WashingtonGardener Magazine March 2015

MARCH 2015 VOL. 10 NO. 1

WWW.WASHINGTONGARDENER.COM

WASHINGTON WAS W WASHINGTO ASHINGTO

ggardener

the magazine for gardening enthusiasts in the Mid-Atlantic region

10 Tips for Easy-Care Beds and Borders March Garden Tasks

Visit the Virginia House and Garden Bletilla: A Hardy Orchid for our Climate Organic Lawn Care Practices Growing Strawberries in Containers

Cabbage-Growing Guide for the Mid-Atlantic

Local Garden Events Listing

Reader Contest

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RESOURCESsourc

Business Card Templates by Vertex42.com

Edible Landscapes for the Home Gardener Coaching /Maintenance /Seasonal Services Email: garden@loveandcarrots.com to learn more! www.LoveandCarrots.com

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.

Burtonsville, MD (301) 821-7777

RARE AND EXCEPTIONAL PLANTS FOR THE DISCRIMINATING GARDENER AND COLLECTOR

• Ponds - Waterfalls • Disappearing Fountains • “Pondless” Waterfalls www.premierpond.com

Barry Glick Sunshine Farm and Gardens HC 67 Box 539 B 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

www.greenspring.org

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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.

INSIDEcontents

FEATURES and COLUMNS

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Explore the Virginia House garden in Richmond, VA. Photo by Cheval Force Opp.

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USDA scientists analyzed key nutrients in 25 varieties of microgreens and found that red cabbage microgreens (shown here) had the highest concentrations of vitamin C. These nutritious microgreens are ready to harvest just 10 days after planting. Photo by Peggy Greb.

BOOKreviews 6-7 Pruning and Training, Compost, Bonsai Bible DAYtrip 8-10 Virginia House and Garden GARDENbasics 16-17 Organic Lawn Care KNOWitall 21 Container Strawberries, Kamikaze Robins, Cocoons in Compost, Replacing an Ash NEWPLANTspotlight 11 Pear ‘Gem’ PLANTprofile 18-19 Bletilla — Hardy Chinese Orchid EDIBLEharvest 14-15 Cabbage-Growing Guide TIPStricks 20 Easy-Care Flower beds, Frog Poison Controls Fire Ants

DEPARTMENTS

ADVERTISINGindex BLOGlinks EDITORletter GARDENcontest LOCALevents MONTHLYtasklist NEXTissue RESOURCESsources

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ON THE COVER

A cabbage growing in a local community garden. Photo by Kathy Jentz.

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Win a Seed Starter Kit from Gardener’s Supply Company!

See page 5 for entry details.

Entry deadline is 5:00pm March 29.

In Our Next Issue: APRIL 2015 Ground Beetles Garden Tour Listings Spring Ephemerals and much more...

A partial list of varieties of Bletilla available through East Coast nurseries includes: Bletilla striata ‘Innocense,’ Bletilla striata ‘Kuchibeni,’ and Bletilla striata ‘Yellow Stripe.’

Be sure you are subscribed to:

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Click on the “subscribe” link at http://washingtongardener. blogspot.com/ MARCH 2015

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EDITORletter

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!

DC Gardens —

Beyond Cherry Blossoms Campaign The beloved cherry blossom trees are predicted to be in peak bloom around April 11–14 and they will be feted and celebrated for several weeks before that flowering date — and deservedly so! But, like many gardeners in our region, I have to sigh a little bit inside whenever anyone extols their virtues and is completely ignorant of the gorgeous saucer magnolias in bloom almost simultaneously at the Smithsonian’s Haupt Garden or of the many other flowering trees in our public gardens, parks, and private landscapes. What can be done to educate them?

Many of you may be aware by now of a new campaign in the form of a web site whose goal is to raise awareness of gardening and gardens in the Washington, DC, region. A group of us local gardening writers, spearheaded by Susan Harris of GardenRant.com, just launched DC Gardens—Beyond Cherry Blossoms. To fund our outreach efforts, we are seeking to raise $25,000 in donations through Indiegogo

by May 1. Most of the funds raised will pay for monthly email updates on gardenrelated events in our region and a coordinated social media campaign. We want to bring awareness of DC gardens to outside tourists as well as to hometown audiences. The web site will also identify local gardening information such as lists of great plant choices for our area, garden clubs, garden design sources and resources, etc.

Most of our local public gardens are limited in the promotions they can do for themselves. Some are handcuffed by local and federal government regulations. Others are limited by their resources -- lacking in funds, staff time, or expertise. We are seeking to step in and do what they cannot do for themselves -- create a hub for garden tourism and awareness in our region.

DC Gardens is a grassroots, independent media campaign using images of DCarea gardens by month to entice people to discover them. DC Gardens is also a hub of info that helps locals learn to garden and connect with the gardening and greening community.

Can you do me a favor today and sign up for the email list and make a small donation to the Indegogo campaign? To do both, just go to www.DCGardens.com. Please also pass along this information to your fellow gardening friends, garden clubs, plant societies, public garden “friends” groups, etc. You have my permission to use this text in gardening organization newsletters.

Happy gardening!

Kathy Jentz, Editor/Publisher, Washington Gardener wgardenermag@aol.com

Ruth E. Thaler-Carter Proofreader Cover price: $4.99 Back issues: $6.00 Subscription: $20.00 Foreign subscription: $24.00 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 Retail stores wishing to sell our publication should contact Kathy Jentz at the contact information above.

To order reprints, contact Wright’s Reprints at 877.652.5295, ext. 138.

Volume 10, Number 1 ISSN 1555-8959 © 2015 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

Reader Contest

Local Gardening Calendar

Each month includes a list of what to do in the garden for local DC-MD-VA and Mid-Atlantic gardeners, along with a gorgeous photo of a seasonal flower from a local public garden collection in our area.

Go to http://www.cafepress.com/ washgardener to order this new calendar for gifts and to treat yourself!

Be sure to note on your order what month you want the calendar to start with. This calendar is a keeper that you can use for years!

For our March 2015 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, Washington Gardener is giving away a GrowEase Seed Starter Kit from Gardener’s Supply Company (prize value: $17).

