Washington Gardener May 2020

MAY 2020 VOL. 15 NO. 3

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the magazine for gardening enthusiasts in the Mid-Atlantic region

7 Perennials that Work Hard for YOU The Science Behind the Smell of Spring New Tomato Virus Alert 10 Tips for Growing Victory Gardens in Containers What to Do in the Garden this Month Native Twinleaf: A Plant Fit for a President Mill Pond Garden: A Tiny Treasure in Delaware Longwood Gardens Selects Two Locals as Fellows

When is the Right Time to Harvest?

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Green Spring Gardens

www.greenspring.org

A “must visit” for everyone in the metropolitan Washington, DC, area. It’s a year-round goldmine of information and inspiration for the home gardener. It’s an outdoor classroom for children and their families to learn about plants and wildlife. It’s also a museum, a national historic site that offers glimpses into a long, rich history with colonial origins.

Located at 4603 Green Spring Rd., Alexandria, VA. Information: 703-642-5173.

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GARDENER AND COLLECTOR ����������������������������������������� ���� ����������������������������������������� ����� Barry Glick ������������������������������������������ Sunshine Farm and Gardens 696 Glicks Road ��������������������������������������������� ��� �� �� ��� � Renick, WV 24966, USA �������������������������������������������� ��� �� �� ��� Email: barry@sunfarm.com

www.sunfarm.com

o oo o oo Need a Garden Club Speaker?

Washington Gardener Magazine’s staff and writers are available to speak to groups and garden clubs in the greater DC region.

Call 240.603.1461 or email KathyJentz@gmail.com for available dates, rates, and topics.

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INSIDEcontents Photo courtesy of Spring Hill Nurseries.

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Clematis ‘Chloe’ is a new variety with a bushy, non-vining habit that looks more like a hedge than a traditional clematis. The plant is covered with purple-blue flowers in late spring and early summer. Not only is it a strong bloomer the first time around, it’s a great rebloomer. Prune it back after flowering, and it will grow back for another spectacular show of blooms in early fall. ‘Chloe’ was bred by Hazel Mei Lan in Hong Kong, and it is quite heat tolerant and hardy.

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Win free plants!

See contest details on page 5.

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Mill Pond Garden is a Delaware nonprofit on Red Mill Pond in Sussex County, Delaware, four miles from the Atlantic Ocean and on the Eastern Flyway for bird migrations. The garden may be one of the smallest botanic gardens at half an acre. It has mature trees, great vistas, beautiful water frontage, and considerable privacy.

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After the Lily of the Valley flowers blossom, green berries may appear that will turn red or orange in the fall—when ripe, adding an autumn color appeal to this groundcover.

FEATURES and COLUMNS

BOOKreviews 18-19 Agrihood, Garden Mosaics, Shrubs & Hedges DAYtrip 8-9 Mill Pond Garden EDIBLEharvest 20-21 When-to-Harvest Chart GARDENbasics 8,13 7 Powerhouse Perennials GOINGnative 22 Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla) GARDENDCpodcasts 12 A re-cap of the first episodes of a new local garden show.

INSECTindex 7 Streptomyces, Scent of Spring NEIGHBORnetwork 14-16 Longwood Gardens’ Fellows: Nick Lazio and Katie Serock NEWPLANTspotlight 11 Ready-to-Grow Clematis PLANTprofile 17 Lily of the Valley TIPStricks 10 Container Victory Gardens, New Tomato Virus Alert

DEPARTMENTS

ADVERTISINGindex BLOGlinks EDITORletter GARDENcontest LOCALevents MONTHLYtasklist NEXTissue READERreactions RESOURCESsources

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ON THE COVER A view from the edible rooftop garden at Pike & Rose in North Bethesda, MD. In our June issue: Backyard Foraging Container Combinations and much more . . .

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Credits

EDITORletter

Guerilla Gardeners Return to the Urban Jungle

The Guerrilla Gardeners of Washington DC, an all-volunteer nonprofit organization dedicated to beautifying Washington, DC’s public spaces, formed last year as a 501c3 organization and it is going strong during the pandemic. I see on their social media that they tackled a weedy corner at the Navy Yard Triangle this week, outfitted in face masks and gloves. We’ll be writing about them more in a future issue.

(This group is not to be confused with the DCGuerillaGardeners, which we profiled years ago and is now defunct.)

Other guerilla gardening efforts around the city and surrounding suburbs are far Your editor selling plants (with social distancing) at this year’s Silver Spring Garden less formal and operate under the radar of local authorities. They include a neighClub GardenMart in her home driveway. bor who has taken over a small traffic circle and stuffed it full of shrubs, perennials, bulbs, and groundcovers. There is always something in bloom there and I smile whenever I walk by it. She says her biggest challenge is dealing with the local public utilities, which often lay equipment down on the plants. (I can relate to that!)

A few blocks away, a newly homeless man set up camp in a park and he immediately weeded out some overgrown beds there, then obtained roses and salvias from other street plantings to add to his expanding garden. I cannot say I totally approve of his methods, but I certainly admire the effort, intent, and results. He has turned a drab spot into a pleasant place to visit.

For my own part, I have long “shifted” plants from one spot to another in public spaces so they can survive. If I see a petunia seedling coming up in a sidewalk crack, I’ll carefully dig it out and plant it in an empty and neglected container in front of a nearby business. Sometimes I’ll go back and leave a “Please water me” plant stake, and will try to get by with a water bottle myself in the hottest parts of the summer.

I have sprinkled extra wildflower seeds at the edges of construction sites and tucked in annuals by public libraries, recreation centers, and civic buildings. I add extra daffodil bulbs into church plantings.

I sneak herbs and cherry tomato plants into the front gate border of our community garden, thinking that passersby may want a taste of what is inside.

Each year after my Silver Spring Garden Club’s GardenMart plant sale, we always have a few leftovers. This year, we had half a flat of hot peppers with no takers, so I approached some local restaurant owners about planting the ‘Thai Orange’ ones into their vacant from planter boxes. Through an interpreter, I conveyed to the owners that this was free and I’d help them weed and plant the boxes; they just had to water the peppers occasionally and could harvest them when they were ready. I hope this inspires them to keep the planters going with edible plants in subsequent years and maybe also gives neighboring restaurants the inspiration to add their own small front kitchen gardens.

Remember: Gardening is not canceled!

Happy gardening,

Kathy Jentz, Editor/Publisher, Washington Gardener KathyJentz@gmail.com 4

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Kathy Jentz Editor/Publisher & Advertising Sales Washington Gardener 826 Philadelphia Ave. Silver Spring, MD 20910 Phone: 301-588-6894 kathyjentz@gmail.com www.washingtongardener.com Call today to place your ad with us!

Ruth E. Thaler-Carter Proofreader Emily Coakley Charlotte Parker Dulany Interns Cover price: $4.99 Back issues: $6.00 Subscription: $20.00 • Washington Gardener Blog: www.washingtongardener.blogspot.com • Washington Gardener Archives: http://issuu.com/washingtongardener • Washington Gardener Discussion Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ WashingtonGardener/ • Washington Gardener Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/WDCGardener • Washington Gardener Instagram: www.instagram.com/wdcgardener • Washington Gardener Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Washington GardenerMagazine/ • Washington Gardener Youtube: www.youtube.com/ washingtongardenermagazine • Washington Gardener Store: www.amazon.com/shop/wdcgardener • Washington Gardener Podcast: https://anchor.fm/kathy-jentz/ • Washington Gardener is a womanowned business. We are proud to be members of: · GardenComm (GWA: The Association for Garden Communicators) · Green America Magazine Leaders Network · Green America Business Network Volume 15, Number 3 ISSN 1555-8959 © 2020 Washington Gardener All rights reserved. Published quarterly.

No material may be reproduced without prior written permission. This magazine is purchased by the buyer with the understanding that the information presented is from various sources from which there can be no warranty or responsibility by the publisher as to legality, completeness, or technical accuracy.

All uncredited photos in this issue are © Kathy Jentz.

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READERcontt

April 2020 Issue

Reader Contest

For our May 2020 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, Washington Gardener is giving away three (3) different Bloomables plants chosen by Star Roses to one lucky winner (prize value: $90)!

Win a selection of plants from Star® Roses & Plants new Bloomables® collection! With more than 35 varieties of Star Roses’ best flowering roses and woodies to choose from, these varieties are easy to grow and offer high rewards in the garden. Bloomables have it all: Bright colors, unique textures, and of course, amazing blooms, make this collection stand out! Check out the collection at www.bloomables.com.

