WASHINGTON g a rdener
the magazine for gardening enthusiasts in the Mid-Atlantic region
How to Care for Winter-Damaged Azaleas
Flip Those Tiles: Grow More Bulbs
Can Pomegranates Grow in the DMV Region?
Wax Ivy Houseplant
Mad About Mangave
Using Fireplace Ashes in the Garden
Winter-hardy Weeds’ Distinctive Rosettes
New Gaillardia Lunar® ‘Eclipse’
Blanket Flower
Time to Start
Sweet Peppers from Seed
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
Barry Glick
Sunshine Farm and Gardens
696 Glicks Road
Renick, WV 24966, USA Email: barry@sunfarm.com www.sunfarm.com
www.greenspring.org
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Green Spring Gardens
A “must visit” for everyone in the metropolitan Washington, DC, area. It’s a year-round goldmine of information and inspiration for the home gardener. It’s an outdoor classroom for children and their families to learn about plants and wildlife. It’s also a museum, a national historic site that offers glimpses into a long, rich history with colonial origins. Located at 4603 Green Spring Rd., Alexandria, VA. Information: 703-642-5173.
a Garden Question? Send your questions to KathyJentz@gmail.com and use the subject line “Q&A.” Then
Invasive look-a-like Wax Ivy (Senecio macroglossus) ‘Variegatus’. Photo by Salicyna, CC BY-SA 4, via Wikimedia Commons.
The winter rosettes of curly dock can be a foot or more across. Photo by Rick Borchelt.
Winter is for Learning
It is no secret that I hate cold weather. This winter has been an especially harsh one, so I’m trying to look at the brighter side of this season, and one aspect that I’ve started to embrace more than ever this year is using the down time of winter for taking classes, both online and in person. Most of those I attend are gardeningrelated, but many are about improving my communication skills, such as podcast editing tutorials and brushing up on my graphic skills.
My own talk schedule has increased every winter as more horticulture conferences take place in October/November and January through March. One refrain I hear from fellow garden professionals is “Don’t talk to me once spring starts!” I certainly can relate to that!
Winter is also a great time to catch up on that reading pile and take deep dives on the internet about topics you have been wondering about. I use the long, dark evenings to read the latest research reports coming out of agricultural and horticultural research institutions. (If you have always wanted to know whether using deer contraceptives actually works to reduce the overall deer population, I can tell you that: short answer = no!)
As the daylight hours start to lengthen and the sap begins to rise, it is starting to feel like spring is almost here and we’ll all be back to our busy-busy schedules. I hope you take some time during these last days of winter to devote to learning.
Sincerely,
Kathy Jentz, Editor/Publisher, Washington Gardener, KathyJentz@gmail.com
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Kathy Jentz Editor/Publisher
Washington Gardener
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Volume 19, Number 12
ISSN 1555-8959
© 2025 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.
Your editor at the recent Chesapeake Green conference hosted by MNGLA in Linthicum, MD. Photo by Louise Clarke.
Reader Contest
For our February 2025 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, we are giving away a one-year membership to the Azalea Society of America (ASA) and their local chapter (a $30 value)
The Azalea Society offers membership to anyone with an interest in azaleas, from home gardeners, collectors, and students to plant professionals. Local chapters have social activities, garden tours, meetings, and plant sales featuring unusual varieties. National conventions have garden tours, talks by well-known azalea authorities, plant sales, and opportunities to make and renew friendships. The Azalean, the ASA’s quarterly journal, has timely, informative articles about azalea culture, hybridizing, propagation, garden design, new introductions, and chapter activities. This Azalea Society website (https://azaleas.org/) is the source of information about azaleas.
To enter to win the membership, send an email by 5:00pm on February 28 to WashingtonGardenerMagazine@gmail.com with “Azalea Society” 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 March 1. Replies might be published. 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.
GardenDC Podcast
You did it again! Amazing episode (Episode 226: Designing Your Natural Garden). “Gardeners as a Keystone species!”
~ Alfredzo Nash
Seed Exchange 2025
As usual, the Seed Exchange was a delight.
~ Mary-Ellen Pfiester
I had the best time!! Thank you!!
~ Tracey Duval
It was a wonderful event! I am really grateful to you all for organizing. And the location was lovely.
~ Jen Mac o
Jentz
“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
Meet Janet Hostetler Founder of Bloom Wild
By Skylar Drew
Janet Hostetler is a master gardener and the owner of Bloom Wild, where she helps provide gardeners with coaching about how best to increase the existence of native plants in the Washington area.
After growing up in the Maryland suburbs of DC, Hostetler attended law school and worked in civil and human rights jobs. It was during this period that she picked up gardening as a hobby and became especially interested in the state’s native plants.
The Chesapeake Bay, which is the country’s largest estuary, “has lost much of the diversity and genetic heritage in its native plants,” according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Bloom Wild focuses on increasing the accessibility of native plants for gardeners of varying experience levels, aiding also with community-building, and helping others create beautiful gardens that support nature.
Tell us about your background. You studied law before becoming a master gardener. When and why did you decide to make the switch?
I planted my own garden as a way to deal with the stress of commuting to an office job, and I became very interested in Maryland native plants. My understanding of “place” extended beyond the history and context of human interaction to include the plants and other species that evolved in that
place. Over time, I found myself wanting to spend more and more time outside with plants and less time in front of a computer.
How have these two careers overlapped with each other?
In many ways, this work is different from my past work. I now get to spend many hours outside and my hands are usually covered in soil. I get to talk to people about the wonders of the natural world and the magic of science. I use plants to make art and that art helps heal the Earth. I learn new things every day and I get to spend lots of happy hours with plants (who are wonderful co-workers!)
In some important ways, however, this work is a continuation of my prior work. We have divorced our outdoors space from nature by accepting (the incorrect) beliefs that certain human beings have rightful dominance over the rest of the world. Those beliefs led humans to slavery, colonization, and widespread resource extraction, directly causing our current climate crisis and political/economic inequality. The solution to our environmental problems will not succeed without a dismantling of those belief systems and the inclusion/ empowerment of the humans (and other species) historically excluded and marginalized.
For different results, we must do things differently. Camille Dungy writes
in Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden: “Whether a plot in the yard or pots in the window, every politically engaged person should have a garden, [and] plant life in the soil.”
Tell us about Bloom Wild. We provide landscape designs and installation, consulting, and coaching for gardeners; help with accessing stormwater rebate programs, restoring and tending existing native plant gardens. We also grow, study, and sell native plants. Our work is done on a sliding scale basis to help make it more accessible. Bloom Wild is a project to help increase the use of native plants in the Washington area. While there is an increasing understanding of the importance of native plants and an increasing supply of native plants available, we still need more people to plant (and tend) more native plants in their communities.
Gardening has always been a community activity. Many of us learned our first garden lessons from our mothers or grandmothers. We learned to grow the plants that our neighbors shared with us. To drastically change the plants one uses, it helps to have the interest and time to learn all about the new plants, and the resources to invest in plants. But we need more native plants in more places, and we cannot expect everyone to learn scientific names and experiment with loads of expensive plants. Bloom Wild exists to make it easier for more people to have beautiful gardens that also support nature.
What are some of your fondest gardening memories, successes, etc.?
For the first half of my life, I wasn’t interested in gardening or in studying biology, but I did love hiking and nature photography—in particular, photography of wildflowers and plants. Every time I was able to travel to a new place, I would buy a book about local wildflowers and try to learn the names of the flowers I photographed. I still do!
Why are native plants important?
As we face climate catastrophe and the collapse of species and ecosystems, we know that planting native plants
makes a real difference. Study after study show, that people planting native plants in their own communities can make a difference, by creating migratory pathways: supporting native pollinators, birds, and other wildlife; more successfully sequestering carbon dioxide; and facilitating the cleaning and conserving of water. When faced with all the ways we don’t have control over the world around us, it can be hard to believe just how much difference we can make by planting more natives.
