Washington Gardener Magazine March 2024

the magazine for gardening enthusiasts in the Mid-Atlantic region

WASHINGTON g a rdener

Meet Dr. Susan Barton: Extension Specialist and Professor

Winter-blooming Amur Adonis

Homemade Violet Syrup

New Freeze

Date Tool

American Crow

Great Gardening Books Reviewed

The Secrets to Succulent Success

Plentiful Paste/ Plum Tomatoes

Return of the Cicadas

The Ames-Haskell Azalea Collection

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.

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

Your Ad Here

Are you trying to reach thousands of gardeners in the greater DC region/Mid-Atlantic area? Washington Gardener Magazine goes out on the 15th of every month. Contact KathyJentz@gmail.com or call 301.588-6894 for ad rates (starting from $200). The ad deadline is the 10th of each month. Please submit your ad directly to: KathyJentz@gmail.com.

Green Spring Gardens

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. www.greenspring.org

American Crows usually feed on the ground and are quick to snap up any tidbits. In flight, they power through with measured strokes and rarely glide.

Plum tomatoes can be grown in containers. Tomatoes should be grown in pots that are at least 18 inches in diameter and 14–16 inches deep with only one plant per container. Most tomatoes require staking, so plant the stake when you plant the seedling. On the day you plant the seedling, place a generous ring of bonemeal around it, approximately 6 inches from the stem.

oAccording

Award and the Garden Club of America Award.

Crow Culture

I was thrilled when our bird columnist Cecily Nabors mentioned that her next topic would be the American Crow. I have always been fascinated by them and how intelligent they are. There was flock (called a “murder”) of them gathered on the roof of my house the day I moved in, which I took to be a sign of great fortune. The next year, the crows had all disappeared due to the fast-spreading West Nile virus.

In recent years, they’ve made a comeback and one came to visit me in my garden. He was a young juvenile and I named him “Fenton” after the nearby street sign he would sit on. I set out a bright-blue beaded necklace on my driveway and placed dried cat food inside the circle. (I read online that crows love dry pet food.) He came right to it and is now “trained” to come when the necklace is placed out for him. A few times, he has even approached me while I sat reading in my gazebo to let me know the food was missing!

While reading up about crows, I came across the phrase “crow culture,” which refers to the human habit of acquisitiveness for shiny, pretty things that is akin to that in crows. Many of us are afflicted with that collector gene and love to gather interesting trinkets. In the photo above, you can see my Barbie™ Crocs and the accessories they are adorned with. These are just one of many pairs of the colorful brand of shoes that I own and collections I have accumulated. Are you a crow, too?

Sincerely,

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

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

Cassie Peo

Hannah Zozobrado Intern

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Volume 19, Number 1 ISSN 1555-8959

© 2024 Washington Gardener

All rights reserved. Published monthly. 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.

Your editor demonstrating rose pruning at Homestead Gardens in Severna Park, MD.

Reader Contest

For our March 2024 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest, we are giving away a tube of Zanfel Poison Ivy, Oak & Sumac Wash (prize value $50).

Zanfel® Poison Ivy, Oak & Sumac Wash (http://zanfel.com/) is a safe and effective topical solution for poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac. It removes urushiol, the toxin responsible for the reaction, from the skin after bonding, enabling the affected area to immediately begin healing. After using Zanfel®, the itching and pain are the first things to be relieved, usually within 30 seconds. Zanfel has a 10-year shelf life.

To enter to win a tube of Zanfel, send an email to WashingtonGardenerMagazine@ gmail.com by 5:00pm on Sunday, March 31, with “Zanfel” in the subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us what your favorite article was in this issue of Washington Gardener Magazine issue and why. Include your full name and address. The winner will be announced after April 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.

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.

Reader Comments

Shrubs for late winter and early spring blooms was my favorite in the February 2024 issue. I’m always looking for ways to brighten up this time of year!

~ Susan Stewart, Stafford VA

There were so many great articles in the February 2024 edition, but my favorite was the 18th Annual Photo Contest winners. So many beautiful and inspirational photos!

~

Dawn

Szelc, Potomac Falls, VA

I liked the wax begonia article best of the February 2024 issue, because I am intrigued by these plants. I also like that, like me, the author likes to salvage plants, and I’m delighted to learn she has a plant shop in Olney, MD. I look forward to visiting it!

~ Mary Finelli, Silver Spring, MD

My favorite article was about wax begonias. I liked it because:

• It proposed a novel way to use a common outdoor nursery plant indoors as an uncommon flowering houseplant, including a new color and look for additional interest;

• It presented a case for rescuing plants that might otherwise be discarded and/or ignored;

• It was written by a young gardener who provided lively and inventive approaches to dealing with a plant that more seasoned gardeners may take for granted; and,

• It was a perfect example of how gardening always provides an opportunity for a reboot of how we engage with plants; just as spring provides a reboot of how we look at nature around us.

~ Jane Mandelbaum, Washington,

DC

My favorite article in the February 2024 Washington Gardener is “Greg Susla: Historic Medicinal Garden Volunteer.” It’s inspiring to read about someone who came from a professional field that seems unrelated to gardening, yet who has dedicated himself for many years to bringing back and sustaining the Pry House historical medicinal garden. The world is a better place because of people like Dr. Susla and his wife Lisa. And the rest of the issue is terrific and informative, too!

~ Susan Farrer, Silver Spring, MD o

For more than 20 years, University of Delaware professor and extension specialist Dr. Susan Barton has worked towards sustainable landscaping for her community. She has conducted research to implement roadside vegetation management strategies with partners like the Delaware Department of Transportation, and has developed the Plants for a Livable Delaware Program, which offers alternatives to known invasive plant species. At the University of Delaware, Barton is a professor in the Plant and Soil Sciences Department and teaches a variety of courses related to landscaping, landscape architecture and drawing, to management.

Barton collaborates extensively with the nursery and landscape industry, contributing to newsletters, coordinating brief educational programs, and overseeing horticulture industry expos in partnership with the Delaware Nursery and Landscape Association. In 1995, she was honored with the Nursery Extension Award by the American Nursery and Landscape Association. In 2007, she received the Ratledge Award from the University of Delaware for her dedicated service. In 2021, Barton was the recipient of the George M. Worrilow award from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to agriculture in the state as a distinguished alumnus of the college.

Dr. Susan Barton: Ex�ension Specialist and Professor

By Hannah Zozobrado

Tell us about your background.

I grew up in Pennsylvania and went to undergraduate school at the University of Delaware (UD), majoring in Plant Science. I worked for a garden center/landscaper in Wayne, PA, during and for a year after graduating from UD. Then I went to graduate school for horticulture at North Carolina State University. After earning a master’s degree, I taught for a year at Fayetteville Technical Institute. NC has many technical and community colleges throughout the state and this school, being close to Fort Bragg, benefited from the GI bill, so there were lots of veterans in my classes. The school was on a trimester system, so I taught three classes each trimester—nine new classes I had never taught before in my first year. While at Fayetteville Tech, I interviewed for an extension specialist position at UD and got it. I started in July 1985, after my teaching year at FTI was completed.

At UD, I taught undergraduate classes and worked with the nursery and landscape industry. I worked on completing my PhD while working at UD and earned that degree in 2005. As my career progressed, I taught more and more courses at UD and now teach five courses, primarily in the landscape architecture program.

Where did your interest in horticulture originate?

My parents were avid gardeners and my aunt and uncle, who lived close by, had a spectacular garden. When they bought their home in Gulf Mills, PA, it had a steep slope in the backyard that eroded and let mud into the basement [when there were] heavy rains. To solve their erosion problem, they terraced the backyard slope and built gardens on each terrace. My aunt was interested in garden statuary and started a garden ornament store, called Garden Accents. Their garden was full of fascinating plants and statuary.

What inspires you to be an advocate for sustainable design and landscapes?