They’ve solved the challenges of over- or under-watering with the no-fail self-watering feature.

Simply fill the reservoir and plants get the water they need, when they need it.

That’s worry-free watering! Forget flimsy, single-use look-alike seed starting kits; this heavy-duty system is reusable, again and again. It includes an extra-sturdy leak-proof reservoir, platform and planting cell tray that are all dishwasher-safe, making them easy to clean and sterilize between uses. And the capillary mat, which delivers moisture as seedlings need it, can be used over and over; simply hand wash between uses. A clear germination cover maintains proper humidity while the seeds are germinating. The support platform that holds the planting cells doubles as a seedling ejector. Read more about it at www.gardeners.com/how-to/all-aboutgrowease/8570.html.

To enter to win the GrowEase Seed Start Kit, send an email to WashingtonGardener@rcn.com by 5:00pm on Sunday, March 29 with “Seed Starter Kit” 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 March 31.

Caption Contest

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We asked our Facebook page followers to caption this photo: What are these tiny seedlings, seen at the recent Philadelphia Flower Show, saying to each other?

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

Winning Captions: “Cool bean bags, guys.” ~ David Hobson “PlantPorn, here we come!” ~ Luis Mármol “Bean there, done that.” ~ Holly Heintz Budd “Guess she’s an early bloomer.” ~ Julie Blackwell “Beans in a Bag.” ~ Joanna Protz “Pisum in paper pots: Vulgare to some, but clever and compostable egg carton cups, toilet paper rolls, or just glue and paper pouches — add a dollop of seed-starting mix, plump seed, and a sunny window — withstand watering and sog until that morning you pop them into a warming spring soil.” ~ Liz Kirchner

Seedling photo by Kathy Jentz MARCH 2015

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BOOKreviews

Pruning and Training

By Geoff Hodge Publisher: Mitchell Beazley List Price: $19.99 Reviewer: Martha Sykora “Some gardeners worry unnecessarily that cutting off even the smallest twig will have dire consequences for the plant. In fact, most plants are very forgiving and respond well to pruning. Some even thrive on being cut back hard. On the other hand, there are some plants that do not really like being pruned hard or at all.”

So, how to know the difference?! For a comprehensive yet concise guide to the sometimes intimidating task of helping your plants grow to their best appearance and function, take a look at Pruning and Training. Widely published British garden writer Geoff Hodges provides reassurance and clear explanations of why, how, and when to prune a variety of plants. Following a chapter on “Rules and Tools,” additional chapters cover such topics as perennials, ornamental trees and shrubs, climbers, hedges, roses, and fruit trees and bushes. Abundant illustrations complement the text — photographs as well as clear drawings. A pruning directory with specific details for 160 plants gives recommendations for type of pruning and time of year. The book’s size is manageable for slipping into a large pocket to take outdoors for reference if needed.

As it was first published in England as part of a Royal Horticultural Society 6

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reference series, the reader should note the book includes some information that may not be relevant to our area. However, the instructions for pruning such undesirable plants as honeysuckle and wisteria could be used as a guide for other similar but non-invasive vines. There is also an emphasis on training plants on wires, either free-standing or attached to walls, which is less common here. But if that is your intention, this is the book for you!

Note: For comparison, I consulted the American Horticultural Society (AHS) book of the same title. The AHS book is larger and more detailed, but covers the same general topics (with the omission of hedges). However it includes many more photographs and has a more-extensive index. I would suggest looking at both books before making a purchasing decision. Each is a wonderful resource individually, although there is a significant information overlap.

Martha Sykora has been lucky to try gardening in climates as diverse as Maryland, Colorado, and England. She currently lives in a LEED-certified homestead-wannabe in Annapolis. The bees haven’t survived a full year yet but the vermiculture composting operation is doing well.

The Bonsai Bible

By Peter Chan Publisher: Mitchell Beazley List Price: $14.99 Reviewer: Jim Dronenburg This small-sized book is perhaps wrongly named; a better name would

be “Guide to Bonsai Treatment of Various Species.” Your reviewer knows nothing of bonsai and, when reading, I came across the names of various bonsai styles (ex. “formal upright” and “forest groups”) with no explanation of what they, or other styles, were. On the other hand, it does go into soil mixes, acidity, etc, for the various species of plant material used. These are handily broken down into outdoor coniferous bonsai, outdoor broadleaf bonsai, outdoor flowering bonsai, and indoor/ tropical bonsai. Within the groupings, listings are alphabetical by Latin name, with English common (and sometimes Japanese common) names. For each species listing, the overall natural habit of the plant is given with how to keep a bonsai in terms of sun, shade, watering, protection in winter, pest control, when to wire it, and when to repot it (usually every X years, at such-andsuch a season). When new growth is to be shortened, it lists how and when. A lot of the book seems repetitious — but it must repeat, when the same thing holds true for X many species.

The book is refreshingly blunt about starting out — the author says to find a local bonsai group and learn the basics hands-on before jumping in with both feet. (This may be difficult, say, on a farm in the Midwest, when your nearest neighbor is miles away, let alone a city, but here in the DC region, we’re good to go. See the profile of the Northern Virginia Bonsai Club in the September 2014 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine.)

One of the more common-sense parts of the book is the listing for most, if not every, species — “for beginners” or “not for beginners.” This probably will prevent a lot of weeping, wailing, and dampened enthusiasm, when your first forays go metabolically challenged.

Sometimes things are handled very off-handedly in the book and suggest further investigation — mention is made of “exhibition of bonsai-companion plants” — with pictures, one might add — and of microminiature bonsai.

One particular picture that sticks in the memory is a forsythia bonsai, and another is a flowering cherry bonsai, where the height of the plant is only about five times the size of an indi-

BOOKreviews vidual flower, and in a tiny pot perhaps an inch square.

The list price on the book jacket is $14.99, which is perhaps more than someone just starting out would wish to spend for a book as specialized as this one. But it seems (on the basis of no experience) a very useful small reference once someone has gotten their feet wet and starts to branch out.

