways to make these interesting, like using mason jars or empty cans as vases or a wooden floral arranger to make simple bouquets. She also details how to make wreaths and use flowers to dye clothes. The most beginner-friendly part of this book is the inclusion of blank pages for journaling. Gardeners can jot down notes about what flowers can be eaten, growing lessons learned, and sources and use of edible flowers. “Creating any number of skin- and body-care products, culinary delights, or crafts with fresh and dried flowers brings a level of satisfaction and joy to any gardener,” says Cox. “Sharing those

gifts is just another way to spread the joy.” I highly recommend this book for the flower-lover in your life. o Melinda Thompson is a senior journalism major at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD, with a vocal performance minor and a concentration in women’s studies. She is an intern this fall with Washington Gardener.

The Plant Clinic: Healing with Plant Medicine Author: Erin Lovell Verinder Publisher: Thames & Hudson List Price: $29.95 Order Links: https://bookshop. org/a/79479/9781760761721 and https://amzn.to/3DW8mzB Reviewer: Charlotte Benedetto The Plant Clinic is a pretty, even glamorous, but also practical, if somewhat strange, book. It is sort of a cross between a coffee table book and a cookbook. Designed to lie flat, with expensive-seeming, sophisticatedly bound matte paper, it is a recipe compendium and a glossary of ingredients. The design and layout are both informal and traditional. Luxuriant illustrations bleed over the edges of this finely made “utility softcover”—designed for use in the kitchen. Photography in The Plant Clinic, by Georgia Blackie, is very well-crafted. Dried nettle steeping in a Mason jar is lit in a natural, neutral light, and shot as glamorously as a pouting model. Even modest ingredients like fennel seed, chia, or powdered herbs are photographed with the sensuality of mashed lipsticks or spilled pearls. A simple and soothing palette permeates the book, providing a calming and modern feel. Attention to esthetic detail is a hallmark of this book. The recipes are organized by treatment area (“The Gut,” “Hormone Health,” “Immunity”) and sections are both artistic and crystal-clear, with cleverly printed side index tabs, designer paper, and again, sensually photographed ingredients on nearly every page. Teas, confections, foods, and decoctions, along with pastes and lotions used externally, and “vapor” or steam applications, are all covered. Here there be tisanes, potions, tonics, “oxymel” (healing honey compounds), and “electuaries” (paste-like herbal cataplasms) from entry-level to exotic.

BOOKreviews Protocols are listed for various symptoms and typical household complaints such as allergies, halitosis, eczema, and indigestion. Refreshingly, sections are dedicated to less-often discussed complaints familiar from many burntout modern readings. It is refreshing to see practical garden-oriented and planthealing protocols for grief, impaired cognition, and depression. The Plant Clinic is a beautiful book to thumb through and own. It would make a fine gift for any herbally oriented individual. o Charlotte Benedetto is a writer, artist, and gardener living in Great Falls, VA. She is enrolled in the Northern Virginia Community College horticulture program and is an intern this fall with Washington Gardener.

This work includes a comprehensive glossary and many common-sense recipes, so much that it might make a fine workbook for elementary herbalists. Goji berries (Lycium barbarum) and chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) are well-known health-food store standards, but use of certain other ingredients, like the gentian root (Gentiana lutea in the “Spiced Herbal Bitters” recipe for gut health), has yet to hit the mainstream. Any practitioner or herbal grower looking to do market research on healing compounds would be wise to peruse the “Remedy Recipes” that pack The Plant Clinic. Growers take note—notoriously immortal weeds skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) and horsetail (Equisetum spp.) may eventually make their way back into common consumption. The one flaw in The Plant Clinic is the final section (“First Aid Kit”) because it is a little too short—although I’m sure many people would agree that an herbal or plant-based first aid kit could be an encyclopedia unto itself. Ingredients are both global and local, but there is something for everyone here—most Washington Gardener readers have access to the more familiar ingredients like fennel seed, caraway seed, dry coriander seed, and lemon peel, and some of us may even grow featured ingredients such as ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata) and chicory (Chichorium intybus). Not everyone stocks chaga powder (the fungus Inonotus obliquus) or lion’s mane (Hericium erinaceus), but with a little planning and maybe a trip to Whole Foods, some of these ingredients are not that far-flung anymore.