I am inspired by a desire to protect the planet and live life to the fullest. When I was giving a talk with two colleagues years ago on an alternative to invasive plants project we collaborated on, I organized our slides. I put a slide of White Clay Creek State Park as the last slide and asked my colleague, Faith Kuhn, who was speaking last, to say something nice about the park and explain how that was the reason we shouldn’t plant invasive species. I have repeated what she said in talks well over 100 times. She said, “When I borrow something from someone, I always return it in at least as good condition as when I received it. If we think of the environment as something we are borrowing from our children and our grandchildren, shouldn’t we try to give it to them in at least as good condition as we received it?”

What is a project you’ve worked on that you’re most proud of?

I am most proud of my 20+ years of working with the Delaware Department of Transportation on “Enhancing Delaware Highways.” It was a project to promote an alternative to mowed lawn on roadside rights of ways. We showed DelDOT that the public enjoys varied landscapes as long as there is a mowed strip (beauty strip) adjacent to the road. We had about 100 pilot plots throughout the state where we tried out different vegetation models. We dramatically reduced the mowed acreage in Delaware and allowed much of that land to showcase native ecosystems of the coastal plain and piedmont.

Departments of transportation are major land holders in any state, but especially a small state like Delaware. If DOTs steward their land properly, they can make a real difference in biodiversity in a region. Not only do DOTs manage a lot of land; it is the land people

see as they drive around and through the state.

Tell us about the courses you teach at the University of Delaware.

I teach the freshman landscape representation course for the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture program called Landscape Drawing in both the fall and spring. We start with very basic sketching exercises and progress through how to use landscape drawing to represent plants in a landscape design.

I also teach Plants and Human Culture, which is a non-majors course to introduce students to the many ways plants and humans interact. After an introduction that encourages students to observe the world around them, we cover the cultural landscape (landscape design topics), the environment (sustainability, green infrastructure, biodiversity, and the management of invasive plants) and the healing garden (soil benefits of landscape and gardening).

I teach a senior-level landscape management course with practical labs on installing meadows, planting, transplanting, pruning, etc. I coordinate the internship program for my department and teach a Landscape Architecture (LA) Symposium course during which LA students plan and host a one-day symposium for the landscape industry.

I also lead a study-abroad program to Brazil every other winter session—taking 14 students to the Amazon region (where we learn about regional plants and animals, and ecosystem issues in the Amazon rainforest) and Rio de Janeiro (where we study the work of Roberto Burle Marx, a famous landscape architect).

What hobbies do you have?

I enjoy gardening, but I also like most types of exercise. I am an avid CrossFit participant, run, take yoga, ride my bike, and walk my dog.

What’s your most fulfilling memory from the classroom?

Taking students to Brazil is incredibly fulfilling. Even though I have been there and seen the sites 10 times, I always get to see them anew through the eyes of my students. Most students say attending a study abroad is a life-

changing experience. I feel lucky to have a role in making that possible for my students.

I also thoroughly enjoy introducing students to the roles plants play in their lives in my Plants and Human Culture class. Most students look at the landscape differently after taking the class. Some students tell me how they talk to their parents about the changes they could make to their home landscapes or describe how they will manage a landscape at a home they buy in the future.

Who inspires you in your work?

Definitely my students. I learn from them as much as they learn from me. I am also inspired by many interesting colleagues in the landscape architecture program at UD and the colleagues I have had a chance to work with over the years on various projects.

Rick Darke is a landscape ethicist, author, photographer, and speaker who worked on the Enhancing Delaware Highways project. He challenged me to think differently about landscapes and still guest-lectures in my Plants and Human Culture class.

Doug Tallamy is another inspirational colleague who has researched the relationship between native plants and insects. He has written four books and speaks throughout the world about his research and philosophies. He also guest lectures in Plants and Human Culture.

What’s a message you want to get across to our readers?

Individuals can make an impact on the environment by the way their own suburban (or urban/rural) land is managed. Reduce your lawn to only the area you really use as lawn (for circulation, gathering, and play) and use primarily native plants to landscape the rest of your property, using landscape beds, meadows, and forest groves.

How can our readers contact you?

My email is sbarton@udel.edu. o

Hannah Zozobrado is a senior at the University of Maryland in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. This spring semester, she is an intern at Washington Gardener Magazine

The Urban Garden: 101 Ways to Grow Food and Beauty in the City is all about small-space gardening solutions! By Kathy Jentz and Teresa Speight

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 Elderberries, Birdscaping, and Vegetable Garden Planning. You can listen online at https:// washingtongardener.blogspot.com/ or on Spotify, Apple, etc. o

Amur Adonis

By Kathy Jentz

Amur Adonis (Adonis amurensis) is an early-season ephemeral plant that appears and disappears in the late-winter garden in a matter of weeks. The plant’s foliage is lacy and ferny.

It is native to China along the Amur River and in other parts of Asia, as well as eastern Siberia. Even though it is quite small, it still packs a punch with its bright-yellow flowers in the bleak winter landscape like its cousin in the Ranunculus family Winter Aconite.

It is hardy to USDA Zones 4 to 7. It prefers to grow in full- to part-sun and likes fertile, well-drained soils.

It is pollinated by bees, flies, and beetles. It is deer-resistant.

There is an invasive look-a-like: Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna). However, that plant blooms later in the season and does not have the ferny foliage that Amur Adonis does.

Amur Adonis is a popular rock garden plant and several cultivars have been bred in Japan. o

Kathy Jentz is the editor of Washington Gardener

The Plague Returns… But Only for Some of Us

By Carol Allen

If you remember the summer of 2021, many of us in the Washington metro area “enjoyed” the emergence of brood X of the 17-year cicadas. That brood included three different species: Magicicada septendecim, M.cassini, and M. septendecula. Depending on your location, you might have heard one or more of the males making their deafening mating calls.

Brood X concentrated their efforts in central and western Maryland and were not found in southern Maryland or on the Eastern Shore 2024 will be a bit different.

For the first time in 221 years, two broods will be emerging at once. In the DC metro area, some will see the emergence of only Brood XIX.

six to eight weeks and ends with a lot of dead insects littering the ground.

This brood has a 13-year cycle and will contain the species, Magicicada tredecim, M. neotredecim, M. tredecassini, and M. tredecula, known as the Great Southern Brood. Only St. Mary’s County, Maryland, will see cicadas, as will a few parts of Northern Virginia and south through the Carolinas.

The Great Southern Brood will be as large as Brood X, but with a more southern distribution.

What makes 2024 unique is the emergence of not only Brood XIX, but also Brood XIII, a 17-year cicada. Brood XIII will emerge in the Midwest. We will not see it in the metro area.

The two broods might overlap near Springfield, IL, so, if you want to enjoy the full glory of a cicada invasion, that will be the place to visit.

Cicadas emerge from their long “sleep” underground when soil temperatures reach 60°F or a bit more. Their emergence begins with a few stragglers and reaches its crescendo in about May or June. The show lasts for about

It seems the cicadas prefer to emerge at dusk and climb up a vertical surface (trees, vegetation, or manmade structures) to shed their hard, nymphal skins. They expand their wings and when their exoskeleton is dry, they climb and fly to the tops of nearby trees. They are most vulnerable during the four to five days it takes to dry and mature their bodies. This mass emergence, called predator satiation, is thought to be a way to insure their survival. Although they are eaten by many birds, small mammals, reptiles, and your otherwise dainty little dog, sufficient numbers survive by overwhelming the predators. The males then aggregate and begin their seductive songs.

The females will be attracted to the sounds the males make by vibrating their tymbal, which are membranes in their abdomens. These sounds can reach nearly 100 decibels, about the level produced by a chain saw or a string trimmer. The insects then mate, and the females disperse to lay their eggs.

