Washington Gardener Magazine May 2022 by Kathy J

MAY 2022 VOL. 17 NO. 3

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gardener

the magazine for gardening enthusiasts in the Mid-Atlantic region

Attracting Song Sparrows

Growing and Using Malabar Spinach 2022 is the Year of the Peperomia Houseplant!

What are Grubs and How to Control Them? Early-Flowering Bulbs for Bees

A Rare Look Inside the DC Temple Meet the Netherlands Embassy Gardener The Greening of the UDC Campus

Wonderful Weigela

A Fantastic, Floriferous Shrub

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

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.

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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.

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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FEATURES and COLUMNS

A plant of many names: Malabar spinach (Basella alba) is also known as vine spinach, Ceylon spinach, climbing spinach, rank spinasie, buffalo spinach, and luòkuí.

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.

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The Song Sparrow, a somewhat secretive bird, may be inconspicuous in the garden, but he makes his melodious presence known in his collection of songs.

The University of the District of Columbia is the only urban, land-grant university in the nation. The College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences was formed in 2010 as the university’s land-grant college. Its mission is to improve the quality of life and economic opportunity for residents of the District of Columbia and others around the world through skill-building programs, such as green infrastructure and urban agriculture.

BIRDwatch 22 Song Sparrows BOOKreviews 18-20 Plant Grow Harvest Repeat, The Healthy Garden, Garden Variety, How to Garden Indoors & Grow Your Own Food Year Round, Confucius’ Courtyard EDIBLEharvest 14-15 Malabar Spinach DAYtrip 16-17 Washington DC Temple HORThappenings 5 AHS River Farm Garden Market INSECTindex 12 Grubs LOCALnews 8-9 Greening of the UDC Campus, Urban Greenhouse Challenge NEIGHBORnetwork 6-7 Peter Van Zalk, Netherlands Embassy Gardener NEWPLANTspotlight 11 Sunflower ‘Concert Bell’ PLANTprofile 21 Weigela TIPStricks 10 Year of the Peperomia, Early Flower Bulbs for Bees

DEPARTMENTS

ADVERTISINGindex BLOGlinks EDITORletter GARDENDCpodcasts LOCALevents MONTHLYtasklist NEXTissue READERreactions RESOURCESsources

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ON THE COVER

A variegated Weigela shrub (Weigela florida ‘Variegata’) at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, VA.

In our June issue: Growing Peanuts Wild Geranium Local Garden Tours and much more . . .

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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 Dorvall Bedford Hojung Ryu Interns Subscription: $20.00

Springing Back This spring, Washington Gardener was back exhibiting at most of our usual garden events, from the FONA Garden Fair to the Leesburg Flower & Garden Fest. As you can see from this photo intern Dorvall Bedford and me at the Leesburg event, our booth is usually right in the thick of things and clearly “social distancing” is a thing of the past! I have really enjoyed being back out in the fresh air and meeting my fellow vendors—some were old friends whom I had not seen for two years or more, others were brand-new exhibitors and quickly became fast friends. If you have never staffed a booth at a festival or event, I highly recommend it. You develop a fast camaraderie with your booth neighbors and often do small favors for each other— from watching over their wares as they take a restroom or food break to sharing homemade snacks and lending them some scissors, tape, or other supplies. If I am next to a booth where they are giving a regular sales pitch explaining their products, I usually have that memorized by the end of the day. I am now a virtual expert on knife-sharpening and Spanish-made pottery! The other fun thing about being at these events is, of course, meeting our readers and getting direct feedback from them. Numerous people commented about our GardenDC podcast, saying they enjoy listening to episodes as they drive or do garden tasks. Many also commented about our recent social media posts and garden tips. Still others shared their favorite stories in the magazine. It is always gratifying to hear that. I hope to see many of you at an area garden event soon! See some suggestions on page 13 of this issue.

• 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

Sincerely,

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.

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All uncredited photos in this issue are © Kathy Jentz.

HORThaenings

READERcontt

Reader Contest

For our May 2022 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, we are giving away five sets of Beyond Peat samples (prize value: $20). The new line of Beyond Peat™ soil mixes is peat-free, more sustainable, and environmentally friendly. It features BioFiber technology, which extracts vital nutrients from agricultural and horticultural residuals, and uses locally sourced ingredients to make a pro-grade product that is better for the environment. With every bag of Beyond Peat™ Professional Organics soil mix you use, you help reduce carbon emissions and the footprint caused by needing to mine natural resources. And in the fight against climate change, every bag helps. It’s why we set out to create a product that can act as a sustainable alternative to peat moss. For more information, visit https://beyondpeat.com/. To enter to win one of the five sets of Beyond Peat samples, send an email by 5:00pm on May 31 to WashingtonGardenerMagazine@gmail.com with “Beyond Peat” 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 June 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.

Hort Happening Report: Spring Garden Market at AHS River Farm By Dorvall Bedford The American Horticultural Society held its annual Spring Garden Market event this year on April 8 and 9 at River Farm in Alexandria, Virginia. Many local plant enthusiasts came to the market to buy plants and crafts from vendors who came from as close as Washington, DC, and as far as New Jersey. Set up around a circular grass field at River Farm, the event started at 10am on both days, with cars quickly filling up the limited parking. People walked along the road that went around the field, browsing at plants from vendors like Cymron Cottage Nursery and Hill House Farm & Nursery. Some vendors sold crafts rather than plants, like Kino Alpaca Criations; Bruce Ciske Pottery; and Baskit, Don’t Bagit. Among the vendors was the Four Seasons Garden Club booth staffed by Jim Dronenburg. He sold plants grown in the gardens of fellow club members, whom he described as “rampaging plant nuts,” and was there also to recruit new people to join his club. He said he attended the Spring Garden Market three years ago and noticed that this year’s event was smaller than before. “I think a lot of it is due to the fact that it is so early,” Dronenburg said. “Some of the vendors here are selling things that should not be planted out in this cold yet.” Keith Tomlinson, former director of the American Horticultural Society, came as a volunteer and helped with parking, which was an issue since the wet mud that day caused many cars to get stuck. Overall, Tomlinson loved the event. “River Farm is an exceptionally beautiful property,” he said. “It’s awesome just to see all these folks coming and enjoying this gorgeous day and the diversity of plant material here.” o Dorvall Bedford is a journalism major at the University of Maryland, College Park, and an intern this semester with Washington Gardener. He is a native of Frederick, MD.

MAY 2022

WASHINGTON GARDENER

NEIGHBORnwork grounds are presentable. Most of the time, I work independently on my own schedule, depending on the time of the year. Do you always have a specific vision in mind when it comes to your work? If so, can you explain what that vision looks like? My vision is to create and maintain a garden that mostly consists of native plants such as Dogwood and Redbud trees, that benefit the local insects and birds. These native plants also require less watering, fertilization, and pesticides.

