Washington Gardener Magazine October 2023

OCTOBER 2023 VOL. 18 NO. 8

WWW.WASHINGTONGARDENER.COM

WASHINGTON

gardener

the magazine for gardening enthusiasts in the Mid-Atlantic region

Killer Trees with Allelopathic Tendencies Fall Landscape Care with Pollinators in Mind

Are Murder Hornets in Our Region?

Native Cover Crops

The ‘Fignomenal’ Container Fig Five Steps for Saving Tuberous Begonias as Frost Approaches Salvia ‘Black and Blue’

Great Gardening Books Reviewed 2023 Tree of the Year: Allegheny Serviceberry

A Visit to Gramercy Mansion

Pumpkins o’ Plenty

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.

o oo o oo

RESOURCESsourc

Need a Garden Club Speaker?

Washington Gardener Magazine’s staff and writers are available to speak to groups and garden clubs in the DC region and ONLINE! Call 240.603.1461 or email KathyJentz@gmail.com for available dates, rates, and topics.

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

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

2 WASHINGTON GARDENER OCTOBER 2023

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 www.greenspring.org 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.

INSIDEcontents

FEATURES and COLUMNS

10

In honor of Arbor Day, “the nation’s tree planting holiday,” Blandy arborists and representatives from the Department of Forestry planted an Allegheny Serviceberry tree at the Blandy Arboretum on Friday, April 28. The tree has been added to a tree and shrub collection that dates to the 1930s.

“A vital part of our mission is to practice and promote tree education, science, and conservation,” said Blandy curator T’ai Roulston “Through research and public programming, we want to share with everyone—of all ages—how important trees are to the environment.”

o

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.

6

Gramercy Mansion and the gardens, as well as a charming carriage house, may be reserved for corporate and private events year-round.

ASKtheExpert 15 Murder Hornets, Native Cover Crops BOOKreviews 20-21 Gardening Can Be Murder, The Good Garden, Private Gardens COCKTAILhour 8 House Finch DAYtrip 6-7 Gramercy Mansion EDIBLEharvest 16-17 Pumpkins GARDENbasics 18 Fall Landscape Care Tips GOINGnative 22 Black Walnut Trees Allelopathic Tendencies NEIGHBORnetwork 19 Poetry in Schrom Hills Park NEWPLANTspotlight 11 ‘Fignomenal’ Fig PLANTprofile 14 Salvia ‘Black and Blue’ TIPStricks 10 Serviceberry Tree of the Year, Saving Tuberous Begonias Before Frost

DEPARTMENTS

ADVERTISINGindex BLOGlinks EDITORletter GARDENDCpodcasts LOCALevents MONTHLYtasklist NEXTissue READERcontest READERreactions RESOURCESsources

19 “Poetry in the Garden” with Michael Zeliff, Francis Steadman, Lauren Cato, John Drago, Effie Levner, Diana White, and Louis Levner at Schrum Hills Park.

23 11 4 13 12-13 11 3 5 5 2

ON THE COVER

A pile of pumpkins at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD.

In our November issue: Fall Flowers Local Garden Tours Garden Design Tips and much more . . .

Be sure you are subscribed!

Click on the “subscribe” link at washingtongardener.com OCTOBER 2023 WASHINGTON GARDENER 3

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 Christine Folivi Intern Subscription: $20.00

Your editor at the Longwood Gardens’ gift shop. holding the book Gardens of the World.

Contributing in Small Ways

I’m pictured above at Longwood Gardens’ gift shop last month holding a book that I contributed a chapter about Dumbarton Oaks to. My contribution is a tiny part of this gorgeous book, but I’m still proud of being a small portion of its success.

The little things do make a big difference—from donating excess produce to the hungry to planting a public container on your street corner that brightens someone’s day.

Sometimes I only have the time or energy to be a small part of a bigger cause or organization, though I’d love to be able to devote more time or give more effort to it. Those small things can really add up though and as they say “many hands, mean light work.”

Look for the small ways you can contribute to groups you are in. In several local garden clubs that I am in, there are simple and easy tasks that need doing, but often go undone, due to lack of volunteers or interest. Sometimes just asking what you can do to help or what is falling through the cracks, can open up an opportunity to get involved.

Working with a team is a great way to make new friends and to feel part of something bigger than you. It can also create connections and keep you active in an area or hobby that you are interested in.

Taking a large task and breaking it into small chunks can make an impossible task possible. When faced with a project that seems insurmountable like clearing out a new area of the garden or reviving an overgrown one, I set a kitchen timer and commit to weeding and cutting back just a small section for 15 minutes. Often, at the end of that time, I extend it another 15 minutes or more as I can see the progress I’ve made and that is super-motivating.

Speaking of seeing progress, a great way to measure the small efforts you have made is to take a before picture and then an after one—or at least an in-process one that can show you later what you’ve accomplished.

Don’t forget to reward yourself for these small successes.

Sincerely,

Kathy Jentz, Editor/Publisher, Washington Gardener, KathyJentz@gmail.com 4 WASHINGTON GARDENER OCTOBER 2023

• 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://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/ show/gardendc/ • Washington Gardener is a woman-owned business. We are proud to be members of: · GardenComm (formerly GWA: The Association for Garden Communicators) · Green America Business Network · National Garden Bureau · One Montgomery Green · Ladies in the Landscape · Potomac Rose Society

Volume 18, Number 8 ISSN 1555-8959 © 2023 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.

READERcontt

READERreactions

Reader Comments

Reader Contest

For our October 2023 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, we are giving away a $100 gift certificate to buy bulbs online from Flowerbulbs.com ($100.00 prize value).

Looking for inspiration for your home and garden? Flowerbulbs.com is all about bulbs, bulb flowers, and bulbs in pots. Visit Flowerbulbs.com for inspiration for gardens, the most beautiful bouquets, holidays, and celebrations, and DIY tips with flowers and bulbs.

To enter, send an email to WashingtonGardenerMagazine@gmail.com by 5:00pm on October 31 with “Flowerbulbs.com” in the Subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us what your favorite article was in this issue and why. Include your full name and mailing address. Winners will be announced and notified on (or shortly after) November 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.

I enjoyed reading the article on growing carrots in the August 2023 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine, especially the part about growing them in containers. I tried that this year, with mixed success. I will try again, this time adding more compost, and being better about thinning my carrots, as the article suggested. I noticed that those growing along the outer edge of my grow bag grew larger. I’m wondering if that’s because they weren’t so crowded.

Thanks for the terrific articles and podcasts. Congratulations too on your 2023 Media Awards. ~ Jennifer Whalen, Silver Spring, MD My favorite article n the August 2023 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine was about growing carrots. I might try that next year in a pot!

I also love the book reviews. I am always inspired by your magazine! ~ Nadine Couture, Silver Spring, MD o

“Inspire. Connect. Grow.”

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.

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/ OCTOBER 2023 WASHINGTON GARDENER 5

DAYtrip

Gramercy Mansion

By Christine Folivi

Gramercy Mansion is a bed-and-breakfast estate that many couples and families love to book for weddings, events, and more. But what many people don’t know is its complex history.

In 1902, Alexander Cassatt, seventh president of the Pennsylvania Railroad and brother of the Impressionist painter Mary Cassatt, bought the estate for his daughter as a wedding present. It was a heavily wooded piece of property in Greenspring Valley, just north of downtown Baltimore, MD, containing 45 acres of the present estate. Sadly, Cassatt died in 1906 before the house was completed.

The estate changed hands a few times and became the home of Benjamin H. Brewster and his family, who lived there for 30 years. After Brewster died, his wife Elizabeth sold it to Hugo Hoffman. Hoffman stayed at the estate for eight years and sold it to the Koinonia Foundation.

The Koinonia Foundation was created by a group of 12 visionary Christians who wanted to spread Christianity around the world. The Koinonia Founda6 WASHINGTON GARDENER OCTOBER 2023

tion recruited students and taught them how to grow food and literacy skills.