After mating, the females fly to a branch of a tree or shrub. They are attracted to long, thin (about the diameter of a pencil) branches. Once there, they slit the outer layer of the branch with the ovipositor and deposit 20–30 eggs. Females can lay 600 eggs in their short life spans. The nymphs drop to the ground after six to 10 weeks of development. They immediately burrow into the ground, where they will feed on plant roots for the next 17 years. The nymphs have sucking mouthparts, but they do very little damage to their host plants.

The damage to a large tree due to the oviposition is minimal, even though a lot of branches are affected. For the homeowner or nurseryworker, the damage to young trees can be significant. The egg nests, or point of oviposition, will cause a weak spot in the branch and the small branch will break at that point. This is called flagging. This summer, area residents will see trees covered with the brown tips of branches hanging down. The cicadas prefer trees that are on the edge of a woodlot. This edge habitat provides just the right amount of sun and shade. This sun/ shade interface can describe the typical homeowner yard as well.

Mike Raupp, “The Bug Guy,” suggests some strategies:

1. Delay planting this year until fall if possible.

2. Use netting to cover young or small trees. The mesh openings must be no larger than ¼" by ¼". Bird netting will not work! There are many suppliers of this smaller mesh netting on the internet. Start covering the trees sometime in mid-May or when the sounds of the cicadas are first heard. Remember to remove it when the cicadas have finished mating and laying. The netting can be draped over the top of the tree and secured at the lower trunk with nylon wire ties to keep it from blowing off. If the net gapes at the sides, close it up with more ties. You want to create a barrier with no openings.

3. If a tree exhibits flagging, prune cleanly at the next side shoot or leaf cluster. This clean cut will be easier for the tree to close.

4. Do not be tempted to use any kind of pesticide. They simply won’t work, and the environmental damage by killing birds, butterflies, and other beneficial insects would be devastating.

If you miss this extravaganza, the next show will be Brood XIX and Brood IX doing a simultaneous emergence in 2037. o

Carol Allen describes herself as a committable plant-a-holic. She has more than 25 years’ experience in the horticulture industry, with a special interest in plant pests and diseases; is a Licensed Pesticide Applicator in the state of Maryland; and is an ISACertified Arborist. She can be contacted at carolallen@erols.com.

New Plant Spotlight

Superbissima ‘Wine Red’ Petunia

Superbissima ‘Wine Red’ Petunia, a single grandiflora type, is a tender perennial (Zones 10–11), often grown as an annual, that blooms non-stop throughout the season, often to first frost. This petunia is heavy-blooming and blankets its foliage in attractive, flamboyant flowers that can reach to over 6 inches in diameter and has beautifully ruffled petals with fringy edges. The frilly rose-colored flowers, dark and heavily veined at the throat, attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

A Petunia h. superbissima ‘Wine Red’ is a tetraploid variety with four times the number of chromosomes as monoploid varieties. Tetraploid varieties are characterized by robustness of flowers and plants, making them particularly resilient and resistant to difficult climatic conditions.

Superbissima ‘Wine Red’ Petunia is perfect for patio pots and window boxes, but is also suitable for flower beds and borders. Planted alongside perennials and vegetables, petunias repel asparagus beetles, leafhoppers, tomato worms, a range of aphids, and many other pests.

Direct-sow petunia seed after the last frost and as soon as the soil is warm in spring or start seeds indoors eight to 10 weeks before the last frost and transplant after all threat of frost has passed.

Seeds are available from https:// parkseed.com/. o

Quick Links to Recent Washington Gardener Blog Posts

• Cherry Blossom Viewing Alternatives

• Planning Your Vegetable Garden

• African Daisy Plant Profile

• Spring Garden Prep

• Elderberry Recipes

See more Washington Gardener blog posts at WashingtonGardener.blogspot.com o

March–April Garden To-Do List

• Avoid walking on and compacting wet soil in the garden.

• Prune grapevines.

• Put up trellises and teepees for peas, climbing beans, etc.

• Plant peas, potatoes, beets, turnips, radishes, cabbage, mustard greens, onion sets, carrots, and kale.

• Set out traps for mice, moles, and voles.

• Get a soil test.

• Do soil preparation—add lime, compost, etc., as needed.

• Mulch beds with a light hand.

• Start or update your garden journals.

• Clean out any old debris from last season from your growing beds.

• Turn your compost pile.

• Repot root-bound houseplants and start fertilizing them.

• Clean leaves and debris from your water garden.

• Do not be alarmed if your pond turns green from algae bloom—this is natural until your water plants fill the surface area. Add a barley ball to combat it for now.

• Cut back ornamental grasses.

• Water during dry spells.

• Cut your daffodils for indoor bouquets, but do not combine daffodils with other flowers in one vase. They give off a toxic substance that may kill off your other blooms prematurely.

• Weed by hand to avoid disturbing newly forming roots.

• Walk your garden to look for early signs of fungal disease.

• Divide perennials and herbs.

• Fertilize new growth.

• Plant and prune roses.

• Transplant small trees and shrubs.

• Buy or check on your stored summer bulbs (such as dahlias and caladiums). Pot them and start to water to give them an early start on the season.

• If you started seeds last month, thin them and start the hardening-off process.

• Start some more seeds—try flowering annuals like impatiens and petunias.

• Prune fruit trees as their buds are swelling. Check for dead and diseased wood to prune out. Cut a few branches for indoor forcing, if desired.

• Build a raised bed for vegetables. Add lots of manure and compost.

• Buy an indoor plant to liven up your office space. Try an orchid or African violet.

• Cut back and clear out the last of your perennial beds.

• Feed birds and provide nesting materials (try dryer lint), as well as houses, for the start of their family season.

• Plant a tree for Arbor Day, which falls on different dates in different states. In our area, it is the first Wednesday in April for Maryland, second Friday in April for Virginia, and last Friday in April for DC. In addition, many local groups and towns have their own celebrations.

• Read a good gardening book or magazine.

• Cut some branches (Forsythia, Quince, Bittersweet, Redbud, etc.) for forcing into bloom and enjoying indoors. o

Photos courtesy o f Park Seeds.

TOP AREA GARDENING EVENTS

Classes, Events, and Plant Shows/Sales

• Saturday, March 23, 9am–4pm

37th Annual Lahr Native Plant Symposium and Native Plant Sale

Join the U.S. National Arboretum for seven engaging presentations concerning both native plant gardens and native ecosystems. Learn about soil health management, destructive pests, forest restoration, current research on seed conservation, and the best native trees for your garden.

The Friends of the National Arboretum (FONA) annual Native Plant Sale takes place in conjunction with the U.S. National Arboretum’s Lahr Native Plant Symposium. The sale includes a small number of plant vendors from across the Mid-Atlantic, selling spring ephemerals and many other choice perennials and woody plants. More details and to register for the symposium at FONA.org.

• Tuesday, March 26, 7pm

Common Practices for Managing Stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) Art Gover will speak about: “Trying to Put the ‘B’ back in BMP (Best Management Practices).” Luke Flory will cover how the invader removal method affects native plant response. The talk is hostd by Maryland Native Plant Society and held via Zoom. Register for free at http://www.mdflora.org/event5450041

• Monday, April 8. 6:30–8:00pm

Preparing Your Garden for the Spring Beginning and intermediate gardeners are often overwhelmed by the long spring to-do lists of garden tasks. This class, led by Kathy Jentz, will help break down the jobs which will help you prepare your garden for the spring. This live class is being held online and will be recorded and available for later viewing. Price: $50 per person (10% off for Politics & Prose bookstore members). Register at https://www.politics-prose. com/class/online-class-preparing-yourgarden-spring-2421.

• April 10–13

70th Anniversary American Daffodil Society Convention

The Mid-Atlantic Region is hosting the

American Daffodil Society (ADS) Convention at the Hyatt Regency Dulles in Herndon, VA. The convention includes a National Show that will feature Horticulture, Design, and Photography divisions, each organized by a team of experts and open to the public. Free of charge, the public open hours are Thursday, April 11, 2–7pm, and Friday, April 12, 9am–7pm. Details are at https://daffodilusa.org/events-show-calendar/ national-convention/2024-national-convention/.