What advice would you give to those growing natives for the first time?
1. Right plant, right place. Look for plants that are thriving in conditions like yours in the wild (sun/shade, wet/ dry, sandy/clay/rocky soil, acidic/not)
2. Gardening is trial and error, so do not get discouraged if not every plant survives. Keep trying different things. When in doubt, ask your local Extension program for help.
3. Low maintenance, not no maintenance. Your garden will need periodic tending to keep it looking as you intended. Think about the time and/or money you are spending to keep turfgrass maintained—your native plant garden should be more fun, and less work, than mowing, but don’t plan to neglect your plants completely.
Anything else you want to add?
We are planning a big plant sale in early April with difficult-to-find native spring ephemerals, a wide variety of native groundcovers, and plenty of spring- and summer-blooming shrubs and plants.
When you’re not gardening, what do you like to do?
I’m a voracious reader. Even when I’m gardening, I often have an audiobook playing on my headphones.
How can our readers contact you to learn more?
The best way to reach us is by emailing hello@bloom-wild.com or go to www. bloom-wild.com. o
Skylar Drew is an intern with Washington Gardener this spring semester. She is a senior journalism major at the UMD College Park. She is from Bel Air, Maryland, where she watched her mom grow her garden.
Evil English Ivy Has a “Good” Twin: Wax Ivy
By Savannah Scollar
Most gardeners in the DMV are (unfortunately) familiar with English ivy. This invasive species was introduced by colonists around 1727. It climbs the sides of buildings, damages trees, and shades over smaller native plants, ultimately causing their demise.
With its underground rhizomes, it becomes very hard to remove. You can pull it up over and over again, fighting through the thick vines that have taken over your garden, but it’s an invasive plant, so achieving permanent removal is never that simple.
For whatever reason, English ivy is widely sold in stores, both as an indoor and outdoor plant. It’s a problem you can purchase, and a trap for beginner gardeners! To be fair, it’s a pretty nicelooking plant. It’s got this classic and elegant feel to it. I’d never buy it, but I might admire it at times.
Checking on the random assortment of plants at the hardware store, I found something I’d never seen before, although it looked somewhat familiar, I get super-excited by rare occasions like these when something new and unique turns up. I knew I’d have to take this mysterious plant back to my shop.
When I first met this stranger, it was planted in a hanging basket and underwatered, with several dried-up leaves. It had been tucked into a corner and left to die. The rescue mission was very easy. I stuck the plant in the sink and watered the living bejeezus out of it. It was quick to send out a long, skinny vine reaching toward the window.
This strange plant was wax ivy. It looks similar to English ivy, but does much better indoors, and thankfully is not the type to take over your yard. It wouldn’t even survive the winter if you left it outside. Heck, it’s technically not even ivy! Wax ivy shares the senecio genus with string of pearls, groundsel, ragwort, and string of dolphins.
Wax ivy doesn’t even look real, with its thick, glossy leaves and sturdy red or purple stems. The variegated form has the most beautiful combination of cream and green. Something about it just pops! The full scientific name of this lovely plant is Senecio macroglossus, with macroglossus meaning “big
tongue.” What does this plant have to do with tongues? I don’t have a clue. Scouring the internet for information about wax ivy, I discovered it’s a rather uncommon find, without much documentation of its history or ecology. It makes sense why I’d never heard of it.
From the scarcity of information that does exist, I was able to learn that this plant, like many succulents, is native to southern Africa, where wax ivy grows along the margins of forests and thickets. Its adorable yellow daisy-like flowers are pollinated by wasps, bees, and moths, producing seedheads that look like miniature dandelion puffs.
These fluffy white seedheads are characteristic of the senecio genus as a whole. They’re thought to be where the genus name comes from. Senex is Latin for “old man,” with senecio’s seedheads being reminiscent of fuzzy gray hair.
In addition to its native habitat, wax ivy has been introduced to Congo, El Salvador, Colombia, Ethiopia, Mauritius, New South Wales, Queensland, and Réunion. Although you’re unlikely to find it in Maryland or DC, this plant is readily available online from a small handful of sources. It’s a pretty drought-tolerant plant, so it’s a great choice for gardeners who aren’t prone to over-watering. When you get your plant, check it for mealybugs! A 50/50 mix of rubbing alcohol and water can be sprayed on your plant just in case any rude bugs arrived with it. Make sure to spray in a well-ventilated area and wear a mask. No need to mess with your lungs or throat when you can do things safely.
This plant has a fun surprise. When kept in bright light, parts of your wax ivy will turn hot pink. It’s stunning! To make matters better, you can root cuttings in water and share your beautiful ivy-like semi-succulent with friends.
My advice? Give it a search, place an order, and give this uncommon plant a try! What’s not to love? o
Savannah Scollar opened Easy Little Plants (easylittleplants.com), a houseplant shop in Olney, MD, in July 2023 at age 21. She loves doing research, teaching private workshops, decorating with houseplants, and arranging adorable terrariums.
Everything’s Coming Up Rosettes
By Rick Borchelt
A superpower shared by many weedy species is their ability to grow through winter’s long, chilly months when few other plants are actively photosynthesizing. These weeds green up in fall and their greenery persists through the winter before blooming in early spring—a formidable competitive advantage for weeds in the garden landscape. Few non-weedy plants can match them.
Many of these winter-hardy weeds spend the coldest months as distinctive rosettes, ground-hugging mounds that thrive even under the snow we got this season and when temperatures plummet to single digits. This allows them to store sun energy in late autumn after leaves fall, continue harvesting sunshine even from weak light during the depths of winter, and then take advantage of warmth and sunshine in late winter and early spring to bloom before many non-weedy species even wake up.
In this regard, these weedy species share a common strategy with some of the common biennials and winter-hardy annuals in the garden border. Foxglove, snapdragon, pansy, cornflower, and larkspur all take advantage of cold hardiness, and their basal rosettes allow them to thrive even in the winter months. This is also true of many winter vegetable crops, especially mustard family standouts like kale, collards, and turnips.
There’s a common thread here: Most of these plants, both ornamental and vegetable, are non-natives from temperate Eurasia—just like many of our weedy rosette-forming species.
They take a page from the playbook of alpine plants worldwide, which have adapted to cold, windy environments by forming low-growing clump or rosette profiles. This growth habit restricts the
flow of cold air under and around the still-active green leaves and provides the added advantage of serving as ready-made mulch for the roots if the thermometer really takes a nosedive. The temperature at the root collar, especially with the sun shining, can be 20 degrees or more warmer than the surrounding ambient air temperature. This allows these species to continue active photosynthesis while their competitors are locked in icy slumber.
You’re probably familiar with many of our winter rosettes already, even if you can’t yet match them with the mature weeds they become.
Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) not only grows in lush rosettes over winter; it can bloom whenever there is a short spell of warm, sunny weather during the cold season. The spreading green leaves sprawl over nearby grass or other plant neighbors, hoarding the sunshine for themselves.
Dandelion is a European import, perfectly matched with a European pollinator, the honeybee, which makes excursions from its hive in late winter and early spring any time the temperature is warm enough to fly. Many other nonnative early flowers are evolutionary friends of the honeybee from the Old World.
Hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsute) is a weed from the mustard family commonly found in spring and fall gardens. Invasive here but widespread in Eurasia and Africa, its rosettes are often confused with those of the dandelion, but the lobes of the leaf are blunt, whereas the dandelion’s lobe tips are sharply pointed. Even the early flowers of bittercress are held close to ground amidst the rosette; only later, as the weather warms up, do the flower stalks elongate
to better cast their seeds in the garden.
