Washington Gardener April 2016

APRIL 2016 VOL. 11 NO. 2

WWW.WASHINGTONGARDENER.COM

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gardener

the magazine for gardening enthusiasts in the Mid-Atlantic region

Cultivating Kohlrabi Your Monthly Garden Tasks To-Do List Play Public Garden Bingo

What’s the Buzz on Mosquitoes?

Local Gardening Events Calendar Rutgers Breeds a Tastier Jersey Tomato

Plant Your Own Little Free Library Grow a Carpet of Green-and-Gold

DC-MD-VA Spring Garden Tours Round-Up

Explore the Best Private Gardens in our Region

GoGardeners Garden Coaching

Elise Stigliano Garden Coach elise@gogardeners.com • 301-518-8333

www.gogardeners.com

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RESOURCESsourc

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 301.588.6894 or email wgardenermag@aol.com for available dates, rates, and topics.

RARE AND EXCEPTIONAL PLANTS FOR THE DISCRIMINATING GARDENER AND COLLECTOR Barry Glick Sunshine Farm and Gardens 696 Glicks Road Renick, WV 24966, USA Email: barry@sunfarm.com

www.sunfarm.com

Specializing in Garden

Renewals & Renovations Yard By Yard Makeovers, LLC 7304 Carroll Avenue, #229 Takoma Park, MD 20912 301-270-4642 yardmakeovers@yahoo.com www.yardmakeovers.com

We can reshape and beautify neglected yards.

Green Spring Gardens

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Are you trying to reach thousands of gardeners in the greater DC region/Mid-Atlantic area? Washington Gardener Magazine goes out on the 15th of every month. Contact wgardenermag@aol.com or call 301.588-6894 for ad rates (starting from $200).

The ad deadline is the 10th of each month. Please submit your ad directly to: wgardenermag@aol.com.

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www.greenspring.org

A “must visit” for everyone in the metropolitan Washington, DC, area. It’s a year-round gold mine 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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INSIDEcontents

FEATURES and COLUMNS

Falls Church–Arlington, VA, Historic Garden Week tour. Photo courtesy of Donna Molton and the Garden Club of Virginia.

Win passes to the DC Green Festival.

See the contest details on page 5.

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Seed packages featuring blends of purple and green kohlrabi cultivars are available. Seen here is a blend of purple ‘Kolibri’ and green ‘Kongo.’ Photo of Crispy Colors Duo kohlrabi mix © Renee’s Garden.

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BOOKreviews 18–20 Container Theme Gardens, Orchid Gardening, Making Hay, Electric Fencing, Flower Workshop, Your First Garden DAYtrip 14–15 Spring Garden Tours Listing EDIBLEharvest 6–7 Kohlrabi HORThappenings 23 Green Matters, Gala in the Garden, SEED Screening, Lahr Symposium, Forklift Party NEIGHBORnetwork 22 Niraj Ray, Cultivate the City NEWPLANTspotlight 11 Clematis ‘Samaritan Jo’ INSECTindex 9 Mosquito Control GOINGnative 8 Green and Gold TIPStricks 10 Choosing the Right Landscape Tree, Promoting Horticulture Careers, Jersey Tomato 2.0

DEPARTMENTS

ADVERTISINGindex BLOGlinks EDITORletter GARDENcontest LOCALevents MONTHLYtasklist NEXTissue RESOURCESsources

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ON THE COVER

The Anne Spencer garden in Lynchburg, VA. Photo courtesy of Roger Foley and the Garden Club of Virginia.

Little Free Libraries are popping up all over the region, from private yards to zoos to public gardens. You can build your own Little Free Library, find someone locally to build one for you, or purchase one via mail order/online catalog.

Each one is unique and reflects the personality of the library’s owner and local community.

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In our May 2016 issue: Growing Amaranth Best Vehicles for Transporting Plants and much more...

If your business would like to reach area gardeners, be sure to contact us

by May 10 so you can be part of the next issue of our growing publication.

Be sure you are subscribed!

Click on the “subscribe” link at

http://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/ APRIL 2016

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EDITORletter I have given up my Editor’s Letter space in this issue to share this important testimonial in support of the Smithsonian’s Haupt Garden. Many of you read the recent Washington Post piece detailing the planned destruction of the garden and expressed your concerns to me. Signing Sylvia’s petition and supporting her grassroots efforts is one small way you can take action to help save this space. ~ Your Editor, Kathy Jentz

Save the Smithsonian’s Haupt Garden “My name is Sylvia Cabus, and I set up the online petition to save Haupt Garden (www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-thesmithsonians-enid-haupt-garden). Others can talk more about the aesthetic and technical aspects of the garden; I’m writing as a member of the community. As a resident of Southwest DC, I’m proud that this jewel of a garden is part of our neighborhood. It truly is one of the few public spaces that attracts both tourists and residents.

“When I first read of the proposed master plan, I was appalled that it ignored the garden’s relevance to public cultural resources, education, environmental stewardship, and urban design—all vital pieces in sustaining healthy city spaces.

With the massive brain trust available to the Smithsonian, surely there is a way to accommodate the structural improvements while retaining the garden in its current state.

“I’m not alone in my sentiments. As of last night, the petition to save Haupt Garden has garnered over 1,600 signatures. The petition went live last Tuesday, April 5, and by Saturday—only four days later—we hit our goal of 1,000 signatures.

Signatures came from all over the US as well as overseas. Printed out, the petition is 138 pages long, and has been covered in local media. The rapid pace of signatures has been so significant that iPetitions features the petition on its home page.

“The signatories’ comments reflect the importance of Haupt Garden; people wrote of engagements, lunch time meditations, and, for one respondent, solace during illness.

“One important point I’d like to highlight is that of preserving Enid Haupt’s legacy. Enid Haupt was a remarkable and generous woman. Less than 0.05% of national historic landmarks and monuments are named after or associated with women. It is a disgrace to consider eliminating a public space named after a highly regarded patron of American gardens. Enid Haupt does not deserve the historical erasure that has happened to so many other American women.

“I’d like to close on a personal note. I’ve taken our son to the Haupt Garden many times, and his daycare visits the Smithsonian on a weekly basis. The Haupt Garden is a familiar place to him, and part of the diverse cultural landscape in which we decided to raise him. Ultimately, I want my son to understand the difference between a playground and a garden—an important distinction to instill at a young age, and as you know, crucial for institutional longevity.

“To paraphrase a contemporary philosopher, let’s not pave paradise and put up a parking lot.”

Signed, Sylvia Cabus sylviacabus@gmail.com 4

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

Ruth E. Thaler-Carter Proofreader Daisy-Nelly Nji Seema Vithlani Interns Cover price: $4.99 Back issues: $6.00 Subscription: $20.00 Address corrections should be sent to the address above.

• 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 is a womanowned business. We are proud to be members of: · Garden Writers Association · Think Local First DC · DC Web Women · Green America Magazine Leaders Network · Green America Business Network To order reprints, contact Wright’s Reprints at 877.652.5295, ext. 138.

Volume 11, Number 2 ISSN 1555-8959 © 2016 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.

READERcontt

Reader Contest

For our April 2016 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, Washington Gardener is giving away 25 pairs of passes to DC Green Festival (www.greenfestivals. org). Prize value: $15 per pass.

Celebrate the 12th annual DC Green Festival Expo, taking place May 6-8 at the DC Convention Center, Join the Green Festival Marketplace by exploring over 250 exhibitors, learning from over 50 inspirational speakers, indulging in some delicious vegan or vegetarian food and learning all you need to know to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Green Festival offers something for everyone, with the widest selection of products and services to work green, play green, and live green from food, fashion, and health to energy, construction, and design. People can shop and enjoy vegan, vegetarian, organic foods; hands-on demos; educational activities; and inspirational speakers.

Green Festival is America’s largest and longest-running sustainability and green living event. It brings together the world’s most-trusted companies, innovative brands, national and local businesses, pioneering thinkers, and conscious consumers in one place to promote the best in sustainability and green living.

To enter to win the DC Green Fest Passes, send an email to WashingtonGardener@rcn.com by 5:00pm on Friday, April 29, with “DCGreen” in the subject line and in the body of the email. Please also include your full name and mailing address. The pass winners will be announced and notified on May 1.

Caption Contest

We asked our Facebook page followers to caption this photo. What are these Mid-Western tourists stopping by the Smithsonian Haupt Garden during the Cherry Blossom Festival thinking?

Look for more monthly caption contests at the Facebook.com/WashingtonGardenerMagazine page.

Winning Captions: “Area garden experiences infestation of shutter bugs. Largely harmless to the plants, they do cause some nuisance to the locals.” ~ Julie Blackwell “I cannot go back home to more snow!” ~ Michelle Febre “What Cherry Blossoms?” ~ Annie Sioux “If you didn’t want to get pollinated, you shouldn’t have opened up your petals.” ~ Mel Blanks “No one told me Washington, DC, had actual living things outside of their museums!” ~ Gary C. Jones APRIL 2016

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EDIBLEharvt Photo of ‘Azur Star’ kohlrabi courtesy of High Mowing Organic Seeds.