Peter Van Zalk

Netherlands Embassy Gardener By Hojung Ryu

Peter Van Zalk is the gardener for the Netherlands Embassy in Washington, DC. It is located near the Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens. Van Zalk has been working there since 1985. He started out with three gardeners on his staff, but now it is just him and a lawn maintenance company. Van Zalk gets new tulip bulbs each fall from the Dutch government. They are significant for the Netherlands Embassy because tulips are the Dutch national flower. (See the tulip display photo on page 7.) Van Zalk has not done a lot of replanting recently. His current focus is more about maintenance of the current collection. He is prioritizing planting native trees within the budget set aside for gardening. The greenhouse is Van Zalk’s working laboratory. It gives him a place to propagate new plants and a head start on the growing season. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 6

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What is your professional background and how did you come to work for the embassy? I attended trade school in the Netherlands for four years, where I specialized in landscaping. After that, I specialized in horticultural studies for three years at the same school. After graduation, I entered the military for compulsory service. After military service, I enrolled in a Dutch government program that sent young people all over the world to work in landscaping. Soon, I was contacted by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs about an opening for a gardener at their embassy in Washington, DC. What is your typical workday like? Like most people, my workday begins with a cup of coffee. I start by checking my email and calendar to see if any events or meetings require my assistance, such as making floral arrangements and checking to ensure the

Do you have any personal gardening heroes/inspirations? Yes: Wolgang Oehme and James van Sweden, and of course, Piet Oudolf, who lives and has his beautiful gardens in the eastern part of the Netherlands, where I’m from. I love the natural look of perennial borders with big groups of Echinacea purpurea, Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’, Eupatorium purpureum, Rudbeckia ‘Goldstrum’, and lots of ornamental grasses. What makes gardening important? It’s very rewarding to create a garden that is inspired by nature and to look back at your work and see that people enjoy it. What are your favorite plants to work with and why? My favorites are snowdrops—they are simple, gentle, and one of the first signs that spring is around the corner. Also succulents in pots—I love the different colors and shapes. I am thinking of making growing them one of my retirement activities. How do you evaluate your work? I believe gardening should enhance the environment of the embassy and create enjoyment for the staff and visitors. Be it the tulip beds in the courtyard or the azaleas around the picnic area, the garden should bring joy. What are your personal strengths and weaknesses? Growing plants is probably my greatest strength. It is something I really enjoy doing. My dad built a greenhouse for me when I was 8 years old and ever

since then, a greenhouse is my favorite place to spend time. My biggest weakness is definitely taking care of the lawn. I have little interest in cutting or maintaining a lawn, so I am very happy the embassy has a company that maintains the lawn. What makes the Dutch embassy garden stand out among others? Location, location. The embassy garden is right next to Rock Creek Park and it’s very informal. Before it was fenced in, you could not tell where the garden ended and Rock Creek Park began. With the fencing, now, I don’t have to worry about the deer eating all my plants, especially my tulips! How is gardening in the Netherlands different from here in Washington, DC? The garden work, in general, is not that much different in the Netherlands or in Washington, DC. I think it’s mostly the environment and size that makes the difference. Plants that are recommended for a shady spot in Washington, DC, would probably do well in partial shade or in a sunny location in the Netherlands. In Washington, the blooming time is earlier and sometimes shorter, depending on if there is a warm or hot spring. I especially notice that with my tulips. Overall, residential gardens in the Netherlands are a lot smaller compared to Washington, DC. Because of this, people in the Netherlands have smaller lawns but more annuals and perennials. Plants are less expensive in the Netherlands, and you also see lots of potted plants and trellises. What do you do with all the tulips after they bloom? The best way for the tulips is to let them die off in the ground, but of course, I can not have dying tulips in my garden for a long time! We dig them up every year and let them die off in the parking garage. In the summer, we select the good-sized ones to be given away to staff members! o Hojung Ryu is a junior journalism and criminal justice double major at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. She is an intern this semester with Washington Gardener and is from Mahwah, NJ.

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LOCALnews

A Look at the Greening of the UDC Van Ness Campus By Dorvall Bedford

The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is becoming more green. As part of the College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES), students are now growing their own edible plants in shared gardens all over the Van Ness campus, even up on the rooftops. The gardens signify an important change to the Van Ness campus, according to Professor Sabine O’Hara. Over the past few decades, much of the ground and roofs were concrete and asphalt. Now they’ve been replaced with permeable pavers, which help with collecting rainwater that will irrigate the greenery around the campus. “An exemplar of green infrastructure,” she said about the change. A few gardens on the main level of the campus (which is actually the roof over the garage levels), are home to some of the plants that the students are growing and can be seen as one walks around. One of these is tucked into a corner and surrounded by buildings, and is tended to by a garden club consisting of students, faculty, and staff. It’s entirely communal, so there are no individual plots. Instead, everyone in the club says what they want planted and takes care of the whole garden together. They share the bounty from the arugula, parsley, and other plants.. Nearby is a group of gardens that the CAUSES school calls the “Gardens of the Senses.” These gardens are filled with plants that stimulate touch, taste, and smell, according to O’Hara. 8

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The garden club is not limited to students and staff, O’Hara said. Community members also joined during the pandemic. “They will tell you it was like their lifeline during the shutdown,” she said. “A lot of us garden because we enjoy it.” Up on the roof top of UDC Building 44, where there was just gray concrete, there is now a blanket of green plants. Since the roof was not originally designed to hold a garden, CAUSES had to calculate how much weight it could bear. An interesting bonus of the rooftop food gardens is that they reduce the heat of buildings, saving on the costs of air conditioning.

According to O’Hara, this is the only agriculture program in the country where architecture is part of the education. “And there is a reason: because it’s the architects who calculate these kinds of things,” she said. CAUSES also has a kitchen where gardeners can take their harvests to process them. O’Hara says the school teaches more than how to garden and compost. They also provide education about food safety, sanitation, and nutrition. And the education is not limited to university students. On April 25, mem-

bers of the SNAP-Ed program provided lessons to senior citizens about eating a variety of colors in their diets. According to acting Senior Program Coordinator Miranda Desmarais, SNAPEd works with local public schools and childcare centers to provide young children nutrition education. “We work on exposure,” Desmarais said. “We work on getting people comfortable with trying something that they’re not used to.” Program Coordinator and Chef Herbert Holden has been working closely with parents as well to promote healthier eating habits. His method of sculpting penguins out of eggplants has helped children convince their parents to cook with eggplant at home. “I help children teach their parents,” Holden said. O’Hara said there are two goals with the addition of community gardens to the Van Ness campus: environmental and social sustainability. Not only are the gardens promoting healthier diets and a greener school environment, but they are also bringing people closer. “People who have not been on the campus in a number of years will say, ‘Oh, my goodness!’ when they come now,” O’Hara said. “This is a complete transformation.” o Dorvall Bedford is a journalism major at the University of Maryland, College Park, and an intern this semester with Washington Gardener. He is a native of Frederick, MD.

LOCALnews

The Urban Greenhouse Challenge By Hojung Ryu

Student teams are competing in a “Greenhouse Challenge” hosted by the Netherlands Embassy and University of the District of Columbia (UDC). The challenge started in November 2021 and goes through June 2022. The program aims to develop small urban food hubs where local communities can grow produce year-round for themselves. International students from all around the world formed 20 teams, with the goal of designing a food hub that is the most efficient and effective possible. The ultimate mission is to adopt the design and develop the winning plans at the East Capitol Urban Farm in Washington, DC. The project includes creating an indoor production structure that will contribute to the quality of life for residents of a lower-income neighborhood in Washington, DC. The East Capitol Urban Farm, near the Capitol Heights metro station, had been a vacant lot until 2015. Since then, efforts to cultivate and transform the space into a multi-functional, environmentally conscious urban farm have been implemented through a competition similar to this challenge.