Peppergrass (Lepidium virginicum, also known as Virginia peppergrass), has the distinction of being a native plant that becomes weedy in gardens and what we dismissively call waste places: roadsides, fields, and empty lots. The persistent green winter rosette eventually carries tall panicles of typical cress-type flowers, followed by the distinctive flat seed pods.
Not all winter rosettes are diminutive. Some, like perennial curly dock (Rumex crispus, also called yellow dock), can be a foot or more across and yet only a bit more than an inch or two high as a rosette—but 4 feet or taller when it starts to flower in May after storing plenty of sun energy in its starchy roots over the winter. This Eurasian plant is widespread across the US.
These distinctive rosettes, successful as they are as a winter strategy, makes the plants easy prey for weed warrior gardeners on warm days in early spring. Often it’s just a matter of lifting them out with a sharp hoe, or smothering them with mulch or landscape fabric. Alternatively, since winter rosettes are actively growing, they’ll absorb poisons well if the weather is mild, so herbicides will also do the trick. Torching them is also effective for many winter rosettes, especially if they arise in difficult-tocultivate spots like between flagstones or in sidewalk cracks. Winter rosettes with deep, tough taproots, like curly dock, will often succumb to repeated mowing or chopping.
Some winter rosettes, dandelion and bittercress in particular, make passable bitter greens for foragers in the spring— and who could dispute the vernal pleasures of dandelion wine?
Very young leaves of curly dock (like its cultivated cousin, common sorrel), boiled in a couple of changes of water to remove the high concentration of oxalic acid, or added fresh (sparingly) to spring salads; they are a tart green. You could kill two birds with one stone—by picking the fresh greens for your winter or spring dinner table. o
Rick Borchelt is a botanist and science writer who gardens and writes about natural history at his home in College Park, MD. Reach him with questions about this column at rborchelt@gmail.com.
Virginia pepperweed rosettes have finely divided leaves. Photo by Rick Borchelt.
Ask the Expert
By Miri Talabac
Can Fireplace Ashes Be Used in the Garden?
Q: I’ve accumulated lots of fireplace ash this winter. Can I use it in the garden?
A: Fireplace ash can be used in the home landscape, with caveats like not applying it around acid-loving plants such as rhododendron, azalea, camellia, hydrangea, or blueberry. As with agricultural lime, wood ash can raise soil pH over time, making nutrients less accessible to acid-loving species. (Soil pH changes also affect the beneficial soil microbes that roots rely on.) Blueberries, in particular, can be sensitive to excesses of aluminum (a mineral present in wood ash), which becomes toxic to their roots at some concentrations in the acidic conditions that they prefer.
Having a laboratory soil test performed first on the soil in the area(s) you intend to spread the ash will help you determine how much can be applied without altering the pH too much. Do not apply ash to lawns until at least March 1 to comply with the Maryland lawn fertilizer law. The ash does contain nutrients, and turfgrass cannot be fertilized during winter since applied nutrients run off more readily and pollute waterways.
Details about the benefits and risks of using wood ash, including how to apply it with minimal risk to plants, can be found on these Extension pages:
• “Wood Ash in the Garden” from Michigan State University at https://www.canr.msu. edu/news/wood_ash_in_the_garden.
• “Are fireplace ashes good for my soil?” from Oregon State University at https:// extension.oregonstate.edu/ask-extension/ featured/are-fireplace-ashes-good-my-soil
Do Pomegranates Grow in the DMV Region?
Q: Will pomegranates grow in our area? I imagine not, but it would be fun to add to my fruit garden if I can get away with it.
A: Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a large-growing shrub or small tree that’s
rated cold-hardy to USDA Zone 8 and above, with the most stalwart selections rated to Zone 7. That would make it borderline hardy overall in most of Maryland; about half of DC is Zone 8.
Even so, DC and southern Maryland, plus some of the lower Chesapeake islands, can have success for at least a handful of years at a time before the chances of a cold snap risk causing drastic damage or plant death. I imagine the heat-island effect in Baltimore City might similarly make it just insulated enough to be worth a try. Look for cultivars with origins in central Asia; these tend to be the most cold-hardy. Depending on temperatures, some years the plants may survive just fine but fail to fruit. I have read that high humidity during flowering can also result in poor fruiting. Their intensely vibrant orange-red summer flowers that have the petal fullness of a carnation are reason enough to include a plant, though, especially if you have a hot color scheme in the garden or like using species that give a bit of a tropical vibe.
Pomegranate blooms so late in the growing season compared to common fruits that we cut it pretty close when it comes to having enough time for ripening. (They take an average of six months after pollination, or about 180 frost-free days. Maryland ranges from 150 to 225, depending on location.)
Some cultivars ripen slightly faster than others; those would be more suited to local cultivation so they might be harvested just before we start to freeze. Fruits don’t ripen once picked,
alas, so you can’t rescue the almostready like you can tomatoes at the end of the season.
You can try using microclimate to your advantage, though, by placing plants near sources of reflected and retained heat, such as a wall, stone pile, or pavement (as long as the rest of the root system has enough good soil). Fortunately, fruits are allegedly at their best when developing in periods of high heat, and the warmth radiating from such surfaces might boost the plant’s winter survival odds as well. (All you may need is a few degrees.)
While other insufficiently hardy fruits can be overwintered indoors, like citrus, pomegranate reportedly does not do well when brought inside as a houseplant. If you wanted to experiment, a cool greenhouse would be better than keeping the plant indoors under grow lights. If you’re not concerned with active growth or leaf retention, perhaps a potted specimen could spend the winter in a sheltered, unheated garage to take the edge off the worst of the cold. You could also see if wrapping an in-ground plant for the winter, as gardeners do with figs, is successful. o
Miri Talabac is a Certified Professional Horticulturist who joined the University of Maryland Extension Home and Garden Information Center in 2019 as a horticulture consultant. She is a graduate of UMCP with a focus in entomology. To ask a gardening or pest question, go to http:// extension.umd.edu/hgic and select “Ask Extension.” Digital photos can be attached.
Pomegranates still ripening in September in DC. Photo by Miri Talabac.
Time to Start Sweet Peppers from Seed
“Sweet peppers are one of those vegetable garden essentials that should only be consumed when picked fresh from the garden,” according to Barbara Melera of Harvesting-History.com. “By the time a sweet pepper has reached the grocery store produce section, it has lost some of its sweetness and most of its nutritional value. The peppers contain high levels of Vitamins A, C, E, and B6, potassium, and magnesium.”
Here are Melera’s tip for starting peppers from seed and growing great plants.
Pepper plants should be started indoors 6–8 weeks before the last frost date. Because peppers germinate slowly, plants should be started with bottom heat applied to the flats. The bottom heat speeds up germination and seems to produce stronger seedlings.
When it is time to plant your peppers outside, harden off the plants for a week by placing them outside during the day and leaving them outside if the nighttime temperatures do not fall below 50 degrees.
After one week of hardening off, plants should be transplanted to the garden or a container after all danger of frost has passed. Pepper plants are excellent container plants. Transplants in the garden should be planted 12–18 inches apart in rows 2–3 feet apart. Mix bone meal and compost or dried manure in the planting hole.
If the soil is too rich or too much nitrogen fertilizer has been added to it, the plant will produce lush green leaves, but few peppers.
As plants begin to blossom, dissolve a spoonful of Epsom salts in a spray bottle full of water and spray the leaves. The magnesium in the Epsom salts encourages early and prolific fruit set. Most peppers require staking, so insert the stake when you plant the seedling.