They taught them languages and differences in religion politics and culture to prepare them to go abroad as missionaries, and acted basically as the predecessor of Peace Corps, although the Koinonia Foundation was based in Christianity.

Over time, the Foundation turned to a more general spiritual focus—meditations, yoga, gardening, art dance, and philosophy, and psychology.

Gradually, they used up their funds and faced bankruptcy, forcing them to sell the property at an auction. That is when Dr. Ronald and Anne Pomykala bought that estate in 1985. Anne attended the auction even though she wasn’t intending to buy a house that day, but she placed a bid and won.

Anne Pomykala is an enthusiastic gardener who has a love for the outdoors.

This mother of six children, with 14 grandchildren, now runs the estate. She spends her time at the Gramercy Mansion hosting events for all to share the beautiful venue.

“I am a gardener at heart,” she said.

“I was born in the Riverdale area of Prince George’s County, MD, and moved to Bethesda, MD, when I got married,” She has traveled around the world to gain gardening inspiration for the estate. She has a group of gardening friends and belongs to a horticultural society that sponsors trips to European gardens; she plans to go to Morocco in April.

“There are different layouts that other countries use,” said Anne.

The estate is on a steep hillside, so the garden is terraced and the levels are supported with oak logs from trees cut down on the property.

The property is filled with color, including ‘Profusion’ Zinnias, Hellebores, red Salvias, and more.

Anne said her favorite flower is the annual begonia. “It blooms in the darkest, shadiest places.’’

The Gramercy hosts five to six weddings a week and clients love the setting. “Even bed-and-breakfast clients love to come out here to sit and read,” said Anne.

DAYtrip The pathways are lined with azaleas and rhododendrons, as well as lots of annuals and perennials.

There are several garden rooms on the estate. Anne has spent endless years perfecting the gardens to what they are today.

Her Japanese garden was created after a trip to Japan and has a water feature at its center. At the moment, it is netted to keep out birds that want to eat the fishes.

Birds are not the only problem the garden faces. Deer are also a menace and they make their way to the garden and eat the plants. This is a common problem for many gardeners in the area.

“We have a separate edible garden for our bed-and-breakfast and we grow tomatoes, squash, and eggplants,” said Pomykala. “An employee left the gate open once and the deer got in and ate the tomatoes!” o

How to Visit

The Gramercy Mansion is at 1400 Greenspring Valley Road, Stevenson, MD. Wine Suppers and Garden Tours are offered at Gramercy Mansion.

Find out about future events at https://www.gramercymansion.com/.

For bed-and-breakfast reservations or questions, call 410-486-2405.

Christine Folivi is a senior at the University of Maryland College Park. This fall, she is an intern at Washington Gardener.

OCTOBER 2023 WASHINGTON GARDENER 7

COCKTAILhour

The Black-Eyed Susan Cocktail

By Molly Cuddy

For a garden media event we attended at Ladew Topiary Gardens in Harford County in early summer, we decided to make a cocktail inspired by the Maryland State Flower, the Black-Eyed Susan. We were inspired by a recipe from the Spruce Eats website, but switched up a few ingredients of the drink to make it closer to the “Official Drink of the Preakness” version (see https://www. preakness.com/).

For our recipe, you’ll need: • Vodka • St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur • Lime juice (fresh-squeezed, if you have it) • Orange juice, mixed with pineapple juice • Maraschino cherries for a garnish You can check out our TikTok video (https://www.tiktok.com/@wdcgardener/video/6979246374554455302) to see how we make this drink. We didn’t use any exact measurements, but it still turned out wonderfully and everyone enjoyed the drink. Basically, you can do one shot or part of each ingredient.

For anyone who may not be 21, or for those who don’t/can’t drink, we also crafted a non-alcoholic version of this drink. Add the orange juice and lime juice, and top it with some club soda. And make sure to garnish it with a cherry!

In the future, we hope to have some more flower-inspired cocktail recipes to share! Until then, enjoy the Black-Eyed Susan and let us know if you try it. o Molly Cuddy was a journalism major at the University of Maryland, College Park, and an intern with Washington Gardener in the summer of 2021. She was also a campus tour guide and will be a teaching assistant for a professional writing class next semester. She is currently a contracted documentation Assistant at Bristol Myers Squibb in Trenton, New Jersey.

“CocktailHour” is a new semi-regular column that will feature flower-based or flower-inspired drinks. Readers are encouraged to share their favorite flower drink recipes and adaptations by emailing them to editor KathyJentz@gmail.com.

8 WASHINGTON GARDENER OCTOBER 2023

Discover the Netherlands Garden Tour with Kathy Jentz Experience the beauty of Dutch gardens and horticulture on our Discover the Netherlands Tour from April 16–25, 2024!

Join Washington Gardener Magazine editor Kathy Jentz on this once-in-alifetime garden adventure. We will visit private and public gardens, nurseries, test gardens, flower shows, and more.

Highlights include the Keukenhof Gardens, Hortus Botanicus Leiden, and the FloraHolland Flower Auction.

Accommodations are in 4-star hotels, and most meals are included.

• Space is limited to the first 20 guests who sign up.

• Pricing starts at $4,985 per person.

• For full details and registration, go to: https://tinyurl.com/HollandTourwithKJ

OCTOBER 2023 WASHINGTON GARDENER 9

TIPStricks

Five Steps for Saving Tuberous Begonias as Frost Approaches

According to Kym Pokorny of the Oregon State University Extension Service, garden centers stock a tempting variety of brightly colored tuberous begonias in spring that are hard to resist. Gardeners have a tremendous choice of flower color in shades of orange, pink, yellow, white, and bi-colored.

But these lush plants don’t grow over winter and must be protected.

The tubers can be saved and planted again the next spring for another year of showy color. The tuberous begonias should not be confused with the lowgrowing wax begonias, often called annual bedding begonias, that don’t respond to winter protection.

“There are so many choices for tuberous begonias,” said Nicole Sanchez, Oregon State University Extension Service horticulturist. “They come in so many colors and there are a lot of new salmon/orange varieties on the market now. In my experience, the yellow ones are always a little less vigorous than other colors.”

Tuberous begonias should be grown in bright shade (too much sun will burn them and too little will make them leggy) and watered only when the soil dries out completely.

“We can easily love them to death,” Sanchez said. “The biggest problem with tuberous begonias is operator error in the form of overwatering. Lots of water is already stored in the tubers and stems, so be careful to check moisture in the soil at least an inch in, not just on the top. But there’s a fine line between letting them dry out well and ‘oops! it dried out too much.’ This is where I most often fail with begonias.”

Tuberous begonias don’t like potting soils that contain peat or sphagnum moss that holds lots of water, she added. All of that being said, if they are outside in hanging baskets, they will still need to be watered every day during hot weather.

Begonias are heavy feeders and will bloom larger and longer if they get regular fertilizer, Sanchez said. She recommends slow-release fertilizers for begonias, which are easier to apply and make it harder to over-fertilize. Over-fed 10 WASHINGTON GARDENER OCTOBER 2023

2023 Tree of the Year: Allegheny Serviceberry

Tuberous begonias can be kept over winter for bloom next year. Photo from Flickr, denisbin.

plants often get leggy and have weak stems.

Tuberous begonias contain both male and female flowers. The male flowers are the showier blooms. Sanchez recommends removing female flowers so all the plant’s energy goes into producing showier male flowers.

When winter looms, it’s time to prepare and store the plants. Sanchez recommends the following five steps to save your potted tuberous begonia tubers.

1. Remove plant from pot before hard frosts occur. Cut back most of the top of the plant, leaving the ball of roots and soil intact.

2. Place in a dry, cool storage area (a basement or garage) and allow the tubers to cure for several weeks.

3. After curing, shake off the soil and remove the remaining stalks and roots.

Any stalk or root left has the potential to rot and spread to the tuber. Put the tubers on screen trays or pack them in dry peat, sawdust, sand, or other insulating material.