The competition concept is to create a prototype that is an affordable, sustainable, and urban-resilient design. The significance of urban greenhouses is imperative to the environment. Controlling the weather and climate in an efficient greenhouse can offer a sustainable way to produce nutritious food all year long. “We are happy to share this connection with UDC. I sometimes have the feeling that not many Washingtonians are aware of what is going on in Ward 7 and what is being developed by UDC,” said Marianne Vaes, the Netherlands’ agricultural counselor to the U.S. “The Netherlands is a small, densely populated country with a lot of environmental pressures that helped to create an innovative ag-tech community there, which is being used in the development of these greenhouses,” she said. Details of the competition are at https://urbangreenhousechallenge. nl/info. o Hojung Ryu is a junior journalism and criminal justice double major at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. She is an intern this semester with Washington Gardener and is from Mahwah, NJ.

The Urban Garden: 101 Ways to Grow Food and Beauty in the City IS OUT NOW! By Kathy Jentz and Teresa Speight Published by Cool Springs Press/Quarto Homes Order it today 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 trilliums, magnolias, and permaculture. You can listen online at https:// washingtongardener.blogspot.com/ or on Spotify, Apple, etc. o MAY 2022

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TIPStricks

Early-Flowering Spring Bulbs for Bees

2022 is the Year of the Peperomia Houseplant! According to the National Garden Bureau, Peperomias have been sold as houseplants since the 1930s. For decades, there were only a handful of varieties to choose from, but with their new popularity and ease of growth, many additional varieties have come to market. The many types of Peperomia can range from bushy to trailing, upright, or cascading, and from fleshy succulent plants to those that are less so. Many Peperomia survive in nature as epiphytes or lithophytes, meaning they grow on other living and non-living things. Because they grow mostly in the understory in the tropics, they don’t need bright light, making them perfect houseplants. Peperomia never want to be in full sun, although the plants with thick, fleshy leaves will need more light than the thinner-leaved, less-succulent varieties, so keep this in mind when setting your plant in your home. Peperomia are a diverse group of plants in the pepper family, Piperaceae, but not the edible pepper family that gives us green and hot peppers. They are not for human or pet consumption. A Peperomia that is too wet will send you the message loud and clear by dropping its leaves because its stems have become mushy at the base. If yellow leaves appear, that may be an indicator that you have kept it too moist. You may be able to save it by allowing it to dry out if you notice the yellow leaves soon enough. Find out more at about growing Peperomia at https://ngb.org/year-ofthe-peperomia/. o 10

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Bees of all kinds come to your garden as early as February, when they wake up from hibernation and rush out hungrily to find food. Help these important insects by selecting and ordering these early-blooming flower bulbs now to plant in the fall and greet them next spring with plenty of blooms. Some bulbs produce more food for bees than others, and the pollen of certain flowers is easier to reach than others. Always try to choose “pollen bombs” with open flowers. It’s also a good idea to spread the flowering times, so bees can feast for months on end. These flower bulbs are known for producing lots of nectar and pollen: • Grape hyacinth (Muscari) • Wood Anemone (Anemone nemerosa) • Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) • Botanical tulips (Tulipa) • Sicilian honey garlic (Netaroscordum siculum) • Garden Star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum) • Crocus (Crocus), botanical and largeflowered • Balkan anemone (Anemone blanda) • Allium (Allium giganteum, moly, and sphaerocephalon) • Snowdrops (Galanthus) • Glory-of-the-Snow (Chionodoxa luciliae and sardensis) • Scilla (Scilla bifolia and siberica) • Winter aconite (Eranthis) • Summer Snowflake (Leucojum aestivum) Once you have chosen your flower bulbs and they are ready to be planted, choose a spot in the garden with humus-rich soil, in the half-shade. Botanical tulips are the exception, because they like plenty of sunshine. Sun promotes the production of pollen and nectar. Flowers diffuse a stronger scent in the sun, so bees can find them more easily. Areas around trees or places where leaves are left in winter are perfect spots, because the humidity promotes the production of new seeds. From early spring to late fall, bees live off nectar, a sweet, syrupy liquid that is rich in sugar. You can see it in the heart or on the outside of the flower. It looks

Muscari ‘Mount Hood’. Photo courtesy of ibulb.org.

like water, but is sticky to the touch. The sugars in nectar give the insects the energy they need to move. In addition to sugars, nectar contains protein and vitamins. Honeybees also collect nectar, but they use it to make honey. This honey is an important food source for the bee colony. Honeybees, wild bees, and bumblebees collect pollen from flowers in addition to nectar and use it to feed their larvae. Pollen is created in the flower’s male germ cells. It looks like fine powder. Every flower produces a different color of pollen; from yellow to red, but sometimes also purple, white, and brown. Regardless of its color, all pollen contains protein, fat, and vitamins. When collecting pollen, bees pollinate flowers at the same time. Here are some additional interesting facts: • If they are unable to get to the nectar, bumblebees have a useful extra weapon! They throw their weight into the fray to open the flower. • Some bumblebees, like the bufftailed bumblebee, make a hole in the sides of flowers to get to the nectar. • Bumblebees and some other types of bees prefer white, yellow, and blue flowers. • Many flowers have spots and stripes. These act as signposts or guides to the nectar for our little friends, with the message “This way for nectar!” • Bees have special pollen baskets on their hind legs to transport pollen. • The amount of nectar a plant produces varies throughout the day. This is affected by moisture and sunlight. To learn more about flower bulbs, go to www.flowerbulbs.com. o

GARDENnews

Quick Links to Recent Washington Gardener Blog Posts • Dwarf Crested Iris Plant Profile • Salad Green Success • Sustainable Lawn Care • Book Signings and Events • Ripe Radish See more Washington Gardener blog posts at: WashingtonGardener.blogspot.com o

May–June Garden To-Do List New Plant Spotlight 2022 All-America Selections (AAS) Ornamental Winner Sunflower Concert Bell F1

Sunflower ‘Concert Bell’ puts on quite a performance with a unique presentation of multiple clusters of 10 to 12 flowers on an erect columnar stem. Beautiful golden-yellow blooms appear earlier than the comparisons. Each plant grows to a uniform height of 5 to 6 feet and if used as a cut flower, makes an instant, ready-made bouquet from just one cut. It has excellent seed germination, which makes this beauty easy to grow, and is perfect for continuous sowing to keep blooms going through the end of summer. ‘Concert Bell’ was trialed in a year of adverse weather conditions. Multiple judges commented on its durability and sturdiness even through strong storms and winds. Sunflower ‘Concert Bell’ is distributed in North America by Seed Science Inc. and will be available soon. o