Peppers should be harvested when they change color from green to red, yellow, orange, purple, or brown. Once the color change occurs, sweet peppers become sweeter and hot peppers become hotter. The more you pick peppers, the more they will produce. o
Flip Those Tiles and Grow More Bulbs
You may have come across the term: tile-flipping. The idea behind this initiative is to make your living environment greener. You can do it in your garden, too! If you want a colorful patch of garden in spring instead of your current boring patio or paver tiles (or bricks), simply dig up a few tiles and plant flower bulbs in the space where the tiles used to be. This minor adjustment makes a big difference to biodiversity and gives your garden a spring feel. If you remove tiles and replace them with flower bulbs, you will boost biodiversity in your own garden. Flower bulbs attract pollinating insects, such as bees, butterflies, and bumblebees, thus transforming your garden into a flourishing space. What’s more, a greener environment also helps improve mental health.
Replacing tiles with plants helps lower the temperature in your garden. Tiles absorb heat, but green elements such as bulbs, grass, shrubs, and trees lower the temperature and provide shade. In short, replacing tiles with more plants in your garden is a simple yet effective way to make a positive impact.
Good news: The benefits don’t stop here. Replacing tiles with flower bulbs also makes for a visual transformation. Instead of dull, gray surfaces, your garden will be filled with flowers that bring color and happiness. From beautiful tulips to fragrant hyacinths and cheerful daffodils. flower bulbs bring the spring season to life.
Follow these steps to get tile-flipping:
• Decide which tiles you want to flip.
• Have a shovel, gloves, and a wheelbarrow handy.
• Remove the tiles from the garden.
• Feed the soil with soil amendment.
• Plant your bulbs, in combination with perennials if desired.
• Water the plants after planting and keep the area free of weeds.
More information is available at www. flowerbulbs.com. o
How to Care for Winter-Damaged Azaleas
Winter’s chill left many azaleas across the country looking worse for wear. If your azaleas show signs of brown foliage, defoliation, or damaged flower buds, don’t worry—there’s hope! With the right care and patience, your azaleas can bounce back beautifully. Here are some timely tips from the folks at Encore Azaleas.
• When to Prune Winter Damage? While it’s tempting to reach for the pruners, hold off for now. Here’s why.
~ Wait for New Growth: Once buds open or new foliage emerges, you’ll clearly see which parts of the plant are living and which aren’t. Pruning too soon risks cutting away tissues that could recover naturally.
~ Dead or Alive? Damaged leaves often drop on their own, and fresh growth may appear on the lower stems of the plant. Remove dead stems by cutting back to a healthy bud or branch, but wait until the plant fully awakens.
~ Protect the Flowers: Pruning too early may remove flower buds that survived the winter. Here’s what to keep in mind.
~ Healthy Buds: Some buds may look damaged but will still open. Be patient!
• Missed Spring Blooms? Don’t worry. Encore Azaleas rebloom on new growth in summer and fall, so you can still enjoy their beauty later in the season.
• Consider Cold-Hardy Varieties: If you’re replacing damaged plants, opt for cold-hardy Encore Azaleas. Many are hardy to USDA Zone 6, tolerating temperatures as low as -10°F. Varieties like ‘Autumn Fire’, ‘Autumn Lily’, and ‘Autumn Amethyst’ offer incredible resilience along with vibrant blooms.
• Tips for Future Winter Protection: Prepare your azaleas for next winter with these tips:
~ Mulch in Fall: Add 3–4 inches of pine straw or bark to insulate roots.
~ Water Before Freezes: Moist soil retains heat better than dry soil and helps protect shallow azalea roots.
~ Cold Care: Ensure plants are wellhydrated by thoroughly watering them as freezing temperatures approach. To find out more azalea care tips, visit the Encore Azaleas website at https:// encoreazalea.com/. o
New Plant Spotlight
Gaillardia Lunar® ‘Eclipse’ Blanket Flower
Gaillardia Lunar® ‘Eclipse’ Blanket Flower is a compact, heavy-blooming perennial that brings striking color and pollinator activity to the garden. Growing to just 6 to 10 inches tall and wide, ‘Eclipse’ produces a nonstop display of large, daisy-like flowers from early summer through late fall. Each bicolor bloom features vibrant red petals tipped in sunny yellow, creating a warm, inviting look that brightens garden beds, borders, and containers. Set atop strong stems above a tidy mound of medium-green foliage, these longlived flowers attract bees and butterflies, and sustain songbirds with seed heads into winter. Their cheerful blooms also make beautiful, longlasting cut flowers.
A variety of Gaillardia x grandiflora, commonly known as blanket flower, ‘Eclipse’ has a clumping habit with strong lateral branching. It is perfectly suited for patio pots and mixed containers, though it creates the most dramatic effect when massed in beds or borders. This versatile blanket flower is an ideal choice for pollinator, cottage, and rock gardens, where it complements a variety of companion plants.
‘Eclipse’ thrives in sunny spots with well-drained, dry to average soil. It adapts to soil pH between 5.5 and 6.5, and its drought-tolerance and deer-resistance make it a low-maintenance addition to any garden. Fertilize in spring and deadhead spent flowers to encourage a fresh flush of blooms, ensuring vibrant color throughout the warm season. For more information, visit https:// www.jacksonandperkins.com/. o
Quick Links to Recent Washington Gardener Blog Posts
• Reducing Runoff with Rain Gardens
• Meet the New Spring Interns
• Ironweed for the Mid-Atlantic Garden
See more Washington Gardener blog posts at WashingtonGardener.blogspot.com o
February–March Garden To-Do List
• Cut some branches (Forsythia, Quince, Bittersweet, Redbud, Willow, etc.) for forcing indoors.
• Put out suet for birds.
• Keep birdfeeders filled and provide a source of water.
• Check outside plants and trees for animal (deer) damage.
• Mist indoor plants and set up pebble trays to increase humidity.
• Rejuvenate Holly bushes and Boxwood with a hard pruning.
• Plan landscape design projects.
• Check evergreens for signs of desiccation.
• Start seeds of cool-season vegetables and flowers.
• Keep ice-melting chemicals away from garden beds. Use coarse sand instead.
• Prune any dead or diseased wood off trees and shrubs.
• Fertilize trees, shrubs, and evergreens.
• Prune roses.
• Begin tilling beds (when the ground is dry enough to work, but not muddy) and work in compost.
• Plant or transplant trees or shrubs, including berries, roses, and evergreens.
• Apply pre-emergent weed control such as corn gluten.
• Protect tender plants by covering them with some type of cloth material, if an unusually cold day/night is in the forecast. Be sure to uncover when it warms up.
• Weed.
• Trim ornamental grasses such as Liriope, Mondo, and Pampas.
• Divide overgrown or crowded perennials such as Daylilies and Shasta Daisies.
• Scan houseplants for insect activity.
• Dust house plants with a slightly damp cloth.
• Clear perennial beds of any dead plant parts and debris.
• Clean and organize the garden shed.
• Clean, sharpen, and oil tools, if not already done last fall.
• Walk your yard to check for heaving plants and bulbs, and place them back in the ground as needed. Cover with more mulch to prevent further heaving.
• Apply dormant oil spray to ornamentals and fruit trees before dormancy breaks.
• Check and tune up power equipment (mowers and trimmers).
• Build garden furniture.
• Spread new gravel on paths.
• Mulch bare areas.
• Design new beds and gardens.
• Pick up new gardening books and magazines for inspiration.
• Start seedlings indoors under grow lights. Some good choices to start early are Peppers, Artichokes, Onions, Beets, Turnips, Cabbage, Kale, and Leeks.
• Put up trellises and teepees for Peas and Beans to climb on.
• Direct-sow early, cool-season crops as soon as ground soil can be worked. Good choices are Peas, Lettuces, Mustards, Onion sets, Kale, and Cabbages.
• Start or turn your compost pile.
• Do an annual soil test and amend soil as recommended.
• Check for snow damage. Gently brush off snow weight, if you must, but it’s better to let snow melt on its own. o
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
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 Natural Gardens, Rain Gardens, and Mahonia.