Sustainable Food Gardens: Myths and Solutions Author: Robert Kourik Publisher: Metaphorphic Press List Price: $69.95 Order Links: https://amzn.to/30saSA7 and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9780961584887 Reviewer: Stacey Evers Author Robert Kourik started edible gardening in 1978, which has given him decades to experiment and hone his techniques. What he didn’t have was time to write a sequel to his 1986 book Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape—Naturally, mostly because he couldn’t start writing until he’d organized his files of scientific research: 200 books, 36 lineal inches of filing cabinet and at least 1,000 digital research documents. And then, the pandemic hit. With time on his hands, Kourik whipped his documents into order, then began writing, editing, and creating graphics for several hours a day. This immersion led him to realize that many gardening “facts” are not backed by science but are mere assumptions or myths. “[M]uch of the scientific research that I studied seemed to refute popular horticultural trends.” Curious, Kourik pivoted his focus to investigate the peer-reviewed and field study science behind permaculture. The result, Sustainable Food Gardens: Myths and Solutions, is a comprehensive, science-based review discussing which long-held garden practices will actually succeed in a home garden. It’s also a myth-busting guide—a tome,

really, at 417 pages plus two appendices, 435 images, and a 5,000-entry index. I keep saying “science,” but don’t worry if your science skills are rusty. Kourik has a gift for inviting, relatable writing. He’s an experienced gardener who can (and does) converse with you about everything from the basics of sustainable gardening and container plants to the intricacies of drip irrigation, root systems, and natural fertilizers. The many easy-to-interpret charts and illustrations add valuable content, rounding out the reader’s understanding. Kourik is also a gardener who’s mindful of his impact on the soil, water, and wildlife around him. In every chapter, he teaches you how to protect nature and conserve resources—including how to save on your home energy bills by how you landscape around your house. Regardless of your gardening experience; adherence to sustainable practices; or preference for edible, habitat, or ornamental gardening, you’ll find much to learn in Sustainable Food Gardens. I know that I’m grateful that Kourik made such good use of his pandemic time; I look forward to the hours ahead of me, plumbing the depths of this book during our second COVID winter. o Stacey Evers is the founder and chair of Hands On Harvests, a Northern Virginia nonprofit that teaches people how to grow food and makes it easy for gardeners to donate those surplus squash and tomatoes. These book reviews include affiliate links. DECEMBER 2021

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PLANTprofile

Aucuba By Kathy Jentz

Spotted Laurel (Aucuba japonica) is a large evergreen shrub also known as Japanese Laurel and Gold Leaf Plant. This plant is grown for its strikingly variegated foliage with yellow or white spots or streaks, although there is also a plain green version. This shade-loving plant is great for a spot in the back of the border to add some bright foliage interest or as a hedge. It tolerates dry soils and air pollution well. It is easy to propagate new plants from cuttings. It has long-lasting red fruits that appear in the fall that are also attractive. To produce the fruit, you must have male and female plants near each other. Aucuba typically grows to 8 feet wide and high. It can be pruned in spring to keep its size in check. Dwarf varieties are also available. It is hardy to Zones 7 to 9 and native to Asia. Aucuba can be grown in containers outdoors and also does well as a house plant. Plant it in a protected spot out of prevailing winds and direct sun in well-draining soil. This is a low-maintenance, easy-care plant.. o Kathy Jentz is the editor and founder of Washington Gardener.

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�� A D VA N C I N G T H E N AT U R A L L A N D S C A P E : S O L U T I O N S F O R C H A L L E N G I N G S I T E S & S I T UAT I O N S �� F R I D AY, F E B R UA R Y 1 8 , 2 0 2 2 | 9 : 3 0 A M – 4 P M E T �� Leveraging native plants for specific environments and design outcomes can often be challenging. Obstacles can range from tough site conditions and overcoming invasives to urban gardens with limited space for creating beneficial ecosystems. These virtual presentations will offer design strategies that make it easier and more effective to integrate native plants into a variety of landscapes. Learn novel uses of plants, planting design, and application of ecological principles to overcome these roadblocks and achieve high-impact, environmentally sustainable designs.

SEMINAR TOPICS � New Naturalism: Designing and Planting a Resilient, Ecologically Vibrant Home Garden

Kelly Norris, author, plantsman

� Great Natives for Tough Sites: Using Native Plant Communities as a Guide for Better Designs

Janet Davis, owner, Hill House Farm & Nursery

� More Than A Pretty Face: Native Alternatives to Invasive Exotic Plants

Colston Burrell, lecturer, garden designer, award winning author and photographer

� Low-input, High-impact Design for Sustainable Gardens & Urban Landscapes

Nigel Dunnett, plantsman, designer and Professor of Planting Design and Urban Horticulture, Department of Architecture, University of Sheffield GreenScapes will be offered as a series of live online lectures using Zoom with audience Q&A incorporated into the program. Each session will be recorded and a link to watch the symposium will be emailed to all participants. Registration includes access to watch recordings of each session after the event.