Kohlrabi is Growing on Us

Availability

Seeds for kohlrabi cultivars are available by mail, online order, and at many garden centers. A few seed companies promote seed packages that contain a blend of both green and purple cultivars. Some garden centers also offer seedlings, often in four- or six-packs.

How to Grow Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi is a biennial grown as an annual. It is a member of the Brassicaceae plant family, and it should be included in the same crop rotation schedule as its relatives, which include cabbage, kale, broccoli, etc. The scientific name for kohlrabi is Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes.

by Elizabeth Olson The bulbs have best texture when kohlrabi is grown in full sun in wellworked, slightly acidic, fertile soil that weather, or maintaining high quality Kohlrabi is perhaps best known for its drains well, and has a consistent moiswith increased bulb size. The cultivar interesting and unusual shape. It is ture level. Amend the soil with compost ‘Konan’ is one of the All-America Selecgrown for its tasty, spherical base—comprior to planting. Use a soaker hose to tions (AAS) winners for 2016. It is the monly called a bulb—that matures comsupplement rainfall. Mulch the soil and first kohlrabi to win this award since pletely above ground. The leaves are keep the area free of weeds. Fertilize 1979. borne on spoke-like, generally upright the kitchen garden with an organic vegstems that rise sharply from the bulb. etable fertilizer.

Kohlrabi Cultivars Once found mainly in kitchen garThe seeds can be planted directly The most familiar cultivars are the dens, kohlrabi is gaining in popularity in the garden, but are best started in green-skinned heirlooms ‘Early White and has become a seasonal item in the sterile potting mix and carefully transVienna’ and ‘Giant White’ (sometimes produce section of selected markets. planted to the kitchen garden when listed as ‘Gigante’) and the purpleKohlrabi is nutritious and low in calothey have at least two sets of true skinned heirloom ‘Early Purple Vienna.’ ries. It is a source of potassium, Vitamin leaves. Harden off young plants before Additional recommended modern B6, and Vitamin C. transplanting them to the garden. cultivars include the purple-skinned, The bulbs of kohlrabi cultivars have Spring-planted kohlrabi should be proopen-pollinated ‘Azur Star’ (pictured either green or purple skin color; both tected from hard freezes. The timetable above) and ‘Kolibri’ (F1 hybrid) as well types have whitish to pale-green flesh for planting kohlrabi for autumn harvest as the green-skinned under the peels. The flavor is rather should allow enough F1 hybrids ‘Grand sweet, fresh, and somewhat zesty, and time for each Duke’ (AAS winner for varies a bit from one cultivar to another. cultivar to reach 1979), ‘Korist,’ ‘WinWell-grown kohlrabi has a smooth, crisp optimum maturity ner,’ ‘Kongo,’ and the texture. The bulbs should be heavy for before the growing extra-large ‘Kossack.’ their size and they can be consumed season ends.

The plants grow fresh or cooked.

Follow package best in cool weather Fresh kohlrabi has a number of directions for spacand can be grown culinary uses, including being peeled ing the plants in the in both spring and and shredded for slaws, sliced for use garden and ensure late summer to midin crudités or salads, or eaten plain. good air circulation. autumn. Well-estabPeeled kohlrabi may be steamed, Please note that lished kohlrabi plants Both purple and green kohlrabi cultivars baked, sautéed, or added to stir-fry ‘Giant White’ and have pale, finely textured flesh beneath can withstand light dishes. The leaves of kohlrabi are also colorful skins. Photo of Crispy Colors Duo ‘Kossack’ need more frosts in autumn. edible and can be cooked. kohlrabi mix © Renee’s Garden. space compared to Purple kohlrabi The increased appreciation for this other cultivars. cultivars provide a color accent to the vegetable is reflected in recent introProtect kohlrabi from flying insects by kitchen garden. The purple coloration ductions. Modern breeding programs covering the plants with a floating row extends from the bulb up the stems and have produced cultivars that have traits cover or grow the plants in a netted tunthrough the veins of the leaves. such as improved uniformity in size nel for pest-exclusion. and shape, or better tolerance of warm 6

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EDIBLEharvt Cultivars that produce small- to medium-sized bulbs can be easily grown in container gardens, but they, too, should be protected with a floating row cover. In addition, use large containers with drainage holes. Ensure consistent moisture and fertility levels in—and add mulch to the top of—the potting mix.

Use an organic vegetable fertilizer and follow package directions for using the product in potted plants.

When/How to Harvest

Kohlrabi grown for use during the growing season can mature in 40 to 60 days after transplanting, depending on the cultivar. Cultivars grown for use after the growing season ends are called storage varieties. They are quite large and can take 80 to 120 days to reach optimum harvesting size after being transplanted to the garden, again depending on the cultivar.

For best quality, the bulbs should be harvested as soon as they reach optimum size. The bulbs of most cultivars are usually harvested when they are about two to two-and-a-half inches in diameter. They may develop a woody texture if left in the garden longer. A famous exception is ‘Giant White,’ which can be harvested at a large size and will still have a fine texture. Always check individual cultivar descriptions for recommended harvesting size. Experiment a little to see which maturity level produces the best quality.

Use sharp, parrot-beaked shears to harvest each plant just below the base of its bulb. Some cultivars have leaf stems with a very upright growth habit that makes the bulbs suitable for bunching. This can be useful when sharing the harvest.

To prepare the bulbs and leaves for storage: Trim all of the leaves from all of the harvested bulbs, leaving about one inch of each leaf stem attached to its respective bulb. Do not wash either the leaves or the bulbs until just prior to use. Store the leaves and bulbs separately. The leaves can be kept fresh in the refrigerator crisper drawer for about a week to 10 days.

The refrigerator crisper drawer can also be used to store the trimmed harvested bulbs. Bulbs for use in season can be kept fresh for about two to three

The leaves were removed and the stems of this kohlrabi were trimmed to one-inch long prior to the bulb being placed in storage for later use. Photo of ‘Early White Vienna’ heirloom kohlrabi courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company.

weeks. Storage cultivars with large bulbs—such as ‘Kossack’ and ‘Giant White’—take up a lot of room. However, they are also suitable for long-term storage in a root cellar and will hold excellent quality for many weeks. o

Elizabeth Olson is a Maryland Certified Professional Horticulturist. She is also an avid home gardener who is fascinated by the stories behind the plants that she grows.

She can be contacted through Washington Gardener magazine.

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.

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GOINGnative

A Carpet of Green and Gold

by Barry Glick

It just so happens that the title for this here little story shares the same moniker as the common name for the plant I’m about to introduce you to, Chrysogonum virginianum, also known as “Green and Gold.” Now, Green and Gold is just one of several common names for this excellent native ground cover in the Aster family. Another, not heard nearly as often, would be “Golden Knee,” which just happens to be a direct translation of the botanical name of the genus Chrysogonum. That word derives from the Greek name for gold, Chrysos, and gonum for knee, referring to the bent stem.

Enough about the botanical nomenclature, let’s talk about the plant. That’s really what you’re here for, isn’t it?

The plant, oh, the plant! What a wonderful plant it is! How it brightens up the darkest and most foreboding areas of the garden with its light-green, ground-hugging foliage and the bright, golden, long-lasting flowers that it bestows upon us for such long, albeit 8

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intermittent flowering periods from May through October.

Chrysogonum is native to woodland areas from New York to Florida and west to the Mississippi, but will grow well in just about any state in the union or province in Canada. I’ve spoken to people way up in northern New England (USDA zone 4) and they report that it has done very well for them.

But how easy is it to grow? Very easy, if you have the right conditions, and most of us do. By “right conditions,” I mean average to moist soil and light to full shade. It can even thrive in full sun with adequate soil moisture.

Chrysogonum seems to grow best without any pampering, and don’t we all love plants like that?

It spreads by runners at a nice pace, but would never be considered a nuisance or even slightly aggressive.

The new plants root in quickly and it’s always a nice gesture to pull up a few for fellow admirers touring your garden.

The plant is very perennial and is even

easy to grow from seed.

What a useful plant for several applications in the garden, I’ve planted it along the edges of paths in shady areas. I’ve seen folks use it over stones in a shady rock garden and on berms, road banks, and hillsides. Several garden designers I know have even begun specifying it for rain gardens. And if all these attributes weren’t enough, the deer have never bothered with it.

There you have it, another native woodlander that’s been somewhat unknown and much under-used. 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. Barry 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.

INSECTindex

Mosquito Life Cycle

Mosquitos go through a complete metamorphosis; from egg to larvae, then pupa, and finally emerging as an adult. They overwinter in the egg stage and are viable for as much as a year dry and out of the water. When water temperatures reach 60°F and the eggs are submerged by as little as ¼" of water, they hatch. The larval stage can be as quick as 5–10 days, depending

What’s the Buzz about Mosquitos?

Photo by Stephen Ausmus, USDA-ARS.

We often think of mosquitos as a summertime nuisance. They pester us when we walk into a shady woodland. They bother us at the beach. They are out there in the middle of the lake when we want to fish and, of course, they “bug” us when we want to garden.