You can listen online at https:// washingtongardener.blogspot.com/ or on Spotify, Apple, etc o
Classes, Events, and Plant Shows/Sales
•Saturday, February 22, 10am–2pm Orchid Extravaganza
The Merrifield Garden Center, Gainesville, VA, store is offering a class with plant specialist, Paul Knight. Join them for the orchid class and repotting event. Details at https:// www.merrifieldgardencenter.com/ classes/?mc_cid=87d3b00960&mc_ eid=8e50520b04.
• Sunday, February 23, 1–2pm Start Your Garden Seeds
Everything you need to start your garden—just select your seeds and plant. Hosted at W.S. Jenks & Son, 910 Bladensburg Road NE Washington, DC. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ start-your-garden-seeds-at-ws-jenks-tickets-1230620421809?aff=erel.
• March 5–8, 2025
Nature Forward’s 6th Taking Nature Black Conference, “Reclamation & Resilience”
This four-day experience provides two days of virtual engagement that you can join from anywhere; an in-person day at the Silver Spring Civic Center in downtown Silver Spring, MD (to be livestreamed for virtual attendees); and a day of outdoor nature experiences in the DC region. Hosted by Nature Forward of Chevy Chase, MD. See details at https://natureforward.org/tnb2025/.
• Saturday, March 8, 9am–4pm Rooting DC 2025
Held at Eastern Senior High School, 1700 East Capitol Street NE, WDC. Free. Register at www.eventbrite.com.
• Saturday, March 15, 10:30–11:30am Winning Plants for Containers
Whether it’s flowerpots, hanging baskets, or window boxes, container gardens are beautiful, easy, and rewarding for winter gardening. Learn how to create a dazzling display with eye-catching colors of perennials and annuals. Join Extension Master Gardener docents to gain information and inspiration. Fee $12 per person. Register online at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/ parktakes or call Green Spring Gardens at 703-642-5173. Code DØC.DWRB.
Looking Ahead
• Saturday, March 29
Native Plant Sale at the 38th Annual Lahr Native Plant Symposium
Learn from experts about native plants, pollinators, and ecosystems at this day-long symposium hosted by the U.S. National Arboretum. The symposium includes a Native Plant Sale, where you can shop from a small number of local native plant vendors. This event is hosted by Friends of the National Arboretum (FONA) and held in conjunction with the arboretum’s Lahr Symposium. Details at FONA.org.
• Sunday, March 30, 12n–1:30pm
Seed-Saving and Swap Session at the Spring 2025 Natural Living Expo
A seed-saving talk by Kathy Jentz will be followed by a mini seed swap. Bring your extra seeds to trade, but no worries if you don’t have any; we’ll have plenty to share. Held at the Hilton McLean-Tysons Corner, McLean, VA. Details at https://www.pathwaysmagazineonline.com/expos-and-events/.
• Saturday, April 26
Garden Fair & Plant Sale
Celebrate spring at the National Arboretum. Shop from thousands of plants, browse dozens of local vendors, and enjoy free family activities. FONA members get early admission to the Plant Sale. Details at FONA.org.
• May 20, 2025
Second Annual
Reduce Your Lawn Day!
Register your pledge to reduce your turfgrass lawn and be automatically entered for a chance to win a prize package. See reduceyourlawnday.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 March 5 for the March 2025 issue, for events taking place after March 15. o
Mangave
By Kathy Jentz
Mangave (Agave macroacantha) is an evergreen, tender perennial succulent that comes in a variety of leaf patterns and colors, from blue to green to red and purple.
It is hardy to 15 degrees Fahrenheit, so will need to be taken inside or given winter protection in areas with colder winters.
It is a cross between the agave plant and a manfreda.
The spines at the tips are not as sharp as the ones on agave.
Mangave is deer- and rabbit-resistant.
It prefers full sun and to be planted in well-drained, gritty soil.
Mangave produces flowers when it is between 2 to 7 years old.
In general, Mangave is a monocarpic plant meaning that it flowers once, produces seeds, and then dies.
It is drought-tolerant once established, but regular waterings can encourage faster growth.
Trim off any brown or damaged foliage near the base of the leaf.
Propagate Mangave by carefully removing and repotting the pups or offsets that are produced. o
Kathy
Jentz is the editor of Washington Gardener
Photo Contest Winners
Washington Gardener Magazine
19TH ANNUAL PHOTO CONTEST
DETAILS
Here are the 17 winners in the Washington Gardener Magazine 19th Annual Photo Contest. More than 250 photos were submitted in this year’s contest from 33 entrants. As usual, the quality of entries was high and our judge had an especially difficult time winnowing the images down to the best of the best! It was great to see several first-time entrants place highly. Many of these photos are of the photographers’ own home gardens, while the majority of the rest of the images were taken at public gardens in our region.
Congratulations to the 2025 DC Garden Photo Contest winners and thank you to all who entered.
WHERE TO SEE THE PHOTOS AT THEIR FULL QUALITY
Winning images will be displayed during the Washington Gardener Seed Exchanges and appear in a local photo exhibit this summer at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, VA. The opening reception is Sunday, June 22 at 2pm
THANK YOU TO OUR JUDGE
Elizabeth Olson, certified photography judge with the Maryland Association of Agricultural Fairs & Shows (MAAFS).
THANK YOU TO OUR 2025 PRIZE SPONSORS
• Capital Photography Center, LLC
• Proven Winners ColorChoice Flower Shrubs
• Timber Press
Additional prizes supplied by Washington Gardener Magazine
Grand Prize Winner (on the cover)
Lisa Ostrich
“Love in a Mist (Nigella) and Arbor”
Location: Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, VA
Taken using a Pentax KP with 100mm macro lens in natural lighting. Ostrich is an amateur photographer with 12 years’ experience shooting with a DSLR.
Garden Creatures Category
Images of insects, birds, frogs, domestic pets, wild animals, etc., in a private or public garden setting.
First Place
Andrew C. Cohen
“Looking for an Opening”
Location: Photographer’s home garden in Derwood, MD
An ant explores a peony bud, trying to find an opening. Taken using a Fujifilm X-T5, Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO, f-stop not recorded, 1/1250 sec, natural light. Cohen is an amateur photographer with more than 40 years of experience.
Third Place
Anita Feidler
“Yellow-crowned Night Heron”
Location: Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Washington, DC
Second Place
Lisa Ostrich
“The Last of the Pollen”
Location: Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, VA
Bumblebee on a red clover flower. Taken using a Pentax KP with 100mm macro lens in natural lighting. Ostrich is an amateur photographer with 12 years’ experience shooting with a DSLR.
Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) waiting to capture a crawfish at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. Taken with Olympus OM-1; Leica DG100-400mm lens; 1/2000 at f/5.2, ISO 500. Feidler is an amateur photographer with more than 40 years’ experience.
Garden Vignettes Category
Groupings of plants in beds or containers, unusual color or texture combinations, garden focal points, and still scenes.
Second Place
Holly Krueger
“Grape Hyacinths in Clay Pots”
Location: Photographer’s home garden in Alexandria, VA
Taken using morning light on a sunny day with a NikonZii6, 28-300mm lens. Krueger is an amateur photographer with five years’ experience.
First Place
Gaetana (Tana) Ebbole
“Open Windows”
Location: The Oranger y, Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC
Taken with a Leica M10r and 50mm lens in natural light. Ebbole is an amateur photographer with seven years of experience.
Third Place
Holly Krueger
“Clematis on Obelisk”
Location: Main Street Garden, Middletown, MD
Taken using morning light on a sunny day with a NikonZii6, 28-300mm lens. Krueger is an amateur photographer with five years’ experience.
Small Wonders Category
Tight close-up or macro image of a single flower, plant parts, leaves, fruits, etc.