• If you started seeds last month, thin them and start the hardening-off process. • Cut back spent Tulip and Daffodil blooms, but not the foliage! • Divide and replant crowded Daffodils. • Feed your roses and new plantings sparingly with slow-release fertilizer • Provide supports for fast-growing perennials such as delphiniums, peonies, and lilies. • Tie up clematis and other fast-growing climbing vines. • Hose off aphids, white flies, or spider mites on your roses or other perennials. • Deadhead spent blooms on your annuals and perennials to encourage re-flowering. • Water your newly planted shrubs, trees, and perennials. • Weed regularly. • Go on a local house and garden tour to see what plants are thriving in other area home gardens. • Pinch back mums, salvias, and other late-season bloomers to encourage bushy, not leggy, growth. • Check pots and containers daily for water needs. • Plant dahlias, gladioli, caladiums, and cannas. • Direct-sow annual flower seeds. • Thin vegetable seeds sown directly in the garden. • Move your houseplants outdoors for a summer vacation. • Put slug traps around your vulnerable edibles and hostas. • Prune back forsythia, spirea, and other early-spring blooming shrubs. • Check for black spot on your roses—remove and discard any affected leaves in the trash, never back into your garden or in your compost—and apply a fungicide with Neem oil every two weeks during the growing season. • Cut some flowers to enjoy inside—make a small arrangement for every room. • Sow squash and melon seeds. • Plant seedlings or direct-sow sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. • Fertilize azaleas and rhododendrons, if needed. • Divide crowded perennials and share them. • Turn your compost pile. • Start a water garden or renew yours for the season. • Mark and photograph your bulb plantings now, while they are still visible. • Keep a sharp eye out for fungal diseases and pests. • Replace cool-season annuals with heat-loving ones. • Be vigilant for mosquito breeding spots—any standing water, from a bottle-cap to blocked gutters—and clean them out immediately. Ask your surrounding neighbors to do the same. Put Mosquito Dunks in any areas that accumulate water. • Plant tomatoes and peppers. To start them off right, put in cages/stakes at same time as you plant them, so you do not disturb their roots later. Place a collar (cardboard tube or hollowed cat-food can) around the tender plants to prevent cut worms. Put crushed eggshells first in the planting hole of tomatoes for extra calcium and mix lime in the soil surrounding the plant to prevent blossom-end rot. Fertilize with kelp extract or fish emulsion. • Hand-pick cabbage worms from cabbage and broccoli. o MAY 2022

WASHINGTON GARDENER

INSECTindex

What are Grubs and How to Control Them?

By Carol Allen Have you noticed little, white, plump “worms” in your soil? They are grubs, also known as grub worms or white grubs, and they are the larval stage of beetles. With about 24,000 different beetle species in North America, that is potentially a lot of critters in our lawns. Thankfully, only a few species are likely to be seen when we garden. In the DC Metro area, these white grubs, often referred to as “C” grubs, represent only a few of those many species. We are likely to encounter the larvae from Japanese beetles, European chafer, Asiatic garden beetle, and Oriental beetle. These are the exotic, invasive species. There are native species as well, namely masked chafers and green June beetles. Their life cycles are pretty much the same. They overwinter deep in the earth. As the soil temperatures warm up in the late winter and early spring, the grubs migrate closer to the surface. They feed on the roots of grasses and other plants during that time. Around late May, they pupate in the ground and then emerge as adults in June and July. Our plants may get a break during the late spring and early summer from the grubs, feeding damage, but the cycle starts all over again with egg lay12

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ing in mid-summer. As the grubs grow, they feed on those roots again until cold weather forces them to migrate deeper into the soil in October and November. All of this may be just fine, you say, but when can we get rid of them? Their most vulnerable times are when they are closer to the surface and feeding. That would be March to early May and then again from August through October. How can you tell whether to use a chemical or biological control method? The standard is to count the number of grubs found near the surface in a square foot of soil. If grub numbers are low, no control measures are required. Five to 10 grubs per square foot may indicate control efforts are necessary. Sampling should be done in July and August; sampling in spring would not allow you much time to implement control measures before the beetles stop feeding and pupate. There are native beetles with this life cycle. You may not wish to eliminate them from the ecosystem. If you are seeing a lot of adult Japanese or Oriental beetles, you may wish to use control measures. To deal with the adult stage, capture and flushing is often very satisfying.

Beetles have the behavior of first dropping, then accelerating into flight when disturbed. You can use that behavior to your advantage. Early in the morning, when the weather is cooler and the beetles are moving slowly, hold a bowl of soapy water under the branch where there are beetles, tap sharply, and you will be rewarded with a bunch of beetles in the bowl. When you are through hunting, you can flush them down the toilet. Chemical or botanical controls can be applied to the lawn when grubs are higher in the soil profile and are feeding. Some of the biocontrol products are: Bacillus thuringiensis galleriae, Metarhizium brunneum, Paenibacillus popilliae (only for Japanese beetle control), and Heterorhabditis bacteriphora. Many other (more toxic) pesticides are available. Check the pesticide label to see if white grubs are controlled by the product and always apply according to the label directions. 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. Grub image courtesy of SodSolutions.com.

TOP AREA GARDENING EVENTS Classes, Events, and Plant Shows/Sales • Friday, May 20, 12noon Eco-Printing with Flowers Hosted by the U.S. Botanic Garden. Speaker: An-Phuong Ly, natural dyer and textile artist. Held online. Free, but pre-registration is required. Go to www. USBG.gov/OnlinePrograms. • Saturday, May 21, 10am–4pm Sandy Spring Garden Tour Immerse yourself in the spring display of beautiful local gardens. Grow your inspiration as you walk through five remarkable gardens. Locally grown vegetable plants, including heirloom tomatoes and herbs, will be available for purchase. The Garden Tour is held rain or shine. This biennial event is hosted by the Sandy Spring Museum’s Garden Club. See details and buy tickets at sandyspringmuseum.org. •Sunday, May 22, 2–4pm Rose Garden Self-Guided Tour The Potomac Rose Society will meet at the Bon Air Memorial Rose Garden for a self-guided tour. Stroll at your leisure to view 100+ roses bushes. Free parking is available adjacent to the garden. The Bon Air Memorial Rose Garden was the brainchild of Nellie Broyhill and her family, who wanted to honor the Arlington-area soldiers that fought in World War II. She created the Arlington Rose Garden Foundation, which raised funds and established the original memorial garden at the Virginia Hospital Center in 1951. The garden was relocated to its current site in Bon Air Park in 1964 and is now maintained by Arlington, VA, county government. To attend, register for free at: https://potomacrosesociety. wildapricot.org/events. • Sunday, May 22, 2–5pm 17th SPCA Garden Tour More than 15 stops are on the garden tour of the Shepherd Park neighborhood on the DC-MD border between Georgia Avenue NW and 16th Street NW. The host sites include a penthouse rooftop garden; two schools; two houses of worship; and historic, English, and sculpture/art gardens, to name a

few. The tour starts at Shepherd Park Christian Church, 7900 Eastern Avenue NW, WDC. To purchase tickets ($15 each) and for more details, go to www. shepherdpark.org. • Saturday, May 28, 2–3pm A Book Talk & Signing: How to Garden When You Are Renting Held at Thanksgiving Farm in Adamstown, MD. Kathy Jentz and Teri Speight will give a short talk about small-space gardening, in particular for those who are renting their garden space. They will answer your questions and sign books. Free to attend. More details: https://www.thanksgivingfarmandgarden.com/. • Thursday, June 2, 6:30–8pm Ground Covers: Great Alternatives to Turf Grass Online Talk Kathy Jentz will give a talk about groundcover plants that serve many different purposes in the landscape, from limiting weed growth to stabilizing slopes to adding texture to your garden. If you cannot attend live, it will be recorded and available for registrants afterwards. Fee: $12. Register at https://web1.myvscloud.com/wbwsc/ mdmontgomeryctywt.wsc/iteminfo. html?Module=AR&FMID=4807324. • Saturday, June 4, 10am–1pm Annual Perennial Plant Sale Hosted by the Mountain Laurel Garden Club; held in downtown Oakland, MD. The sale includes many native plants from members’ gardens that are proven to thrive in western Maryland. Free to attend. Held rain or shine (no pets). For more information, visit www.MountainLaurelGardenClub.com. • Sunday, June 5, 2–3pm Q&A Garden Book Party Held at Valley View Farms in Cockeysville/Hunt Valley (Baltimore), MD, Kathy Jentz and Teri Speight will answer your questions and sell/sign their books, The Urban Garden and Black Flora, along with Kim Roman, author of How to Garden Indoors & Grow Your Own Food Year Round. Free to attend. More details and directions at: http:// www.valleyviewfarms.com/.