Mosquito species have preferred habitats, nesting areas, and environmental conditions. The mosquito that bites you in the early spring is not of the same species that bothers you during that summertime picnic. The mosquito plague up at the cabin is not the same species as those buzzing around the beach cabana. Though many common species are most active at dusk and dawn, there are native species that do feed during the day, so they show preference for times of day or night as well.

Various species of mosquitos also have a preference for altitude. Some never get far off of the ground to feed (ankle biters), while others would be perfectly happy to pursue you up a tree.

Besides the 53 native species of mosquitoes found in Maryland/DC (about 56 in Virginia), there are reports of six invasive mosquito species that are established in the eastern U.S. The most notable of this group is the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus).

The Asian tiger mosquito was discovered in Harris County, TX, in August 1985. It was probably in our region soon after. It is a striking mosquito, with a black body marked by white bands on the legs and abdomen. In its native habitat in Southeast Asia, it is known to nest in tree holes and other small, natural crevices. This makes it fit right into our urban and suburban environments with the abundance of small water-holding containers. Bird baths, pet water bowls, abandoned tires, and plant saucers make perfect nesting sites for this tiny pest.

by Carol Allen on the temperature. The mosquitoes then pupate for about 48 hours before emerging as adults.

Males of most kinds of mosquitos, Asian tiger included, feed on honeydew and flower nectar. It is the females that need the infusion of a protein-rich blood meal to develop eggs, and they will go through the cycle of feeding and laying several times in their life.

The female Asian tiger mosquito will lay between 40–150 eggs at a time, up to about 300 during her lifetime. The females usually stay close to the ground to feed, preferring the ankle and knee region of their human victims. Asian tiger mosquitos will feed on birds and mammals if you and I are not available!

Mosquito Control

The Asian tiger mosquito is not a strong flyer and breeds near where it was hatched. Control of this pest is achieved through meticulous removal of water holding containers. Birdbaths and pet bowls should be scrubbed and the water changed at least every few days, if not more often. For the gardener, check stacks of pots and saucers that are exposed to rain and make sure they are dry. The homeowner needs to ensure that gutters and downspouts are free of leafy debris that might retain rainwater. Still-water ponds, water features, and wet ditches can be treated with the biological control, Bacillus thuringiensis israelenis. Sold as Mosquito Dunks or Mosquito Bits.

Spraying the shrubbery around the house with a pyrethrin-based pesticide is not an effective control and kills bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. In our area, Asian tiger mosquitos can be found feeding from April through October.

Mosquito-born Diseases

If being pesky is not enough, the Asian tiger mosquito also spreads some very serious human diseases. It is one of the many mosquito species that move the West Nile virus from birds to humans. It is also one of the species of mosquitos that can harbor the causal agent of canine heartworm, and now it is implicated as one of the species that may spread Zika virus.

According to the Center for Disease Control, there are no reported cases of Zika having been spread through mosquito contact in the United States. The cases reported in the U.S. have been people infected when traveling in countries where the disease is present and mosquito control is not effective.

Concern for the spread of the Zika virus focuses on the presence of its most common mosquito vector, Aedes aegypti, sometimes referred to as the Yellow Fever mosquito. This mosquito can carry dengue virus as well and, like its relative the Asian tiger mosquito, it prefers to breed in small containers.

The life cycles and behavior are also very similar.

Continued on page 20 APRIL 2016

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TIPStricks

New Initiative to Preserve the Future of Horticulture

Rutgers Tomato Improved with Even More Flavor Rutgers University is attempting to reinvent a new tomato that combines the nostalgia-inducing flavor of an heirloom with the durability of supermarket varieties. The Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) has tested hundreds of plants to try to create a new version of the luscious, flavorful Jersey tomato that was popular during the Depression through the 1960s.

Tom Orton, a professor in the Department of Plant Biology at Rutgers, said, “What people remember as the Jersey tomato was really the Rutgers tomato. It was ubiquitous. People grew it in their backyards. It had a high flavor that explodes in your mouth and makes you say ‘wow, that is really good.’ Now as the university’s 250th anniversary approaches, a team of researchers is working to create a new and improved Rutgers tomato, reviving a variety that was thought to be lost to history.

Six years after the project began, researchers have narrowed their search down to three possible contenders. The public will get its first chance to taste the candidates for the new Rutgers tomato on August 15 during an open house at the EARTH Center in South Brunswick, NJ, home to the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex County. The varieties being considered will be also available to sample August 20 at the Margate Farmer’s Market and during the Great Tomato Tasting at Snyder Farm in Pittstown, NJ, on August 26. While the official name of the new tomato has not been chosen, it will be selected to honor Rutgers’ 250th anniversary, said Orton, who oversees the university’s tomato breeding program as a specialist with NJAES. o 10

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Longwood Gardens and the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) announced the launch of the Seed Your Future initiative, a multi-year effort to combat declining awareness of horticulture among U.S. audiences and promote horticulture as a vital and viable career path for the nation’s youth. More than 150 partner organizations, including leaders in horticultural industries, horticultural associations, public gardens, public agencies, K–12 and higher education have already signed on to the initiative, which aims to preserve the future of this increasingly at-risk field.

Paul B. Redman, executive director of Longwood Gardens and co-chair of the Seed Your Future initiative, said, “Enrollment in horticulture programs has declined dramatically at a time when the need for graduates of these programs is more important than ever.

As an industry, it’s imperative that we take action now to change the tide and shore up the next generation of leaders in this invaluable field.”

Horticulture, which encompasses everything from the production of fruits and vegetables that we eat to the design of ornate gardens and floral arrangements that we admire, is at risk of becoming insignificant —even non-existent—in the minds of future generations. In a recent survey, only 48 percent of adults aged 18 to 34 said they were familiar with horticulture, as compared with 65 percent of older adults.

Still in its infancy, the Seed Your Future initiative involves a multi-phased approach to advance its efforts to educate the general public—in particular, students and their parents about the diverse and critical roles horticulture professionals play in our daily lives.

The initiative has raised more than $750,000 of its goal of $10 million through individual donors, organizations, universities, corporations, and foundations.

The initiative is targeted to launch publicly in 2017; the broader campaign will be rolled out across a five-year period. o

Spring Planting Season: Select the Right Tree

Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) is advising homeowners to consider certain elements when selecting trees that will work best for their landscape.

Tchukki Andersen, a staff arborist for the TCIA, explained: “Selection of trees for planting in a home landscape depends on several factors, including a suitable growing site and any function they are going to serve.” Other factors homeowners should consider when planting trees are: • Hardiness—ability of the plant to survive extremes of winter cold and summer heat, and sudden temperature swings, • Mature height and spread, • Growth rate above and below ground, • Available space above/below ground, • Aesthetics, • Moisture requirements, • Maintenance requirements for the life of the tree, • Availability at local nurseries.

Ornamental effects, such as branching habit, texture and color of bark, flowers, fruit, and foliage Some homeowners may want to hire a professional arborist to assess their landscape and determine which tree species perform well in the local area.

Arborists also typically analyze the specific planting sites to take into consideration any environmental issues that should be noted, such as: • Disease and insect problems that may limit your selections.

• The prior use of the planting site.

• Soil conditions, such as poor drainage, high or low pH, and soil nutrition.

• The presence or absence of channelized winds.

• The location of utilities, both above and below ground • The proximity of the plant to roads, walkways and security lighting tcia.org can help consumers match with accredited tree service providers that can help with the task of finding the right tree for your home. o Complied by Daisy-Nelly Nji, a senior journalism student at the University of Maryland.

She is a multi-platform journalism major at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. This spring, she is an editorial intern at Washington Gardener Magazine.

GARDENnews

Quick Links to Recent Washington Gardener Blog Posts

New Plant Spotlight ‘Samaritan Jo’ Clematis dazzles with a long blooming season.

‘Samaritan Jo’™ Clematis is a brandnew variety that will add a touch of elegance to your garden. This clematis is named after a British organization that provides emotional support to anyone in emotional distress. One look at the blooms and you will surely feel a sense of peace and serenity. Its five-inch flowers bloom in striking white with brightpurple margins.

While often single, the blooms on ‘Samaritan Jo’ may also flower in semidouble form. Its bright yellow anthers contrast beautifully with the purple filaments and margins.

It was launched at the 2013 famous Chelsea Flower Show from Raymond Evison’s exhibit with the daughter of the founder of the Samaritan organization.

‘Samaritan Jo’ boasts one of the longest blooming periods of any clematis. This vigorous variety begins blooming in spring, and its profusion of blooms can continue for up to six months, attracting honey bees and other pollinators throughout the growing season.

A winter mulch around the base is advisable. Remove the mulch in early spring before any vine growth starts.

Reaching only five feet tall, ‘Samaritan Jo’ is a compact and versatile vine that will flourish throughout USDA Zones 5-9 in a container on your patio or simply tucked into a perennial border. It even blooms in dappled sunlight.

Like most clematis, ‘Samaritan Jo’ grows best in moist, well-drained soil in a sunny location. For best performance, hard pruning is recommended in early spring. ‘Samaritan Jo’™ Clematis is available in a one-quart size at Wayside Gardens. www.waysidegardens. com,800-845-1124. o

• Tulips Up for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day • Green Matters 2016 Video Wrap-Up • Asparagus: You Can Grow That!