First Place
Karen Comstock
“Out of Darkness”
Location: Brookside Gardens, Wheaton, MD
This small, delicate white flower emerges from the depth of the dark, cold, winter ground as early as January. Comstock used the Lensbaby Velvet 85 (art lens) to capture the shade and light that surrounded it to help tell the story of the snowdrop’s arrival. Taken on March 3, 2024. She is an amateur photographer with 7+ years of experience.
Third Place
Lou Borghi
“Layers-O’-Jack”
Location: Lake Newport, Reston, VA
Second Place
Tom Gross
“Close-up of an Agave in a Greenhouse”
Location: Green Spring Gardens, Alexandria, VA
Taken using a Nikon 3500, 70mm, 1/100 at f/8, filtered sunlight. Gross is an amateur photographer with five years’ experience.
Borghi writes, “These Jack-O’-Lantern mushrooms (‘Jacks’) were growing in clusters around an old tree stump at Lake Newport in September 2024. The overlapping layers of mushroom caps in a cluster are shown in this image.” Taken using a Nikon D850, 200 mm, f/8.0, ISO 500, 1/640 sec; image shot in RAW, minor adjustments, including cropping, in Lightroom; shot in natural light. Borghi is an amateur photographer with 10+ years of experience.
Garden Views Category
Beautiful, dramatic, or unusual perspectives of a garden landscape, including wide shots showing the setting.
First Place
Janet Sifers
“Winter Sunset”
Location: Oak Hill, VA
Sifers writes, “The public gardens in my neighborhood are perfect places to walk in all seasons. After a January snowstorm, I went out and caught this amazing sunset over the pond.” Taken with an iPhone 13 Pro, ultra-wide lens. Sifers is an amateur photographer with 20+ years’ experience.
Third Place
Deborah Whitman
“Red, Yellow, Blue, Green”
Location: Brookside Gardens, Wheaton, MD
Taken using a Nikon D3100 digital camera in natural light with an 18-55mm lens. Whitman is an amateur photographer with 30+ years of experience.
Second Place
Jane Galbraith Mahaffie
“Spring at Brookside”
Location: Brookside Gardens, Wheaton, MD
“I thought this was a lovely picture of the sculpture with the contrasting colors of the deep reds and a purple blooming tree,” writes Mahaffie. “A setting I wanted to sit at all day long and read...” Taken using a Nikon Z5, Nikkor 28-400mm lens, 1/80 sec @ f/10, ISO 1250, 80mm. Mahaffie is an amateur photographer who has always had a camera with her, but has been working on intentioned photography for the last two years.
Honorable MentionGarden Creatures
Jim Seith
“Brown-Backed Bee on a Gooseneck Loosestrife”
Location: Green Spring Gardens, Alexandria, VA
Taken using Panasonic DC-S5M2, Lumix 100 mm f 2.8
Macro, F/7.1, 1/100 sec, ISO 400, natural light. Seith is an amateur photographer with 30+ years of experience.
Honorable MentionGarden Views
Thu Do
“Serene Reflection”
Location: Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, Vienna, VA
Taken using a Pixel 6A phone. Do is an amateur photographer with two years of experience.
Honorable MentionSmall Wonders
Thu Do
“Morning Beauty”
Location: Vienna, VA
Taken using a Pixel 6A phone. Do is an amateur photographer with two years of experience.
Honorable Mention - Garden Vignettes
Jane Nilan
“Swing”
Location: Irwin Farm at Prospect Hill, Knoxville, MD
Taken with a Canon T7, Tamron 18-400 mm lens, ISO 200, F5.6, 1/200. Nilan is an amateur photographer with 30+ years’ experience.
Derek Jarman’s Garden: 30th Anniversary Edition
Author: Derek Jarman
Photographs: Howard Sooley
Foreword by Jamaica Kincaid
Publisher: Timber Press
List Price: $30.00
Order Links: https://amzn.to/3CXQI4g and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9781643265353
Reviewer: Beth Py-Lieberman In the mid-1990s, the daring, avantguard filmmaker Derek Jarman went about dying the same way he approached life—with a creativity that had no boundaries.
Jarman was 52 years old when he succumbed to an AIDS-related illness on February 19, 1994, but within that shortened life span, he managed to cram accomplishments, stringing them one atop the other to become poet, author, artist, filmmaker, activist, stage designer, costume designer…
Unlike so many who were stricken during the AIDS epidemic, which within the span of a decade would kill more than 100,000, Jarman did not hide his diagnosis. Rather, he embraced his encroaching demise with a kind of defiance, further channeling his creativity into late-career films like the 1989’s War Requiem, featuring Laurence Olivier’s last performance, and Edward II (1991). His film Blue opened at the 1993 Venice Biennial and is now in the collections of the Walker Art Institute in Minneapolis, MN.
It was shortly after his diagnosis in 1986, while on a scouting trip in search of a setting for his film The Garden, that Jarman took on one of his most lasting projects, in Dungeness on England’s Kent coastland. He told his partner Keith Collins that should a particular fisherman’s cottage ever become available, he’d like to buy it. “As we neared the cottage, black varnished with bright-yellow window frames, we saw the green-and-white ‘For Sale’ sign,” writes Collins in the preface of the newly revised 30th anniversary edition of Derek Jarman’s Garden. “The improbability of it made the purchase inescapable.”
The book is Jarman’s journal of prose, poetry, and a record of his plants, tools, and found objects; all beautifully photo-illustrated by garden photographer Howard Sooley, who helped guide the filmmaker on his quest. Harvard scholar and essayist Jamaica Kincaid penned the foreword in this new version.
On first glance, the setting for such a garden seems improbable, if not impossible. The landscape is a harsh shingle desert—England’s only desert. Dungeness is a narrow headland with a beach consisting of coarse gravel and rock; at the time, the location was lorded over by the bleak structures of a nuclear power plant, now no longer in operation. “The house which he lived in and the power plant seem to beckon each other,” writes Kincaid. “Between them is the landscape, his garden, which both keeps them apart and joins them.”
It is a garden without fences, crafted in a barely recognizable design of plants accustomed to the sandy ground and grouped in colorful beds. Poppies, foxglove, borage, iris, gorse, and inedible sea kale (tainted with the toxins of the power station) surround the cabin, dubbed Prospect Cottage.
“When I came to Dungeness in the mid-80s, I had no thought of building a garden. It looked impossible: shingle with no soil supported a sparse vegetation,” writes Jarman. But soon/ on morning walks at low tide, flint, driftwood, and stones, made their way into the collecting bag Jarman always wore. By rolling back the shingle and replac-
ing it with pockets of manure, he could tuck in plants and the found items became stakes, artfully taking on new forms as sculpted assemblages. “I saw it as a therapy and a pharmacopoeia.” His home became a sanctuary. The house he describes as “a gem.” The atmosphere in Dungeness he characterized as “otherworldly.” Even the nuclear power plant fascinated him: “At night it looks like a great liner or a small Manhattan ablaze with a thousand lights of different colors.”
Prospect Cottage became a place to invite friends and share his last days. In the vegetable garden, growing in raised beds, were the herbs thyme, oregano, hyssop, lavender, and rue, and peas, radish, onion, lettuce, spinach, and arugula (purple rocket). “I can look at one plant for an hour, this brings me great peace.” A four-story beehive made of railway sleepers produced golden honey. “They, and the snowdrops, herald the spring.”
Eventually the strength ebbed from his arms and he could no longer lift the combs. Sooley’s black-and-white portraits inadvertently document Jarman’s decline as his features grow gaunt and his trips to the hospital grow more frequent. Frilled tulips welcomed him back and his spirit never seemed to falter as each entry in his journal simply brings to light the beauty of his garden. “Up hill, down dale we go to Prospect Cottage, which grows like a tree—more beautiful the older it becomes.”