Post-review: I called Peter Jones in Northern Virginia, who is a bonsai enthusiast and teacher; he says to look up the Potomac Bonsai Society online at www.potomacbonsai.com. It is composed of nine local groups. These groups teach, meet, exhibit, and otherwise herd people along the path of knowledge and skill.

Jim Dronenburg is an accountant by day, an Irish harper/singer by night, and a Behnke Nursery weekend warrior to support his expanding gardens in Knoxville, MD.

organisms. And as I learned, without organic matter, your soil’s structure will fall apart.

This helpful book gives you everything you need to start composting: instructions on how to build your very own compost pile, things you should and should not put in that compost pile, and activators and additives to speed up and improve the quality of your compost. This book explains everything about composting. Even the book can be composted! Ben Raskin is a genius about everything compost. Once you read this book, you’ll agree with me, too!

Hannah Nolte, age 10, lives with her family in Bowie Maryland, where they have recently started composting. She reviewed this book at the request of her great-aunt, Kathy Parrent, who runs “Green Thumb to the Rescue” on Facebook. .

Love Reading?

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

Garden Book Club

For our next Washington Gardener Magazine Book Club selection, we will be discussing: Braiding Sweetgrass

by Robin Wall Kimmerer. The book club meeting will be held at the Tenley-Friendship Neighborhood Library in the Mediumsized Conference Room on Wednesday, April 22, from 6:30 to 8:00PM. The library room allows food and drink and you may bring your dinner.

The book club meetings are FREE and open to anyone who would like to attend.

Please RSVP to “WG Book Club” at WashingtonGardener@rcn.com. I will be limiting attendance to 20. If you need to cancel, let me know ASAP so we can give your spot to someone else, should we have a wait-list.

Y ou Can Make a Difference. . .

by Sharing Your Harvest

Compost: A Family Guide to Making Soil from Scraps

By Ben Raskin Publisher: Roost Books List Price: $16.95 Reviewer: Hannah Nolte Compost is a book I would recommend for ages 6-9, but whether you’re old or young, you can still learn from this amazing book! Compost uses games, pull-outs, and stickers to entertain the reader, with two whole chapters just about worms.

With introductions on compost and soil, this neat book tells you the “dirt” on topics from photosynthesis to making your own compost tea. You can find out what kinds of organisms live in and help soil and how compost helps those

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.

MARCH 2015

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DAYtrip

Virginia House and Garden A hidden historic gem in Richmond, Virginia

Text and Photos by Cheval Force Opp

I first saw the Virginia House and its garden on a visit to several other Richmond, VA, gardens. Tucked away in the elegant residential Windsor Farms neighborhood, Virginia House sits next to its sister, Agecroft Hall, another reconstructed English manor house.

Have you ever toured ancient homes and wished you could bring back one for your very own? In 1925, Alexander and Virginia Weddell did just that. They bought a priory at a demolition sale in England. The Priory of the Augustinian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem was established by Henry de Newburgh, first Earl of Warwick, in 1109.

The building that housed the order was completed sometime around 1119.

Over the years, ownership changed and the building was abandoned.

Shipping to Richmond meant the house had to be dismantled. The story is told that the company hired to prepare the priory for shipment feared 8

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the stones would crumble, so they decided to set off a small explosion in the middle of the building. The stones that survived the blast would be boxed and shipped to America. To everyone’s amazement, most of the stones were unharmed.

Virginia House (named for Mrs. Virginia Weddell, not the state) is situated on a hillside overlooking the historic James River in Richmond. Its architecture is based on three noteworthy homes. The center section is a reproduction of the priory; the west wing is copied from Sulgrave Manor, George Washington’s ancestral home in Northamptonshire; and the east wing is modeled on Wormleighton Manor, an estate of the Spencer-Churchill family.

Although the Weddells favored historic English Tudor designs for the stately exterior, the interior included all the modern home comforts, with seven full baths, central heat, a modern kitchen,

and roomy closets.

Mrs. Weddell’s sense of style can be admired as you meander through rooms adorned with English and Spanish antiques, silk draperies, Oriental carpets, and fine silver and china.

In 1927, her gift for style extended to their selection of landscape artist Charles Freeman Gillette. At that time, he was already well-established in Richmond as a residential landscape designer.

Charles Freeman Gillette

Charles Gillette (1886–1969) is a name garden visitors might recognize from other southern-style gardens in our region. He was a prominent landscape architect specializing in the creation, or if needed, re-creation of gardens befitting Colonial Revival architecture, particularly in Richmond, VA. He is credited with defining a regional style — known as the “Virginia Garden.”

DAYtrip Gillette moved to Richmond with his new wife in 1913 to supervise the completion of the landscape design for the University of Richmond’s new campus. By all accounts, he fell in love with the Commonwealth state and never left. In 1915, he began designing the grounds of the Nelson House in Yorktown, and in 1924, began working on the landscape restoration of Kenmore in Fredericksburg. A few years later, he initiated plans for the landscaping of Virginia House and Agecroft Hall, both reconstructed English manor houses During the 1950s, Gillette redesigned the gardens of Virginia’s Executive Mansion at the request of Governor Thomas B. Stanley, as well as designed the grounds for the Richmond headquarters of the Reynolds Metals Company and the Ethyl Corporation. His other commissions included hundreds of residential projects throughout Virginia and North Carolina.

In his book, Genius in the Garden, Charles F. Gillette and Landscape Architecture in Virginia, George C. Longest writes, “The peak years of Gillette’s career as a landscape architect coincided with the height of the Country Place-era, when wealthy property owners throughout the United States built impressive country residences surrounded by meticulously conceived gardens and dramatic vistas ….”

features of landscape design but also carefully shaping each of his creative outdoor environments to complement the most distinctive elements of his clients’ homes and broader surroundings.

It is a joy to view the garden’s structure and reflect on Gillette creating “The Pleasances” for the first time and then returning to adjust, enhance, and refine his design over the next 20 years. Over those years, he also became a close friend of the Weddells.

The design’s first phase was an informal Tudor-style garden on one acre. As you walk out from the house, the land falls off to a very steeply sloping hillside. We all know homeowners who look at these impossible sites and decide to plant English ivy to run wild.