• Thursday, June 9, 6:30-8pm Garden Book Club: A History of Zinnias: Flower for the Ages The Washington Gardener Magazine’s Garden Book Club meets quarterly via Zoom and is free and open to all. To join us, register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0tf-qqpj4sGdLDCxsrOa36d7Ma zNmTAxyW • Saturday, June 18, 2–3:30pm “Can’t Fail Containers” Talk Held at Patuxent Nursery in Bowie, MD. Kathy Jentz will give a short talk about container gardening, answer your questions, and sign her book. At the end of the container talk and demonstration, one lucky winner will be selected to take home the mixed-container demonstration planting. Free to attend. More details: https://patuxentnursery.com/ event/kathy-jentz-container-gardening/.

Looking Ahead • Saturday, June 25, 10am–3pm The Country Gardens Tour Hosted by the Mountain Laurel Garden Club. The tour includes four residential gardens in southern Garrett County, MD, three of which are in the Deep Creek Lake area. Visitors will see many native plants, a display by the Garrett County Master Gardeners, a fishpond, several memory gardens, and a variety of flowers for sun and shade that thrive in the local area. Free to attend. Held rain or shine (no pets). Tickets for the tour are $10.00. For more information, visit www.MountainLaurelGardenClub. com.

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 June 5 for the June 2022 issue, for events taking place after June 15. o

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EDIBLEharvt

Growing And Using Malabar Spinach By Charlotte Benedetto

Spinach. Sweet pea. Gunnera. ‘Avon’ spinach. Black-seeded Simpson. Boston lettuce. Bells of Ireland . . . These are the cool, aloof, early-season heartbreakers of the Washington, DC, garden. Bolted, wilted, fried, gone—killed; killed always by the inexorable heat. Spinach lovers may gather delicate feathers of flavor until the Fourth of July in Bar Harbor or Albany—but not in Washington, DC. For local gardeners, spinach, like legislation, must be exquisitely and properly timed—even hybrids like arrowhead spinach—or it will just break a lotta hearts. Cool, early varieties like ‘Avon’ required cold frames, feats of engineering, and often prayer, to get through first the punishing frosts and then the baking April afternoons. But now we can say to heck with “regular” spinach: A new challenger has appeared. Vivid in color, vining in habit, vigorous in temperament and flavor—this summer, let a 14

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heat-loving, humidity-loving, water-loving Malabar spinach (Basella alba) muscle into your garden. When I was a girl in Fairfax County’s experimental “World Civilization” college prep program, I received a list of “African” agricultural contributions, probably an early attempt to inject diversity into the history curriculum. A worksheet listed a series of inventions and plants as having originated from the African continent (about as informational as saying a plant or machine originates from “Earth”). Supposedly, yam, okra, peanut, and something called “Malabar spinach” were brought over from Africa, although the mechanism of this “bringing over” was not explained. Malabar spinach, it was implied, of course, came to the USA with captured African people. How could this have happened? Moreover, how could it come to be called Malabar? More likely, individuals from the Javanese diaspora

of the early 19th century introduced Malabar spinach through the Javanese habit of sailing with the Dutch.

An Unfamiliar Edible

Similar to okra, putting in a pin on the origin of Basella alba is tough, but Malabar spinach has naturalized throughout most of Africa and some of North and South America; many consider it as an endemic (and, some might say an invasive) edible. Gourmet chefs have been trying to get us to eat unlikely greens and amaranths for years— quinoa has long been mainstream, and some of us have always enjoyed chard and beets, yet lamb’s quarters, goosefoot, pigweed, and other greens have never really caught fire. Mild, yet peppery, juicy and succulent, but without the “grainy” texture of many greens, Malabar spinach might crack the unique-greens market soon, thanks to its ease in growing, mild flavor, good

EDIBLEharvt looks (shiny leaves and many varieties featuring deep, vivid red or purple stems), and heat resistance. Malabar spinach likes it hot, hot, hot. Few summer greens in the garden can offer this level of sun and heat resistance. The succulent soft leaves of Malabar spinach have the texture of spinach, but without the strange, gritty, crystalline effect of spinach on the teeth. Most plants have a super-mild, spinach-like, “planty” flavor: mild and non-assertive—but like many greens, some Malabar spinach plants have an arugula-like “pip” or “kick” to the leaves. Cooking them soothes any over-assertive pepperiness, however, and this green is ideal as a last-moment “garnish” for dishes like drunken noodles or any soysauced stir fry. Chinese cuisines use the heartshaped leaves of Malabar spinach— sometimes called luòkuí in international markets—as a main-dish green and as a garnish. The lively spinach-like flavor and juicy wiltedness of these leaves combine well with oyster sauce; Malabar spinach does well on top of wok dishes, with a little spring onion added at the end. Harvest the young leaves for best fresh salad flavor, and the larger leaves

for more structure, such as in soups or to stand up to more prolonged cooking. Culinarily quite versatile, Malabar spinach is not only geographically global; it can substitute for spinach anywhere it is served. Larger leaves steam into a perfectly soft, juicy side-green in a traditional “meat and three veg”—even the most unadventurous and conservative diners wouldn’t find it out of place under a pat of butter and next to a cutlet, steamed carrots, and mashed potatoes.

Easy Growing Tips

A zippy, hot-weather, cut-and-comeagain green, these plants will grow lickety-split in the right situation. A hot start can provide full maturity in just 80 days. Extremely frost-sensitive, Malabar spinach should never be planted outside until night-time temperatures are firmly at 60º F and above. Place in a sunny, well-aired location in the garden with light protection from mammals and—at first—crows (in my western Fairfax County garden, crows helpfully prick out seedlings). A support or trellis is entirely necessary, and the best shape would probably be a cone, tipi, or other frame for maximum air circulation and sun exposure. Support will be required, and

an old tomato cone will do; if you really want to go native, you could site your Malabar plants under some other naturally lanky co-conspirator in the garden bed such as ornamental corn. Vining, twining, succulent, and green, this perennial can cover great heights if given the right conditions, but you will need some sort of light protection such as mesh or barriers. Deer don’t prefer it, but they will certainly sample elevated Malabar spinach. Ladybugs, horticultural dusts, or regular water blasts to the undersides of these leaves probably will be a must, because these delicious greens are like an aphid buffet. Aphids and mealybugs will like your Malabar spinach as much as you do, and rabbits may take a bite now and then, but IPM techniques and good siting can help with these issues. 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 was an intern last fall with Washington Gardener. Chenchra is a Bengali traditional recipe. The main ingredient is pui shak (Malabar spinach leaves) and vegetables with Hillsha fish head. Photo by Mannamajumder, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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DAYtrip