• DIY: Garden in a Glass Project • Winter Weeds Have Won! See more Washington Gardener blog posts at: WashingtonGardener.Blogspot.com o

April Garden To-Do List

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

• Start some more seeds — especially try flowering annuals like impatiens, marigolds, nasturtium, and petunias.

•Do not set out seedlings or tender annuals until after Mother’s Day (traditional last frost-free date for our entire area).

• Water shrubs and trees deeply during any dry spells.

• Prune winter damage on evergreens.

• Make compost tea and use on seedlings.

• Turn your compost pile.

• Sharpen tools.

• Prune flowering shrubs, such as forsythia, lilacs, and azaleas, when they finish blooming.

• Repot and fertilize houseplants.

• Set aside a few hours each weekend for attending garden shows and tours.

• Weed by hand to avoid disturbing newly forming roots.

• Soil preparation — add lime, compost, etc., as needed.

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

• Divide perennials and herbs. Pot up extras to give away at plant swaps.

• Fertilize new growth.

• Plant and prune roses.

• Transplant small trees and shrubs.

• Buy or check on your stored summer bulbs (such as dahlias and caladiums).

Pot them and start to water if you want to give them an early start on the season.

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

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

• Start/Keep fertilizing your indoor plants.

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

• Mulch beds with a light hand.

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

• Sow beans and corn directly outdoors.

• Start carrots, turnips, and parsnips in well-draining beds or in deep containers.

• Keep cutworms off newly planted edible seedlings by surrounding the seedlings with a collar cut from a plastic bottle or cardboard tube.

• Pick peas often to encourage the plants to produce more.

• Ensure new seedlings do not dry out by installing a drip-irrigation system.

• Start herbs from seed or cuttings.

• Edge garden beds.

• Remove Ivy, Pachysandra, and other vine-like groundcover from under shrubs.

• Work in dry, not wet, soil to avoid compacting the earth.

• Hand-pick cabbage worms from broccoli and other cabbage family plants.

• Put row covers over vulnerable crops — remove cover to allow for pollinating once they set flowers.

• Thin lettuce seedlings and plant more seeds in new rows. (You can eat the seedling greens you pull.)

• Plant a tree for Arbor Day or Earth Day. o APRIL 2016

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TOP AREA GARDENING EVENTS DC-Area Gardening Calendar ~ Upcoming Events ~ April 16–May 15, 2016 • Saturday April 23, 9am–6pm and Sunday, April 24, 8am–3pm Franciscan Monetary Garden Guild Plant Sale Plants will include: herbs and vegetables; roses, annuals and perennials; shrubs and fruit trees; camellias and azaleas; Monastery-grown plants. Plus food and craft vendors, and more. See: http://fmgg.org/?page_id=97.

• Saturday, April 23, 8am–4pm Friends of Carlyle House Annual Herb and Craft Sale Come celebrate spring with the Friends of Carlyle House’s Annual Garden Day Herb & Craft Sale. Tour Carlyle House, the actual site of the Mansion House Hospital featured in the PBS drama “Mercy Street.” Purchase culinary and decorative herbs, plants, and flowers raised in Mount Vernon’s greenhouses.

Bring your gardening questions to the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia. Enjoy live musical entertainment throughout the day, a bake sale, book sale, white elephant table, and more.

Proceeds benefit Carlyle House. This event is free, but admission to the Carlyle House museum is $5 for adults; $3 for children; FREE for Friends of Carlyle House or with your Alexandria Garden Day ticket. This event will take place rain or shine.

• Friday, April 29, 9:30am–8:30pm Arbor Day Fest Washington Youth Garden hosts its 1st Annual Arbor Day Fest at the U.S. National Arboretum. It will be a day of social, educational, and cultural programming that celebrates environmental awareness and stewardship. Register at www.washingtonyouthgarden.org.

This is the first event in a year-long celebration commemorating the Washington Youth Garden’s 45 years of making school gardens and young minds grow.

• Saturday, April 30, 10am–2pm GROW ANYWHERE Gardening Expo Presented by Montgomery County Master Gardeners at the Civic Center, Veterans Plaza in downtown Silver Spring. Container gardening, vegetables and herbs, microgreens, house plants, Ask a Master Gardener plant clinic, and much more. Free and open to the public. See https://extension.umd. edu/sites/default/files/_docs/programs/master-gardeners/Montgomery/ 2016UGflyerFINAL.pdf.

• Saturdays from April to October, 9:30–11:30am Herbal Apprenticeship Program at Common Good City Farm Participants will gain hands-on gardening skills; learn the medicinal properties and uses of herbs; harvest herbs to take home; and make teas, tinctures, and salves. This workshop will be taught by Tricia McCauley of Leafyhead.

Register here: http://bit.ly/1RaOuhR.

• Saturday, April 30, 9am–7pm and Sunday, May 1, 9am–3:30pm Baltimore African Violet and Gesneriad Club’s 61st Annual Show and Sale There will be many beautiful violets and other unusual plants for sale, plus African violet pots, soil mix, leaves, cuttings, fertilizers, and much more. At a plant clinic on Sunday from 12n–2pm, club members will discuss care of your plants and will repot your troubled violets and answer questions about any growing problems you may have.

Held at The Shops at Kenilworth, 800 Kenilworth Drive, Towson, MD. Free admission and handicap accessible.

For more information, contact Shirley at bshuffman2@aol.com.

• Friday, April 29, and Saturday, April 30 FONA Garden Fair & Plant Sale This annual spring gardening event features at the U.S. National Arboretum boasts an extensive selection of unusual plants, garden supplies, books, art, family activities, food, and more. Sponsored by the Friends of the National Arboretum. Free admission. See details and plant list at FONA.org.

• Saturday, April 30, 6:30–10pm 36th Annual Delaware Center for Horticulture’s Rare Plant Auction® Held at Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA. The region’s most distinctive plant auction and garden party, the Rare Plant Auction® is the annual event benefiting the Delaware Center for Horticulture’s urban greening initiatives.

With special guest Bunny Williams and

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celebrated plant expert Page Dickey, this year’s event features hundreds of unique and rare plant specimens gathered from around the world. For additional details, visit http://www.thedch. org/activities-events/rare-plant-auction.

• Sunday, May 1, 10am–3pm Plant Sale at Glencarlyn Library Community Garden This sale featuring plants cultivated at the garden, as well as local plants cultivated by Country Gardens in Toms Brooks, VA, including natives, tropicals, trees, herbs, ferns, perennials, shrubs, and annuals. Master Gardeners will be available to help with plant selection and garden-related questions. Glencarlyn Branch Library, 300 S. Kensington St., Arlington. Free. 703-228-6427 or www.mgnv.org.

• Friday, May 6, 10am–2:30pm National Public Gardens Day Garden Fest, in the Enid A. Haupt Garden, highlights each of the Smithsonian’s gardens and connects people to plants through engaging hands-on activities and educational demonstrations. The event, an annual tradition for Smithsonian Gardens since 2006, is an all-day, family-friendly event. See http:// www.gardens.si.edu.

• Friday, May 6, 12n–1pm Lecture: The Gardening “Easy Button” Kerry Ann Mendez, award-winning speaker, author, and garden designer More is better, right? Yes, if you are referring to chocolate or stress-reducing, time-saving strategies for lowmaintenance, high-impact perennial gardens. This dynamic, humorous, and interactive presentation reveals triedand-true secrets for putting time and money back into your pockets while reducing your blood pressure. Topics include no-fuss plants, maintenance shortcuts, and fun power tools for releasing stress. We have all heard that gardening is good for us; now let’s take it over the top and reap the benefits of fitter bodies, calmer minds, and moresatisfied souls. Gorgeous gardens are just icing on the cake. Who says we can’t have it all? At the U.S. Botanic Garden’s Conservatory Classroom.

TOP AREA GARDENING EVENTS DC-Area Gardening Calendar ~ Upcoming Events ~ April 16–May 15, 2016 FREE: Pre-registration required. See more at www.usbg.gov.

• Saturday, May 7, 9am–1pm Silver Spring Garden Club’s GardenMart 75th Annual Plant Sale Held on the new West Terrace of the Visitor Center at Brookside Gardens 1800 Glenallan Avenue, Wheaton, MD. The event is rain or shine. Cash or check only. Plants include membergrown perennials, native plants, and shrubs, as well as locally grown herbs, annuals, heirloom tomatoes, hanging baskets, and much more. The National Capital Dahlia Society will also be selling dahlia tubers. See https://groups. yahoo.com/neo/groups/SilverSpringGardenClub/info.

• Friday, May 13, 5:30–7pm Yard Flamingo Rehab Happy Hour with Washington Gardener Magazine at Community Forklift Bring your tired and worn yard flamingos to give them a face-lift and a new lease on life! Make your flamingo shiny,

newborn pink again or give him a goth look or other wild new identity. We will have paint and stencils, as well as wire for re-making missing or damaged legs.

We will sip adult beverages while we wait between paint coats. There is a $5 materials fee per pair of birds. Advance registration by May 10 is required. This event has a very limited enrollment so sign up asap. Register under the event page at http://communityforklift.org.