4. Store tubers in a dry, dark, cool (above freezing) area.

5. In the spring, start begonia plants by placing the tubers on damp potting soil in a warm environment. When roots and tops have started, plant them in pots in rich, well-drained potting soil. Bring outdoors when all danger of frost is past and place in a shady spot. o

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.

Representatives from the State Arboretum of Virginia at Blandy Experimental Farm have named the Allegheny serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis) as the 2023 Tree of the Year.

The arboretum’s 2023 Tree of the Year was selected after deliberation by Curator T’ai Roulston and Blandy arborists. Since 2019, the State Arboretum of Virginia has designated one extraordinary species as its Tree of the Year.

The Allegheny serviceberry, found native in Virginia, was chosen for its four-season interest, according to Roulston. A small understory tree, it’s ideal for landscapes and grows to only 15–25 feet tall.

The Allegheny serviceberry is one of the first trees at the arboretum to flower each spring—the delicate masses of white, fragrant flowers appear in midApril. Small, dark-purple berry-like fruit arrives in the summer. Also commonly known as juneberries, the edible berries attract pollinators and are a food source for native bees and more than 40 species of birds.

The fall foliage of the Allegheny serviceberry, when the leaves turn an orange-red color, is outstanding as well.

The tree’s attractive gray bark lends structure to the winter garden.

Native Americans would dry juneberries, similar in size and taste to blueberries, and mix them with meat to create a high-energy snack called pemmican. Recipes for juneberry pies and jams are easy to find. If you want to eat the berries, though, you’d better be fast. Birds, squirrels, and other wildlife also enjoy the fruit.

For settlers in the colder climates of North America, the blooming of the serviceberry was a sign that the ground was thawing. Graves could now be dug for loved ones who had died during the cold winter months and burial “services” could commence, hence the name.

In some areas, the serviceberry is called shadbush or shadblow. The tree got this name because it blooms around the same time that shad return to their spawning grounds in freshwater rivers and streams. Common names also include smooth shadbush, juneberry and shadberry. o

GARDENnews

Quick Links to Recent Washington Gardener Blog Posts • All About Cyclamen • Sweet Potato Blues • Flinging with the Garden Tourist • End of Harvest Party

See more Washington Gardener blog posts Photos courtesy of Monrovia by Brandon Friend-Solis, Monrovia.com.

New Plant Spotlight ‘Fignomenal’ Fig (Ficus carica ‘PT-DF-14’) Lloyd Traven of Peace Tree Farm has introduced ‘Fignomenal’ Fig. Pick sweet figs from patio-sized trees.

‘Fignomenal’ yields delicious fruits year-round, both indoors and outdoors. These dwarf plants max out at around 30" tall and offer an abundance of rich-brown, medium-sized figs with reddish interiors and honeyed flavor. Small-space gardening just got sweeter.

The medium-sized, deep-brown fruit is pink-red on the inside and deliciously sweet. It fruits heavily throughout the year. It is deciduous and self-fertile.

‘Fignomenal’ prefers enriched, welldrained soil. Water deeply, regularly in first growing season to establish root system; requires less water in fall and winter, more in growing season. Container plantings need additional winter protection in colder zones (7 and below) or overwinter it indoors.

This plant is hardy in USDA Zones 7 to 9, if grown in the ground. In Zone 7, it will benefit from a winter mulch to protect the roots.

Prune it for structure in late winter.

Feed it lightly with a liquid or slowrelease fertilizer in spring. o

at WashingtonGardener.blogspot.com o

October–November Garden To-Do List

• Cover pond with netting to keep out fallen leaves and debris.

• Harvest sweet potatoes.

• Plant garlic.

• Force the buds on Christmas Cactus by placing in a cool (55–60 degree) room for 13 hours of darkness.

• Apply deer-deterrent spray.

• Prevent the spread of disease by cleaning up all infected plants and disposing of them in your trash—not your compost pile.

• Plant cover crops in your vegetable gardens and annual beds (i.e., rye, clover, hairy vetch, winter peas).

• Set up a cold frame, then plant lettuces, radishes, and carrots from seed.

• If you have a water garden, clean out the annual plants and compost them.

Cut back the hardy plants and group them in the deepest pond section.

• Leave seedheads on Black-eyed Susans, Echinacea, Goldenrod, Sunflowers, and Thistles for the birds to enjoy over the winter.

• Check for bagworms; pick off, bag, and dispose of them.

• Dig up and store potatoes in a cool, dark spot.

• Continue to divide and transplant perennials.

• Rake leaves and gather in compost piles.

• Pick pumpkins at a local pick-your-own farm or visit a local farmer’s market.

• Cut garden herbs and hang to dry in a cool, dry place indoors.

• Start feeding birds to get them in the habit for the winter.

• Attend a local garden club meeting.

• Mulch strawberry beds for winter.

• Turn your compost pile weekly and don’t let it dry out. Work compost into your planting beds.

• Plant evergreens for winter interest.

• Weed.

• Plant spring-flowering bulbs.

• Sow wildflower seeds, such as California Poppies, for next spring.

• Collect dried flowers and grasses for an indoor vase.

• Clean, sharpen, and store your garden tools.

• Lightly fertilize indoor plants.

• Pot up Paper Whites and Amaryllis for holiday blooming.

• Check that all vines are securely tied against winter’s cold winds.

• Collect plant seeds for next year’s planting and for trading.

• Pull out spent summer annuals.

• Plant hardy mums and fall season annuals.

• Water evergreens and new plantings to keep them hydrated this winter.

• Fertilize your lawn and re-seed if needed.

• Dig up bulbs from your Gladioli, cut off foliage, dry for a week, and then store for the winter.

• Transplant trees and shrubs.

• Gather seeds and label them carefully. Store in a dry location.

• Keep an eye out for the first frost date and insulate plants as needed. In Zone 6, it is expected between September 30–October 30; in Zone 7, it is predicted for October 15–November 15. o OCTOBER 2023 WASHINGTON GARDENER 11

TOP AREA GARDENING EVENTS Classes, Events, and Plant Shows/Sales •October 21–22 Lilyhemmer 2023 The 28th fall daylily festival will be held in Camp Hill, near Harrisburg, PA. Speakers include Ellen Laprise, Don Wolf, Rich Howard, and Peter Donato presenting Steve Todd’s hybridizing program. Donato will also show the daylilies of the future. A buffet dinner is included in the registration fee. Activities include a huge plant raffle, silent auction, and great daylilies for auction.

There is a reduced registration rate for first-time attendees, who each also get a great daylily plant. All details and registration information is at http:// ahsregion3.org/Page/LILYHEMMER_ 2023_FALL_DAYLILY_FESTIVAL. • Friday, October 27, 6:30–8:30pm Foodie Fridays: Food is Freedom In the U.S., food and farming have a long history of being tied to freedom— and enslavement. For the final Foodie Fridays of 2023, speakers will discuss the power rooted in food and farming.

Susan Cook will share the story of her fourth great aunt, Alethia Tanner, and how growing food was Tanner’s pathway from enslavement to freedom. Gardener and edible activist Vanessa Pierre will discuss her advocacy work and how gardening continues to empower communities. Held at Josiah Henson Museum and Park. Fee $10, includes light refreshments, drinks, and a ticket to the museum. Register at https://montgomeryparks.org/events/foodie-fridaysfood-is-freedom/.

• Friday, October 27, 9–11am Memorial Arboretum Walking Tour Come see the trees of Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) at the peak of their autumn splendor with guide Greg Huse, ANC forester. The vibrant reds, oranges, yellows, and russets of more than 300 species of trees are a must-see for anyone visiting in the autumn. On this tour, you will learn about the cemetery’s Memorial Arboretum, a Level III Accredited Arboretum. You’ll gain insight into ANC’s urban forestry program, extensive tree collection, and State Champion trees. The overall horticulture program, 12 WASHINGTON GARDENER OCTOBER 2023

and the variety of techniques used to create some of the most breathtaking formal and informal landscapes and gardens, will also be highlighted. Details at https://www.arlingtoncemetery. mil/#/.