• Thursday, April 11, 6–9pm Flowers After Hours

Don your best fascinator and celebrate spring and all things floral at the National Gallery of Art. At this ode to cherry blossoms, experience dance performances by Emerge 125 and artist demonstrations on the 4th Street Plaza, enjoy art on the Roof Terrace, and create wearable flower art with local artist Emily Paluska. Hear from emerging artists in special pop-up talks, peek behind the scenes with National Gallery staff, and dance to the sounds of DJ Rustam. Activities on the 4th Street Plaza are open to all, but registration is required to enter the East Building. Lottery for registration opens Monday, April 1, at 10am. Details at https://www.nga. gov/.

• Friday, April 12 and Saturday, April 13 2024 Spring Garden Market at River Farm

The American Horticultural Society (AHS) annual two-day plant sale and spring market will be held at River Farm at 7931 E. Boulevard Dr., Alexandria, VA. This outdoor event brings together plant, seed and garden accessory retailers, nature-focused artists and authors, gardening experts, food vendors, and fun for the whole family.

Proceeds from the Spring Garden Market directly contribute to the maintenance, beautification, and preservation of River Farm, headquarters of the AHS since 1973. Once part of George Washington’s farmland, the 25-acre site overlooking the Potomac River is enhanced by a blend of formal and naturalistic gardens, including an awardwinning children’s garden, woodlands, and many breathtaking views. Offering

free access to the community six days a week, River Farm is truly a local and national horticultural and historical treasure. The Spring Garden Market entry fee is $5 per person for walk-up or $20 per car, including all passengers. There is no entry fee or parking fee for AHS members, including car passengers. Children six years of age and under are free. Additional restrictions and exceptions are available on the Spring Garden Market webpage at www.ahsgardening.org.

• Sunday April 14, 2–4pm

Learn Clever Methods for Gardening Intensely in Small Spaces, from Patios to Balconies to Rooftops!

Speaker Kathy Jentz, editor and publisher of Washington Gardener Magazine and host of the popular GardenDC Podcast, will cover ways to garden in small spaces, as well as use sustainable, low-maintenance, low-water groundcovers to replace your turfgrass lawn. There will be time for a Q & A. The Sandy Spring Garden Club plant sale table will also be available. Admission to this event is free for Sandy Spring Museum members. There is a $10 fee for nonmembers. Register at SandySpringMuseum.org or call 301-7740022.

Looking Ahead

• May 20

First Annual Reduce Your Lawn Day! See details at reduceyourlawnday.com.

• Wednesday, May 22 Spring Garden Party 2024

Held at Tudor Place. Details soon at https://tudorplace.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 April 5 for the April 2024 issue, for events taking place after April15, 2024. o

The Secrets to Succulent Success

By Savannah Scollar

Echeveria, Sedveria, graptopelatum sounds like I’m casting a magical spell! I like to group these plants together: they’re rosette succulents.

For some people, succulents are the only houseplants that thrive. For others, they’re the only plant they can’t keep alive. Why’s that? Mostly, it’s placement, but there’s more to it than that. I’m here to spill some of the secrets to succulent success.

There’s a common piece of houseplant advice passed around online: Always drench your plants; always water them thoroughly. This, in most cases, will kill succulents and make them go all mushy (it can kill most other houseplants, too). Thorough watering works in specific situations, with the roots, soil, and pot balanced in a way that allows things to dry quickly. If the soil can’t dry within a couple days, the root rot microbes come out of dormancy, swim around, and attack your plants. (Truth be told, there’s more to it than that, but it’s other whole can of worms that we won’t get into here.) Just know that hydrogen peroxide and pebbles won’t solve this. Instead, I use a wash bottle to add precision and avoid spills. I wet the soil surface, then stop. That way, I’m not creating a swimming pool of doom, and I’m not

dehydrating my plants, either. I grow my plants in clear containers, using these, I’m able to see that the water actually spreads itself throughout the soil over the course of the day.

Now, what about those scraggly, stretched out succulents? They need more light. Really, echeveria and its posse of plant pals are total divas for this. They want significantly more light than any of my other houseplants, and they’ll start leaning toward the window if they aren’t satisfied. A nice strong grow light can help with this. Keep the light within a foot of your succulents to supplement the sun from the window.

When shopping for succulents, you might notice how a single variety of plant can range significantly in color; the secret is sun stress. Sun-stressed plants produce a pink pigment called anthocyanin—protects their cells from getting too much sun. If your plant starts turning pink, take that as a sign of good lighting.

A lot of these rosette succulents aren’t very green—meaning they’re seriously lacking in clorophyll. Basically, the paler the plant, the weaker its solar panels. Adding to this struggle for sunlight is the powdery coating of wax found on most varieties of these plants. I’ve actually used soapy water

to take the wax off of some of my succulents and let more sun in. Mostly, I do this because I get annoyed by the fingerprints I’ve clumsily left on their leaves. The powdery wax comes off with just a touch.

Much like the protective wax that I rudely removed, the paleness of these plants serves a purpose: It prevents them from overheating. A pale succulent won’t absorb nearly as much warmth as something darker.

It’s important to note that these aren’t quite the desert plants that people think they are. They don’t really grow in sand dunes or anything like that. Search “wild echeveria” online and you’ll be shocked at what you see. Do these plants hate humidity? Apparently not: They can be found growing between rocks on cliffsides by the sea. I water some of my tiny succulents by keeping them in closed terrariums. In the bright light and heat, it’s hard to keep up with how fast the water evaporates. A clear lid keeps things under control and prevents dry, crinkly leaves.

Succulents can tolerate drought, but that doesn’t mean they enjoy it. You’ll notice that, if you aren’t watering your succulents every couple weeks, they’ll start absorbing the moisture from their bottom leaves. Soon, you’ll have a succulent shaped like a topiary: a tall stem with a single cluster of leaves at the top.

You can save this plant—and one of the ways to do that involves taking it apart. This is how I grow most of my succulents: tiny—so tiny that people accuse them of being fake. I throw a leaf on the soil of another succulent and watch as it turns into babies over the course of a few months. I move the babies into miniature teacups from the thrift store and they stay tiny practically forever.

Whether tiny or reasonably sized, maybe it’s time to start a succulent collection of your own. o

Savannah Scollar opened Easy Little Plants in July 2023 at age 21. It’s a houseplant shop in Olney, MD. She loves doing research, teaching private workshops, decorating with houseplants, and arranging adorable terrariums. Contact her through her website: easylittleplants.com.

Flower Show

The Ames-Haskell Azalea Collection at the National Gallery of Art

By Cassie Peo

Art lovers experienced one of the wonders of spring when visiting the National Gallery of Art’s Rotunda, which was filled with the Ames-Haskell Azalea Collection, in early- to midMarch this year.

This colorful collection features about 250 Kurume azaleas, originally collected by John S. Ames and given to the gallery to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 1991 by Allen C. Haskell. The collection is open to the public in the National Gallery of Art and blooms for several weeks each spring.

This collection of living art includes a wide variety of azaleas, including 50-year-old plants and specimens originally from Japan. However, the azaleas on display are not the original plants —those are kept in a greenhouse in Frederick, MD, year-round and are used to take cuttings to grow the beautiful azaleas seen on display in the Rotunda.

According to Kimberley Mead, a horticulturist with the National Gallery of Art for 15 years, “when [Allen] Haskell

donated the collection, he said that he ‘always thought of these plants as watercolors when composing exhibits. And since one of my other passions is painting, it seems exactly the right place for them to go,’ meaning to the gallery.” Now, every March, the AmesHaskell collection is put on display in the Rotunda to celebrate the gallery’s anniversary. (The exact display timing varies each year)

This plant collection is forced into early bloom at the Frederick greenhouse, starting in January. By gradually increasing the temperature in the greenhouse, the horticulturists are able to make the azaleas bloom for the gallery’s anniversary date.