•Saturday, May 14, 9am–2pm Spring Garden Day – THE BIG PLANT SALE at Green Spring Gardens More than 40 local garden vendors descend on Green Spring Gardens with beautiful and unusual plants to fill your spring gardening needs. Growers and Master Gardeners are on hand to help with plant selections and gardening advice. Sponsored by Friends of Green Spring. Free admission. Green Spring Gardens, 4603 Green Spring Road, Alexandria, VA. Please call 703-6425173 for more information or visit www. fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/greenspring.

• Saturday, May 14, 1–5pm Potomac Rose Society’s Symposium on Disease Resistant Roses Peter Kukielski, author of Roses without Chemicals, will help attendees re-think the rose garden and will discuss disease-resistant roses, as well as organic gardening practices for the Mid-Atlantic region. Held at Behnke Nurseries, Co., 11300 Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, MD. Attendance is free.

Register at http://potomac-rose-societysymposium.eventbrite.com.

Still More Event Listings

See even more 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, contact: Wgardenermag@aol.com—put “Event” in the subject line. Our next deadline is May 10 for the May 15 issue and events taking place from May 16–June 15. o

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DAYtrip

Gardener Magazine’s o Washington Spring 2016 Garden Tours Listing

• Saturday, April 23–Saturday, April 30 Historic Garden Week (VA) Each spring, visitors are welcomed to over 250 of Virginia’s most beautiful gardens, homes, and historic landmarks during “America’s Largest Open House.” This eight-day statewide event provides a unique opportunity to see unforgettable gardens at the peak of Virginia’s springtime color, as well as beautiful houses sparkling with over 2,000 flower arrangements created

by Garden Club of Virginia members. See dates and details at http://www.vagardenweek.org • Saturday, April 30–Saturday, May 28 Maryland House & Garden Pilgrimage The MHGP runs for five weekends each spring. A long-standing Maryland tradition, the tour provides access to some of Maryland’s most noteworthy private properties and enables residents to see their home state with fresh eyes. The 2016 tour comprises 39 properties, including historic manors, gardens, schools, and churches. Advance tickets for each tour are $30 per person ($35 if purchasing day-of). Catered lunches will be available on all tours. Purchase tickets and get more information at mhgp.org or 410-821-6933.

• Sunday May 1, 1–5pm 2016 Takoma Park House and Garden Tour “The American Craftsman” The 43rd annual Takoma Park House and Garden Tour celebrates the Arts and Crafts Movement philosophy, architecture, and design as interpreted in this country and Takoma Park in particular. The self-guided walking tour will be focused on Park, Willow, and Spruce Avenues; Valley View, and Crescent Place. Tickets and brochures will be available on the day of the Tour at the corner of Philadelphia and Maple Avenues across from the Takoma Park Library. Pre-tour tickets can be purchased online at historictakoma.org or in person at the TPSS Coop, Mark’s Kitchen, and ACE Hardware in Takoma Park. Ticket price on the day of the Tour is $25, pre-Tour tickets are $22. Tour runs rain or shine.

•Saturday, May 7, 10am–5pm 88th Annual Georgetown Garden Tour This year’s tour will take place on Saturday May 7, 2016, and feature some of Georgetown’s most intriguing gardens. The Garden Tour has featured a wide variety of gardens, from spacious sweeping lawns and majestic trees to intimate outside rooms. Christ Church, 31st and O Streets NW, will serve as headquarters for the Tour. In addition to purchasing tickets at the church, you may also peruse the unique Garden Boutique. Included in your ticket price are delectable afternoon refreshments served at Keith Hall, Christ Church. Details at www.georgetowngardenclubdc.org.

• Saturday May 7, 4–7pm and Sunday May 8, 12n–5pm Capitol Hill Restoration Society’s 59th Annual House & Garden Tour This year, there are some great hidden gardens on the tour. In addition to the usual grand homes and elaborate gardens, this year’s tour will feature something special for “tiny house” aficionados: Archibald Walk is on the tour, one of the few remaining clusters of alley-dwellings. Several residents of this delightful mini village are offering a rare opportunity to peek into their world of efficient living and shared outdoor spaces. The $40 tickets are just $35 if bought prior to the tour weekend. See details at www.chrs.org.

• Saturday, May 21–Sunday, May 22, 1–5pm Beyond the Garden Gates Garden Tour Enjoy a self-guided tour featuring 12 gardens, including both private homes and public spaces, in Historic Frederick, MD. In addition to the stunning landscapes, visitors are also treated to seeing live plein air artists in many of the gardens, as well as a Hospitality Center where guests are invited to refresh themselves during the tour. See www.celebratefrederick.com/events/ garden-tour/.

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DAYtrip

o

Washington Gardener Magazine’s Spring 2016 Garden Tours Listing

•Sunday, May 22, 2pm Columbia Heights Home & Garden Tour 2016 Attendees will be able to tour homes and gardens in Columbia Heights with extraordinary architecture, superior interior design, or eclectic history. There will be a reception immediately following the tour, included with your ticket purchase. See details at www.columbiaheightshomeandgardentour.com.

• Sunday, May 22, 2–5pm 12th Annual SPCA Garden Tour This event is a self-guided walking tour that showcases the creative landscapes of homes within Shepherd Park, Colonial Village, and North Portal Estates. The proceeds from the tour contribute to SPCA beautification projects throughout the neighborhood. Tour to be held rain or shine. Tickets are $15 per person ($7 for SPCA members) and they may be purchased in advance or the day of the tour. For more information, contact Alexandra Kincannon, Garden Tour Committee Chair (alexk@alumni.virginia.edu) or visit http://www.shepherdpark.org.

• Saturday, June 4, and Sunday, June 5, 10am–3pm 17th Annual Secret Garden Tour of Annapolis This year’s Garden Tour takes you through the neighborhood of Murray Hill, a quiet neighborhood that lies between Spa Creek and Maryland Hall. The self-guided walking tour is arranged for guests to stroll through gardens leisurely. At the same time, guests will discover many ideas for planting and outdoor living areas. Docents will have garden descriptions for each location. Tickets are $30 advanced sale and $35 the day of the event per person. See www.hammondharwoodhouse.com.

• Sunday June 5, 12noon-5pm 16th Annual Greater Brookland House and Garden Tour A terrific showcase for those outside the Brookland neighborhood in NE Washington, DC, to get to know a fantastic part of the city. Rain or shine. Tickets are $15 pre-sale and $20 the day of the tour. Tickets can be purchased online beginning May 1 at www.greaterbrooklandgardenclub.org (until Saturday evening, June 4) or at Petals, Ribbons & Beyond, at 3906 12th St. NE, Washington, DC. • Sunday June 5, 10am-4pm 25th Annual Garden Tour - Horticultural Society of Maryland This is a walking and driving tour of seven exquisite urban gardens located along the tree-lined avenues of Baltimore’s loveliest neighborhoods, where visitors will discover spaces ranging from inventive container, rock, and pocket gardens to magnificent backyard retreats, all providing sanctuary in the city. Admission is free for MD Hort Society members, $35 in advance for the public, or $40 at the first garden. See www.mdhorticulture.org.

• Sunday, June 12, 1:00–5:00pm 11th Annual Eastport Home and Garden Tour For the past 11 years, neighbors and out-of-towners have marked their calendars for this annual event. Eastport boasts a variety of home styles, including watermen’s cottages built in the 1930s when streets were paved with oyster shells. The highlight of the Home and Garden Tour is the beautiful Eastport gardens in full bloom. Rain or shine. Admission: $20 until June 5; $25 thereafter. See www.eastportcivic.org/home---garden-tour.html.

• Saturday, June 25, 3–6pm UPWC’s Annual Garden Tour This free tour has been happening for many years and is mostly attended by University Park residents and those from surrounding neighborhoods. There are a variety of garden types—traditional, edible, natives, etc. Maps are available at the “host” garden and signs are posted in yards of participating homes. Questions can be directed to upmdwc@gmail.com. o

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SPECIALfeature

Lit�le Free Librar�: Popping up in a Front Yard Near You!

by Kathy Jentz You may have been walking your dog or driving down a local street and seen one of these adorable new front yard embellishments. They could house a family of squirrels or be a storage spot for garden tools, but instead, these cute wooden boxes are lending libraries with no overdue fees or loan card needed.

Originally designed to look like a oneroom school or a “house of books,” the library rapidly took on a wide variety of sizes, shapes, themes, and other attributes. Each Little Free Library (LFL) is unique in look and style, but the principle is the same – anyone is free to take a book or leave a book. There is no obligation to replace one, but it is nice to do so to keep the library (and your karma) in balance.

Little Free Library is a nonprofit, taxexempt organization whose mission is to promote a sense of community, reading for children, literacy for adults, and libraries around the world. Most LFLs are placed in front yards, parks, gardens and other easily accessible locations.

People have been swapping and lending books since the printed press began, but the LFL idea of a network of unique structure with stewards, signage, and social support began in 2010. They now number more than 32,000 and are in all 50 states and over 70 countries around the world.