To enter to win the set of three Bloomables from Star Roses plants, send an email to WashingtonGardenerMagazine@gmail.com by 5:00pm on Sunday, May 31, with “Bloomables from Star Roses” 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 address. Winners will be announced on June 1. o

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Y ou Can Make a Difference. . . by

Sharing Your Harvest

Plant an extra row in your garden and deliver the harvest to a local food bank or shelter. The need is great!

With your help, PAR can continue to make a difference for America’s most vulnerable.

Call our toll-free number (877.GWAA.PAR) or visit our website at www.gardenwriters.org/par for more information.

I found good information in the article “How to Prepare Now for Cicada Brood X in 2021.” I’ve been researching fruit trees to buy for my yard. The article was very timely in offering the advice to delay purchases or protect young trees due to the invasion coming next spring/ early summer. ~ Fran Carbone, Laurel, MD My favorite article in the April 2020 issue was the interview with Young Choe! I’ve occasionally run into Young at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum and her vibrant spirit and deep knowledge and immense creativity are always a pleasure to be around.

I enjoyed learning a bit more about her background and I loved her “swan on a lake” analogy.

Thanks for this spot of brightness that is Washington Gardener. I look forward to the (Yahoo group) emails every day. ~ Stephen Voss, Washington, DC My favorite article was “10+ Ways to Wage War on Weeds.” It really helped me because I have a lot of weeds in my flower beds, and I spend so much time attempting to get rid of them. These solutions are going to be so helpful for me as I have more time to garden during this pandemic. They were all so creative, I would have never thought to use boiling water. What a great idea! The article really inspired me to go attack those weeds, and I’m confident that it will work this time. Thank you so much! ~ Carmela Taylor, Laurel MD Given these times, “Keep Calm and Garden On” is about the only thing keeping me going! Your magazine, posts, and blogs are one of the only things keeping me connected to my beloved Maryland gardening and climate. I read it all!

I especially enjoyed the article on “Victory Gardens,” because I know more people getting into gardening these days, and then of course the little bit on lilacs. Lilacs are huge here in NH, it’s our state flower and I’m pretty sure that every yard has at least one! I had one in MD but the deer ate the buds every year. Thanks again! ~ Alison Mrohs, Henniker, NH o MAY 2020

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GARDENbasics

7 Low-Maintenance, Powerhouse Perennials for Our Region

By Kathy Jentz

Time in the garden is precious. Use yours to enjoy it more and work less.

Here are seven hard-working perennial plants that are low-maintenance.

They all give several seasons of garden interest and will return for years in your landscape with little care or intervention from you.

1. Phlox Groundcover (Phlox stolonifera), also known as Creeping Phlox or Carpet Phlox, is in bloom all over the region in early spring. The rest of the year, it is a green, low-growing groundcover. A great way to use it is as a cover for a bare patch at the front of a flowerbed or border. It also works well on a slope or over-hanging a retaining wall. It prefers part-shade conditions, but can tolerate full sun as well. Give it good drainage and it should do well.

2. Dayliliy Daylilies are not your grandmother’s yellow and orange summer flowers growing out by the mailbox anymore. The genus Hemerocallis has gone through tremendous hybridization in the past decade. Many of the Daylily species produced for today’s gardeners have been manipulated by adding sets of chromosomes (tetraploid) to the plant, which aids in producing a full array of colors, larger bloom size, and much more vigorous plant. Most of these new hybrids are also repeat bloomers or rebloomers, meaning they will continually shoot up scapes (flower stalks) with multiple buds over several months during the summer. By removing the dead flowers and cutting back the scapes on your Daylilies, you will promote new growth and new blooms throughout the season.

Daylilies are one of the most versatile perennials for the landscape. They are very drought-tolerant once established and can handle the scorching full sun in the summer and survive our cold winters as well. They are also pollutionresistant, so they can handle street-side winter salt-spraying conditions.

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3. Echinacea The Echinacea perennial (commonly called Coneflower) is a member of the Daisy family. Native Echinacea are found growing in moist to dry prairies and open wooded areas in eastern and central North America. The Native Americans have used this perennial for more than 400 years to treat infections and wounds as a general “cure-all.”

Due to new breeding introductions, these once all-purple cone flowers have exploded in popularity and offer a diverse selection of flower colors, shapes, and sizes. They are used as a wonderful summer-blooming perennial in the landscape.

These perennials come in a wide choice of colors, ranging from bold shades of orange and yellow to radiant hues of purple, soft whites, and pretty hues of pink. The selection of colors is only one of the things we love about Coneflowers; their unique flower forms are just as incredible. These perennials are not only beautiful; they are very easy to grow. Give these perennials a spot in full sun and enjoy their fabulous colors year after year.

They are rarely troubled by pests or disease, and will perform best in full sun to partial shade. Deadheading (removing the past-bloom flower spikes) will promote re-blooming for your Coneflowers throughout the summer and into the fall, but leave some up to go to seed over the winter because birds (especially goldfinches) love them.

4. Rudbeckia The Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) is the Maryland state flower and a native North American wildflower. It has one of the longest bloom periods of any perennial and can flower from July through September and beyond. Deadheading will extend the bloom time. Rudbeckia is an excellent cut flower and can be used dried in arrangements as well.

It prefers full sun, but can thrive and flower in part-sun situations as well. It is

quite hardy and drought-tolerant once established and is not picky about soil types. Rudbeckia forms clumps and can spread by runner or by re-seeding. It grows to about two feet wide and high.

Butterflies and other wildlife are big fans of this flower. Leave the seedheads up for winter garden interest and to feed the birds.

Attractive in the back of borders, massed, or in a woodland garden, Rudbeckia pairs well with Echinacea, Yarrow, and ornamental grasses. Many lovely cultivars of the Rudbeckia species have been introduced recently.

5. Sedum Many varieties of Sedum (also known as stonecrops) are excellent summerinto-fall perennials. Sedum is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, which have succulent leaves that hold moisture and require very little water once established. For this reason, Sedum perform excellently in full sun locations and thrive through summer’s dry heat.

Sedum have become a versatile perennial in the landscape due to the diverse growing habits of this sun-loving plant. Groundcover varieties grow only a few inches in height and are perfect for rock gardens. Some of these varieties endure foot traffic as well and work wonderfully between rock pavers or planted down winding pathways. Most of the low-growing Sedum bloom in the spring or summer. The taller varieties of Sedum work well as border perennials or can be planted in groups to give a mass effect. The taller, upright varieties of Sedum typically develop large flower heads in mid-summer and bloom from late summer through fall. All varieties of Sedum require well-drained soil and are extremely drought tolerant.

Sedums are an easy perennial for even the novice gardener. They are very low-maintenance, requiring virtually no pruning to shape. They make good cut flowers, attract butterflies, and are a great addition to any landscape. You will be able to find the right Sedum for any sunny spot in your yard because there are a number of varieties of groundcover and upright (tall) Sedum.

Perennials continued on page 13

INSECTindex

By Carol Allen I love that a by-product of the pandemic quarantine is people finding their way back to the land, redux. In this current movement, there are so many more resources than only the handful of books written in the previous era.

Now, there are online courses, university extension-generated fact sheets, and Facebook—that frightening source of so much misinformation!

Understand that I am a committed plant-a-holic and have not only a very active professional life in horticulture, but a personal life that revolves manically around plants. Don’t ask me how many I own; I have not counted, nor am I about to. It stands to reason that I would enjoy sharing the details of my passion with other like-minded individuals around the world. Enter Facebook and the never-ending stream of horticultural questions from newbies.

I do find one of the delightful properties of horticulture is the almost infinite number of mysteries. One of the biggest questions of late is, what is going on in the soil beneath our feet? Soil micro-ecology or soil microbiome is an emerging science that is only recently discovering mind-blowing details about that “life-less” substance—dirt—that we alternately curse or praise.

Longtime gardeners will tell you that it is all in the soil. The addition of organic matter (if percentages are low) and keeping a soil covered with either mulch or plants is a must-do formula for success in gardening. Recent research reveals it is much more com-

plicated than that. A single teaspoon (1 gram) of soil can contain billions of bacteria, fungi, protists, viruses, archaea, and other organisms. Boggles the mind, doesn’t it?

All of these organisms form a complex, interdependent community and this community, in turn, can be symbiotic (or not) with the plants that live in it. Move a few feet away, look at a different sample, and you will find a totally different and equally huge community. These communities’ compositions will differ based on the pH, available oxygen, moisture level, time of year, plants that grow in it, and other factors.