Gillette created interconnecting cascading ponds, flagstone walkways, and terraced garden beds. It is a delight to saunter diagonally down the hillside, encountering a series of terraces that distract thoughts about the steep pitch downward. The mellow heritage salmon brick is used to create decorative retaining walls adorned with Crossvine, roses, and creeping fig evincing the aura of bygone eras.

The Weddells purchased more land to enlarge the back of the property in 1932. Gillette seized the opportunity for a second phase of design. He reworked the original plan by overlaying

a cross-axis and supplemented with additional lush flower beds.

The third phase in 1939 extended the landscape down toward the James River. This area was extensively planted with grasses and he positioned evergreens in an asymmetrical pattern to mirror the rambling architecture of the house.

A Garden for Black-Tie or Barbeque

Today, the walks allow visitors to survey dense planting with very diverse plants. More than 1,000 different ornamentals crowd the eight-acre site. Notice how traditional styles are softened with native plantings, a signature of Gillette’s style. He created a garden to make everyone feel at home, giving a theatrical backdrop for black-tie parties or barbeques.

Every season has some plantings that steal the show. Sugarcane reaching a height of 12 feet in summer serve as a backdrop for other tropicals, both new and exotic. Summer annuals are replaced by salvia and anemones in the fall. Hellebores bloom in January and daffodils litter snow dotted expanses in February.

English and American boxwood plantings create the dark-green structures, containing the exuberance in the flower beds. Hollies, southern

The “Virginia Garden”

If you would like to know more about Gillette, the Library of Virginia, Fiske Kimball Fine Arts Library, has the Gillette Photograph Collection, consisting of 892 images. Approximately 200 photographs are the work of either Harry Bagby or George Moffett, both professional photographers. The images primarily depict Virginia houses, estates, gardens, and other landscape design projects. There are also many personal photographs of Gillette, his wife Ellen Cogswell Gillette, and the various homes in which they lived. The web site defines the “Virginia Garden” for us.

The “Virginia Garden” — a style characterized by its understated classicism and attention to detail.

Gillette linked architecture and landscape in a manner seldom found today, not only emphasizing the traditional MARCH 2015

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DAYtrip magnolia, and red cedar frame views on the horizon toward the James River.

Gillette’s playful melding of Italian and English gardening styles at Virginia House gives us a uniquely American garden. Enjoy his use of narrow linear canals or rill to connect fountained pools to define the garden spaces and connect the garden rooms.

Over the 20+ years they owned the property, Alexander and Virginia Weddell traveled extensively in the diplomatic service. This allowed the couple to contributed inventive sculptural pieces for the garden, sent home from various duty posts. Gillette took care to set the stage for these grand objects using traditional English garden plants like cedars of Lebanon. You will discover statuary from Florence, a basin unearthed near the Alhambra palace in Spain, and a fifteenth-century baptismal font from France.

Gillette’s sophisticated eye allowed him to meld the plants and topography

3rd Annual

of Virginia into a truly American look that borrowed elegance and fine details from the old world. A visit to Virginia House is a lesson in history, art, and gardening passed down by an American master. It is a day trip you do not want to miss.

Plan Your Visit

Now owned and operated by the Virginia Historical Society as a museum, the house has been preserved much as it

was when the Weddells resided there.

It is located at 4301 Sulgrave Road, Richmond, VA. The museum and gardens are open by appointment only. If you plan to visit Virginia House museum and gardens, call ahead to set up an appointment or register for a programs by contacting Tracy Bryan, site manager, at tbryan@vahistorical.org or 804.353.4251.

Admission for Adults is $6. Seniors (65 and older) pay $5 and children/students are $4 each. It is free for Virginia Historical Society members. o Cheval Force Opp lives and gardens in historic Dunn Loring, VA, with her husband, Dana, and corgi, Marzipan. When she is not pulling weeds, she is visiting, writing, or speaking about gardens.

Special thanks to Tracy Bryan, Site Manager of Virginia House, for allowing me to visit the garden and answering questions.

Grow Your Health A Gardening, Local Food & Wellness Festival

IER PREM NING E SC R E

Gardening Classes · Children’s Activities 50 Local Vendors · Food Court Supported By:

Saturday, March 28 2015 ~ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Woodson High School in Fairfax VA $10 Adults ($15 at the door), free under 16

Sponsored By:

All Proceeds Benefiting the Weston A. Price Foundation and Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture

www.GrowYourHealthNova.com 10

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GARDENnews Photo by Steven Castagnoli, Oregon State University.

Quick Links to Recent Washington Gardener Blog Posts

• FREE Seeds to Kickstart the Gardening Season • Looking Forward to Springtime Natives • Winning Garden Photos Wow Crowds • Bringing Publicity to Public Gardens See more Washington Gardener blog posts at: Photo by Karl Gercens, Longwood Gardens.

WashingtonGardener.Blogspot.com If you are a fan of felines and gardening as well, you might also enjoy the Cats in Gardens blog at http://catsingardens.blogspot.com/

New Plant Spotlight Disease-resistant Pear ‘Gem’

A new pear cultivar, ‘Gem,’ has been released jointly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Oregon State University, Michigan State University, and Clemson University. Gem is ideal for the fresh market, combining high yields with excellent appearance, fruit quality, and long-storage potential. The new cultivar is resistant to fire blight and isn’t prone to brown discoloration, called “superficial scald,” that affects some pear varieties.

Gem requires at least three weeks of cold storage before normal fruit softening, but it will last for at least 28 weeks in cold storage without core breakdown or superficial scald. The fruit can also be eaten immediately after harvest without softening, as it has a crisp, juicy texture. Its flavor is sweet and mildly aromatic. When compared to Bartlett, a popular pear variety, sensory panelists rated Gem similar in appearance, flavor, and whether they’d purchase it.

The original seedling tree of Gem was from a cross of ‘Sheldon’ and US62563-004 made in 1970. Bell selected Gem in 1981 from the seedling orchard at the ARS Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Beltsville, MD. The source of Gem’s fire blight resistance comes from the cultivar ‘Barseck.’ Subsequently, Gem was evaluated for fruit quality, fire blight resistance, and productivity in replicated trials.