A Rare Look at the Washington DC Temple By Dorvall Bedford

History of the Temple

The Washington DC Temple in Kensington, Maryland, a place of worship for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known popularly as the Mormon temple, was first planned when members of the church decided to build a temple in the Washington, DC, area. They purchased 52 acres overlooking I-495, the Capital Beltway, and President of the Church David O. McKay authorized the construction of a seven-story, six-spire building. Ground was broken in 1968 and clearing the site began in 1971. According to the church, the temple’s completion in 1974 marked it as their 16th operating temple and the first to be faced with marble, which was quarried in Alabama. Before dedicating the temple and beginning its service to members of the church, President of the Church Spencer W. Kimball oversaw the opening of the temple to the public. According to Temple Historian Emily Utt, more than 750,000 people were reported to have toured the temple during the open house in 1974. The dedication of the temple was held in November of that year, and it was closed to outside visitors. 16

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At the time it was dedicated, the temple district included about 300,000 people living in the eastern United States, eastern Canada, and the Caribbean. The temple would continue to serve its members of the church and host the Festival of Lights at the Washington DC Temple Visitors’ Center, but the temple closed to everyone in 2018, when it required renovations and repairs. Members of the church and the public have not been able to visit the temple until April of this year.

The Temple Today

On April 18, members of the church invited press to visit and go on a tour through the Washington DC Temple. Inside were intricate and pristine white rooms, including a baptistry with a pool of water shouldered by marble bulls, a brides’ room with a cherry blossom-patterned rug, and the “Celestial Room” that is watched over by a large chandelier in the middle and 12 other chandeliers along the walls. The temple’s interior is not the only impressive part of the temple or the only thing that changed with the renovations. According to Renovation Project Manager Dan Holt, the church had replaced the manicured land-

scape during the renovation process with the help of Ruppert Landscape of Laytonsville, MD. They rejuvenated the landscaping to restore the same “organized feeling” that was once there but had been lost over the last few decades. Utt said the original design of the landscape was meant to be very clean and linear. However, over time, curved paths began to appear, an unnecessary gazebo was added, and other little changes occurred that led to the landscape needing a redesign. The new landscape has 260 trees, 5,073 shrubs, and 3,911 perennials. Most of the plants are native to the region, Holt said, an aspect of the landscape that reduces the amount of maintenance required and creates a consistent and healthy garden. Another reason why the plants are native is because the church wanted to assimilate the design of the temple and its gardens to the area, to create ties between the church and the local community. One of the most prominent images of the landscape is the long stretch of grass leading to the flowing fountains in front of the temple’s entrance. Beyond that are equally or even more

DAYtrip memorable sights. For Holt, the most beautiful parts of the landscape are the flowering trees. “I was proud of the landscape contractor who was able to really preserve those,” he said. “It’s oftentimes very difficult to preserve a tree that size and to get it to continue to grow.” Elder Kevin Duncan, General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Temple Department, said he found the redesign of the landscape stunning. It succeeded in serving the purpose of giving the same sense of peace that would be felt inside the temple itself, he said. “I think when people come onto the grounds, they immediately feel peace and serenity,” Duncan said. “At every temple we have, whether it’s in Tokyo or DC, we try to have a peaceful, serene place there and it’s fun to walk through them.”

Special Dates and Events The Washington DC Temple is hosting a public open house until June 11. For the first time since 1974, visitors,

on the open house. The church has released no updates about whether a festival wil be held this year.

Visiting the Washington DC Temple

including anyone who is not a member of the church, can go on a once-in-alifetime tour through the temple. The public can also attend the Temple Rededication Concert on June 11 at Annandale Stake Center in Annandale, VA, and on June 12 at the Washington DC Stake Center in Kensington. Both are free with no tickets required and will start at 7pm. Members of the church can look forward to the rededication of the temple on August 14. After the event, the temple will resume being open only to members of the church. Last year’s Festival of Lights show at the temple was canceled due to COVID19 concerns and the church’s focus

The Washington DC Temple Open House tours are offered every day except Sundays until June 11, and are free of charge for anyone. However, visitors who want to access the temple’s parking lot or use the Metro shuttle will have to reserve a ticket on the temple’s website, https:// dctemple.org/open-house/. At presstime, all tickets for Saturday tours had sold out, but plenty of weekday tickets are still available. Visitors who arrive without a car or do not take the Metro shuttle do not require tickets. o Dorvall Bedford is a journalism major at the University of Maryland, College Park, and an intern this semester with Washington Gardener. He is a native of Frederick, MD. Washington DC Temple photos are courtesy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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BOOKreviews

Plant Grow Harvest Repeat: Grow a Bounty of Vegetables, Fruits, and Flowers by Mastering the Art of Succession Planting Author: Meg McAndrews Cowden Publisher: Timber Press List Price: $24.95 Order Links: https://amzn.to/39h9a8G and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9781643260617 Reviewer: Hojung Ryu Self-grown and harvested food can be more sustainable, secure, and nutritional than store-bought food. In the intricate, sophisticated systems of the modern world, how do we efficiently plant, grow, and harvest in gardens? Plant Grow Harvest Repeat guides the reader step-by-step to preparing their garden plantings at the optimum growing season, and having longer harvest periods. In the beginning chapters, Meg McAndrews Cowden writes about succession gardens: where one can stagger the planting of seeds in order to have several harvests in a row versus traditional gardens. In addition to garden skills and techniques, Cowden emphasizes the importance of timing when it comes to successful gardening and harvesting. She explains different skills such as interplanting, staggering, vertical gardening, and more, and includes her own experiences as a beginner, making it personal and easy to follow her suggestions. Spacing should be distributied depending on plant size and height and calculated carefully to avoid crowding and overplanting, which can be detrimental to gardens. 18

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In the middle chapters, Cowden goes in-depth about each of the species that are commonly popular in food gardens, as well as native shrubs and edible fruit trees. Well-organized charts add useful visuals to the detailed text. Cowden also presents the types and times of succession in chart forms that are easy to follow. The last few chapters touch upon how to improve soil health and care for plants in extreme weather. This book is text-heavy, although it contains a decent amount of images, graphs, and charts. It is packed with valuable information for smart, successful gardening and harvesting. The author wrote this book during the pandemicn which also brings a unique insight into these exceptional times. Cowden describes gardening as a “revolutionary act.” This is a great book to have on your bookshelf, regardless of the level of experience, skills, and techniques you have as a gardener. o Hojung Ryu is a junior journalism and criminal justice double major at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. She is an intern this semester with Washington Gardener and is from Mahwah, NJ.

The Healthy Garden: Simple Steps for a Greener World Authors: Kathleen Norris Brenzel and Mary-Kate Mackey Publisher: Harry N. Abrams List Price: $29.99 Order Link: https://amzn.to/3FHpziZ and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9781419754616 Reviewer: Andrea F. Siegel In The Healthy Garden: Simple Steps for a Greener World, Kathleen Norris Brenzel and Mary-Kate Mackey advocate for earth-friendly, wildlife-friendly, and people-friendly gardening. Their point: Healthy backyard gardens create healthy ecosystems that enhance people’s personal physical and emotional health and contribute to the health of the world, locally and globally. Gardeners are in a unique position, they say, to improve the soil with homegrown compost and mulch; grow their own food; add plants and trees to create food, shelter and habitat for wildlife; and help others learn how to do it.