As surprising as this is, scientists in the past have not been totally ignorant of soil composition and the various plants’ relationships with the microbiome. In 1901, a Dutch microbiologist and botanist, Martinus Willem Beijerinck, discovered how certain soilborne bacteria interact with plants to fix atmospheric nitrogen. We capitalize on this discovery every time we coat peas with inoculant as we plant them.

We are applying a powdered form of a valuable rhizobia bacteria.

In 1943, Selman Waksman, a microbiologist and biochemist, aided the discovery of the antibiotic streptomycin while researching the decomposition of organisms in the soil. This was only one of the soil-borne bacteria used in the formulation of life-saving antibiotics.

The mid-1940s were the beginning of the antibiotic era, when microbes were

Springtails photo by Ryszard I is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

Research Unearths the Science Behind the Smell of Spring

also the source of penicillin, chloramphenicol, and tetracycline.

Streptomyces were the bacteria involved in that first discovery. They produce antifungal and antibiotics naturally as defense compounds that aid them in being successful in their complex environment. Scientists* have recently unearthed another interesting symbiotic relationship Streptomyces have and that is with the small arthropod, Collembola, better known as springtails.

There are about 500 species in the genus Streptomyces inhabiting many different environments. They may all create different antibiotic-defensive compounds, but they all create the same volatile organic compound (VOC): geosmin. That puzzles researchers.

What could possibly be the significance of that compound? It must confer a selective advantage or they wouldn’t all do it. What they found was that it attracts springtails. In that underground war zone, where nematodes and fruit flies would be killed if they tried to eat Streptomyces, springtails are immune.

This gives the advantage to the springtails to this food source. But what is the advantage to the Streptomyces? The fragrant geosmin draws the springtails to the Streptomyces, where they feed.

The bacteria’s spores are distributed through the springtails’ feces and by adhering to a springtail’s body, thus expanding the Streptomyces population.

That is a clever bit of co-evolution!

But why do we care? It seems that springtails are not the only organisms that are attracted to the VOC geosmin.

Geosmin is the euphoria-inducing compound enjoyed by gardeners all over the world. It is the smell of newly turned earth, the smell of spring. o Carol Allen describes herself as a committable plant-a-holic. She has more than 25 years’ experience in the horticulture industry, with a special interest in plant pests and diseases; is a Licensed Pesticide Applicator in the state of Maryland; and is an ISACertified Arborist. She can be contacted at carolallen@erols.com. *The full findings appear in Nature Microbiology at https://www.nature.com/articles/ s41564-020-0697-x .

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DAYtrip

Mill Pond Garden: Michael Zajic’s Homegrown Botanic Garden in Delaware

By Kathy Jentz

Down a private road in Sussex County, Delaware, is a garden that backs onto the eastern-most branch of the 150acre Red Mill Pond, called “Old Mill Creek.” This American-style garden was designed by the owner, Michael Zajic, formerly Horticultural Supervisor at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD. Zajic describes the property as a “walking garden” with many wandering paths and rooms for maximum garden and plant enjoyment. The garden’s mission is to “give joy, inspire. and educate through a holistic experience of nature, and to provide useful information, including plant labels. The woody plant collections are significant in themselves.”

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The garden mixes and layers plant textures, leaf shapes, and colors in fascinating combinations. The plant palette is large and varied, and includes repeated plants that punctuate and tie the gardens together each season.

In summer, the annuals used to marry the various theme beds together are SunPatiens ‘Compact Purple’; the Sun Coleus ‘Redhead’ for its huge-growing, lush, velvety crimson foliage, and the new-ish hybrid Cleome ‘Senorita Rosalita’, which fills a lot of space and blooms its head off.

Zajic’s favorite pollinator plants are several highly disease-resistant cultivars of Phlox paniculata. For shady places in the garden, he likes the groundcover

Saxifraga stolonifera.

His favorite ornamental grasses are Hakonechloa aureola and ‘All Gold’, and Diamond Grass (Calamagrostis brachyathera) for its manageable size and fine inflorescence plumes.

“Being asked what my favorite plants are is like being asked which is your favorite child, but there are some plants whose astounding rewards or visual delight do stand out,” said Zajic.

“For amazing and powerful visual impact and total ease of care (almost none), I would choose the Yucca rostrata ‘Sapphire Skies’, a Big Bend native.

Everyone likes it—even those who seldom notice plants. A most-favorite garden tree is the Acer palmatum

DAYtrip and leaves and clippings chopped into beds to recycle. Provide clean water for birds and small animals. In designing your garden, remember to go for 60 percent evergreen and 40 percent deciduous for year-round beauty.”

Plan Your Visit

‘Sango-kaku’, Japanese Coral Bark Maple, for its extreme beauty in all seasons, including a seldom-mentioned drooping spring habit, when the leaves are bright chartreuse, which is astonishing and magical.”

Zajic grew up on a farm that had big vegetable gardens and greenhouses.

He spent countless hours wandering in the local woods.

Advice for Local Gardens

For gardeners on the Delmarva shore, Zajic’s best advice is to make sure you suit the plant to the exact site: soil, drainage, light, wind, possible salt exposure, and amount of space. His next tip is to visit other gardens and gardeners in your area to see what’s possible, what thrives, and what you like. Then, decide your purpose(s) in choosing plants and how to allot space in your garden. Consider, for example, play or social areas, where you want sun or shade, fragrance, flowers, ease of care, vegetable plot, kids, dogs, room for storage, compost, wildlife habitat such as a pond, or brush pile.

He also recommends adding a big, noisy, splashing fountain to provide soothing pleasure, “aliveness” at all times, and considerable privacy by masking outside noise.

“Quiet and privacy in a garden are important for connecting and enjoy-

Mike Zajic’s Mill Pond Garden has hosted tours for numerous group as varied as camera clubs, international herbalists, and orthodox Jews from New York City on a holiday visit to “nature.”

You can visit Mill Pond Garden by subscribing to their email list at www. millpondgarden.com for notices of their 13 Open Garden Days each year. Zajic explained that “three of these events are for the annual Garden of Lights show. Each open day presents a different view of the garden at a particular peak of flowering. The first is Daffodils, Hellebores, and Camellias. The second is Ephemerals, Tulips, and Azaleas.

Then, peak display days for sweeps of ing,” Zajic said. “Spend time sitting and Rhododendrons, Roses, Lilies, Phlox dreaming in a garden space, maybe and pollinator plants, Crape Myrtles, with a cup of tea or glass of wine, just annuals and tropical plants, Asters, and absorbing the soft sound of leaves, Chrysanthemums, ending with breezes; the sight of birds, insects, and spectacular fall leaf color.” small animals; enjoying the whole as “I am especially pleased when visitors a self-conducting orchestra of nature. bring children,” said Zajic. “About the Walk in your garden every single day, ages of seven to nine are when a liferain or shine, to learn your plants as long interest becomes possible for chilindividuals. The plants will train you.” dren.

I recommend parents give their He advises that gardeners try to use eight-year-olds some bean seeds to mostly native plants, especially in large plant in a windowsill pot, if nothing else, canopy trees, and favors Black Cherry, and take children to public shrub Willow, and Oak, for the gardens and to visit friends’ survival of birds. gardens.”

He recommends leaving Zajic welcomes not only your mowed lawn cuttings on human visitors to his garthe grass to feed the worms. den; he also encourages “Leave some leaves in beds the local wildlife. “We have for birds to hunt in,” Zajic wonderful pollinators and advised. “Reduce the amount butterflies,” said Zajic.” of lawn in favor of large mixed We also have Great Blue beds of trees and shrubs and Coleus ‘Redhead’ Herons, ducks, cormorants, perennials. Use only pine bark and logs often covered with mulch; none of the others are basking turtles up to a foot good for plants. Prefer plant ground covin diameter. One might even see one ers to mulch. Fertilize once a year with of the beautiful Eastern Garter Snakes pulverized horse manure for the best on duty controlling the slugs, voles, and fertility and performance, excepting only moles.” o the few plants that prefer non-fertile soils, and not on vegetable gardens for health safety reasons. Use organic fertilizers when needed, including some Kelp and Epsom salts. Keep all your soil

Kathy Jentz is Washington Gardener’s editor.

A version of this article was previously published in Shore Home & Garden Magazine (http:// shorehomeandgarden.com/).

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TIPStricks Photos courtesy of USDA.

New Tomato Virus Alert

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), a new virus can cause severe fruit loss among tomatoes and peppers.

Experts at Virginia Tech’s Eastern Shore Agriculture Research and Extension Center (ESAREC) are working to keep the tomato brown rugose fruit virus out of the United States.