(Prospect Cottage is now open to visitors; self-guided tours of the rooms and the garden provide access to Jarman’s eclectic personal artifacts and his works of art. Tickets can be purchased at the website. Artists, writers, and filmmakers are invited to apply for a new program of residencies at the cottage.) o
Beth Py-Lieberman is the author of the 2023 book The Object at Hand: Intriguing and Inspiring Stories from the Smithsonian Collections. Until her retirement in December, Py-Lieberman served as senior museums editor at the award-winning Smithsonian magazine. Over a 37-yearcareer, she frequented the halls and galleries of the Smithsonian museums, educating readers about their history, art, and science collections, and exhibitions.
Survival Gardening: Grow Your Own Emergency Food Supply, from Seed to Root Cellar
Author: Sam Coffman
Publisher: Storey Publishing Order Link: https://amzn.to/4k1Lu89 and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9781635866469
List Price: $24.99
Reviewer: Skylar Drew
Survival Gardening by Sam Coffman is a 255-page guidebook covering at length the best ways for novice and experienced gardeners to prepare themselves for disaster. Whether life as we know it goes out in an apocalyptic blaze or your community’s food supply is disrupted by extreme natural disaster, Coffman offers masterful insights into how holding one’s own in a postproduction world is possible through strategic gardening.
With detailed step-by-step processes and diagrams of home garden layouts, root cellars, wildlife habitats, compost bins, irrigation systems, and more, Survival Gardening leaves no questions unanswered. Each chapter builds on what Coffman teaches in the last, from tips about how to grow sprouts and microgreens in a few days to the teachings of guerrilla gardening, a term and technique originating in the UK. For readers like myself who may not know exactly what tools and resources to search for in creating a survival garden, the detailed illustrations and photographs in this guide help to simplify its concepts.
Coffman doesn’t shy away from the
fact that survival gardens require a lot of work and care—or that they’re oftentimes not necessarily very pretty. Cue his lessons from Chapter Five about vermicomposting and humanure. However, even if you aren’t a gardener plagued with visions of Doomsday, this survival guide has something to offer everyone, and is a great resource for anyone feeling sustainability-curious.
Coffman introduces low-effort, high-reward ways of gardening in his book as well, especially for the urban gardener. Running low on open green space? This book recommends vertical gardening and indoor edible plants for your consideration. You might be familiar with the question, “If you were stranded on an island and could only bring one thing with you, what would it be?” If I were asked the same question now that I’ve read this book, I would choose it to be my sole companion. o
Skylar Drew is an intern this spring semester with Washington Gardener. She is a senior journalism major at the UMD College Park. She is from Bel Air, Maryland, where she watched her mom grow her garden.
The Ultimate Guide to Houseplant Propagation: Step-by-Step Techniques for Making More Houseplants . . . for Free!
Author: Lindsay Sisti
Publisher: Cool Springs Press
List Price: $24.99
Order Links: https://amzn.to/3D8u9cZ and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9780760390405
Reviewer: Madison Korman
Author Lindsay Sisti provides clear, step-by-step instructions for propagating a variety of houseplants. The book is filled with detailed visuals and examples, making the process easy to understand and achievable for both beginners and experienced plant enthusiasts.
Sisti is the founder of All the Plant Babies and also runs an Etsy shop where she sells unique and hardto-propagate houseplants. With a specialization in propagation and hybridization, she brings expert insight to the book, ensuring readers
have a strong foundation in the science of plant reproduction.
The opening chapters cover the anatomy of different houseplants and explain how their reproductive systems function. Sisti breaks down the differences between asexual and sexual propagation, as well as the processes of pollination and fertilization. This foundational knowledge is crucial for avoiding common mistakes, such as cutting in the wrong place and leaving a plant with an unsightly nub or, worse, killing it.
After this, Sisti introduces the essential tools, substrates, environmental conditions, and rooting agents required for successful propagation. She emphasizes the importance of sterilizing tools to prevent disease and explains how different propagation methods require different substrates—well-draining yet moisture-retentive soil for certain plants, while others thrive in water propagation.
The subsequent chapters explore the specifics of propagating tropical plants and succulents in depth. Sisti provides guidance on the best techniques for various species, ensuring that readers can successfully propagate even the most finicky plants.
Later in the book, the author highlights trending propagation methods, including creative ways to expand a plant collection. She also discusses how propagation can be used to rehabilitate struggling or dying plants, offering valuable tips for plant care and maintenance.
With its abundance of information and easy-to-follow format, The Ultimate Guide to Houseplant Propagation is a must-have resource for plant lovers. Sisti’s clear instructions, paired with extensive visuals, make the book an excellent guide for anyone looking to grow indoor plants for free. o
Madison Korman is an intern this spring semester with Washington Gardener. She is a recent journalism graduate of UMD College Park. She has enjoyed gardening and cooking from a young age.
Book Reviews continued on page 22
Plants for the Winter Garden: Perennials, Grasses, Shrubs, and Trees to Add Interest in the Cold and Snow
Author: Warren Leach
Publisher: Timber Press
List Price: $40.00
Order Links: https://amzn.to/3QogFgs and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9781604699265
Reviewer: Marsha Douma
This book is probably the most useful for gardeners in New England or other cold winter areas, but it also offers basic design principles for anyone gardening in the wintertime. New England winters last for five months, from November through March, (including southeastern New England, affectionately called the Banana Belt). It is therefore well worth the average gardener’s effort to select plants that will make the garden interesting during the colder months, which is almost half of the year. To this end, this is a helpful book.
The author’s informative text is complemented with beautiful photos for just about all the plants he includes.
The Cut Flower Handbook: Select, Plant, Grow, and Harvest Gorgeous Blooms
For the winter garden, he recommends starting by selecting plants to enhance both the entrance way to the house, and the views through the important windows commonly used. Since those plantings will be seen from a distance, the author stresses grouping plants together that have contrasting leaf colors, textures, and sizes. He discusses the role of using trees with unusual structures and growth forms as specimen trees. He also likes to include, when possible, trees and shrubs that have golden or bluish foliage. An interesting factoid he mentions is that the chrome-yellow color used for school buses was developed in 1938 as an example of how yellow in general is a very stand-out color.
Author: Lisa Mason Ziegler
Publisher: Cool Springs Press List Price: $30.00
Order Links: https://amzn.to/3EFYTCy and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9780760382103
Reviewer: Teri Speight
Lisa Mason Ziegler has become quite an expert on this topic from the cut-flower business she runs on her property in Virginia. Her book, The Cut Flower Handbook, provides tried-and-true information for any gardener to use.
Like all good designers, Warren Leach has spent his career becoming familiar with the relevant characteristics of plants that will thrive in the climates he designs for, and collectively, these are the plants discussed in the book. It is also worth mentioning that throughout the text, it is clear the author has an appreciation and understanding of the essential ecological role plants play in our world. When choosing plants for planning gardens, however, that is only one of many criterion he uses, so Plants for the Winter Garden includes native plants, but does not favor them. The criterion is whether an individual plant will contribute to the beauty of an overall landscape, either as a standalone specimen or collectively layered with other plants.
The author explains, “Evergreen foliage…provides an attractive background that acts as a neutral color backdrop for the array of colors found in winter flowers, fruits, and other ornamental features…Evergreen is the word used for plants that retain their foliage through the winter, but this is an oversimplification. …The list of gradations of the color, texture, and form …would be nearly as long as the list of evergreen trees and shrubs …used.”