• Saturday, October 28 GinkgoFest 2023: A Celebration of Blandy’s Gloriously Golden Ginkgo Grove!

Back for a third year, the GinkgoFest is a chance to wander among the beautiful ginkgoes, sing along to traditional Celtic music, learn about the history and growth of ginkgoes, share a festive drink and delicious food, and breathe in the autumn air. With 300 trees spanning 3.3 acres, the Ginkgo Grove at the State Arboretum of Virginia at Blandy Experimental Farm is the largest public ginkgo grove in the U.S. When it erupts in color each fall, it’s one of nature’s most vibrant displays of fall foliage in the Shenandoah Valley. This special after-hours event features delectable food and drink, Plein Air Art in the Grove, music from the talented “Blue Ridge Bard” Matthew O’Donnell, and, of course, an up-close-and-personal view of the beloved ginkgo trees. Bring your camera and wear gold. Details at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ginkgofest-2023-a-celebration-of-blandys-gloriously-golden-ginkgo-grove-tickets-73139 2523727?aff=oddtdtcreator.

• Saturday, October 28, 11am–2pm Garlic Planting Party & Poetry Slam Fall planting, crafts, and a youth poetry competition in Washington Youth Garden at the U.S. National Arboretum. Details at https://www. eventbrite.com/e/garlic-planting-partyin-washington-youth-garden-tickets696761200507?aff=ffn.

• Tuesday, October 31, 7pm Lessons from an Insect Egg Hunt Learn how plant selection can affect sustainable control of insect pests with speaker Madeline Potter. Hosted by the Maryland Native Plant Society.

Learn about the many valuable lessons from this insect egg hunt and how plant selection affects sustainable control of insect pests. Her Master’s research was on biological control of

the invasive brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) and included a community science project, called Project Stink-beGone, recruited 50 Maryland Master Gardeners to collect insect eggs from all around Maryland. The data collected provided new information about egg parasitic wasps that help to sustainably control pest stink bugs and other insect pests. Register for a Zoom link at www. mdflora.org/event-5304019.

• Friday, November 3, and Saturday,

November 4 Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance (UCFA) Fall 2023 Workshops and Convening The fall 2023 workshops will take place in Accokeek, MD, and include sessions on seed saving, seed stories, medicinal herbs, and more. For information and registration, visit: https://ujamaafarms. com/fall-2023-convening-1.

• Wednesday, November 8, 6:30–8pm A World of Discovery: How Science and Heart Can Make You a More Ecological Gardener Have you ever wondered how plants and animals perceive the world around them? Unfortunately, in our urban areas, noise, light, and odor pollution can have many unintended consequences. Learn how to expand your gardening focus beyond visual appeal to create landscapes that mitigate these disruptions and offer sensory refuges for wildlife. Speaker Nancy Lawson is an author, Master Naturalist, and founder of The Humane Gardener, LLC. Note: This is an in-person event, taking place in the Brookside Gardens Auditorium.

Free, registration is not required.

• Saturday, November 11, 10:30am– 12:30pm Botanical Collage and Printmaking (Onsite Art Workshop) Highlighting natural materials from the U.S. Botanic Garden collection, this workshop will feature a mix of the art of zine-making, collaging, printmaking, and book arts. During the workshop, Doriana Diaz, multidimensional artist, archivist, and memory worker, will guide you in implementing and enhancing the practice as both an individual and a collective. Experiment with visuals

TOP AREA GARDENING EVENTS that curate your ideologies around nature, radical womanhood, joy, glory, Black paradise, and more. Through discussion and art-making, you will leave confident in the methods of these genres, with various creations and concepts to continue the intentional exploration of these arts of collaging, zine-making, books, and printmaking.

Held at the Conservatory Classroom of the U.S. Botanic Garden. Friends: $10.

Nonmembers: $20. Pre-registration required at https://www.usbg.gov/ learn/programs-and-events.

• Sunday, November 12, 2–4pm Home-Grown Mushrooms Workshop Growing edible mushrooms at home is intriguing and fast becoming very popular. Speaker Tom Higgs is a scientist by trade with a degree in biochemistry/ molecular biology and more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. His presentation will include an overview of basic mycology, a variety of mushroom-growing techniques, and a brief introduction to mushroom foraging in Maryland. The goal of the presentation is to spark an interest with the audience in the hopes that others will be inspired to have their own mushroomgrowing adventures. Light refreshments will be served. Hosted by the Garden Club at Sandy Spring Museum. Admission is free for museum members and $10 for nonmembers. Register at www. sandyspringmuseum.org.

• Saturday, November 18, 10am–2pm Brunch with Birds and Blooms: A Fundraiser to Support Brookside This gala fundraiser brunch at Brookside Gardens Visitor Center is hosted by the Friends of Brookside Gardens with speakers Sara Hallager, curator of birds, and Brian Evans, migratory bird ecologist at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. It includes a wonderful brunch buffet with mimosas, a raffle for very desirable gift certificate(s), and great speakers from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. Registration closes November 7, 2023. Tickets are $125. To purchase, go to www.friendsofbrooksidegardens.org.

Looking Ahead • November 17, 2023, through January 7, 2024 A Longwood Christmas This holiday season, it’s a riot of retro, a bevy of bright, and nostalgic moments at every turn at Longwood Gardens.

Guests will marvel at holiday trees draped in everything from shimmering tinsel to throwback baubles to childhood-favorite toys. The radiance of retro spills outdoors as more than half-a-million shimmering lights—including some super-sized surprises— adorn nearly 100 trees while carolers stroll the Gardens and outdoor firepits invite guests to gather in their warm glow. Timed Tickets are required and available now at longwoodgardens.org.

• Thursday, November 30, 6:30-8pm Garden Book Club Meeting We will discuss Orchid Muse: A History of Obsession in Fifteen Flowers by Erica Hannickel. You can order it new or used at our Amazon link: https://amzn.to/3Yoo42b or at our Bookshop store: https://bookshop. org/a/79479/9780393867282. In the December 2022 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine, reviewer Jim Dronenburg wrote, “... even if you never intend to have, wear, or grow an orchid, it is a fascinating read.”

The Washington Gardener Magazine’s Garden Book Club meets quarterly via Zoom and is free and open to all. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAkc-ygrzMiH9z6ekl2ip3w n8PLuyFrG9r9.

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

Published by Cool Springs Press/Quarto Homes

Order it today at: https://amzn.to/3yiLPKU

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 November 5 for the November 2023 issue, for events taking place after November 15. o

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 Figs, Fall Perennials, and Moon Gardening.

You can listen online at https:// washingtongardener.blogspot.com/ or on Spotify, Apple, etc. o OCTOBER 2023 WASHINGTON GARDENER 13

PLANTprofile

Salvia ‘Black and Blue’

By Kathy Jentz

Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’ is a tender perennial salvia. It has bright-green foliage and brilliant blue flowers with purple-black calyces. Digital photos don’t do it justice—it is a true-blue that is striking to see in person in the late summer to early autumn garden.

It is also known as the Anise-scented sage ‘Black and Blue’ and the Brazilian Anise Sage ‘Black and Blue’. The Latin names were previously Salvia caerulea and Salvia melanocalyx.

Butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinators love its tubular flowers.

The leaves are fragrant and deer do not bother it.

It grows best in full sun to part shade in well-drained soil. It will flop if planted in too much shade. It grows 2 to 5 feet high and wide.

Deadhead the spent flowers to encourage additional blooms. Otherwise, it is pretty low-maintenance.

It is hardy to USDA Zones 7 through 10 and can survive here in the Mid-Atlantic if we have a mild winter, but if you think we will have a hard winter, cut it back and pot up several plant divisions in the fall for overwintering in a sunny window. o Kathy Jentz is the editor of Washington Gardener.

14 WASHINGTON GARDENER OCTOBER 2023

KNOWitall

Ask the Expert

By Miri Talabac

European Hornet Photo by Miri Talabac.