Like most viruses, it can be spread easily through hand contact and plantto-plant contact, as well as contaminated tools. Some symptoms to look out for include ones similar to tobacco and tomato mosaic virus, such as yellowing of leaf veins and yellow spotting. Fruits may also show symptoms like brown rugose in green and red marbling or green streaks.

It was first reported in Israel in 2014.

In the United States, this virus had been established in California, but it was eradicated.

Since its discovery, the virus has spread to China and Europe. It has also reached Mexico and imports that come through Canada. A federal order authorized USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to take immediate action to prevent the virus from entering the United States. The USDA has placed restrictions on imports of tomato and pepper seed lots and transplants from all countries where the virus exists So far, Dr. Steve Rideout, superintendent of ESAREC, said the virus has not been found in our region, so they are not planning to do much research involving the virus. However, if that changes, he said ESAREC will work around the clock to eradicate the virus.

If you notice anything resembling the virus in your garden, Rideout encourages you to submit it to your local Cooperative Extension agent or contact ESAREC directly in case testing is needed. o 10

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10 Tips for Victory Gardens in Containers

Growing edible crops in containers seems to be all the rage these days.

The National Garden Bureau (ngb.org), a nonprofit organization whose mission involves providing basic advice for backyard gardeners, provides a list of their top 10 tips for growing a container victory garden.

1. Don’t underestimate the size of the container needed for growing some vegetables.

Bigger is almost always better, but with larger containers comes a need for more soil and thus weight becomes a consideration, especially if you plan to move your containers often. Drainage is very important in a container, as is soil depth.

2. Just as with in-ground plantings, you need enough sunlight.

Containers need 6–8 hours of sun per day to produce, but unlike in-ground plantings, you can move containers around to give them more sunlight.

Consider using containers with wheels or otherwise easily movable containers, so they can receive enough sunlight.

3. What about wind? Do you have a corner balcony in a tall high-rise?

Think about how the wind might affect fragile plants or even topple the containers. Consider clusters of containers.

Not only is that aesthetically pleasing, with plants providing some needed humidity for their neighbors, but some plants also can protect other plants from wind.

4. Vining crops need trellises, not only for support but also to grow upward, saving horizontal space, which might be at a premium.

5. Soilless potting mixes are great for containers, providing good drainage with less weight (less chance of soil compaction).

The larger the container, the more potting mix you’ll need, which means lessfrequent watering.

6. Consider drip irrigation or selfwatering containers, depending on your availability to water frequently enough.

Container gardens do require morefrequent watering (sometimes multiple times each day if it’s hot and dry) than in-ground plantings.

7. Proper fertilization is more important for container plantings.

More-frequent watering can wash out some of the nutrients a plant needs to produce vegetables.

8. As with in-ground plantings: Know your zone and know your last frost date.

Without that knowledge, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

9. Think combinations!

Why not plant basil with a tomato plant? Or put beans with carrots?

Spinach and onions work well together, too. Some vegetables are pretty enough to be front and center, and act like ornamentals!

To make it even easier, many suppliers, seed companies, and garden centers label specific varieties that grow well in containers and small spaces.

10. Last, but not least, don’t forget to plant some flowers for pollinators!

Flowers that attract bees are good and necessary no matter how or where you plant your vegetable garden. o These tips were compiled by Emily Coakley, a spring intern with Washington Gardener.

GARDENnews

Quick Links to Recent Washington Gardener Blog Posts

Photo courtesy of Spring Hill Nurseries.

New Plant Spotlight

New “Ready-to-Grow” Clematis Clematis are popular plants in gardens around the world because they are prized for their gorgeous flowers, but they have a reputation of being difficult to grow. A new line of Ready-to-Grow Clematis plants from Spring Hill Nurseries (www.springhillnursery.com) is out to change how people think about clematis.

Ready-to-Grow Clematis plants quickly become established in gardens and offer improved flower power over other clematis. These plants arrive with stronger root systems to reduce transplant shock and include varieties bred for improved flower production.

Spring Hill Nurseries has partnered with clematis expert Deborah Hardwick to help introduce Ready-to-Grow Clematis plants and educate gardeners about the best practices for planting and caring for clematis. Hardwick is a renowned clematis expert who grows 1,400 different varieties at her demonstration gardens in central Ohio.

One of the newer varieties Hardwick is most excited about is ‘Maria Sklodowska Curie’ Clematis (shown above), an easy-to-grow variety that produces a profusion of large, doublepetalled white flowers. It is cold-hardy to USDA Zone 4 (-25 degrees F) and flowers in early to mid-summer. ‘Maria Sklodowska Curie’ Clematis was bred by renowned clematis breeder Szczepan Marczyński, and it was recently featured on a Polish postage stamp.

Hardwick says it’s important to give clematis adequate water during the growing season. A thick layer of mulch to cover the soil surface will help keep clematis roots from drying out. o

• DIY: Compost Tea • Warm Welcome to Bloom Day • Radishes: Plant Profile • Frozen in Time • Spinach Two Ways See more Washington Gardener blog posts at: WashingtonGardener.blogspot.com o

May–June Garden To-Do List

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

• Cut back spent Tulip and Daffodil blooms, but not the foliage!

• Divide and replant crowded Daffodils.

• Feed your roses and new plantings with slow-release fertilizer sparingly.

• Provide supports for fast-growing perennials such as delphiniums, peonies, and lilies.

• Tie up clematis and other fast-growing climbing vines.

• Hose off aphids, white flies, or spider mites on your roses or other perennials.

• Deadhead spent blooms on your annuals and perennials to encourage re-flowering.

• Water your newly planted shrubs, trees, and perennials.

• Weed regularly.

• Go on a local house and garden tour to see what plants are thriving in other area home gardens.

• Pinch back mums, salvias, and other late-season bloomers to encourage bushy, not leggy, growth.

• Check pots and containers daily for water needs.

• Plant dahlias, gladioli, caladiums, and cannas.

• Direct-sow annual flower seeds.

• Thin vegetable seeds sown directly in the garden.

• Move your houseplants outdoors for a summer vacation on your porch.

• Put slug traps around your vulnerable edibles and hostas.

• Prune back forsythia, spirea, and other early-spring blooming shrubs.

• Check for black spot on your roses—remove and discard any affected leaves in the trash, never back into your garden or in your compost—and apply a fungicide with Neem oil every two weeks during the growing season.

• Cut some flowers to enjoy inside—make a small arrangement for every room.

• Sow squash and melon seeds.

• Plant seedlings or direct-sow sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.

• Fertilize azaleas and rhododendrons, if needed.

• Divide crowded perennials and share them.

• Turn your compost pile.

• Start a water garden or renew yours for the season.

• Mark and photograph your bulb plantings now, while they are still visible.

• Keep a sharp eye out for fungal diseases and pests.

• Replace cool-season annuals with heat-loving ones.

• Be vigilant for mosquito breeding spots—any standing water, from a bottle-cap to blocked gutters—and clean them out immediately. Ask your surrounding neighbors to do the same. Put Mosquito Dunks in any areas that accumulate water.

• Plant tomatoes and peppers. To start them off right, put in cages/stakes at same time as you plant them, so you do not disturb their roots later.

Place a collar (cardboard tube or cat-food can) around the tender plants to prevent cut worms. Put crushed eggshells first in the planting hole of tomatoes for extra calcium and mix lime in the soil surrounding the plant to prevent blossom-end rot. Fertilize with kelp extract or fish emulsion.

• Hand-pick cabbage worms from cabbage and broccoli. o MAY 2020

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GARDENDCpodcast Our Plant Profile in this episode is about Heuchera. The episode is posted at: https://anchor.fm/kathy-jentz/episodes/March-28--2020-ebvisr.

GardenDC Podcast Episode Guide 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 horticulture.

Episode 1: A discussion with garden writer Marianne Willburn about the Philadelphia Flower Show, rose pruning, Edgeworthia, March gardening tasks, and more. The episode is posted at: https://anchor.fm/kathy-jentz/ episodes/March-7--2020-ebb59b.

Episode 2: A chat with Kit Gage, a Chesapeake Bay landscape professional, about the recent Green Matters Symposium, the novel The Overstory, and Doug Tallamy’s Nature’s Best Hope.

Our Plant Profile in this episode is about the cool-season annual Sweet Alyssum. The episode is posted at: https://anchor.fm/kathy-jentz/episodes/March-14--2020-eatace.

Episode 3: This episode includes a chat with Kim Roman of Square Foot Gardening 4 U (SFG4U) about Square Foot Gardening techniques, microgreens, and what cool-season edibles you can start right now.

Our Plant Profile in this episode is about Forsythia. The episode is posted at: https://anchor.fm/kathy-jentz/episodes/Match-21--2020-ebhqku.