Gem is recommended as a fresh-market pear for both commercial and home orchards. While budwood of Gem is limited, genetic material of this release will be deposited in the National Plant Germplasm System, where it will be available for research purposes, including development and commercialization of the new cultivar.

March Garden To-Do List

• Avoid walking on and compacting wet soil in the garden.

• Prune grapevines.

• Put up trellises and teepees for peas, climbing beans, etc.

• Plant peas, potatoes, beets, turnips, radish, cabbage, mustard greens, onion sets, carrots, and kale.

• Set out traps for mice, moles, and voles.

• Get a soil test.

• Do soil preparation — add lime, compost, etc., as needed.

• Mulch beds with a light hand.

• Start or update your garden journals.

• Clean out any old debris from last season from your growing beds.

• Turn your compost pile.

• Repot root-bound houseplants and start fertilizing them.

• Clean leaves and debris from your water garden.

• Do not be alarmed if your pond turns green from algae bloom — this is natural until your water plants fill the surface area. Add a barley ball to combat it for now.

• Cut back ornamental grasses.

• Water during dry spells.

• Cut your Daffodils for indoor bouquets, but do not combine daffs with other flowers in one vase. They give off a toxic substance that may kill your other blooms off prematurely.

• Weed by hand to avoid disturbing newly forming roots.

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

• Divide perennials and herbs.

• Fertilize new growth.

• Plant and prune roses.

• Transplants 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.

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

• Start some more seeds — try flowering annuals like impatiens and petunias.

• Prune fruit trees as their buds are swelling. Check for dead and diseased wood to prune out. Cut a few branches for indoor forcing, if desired.

• 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.

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

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

• Plant a tree for Arbor Day. Arbor Day comes on different dates in different states.

In our area, it is the first Wednesday in April for Maryland. Virginia has it on the second Friday in April, and DC has it on the last Friday in April. In addition, many local groups and towns have their own celebrations.

• Read a good gardening book or magazine.

• Cut some branches (forsythia, quince, bittersweet, redbud, willow, etc.) for forcing into bloom and enjoying indoors.

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TOP AREA GARDENING EVENTS DC-Area Gardening Calendar ~ Upcoming Events ~ March 16-April 15, 2015 • Thursday, March 19, 7:30pm Grow It Eat It Class Get started growing your own food this year with Introduction to Organic Food Gardening in Silver Spring, MD. Targeted at beginner and intermediate gardeners, we’ll cover where to plant, what to plant, when to plant, and what to do when pests find your plants. What better way to welcome spring than plan your garden. To sign up, please go to: http://silverspringvegetablegardening. eventbrite.com.

• Friday, March 20, 1:30-2:30pm Garden Talks with Master Gardeners: Composting Don’t drag your garden and yard waste out to the curb week after week. Learn how to turn it into compost or black gold. Master Gardeners show you the right way to make rich, nutrientfilled compost that plants love. Fee: $10/person. Green Spring Gardens, 4603 Green Spring Road, Alexandria, VA 22312. Register online at www. fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/greenspring using code 290 183 3501 or call Green Spring Gardens at 703-642-5173.

• Saturday, March 21, 1:30-3:30pm Hands-on Workshop: Easy and Exotic Tropicals for Your Home Held at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens in Washington, DC. See details at hillwoodmuseum.org.

Also, March 3-31 is Orchid Month at Hillwood.

•Saturday, March 21, 9 to 11am Propagation Workshop Held at the Sunny Demonstration Garden, Bon Air Park, corner of Wilson Blvd. and Lexington St., Arlington, VA. Ever wonder how to make more plants from the ones you already have? Come spend a morning with Master Gardener Bob Lund for a hands-on workshop on dividing all types of perennials. Bring your gardening gloves, and we will pot up extras to share. Limited to 12 participants; registration required. Sign up at mgnv.org. Questions? Telephone 703228-6414 or email mgarlalex@gmail. com.

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• Saturday, March 21, 12noon-2pm Rose Bush Pruning Demonstration Held at the Washington National Cathedral in Bishop’s Rose Garden. Conducted by Arlington Rose Foundation.

Learn how to sharpen your pruners and prune different varieties of rose bushes.

Please bring your by-pass pruners and wear gloves. Free. 703-371-9351.

•Saturday, March 21, 10am–1pm Arlington Food Assistance Center’s “Plot Against Hunger” Spring Garden Kick-Off Hosted by the Arlington Food Assistance Center’s (AFAC) “Plot Against Hunger” program, the spring garden kick-off will include an overview of urban agriculture in Arlington. Presentations will include: schoolyard and communitybased gardens, permaculture, rooftop and container gardening, and rainwater recovery and irrigation. Participants will have a chance to meet and learn more about the many gardeners in Arlington who support AFAC by growing fresh vegetables for the food pantry and how to donate harvests to AFAC. Free seeds will be provided to AFAC gardeners.

Refreshments will be served. Through the Northern Virginia Rain Barrel program, and Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment (ACE), rain barrels will be distributed after the event. Rain barrels may be pre-ordered for $65 at: www. arlingtonenvironment.org/ rainbarrel. This program is free and open to the public. For details, call Puwen Lee at 703-845-8486.

• Tuesday, March 24, 7pm A Life: The Story of Lady Bird Johnson The Environmental Film Festival will present a screening of this film at the National Museum of Women in the Arts as part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. This event also coincides with the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Highway Beautification Act -- which also included beautification of our urban areas with flowers and gardens. The event will include discussion with Lady Bird’s granddaughter, her former press secretary, and the film’s producer, Grace Guggenheim. Details at dceff.org.

• Friday, March 27 and following fourth Fridays, April-June and Sept-October, 11-11:45am Guided Garden Tours: Historic & Growing Enjoy the historic landscape deeply on a lively walk led by an expert. In the land at Tudor Place, you will trace the history of Washington and the horticulture of centuries-old trees, heirloom plants and flowers, and abundant English boxwood. See how orchards, stables, and grazing land made way for lawns, fountains, and stately garden “rooms” and how four owners and six generations cared for and embellished their land as their city changed and grew. Details at TudorPlace.org.