Are Murder Hornets In Our Region?

Q: I don’t remember seeing these wasps earlier in the summer, but they seem to be all over the place now, including my pollinator garden. Are these murder hornets? They bang against our glass door at night, and it’s unnerving.

A: This is a European Hornet, and although they are non-native, they’ve been living in North America for over 100 years. Even if unnoticed earlier, they’ve been around all season, their nest population slowly growing to its largest in autumn. “Murder hornets,” the name sensationalized for Northern Giant Hornet (formerly Asian Giant Hornet), are not in the eastern U.S. They’re also bigger and have different body color patterns. We have web pages at http://extension.umd.edu/ hgic about each of these wasps, plus several others commonly encountered in home landscapes.

European Hornets are unusual among our local wasps in that they will fly both day and night. Like many night-active insects, they can be attracted to night lighting around porches and lamp posts, light leaking through window blinds or curtains, and even flashlights.

Whether they hit the glass due to not perceiving it as a solid barrier, or were just missing the mark in pursuit of prey, who knows, but it’s a good reminder of how our light pollution can affect wild animals, especially migrating birds that also get disoriented by our night light sources. (It doesn’t take

much…think of how relatively dim starlight and moonlight are which is what they navigate with.)

As for the pollinator stalking, they’re generalists, and prey can include a variety of pollinators (including other wasps) plus insects we consider garden pests, such as webworm caterpillars and other nuisance leaf-chewers.

Some gardeners fret about hornets killing honey bees while haunting flower gardens, but honey bees are also non-native to North America and compete with our native bees for floral resources. European hornets may kill some honey bees but are not contributing much to hive decline.

Adult wasps have a liquid diet, often of nectar or sap, but also juices from chewed-up insects (or picnic proteins) they are gathering for larvae. European Hornets will sometimes chew bark off tree or shrub stems in autumn as they seek sap and possibly also the insects drawn to it as easy prey. They might additionally be using the pulp to make more “paper” to line their nest, so this behavior might have a threefold purpose. Either way, these wasps are pollinators, too, and don’t tend to cause serious harm to the shrubs.

Hornet nests are not reused from year to year, so they will be abandoned and any leftover colony members dead come winter. New queens produced at the end of the season have dispersed and will be overwintering solo in sheltered areas, like under logs, and begin new nests by themselves next year. If you find a hornet nest and are able to avoid it, it’ll resolve itself soon enough and you won’t need to bother with spraying it. Now is a good time to make sure you “batten down the hatches” and seal any gaps, cracks, or other access points into the house so hornet queens don’t accidentally wind up visiting you indoors come spring. (We get these questions routinely when one is found trying to escape at a window.)

Are There Any Native Cover Crops?

Q: Are there native “cover crops” for preparing a meadow or other native planting bed? I know the crops mentioned for veggie beds, like crimson clover, buckwheat, and wheat, are all non-native.

Partridge Pea with bumble bee. Photo by Miri Talabac.

A: I don’t have a reference list of trialed species, and I think more experimentation has to be done on this subject, but can share an idea or two based on what local gardens have used, plus a few native annuals or perennials that may self-sow readily while not being too hard to find (ideally) as seed or plugs.

Among annuals, Black-eyed Susan (specifically Rudbeckia hirta) and Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata) might work to help colonize open soil and out-compete weeds in a sunny site. Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis or I. pallida) would be good for wet soils or sites that are semi-shaded.

The Montgomery County, MD, art museum Glenstone used Rudbeckia hirta plus perennials Foxglove Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis) and Lanceleaf Tickseed (Coreopsis lanceolata) as pioneer species in their meadow while it was still establishing.

As another option, if the area to cover is not too extensive (or for at least a portion of the site), arborist wood chips could be used as a relatively inexpensive mulch that will smother most weeds, reduce erosion, and break down into soil-improving organic matter. It can be laid more thickly than bark mulch and is used successfully to prepare the planting beds for native species at places like the wild bee lab of the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. o Miri Talabac is a Certified Professional Horticulturist who has worked as a horticulture consultant for the University of Maryland Extension Home and Garden Information Center since 2019. To ask a gardening or pest question, go to http:// extension.umd.edu/hgic and scroll to “connect with us.” Digital photos can be attached.

OCTOBER 2023 WASHINGTON GARDENER 15

EDIBLEharvt

Pumpkin: The Fruit that Nourished A Nation

By Barbara Melera

For millennia, members of the pumpkin family have nourished, protected, and been key to the survival of indigenous Americans, colonial Americans, and immigrant Americans. The development of the pumpkin as a major food source was probably thanks to the indigenous peoples of North and South America.

All squash, gourds, and pumpkins originally possessed tasteless or bitter flesh, which was essentially inedible. As the native peoples cultivated these fruit for utensils, they began to note that some of the flesh of these fruits became tastier and, with cultivation over decades, the flesh of some pumpkins became very sweet.

Pumpkin, because it stores so well, was often the major vegetative food source. It is probably safe to say that no single vegetative food source was more critical to the growth of the American peoples than squash and pumpkins.

American gardeners, in general, plant pumpkins, squash, and cucumbers way too early and most of these gardeners start with seedlings rather than seeds.

Pumpkins, squash, melons, and cucumbers should always be direct-seeded in early summer into soil whose temperatures have risen to at least 70 degrees.

Throughout the United States, there are three problems that, generally, plague pumpkin, squash, melon, and cucumber plants: production of male flowers, squash borer, and wilt. For all 16 WASHINGTON GARDENER OCTOBER 2023

of these, the easiest way to mitigate the problem is by planting much later than you normally would plant and from seed not seedlings.

Pumpkins are monoecious plants, meaning each plant produces male and female blossoms. Usually the male blossoms, which have much-needed pollen, are produced first and the female blossoms come later. The female blossoms must have male blossoms in full bloom to produce fruit. Male blossoms are very sensitive to temperature. Pumpkin plants will either not produce or produce very few male blossoms if the temperatures are below 65 degrees.

The blossoms are particularly sensitive to nighttime temperatures. When it is cold, the plants produce female blossoms first, but without the pollen from the male flowers, no fruit is produced.

The remedy is to plant much later (at least 14–21 days) and plant from seed.

Disease and Other Issues

There are two kinds of wilt that primarily damage or destroy squash, pumpkin, cucumber, or melon plants: squash wilt and powdery mildew.

Squash wilt is a bacterium that is carried by the ubiquitous cucumber beetle, an insect that attacks all vining plants.

The bacterium is carried in the digestive system of the beetle and transmitted to the pumpkin plant when the beetle deposits its excrement on the plant’s

leaves. The cucumber beetle becomes active throughout the U.S. in mid- to late May and early June, and dies out in several weeks.

The remedy is to plant squash, pumpkins, cucumber, and melon from seeds, much later, after the cucumber beetle has died out.

Powdery mildew is a fungus that grows best in warm, moist conditions.

The spores germinate in cool, moist soil and proliferate with heat and humidity.

The remedy is to plant squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, and melon from seed in mid- to late June when the soil has dried out, which discourages spore germination. In the dry heat of late summer, the fungus is less likely to proliferate. Make sure there is good air circulation between the vines.

Pumpkin gardeners east of the Rocky Mountains are plagued by squash borers. To minimize the damage from squash borers, plant your pumpkins at the end of June.

Squash borers are native to the U.S., east of the Rocky Mountains. The borer is the larval stage of the Clearwing Moth, a wasp-like insect with coppergreen forewings and an orange and black abdomen. The borer winters over in a cocoon located 1 to 2 inches below the surface of the soil.

The Clearwing Moth hatches out of its cocoon when the squash vine begins to vine and lays single, oval, brown eggs on the stems and leaf stalks of the vine. The borers hatch in about a week and tunnel into the vine to eat.

After feeding for 4 to 6 weeks, the borer returns to the soil, where it builds a cocoon and rests for the winter.

The remedy is planting your squash in late June or early July, after the borers have finished eating and are buried in the soil. This will eliminate or reduce the problem.