Episode 4: This episode includes a talk with Doug Oster all about tomatoes — from the earliest varieties to ripen to combating blight issues. Doug shares his best tips and tricks.

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Episode 5: In this episode, we talk with Abra Lee of Conquer the Soil, a horticultural storyteller and Longwood Fellow. The plant profile focuses on the Pussy Willow and we add a new segment about what is growing in our community garden plot and home garden this week. The episode is posted at: https://anchor.fm/kathy-jentz/episodes/April-4--2020-eccdu7/a-a1lkb1p.

Episode 6: This episode, we chat with David Ellis, editor of The American Gardener, the magazine of the American Horticultural Society, about favorite spring flowering trees and shrubs. The plant profile is about pansies/violas and we reflect on the late, great Henry Mitchell.

The episode is posted at: https:// anchor.fm/kathy-jentz/episodes/April11--2020-ecjig8.

Episode 7: In this episode, we chat with returning guest Marianne Willburn about chickens in the garden, her fuzzy ducklings, and new hugelkultur installation. The plant profile is about lilacs and we vent about leaf blowers. The episode is posted at: https://anchor.fm/kathyjentz/episodes/April-18--2020-ecsf6q.

Episode 8: This episode, we chat with Heather Zindash about IPM and best practices for diagnosing and treating issues in your garden. I share why gardening is not canceled and the plant profile is on kale. The episode is posted at: https://washingtongardener. blogspot.com/2020/04/gardendc-podcast-episode-8.html.

Episode 9: This episode is an indepth talk with Barbara Bullock about all things azalea—from planting tips to pruning to favorite selections. She is the recently retired curator of the U.S. National Arboretum’s azalea collection.

We also reminisce a bit about Behnke Nurseries and she shares what gardening in retirement is like. The episode is posted at: https://washingtongardener. blogspot.com/2020/05/gardendc-podcast-episode-9-all-things.html.

Episode 10: This episode, we chat with Peter Pepper about growing Peppers and I describe my visit to Rachel Carson’s home a few years ago. Also, I share what is blooming in my garden and the plant profile is on fothergilla. The episode is posted at: https://washingtongardener.blogspot. com/2020/05/gardendc-podcast-episode-10-peppers.html.

Episode 11: This episode, we chat with Kelly Billing of Water Becomes a Garden about Lotus, and I answer a listener question about harvesting Asparagus. Also, I share what is blooming in my garden and the plant profile is on Calamintha (Calamintha nepeta). The episode is posted at: https://anchor. fm/kathy-jentz/episodes/May-16-2020-ee50k0.

Listener Support Needed You can become a listener-supporter for as little as $0.99 per month! We will give you a thank you shout-out on the next episode. See how at: https:// anchor.fm/kathy-jentz/support.

Find Our Podcast You can listen from the links at our blog: https://washingtongardener. blogspot.com/.

We are also available on: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/ show/5AsWArNpQo8OlzHoMDMSI8 • RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/ gardendc-G2ql5V • Breaker: https://www.breaker.audio/ gardendc • PocketCasts: https://pca. st/9phvd8bk • Overcast: https://overcast.fm/ itunes1502631179/gardendc • Google Podcasts

Ask A Question We welcome your questions and comments. You can leave one at https:// anchor.fm/kathy-jentz/message. Note that we may use these message recordings in a future episode. o

TOP AREA GARDENING EVENTS Perennials continued from page 6

6. Heuchera This incredible perennial species has been one of the breeder’s favorite plants for the last 15 years and for good reason. Heuchera or Coral Bells are native to all of North America and therefore perform great in everyone’s backyard. They are drought-tolerant and prefer soil to be a little more alkaline than acidic (clay). It is necessary to add some gardening soil when transplanting them into the ground for best results.

The hybrids that have been developed in recent years have an extensive array of colors, shapes, foliage types, and blossom sizes. Heucheras will bloom from early June until the end of August, but the foliage is the most eyecatching aspect of these perennials.

Most varieties do best in part shade with some morning sun, but thanks to breeders, there are varieties that flourish in full sun to full shade.

Heucheras have also been crosshybridized with another shade perennial called Tiarella to produce Heucherella, which has added even more fantastic colors and textures to this extraordinary line of perennials.

7. Asters Asters are hardy perennials that bloom in late summer and autumn. The flowers are daisy-like in shape and come in shades of white, pink, lavender, and blue with a yellow center. The mostpopular variety is the New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae).

Their use in the garden is mostly as a filler plant in borders. They tend to flop, so often must be staked or placed next to a plant they can lean on. Look for some of the shorter, bushier new cultivars to avoid the flopping. You can also try to “pinch” or cut them back in late June to control their height.

Asters prefer full sun and well-drained soil. Once established, they are droughttolerant. They attract butterflies and make good cut flowers as well. Asters are native to Europe and North America. There are more than 600 species in the Asteraceae family. Bonus: They are deer-resistant. o Kathy Jentz is the editor and founder of Washington Gardener.

DC-Area Gardening Calendar ~ May 16–June 15, 2020 Garden Book Club Next Meeting For the next Washington Gardener Magazine Garden Book Club selection, we will read Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard by Doug Tallamy.

“Douglas W. Tallamy’s first book, Bringing Nature Home, awakened thousands of readers to an urgent situation: wildlife populations are in decline because the native plants they depend on are fast disappearing. His solution? Plant more natives.

In this new book, Tallamy takes the next step and outlines his vision for a grassroots approach to conservation. Nature’s Best Hope shows how homeowners everywhere can turn their yards into conservation corridors that provide wildlife habitats. Because this approach relies on the initiatives of private individuals, it is immune from the whims of government policy. Even more important, it’s practical, effective, and easy—you will walk away with specific suggestions you can incorporate into your own yard.” (See also our review on page 16.)

You can order it at our Amazon link: https://amzn.to/39ZN1Hk. Our spring 2020 club meeting will be on Thursday, June 11, from 6:30–8pm at The Soupergirl, right next to the Takoma Metro stop. Soupergirl offers soups for sale that are very healthy.

They are 100% plant-based, low-salt, low-fat, and—most importantly—delicious, so plan to come a bit early to purchase and eat your dinner with the Garden Book Club.

Note: If we cannot meet in person by June, we’ll move the meeting to a Zoom forum. Stay tuned for updates.

RSVP under our Event tab on the Facebook.com/WashingtonGardenerMagazine page, so we know how many chairs to reserve for our group.

The Washington Gardener’s Garden Book Club is free and open to all. We meet quarterly on a weekday evening near a Metro-accessible location in the DC-area. We announce the details of each upcoming meeting about two months in advance. o

Webinars Washington Gardener Magazine’s editor Kathy Jentz will hold a series of webinars this spring. All of the subjects are tailored to our local growing area. Sign up soon to get the introductory price of $10 each. If you have any problems, registering, contact kathyjentz@gmail. com.

• Wednesday, May 27, 7:00pm ET Can’t Fail Container Gardening: Basics and Beyond Register at: https://py.pl/ 2WL7ArxVKnM • Saturday, June 6, 10:00am Winning the War on Weeds Register at www.activemontgomery.org and type in the search “Winning the War on Weeds” or look up course #79689.

Special Notice Because of coronavirus precautions, most of the upcoming area gardening events through June 15 have been postponed or canceled. To confirm whether events you’re interested in will still be held as scheduled, go to the websites of the host organizations.

While programs and events have been canceled, a few local public gardens are still allowing visitors on their grounds.

See our listing of current openings and closings at https://washingtongardener. blogspot.com/2020/03/public-gardensstill-open-during.html.

Event Listing Updates See updated event listings on the Washington Gardener Yahoo discussion list. Join the list at http://groups.yahoo. com/group/WashingtonGardener/.

How to Submit Local Garden Events To submit an event for this listing, email washingtongardenermagazine@gmail. com with “Event” in the subject line.

Our next deadline is June 5 for the June 2020 issue, for events taking place after June 15. o MAY 2020

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NEIGHBORnetwork

Longwood Gardens Selects Two Locals for Prestigious Leadership Fellows Program

By Charlotte Parker Dulany “Our incoming Fellows are a dynamic group of professionals with a passion for elevating public horticulture around the globe. Through the Fellows Program, they will gain invaluable leadership skills that will empower them to advance not only their careers, but the industry as well,” said Longwood Gardens President and CEO Paul B. Redman.