R E G I S T R AT I O N I N F O R M AT I O N E A R LY B IR D FE E: $45/person until Jan 7, 2022

S TA N DA R D FE E: $55/person after Jan 8, 2022

BrooksideGreen.org 301-962-1470 DECEMBER 2021

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KNOWitall

Ask the Expert By Debra Ricigliano

Whether to Reuse or Replace Container Garden Soil Every Year Q: This past summer, I did most of my gardening in containers. I grew my vegetables, herbs, and most of my flowers this way. I was very successful and plan on doing this again. Will I have to purchase new potting mixture to fill my containers or can I reuse the soil? A: Yes, you can reuse your potting mixture, providing your plants were healthy and did not have root diseases. Reusing it is a money saver, is a form of recycling, and reduces demand for peat moss (the mining of it releases large amounts of CO2). It is best to empty the media, after removing the plant debris, into a trash can or heavy-duty trash bags for the winter. This allows you to clean the containers and protects the growing media from the elements. Before using it next season, mix it 50:50 with fresh potting mixture and/or compost.

Winter Watering of Newly Planted Shrubs and Trees

Q: Back in October, we had our front landscape beds redone. There is a mixture of shrubs and a redbud tree. My question is about watering these young plants. It seems that we have not had much rain lately. I am hesitant to stop watering them but was wondering when I can stop. A: Good for you that you are taking the proper measures to care for your new landscape. Instead of watering on a schedule, check the soil moisture around the plants about once a week. This reduces the chance of overwatering. Probe down about 5 inches below the mulch around the base of the plants, using your finger or a stick to see if the soil is moist. If so, do not water. If it is dry, you should irrigate, directing the water to the root zone. The soil should dry out between waterings. Once the ground freezes, you can stop checking. Often, our soil remains moist as spring returns. Once the plants start growing and temperatures warm up, begin this watering process again. 22

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Spiny witch hazel gall aphids on the back of a birch leaf. Photo courtesy of UMD HGIC.

New landscapes should be watered for about two years after planting to reduce plant stress during the establishment period.

Switching Landscapes to Majority Native Plants

Q: My winter project is planning how I can convert my garden to native plants. However, I do have some non-native favorites like azaleas, osmanthus, nandinas, and big-leaf hydrangeas. Is it okay to have a mixture of native and non-native plants in a landscape? A: The interest in planting native plants grows every year and is a positive step for helping pollinators, beneficial insects, and wildlife; reducing the introduction of invasive plants into the environment; and so much more. It is recommended that at least 70% of a landscape be native plants. As long as a non-native garden favorite is not proven to be invasive, it can be part of a diverse landscape. The one shrub that should be removed and replaced on your list is nandina (Nandina domestica). It is on the radar of the Maryland Department of Agriculture as being invasive (see Tier

2 Invasive Plants: https://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Pages/maryland_ invasive_plants_prevention_and_control. aspx). Nurseries and landscapers must inform buyers of that fact and that alternatives should be considered. Also, it has been documented that nandina berries may be toxic to birds. Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica), fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii), and spicebush (Lindera benzoin) are three native replacements to consider. o Debra Ricigliano is a Certified Professional Horticulturist, who has worked as a horticulture consultant for the University of Maryland Extension Home and Garden Information Center since 1997. She is a graduate of the Institute of Applied Agriculture at UMCP. To ask a gardening or pest question, go to http://extension. umd.edu/hgic and scroll to “connect with us.” Digital photos can be attached.

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MARCH/APRIL 2005 • Landscape DIY vs. Pro • Prevent Gardener’s Back • Ladew Topiary Gardens • Cherry Trees

MAY/JUNE 2007 • Roses: Easy Care Tips • Native Roses & Heirloom Roses • Edible Flowers • How to Plant a Bare-root Rose

MAY/JUNE 2005 • Stunning Plant Combinations • Turning Clay into Rich Soil • Wild Garlic • Strawberries

JULY/AUGUST 2007 • Groundcovers: Alternatives to Turfgrass • How to Pinch, Prune, & Dead-head • William Paca House & Gardens • Hardy Geraniums

JULY/AUGUST 2005 • Water Gardens • Poison Ivy • Disguising a Sloping Yard • Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2007 • Succulents: Hardy to our Region • Drought-Tolerant Natives • Southern Vegetables • Seed Saving Savvy Tips

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005 • Container Gardens • Clematis Vines • Sponge Gardening/Rain Gardens • 5 Insect Enemies of Gardeners

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007 • Gardening with Children • Indoor Bulb-Forcing Basics • National Museum of the American Indian • Versatile Viburnums

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2005 • Backyard Bird Habitats • Hellebores • Building a Coldframe • Bulb Planting Basics

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008 • Dealing with Deer • Our Favorite Garden Tools • Delightful Daffodils