One curious fact about the squash borer is that the Clearwing Moth does not like radish, so planting radishes among your squash will deter the Clearwing Moth.

The bottom line on the problems with squash and pumpkins is plant from seed and, for most of the U.S. plant 14–21 days later than you have been planting.

EDIBLEharvt

Pumpkin Growing Tips

Pumpkins and squash should be planted in approximately 4-foot diameter hills that are roughly 1 foot high. Plant four vines per hill to sow 8–12 seeds per hill and thin to the four strongest seedlings.

Plant the seeds 1–2 inches deep and water gently. Once germination has taken place, fertilize aggressively with a low-nitrogen, high-potassium, and phosphorus fertilizer weekly. Water generously for the first few weeks until fruit production has concluded.

Pumpkin Picks • Dill’s Atlantic Giant Pumpkin Cucurbita maxima, the giant pumpkins (pictured on page 16), are the largest fruits on Earth. In the U.S., the first description of mammoth pumpkins appeared in the late 1820s. Today’s giant pumpkins are descendants of a much beloved French pumpkin, ‘Jaune Gros de Paris’. Henry David Thoreau, the transcendentalist, may have introduced the first seed into the U.S. Thoreau received seeds from the U.S. Patent Office in 1857 and from these seeds, he grew five pumpkins weighing a total of 310 pounds. The largest of these five pumpkins weighed 123 ½ pounds.

Skip forward 100+ years to 1978. In that year, Howard Dill of Windsor, Nova Scotia, known lovingly as the “Pumpkin King,” introduced the ‘Atlantic Giant’.

After a decades-long amateur breeding effort, Dill produced the quintessential giant pumpkin. An average ‘Atlantic Giant’ weighs 90 pounds and is roughly 1½ feet long by 2 feet wide. The largest ‘Atlantic Giant’ on record was 1,385 pounds.

• The Boston Marrow The story of the ‘Boston Marrow’ (top, right) belongs to one of America’s greatest seedsmen, James J. H. Gregory. The ‘Boston Marrow’ is a member of the Hubbard family of squash, which botanically are Cucurbita maxima. Hubbards are native to South America, having developed from an ancient predecessor, Cucurbita andreana. They were domesticated by indigenous peoples over many centuries, which may have been a contributing factor to their incredible sweetness. They were introduced to the American public by Gregory.

How these pumpkins/squash arrived in the U.S. from South America is not clear. The Iroquois may have shared seeds with a Marblehead gardener, who then shared seeds with Gregory, or Captain Knott Martin may have brought seeds from South America to his home in Marblehead, MA. Martin then shared his seeds with a Marblehead gardener, who, in turn, shared seeds with Gregory.

Somewhere in this confusion, lies the truth, but what we do know is that around 1798, the pumpkin reached New England. The Iroquois grew the pumpkins before the fruit were introduced to the American public in the 1840s by Gregory.

For more than 175 years, this pumpkin was the favorite pie making choice for Americans. The 10—20-pound fruits are oblong with a green nubbin at the blossom end. The skin is a bright reddish-orange, and the flesh is yellow, orange, thick, fine-grained, tender, and quite sweet.

• The Casper Pumpkin All squash grow well in containers, but you should allow fruit development to take place outside the containers on the ground, decking, or concrete. You must fertilize weekly and water generously.

The ‘Casper’ pumpkin (above) is worth mentioning for several reasons.

First, it is the whitest of the many white pumpkin cultivars, most of which have a bluish tinge to their white skins.

Second, as a container plant, it is very

ornamental, but its flesh is also quite sweet, so this pumpkin is both edible and ornamental.

‘Casper’ was developed by Jerry Howell of Fonthill, Ontario, from the ‘Shamrock’ pumpkin. He introduced it in 1992. Another parent might have been ‘Lumina’.

The 10–20-pound pumpkins are borne on somewhat shorter, 4–5 foot vines, which makes them well-suited for containers.

• The Small Sugar or Pie Pumpkin The ‘Small Sugar’ or ‘Pie Pumpkin’ (above) has been cultivated by Americans for more than 150 years. Native Americans shared seeds of this pumpkin with the earliest colonists.

Along with the ‘Boston Marrow’, it is the quintessential pie pumpkin, but unlike the ‘Boston Marrow’, it can also make a great Jack O’ Lantern.

‘Small Sugar’ pumpkins are small, 5–8 pounds, round, but slightly flattened at both ends, orange, and lightly ribbed.The flesh is thick, stringless, fine-grained, and very sweet.

When planted from seed near the end of June, the vines will produce mature pumpkins by the middle of September, just in time for the witching hour.

These pumpkins are four of the best for many different reasons. For those of you intent on cheating Mother Nature by planting these early in May next year or from seedlings, don’t try it. Gardening, like cooking, is an exercise in patience and restraint.

Wait until the time is right! 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.

OCTOBER 2023 WASHINGTON GARDENER 17

GARDENbasics

Fall Landscape Care with Pollinators in Mind

By Melinda Myers

No matter where you live, investing time in caring for your landscape now will pay off with a healthier, more beautiful landscape next spring and for years to come. Incorporate the following practices into your fall maintenance to support pollinators and the plants in your landscape.

Don’t rake the leaves to the curb or haul them to your county/municipality’s composting center. Instead, handle them with your lawn mower. Shred leaves and leave them on the lawn as you mow this fall. As the leaves break down, they add organic matter to the soil and, as long as you can see the grass through the leaf pieces, the lawn will be fine.

Put any extra fall leaves to work in the garden. Add shredded leaves to your compost pile or dig them into annual gardens as a soil amendment.

Just dig a 2- to 3-inch layer of shredded leaves into the top 12 inches of annual or new planting beds. The leaves will decompose over winter, adding organic matter to the soil. By spring, your garden bed will be ready for you to finish preparing and planting.

Spread some of the fall leaves on top of the soil around permanent plants as a mulch. They help insulate the roots, conserve moisture, and suppress weeds, and as they break down, improve the soil. Fall mulching gives you a jump on next spring’s landscape chores. It also provides winter homes for some beneficial insects and insulation for bumblebee queens, frogs, and others that overwinter in the soil.

Leave healthy perennials to stand over winter. They will add motion and texture to the landscape. The seedheads add beauty and many provide food for the birds. Hollow stems of a variety of perennials provide winter homes for many native bees and other beneficial insects. This also increases winter survival—research has found that perennials left standing are better able to tolerate the rigors of winter.

18 WASHINGTON GARDENER OCTOBER 2023

Use a quality bypass pruner to cut back and dispose of any diseased or insect-infested plants. Photo courtesy of Corona Tools.

Be sure to cut back and dispose of any diseased or insect-infested plants.

Removing these reduces the source of disease and insect pest problems in next year’s garden. Use a bypass pruner to cut the plants back to just above the soil surface. Corona’s XSeries Pro bypass pruner (www.coronatoolsusa. com) is lightweight and professionalgrade with its blade ensuring smooth, clean cuts on both green and dry stems and branches.

Continue watering throughout the fall and only during the day when soil and air temperatures are at or above 40° F. Trees, shrubs, and perennials suffering from drought stress in fall and early winter are more subject to root damage and subsequently insect pest and disease problems. Make sure new plantings, moisture lovers, evergreens, and perennials in exposed sites are thoroughly watered when the top 4 to 6 inches are crumbly and slightly moist.

Add some new plants to the landscape this fall. The soil is warm and the air is cool, providing excellent con-

ditions for planting and establishing trees, shrubs, and perennials. Include some fall favorites like pansies, asters, and mums to containers and garden beds for instant color and food for late-season pollinators. Many garden centers add healthy new plants to their inventory specifically for planting in the fall.

No matter where you live or the size of your garden, get outdoors and enjoy the beauty of fall. And be sure to invest a bit of time and energy now to ensure your landscape is ready for the season ahead. o Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” instant video and DVD series, and the nationally syndicated “Melinda’s Garden Moment” TV and radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and was commissioned by Corona Tools for her expertise to write this article. Her website is www.MelindaMyers. com.