During the 13-month, fully funded, cohort-based residency at Longwood, Fellows delve into topical issues relevant to public horticulture today such as leadership, organizational behavior, board relations and governance, communications, and other relevant business-related content. A two-month field placement provides a deeper understanding of these issues, equipping Fellows to lead organizations into a vibrant and sustainable future. Alumni of the Fellows Program go on to assume executive leadership positions in gardens around the world, and join the prestigious Society of Fellows, a global network of public garden professionals.

The aim of the Fellows Program is to build leadership capacity within the public horticulture industry. The ideal candidate has a bachelor’s degree and wants to serve—or is serving—in a leadership role. Individuals transitioning between careers are also encouraged to apply. Nominations for the 2022 cohort program are open now and can be submitted via the online nomination form at: https://longwoodgardens.org/ education/longwood-fellows-program/ fellows-nominate. Interested applicants may apply beginning August 1 through October 30, 2020. Learn more at longwoodgardens.org/longwood-fellows.

Two of the incoming group of Fellows are from the DC region: • Nicholas (Nick) Lazio joins the Fellows Program from the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, DC, where he recently served as an Agricultural Science Research Technician managing the many rare, wild-collected plants in the Asian Collection. Before that role, 14

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he was a Research Fellow who worked with the National Arboretum to lead several collection trips that target plants of interest for the Woody Landscape Plant Germplasm Repository. He began his horticultural career after five years in banking after obtaining a degree in finance from UNC Charlotte, where his love of public gardens started through working at the UNC Charlotte Botanical Garden. While working in horticulture, his passion for plants led him to become a Certified Horticulturalist and obtain a minor in horticulture from Oregon State University. He is interested in how public gardens can serve as living laboratories that engage communities through transformative spaces while serving as spaces that can foster interdisciplinary connections.

• Katie Serock comes to Longwood after serving as a Gardener Supervisor for the Architect of the Capitol, Grounds, and Arboretum Division in Washington DC. She has more than eight years of experience in horticulture and environmental conservation. Serock’s passion for horticulture began when she worked for the Peace Corps as an environmental conservation specialist in Panama.

In Central America, her love of tropical plants and community gardening grew while she worked in a local tree nursery and school gardens. Serock’s fascination with sustainable landscaping flourished when she managed a small landscaping company in Florida that was committed to providing native, healthy, and ecological landscape services. She desired to share her innovative ideas and knowledge of sustainability and native landscape designs with public gardens, which brought her to work for the historical landscapes of the House of Representatives. Serock obtained her bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and her master’s degree in sustainable landscaping from George Washington University.

We recently interviewed Lazio and Serock.

Nick Lazio

Tell us about yourself.

It took me awhile to think I could have a career in horticulture even though I had loved plants since I was young.

While in college, I studied finance at UNC Charlotte, even as I found myself working at the university botanical garden. Once I graduated and worked in banking for a few years, I decided that I couldn’t do this for the rest of my life and came up with a plan to get into horticulture.

On my path to this new career, I taught for a year in Beijing, China, where I met a few plant explorers and even did my own plant collection trip before moving back to the States where I started at Plant Delights. Not long after working at Plant Delights, I was asked to come work at the National Arboretum, where I started doing plant collecting for them.

How did you become interested in plant research?

My interest in researching wild plants stems from my admiration of past and present plant explorers who trekked across the world to find and bring back new species. I love learning about how plants came to be where they are, based on how the continents and climate have changed through time. It is interesting to me to see how some of our wild plants are bred through hybridization or through finding unique forms in nature.

NEIGHBORnetwork I would describe myself as more of a plant geek. I love the unique and unusual, especially if it tells a story.

Working with the National Arboretum made me interested in growing species of plants, looking for differences in morphology. I like the challenge of trying to create a matrix of plants that discourages weeds while using rare plants liberally to create something unique.

Where does your passion for gardening come from?

As far back as I can remember, I have been interested in plants and being outside, from gardening with my mom to exploring the woods around the neighborhood. However, around high school, my interest in gardening was really ignited after visiting Plant Delights and seeing all the plants they could grow not too far from my parents’ house. It was in their yard that I learned how to garden, experimenting with different plants from garden centers and specialty nurseries, slowly taking over the yard with all my plants.

Can you share some of your top tips that you learned from public gardens?

Having so much space to manage in a garden can be daunting, especially once spring and summer weeds arrive.

I have found that masses of groundcovers work well in controlling weeds while creating a cohesive plant palette from which special plants can shine.

There are many variables when considering where to place a plant. I first think about what microhabitat it needs based on where it might be found in the wild. The Asian collection is located right near the Anacostia to take advantage of all the different microhabitats that can be useful to grow plants that might be marginal in this area.

What is involved in your role with the U.S. National Arboretum?

During my time at the National Arboretum, I have been involved in many aspects, from collecting seeds in the wild to caring for plants in the Asian Collection to managing the herbarium.

I really enjoy learning the history of all the rare and underused plants growing on the grounds, many of which I had not known before coming here.

What inspired your change from banking to planting?

While I have always had a strong inter-

est in horticulture, I never thought I could make a living in this field.

However, after working in banking for a few years, I started to wonder why I couldn’t see myself staying in that career. My friends and family had always thought I should be in horticulture, but I couldn’t really comprehend what types of jobs you could have in horticulture until I attended a talk at JC Raulston Arboretum called, “An Evening with the Explorers.” I was amazed that some people in this industry were able to do plant exploring for their job. This talk gave me the inspiration to think about doing my own plant collecting trips, even if it wasn’t part of my job.

What seemed to be an unlikely dream turned into a goal to pursue.

What is a typical workday like for you?

One of the great things about horticulture is that it isn’t common to have a typical workday, since it depends on the season. Because there are so many accessioned plants, I try updating plant records daily, recording new plants, removing dead ones, or updating the health of a specimen. There is usually a project I am working on, whether it is drafting a report on plant collections or renovating a garden bed.

How did you connect with Longwood?

When I was still in banking, I was familiar with the Longwood Graduate Program after researching ways to break into horticulture. At that time, I didn’t meet any of the requirements so I just wished that someday I would have what it took to be able to apply.

It wasn’t until I started working at the National Arboretum that I was reminded of the Longwood Program and was encouraged by several people to check out the new Longwood Fellows program.

However, I still didn’t think I qualified until last year, when I spoke with one of the current Fellows who finally convinced me to go ahead and apply.

What does it mean to you to be selected for the Fellows Program?

I feel honored to be a part of this unique program that has produced so many leaders in public horticulture. This opportunity will surely bring new and unique challenges that will challenge me; however, I am looking forward to growing as a leader within public horticulture.

Katie Serock

Tell us about yourself.

I fell in love with horticulture because of my passion for environmental conservation. I have always had a concern for the natural world, which led me to join the U.S. Peace Corps as an environmental conservation volunteer.

There, I led projects and seminars with Panamanian locals involving home and school gardening, nursery work, recycling, climate change, and self-care.

Those experiences led me to pursue a career in gardening and horticulture.

I have acquired distinctive experience in sustainable landscaping, landscape design, vermiculture, small scale agriculture, organic fertilizers, rain, and pollinator gardens. Currently, I am working to convert urban landscapes into beneficial sustainable landscapes through biodiversity and water-wise decisionmaking, while preserving historic landscapes in the U.S. Capitol.

Can you tell us more about your role as garden supervisor?

I am responsible for administrative and technical management necessary to accomplish day-to-day operations for the Gardening Division of the Capitol Grounds and Arboretum Jurisdiction for the House of Representatives. I plan work schedules, deadlines, and daily assignments for a crew of nine.

I design gardens for U.S. House of Representatives historic landscapes and perimeter gardens. I order and install more than 20,000 bulbs and annual plants each year. I have designed and maintained a newly acquired 15,500 square foot green roof for a LEED-certified building. I execute pesticide spray schedules and assist with the implementation of an insect and disease control program. I MAY 2020

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NEIGHBORnetwork coordinate emergency snow removal during the winter season. I obtain resources needed to accomplish timely completion of assigned projects. It is my utmost responsibility to maintain a safe work environment for Capitol employees and visitors.

You’ve spent time in Panama—did that particularly inspire your work?

In Panama, I was inspired by my community’s tree nursery. It was a developing project when I first arrived in my community. I learned from them how to propagate various hardwood and fruit trees that were used for agrosilvopastoral systems for the local farmers.

I also worked in many school gardens and was inspired by one specific gradeschool teacher who was open to me teaching cooking and nutrition classes on a weekly basis. We were able to use the vegetables and fruits they were growing around their school to produce healthy meals and influence the children to better their nutrition. Those experiences made me realize that people all around the world are accepting of change and want to work cohesively to make a difference in our environment and in the lives of others.