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 • Garden Decor Principles • Primroses • Tasty Heirloom Veggies • U.S. Botanic Garden MARCH/APRIL 2006 • Top 10 Small Trees and Large Shrubs • Azaleas • Figs, Berries, & Persimmons • Basic Pruning Principles MAY/JUNE 2006 • Using Native Plants in Your Landscape • Crabgrass • Peppers • Secret Sources for Free Plants JULY/AUGUST 2006 • Hydrangeas • Theme Gardens • Agave • Find Garden Space by Growing Up SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006 • Shade Gardening • Hosta Care Guide • Fig-growing Tips and Recipes NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006 • Horticultural Careers • Juniper Care Guide • Winter Squash Growing Tips and Recipes • Layer/Lasagna Gardening

SUMMER 2009 • Grow Grapes in the Mid-Atlantic • Passionflowers • Mulching Basics • Growing Hops

MARCH/APRIL 2008 • Patio, Balcony, Rooftop Container Gardens • Our Favorite Garden Tools • Coral Bells (Heuchera)

U MAY/JUNE 2008 DO SOL • Growing Great Tomatoes UT! O • Glamorous Gladiolus LD ! SO • Seed-Starting OUT Basics D L •SFlavorful Fruiting Natives O

JULY/AUGUST 2008 • Landscaping with Ornamental Grasses • Edible Grasses to Graze On • Slug and Snail Control • Sage Advice: Sun-Loving Salvias SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2008 • Autumn Edibles — What to Plant Now • Beguiling Barrenworts (Epimediums) • Best Time to Plant Spring-blooming Bulbs • 14 Dry Shade Plants Too Good to Overlook NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2008 • Outdoor Lighting Essentials • How to Prune Fruiting Trees, Shrubs, Vines • 5 Top Tips for Overwintering Tender Bulbs • Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009 • Compost Happens: Nature’s Free Fertilizer • Managing Stormwater with a Rain Garden • Visiting Virginia’s State Arboretum • Grow Winter Hazel for Winter Color

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2007 • Indoor Gardening • Daphne Care Guide • Asparagus Growing Tips and Recipes • Houseplant Propagation

MARCH/APRIL 2009 ! OUT Tips D • 40+ Free and Low-cost Local Garden SOL ! T • Spring Edibles Planting Guide OU LDfor a Fresh Start • Testing YourSO Soil ! Selection and Care UTTree • Redbud O LD Viewing Spots for Virginia Bluebells • SOBest

MARCH/APRIL 2007 • Stormwater Management • Dogwood Selection & Care Guide • Early Spring Vegetable Growing Tips • Franciscan Monastery Bulb Gardens

MAY/JUNE 2009 • Top Easy Summer Annuals for DC Heat • Salad Table Project • Grow and Enjoy Eggplant • How to Chuck a Woodchuck

FALL 2009 • Apples • How to Save Tomato Seeds • Persimmons WINTER 2009 • Battling Garden Thugs • How to Start Seeds Indoors • Red Twig Dogwoods • Unusual Edibles to Grow in Our Region SPRING 2010 • Community Gardens • Building a Raised Bed • Dwarf Iris • Broccoli SUMMER 2010 • Fragrance Gardens • Watering Without Waste • Lavender • Potatoes FALL 2010 • Vines and Climbers • Battling Stink Bugs • Russian Sage • Garlic WINTER 2010 • Paths and Walkways • Edgeworthia • Kohlrabi SPRING 2011 • Cutting-Edge Gardens • Final Frost Dates and When to Plant • Bleeding Hearts • Onions SUMMER 2011 • Ornamental Edibles • Urban Foraging • Amsonia/Arkansas Blue Star • Growing Corn in the Mid-Atlantic FALL 2011 • Herb Gardens • Toad Lilies • Sweet Potatoes • Cool Weather Cover Crops WINTER 2011/EARLY SPRING 2012 • Green Roofs and Walls • Heaths and Heathers • Radishes SPRING 2012 • Pollinator Gardens • Brunnera: Perennial of the Year • Growing Yacon SUMMER 2012 • Tropical Gardens • Captivating Canna • Icebox Watermelons SPRING 2013 • Great Garden Soil • All About Asters • Squash Vine Borer SUMMER/FALL 2013 • Miniature/Faerie Gardens • Beguiling Abelias • Growing Great Carrots WINTER/EARLY SPRING 2014 • Ferns for the Mid-Atlantic • Chanticleer Gardens • Beet Growing Basics

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Got a gardening question you need answered? Send your questions to KathyJentz@gmail. com and use the subject line “Q&A.” Please also include your first name, last initial, and what city and state you are writing from. Then look for your answered questions in upcoming issues.

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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 and at the Downtown DC Holiday Market until 12/23/2021.

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 yourself! For more information, 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. 24

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Washington Gardener Magazine December 2021

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