NEIGHBORnwork

The Story of “Poetry in the Garden” in Schrom Hills Park

By Effie Levner This past July, we celebrated the twoyear anniversary since we started “Poetry in the Garden” at the CHEARS Three Sisters Garden in Schrom Hills Park in Greenbelt, MD. During the pandemic, we met monthly while following the CDC safety guidelines. With social distancing, poetry reading in the garden was a safe activity that facilitated, for many, social interaction and mental stimulation, Our monthly meetings continue to this day and take place by the garden, if the weather permits. Otherwise, we meet in the clubhouse of the park. We continuously see new participants joining us.

The group is diverse in age and background. We encourage cultural diversity and welcome new guests to introduce their own writings and favorite poems.

Reading poetry in the garden is very special for all who work to keep the garden artistic and beautiful. The garden became an inspiring place for creativity such as writing poems, painting, and music. We believe that creativity makes us happy. When touring the garden, you will find poems by poets such as Robert Frost (American), Tagore (Indian), William Shakespeare (English), and Rumi (Persian). That’s why we call our poetry group “Poetry in the Garden”—because of the direct connection between nature and poetry.

Madeleine Jepsen, who joined the group this spring, said, “I have enjoyed hearing poetry from a variety of poets and discussing their work. Since I joined, the group has recited and reflected on the poetry of international poets such as Hafiz, a Persian poet who lived during the 14th century; a poetry anthology written by people affected by incarceration called ‘When You Hear Me (You Hear Us)’; and several local poets who recite their own poems.”

She added, “I’ve always enjoyed poetry, but joining this group has brought my appreciation of poetry to a new height. Sharing poems, and hearing the perspectives of each group member, has been a really special experience.”

Louis Levner is a city-born person who felt that there was no need for gardens or poetry, but when I needed help doing small projects in the garden, he was quick to help. He was also reluctant to join in the poetry sessions. One day, he decided to keep me company during the poetry by attending and reading the poem “High Flight” by John Gillespie Magee, Jr. Since then, he has been consistently attending. He said, “I have never been involved in gardening or poetry, but I find both of these activities here in the garden to be enjoyable and a place where I can take my mind away from the everyday stress of my job and just relax, recharge my batteries, and enjoy myself.”

We have observed that poetry has the power to touch people’s hearts and mind. While initially some enjoy just listening, at some point, they often return with their own writing or enjoy verbally expressing and sharing their feelings with the group. The benefits of poetry are therapeutic and essential to our mental wellbeing. Poetry has the ability to slow us down and allow us the “luxury” of focusing on our inner world, taking us away from focusing on everyday practical and stressful concerns.

One initially might not see these benefits to understand and appreciate poetry. It is a process and if you are open to trying something new, like poetry, you will find the experience healing and mentally rewarding. The direct connection between the garden and poetry is undeniable.

We constantly invite visitors to the garden and to experience it on their own. Some come back as volunteers to help in the garden and some return with their own written poems. o Effie Levner is one of the coordinators of the Three Sisters Gardens. The gardens were profiled in the DayTrip column of the June 2023 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine. She is an occupational therapist and a strong mental wellness advocate. Levner can be contacted at effielevner@aol.com.

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

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OCTOBER 2023 WASHINGTON GARDENER 19

BOOKreviews

Gardening Can Be Murder: How Poisonous Poppies, Sinister Shovels, and Grim Gardens Have Inspired Mystery Writers Author: Marta McDowell Publisher: Timber Press List Price: $29.00 Order Links: https://amzn.to/3QoAN2U and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9781643261126 Reviewer: Beth Py-Lieberman The renowned author and New York Times bestseller Marta McDowell, whose books have explored the gardens of such literary giants as Emily Dickinson and Beatrix Potter, has now turned a poison pen to crime fiction.

With murderous precision and the exhaustive art of a detective’s pursuit, McDowell is on the trail in her new book, Gardening Can Be Murder.

But don’t mistake this tiny tome with its sinister black cover—the backdrop for a gorgeous rendering of deadly nightshade—as a playful light read.

McDowell’s packed pages are a spellbinding timeline detailing how the garden provides key clues across a landscape of classic to contemporary mystery novels.

A lifetime attraction to murder mysteries, beginning with Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, along with her love of gardening, triggered McDowell’s recognition that horticulture splendor is well-suited for masking bloody murder. “Perhaps it is the mythic struggle between good and evil, first played out with Eden’s slithering snake against a garden backdrop,” she writes as a possible explanation for how plants 20 WASHINGTON GARDENER OCTOBER 2023

enter the plot lines from the time of the early 19th-century Gothic novels and continuing up through today’s slasher films.

Gardening provides the setting, she notes: a place for unease and horror, where the bucolic shifts from the inviting to the ominous. The motives for murder are rife in the garden, providing the “horticultural means of homicide.”

Here grows the opium poppy, put to sinister use in Charles Dicken’s 1870 The Master of Edwin Drood. From hemlock to yew to castor bean, the poisonous properties of plants can be weaponized.

Clues abound in the plant kingdom, McDowell points out, and extracting them from the subtle shades of green and brown requires the hard-nosed detective to decipher them smartly, for who would otherwise “notice a scratch from a rose?”

This is a book for all of us. What gardener doesn’t come in dirty and exhausted, ready for a warm bath and a cup of tea, looking to curl up with a good mystery novel? McDowell provides the must-reads to launch a formidable list for the coming new year, perhaps inviting readers to retrace the genre from the 19th century’s crime fighter Sergeant Cuff, or revisit Agatha Christie’s unassuming Miss Jane Marple, or dive into the contemporary world of Susan Witting Albert’s savvy protagonist China Bayles.

“In gardens, the struggle between life and death is laid bare,” writes McDowell. “Animals eat plants. Pests infest plants. As every experienced gardener knows, gardeners kill plants.”

Whether accidental or with malicious intent, here lies all the makings for murder most foul. o Beth Py-Lieberman is the author of a new book, The Object at Hand: Intriguing and Inspiring Stories from the Smithsonian Collections. She is senior museums editor at the award-winning Smithsonian magazine, where, as a 36-year veteran, she has frequented the halls and galleries of the Smithsonian museums, educating readers on its history, art and science collections, and exhibitions. Py-Lieberman is also the editor of the “At the Smithsonian” section of Smithsonian magazine.

The Good Garden: How to Nurture Pollinators, Soil, Native Wildlife, and Healthy Food―All in Your Own Backyard Author: Chris McLaughlin Publisher: Island Press List Price: $35.00 Order Link: https://amzn.to/46SLxM7 and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9781642832150 Reviewer: Marsha Douma Chris McLaughlin is a knowledgeable, exuberant, and enthusiastic advocate of the pleasures of gardening. Her previous books focused, among other topics, on composting and growing heirloom fruits and vegetables. In The Good Garden, with cheerful encouraging prose, she introduces her readers to the essential elements of sustainable gardening. She explains how “partnering with nature” is readily doable and enjoyable. At the end of the book, she hopes we have come to understand, that “…in a world in which gardeners can do anything,...[we should also] do good.” She hopes she has convinced her readers that by “…adjusting our definition of a beautiful and successful garden…[we will] not only help heal the planet, but our own minds, bodies and communities.”

The book begins with a general explanation of the three main “schools” of sustainable gardening. Organic gardening, the most commonly practiced, is focused on not using chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Permaculture is a more encompassing philosophy, seeking to align the entirety of people’s

BOOKreviews lives with the rhythms and seasons of nature. The last system she introduces is biodynamic gardening, which is the most holistic, including planting based on lunar cycles.

After giving these broader frameworks, McLaughlin proceeds to the details. In the pollinator and wildlife appreciation chapter, she enumerates the benefits we as gardeners will reap from healthier and easier to care for gardens if we choose plants not only for their beauty, but for the shelter and food they will provide for a wide variety of insects, birds, small mammals, and reptiles.