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(There are even more unregistered locations.) You can find an online map of all the registered locations at: http:// littlefreelibrary.org/ourmap/. In the 20910/20912 area, I count at least 20 LFLs and have visited at least half of them in person.

LFLs are part of the growing Sharing Economy movement and folks are embracing them as part of a way to interact and connect with their communities. Janice Browne of Islington Street in Silver Spring, MD, said, “We stumbled across our first Little Free Library when we were visiting family a couple of years ago in Madison, WI. What was that intriguing, cheerful, colorful kiosk in a neighbor’s front yard?

We were fascinated and inspired by what we read on the sign. We then found them all over town, sponsored by individuals and all sorts of community organizations, drawing folks together around books. Bibliophiles ourselves, we decided instantly that we wanted to be part of this movement (which actually had begun in Wisconsin), to support it globally, and to bring it to our own little neighborhood.”

The Brownes’ LFL was one of the first in our area and she reports that it is not much work to maintain, “I love managing the inventory, trying to keep the collection fresh and diverse, having a handy repository for those of our

own books we’re ready to pass on, and occasionally supplementing with bargain books from the Wheaton library bookstore (especially fast-moving kids’ books). I store some overflow inside for rotating, but I also enjoy sharing with other local LFLs and meeting their sponsors. As for the initial set-up, it was great fun to design and to watch the baffled neighbors try to guess what we were building. Upkeep of the structure is a very minor deal—just re-paint or restain annually.”

I asked Janice about some personal stories about books exchanging hands through her LFL and she shared these three: “(1) When we first opened our LFL, two days before Christmas 2013, we announced that we were including a gift-wrapped new copy of The Phantom Tollbooth, a book that had been one of our son’s favorites when he was young – and it was gone that very day! I love imagining it as a holiday gift to a budding young reader, and making that connection through the generations. (2) One of the first notes we received in our comments notebook was from a professor at Montgomery College. She thanked us profusely for ‘saving the day’ when she had to take her sick daughter with her to work but had neglected to bring something from home to entertain her during class. (3) Another time, a stern-looking policeman knocked at my front door, and as I answered with my heart pounding, he grinned and said he loved the library idea and just wanted to thank me on behalf of the community. “ Other LFL owners in our community have reported similar experiences and some have been inspired to make their LFLs go beyond just books. Some have used them to give away small puzzles and art supplies. A few have used their comments notebooks to have ongoing conversations with neighbors they have never met before.

If you want to learn more about LFLs or perhaps add one to your own front yard landscape, visit the official LFL website at: http://littlefreelibrary.org/.

Kathy is editor of Washington Gardener Magazine and a long-time DC-area gardening enthusiast.

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BOOKreviews

Container Theme Gardens

By Nancy J. Ondra Publisher: Storey Publishing List Price: $19.95 Reviewer: Erica H. Smith Whether you’re an experienced container gardener who’d like some new ideas to try, a beginner who just can’t get the combinations right or keep the plants going through the summer, or a total novice, you can learn something from this book. Container gardening is deservedly popular; it can be an efficient and attractive use of the small outdoor spaces many of us have available—or even if you have acres to play with, some nice pots right outside the house add an intimate touch. But what to plant, what to plant in, and how to care for your container arrangements can be confusing.

Container Theme Gardens may not resolve all confusions, but it packs quite a lot of information into its 268 pages.

A deceptive amount of information, one might say, because at first glance the book’s format seems more illustrative than educational, thanks in part to Rob Cardillo’s beautiful photographs. It’s a tidy, colorful, and organized volume, but the introductory part—where most gardening books give you the “how-to” in detail—is just five pages, of which the “basics of container gardening” comprises two, and then Ondra plunges right into her “42 combinations each using five perfectly matched plants.”

But if you delve into each of those container combinations, all the advice you’ll want is there in the accompanying text, including quite a lot of generalized knowledge about plant needs and 18

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design aesthetics. This is probably more a learn-by-doing (or by copying) book than a learn-by-reading one, but also a nice one to browse through when you’re waiting for planting weather.

Here’s the format for each of the 42 combinations: First, the theme is announced, based on color, season, function, or other factors; the finished container is shown, with a description of its size, a list of plants, and an indication of sun or shade location; on the next page, each of the five plants is illustrated and described, with possible alternates given; on the following page, seasonal details are provided in a couple of paragraphs each for spring, early-mid-summer, mid-late-summer, and fall. This is where the informational meat is found—frost-sensitivity in spring, watering and fertilizing needs, blooming times, deadheading and pruning advice, and directions for dealing with the container in fall (some plants can be wintered over, planted out, or brought inside, and some end up in the compost). Extra “tidbits, tips and tricks” are also included.

All of the container combinations are attractive, although a few look a bit overstuffed and busy. The most interesting to this reader were the containers that served a function as well as being pretty: combinations that attract birds or butterflies, that provide fall and winter interest, that include edibles or herbs (including one based around herbs for tea). There are also some adorable miniature landscapes: a fairy garden, a mini-meadow, and a tiny pond with Water Calla, Variegated Japanese Iris, Corkscrew Rush, Water Lettuce, and Red-Stemmed Parrot’s Feather.

Nearly every container used is different, and most are described at least briefly, with rationales for the choice.

The last section presents six arrangements focused on container materials: terra-cotta, plastic, copper, cement, hardwood, and ceramic. But plenty of other types appear throughout the book.

The plants chosen should be available in many garden centers (or if not, hopefully the alternates are). They are annuals, perennials, edibles, herbs, shrubs, and small trees, vines—bulbs are the only category I can think of

that’s left out, and that’s because the focus is on creating the containers from scratch in the spring. I can see several combinations I’d like to aspire to—Tropical Sunset! Hummingbird Haven! Made for Shade!—and it’s useful to know what are ideal plants for containers in different color palettes and light conditions.

Container gardeners in many situations will find this book a good choice, and it may persuade those who haven’t tried this form of horticulture yet to give it a shot.

Erica H. Smith is a Montgomery County Master Gardener, runs the Grow It Eat It blog for the University of Maryland Extension, and grows vegetables in her own community garden plot and in the MG Demonstration Garden in Derwood, MD. She is the author of several novels; visit her web site at ericahsmith.wordpress.com.

Better Homes and Gardens Orchid Gardening Contributing author Ellen Zachos Publisher: Better Homes & Gardens List Price: $19.99 Reviewer: Teresa Speight Better Homes and Gardens has always made growing anything seem quite simple. This book on Orchid gardening was no different. I found it to be quite a source of enlightening reading with easy-to-understand instructions for growing Orchids. Exploring everything from form and function to choosing the right orchid and even a chapter on special projects, I do not think they missed anything about how simple it is to grow

BOOKreviews Orchids. Considered one of the biggest plant families, Orchids are still one of those plants whose unique beauty you recognize, as many have done throughout the ages.

This book gives a thorough breakdown of the different types and what their requirements are to grow—there is a vast array of conditions that each different species needs. Some like soil, some prefer a loose fast-draining bark mixture, and others live off aerial roots.

Some have very thin foliage and others have a thick, almost succulent, types of foliage.

The best parts of this book for me was the chapter on Orchid care and the gallery of Orchid types. It was like reading the list in an orchid candy store, with names like Gongoria quinquenervis (a fragrant cultivar), Cattleya ‘Magnificent Obsession’ or even Dendrobium ‘Aussie Aurora.’ There is a cultivar of Orchid for just about everyone. I would recommend this book as an appetizer for anyone who finds Orchids beautiful enough to accept the ease of growing them.

Teresa Speight is a native Washingtonian, who resides in District Heights, MD. She owns Cottage in the Court Landscape Consulting. She can be reached at cottageinthecourt@gmail.com.

Electric Fencing and Making Hay

By Ann Larkin Hansen Publisher: Storey Publishing List Price: $9.95 Reviewer: Seema Vithlani I recently read Electric Fencing and Making Hay, two “Books for Self-Reliance” by Ann Larkin Hansen. While I don’t know whether I will be using the information from the books anytime soon, it would definitely be helpful to readers with larger gardens or livestock.

Electric fences are a great way to protect crops and gardens from wild animals and to contain domestic animals.

They are also usually cheaper than nonelectric fences, according to the book, but they require more frequent inspection.

The book describes how to plan for and build electric fences; it explains the components and advises which types of fences to use in different circumstances, especially based on the type

of animal. Generally, it requires higher voltages to keep wild animals out than to contain pets and livestock.

Electric Fencing also lists the pros and cons of temporary fences, which are cheaper and more flexible, and permanent fences, for fixed containment.

Making Hay explores the various components of hay, which is great for feeding livestock, and how exactly to make it.

Hay is made from cut and dried legumes, such as alfalfa or red clover, and grasses, such as Bermuda grass and orchard grass. The book details how and when to dry and rake these materials, how to use and maintain different equipment, and how to store hay.

Again, because I do not have a large garden or pets or livestock, I will probably be storing this information for later use. But the books provide very detailed instructions on various aspects of hay-making and electric fencing, and would be very useful to those who want to learn.

Seema Vithlani is a Washington Gardener intern for spring 2016. She is a junior multiplatform journalism major and French minor at the University of Maryland.