The collection was installed by an experienced team of horticulturists with the National Gallery of Art, including Mead, and Solomon Foster, supervisory horticulturist and greenhouse manager with the gallery for 18 years. The installation was done with the public in the gallery and “people just have this lovely look and go ‘wow’... just the look

on people’s faces as we’re bringing [the azaleas] up on carts—I think that’s pretty amazing,” said Mead.

The collection was beautifully laid out with a staggering of plants by their size and colors. The flowers are vibrant and range from white to light- and darkpinks to reds. Each plant lives in its own small pot around the fountain, and some are taller with trained and braided trunks, while others are pruned into smaller shrubs. “They’re just a beautiful watercolor collection,” Mead said.

The vibrant collection adds color and life to the Rotunda and highlights the natural beauty of living art. The Rotunda is often filled with people taking photos, wedding photos included, and selfies, and sitting on the benches in the archways surrounding the Rotunda, which are also decorated for the gallery anniversary.

Every day, the horticulturist team sweeps the Rotunda for fallen petals, plucks any discolored flowers, and removes any plants that are “past their prime,” according to Mead. Each plant is also watered daily.

The Rotunda and this collection are a great opportunity to see the spring blooms, especially on a cold or rainy day. The museum is open to the public for free every day from 10:00am to 5:00pm, except on Christmas and New Year’s Day.

There are horticulturists hard at work, even on holidays and weekends, to take care of the plants at the gallery and in the 13 greenhouses in Frederick

County, according to Foster. There are 15 staff members and about 12 volunteers. Foster emphasized how much work and care goes into keeping these azaleas and said that “to any avid gardeners, I think it’s really cool to be able to come here and see all these plants around… to have them displayed here and look as nice as they do. I think that adds a little extra to it.”

How to Visit

The Ames-Haskell Azalea Collection is in the West Building Rotunda area on the main floor of the National Gallery of Art and is free and open to the public.

After this exhibit ends, the Rotunda is filled with Easter Lilies, which stay up until Easter Monday. After that, the hor-

ticultural staff encourages visiting the nearby Sculpture Garden, which has flowering trees, shrubs, and perennials. The museum also has 25 cherry blossom trees on the National Mall-side of the East Building.

Starting around November 15, the Rotunda will be filled with a display of tropical plants. Poinsettias are typically installed right after Thanksgiving. o

Cassie Peo is a senior at the University of Maryland in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, She looks forward to helping her mom tend their garden during the summer back home in New Jersey. This spring semester, she is an intern at Washington Gardener Magazine.

GROUNDCOVER REVOLUTION IS OUT NOW!

By Kathy Jentz

Published by Cool Springs Press Order it today at:

https://amzn.to/3IlYHYL

“Groundcover Revolution is must-have book for anyone who is interested in having less lawn, fewer weeds, and reduced mulching. The properties charts will save the reader time and money, the pictures provide inspiration, while the detailed plant portraits give the focused information needed for creating beautiful, functional landscapes.”

―C.L. Fornari, GardenLady.com

“Inspire. Connect. Grow.”

The 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, gardens, and workplaces by being the marketing 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/

The American Crow

By Cecily Nabors

Big, bold, and full of brio, an American Crow struts about as if it owns the place. Its name, Corvus brachyrhynchos, means “crow that’s short-billed,” but that beak is short only if you’re comparing it to the beak of the crow’s larger cousin, the raven.

American Crows are permanent residents in most of their range, which covers most of North America. Another member of the corvid family, the Fish Crow, has also become common in our area. The Fish Crow is smaller and more likely to be nearer the coast in winter, but these two all-black birds are so similar that the best way to identify them is by voice. American Crows have that deep, raucous “Caw,” while Fish Crow voices are more nasal and higher pitched, sounding more like “Cah.” Both species also make a variety of clicks and rattles.

Crows are famous as “watch-birds.” When they are making a greater racket than usual, it may be that they are outing a red fox and calling in reinforcements to harass the hunter. Relentless pursuers of avian predators, crows display a behavior called mobbing. They heckle hawks, whether perched or flying, often diving close to their beleaguered target until it soars away. And when they come upon an owl in a tree, they gather around (but not too close) and yell at it.

Besides size, noise, and general boss-

iness, what sets crows apart? They’re smart! Studies have shown that crows recognize individual people and can learn, remember, and even make and use tools. They seem to love puzzles. My dangling suet feeder was too small for the big birds to cling to; I watched as a crow figured out how to detach the feeder from the hook so it fell to the ground, making the suet available.

American Crows are noted collectors of bright objects. Many people tell stories about crows leaving a “gift” for a favorite person or in apparent thanks for being fed.

Highly social birds, crows are seen in groups for most of the year. Thousands may share a roost or a food source in winter, with lots of gossipy conversations going on. In spring, though, if you see a silent, solitary crow, watch where it goes; you might be near a nest.

A pair of crows usually builds their nest high in an evergreen tree, using sticks and twigs, with an inner cup lined with softer material. They have one or two broods a year, and the youngsters will stay near their parents for as long as two years.

Both parents protect and feed the nestlings, with the offspring from previous years acting as “helpers.” The menu includes primarily insects and spiders, plus bits of anything else available.

Crows are omnivorous opportunists.

They eat everything: amphibians, mammals, grain, fruit, fish, garbage, and carrion. They are nest predators, eating eggs and nestlings. (Yes, this is uncomfortable for most of us.) Crows even eat snails and mussels, carrying the prey high in the air to drop it onto a hard surface to crack the shells. They deposit clams on a road surface, wait until traffic breaks the shells, and then feast.

American Crows provide insect control for farmers by gorging on grasshoppers and other crop-eating pests, but the hungry birds can also be a liability, especially with grain crops—the birds will pull up and eat sprouting corn or wheat, hence the use of scarecrows or devices like noise generators to startle the marauding flocks away. In backyard gardens, crows, like other birds, might cause problems by eating our melons or berries before we can. Protecting crops with netting or mounting something that will flap in the breeze may help.

In their sociability and smarts, crows may often remind us of ourselves, or maybe we’re bragging. Henry Ward Beecher, the abolitionist clergyman, said that if men could be feathered and provided with wings, very few would be clever enough to be crows. These intelligent, adaptable birds are holding their own in a world that has been greatly altered by humans.

Crows are cool. o

Cecily Nabors is a retired software manager who has been watching birds for much of her life. She publishes the Good-Natured Observations blog at cecilynabors.com.

New Freeze Date “Tool” for Gardeners & Growers

Available from USDA ARS

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) climatologists have developed a first-ofits-kind Freeze Date Tool. Operated by the Midwestern Regional Climate Center at Purdue University, the Freeze Date Tool is a publicly accessible zone map that pinpoints temperature changes for growers and planters at the county level. Previously, freeze zone temperature maps were only available statewide.

“Now we have a website that provides the ability to click on a location where growers can see how spring and fall temperature cutoff dates have been changing since 1950,” said Dennis Todey, climatologist and director of the USDA Midwest Climate Hub in Ames, IA.

“For farmers and planters, the Freeze Date Tool answers the question, ‘What is the range of time from the last spring freeze to the first-fall freeze?’ We did not have the ability to do that before,”

said Todey. “It does have an impact on perennials and row crop production in that there now is a longer growing season to work with.”

Currently, the Freeze Date Tool’s temperature data centers on the Midwest, North Central, and Northeast regions of the United States.

“These are the areas of the country where the freeze dates are changing the most,” said Todey.

The Freeze Date Tool and website is managed by the Midwestern Regional Climate Center through an ARS partnership with Purdue University. The tool displays freeze dates by trend, decade, and growing season. In addition, it provides freeze date and growing season tables indicating temperature changes from 1950 to the present for each county.