Particularly when the ground is covered in snow, the author is very interested how the needles on conifers or the broad leaves on other evergreens either reflect or absorb light. The bark of trees is almost always an important consideration for a winter garden. For example, the many stems of redtwig dogwoods and the layers of peeling bark on the paper birch create interesting landscape features, and are always high on his list. Another interesting design feature is using woody plants such as the white oak, whose leaves turn various shades of brown in the autumn but remain on their branches. Some of the author’s favorite plants include the winter-blooming witch hazels and camellias.
The book also includes the many shrubs, grasses, ferns, and mosses that can be used as groundcovers, large and small, many of which have winter berries as well as interesting colors and shapes.
Plants for the Winter Garden is not only a pleasure to look through; it is a useful text about how to think about creating a garden that is interesting and inviting in every season. o
Marsha Douma is a retired dentist and lifelong gardener who also enjoys swimming, tennis, and playing the piano. She lives in Rockville, MD.
Ziegler takes the reader on a journey that begins with seed selection, proper planting times, harvesting guidelines, and more for anyone desiring a successful cut-flower garden. Well-respected in the cut-flower industry, Ziegler has amplified the difference between cooland warm-season cut-flowers. Growing cool-season and warm-season annual flowers in the same space is easier than one would think, is a wonderful way to use any sunny bed, and allows one to have a three-season cut-flower garden
This author offers gorgeous photos and “flower farmer” tips that are useful and quite informative. Sharing the basic details of proper sowing times, lowest survival temperatures, lighting, fertilization, and water needs, this book is a blueprint for a cutting garden in any season.
In the warm-season chapter, Ziegler includes examples of foliage plants to grow. After all, a bit of green or variegated foliage balances out bright color combinations and adds girth to a simple bouquet. Growing foliage that is healthy and clean can be rewarding when seeking additional filler foliage. Beautiful bouquets in varied shades and textures of green are just as beautiful as bouquets that are color-filled.
This is the best compilation of essential information that anyone who desires a cut-flower garden would need to be successful. o
Teresa J. Speight is a native Washingtonian, mother, grandmother, steward of our land, and history lover. She is the author of Black Flora: Profiles of Inspiring Black Flower Farmers + Florists and co-author of The Urban Garden: 101 Ways to Grow Food and Beauty in the City
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MARCH/APRIL 2005
• Landscape DIY vs. Pro
• Prevent Gardener’s Back
• Ladew Topiary Gardens
• Cherry Trees
MAY/JUNE 2005
• Stunning Plant Combinations
• Turning Clay into Rich Soil
• Wild Garlic
• Strawberries
JULY/AUGUST 2005
• Water Gardens
• Poison Ivy
• Disguising a Sloping Yard
• Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005
• Container Gardens
• Clematis Vines
• Sponge Gardening/Rain Gardens
• 5 Insect Enemies of Gardeners
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2005
• Backyard Bird Habitats
• Hellebores
• Building a Coldframe
• Bulb Planting Basics
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006
• Garden Decor Principles
• Primroses
• Tasty Heirloom Veggies
• U.S. Botanic Garden
MARCH/APRIL 2006
• Top 10 Small Trees and Large Shrubs
• Azaleas
• Figs, Berries, & Persimmons
• Basic Pruning Principles
MAY/JUNE 2006
• Using Native Plants in Your Landscape
• Crabgrass
• Peppers
• Secret Sources for Free Plants
JULY/AUGUST 2006
• Hydrangeas
• Theme Gardens
• Agave
• Find Garden Space by Growing Up
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006
• Shade Gardening
• Hosta Care Guide
• Fig-growing Tips and Recipes
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006
• Horticultural Careers
• Juniper Care Guide
• Winter Squash Growing Tips and Recipes
• Layer/Lasagna Gardening
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2007
• Indoor Gardening
• Daphne Care Guide
• Asparagus Growing Tips and Recipes
• Houseplant Propagation
MARCH/APRIL 2007
• Stormwater Management
• Dogwood Selection & Care Guide
• Early Spring Vegetable Growing Tips
• Franciscan Monastery Bulb Gardens
MAY/JUNE 2007
• Roses: Easy Care Tips
• Native Roses & Heirloom Roses
• Edible Flowers
• How to Plant a Bare-root Rose
JULY/AUGUST 2007
• Groundcovers: Alternatives to Turfgrass
• How to Pinch, Prune, & Dead-head
• William Paca House & Gardens
• Hardy Geraniums
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2007
• Succulents: Hardy to our Region
• Drought-Tolerant Natives
• Southern Vegetables
• Seed Saving Savvy Tips
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007
• Gardening with Children
• Indoor Bulb-Forcing Basics
• National Museum of the American Indian
• Versatile Viburnums
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008
• Dealing with Deer
• Our Favorite Garden Tools
• Delightful Daffodils
MARCH/APRIL 2008
• Patio, Balcony, Rooftop Container Gardens
• Our Favorite Garden Tools
• Coral Bells (Heuchera)
MAY/JUNE 2008
• Growing Great Tomatoes
• Glamorous Gladiolus
• Seed-Starting Basics
SUMMER 2009
• Grow Grapes in the Mid- Atlantic
• Passionflowers
• Mulching Basics
• Growing Hops
FALL 2009
• Apples
• How to Save Tomato Seeds
• Persimmons
WINTER 2009
• Battling Garden Thugs
• How to Start Seeds Indoors
• Red Twig Dogwoods
• Unusual Edibles to Grow in Our Region
SPRING 2010
• Community Gardens
• Building a Raised Bed
• Dwar f Iris
• Broccoli
SUMMER 2010
• Fragrance Gardens
• Watering Without Waste
• Lavender
• Potatoes
FALL 2010
• Vines and Climbers
• Battling Stink Bugs
• Russian Sage
• Garlic
WINTER 2010
• Paths and Walkways
• Edgeworthia
• Kohlrabi
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SPRING 2011
• Cutting-Edge Gardens
• Final Frost Dates and When to Plant
• Bleeding Hearts
• Onions
• Flavorful Fruiting Natives
JULY/AUGUST 2008
• Landscaping with Ornamental Grasses
• Edible Grasses to Graze On
• Slug and Snail Control
• Sage Advice: Sun-Loving Salvias
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2008
• Autumn Edibles — What to Plant Now
• Beguiling Barrenworts (Epimediums)
• Best Time to Plant Spring-blooming Bulbs
• 14 Dry Shade Plants Too Good to Overlook
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2008
• Outdoor Lighting Essentials
• How to Prune Fruiting Trees, Shrubs, Vines
• 5 Top Tips for Overwintering Tender Bulbs
• Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009
• Compost Happens: Nature’s Free Fertilizer
• Managing Stormwater with a Rain Garden
• Visiting Virginia’s State Arboretum
• Grow Winter Hazel for Winter Color
MARCH/APRIL 2009
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
• 40+ Free and Low-cost Local Garden Tips
• Spring Edibles Planting Guide
• Testing Your Soil for a Fresh Start
• Redbud Tree Selection and Care
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• Squash Vine Borer
SUMMER/FALL 2013
• Miniature/Faerie Gardens
• Beguiling Abelias
• Best Viewing Spots for Virginia Bluebells
MAY/JUNE 2009
• Top Easy Summer Annuals for DC Heat
• Salad Table Project
• Grow and Enjoy Eggplant
• How to Chuck a Woodchuck
• Growing Great Carrots
WINTER/EARLY SPRING 2014
• Ferns for the Mid-Atlantic
• Chanticleer Gardens
• Beet Growing Basics
Jentz Prints
Antique Botanical Prints for the decorator, collector, connoisseur, and art lover.
Jentz Prints can be purchased most weekends (weather-dependent) at the world-famous Eastern Market.
Antique prints are affordable—most in the $10-$30 range—and they are the perfect gift idea for that plant lover in your life. And don’t forget to buy a few for yourself! For more information or to get a detailed show schedule, please contact Jentz Prints by email at UllrichJ@aol.com.