Your First Garden: A Landscape Primer for New Home Owners

By Judith Adam Publisher: Firefly Books List Price: $19.95 Reviewer: Daisy-nelly Nji Your First Garden: A Landscape Primer

for New Home Owners gives detailed advice to first-time gardeners on how to make a home’s exterior appealing and an attractive setting. Judith Adam takes you through different phases of designing the landscape of your garden.

With each phase, she gives you relevant information and realistic expectations on what to anticipate. It is noted that starting a garden is not easy and Adams even says it may be best for some people to call a professional to help with the task. If you don’t have the resources to call an expert, however, this book makes the job of growing your own garden a little less daunting.

I was very surprised while reading this book, because I learned that starting a garden isn’t just planting some seeds and hoping for the best. There is a lot of consideration and planning that goes into gardening like: surveying the area around your house for seeing the size and shape your garden will take on, figuring out how you will irrigate the garden, recognizing the type of soil you have, finding ways to keep your soil healthy, and deciding if you want to add other installations to your garden like patios and decks. The book also gives an overview of what plants and trees work best for each season.

The only critique I have is that the book should have more information on how much it will cost to start a garden around your house and maintain it. By the end of the book, I still didn’t know if this would be a costly task or not. I would recommend this book to gardenBook Reviews continued on page 20 APRIL 2016

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Book Reviews continued from page 19

Mosquitos, continued from page 9

The Yellow Fever mosquito cannot overwinter in the Washington, DC, area.

Occasionally, it is found here during the warmer months; in October 2011, was found breeding in a southeast DC fountain and in a garbage can. In most years, sightings are of a few individuals found near military installations in Virginia that come in via overseas transportation of goods.

Besides emptying water-holding vessels and using a biocontrol in still-water features, what can you do? If you go outside, use a repellant. The female mosquito is attracted to you as a host by detecting the carbon dioxide that you exhale, the temperature of your skin, and the presence of lactic acid, which is given off when we exercise.

New research is indicating that an even more-compelling lure are the volatile compounds given off as communication by our skin bacteria and other microbes. Repellents act by masking those odors.

The CDC recommends products containing DEET and picaridin as being the most effective. They also list oil of lemon eucalyptus and IR3535 (found in some Skin So Soft products) as being effective, but not as long-lasting.

Beware of “natural” products as they may not have had sufficient testing to prove their effectiveness. In some of the repellent testsm, it was noted that a certain percentage of the human subjects were not very attractive to the mosquitoes and a different segment of the test subjects was very attractive. If you are lucky, mosquitos just don’t like how you smell! 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, and is a Licensed Pesticide Applicator in the states of Maryland. She can be contacted at carolallen@erols.com.

Please use pesticides safely! Read and heed all label directions!

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APRIL 2016

ers, home owners, and landscapers.

Whether you are a novice or expert, I believe this book will be enlightening for everyone.

Daisy-Nelly Nji is a senior journalism student at the University of Maryland. She is a multiplatform journalism major at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. This spring, she is an editorial intern at Washington Gardener.

The Flower Workshop

By Ariella Chezar with Julie Michaels, photography by Erin Kunkel Publisher: Ten Speed Press List Price: $25.00 Reviewer: Jamie Moore Within our modern and hectic lifestyle, I find the simple act of bringing a few flowers inside creates a sense of peace and calm. I have never had any formal training in flower arranging, so it was with great interest that I read Ariella Chezar’s The Flower Workshop.

Chezar is a master floral designer whose work has been featured in major gardening and lifestyle magazines, as well as in the White House. She also teaches floral design and recently started her own flower farm to grow her own materials sustainably . She describes her style as “painterly,” drawing influence from the 17th-century Dutch masters and later French Impressionists.

I appreciate her advice to limit the color palette in flower arrangements to just one or two colors. She warns, “Gather too many colors into one bouquet, and there is no place for the eye to rest.” She goes on to create a sense

of drama in her arrangements by varying tone, texture, and shape. The result is a more elegant and naturalistic composition than the typical florist offering.

This book includes an overview of the elements of art and design, then helpfully goes on to explain tools and techniques specific to flower arranging.

Chezar advocates the use of seasonal and local materials, introducing an element of fun by inviting readers to forage around their environment for unexpected additions, such as interesting branches, vines, and fruits. She encourages readers to grow their own material, providing a list of recommended plants that she grows on her farm in upstate New York.

The main body of the book provides gorgeous photographs of different types of arrangements along with brief instructions for creating them. This is the kind of book that invites you to return and peruse the pages whenever you need a bit of inspiration.

After reading this book, I feel empowered to create more captivating and unique arrangements, both for everyday enjoyment and for special occasions.

Having now been introduced to the pin frog, I am no longer limited to sticking a few stems in a narrow-necked vase.

Bring on the footed compote dishes and urns! I will twine vines through branches artistically arranged in an inverted pyramid shape to create a sense of romance. I will use fruiting blackberry canes alongside old garden roses and intermingle sugar snap peas with sweet peas. I will grow wonderful things like dahlias, anemones, and more clematis.

This book will give anyone who enjoys bringing a bit of the garden inside the knowledge necessary to create truly remarkable arrangements. o Jamie Moore has been gardening in Frederick County, MD, for the past three years (before that, she gardened in southern Louisiana for nine years, where she completed the master gardener program). Her main gardening interests are edible gardening on a suburban plot, growing old garden roses, English roses, and heirloom flowers; composting; sustainable practices; and companion gardening. In addition to gardening, she loves to read, cook with local and seasonal produce, hike, and spend time with her husband, three children, and two cats.

Play Public Gardens Bingo!

Visit DCGardens.com for information about these Local Public Gardens

Take a photo in any of these gardens during National Public Garden Week (May 1-7) and post it to Twitter or Instagram with the #GardenDC hashtag. For each garden you visit, you will be entered into a prize drawing to win one of several fabulous prizes including: expert talks at a local public garden, baskets of garden goodies, private guided garden tours, and much more.

When you complete any row or diagonal, you get a bonus entry. If you complete the whole card, you automatically win a free year’s subscription to Washington Gardener Magazine!

Follow @DCGardens on Twitter and Instagram for prize announcements and further updates.

White House Gardens

Green Spring Gardens

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

Mount Vernon

River Farm AHS

Franciscan Monastery

National Bonsai & Penjing Museum

U.S. National Arboretum

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

American University Campus

Hillwood Museum and Gardens

Bishop’s Gardens

FREE SPACE

Tudor Place

Dumbarton Oaks

Brookside Gardens

National Gallery Sculpture Garden

U.S. Botanic Garden

National Garden at U.S. Botanic Garden

McCrillis Gardens

Smithsonian Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden

Smithsonian Victory Garden

Smithsonian Butterfly Habitat Garden

Smithsonian Ripley Garden

APRIL 2016

Smithsonian Haupt Garden

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NEIGHBORnwork

Meet City Cultivator Niraj Ray

edible landscaping businesses, and urban farms of all sizes to help support them. Through our projects, we hope to make urban farming more profitable for local businesses and empower our community through access to healthy food and green jobs.

What advice do you have for local or beginning gardeners?

by Seema Vithlani Niraj Ray is the founder and CEO of Cultivate the City, a DC-area green business started in April 2015 to promote sustainable food systems. With a focus on vertical gardening, Cultivate the City helps businesses and homes start their own gardens, educates the community about sustainable food systems, sells produce and supplies to restaurants and other customers, and more. The business is opening H Street Farms, including an outside garden, cold storage, green roof areas, and a vertical edible garden. We recently caught up with Niraj at the RootingDC conference.

How did you come to start Cultivate the City? Can you tell us a bit about your own background?

My background is in Integrated Environmental Science and, when I first came to DC, I was working with the EPA, looking at land-based sources of pollution and their effects on coastal environmental quality. I had developed a passion for vertical farming during my graduate studies in Florida, starting a hydroponic farm on campus at BethuneCookman University, and when I came to the EPA, I also started a rooftop garden at the office and a vertical farm at a nearby elementary school.

As I developed more links between my professional work and my desire to grow food, I saw how urban agriculture and vertical farming can help solve many of the environmental, social, and economic issues plaguing many of our 22

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cities, starting with DC. Cultivate the City was created to show we can transform the under-utilized and abandoned parts of our urban areas to help create a sustainable local food economy and educate the farmers of the future, while creating a healthier and more enjoyable city to live in.

What does a typical work day look like for you?

A typical work day can vary greatly, including anything from planning the planting schedule for the year, planting seeds, harvesting, preparing CSA shares, designing gardens for clients, writing or following up on grants, building vertical farms or restaurant/ office gardens, making shrubs and hot sauce, leading school garden classes or volunteer groups, training interns and employees, and a lot more...

What is the best part about Cultivate the City? The most challenging part?

One of the best parts about Cultivate the City is the ability to connect with so many emerging local businesses in DC. Not only are there lot of new restaurants and food businesses around DC., but there are also greenroof companies,

Growing your own food is a great learning experience, and my advice for local gardeners would be to challenge yourself to try growing something new or try growing something in a completely new way; you never know when you might strike gold. You might find out how rewarding it can be to grow your own turmeric, or you may find a way to keep strawberries fruiting in winter—our final harvest of strawberries last season was in January!