“We’re also working to augment the Freeze Date Tool with additional pieces of information because certain crops have different vulnerability to freeze dates,” Todey said. “That’s very

important depending on what kind of crop you’re growing. As temperatures change, the freeze-frost zone map gives growers the ability to access the direction of those changes.”

The Midwest Climate Hub, located at the National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment in Ames, IA, initially developed the temperature data in conjunction with state climatologists.

Todey’s team at the Midwest Climate Hub is continuing research to find out what may be causing some of the differences in the freeze/frost temperature dates across the United States.

“We are trying to understand the regional nature of the temperature changes,” Todey said. “Northern areas of the country, immediately adjacent to the Great Lakes for example, are consistently seeing longer growing seasons, whereas areas further south are not as consistent.

“Determining more specifically why these areas are different is part of our research related to this project.” o

I mage courtesy of Midwestern Regional Climate Center

Growing Plentiful Paste/Plum Tomatoes

Dozens of paste/plum cultivars are available today. Most of them were developed from the four cultivars discussed in this article. Remember that tomatoes are highly unstable. Because of weather, soil, and care, the fruit can vary dramatically from unbelievably sweet and fruity to tasteless. This can even happen with seeds harvested from the same fruit. When deciding which tomato cultivars are your favorites, you need to grow a variety for several years and note the attributes that each variety consistently displays in your garden, with your weather conditions and your care. I have been growing the four tomatoes that we discuss here for more than a quarter of a century. I love them, but so do many, many people. They are, unquestionably, the best paste/plum tomatoes for our gardening environment and for the gardening environments of many home garden tomato growers.

Throughout most of the United States, if you are going to grow tomatoes from seed, you need to start soon. April 15

By Barbara Melera

is commonly the “drop-dead date” for planting seeds. Some of the tomatoes we discuss in this article will not be available at your local garden center or nursery, so you will have to grow them from seed. Order seed now, if it is your intent to grow tomatoes from seed.

Growing Paste Tomatoes

To start your tomatoes, plant the seedlings in biodegradable containers like homemade paper pots or peat pots. To minimize transplant shock, it is better to plant the seedling and its pot.

Tomato seeds germinate best on top of a subtle warming source like the top of a refrigerator. They do not need sunlight until germination has occurred.

When the seedlings have sprouted, move them to an indirect light source like a north-facing window. When the second set of leaves emerges, move the seedlings to a direct light source like a south- or west-facing window or under a plant light. If you use a plant light, make sure it is always close to the seedlings: no more than 2 inches away.

A week before it is time to move the seedlings outside, begin to “harden” them off by placing them outside during the day and bringing them inside during the night. For the last two days, leave the seedlings outdoors through the night.

When planting, pinch all of the leaves off the seedling, leaving only the last four leaves, and bury the seedling up to, but not covering, those leaves. Give tomato plants 2 feet between plants. On the day of planting, circle the seedling with a half-cup of bone meal and then fertilize once every three weeks throughout the fruiting season.

Tomato plants must be grown in full sun—meaning at least 6 hours of strong sunlight. During very hot summers, where the nighttime temperatures are above 90 degrees for more than a week, tomato plants often slip into dormancy, producing no new fruit or flowers. Once the nighttime temperatures begin to cool, the plants will come out of dormancy and begin to flower and set fruit again.

Roma

Romas are for the risk-averse gardeners. These tomatoes, in my experience, are the most consistent paste/plum tomatoes grown. Year after year, the plants produce abundantly, even when challenged with blight. The fruit’s flavor is not quite as intense as San Marzano, but as a base for tomato sauce, it is fine.

The Roma tomato has an interesting history. Many believe, because of its name, that it originated in Italy, but this is not the case. The Roma tomato was developed by the USDA using traditional breeding techniques and introduced to the American public in 1955.

As of 2005, it officially became an heirloom tomato. There are no records of how this tomato was bred, but it is believed to be a cross between San Marzano and the Pan American tomato, a variety that is not commercially available today.

Romas are shorter, fatter, and redder than San Marzanos. The 4–5 ounce fruit has a dense flesh and very small seed cavity. The flavor is savory with some sweetness. The indeterminate plants are very vigorous and diseaseresistant, and produce abundantly: 40+ fruit per plant.

Orange Banana

The Orange Banana paste/plum tomato is for the connoisseurs of tomato sauce, along with sun-dried and roasted tomatoes. It is one of my absolute favorite tomatoes of any kind. This garden beauty has a complex flavor that is both tomatoey and sweetly fruity. I think it makes the very best sundried tomatoes, but I also make orange tomato sauce from the fruit and combine it with red tomato sauce (like San Marzanos) to produce some of the most flavorful sauces I have ever tasted.

The sauce, once cooked, becomes a reddish-brown, similar to many tomato sauces, so it won’t scare off your finicky eaters. Orange Banana was introduced in the mid-1990s by the Seed Savers Exchange (SSE) in Decorah, IA. It had been collected in Moscow from an important pioneering grower and seed producer: Marina Danilenko.

Orange Banana, when sliced lengthwise and roasted, is out of this world.

Orange Banana plants are very prolific, producing 40–50+ fruits on a single plant. The oblong, pointed fruits range in size from 4–6 ounces. Also, Orange Banana tomatoes are incredibly sweet while San Marzanos have a rich, savory flavor.

San Marzano

The San Marzano tomato is for our traditionalist gardeners—those who love consuming the history of the fruit as well as its flesh. San Marzano is truly a legendary tomato. As far as we Americans are concerned, it is the original Italian paste tomato. It was introduced in Italy in 1926 by the Italian seed house Fratelli Sgarqavatti. This tomato became commercially available in the U.S. in 1930 through the Italian import company DiGiorgi Brothers of Council Bluffs, IA.

Amy Goldman, in her remarkable book The Heirloom Tomato calls San Marzano “the most important industrial tomato of the 20th century.”

San Marzano has a deeply rich, savory flavor that helps to create outstanding sauces and memorable sundried and roasted tomatoes.

The 4- to 5-inch long fruits are vivid red with large cavities for holding balsamic vinegar and other luscious condiments to enhance roasted tomatoes. The plants are unbelievably prolific— easily 50–80 fruits per plant.

Amish Paste

If I could grow only one tomato in my garden, surprisingly, it would be the Amish Paste . This tomato can do everything well and has a few added bonuses. It makes a good, but not outstanding, sauce (you can remedy this with spices and other additions). It makes good sun-dried tomatoes (this, too, you can remedy with spices and vinegars). It is good roasted. The fruit is large enough for tomato sandwiches, and it is a reliably consistent and abundant producer. This is the tomato for our steadfast home garden tomato growers.

Amish Paste also has a few added bonuses. Teaching children how to grow tomatoes is one of the kindest, most emotionally rewarding, interesting, and fun activities you will ever do. The knowledge, pleasure, and culinary rewards you share with a child during

this process cannot be equaled.

Amish Paste is a wonderful tomato to grow with children. The fat, plumshaped, deliciously sweet fruit are just perfect for little hands and mouths. Amish Paste is believed to be a very old variety and was first grown in the 1870s by the oldest Amish community in the U.S., in Medford, WI.

The variety began to receive national attention when Thomas Jon Hauch of Heirloom Seeds received seeds from the Amish in Lancaster County, PA, in the early 1980s. He shared seeds with the Seed Savers Exchange of Decorah, IA, and in 1987, SSE made the seed available to their members.

Amish Paste is one of the truly reliable, consistently prolific tomato plants to grace this Earth. The vines may look like they are on their last legs, but they still keep producing and producing and producing. If you depend upon your garden to generate enough tomato sauce/paste/sundried tomatoes to get you through the winter, then this is a tomato for you.

A single plant will produce 50+ fruit. The fruit is plum-shaped, usually 4–6 ounces. The flesh is sweeter than other paste tomatoes, and because of this, makes excellent sundried tomatoes. Amish Paste tomatoes usually contain more seeds, but I have never found that to be a problem.