Describe your work on the historical landscapes of the House of Representatives.

The House of Representatives gardens must abide by a Cultural Landscape Report. The report ensures that our staff follows proper protocols and the historic landscape designs to ensure that we are replicating the landscape when it was first installed. The majority of the landscapes around the House of Representative buildings exist to complement the building. Additionally, there are areas on the campus that have more freedom and availability to add more color, pollinator gardens, stormwater management projects, and native selections.

I take pride in every task I do and follow the Cultural Landscape Report to the best of my ability. I maintain the historic landscape, while incorporating sustainable choices, where appropriate, to produce more enticing and appealing gardens for the public to enjoy and be inspired from.

What does environmental conservation look like to you?

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Environmental conservation means to me…prudently using natural resources with the clear understanding that they are finite. In all aspects of my life, I am conscious that each of my decisions has an impact on the environment. In terms of horticulture and gardening, I always remember that a garden and landscape does not only exist for the benefit of humans. All gardens that we install should have purpose and meaning, and that’s what I try to emanate on a daily basis.

How did the landscaping company practice sustainable horticulture?

The landscape company I worked for in Florida was rooted in making environmentally conscious decisions in every aspect of gardening. We first worked with clients to make better gardening decisions and use more-wholesome practices by avoiding chemical use and gas-powered equipment. We promoted our vermiculture production facility that we used to make worm tea compost to be used as an organic fertilizer and soil amendment.

Furthermore, we actively practiced Integrated Pest Management to make the best choices when it came to dealing with pest and weed issues, and educated our clients on why we made those decisions. The majority of our installations were 90% native to try to reestablish fragmented ecosystems along the Florida coast.

Finally, much of the installations were for rain gardens to mitigate stormwater management issues, as well as using water conservation irrigation practices.

The company was dedicated to providing sustainable horticultural decisions and services.

What is a favorite aspect of your job?

My favorite aspect of my job is working with my employees to design and create beautiful landscapes that provide visitors of the Capitol with awe-inspiring moments that they remember for the rest of their lives.

What is a typical workday like for you?

A typical work day begins at 5:00am with a daily safety topic, schedule for the day and week, and issues or concerns that arise with my team. Then, it varies day to day. I could have meetings about the green roof we just acquired, researching the Cultural Landscape

Report to ensure a new design is coinciding with the historic landscape, pruning ornamental shrubs, weeding, planting countless annuals or bulbs with small teams in a week, or preparing for a large event such as a the Memorial Day concert. Every day is different and that’s what makes me love it so much.

My day can revolve around office work and meetings or entirely gardening. It all depends what the agency needs.

How did you connect with Longwood?

I found out about Longwood Gardens from the American Public Gardens Association conference in Washington, DC, last year. After watching a video about the Fellows Program, I sought out a current Fellow to ask her about her personal experience at Longwood and to learn more about the program.

After speaking with her and doing some research, I knew that this program would be a perfect fit for me to pursue a leadership position in public horticulture.

What does it mean to you to be selected for the Fellows Program?

I chose to apply to Longwood because I want to be educated from the best horticultural leaders. I believe in the mission of Longwood Gardens and that gardens are how people will learn to preserve and restore parts of nature and learn life skills. I am still in awe that I have been selected for the next cohort of Fellows. It means that I will gain exponential knowledge in all aspects of how to lead a botanical garden, public park, or national landmark to be the best that it can be. It makes me feel confident that the selection committee has confidence that I am a representative of the next generation of leaders who will ensure that public gardens still exist in the future. I am proud to be selected for this prestigious program.

I have the desire and drive to become a better leader and role model in this industry, and know that each day will bring new opportunities to be the best version of myself so I can serve the public, preserve magnificent gardens, and create inspirational memories and a new connection with nature. o Charlotte Parker Dulany is a journalism major graduating from the University of Maryland in May. She is an intern this spring semester with Washington Gardener.

PLANTprofile When I picked up some Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) pips from a garden club plant exchange years ago, I wanted a spot for them that was well away from other planting beds because I had been warned about how this plant can take over and be very aggressive. Just to get them in the ground quickly, I stuck them in an empty, dry shade area next to my home’s foundation. To my surprise, not only did they survive, but they actually thrived!

Their spreading tendencies are kept in check by being in that dry, fullshade spot. Give them better growing conditions at your own peril.

They are the definition of lowmaintenance. At the beginning of spring, I rake out the old, tattered foliage from their beds and sprinkle in some leaf compost. This isn’t necessary, but it keeps the bed looking neat. Other than that, the only care they need is to pluck out the occasional weed in their midst.

The scent of their blooms in spring is lemony fresh. To pick some Lily of the Valley flowers to enjoy indoors, grasp the stem down at the base and then pull firmly upward in one smooth motion.

Note that they are poisonous and should be kept away from small children and pets.

Over the years, I have collected the pink version of Lily of the Valley as well as one with variegated foliage.

There is a native version, Convallaria majuscule ‘Greene’, that is almost impossible to differentiate from the Eurasian import unless they are side by side. The American one is a bit taller and can be found in the Appalachian woodlands in discrete clumps of just a few plants, rather than in a large patch.

I highly recommend this sweet little flower to beginning gardeners who want an early success to give them confidence to tackle more laborintensive plantings. o

Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis)

By Kathy Jentz

Kathy Jentz is the editor and founder of Washington Gardener.

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BOOKreviews DeSimone is an expert in housing finance, author of more than 40 professional guide-books, and has written more than 600 articles focused on fair and responsible lending.

This book will be helpful for anyone looking to explore this movement and its many benefits, including easy access to sustainably sourced, locally grown food while preserving farmland and lowering your carbon footprint. o Charlotte Parker Dulany is a senior multiplatform journalism major graduating from the University of Maryland in May. She is an intern this spring semester with Washington Gardener.

Welcome to the Agrihood: Housing, Shopping, and Gardening for a Farmto-Table Lifestyle Author: Anna DeSimone Publisher: Bookbaby List price: $15.95 Order link: https://amzn.to/366YW5b Reviewer: Charlotte Parker Dulany Anna DeSimone teaches readers how to house, shop, and garden for a farm-to-table lifestyle in her new book, Welcome to the Agrihood.

An ”agrihood” is a development space built around existing farmland or repurposed land and specially designed to integrate farming into the residential neighborhood. DeSimone describes how the daily routine for residents in these areas “often begins with a walk to the farm store to buy food freshly harvested from the farm, or to enjoy a cup of coffee at one of the gathering spaces at the community center.”

Agrihoods are winning awards across the nation for “best places to live.”

The book includes a national directory of agrihoods in America, as well as a list of 2,200 farms where you can purchase fresh, locally grown food. In eight chapters, DeSimone highlights the movement of local food from seed to delivery in a “new generation of the family farm.” There is knowledge for every gardener, homeowner, and newcomer to learn in any environment—from urban agriculture to backyard farming.

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Garden Mosaics: 19 Beautiful Projects to Make for Your Garden Authors: Emma Biggs and Tessa Hunkin Publisher: Fox Chapel Publishing List price: $17.99 Order link: https://amzn.to/2WGQiap Reviewer: Kathy Jentz Like many of us these last few months, you are no doubt spending the quarantine days working from home in front of a computer screen. I bet you have felt the need to get away from the screen and into the garden, and to tackle do-ityourself projects.

Garden mosaics are an ancient and attractive way to add art and personality to your garden and home.

This book contains 19 stunning mosaic garden projects that range from simple to elaborate. You can create one-of-a-kind pots, garden ornaments, wall panels, and more. Each design contains step-by-step instructions and coordinating photography, as well as pattern templates.

The authors are talented mosaicists: Emma Biggs and Tessa Hunkin, who have written several books on mosaic art, design, and techniques.

Their instructions are clear and the book is bursting with photos detailing each step in the mosaic process.

Included in the book is a “stretch” project—a three-dimensional blue cat with an Egyptian-influence look—that appears quite daunting. You are instructed to carve the cat form first from a polystyerene foam block. I would think this sculpting step is where many of us would hit the limit of our artistic

skills. Best for beginners to stick to the less-challenging two-dimensional pieces such as a house number plaque or a terrazzo table top.

This book is recommended for those looking to add timeless mosaics to their gardens. o Kathy Jentz is the editor and founder of Washington Gardener.

Shrubs and Hedges: Discover, Grow, and Care for the World’s Most Popular Plants Author: Eva Monheim Publisher: Cool Springs Press List price: $30.00 Order link: https://amzn.to/3cGkRSZ Reviewer: Jim Dronenburg Full Disclosure: The author is a personal friend of the reviewer.