At the start of the weeds chapter, since weeds are, after all, just plants, that might in their own right be food or shelter for some creature, she suggests that as gardeners, we relax a bit in how we think about this problem.

She reminds us: “The queen is not coming…the general is not inspecting.”

But since weeds are a real issue in all gardens, she suggests multiple strategies, ranging from how to avoid and minimize the problem with cover crops to how to remove what needs to be removed with minimal soil disturbance.

Just as gardeners need to address bad plants, also known as weeds, we also need to address bad bugs. Here also, she makes a strong case full of specifics with easy-to-read charts organized to readily identify the best plants to attract the enemies of our enemies, and do most of the work for us. She also stresses that natural processes takes time, and to summon the patience for this.

Perhaps the most basic tenet of sustainable gardening is the importance of soil. The author begins this chapter with the reasons to prioritize healthy soil. Simply stated, healthy soil makes for healthier plants. They will naturally repel diseases, resist insect damage, and generally be more robust. Once she has established the why, she gives the how, with advice even experienced gardeners will find useful.

If new gardeners are starting to feel at this point, that this might be too much work, the snacks are coming.

After all those why and how-to chapters, the author describes in detail the glorious bounty that awaits the garden-

er when all these sustainable practices are followed. She gives multiple ways that gardeners can avail themselves of all the beautiful and healthy vegetables, fruits, and herbs they have grown.

The book concludes with how to raise chickens, rabbits and bees for those who think that might be interesting and fun.

In conclusion, The Good Garden, is another strong voice in trying to educate the public about the immense problem that loss of natural habitat poses for insects, pollinators, and various wildlife and therefore, ourselves, since our lives as we know it, are completely dependent on these creatures for our food. In every chapter, the author has made a thoughtful argument about why gardeners can and need to join the fight to reverse this dangerous trajectory. She also continually stresses throughout the book, how we will benefit with healthier gardens.

The Good Garden is a well-written, engaging garden book. Any gardener will benefit from its contents. It would also be a good gift to a gardening beginner, or someone whom you would like to encourage to become a sustainable gardener, because of the friendly and encouraging tone and feel of the book. o Marsha Douma is a retired dentist and lifelong gardener who also enjoys swimming, tennis, and playing the piano. She lives in Rockville, MD.

Private Gardens of the Potomac and Chesapeake: Washington, DC, Maryland, Northern Virginia Author: Claudia Kousoulas Publisher: Schiffer Publishing List Price: $34.99 Order Links: https://amzn.to/46VH3nU and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9780764366017 Reviewer: Christine Folivi This book captures the personalities and uniqueness of gardens all around the Potomac and Chesapeake areas.

There are many graphics that go into depth about what the gardeners and owners had in mind when constructing their gardens.

At first, I thought this level of gardening takes hundreds of thousands of dollars, because not only is the book

about exploring the gardens, it also includes the architectural ideas of the owners. Despite that, there are still humble approaches to gardening that the book provides. Gardening on all levels is included.

In the city, life can be noisy and cluttered, but this book takes you beyond that and provides some serenity here in the DMV. I particularly liked how the author also provides a list of all plants in the private gardens, which gives me, as a reader who might like to replicate some of these gardens, a guide and step-by-step to what I need. Some of these plants I hadn’t heard of before, so this was a great learning experience.

The book has a very peaceful vibe while you read, which highlights the mindset of the gardeners when they decided to create these gardens. o Christine Folivi is a senior at the University of Maryland College Park. This fall, she is an intern at Washington Gardener Magazine.

Love Reading?

The book reviews in this issue are by volunteer members of the Washington Gardener Reader Panel.

To join the Washington Gardener Volunteer Reader Panel, send an email with your name and address to: KathyJentz@gmail.com. o 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.

OCTOBER 2023 WASHINGTON GARDENER 21

GOINGnative

Killer Trees

By Barry Glick Do not be alarmed by the sinister sound that this story’s title invokes—it’s actually a double entendre. I’ll defer to my cronies at Wikipedia for the classic definition of that phrase, in case you’re unfamiliar with it—a double entendre is “a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially awkward, sexually suggestive, vague, or offensive to state directly.”

Simply stated, the first reference in the title would be the use of the word “Killer” as an adjective to describe how “awesome,” “amazing,” “beautiful,” “graceful,” etc, the trees that I’m referring to are. The second meaning is a warning and refers to the fact that these trees kill! Yes, kill!

I’m sure that by now, most of the earthy, nature-loving tree-huggers among you have figured out that I’m referring to, Juglans nigra aka “Black Walnut.”

Probably one of the most prevalent, naturally occurring, and planted tree in our part of the country. And why not? This stately, long-lived species produces some of the most attractive, stable, and desirable hardwood lumber 22 WASHINGTON GARDENER OCTOBER 2023

in the world; also one of the most expensive. It also sports great foliage, shape, and form.

And now on to the other half of the “double entendre”: the murderous, killer part. (I’ll interject with a evil-sounding launch of “Bwa ha-ha-ha” here, or should that be “Mua-ha- ha- ha?” I’ll leave that up to your preference.)

It seems to me that this part is overrated, and for that reason, I’ll relate a bit of history. When I moved to the West Virginia mountains as a naïve young lad, a veritable city dweller, local folks were quick to point out the dangers of planting anything under a Black Walnut other than grass seed. As with most folklore, there is an element of truth to that advice.

This brings us to another interesting trick that Mother Nature plays on us: allelopathy. Allelopathy refers to a negative or positive effect on one type of plant, by a chemical produced by another type of plant. To a certain degree, this is true with Black Walnut.

Scientists a long time ago isolated the compound know as Juglone from Black Walnut roots. Juglone is an organic compound that is emitted from the roots of Black Walnut trees. How clever of those

Black Walnut in Hampton Park by Ross Dunn. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Allelopathic Tendencies

little devils to borrow the name of the genus when naming their discovery. It seems that many, but not all, plants are susceptible to the toxic effects of Juglone. Now don’t go Googling a list of plants that shouldn’t be planted under a Black Walnut; it will confuse the heck out of you. The first thing you’ll see is tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, etc. Duh! Who in the world is going to plant their veggie garden in the shade under any kind of tree?

It seems that most common garden weeds are denied a happy life under Black Walnuts. Lots of other plants can be planted under them, so if your yard is shaded by these magnificent specimens, fear not: They will not kill your plants the day you plant them. Rather, the susceptible plants will start a slow decline or just stand still and not grow. If you see them turning yellow, they are probably choking on Juglone and should be given CPR and moved ASAP. Another example of Allelopathy is something that I’ve discovered on my own by simple observation. We have a native grass in these mountains named Danthonia. There are two species: Danthonia spicata and Danthonia compressa. They’re known collectively as “Poverty Oats.” It’s easy to see where that common name comes from: The attractive seed heads resemble a light version of oats. I find virtually no weeds in deep, shady stands of Danthonia and it grows quite beautifully in really poor soil, making it a great candidate for those of you who insist on growing a lawn in the deep shade rather than planting shade-loving perennials and wildflowers.

I would be extremely remiss if I didn’t mention in closing how nutritious the nuts that Black Walnut produces are— and what a pain they are to shell, I’ll see you at the grocery store. It’s much easier to buy them. o Barry Glick, a transplanted Philadelphian, has been residing in Greenbrier County, WV, since 1972. His mountaintop garden and nursery is a mecca for gardeners from virtually every country in the world. He writes and lectures extensively about native plants and Hellebores, his two main specialties, and welcomes visitors with advance notice. He can be reached at barry@sunfarm.com, www. sunfarm.com, or 304.497.2208.

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

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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)

T!

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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

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T • Spring Edibles Planting Guide OU • Testing YourSSoil OLDfor a Fresh Start T! Selection and Care UTree • Redbud O LD Viewing Spots for Virginia Bluebells • Best SO

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

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24 WASHINGTON GARDENER OCTOBER 2023