Final Thoughts

Of the three morphological classes of tomato—cherry, slicing/sandwich, and paste/plum—the paste/plum tomatoes are the least popular. This is unfortunate because paste/plum tomatoes are, literally, good for everything. Cherry tomatoes are too small for making sandwiches and roasting, and too much work to put in sauces, but they are great in salads and for popping in your mouth straight from the vine. Sandwich/slicing tomatoes are great for sandwiches, but they are usually too watery for sauces and salads. Paste/ plum tomatoes have it all. o

Barbara Melera is president of Harvesting History (www.harvesting-history.com), a company that sells horticultural and agricultural products, largely of the heirloom variety, along with garden tools and equipment.

BOOKreviews

Bonsai Master Class: Lessons and Tips from a Japanese Master For All the Most Popular Types of Bonsai

Author: Kunio Kobayashi

Illustrated by: Mai Ly Degnan

Publisher: Tuttle

List Price: $24.99

Order Links: https://amzn.to/49a8iMa and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9784805317433

Reviewer: Cassie Peo

Bonsai Master Class: Lessons and Tips from a Japanese Master For All the Most Popular Types of Bonsai is a comprehensive guide to bonsai for all audiences and covers everything from choosing your plants and containers to assembling the soil and tools, maintaining, and placing and displaying your bonsai. There are many step-by-step photos and illustrations throughout the book that provide detailed lessons on pruning, shaping, wiring, and protecting many types of bonsai, including Cypress and Pine, deciduous, flowering, fruit-bearing, and grass bonsai. There is also a glossary of bonsai terms and resources, and an index of plants starting on page 218. This book both tells and shows readers how to cultivate your skills and knowledge about these plants and this art form.

Kunio Kobayashi is one of the world’s greatest living bonsai masters—a fourtime winner of the Prime Minister’s Award at the Japan Bonsai Styling Exhibition, and a seven-time winner of the Grand Prize at the Sakujuten Bonsai Exhibition in Japan. He started as a bonsai artist in 1976 while pre-

paring to run his family’s horticulture business. He has said that his profound experience with the Five-Needle Pine led him to the path of bonsai. He discusses the difference between horticulture and bonsai, saying that while gardening focuses on the superficial beauty of plants, like appreciating flowers, leaves, and rare species, bonsai “represents the intrinsic beauty hidden within the ‘dignity of life.’” Kobayashi’s goal is to spread this artform, and for others to learn from it, and his book provides a comprehensive overview of how to care for and nurture your bonsai, along with nurturing your own knowledge.

With more than 600 photos and diagrams, Kobayashi presents all the essential techniques needed to plant and maintain the most popular types of bonsai in a way that is easy to understand for both beginners and longtime enthusiasts. There are detailed profiles of each bonsai, including Japanese Cypress, Red Pine, Maple, Zelkova, Sakura and more. Everything from cultivation calendars, to reshaping, watering, repotting and frequently asked questions are covered in each bonsai’s respective section. Each also includes step-by-step explanations and visuals to teach you how to care for your bonsai and explore your creativity and artistry.

To beginners, bonsai can seem overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. However, with Kobayashi’s thorough explanations, walkthroughs of bonsai basics, care tips, and detailed lessons for specific bonsai, this book shows you how a bonsai tree can evolve and thrive over centuries with the help of human hands and care.

As a beginner gardener myself, I had very little bonsai knowledge, but this book provides a great introduction to the art and inspired me to do more research about the history of bonsai. This book would make a great gift for anyone looking to get into bonsai or for longtime fans. Kobayashi’s love for bonsai is evident on every page and will inspire all audiences. o

Cassie Peo is a senior at the University of Maryland in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. This spring semester, she is an intern at Washington Gardener Magazine

Gardening Know How The Complete

Guide to Vegetable Gardening: Create, Cultivate, and Care for Your Perfect Edible Garden

Author: The Editors of GardeningKnowHow.com

Publisher: Cool Springs Press/Quarto

List Price: $24.99

Order Links: https://amzn.to/3IP64Ht and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9780760386262

Reviewer: Andrea F. Siegel

This volume, Gardening Know How— The Complete Guide to Vegetable Gardening: Create, Cultivate, and Care for Your Perfect Edible Garden, is the latest introduction from the folks at GardeningKnowHow.com.

The book serves as a more than a solid welcome-to-growing-your-own-veggies guide. It is a resource to help that newbie grow and learn, while enhancing the more experienced gardener’s knowledge about cultivating an edible garden.

The book, a highly organized and illustrated 224-page paperback, takes readers through soil preparation and selecting appropriate tools, and through profiles of dozens of edibles and how to cultivate a thriving garden of them. It has a useful appendix. Title aside, the book is about more than veggies—it includes fruits, herbs, and edible flowers. It provides readers with some knowledge about the individual plants, plant families, and factors to consider in creating successful garden of fresh foods.

A few words about Gardening Know

How online: The website was founded in 2007. It is now the “World’s Most Visited Gardening Resource” and it counts more than 100 million visitors a year, according to the book.

The book is full of links and QR codes that conveniently take readers to more resources and more in-depth information in its digital world.

The book nicely covers a lot of ground—plenty for people newer to gardening. Very helpful in the first chapter, which is about the basics of edible gardening, are the companion plants and succession planting pages, while those about greenhouses and hydroponics are more of an introduction to the subjects. Every region has pests, weeds, and insects that harm or kill edibles, and there’s space devoted to some of the more common ones.

The plant profiles are especially useful, and they make up the second and largest part of the book. Beyond explaining planting, growing, care, and harvesting plus providing background detail about the plants, they have boxes summarizing essential information such as soil pH level, water needs, when to plant, and more. Some profiles feature recommended varieties, similar vegetables, and tips for everything from pumpkin storage to growing parsnips in a container. The section also spotlights the heat of various peppers, a variety of squashes, and the like.

Readers should use all the information to help them select what will thrive in their garden settings. I wish the book had a USDA hardiness zones map, but as the writers note, the map has limitations. Another wish is that the book did not discuss plastic rolls of mulch, but many people do find it good for certain plants.

Overall, this book is educational as well as a guide that takes anyone who enjoys growing their own food on a journey toward harvesting. It has so much valuable material in one place, gives newbies a valuable start by teaching them the basics of getting ready to garden, and is useful and appealing to people of varying knowledge and experience levels. o

Andrea Siegel is a master gardener in Maryland.

The Land Gardeners Soil to Table: Recipes for Healthy Soil and Food

Authors: Bridget Elworthy and Henrietta Courtauld with recipes from Lulu Cox and paintings by Nancy Cadogan

Publisher: Thames & Hudson

List Price: $60.00

Order Links: https://amzn.to/3TrCWel and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9781760763855

Reviewer: Marsha Douma

Soil to Table is a thoughtfully conceived and artistically formatted book of beautiful photographs and paintings of mainly rural United Kingdom settings, often with images invoking nostalgic country life, including gracious country homes, gardens, and classic recipes based on locally grown foods. These gorgeous pictures and luscious recipes draw the reader in. This book is, however, a coffee table book with an important message: If we want a healthy planet that can produce delicious and nutritious food, farmers and gardeners worldwide have to adopt regenerative farming practices.

The authors, both lawyers, met in London at their children’s nursery school. Realizing they both had a passion for beautiful gardens, they started a business growing flowers for highend London florists. Researching how best to do this led them to an interest in soil health and sustainable farming practices. They subsequently expanded their business to include training and collaboration with farmers and environmentalists worldwide, including King Charles III, to cooperatively advocate

for regenerative farming practices everywhere. They particularly understood and wanted to advance the idea that the primary source of nutrition for plants has to be from compost, not artificial fertilizers.