The book is divided into three sections in a logical progression: about the value and work that goes into organic, sustainable gardening: Healthy Garden, Healthy You, and Healthy Planet, with chapters full of ideas and mini-profiles of people who have heeded a call to action (including a local Marylander). The authors promote engaging people where they are. Can’t afford to rip and redesign your entire yard? Tackle a small patch. Plant in a recycled plastic pot and paint it if you want to beautify it—or not; the plant doesn’t know the difference. Start a compost pile. Grow wildflowers or arugula. Gardening is a healthy activity. The book provides food for thought in an understandable way, explaining with numerous examples and visuals. Photos of all kinds of gardens identify locations and plants. Readers can use the photos to decide whether they like that look, see what grows well together, and research the plants to learn which are right for them and their climate. More on the photos: Many are full pages, and they’re all coffee-table book gorgeous and can serve as inspiration for beginning gardeners and those who want to grow in a more sustainable way. Would you consider creating a stumpery? Maybe, if you saw a photo of one and learned a bit about it. Foodscaping? A lot of veggie plants are attractive, and who mandated that anyone has to plant them in rows? Enhance an outdoor setting with a mix of edibles—start with the easy ones;

BOOKreviews one gardener recommends a short list. Raised beds? Easier on the back, many styles shown. Have extra plants? Teach your neighbors to garden and strengthen your community. Share extras from your harvest with a food bank and neighbors. Pull together to beautify your community by creating a flowering curbside strip. Plant to feed wildlife. Enhance the planet. Volunteer. These are all among ideas explained here, and they help this book—part of the recent crop of books about sustainable gardening—serve as a resource. The book promotes this thinking: Our experiences with the gardens we grow renew our appreciation for the communities they foster. Those can be insect, wildlife, neighborhood, and larger communities. Whether we are watching bumblebees grazing on our flowers, listening to birds chirp as they pick through our landscape, or wondering who would like some of our baseballbat-size squashes, a healthy garden can boost all communities. o Andrea Siegel is a master gardener in Maryland.

Garden Variety: A Novel Author: Christy Wilhelmi Publisher: William Morrow & Company List Price: $16.99 Order Link: https://amzn.to/3l9IKIH and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9780063113480 Reviewer: Beth Py-Lieberman Their love language was seed catalogs. When Lizzie first saw the ripple of Jared’s biceps pulse beneath his snug navy-blue T-shirt at the Vista Mar Community Garden and the glint of excitement in his eyes, she thought to herself “Shit, he’s gorgeous.” But immediately she placed him among the fly-by-nights without any true passion for the hard work ahead. As one of the garden’s section reps, Lizzie had seen this type before. “People started out with a newfound passion for gardening, but when the shininess wore off in three months time, she was left with an abandoned plot full of weeds and lost ambition.” “Gardening is not for the commitment-phobic,” she warned the carefree Jared. And there beneath a pome-

granate tree, with two hummingbirds zipping by, the tension was palpable. Jared had already broken a strictly enforced garden rule when he casually reached into someone’s plot and broke off a leaf of lettuce and put it in his mouth. Lizzie, the long-standing plot owner, grim enforcer of the garden’s “Rules and Regs,” was certain the scofflaw wouldn’t last. The tension between Lizzie and Jared kicks off the fast-moving romp of garden-variety tales and adventures in Christy Wilhelmi’s first novel. The award-winning garden guru, who is the founder of the online Gardennerd and the author of Gardening for Geeks, among other resource-rich videos and podcasts, had long envisioned the story of Lizzie, Jared, and the other gardeners at Vista Mar as a screenplay before her friends convinced her that she’d written a novel. For anyone who has ever tried to herd a bunch of garden nerds into a community of hummingbird harmony in the face of relentless summer heat, fastgrowing weeds, cisterns run dry, veggie vandalism, and hot-tempered border disputes, Garden Variety makes for a hilariously good read. I have been running a community garden in downtown Silver Spring for the past decade. Our gardeners have turned what once was a crumbling parking lot at the corner of Fenton Street and Burlington Avenue into a

pollinator’s oasis, where a sharp-eyed hawk culls the bunny population. Every summer in that delightful garden, wedged between the Home Court shoe store, car repair shops, and a medical marijuana dispensary, I face the management challenges of what I like to call “garden drama.” Yet, thank heavens, I have not had the pleasure of managing an on-again, off-again romance between two plot owners. For Lizzie and Jared, yes, it began with seed catalogs. When Jared reveals his passion for wild arugula and all the other “crazy seeds” he’d found in the pages of the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed catalog, Lizzie’s “pulse quickens” and before long, the pair make off for a midnight romp. “He led her by the hand down the hill. ‘We’ll hide behind the compost until the gate closer’s gone.’” While their love grows like the intertwining vines of a Blue Lake pole bean, trouble lurks at the edge of the Vista Mar Garden where the evil-eyed Kurt Arnold grows ever more furious by the plants and trees blocking his “untarnished, pristine” view. Kurt will pull strings at the mayor’s office and bring crisis to the haven on the hillside. No spoilers here, dear gardeners; you’ll have to get Wilhelm’s book to find out just what will transpire. But the garden-guru-turned-novelist just can’t help herself from offerings of good garden tips. Readers will literally read between the lines of this garden drama to garner best methods for starting seeds (press each cell down gently to compress the soil around the seed) and other smart reminders: You never need more than one zucchini plant, look for bulb fennel and avoid the invasive wild fennel, and stop watering your potato patch once the foliage dies back. As for Lizzie and Jared, can these two make a go of it? Jared, the rulebreaker, will surely test Lizzie’s strict “regs and rules.” But those rippling biceps just might draw her down that Note: These book reviews include links to Amazon.com and BookShop. org for ordering them. Washington Gardener Magazine may receive a few cents from each order placed after you click on these links. MAY 2022

WASHINGTON GARDENER

BOOKreviews un-chipped pathway to where the birds and the bees frolic in the sun. o Beth Py-Lieberman is Smithsonian magazine’s senior museums editor. She gardens at home with visiting deer in Silver Spring, MD, and is the volunteer liaison for the Fenton Street Community Garden.