• Saturday, March 28, 10am- 5:30pm Grow Your Health Festival The Northern Virginia Whole Food Nutrition Meetup Group will host its third annual Grow Your Health Festival at Woodson High School in Fairfax, VA. The event will celebrate home gardening, sourcing organic and local food, and nutrition and wellness. They will show the documentary film “GMO OMG” and offer class instruction on gardening and nutrition, and host an exhibit hall for gardening services, farmers, food artisans, organic food distributors, and wellness products and services.

Details: www.growyourhealthnova.com.

• Saturday, March 28, 8:30am–3pm Lahr Native Plant Symposium: Making Connections Explore a variety of ways to use native plants in the landscape to make positive connections to the natural world.

Fee: $95. Registration and all details at www.usna.usda.gov.

• Saturday, March 28, 9:30am–2pm Native Plant Sale Get a jump-start on spring by shopping at this annual sale featuring several local nurseries offering an extensive collection of high-quality, locally grown native plants. Held in conjunction with the Lahr Native Plant Symposium at the USNA; attendees get early-bird admission to the sale at 8:30 am. Free admission. Details at www.usna.usda.gov.

TOP AREA GARDENING EVENTS DC-Area Gardening Calendar ~ Upcoming Events ~ March 16-April 15, 2015 • Through March 29 Orchid Extravaganza Longwood Gardens is anything but dreary this winter. The heated 4-acre conservatory transports guests into a warm oasis featuring thousands of colorful orchid blooms displayed in extraordinary ways from 9am-6pm daily. Orchid Extravaganza is fun for the entire family with concerts, talks, tours, and OrKid Days on select weekends. Longwood Gardens is on US Route 1 near Kennett Square, PA, 30 miles west of Philadelphia. Admission is $20 for adults; $17 for seniors (age 62+); $10 for students (ages 5–18) or with valid student ID) and free ages 4 and under. Group rates available. Details at www.longwoodgardens.org.

• Sunday, March 29, 2:00-4:00pm Potomac Hosta Club, Inc. Annual Spring Meeting Held at Merrifield Garden Center’s Fair Oaks location at 12101 Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA 22030. The guest speaker is Roger Smith, AHS Education Chair, and hosta hybridizer, on “What’s Hot in Hosta.”

• Sunday, March 29, 2:30pm Secret Garden Stroll – Early Spring Edition Celebrate Rock Creek Park’s 125th anniversary by taking a 1.25-mile stroll through Dumbarton Oaks Park with Scott Einberger, author of A History of Rock Creek Park: Wilderness and Washington, DC. Discover the restoration work being done to save this 27acre wild garden and explore the park’s unique design and history. Please email scott@dopark.org to RSVP for this free tour.

• Thursday, April 2nd, 2-3:30pm OR Saturday, April 4, 10-11:30am Container Gardening Basics and Beyond Instructor: Kathy Jentz, editor/publisher, Washington Gardener Magazine. Kathy will cover the basics of growing successful container plantings, from ornamental to edible containers, as well as the different styles and fashions in container gardening. Fee: $22, FOBG: $20;

registration required. Held at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD. • Thursday, April 9, 7pm Landscaping with Heirloom Flowers and Herbs - Smithsonian Style Smithsonian Gardens horticulturist Erin Clark will share secrets of creating fragrant and colorful cutting and herb gardens using plants that are tried and true over generations of gardeners.

Free garden lecture at the Virginia Cooperative Extension, 30 Catoctin Circle SE, Wells Fargo Bank Building, in Leesburg, VA, to learn about old favorites and more obscure treasures almost lost to cultivation — and how to successfully design with them.

• Friday, April 10, 12noon-1pm Plants with Benefits Talk Are some plants aphrodisiacs, or is that just a myth? Garden expert and plant detective Helen Yoest takes readers on a romp through history, lore, and ethnobotany to find out how 45 of these plants got their “hot” reputation — and what modern science has to say about it. US Botanic Garden’s Conservatory classroom. Pre-registration required at www.usbg.gov.

• Friday, April 10 and Saturday, April 11 Annual Spring Garden Market This year’s Spring Garden Market at River Farm in Alexandria, VA, will be bigger and better than ever with new hours, more vendors, demonstrations, kids’ activities, and more. More than 30 vendors from across the Mid-Atlantic region will offer a large selection of edible and flowering plants, as well as garden art, tools, and other accessories.

In addition, Rocklands Barbeque and Grilling Company will be on site serving their peerless cuisine and you can get your caffeine fix from Cafe Kreyol, offering free samples and selling gourmet coffee beans. Catch seasonal cooking demos by Whole Foods and pet live alpacas from Kino Criations, which will offer yarn and a selection of items hand-crafted from their wool. Other highlights of the event include a free raffle for garden goodies and special giveaways from our generous sponsors,

such as tote bags from Beyer Subaru to carry your purchases, seeds, and more.

A small selection of carts and wagons will be available for toting purchases thanks to Village Hardware, but guests are encouraged to bring their own.

Parking is $5 (cash only) per car; waived for AHS members showing a valid membership card or other proof of membership. Non-members who join during the event can apply this fee to a new membership. For more information, visit www.ahs.org.

Save These Future Dates: • 7th Annual DC Plant Swap hosted

by Washington Gardener Magazine, on Saturday, June 14, at 11am. Meet at the US National Arboretum’s R Street parking lot. Anyone is welcome and it is FREE to participate. Bring your welllabeled plants and seedlings to share.

• Private Gardens of Mink Hollow Visit some of the most inspiring private gardens in our area at the height of gardening season. This year’s Brookside Gardens benefit tour features gardens have been artfully created by their owners over a number of years: a painter’s palette of blossoms arranged by room, a veritable botanical library of specimens, and more. Saturday, May 16, 10:00-4:00. Fee: $20 All-garden Pass ($5/garden if paid at the door). Map to gardens will be sent to registrants.

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, please contact: Wgardenermag@aol. com — put “Event” in the email subject head. Our next deadline is April 10 for the April 15 issue, featuring events taking place from April 16 to May 15, 2015. o

Your Ad Here

Contact wgardenermag@aol.com or call 301.588.6894 for ad rates.