The cover of the book is a stunning floral china table setting. In fact, most of the book is filled with pictures of food, its preparation, and the relevant recipes. However, the first essay in the book is an explanation of the critical role bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes occupy in healthy soil. The authors explain how too often, current gardening and farming practices have rendered a vast swath of the world’s once fertile soil infertile by over plowing and the widespread use of herbicides and chemical fertilizers. To repair and rebuild the soil, they advocate regenerative farming, particularly the principles of biodynamic farming, which, among other practices, enriches the soil with compost and recommends little to no tilling when planting. “In a teaspoon of healthy soil, there are more microbes than people in the world.”

The food section of the book is fascinating. Some of the more intriguing titles are “Slow Cooked Hogget & Green Sauce”; “Rollright Cheese & Potato Pie”; “Roasted Tomatoes on Toast”; “Asparagus & Nettle Butter Sauce”; and “Baked Fruit.” The photographs in this section were particularly lovely.

While reading the book, I felt the saying that “everything old is new again” is an underlying principle of the Land Gardeners philosophy. The United States is all about what is the newest and greatest. These two British gardeners looked to the past for wisdom in ways to ensure our present. They don’t want to throw out the old, just modify it, just like one of the authors has no doubt done to her home, built in the 15th century. Even their business name, the Land Gardeners, puts the authors in the honorable tradition of the women who worked the farms during World Wars I and II to ensure a reliable food supply: They were called the Land Girls of Britain. o

Marsha Douma is a retired dentist and lifelong gardener who also enjoys swimming, tennis, and playing the piano. She lives in Rockville, MD.

Homemade Violet Syrup and the Aviation Cocktail

By Kathy Jentz

Early spring is the perfect time to get out and forage for edible flowers. Wild Violets are easy to identify and collect. You can eat both their flowers and foliage.

The taste of this Wild Violet syrup is like a light grape juice. It can be used as a flavor syrup in a SodaStream or as a flavoring for a cocktail or mocktail. You can also use it in baking recipes that call for light simple syrups.

It can take a few hours to collect enough of these tiny violets to make a whole cup, so if you can only get a ¼ cup or ½ cup, just adjust the recipe proportions accordingly. Basically, it is one part violets to one part water to one part sugar.

Ingredients

1 cup Wild Violet flowers

1 cup+ water

1 cup sugar

A few drops of lemon juice

Food coloring (optional)

A glass jar with lid

Instructions

1. Collect the flowers of the common blue Wild Violets (Viola papilionacea or Viola sororia). Look for them off the beaten path and not in areas where dogs do their business and chemicals are sprayed.

2. Select a large glass jar with a lid. (I cleaned out an old pickle jar.) Place the violets inside and pour in 1 cup of boiling water. Let it sit out on a counter overnight to steep.

3. The next day, shake it up and scoop or strain out the violets. Press the violets against the lid or strainer to extract further juice and flavor from them. Discard the used violets in your compost.

4. Add a cup of sugar and then more hot water up to just below the top of the jar. Close the lid tightly and shake it vigorously to blend in the sugar.

5. The syrup is done, but will not look purple. To get the nice lavender color, add a few drops of lemon juice.

6. I wanted a deeper purple color, so I also added a few drops of red and blue food coloring and stirred it up.

7. Allow to cool and then place it in gift jars and label it. Use it in drink and baking recipes as desired. Store in the refrigerator.

Tips and Notes

• This same recipe can be followed to make a flavor syrup from other edible flowers, such as roses or lilacs.

• It can be stored for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.

• This violet syrup has many health benefits, such as being high in vitamin C and A.

• If you use an alternative sweetener, like honey or brown sugar, this will affect the color and it may not look as clear or deep purple. o

The Aviation Cocktail

Ingredients

2 oz Bulldog gin

0.5 oz Maraschino liqueur

0.25 oz Crème de violette or homemade violet syrup

0.75 oz lemon juice, freshly squeezed For garnish, a brandied cherry Ice

Instructions

1: Add the gin, maraschino liqueur, crème de violette (or wild violet syrup), and lemon juice to a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.

2: Strain into a cocktail glass.

3: Garnish with a brandied cherry, and serve.

Tips and Notes

• You can use vodka instead of gin, if you like.

• To make it a nonalcoholic mocktail, use the violet syrup instead of Crème de violette and tonic water or club soda instead of gin or vodka. o

Kathy Jentz is the editor of Washington Gardener and is collecting floral cocktail recipes.

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005

• Container Gardens

• Clematis Vines

• Sponge Gardening/Rain Gardens

• 5 Insect Enemies of Gardeners

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2005

• Backyard Bird Habitats

• Hellebores

• Building a Coldframe

• Bulb Planting Basics

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

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2007

• Indoor Gardening

• Daphne Care Guide

• Asparagus Growing Tips and Recipes

• Houseplant Propagation

MARCH/APRIL 2007

• Stormwater Management

• Dogwood Selection & Care Guide

• Early Spring Vegetable Growing Tips

• Franciscan Monastery Bulb Gardens

MAY/JUNE 2007

• Roses: Easy Care Tips

• Native Roses & Heirloom Roses

• Edible Flowers

• How to Plant a Bare-root Rose

JULY/AUGUST 2007

• Groundcovers: Alternatives to Turfgrass

• How to Pinch, Prune, & Dead-head

• William Paca House & Gardens

• Hardy Geraniums

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2007

• Succulents: Hardy to our Region

• Drought-Tolerant Natives

• Southern Vegetables

• Seed Saving Savvy Tips

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

• Gardening with Children

• Indoor Bulb-Forcing Basics

• National Museum of the American Indian

• Versatile Viburnums

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008

• Dealing with Deer

• Our Favorite Garden Tools

• Delightful Daffodils

MARCH/APRIL 2008

• Patio, Balcony, Rooftop Container Gardens

• Our Favorite Garden Tools

• Coral Bells (Heuchera)

MAY/JUNE 2008

• Growing Great Tomatoes

• Glamorous Gladiolus

• Seed-Starting Basics

• Flavorful Fruiting Natives

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

MARCH/APRIL 2009

• 40+ Free and Low-cost Local Garden Tips

• Spring Edibles Planting Guide

• Testing Your Soil for a Fresh Start

• Redbud Tree Selection and Care

• Best Viewing Spots for Virginia Bluebells

MAY/JUNE 2009

• Top Easy Summer Annuals for DC Heat

• Salad Table Project

• Grow and Enjoy Eggplant

• How to Chuck a Woodchuck

SUMMER 2009

• Grow Grapes in the Mid- Atlantic

• Passionflowers

• Mulching Basics

• Growing Hops

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

• Dwar f 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

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WINTER 2011/EARLY SPRING 2012

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• Radishes

2012

• Pollinator Gardens

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•

2012

• Tropical Gardens

• Captivating Canna

• Icebox Watermelons

2013

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•

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SUMMER/FALL 2013

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• Beguiling

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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.”

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.

Brookside Gardens Celebrates Earth Month

Sponsored by Friends of Brookside Gardens

• DC Environmental Film Festival Screening and Panel Discussion

Wednesday, April 10

• Brookside Gardens Plant Sale

Saturday, April 20

• Electric Landscape Equipment Exhibit

Saturday, April 20

• Guided Bird Walk

Saturday, May 4

• Bird Walk

Screening and Panel Discussion

Saturday, May 4

For more information scan the QR code or visit: MoCoParks.org/BGEarthMonth

1800 Glenallan Avenue | Wheaton, MD 20902

BrooksideGardens.org

Happy Earth Month

EARTH MONTH SUSTAINABILITY TOURS

Estanques acuáticos superiores e inferiores

Martes, 2 de abril

Reúnase en la entrada del Centro de visitantes

*Visita guiada en español. This tour will be given in Spanish.

Rose Garden & Maple Terrace

Wednesday, April 10

Gude Garden

Monday, April 15

Parking Garden & Harry Dewey Memorial Garden

Friday, April 26