What is your favorite plant and why?

I have lots of favorite plants, so it’s hard to choose just one. I really like growing strawberries because they are perfect for vertical growing (compact, bushy, and the fruit just love to dangle in the air, instead of sitting on the ground).

I also love pawpaw—it reminds me of tropical fruit like mango or banana, but it can grow right in your backyard!

We also grow for a few Indian restaurants in DC, and one of our favorite plants that we grow for them is curry tree (Murraya koenigii), which has the most amazing smell and creates some enchanting sambars.

How can our readers reach you?

Readers can contact me via email at info@cultivatethecity.com, or they can follow us on Instagram/Facebook at @cultivatethecity or @cultivatecity on Twitter. o Seema Vithlani is a Washington Gardener intern for spring 2016. She is a junior multiplatform journalism major and French minor at the University of Maryland.

HORThaenings

7th Annual Community Forklift Garden Party

Community Forklift held its 7th annual Garden Party and Spring Sale on Saturday, April 2. The party was filled with gardening demonstrations, experts and vendors, activities for kids, local bands, and a food truck. All the items Community Forklift collected throughout the winter, such as lawn and garden supplies, outdoor décor, and furniture, were available in the spring sale.

Proceeds from the sale go to support the organization’s work to create green jobs, reduce waste, educate the public about reuse, and provide free supplies to nonprofits in need. Community Forklift is located in Edmonston MD.

Lahr Plant Symposium

The 30th Annual Lahr Plant Symposium was held in conjunction with the Native Plant Sale on Saturday, April 2, at the U.S. National Arboretum. At the symposium, gardeners learned from the nation’s top landscape designers, ecologists, and resource management staff. Attendees walked away from the event with techniques, approaches, and insights that they would be able to apply to their gardens. All proceeds from this event support the Fern Valley Native Plant Collection. There was also a plant sale where visitors could purchase an extensive collection of high-quality, locally grown native plants.

Growers were on hand to provide expert gardening information.

American Horticultural Society River Farm Sale

The American Horticultural Society (AHS) kicked off the gardening season with its Spring Garden Market at River Farm in Alexandria, VA. On Friday, April 8, members of the horticultural society had the first opportunity to access doz-

ens of vendors who were selling a wide variety of plants, seeds, garden decor, accessories, books, and botanically themed art. On Saturday, April 9, the garden market was open to the public, with kids and pets welcomed. That day, AHS partnered with The National Capital Area Garden Clubs to present a free flower show for Spring Garden Market attendees. Master Gardeners were also invited to the event to do demonstrations and answer any gardening question attendees had.

the DCEFF presents more than 100 films to an audience of over 30,000.

Often combined with thematic discussions and social events.

Beltsville Garden Club Plant Sale

The Beltsville Garden Club held a plant sale April 9 at High Point High School in Beltsville, MD. Members of the club sold plants they had grown, and 7% of their gross sales went to the club. Club members also sold plants they grew at a greenhouse at the Duckworth School; all proceeds from these sales went to the school. The club’s next plant sale will be held May 7 at the same location.

Green Matters 2016

More than 115 people attended the 2016 Green Matters Symposium on April 8 at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD. The program theme was environmentally friendly landscape design and construction. The event featured seven speakers, including Mary Pat Matheson, president and CEO of Atlanta Botanical Garden; Thomas Rainer, landscape architect and author; and Lori Arguelles, executive director of the Alice Ferguson Foundation.

Screening of SEED: The Untold Story

The Environmental Film Festival (DCEFF) screened “SEED: The Untold Story” on March 25 at the Carnegie Institution for Science. The documentary highlights the loss of genetic diversity of crops, made worse by chemical seed corporations. In fact, we have lost more than 94 percent of vegetable seed varieties, according to the film. The film follows farmers and scientists working to resolve this issue. The screening was followed by a discussion with the two directors and producers, Taggart Siegel and John Betz, and with some of the seed-savers from the documentary.

The DCEFF is the world’s premier showcase of environmentally themed films. Each March in Washington, DC,

FOBG’s Silent Auction, Gala in the Garden

The Friends of Brookside Gardens’ Gala in the Garden was held on Saturday, April 16. Participants bid on beautiful, interesting and useful auction items ranging from artwork by local artists to a trip to Disneyland. It was an evening of fun and festivities to benefit Brookside Gardens. The crowed enjoyed light refreshments and live musical entertainment. All auction proceeds went to support Brookside Gardens and its programs. o Compiled by Seema Vithlani, a junior multiplatform journalism major and French minor at the University of Maryland, and DaisyNelly Nji, a senior journalism student at the University of Maryland. Both are Washington Gardener interns for spring 2016.

APRIL 2016

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

MAY/JUNE 2007 • Roses: Easy Care Tips • Native Roses & Heirloom Roses • Edible Flowers • How to Plant a Bare-root Rose

MAY/JUNE 2005 • Stunning Plant Combinations • Turning Clay into Rich Soil • Wild Garlic • Strawberries

JULY/AUGUST 2007 • Groundcovers: Alternatives to Turfgrass • How to Pinch, Prune, & Dead-head • William Paca House & Gardens • Hardy Geraniums

JULY/AUGUST 2005 • Water Gardens • Poison Ivy • Disguising a Sloping Yard • Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2007 • Succulents: Hardy to our Region • Drought-Tolerant Natives • Southern Vegetables • Seed Saving Savvy Tips

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005 • Container Gardens • Clematis Vines • Sponge Gardening/Rain Gardens • 5 Insect Enemies of Gardeners

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007 • Gardening with Children • Indoor Bulb-Forcing Basics • National Museum of the American Indian • Versatile Viburnums

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2005 • Backyard Bird Habitats • Hellebores • Building a Coldframe • Bulb Planting Basics

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008 • Dealing with Deer • Our Favorite Garden Tools • Delightful Daffodils MARCH/APRIL 2008 • Patio, Balcony, Rooftop Container Gardens • Our Favorite Garden Tools • Coral Bells (Heucheras)

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 • Garden Decor Principles • Primroses • Tasty Heirloom Veggies • U.S. Botanic Garden

MAY/JUNE 2008 — ALMOST SOLD OUT! • Growing Great Tomatoes • Glamorous Gladiolus • Seed-Starting Basics • Flavorful Fruiting Natives

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 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

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

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JULY/AUGUST 2008 • Landscaping with Ornamental Grasses • Edible Grasses to Graze On • Slug and Snail Control • Sage Advice: Sun-Loving Salvias

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009 • Compost Happens: Nature’s Free Fertilizer • Managing Stormwater with a Rain Garden • Visiting Virginia’s State Arboretum • Grow Winter Hazel for Winter Color

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2007 • Indoor Gardening • Daphne Care Guide • Asparagus Growing Tips and Recipes • Houseplant Propagation

MARCH/APRIL 2009 UT! • 40+ Free and Low-cost Local D O Garden Tips SOL • Spring Edibles Planting UT! Guide O LD for a Fresh Start • Testing Your SOSoil UT! • Redbud LD O Tree Selection and Care O S • Best Viewing Spots for Virginia Bluebells

MARCH/APRIL 2007 • Stormwater Management • Dogwood Selection & Care Guide • Early Spring Vegetable Growing Tips • Franciscan Monastery Bulb Gardens

MAY/JUNE 2009 • Top Easy Summer Annuals for DC Heat • Salad Table Project • Grow and Enjoy Eggplant • How to Chuck a Woodchuck

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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 • Dwarf Iris • Broccoli SUMMER 2010 • Fragrance Gardens • Watering Without Waste • Lavender • Potatoes FALL 2010 • Vines and Climbers • Battling Stink Bugs • Russian Sage • Garlic WINTER 2010 • Paths and Walkways • Edgeworthia • Kohlrabi SPRING 2011 • Cutting-Edge Gardens • Final Frost Dates and When to Plant • Bleeding Hearts • Onions SUMMER 2011 • Ornamental Edibles • Urban Foraging • Amsonia/Arkansas Blue Star • Growing Corn in the Mid-Atlantic FALL 2011 • Herb Gardens • Toad Lilies • Sweet Potatoes • Cool Weather Cover Crops WINTER 2011/EARLY SPRING 2012 • Green Roofs and Walls • Heaths and Heathers • Radishes SPRING 2012 • Pollinator Gardens • Brunnera: Perennial of the Year • Growing Yacon SUMMER 2012 • Tropical Gardens • Captivating Canna • Icebox Watermelons SPRING 2013 • Great Garden Soil • All About Asters • Squash Vine Borer SUMMER/FALL 2013 • Miniature/Faerie Gardens • Beguiling Abelias • Growing Great Carrots WINTER/EARLY SPRING 2014 • Ferns for the Mid-Atlantic • Chanticleer Gardens • Beet Growing Basics

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CORRECTION –

Due to a reporting error the scientific name for kale in the Growing Tips section of the “Cultivating Kale” story was misspelled. It should be Brassica oleracea (not Brassica olearacea).

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