MARCH 2015

WASHINGTON GARDENER

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EDIBLEharvt

CabbageGrowing Guide

by Elizabeth Olson The 1997 AAS Vegetable Award Winner Cabbage ‘Dynamo’ F1. Photo courtesy of AllAmerica Selections.

It is often said that home-grown vegetables taste best. This is especially true of cabbage. A home-grown cabbage has a wonderfully fresh and savory flavor, and the texture is remarkably crisp.

Cabbage is grown for its leaves that form into a tight head. The leaves can be green or dark red, depending on the cultivar. Most cultivars produce a rounded head, but some produce a very interesting cone-shaped head. Cabbage is a hardy biennial that is grown as an annual. It performs best in spring and autumn in the greater Washington, DC, region, but some cultivars perform fairly well in warmer weather if well-tended and established before the hot days of summer.

This vegetable is a source of Vitamin C as well as calcium, iron, and dietary fiber. Cabbage has many culinary uses and can be consumed fresh or cooked.

It is great added to soups or stews or when steamed, sautéed, stir-fried, or baked. Cabbage can be preserved by pickling or dehydrating.

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How to Grow Cabbages

The scientific name for cabbage is Brassica oleracea var. capitata. It belongs to the same plant family as cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and kale, and should be included in the same crop rotation schedule.

Seed starting for the spring growing season should begin about four to six weeks before the last expected frost date in spring (early to mid-May for our area). Use a sterile potting medium in starter pots placed on horticultural heat mats and grown under grow lights.

Seedlings need to be carefully hardened off before transplanting them to the garden. Transplants purchased from greenhouses should also be hardened off. Cabbage seedlings that are hardened off will tolerate frost.

Start the seeds for an autumn harvest based on the projected harvest date. Check the calendar and work backward in time to calculate the date to plant the seeds. They can be started indoors or outdoors (but in a protected

location); either way, the seedlings will need to be hardened off before being transplanted to the garden.

The plants need good air circulation and careful spacing. Be sure to follow the spacing recommended for each individual cultivar. Cabbage grows best in full sun in fertile, well-worked soil that has good drainage and a consistent moisture level. Install a soaker hose to supplement rainfall, keep the area weed-free, and heavily mulch the soil. Fertilize with an organic vegetable fertilizer. Cabbage is bothered by a number of flying insects; make sure to cover the plants with a floating row cover. Perform routine checks and weeding chores early in the morning and carefully re-cover the plants without trapping insects.

Cabbage can also be grown in large containers with drainage holes. Some of the smaller-headed cultivars are very well-suited for this. Make sure that container-grown plants have adequate nutrition and a consistent moisture level in the potting medium — which should be mulched. Container-grown plants, too, should be covered with a floating row cover.

Cabbage Availability

Many garden centers sell seedlings for both green and red cabbage in late winter to early spring. Some garden centers also sell cabbage seedlings late in summer for fall harvest. Seeds for standard cultivars are available at many garden centers. More cultivars are available from seed companies through mail or online order.

Excellent green cultivars include ‘Gonzales’ baby cabbage (F1) and the heirlooms ‘Early Flat Dutch,’ ‘Early Jersey Wakefield’ (cone-shaped head), and ‘Late Flat Dutch.’ Cultivars with extremely crinkled leaves are called Savoy cabbages. ‘Savoy Perfection’ (green) and ‘January King’ (green outer leaves develop red splashes in cold autumn weather) are beautiful and tasty. Highly regarded red cultivars include ‘Kalibos’ (cone-shaped head), ‘Mammoth Red Rock,’ and ‘Red Acre.’

If you only have room for one type of cabbage, try ‘Red Acre.’ Red cabbage makes a lovely slaw; see the recipe on the opposite page.

EDIBLEharvt

Red Cabbage Slaw

Recipe courtesy of Elizabeth Olson Ingredients for the slaw 1 small head of home-grown red cabbage 1 to 1½ cups chopped Vidalia® or other sweet white onion ¼ to ½ cup finely chopped cilantro leaves; flat-leaf parsley may be substituted.

Ingredients for the dressing ¼ cup grapeseed oil 2 tablespoons, plus a little extra, of freshly squeezed lime juice (This requires two to three regular-size limes, depending on how juicy they are. Do not use bottled lime juice.)

1 freshly ground chipotle pepper — no substitutions. (Chipotle peppers are dried, smoked jalapeño peppers. They are available in the spice or ethnic food sections of many markets.)

A pinch or two of salt 2 teaspoons of a mild-flavored honey Directions for the dressing • Make the dressing first.

• Grind one whole chipotle pepper into powder. Cover the powder and set it aside.

• Zest the limes before juicing them. The zest can be reserved for another recipe, or a little can be added to the dressing.

• Juice the limes.

• Combine a small amount of lime juice and a pinch or two of the chipotle pepper powder. Make sure that the chipotle powder is completely moistened, then add 2 tablespoons of lime juice and stir. Reserve any remaining juice for another recipe.

• Add a pinch of salt and stir.

• Add the honey and stir the dressing until it is thoroughly mixed.

• Add ¼ cup of grapeseed oil and stir.

• Taste the dressing. If it needs more chipotle pepper powder, gently sprinkle in a little bit more and stir. Repeat this step until the desired amount of heat is attained. Be careful how much you add at any one time — fresh chipotle pepper powder is strong.

• If the dressing needs more salt, add another pinch now and stir.

• Set the dressing aside and cover it.

• Please note: This recipe makes about one-third cup of dressing. Be careful not to make too much dressing as the slaw needs to be lightly dressed. The cabbage, onion, and cilantro (or parsley) will give off juices as the slaw marinates.

Directions for the Slaw • Carefully quarter the cabbage by slicing the head in half lengthwise, then carefully slicing each half down the center lengthwise. Core all four quarters.

• Slice the cabbage quarters crosswise into thin to medium-thin slices. Cut longer pieces into shorter pieces. Place the cabbage pieces into a large bowl.

• Remove the cilantro (or parsley) leaves from the stems and finely chop them.