The title of the book is misleading; its content branches off in so many ways that it is hard to describe, but certainly “shrubs and hedges” falls far short of what is covered here. Overall, the book is a well-written and glowingly illustrated manual of the care of woody plants. What applies to “shrubs” applies also to trees. The book also makes a case for diversity, which is not included in the title.

The book is not a detailed encyclopedia. Instead, it gives overviews of, in order, shrub uses, benefits, history (probably people will skip this. That is a mistake.). Then “profiles of classics and rising stars.” This, arguably, is where the book could have been an inch or three thicker. There is so much

BOOKreviews diversity out there that the plants profiled should be thought of as a starting point. Case in point, there is a very large, detailed, multi-page chart of the various hydrangeas, but only a page for roses. No chart for rhododendrons, for azaleas. Don’t look here for details; look for ideas, then follow the threads to further reading elsewhere.

There is also an overview of botany, and a starting set of principles by which to identify, or at least narrow down, the identity of a woody plant you don’t know. This is a very good thing.

Not labored details, but principles.

Then we come into “designing with shrubs,” and this perhaps is tailored more for landscapers than for homeowners. One of the examples is a hedge of Osmanthus ‘Gulftide’ fronted by another line of glossy Abelia, broken by a ‘Nellie Stevens’ Holly, that is fully eight feet through from front to back, without the suggested arborvitae behind the Osmanthus. This is a beautiful design—but it would take far more space than most homeowners have. Nevertheless, the principles given will work for larger or smaller spaces, if used sensibly.

At this point, though, the book comes into its own. Detailed instructions are given for pruning woody plants for shape, form, and—most importantly— structure, with the reasons why. This is truly important and the mark of an educator. Not just what to do, but why you are doing it. And it is very clearly written. Shape—important for how you intend to use a plant; form—what to keep a plant to; but underlying it all is structure: the branching underneath that allows a plant to support itself, and have good air circulation and vigorous growth. That leads to more production with a minimum of effort each year or two years, compared to tackling something that has overgrown into a diseased mess after 10 years.

The book also makes the important point of selecting a plant in the first place whose mature size will be what you want, not something that will grow too big by its very nature. It also urges planting things according to that mature size, no matter how small they are now. Different types of pruning are described, and the reason for each.

buying…means…winding up with plants that are pretty in bloom at the garden center…but don’t have the proper environment in your garden to bloom again the same way.” The overarching point is “do your homework first.”

There is a list of books for further reading, plant sources and societies, gardens to visit, and sources for tools.

This book is well worth buying. It is clear enough for beginners, and detailed enough for pros. o Jim Dronenburg is a retired accountant and now gardens full-time in Knoxville, MD.

There is also a well-illustrated section on pruning tools.

There is also a rather dangerous section, “Pruning for Profit,” about where pruned branches may be sold. There are lots of good ideas here—prune evergreens when you need holiday greens, for example, and how to cut branches that will be forced—but again, most home gardens are too small to benefit largely from the actual sale of cut branches unless they know an interested florist. The section makes up for this by going into an overview of how to get new plants from what you have pruned, layered, or dug.

Hedges have their own section, since pruning them is a specialty.

Illustrations show how large, and how small, a hedge can be, from actual trees to box bed-edgings. How a hedge need not be sheared; it need not be featureless; it is not just something to bar passage; it is for windbreak, for delineation with passage through—not just sheared geometry. Although you are shown how to do that, too.

There is a thorough section about attracting pollinators and wildlife, notably birds. There is also a section about ponds, wetlands, and rain gardens.

Finally, there is a section about when and how to purchase shrubs. The overarching principle here is, “think first, don’t get carried away.” Find garden centers that know what they are doing and labels that tell you what the plants need. One passage alone in this section (quoted by bits here) is worth the price of the book: “…Impulse

Note: These book reviews include links to Amazon.com for ordering them. Washington Gardener Magazine may receive a few cents from each order placed after clicking on these book order links.

Love Reading?

These books were reviewed by volunteer members of the Washington Gardener Reader Panel. To join the Washington Gardener Volunteer Reader Panel, please send an email with your name and address to: KathyJentz@gmail.com. We look forward to having you be a vital part of our local publication and its gardening mission. o

Visit DCGardens.com for Photos of 16 Local Public Gardens shown in each month of the year.

MAY 2020

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EDIBLEharvt

When is the Right Time to Harvest?

By Charlotte Parker Dulany Managing the planting of a home or community garden requires a great deal of maintenance. The fun of watching a new vegetable grow reaches a peak when it is ready to be pulled, picked, and plucked. Timing is everything, so how do you know that it is the best time to pick as you are reaching toward the plant with a pair of garden snips in hand?

Once detached from its roots, a vegetable will begin to lose nutritional value, tenderness, and flavor. There are no strict guidelines to follow here, so to understand the optimal time to pick, you must practice, make mistakes, and taste the vegetable at different stages of its growth.

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Sometimes a plant can even be the most tender and flavorful when it is only half-grown. Great flavor doesn’t only depend on size and color. Certain ones, such as onions, need to be soft to the touch before their roots are pulled from the earth and they are left to dry on the soil, while lettuce leaves can be torn away as the plant continues to mature, successively getting closer to the center of the crown with each harvest.

There are ways to help form an educated guess. The three reliable indicators for when a vegetable is ready to harvest are color, sheen, and size. You can check the information on the seed packet and, for general guidelines, review the harvest chart included on

the opposite page here, which we created especially for the new at-home gardener. Planting dates given here are for cool-season crops that need to be started in mid- to late-summer.

A few quick harvesting tips: • Use clean kitchen scissors to cut lettuces, greens, and herbs.

• Carefully dig and loosen the soil around root vegetables, rather than yanking on their tops to pull them out.

• Have a bucket of clean water nearby to give your produce a quick rinse. o Charlotte Parker Dulany is a journalism major graduating from the University of Maryland in May. She is an intern this spring semester with Washington Gardener.

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GOINGnative

Jeffersonia diphylla:

A Plant Fit for a President

By Barry Glick

Anyone who’s completed the first grade should remember learning what a plant nerd our third president was, but few know here’s a plant named in his honor.

Yes, it’s true, Jeffersonia diphylla, also known as “Twinleaf,” is named in honor of Thomas Jefferson and just happens to be one of my favorite early spring plants.

I almost referred to it as “one of my favorite early spring ephemerals,” but that would only be half true. Half-true, because as fragile as the pure-white, silver-dollar-sized flowers are (they can be shattered by a drop of dew), this almost shrub-like plant is persistent all the growing season long. That’s especially true if it is planted in full shade and given some extra water during dry spells.

Making its home in the Berberidaceae family, the same family as May Apple, Blue Cohosh, and—believe it or not—the invasive, horrible Barberry, Jeffersonia diphylla is one of our least-known and most-desirable native plants. It is native 22

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from New York to Wisconsin and south to Alabama and Virginia.

Surprisingly, it does quite well in my somewhat low-pH woodland gardens.

I say surprisingly, because in nature, Jeffersonia chooses to grow in high-pH limestone soils. Yet another testament to the ability of so many plants to accept and adapt to a wide range of growing conditions.

As stated above, the flowers are very short lived, but there is a consolation prize: a very cool seed head. I’ve always described it as a little sombrero. It’s a uniquely shaped structure with a “lid” that opens, exposing copious amounts of shiny brown seeds when they’re ripe.

Unlike a lot of other plants with explosive seed dispersal mechanisms, these seeds will patiently wait for you to come collect them and create your own, very special Twinleaf colony.

By the way, don’t wait too long to collect the seeds: The plant depends on wind, wild animals, and hikers to help

it spill the seeds out and they may just beat you to them.

Typical height varies anywhere from 10 to 18 inches and I’ve had single mature plants up to 24 inches in diameter.

A related species, Jeffersonia dubia, occurs in Asia and is Jeffersonia diphylla’s identical twin, except for the flower color, which just happens to be blue rather than white.

I’ll refrain from suggesting companion plants because this super-easy-to-grow plant does just fine on its own. A colony in your garden, large or small, is quite a staggering sight. 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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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)

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

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

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OUT Tips D • 40+ Free and Low-cost Local Garden SOL !

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Jentz Prints

Antique Botanical Prints for the decorator, collector, connoisseur, and art lover.

Jentz Prints can be purchased on most Saturdays at the Eastern Market, and most Sundays at the Georgetown Flea 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, to make a private appointment, or to get a detailed show schedule, please contact Jentz Prints by email at UllrichJ@aol.com. You can also find Jentz Prints on eBay.com under the seller ID: printyman.

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