How to Garden Indoors & Grow Your Own Food Year Round: Ultimate Guide to Vertical, Container, and Hydroponic Gardening Author: Kim Roman Publisher: Creative Homeowner List Price: $34.99 Order Links: https://amzn.to/3FLpmLB and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9781580115773 Reviewer: Dorvall Bedford One of the biggest obstacles to any gardener who wants to grow their own food is the climate. Many edible plants are not suitable for every season, which limits what can be grown in each part of the year. However, it can be possible to grow anything at any time when a garden is brought indoors. In her book, How to Garden Indoors & Grow Your Own Food Year Round, Kim Roman provides a guide to anyone who wants to grow food in their own home all year. The book is in five parts: Getting Started, What Plants Need, Indoor Growing Methods, What to Grow, and Tips and Troubleshooting. Each part is also divided into three chapters each that discuss a multitude of topics, like indoor garden preparation, the importance of sunlight and supplemental lighting, and even hydroponic gardening. Roman touches on almost every aspect of indoor gardening imaginable. What makes this book amazing is that it provides the necessary advice for any beginner. For example, it discusses the costs of indoor gardening and gives estimated budgets for different setups. It also guides the reader through the process of getting their living space ready for the weight of a garden. Although this book is great for beginners and maybe intermediate indoor gardeners, it probably lacks details that advanced gardeners would want. A few times Roman says that a topic she is discussing will not be covered in depth. In the chapter about hydroponic gardening, for example, the book sum20

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marizes the different systems that exist but does not go into great detail about them. If experienced gardeners would like to learn more about advanced indoor gardening techniques, then Roman’s book would make a great starting companion to other books that cover such topics. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to grow a garden of edibles indoors. It cannot only help someone with knowing how to grow plants, but also provide a guide to budgeting and building a garden. o Dorvall Bedford is a journalism major at the University of Maryland, College Park, and an intern this semester with Washington Gardener. He is a native of Frederick, MD.

Confucius’ Courtyard: Architecture, Philosophy and the Good Life in China Author: Xing Ruan Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts List Price: $29.95 Order Links: https://amzn.to/3woRboB and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9781350217614 Reviewer: Jim Dronenburg Confucius’ Courtyard is not a garden book, and technically shouldn’t be reviewed here. However, it is a fascinating read. It uses a lot of Chinese terms, but by the end of the first chapter you’re used to that, and you start to realize (if you read it front to back with no deviations) what it’s talking about. Central to the book is the idea that Western buildings look ourward: Chinese buildings look inward to a courtyard, or multiple courtyards. This

has repercussions in the mindset. The book then goes on to list earliest examples of the courtyard style, how it developed—over essentially 3,000 years. And how it affected the Chinese philosophy. It is, really, a philosophy book. There are a few mentions of plants in the courtyards, but only a few; a courtyard was not a garden. A garden was a separate thing. Granted, some courtyards could be planted, but by and large, the things that define a Chinese garden are different from a courtyard. The book goes into Chinese architecture as it involves this “inner-ness” of a courtyard, and how (and why) courtyards were placed in Chinese dwellings. While few of us would incorporate a courtyard in our homes rather than windows looking out from the house (nor be able to, unless we were building from scratch), the book is a trip to another realm as surely as a book about Chinese gardens would be. I like it very much; if you are curious, you probably will, too. If you can get it fairly cheap (and it’s a paperback afterall), I’d say, do it. o Jim Dronenburg is a retired accountant and now gardens full-time in Knoxville, MD.

PLANTprofile

Weigela By Kathy Jentz

Some pronounce it WAY-gul-luh, others say wy-GEE-la. No matter how you say it, Weigela (Weigela florida) is a gorgeous, deciduous shrub and a stunning bloomer that attracts hummingbirds and butterflies to your garden. It is in the honeysuckle family and is native to Asia. It is hardy to USDA Zones 4 to 8. It can grow 6 to 10 feet wide and high. Dwarf and miniature versions are also available. Its tiny, tubular-shaped blooms line up along the plant’s long, bending branches in abundance in mid-spring. It also re-blooms sporadically in late summer. Flowers come in various shades of white, pink, and red, while the contrasting foliage can range from bright-green to dark-bronze, depending in the cultivar. For best blooming, plant it in full sun, although it can take a bit of shade. Water it consistently for the first few years. After that, it is quite drought-tolerant. It flowers on old wood, so do any pruning right after this year’s blooms finish. Some recent cultivars to try include ‘Night Tuxedo’, ‘Czechmark Trilogy™’, ‘Sonic Bloom Red’, and ‘Minuet’. o Kathy Jentz is the editor and founder of Washington Gardener.

MAY 2022

WASHINGTON GARDENER

BIRDwatch

SONG SPARROW By Cecily Nabors

What’s the only American songbird with “song” in its very name? The Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia). This is a widespread species, with regional variations in plumage—darker in the Pacific Northwest, paler in the Desert Southwest. While they do migrate, we in the Mid-Atlantic may see them all year round. Males and females dress alike in suits of reddish-brown and gray, with dark streaks on a pale shirt-front. The streaks seem to merge in a central spot, like a decorative tie tack. The bird was a favorite with the American colonists, who named it for its musical repertoire. The song usually starts with three long notes, sort of a Now Hear This alert. What follows is a series of trills and short, sharp notes of almost infinite variation, usually ending with a trill. This has been charmingly represented as “Maids, maids, maids, put on the tea kettle-ettle-ettle!” To demonstrate his territorial dominance, the male Song Sparrow singing from your rooftop or shrub proves that he knows many songs and varies their order to keep his audience from being bored. It’s not a set playlist; this avian DJ shuffles his songs. Males do most of the singing. Female Song Sparrows have been shown to be attracted to the best musician; perhaps they think that if he can remember all those songs, he has 22

WASHINGTON GARDENER

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an equally good memory for food sources and will be a good provider. The birds frequent thickets, brushy areas, pond and stream edges, and gardens, and may even be seen in coastal marshes. They typically forage on the ground, staying close to cover. Their summer diet consists largely of insects, spiders, caterpillars, ants, and even wasps, although seeds and fruit are also on the menu. They’ll even hop into shallow water in search of tasty crustaceans. In winter, they eat mostly seeds, mainly those of grasses and weeds. One study found that over the course of a year, about half of their diet is weed seeds. What an excellent garden clean-up crew! Mates tend to be monogamous, although some males have been shown to have more than one mate. They build nests in shrubs or brush piles; occasionally in low trees; or on the ground, tucked under grassy clumps or bushes. Females are the nest-builders, constructing open cups from weeds, grasses, strips of bark, and leaves, and lining them with soft fibers and animal hair. Females also do the incubation. Unfortunately, Song Sparrows often suffer nest predation from Brown-

headed Cowbirds, and end up feeding cowbird babies along with their own offspring. Song Sparrows usually have more than one brood. Males and females feed the young, both while they’re nestlings and after they leave the nest. When the young are able to fly, they follow their parents, begging for food. Fledgling sparrows are fluffy and cute, with stubby tails. Immature cowbird changelings are larger than the parent bird, presenting a sad picture at feeding-time. Although Song Sparrows are abundant and a species of low concern, their numbers are decreasing. This may be largely due to habitat loss. We can keep our gardens bird-friendly by not spraying pesticides and insecticides indiscriminately. Lure Song Sparrows to your yard with fruited shrubs, brush piles, and other places of shelter. They will come to feeders, although they’ll usually hop about underneath, looking for dropped seeds, and scurry into cover again. According to data from Project FeederWatch, they prefer black-oil sunflower seeds, but will eat a variety of others. A water supply will bring many birds to the garden. Song Sparrows bathe frequently and are delighted to enjoy a splash in a birdbath.

If a small, streaky brown bird is foraging shyly in your yard, be sure to listen as well as look. It may be a Song Sparrow, our backyard improv artist extraordinaire! o Cecily Nabors is a retired software manager who has been watching and counting birds for much of her life. She publishes the GoodNatured Observations blog at cecilynabors.com.

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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

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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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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 May 2022

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