Add ¼ to ½ cup of finely chopped leaves to the cabbage bowl.

• Peel, core, and chop enough Vidalia® or other sweet white onion(s) to make 1 to 1½ cups of medium-small pieces. Add the chopped onion pieces to the cabbage bowl.

• Thoroughly toss the cabbage, cilantro (or parsley), and onion to make a slaw mix.

• Stir the dressing and add it to the slaw mix; toss the mix to make sure that the dressing evenly coats it.

• Place the dressed slaw in a ZipLoc® bag or other plastic food container, and seal it tightly. Store the sealed container in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. It can be made up to one day in advance of serving. Keep the slaw evenly dressed by stirring it every so often.

• Stir the slaw before serving.

When/How to Harvest

The dates for maturity listed on a seed package or transplant container indicate how long it takes for that cabbage cultivar to reach harvesting size after the seedlings have been transplanted to the garden. This can be anywhere from about 60 to 100 days, depending on the cultivar.

The growth habit of a cabbage plant is open at first and the oldest outer leaves stay open. The head begins to form in the center from the newer leaves as the season progresses. Harvest a cabbage head when it has reached the desired size and the head is full and tight. Use sharp parrot-beaked shears to cut the stem just below the tight head. Store fresh cabbage in the refrigerator crisper drawer.

Cabbage Fun Fact

After an early summer harvest, keep the stumps firmly planted and allow a few of the open, outer leaves from the cabbages to remain on each stem.

Small side sprouts will emerge at the base of the leaves; thin to one sprout per plant— it will grow into a head of cabbage that can be harvested later in the growing season. 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.

This red cabbage is starting to form a head. Photo taken at Mount Vernon by Elizabeth Olson.

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GARDENbasics

by Kathy Jentz We buy green cleaning products, eat organic veggies, and drink filtered water, but do you ever give any thought to the grass that you, your family, and pets play on every day? Did you know that pesticides and fertilizers are not tested for their long-term effects on your health or the environment? Earth Day is this Sunday, April 22, and what better way to pay back Mother Nature for all she has provided to you than to convert to organic lawn practices?

There are between 40 and 50 million acres of turf in the US alone, and pesticide and fertilizer applications to this ground can be three to six times that of agricultural land.

A national campaign for safe lawn care practice, SafeLawns.org, was launched about 10 years ago on the front lawn of the U.S. Capitol on the Mall here in Washington, DC. Experts from industry, government, health organizations, and environmental activists gathered to kick off a public education initiative. They issued a challenge to day cares, grade schools, universities, and companies across the US to discontinue 16

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the use of chemicals on their lawns.

Pesticides and fungicides aren’t safe for people, pets, or even the planet.

Eliminate the need for harmful garden chemicals by pampering your plants with healthy, nutrient-rich soil from the get-go. “Healthy soil, rich in minerals, nutrients and ‘good bugs,’ maximizes a plant’s own healthy immune system to let it naturally resist pests and diseases,” says outdoor living trendspotter and garden guru Susan McCoy, founder of the Garden Media Group, a public relations firm specializing in all things gardening. Compost your own or look for organic potting soils like Organic Mechanics (organicmechanicsoil.com), available at Whole Foods stores and local garden centers.

According to Ethne Clarke, former garden editor of Traditional Home, “Most gardens have lawns, and in some cases, the lawn IS the garden.” She suggests mowing less frequently, cutting the grass longer so the top growth protects the roots, and watering less frequently to force the roots to go deeper, which keeps them cooler and less

susceptible to dry-spell damage. She recommends using cornmeal or diatomaceous earth as an insecticide and pulling weeds before they set seed. For tough lawns, use a soil conditioner with good micro-organisms and aerate to encourage soil health. Try compost tea or worm castings tea for an easy sprayon solution without back-breaking work.

Recently, organic lawn care consultant Chip Osborne was invited by the town of Takoma Park, MD, to present a program on natural turf management for lawn care professionals. He maintains that organic methods equal proactive management. “Organic does not mean substituting chemical inputs one-for-one, nor does it mean subtracting all chemicals and just letting it go,” said Osborne. “It is about a systemic approach to get your soil healthy so that turf lawn is strong enough to fight off weeds and plant pathogens.”

Osborne maintains that: “Nature has put everything in place that we need to grow healthy grass. Our job is to optimize that system and to stop practices that compromise it.”

Source: Photodisc

Organic Lawn Care

GARDENbasics

Here are 10 Essential Tips for a Natural Lawn

Here are the organic lawn care basics from the folks at SafeLawns.org.

1) Obtain a Soil Test — Never spend money on any fertilizer or soil amendment without first consulting the results of a soil test.

2) Grow the Right Grass — The most common lawn grasses in North America, Kentucky bluegrass and Bermuda grass, also need the most water and fertilizer to grow well. Other species, such as perennial rye grass, fescue, seashore paspalum, and centipede grass, may be better for your region of the country.

3) Water Well — Morning watering is always recommended so that the surface of the lawn dries off during the day.

Water deeply and infrequently so the roots of the grass learn to grow down into the soil to get the water they need.

4) Think of Your Soil as Alive — “Dirt” is what you track into your house. The material that grows your lawn, the soil, is alive with organisms large and small. Nurturing that life through proper use of natural materials will lead to a successful natural lawn.

5) Mow Properly — Recycling your grass clippings by leaving them on the lawn will provide approximately half of your lawn’s fertilizer needs for the season. Keep your mower blades sharp. Depending on the species — Bermuda grass and seashore paspalum are the exceptions — lawns should be mowed to no lower than 2.5 inches, even higher in the summer.

6) Avoid Synthetic Materials — Fertilizers manufactured in a laboratory often burn lawn grasses and soils. Fertilizers and soil amendments should come from materials that were once living plants or animals, or mined minerals such as lime or sulfur.

7) Add Compost — Nature’s most magical soil additive, compost, contains all sorts of beneficial microorganisms that add life to the soil. These organisms will interact with organic fertilizers to provide the green lawn many of us covet. Compost in liquid form, known as compost tea or extract, should be used in combination with dry compost because the liquid form is available to the soil and grass more quickly. This is especially important during the years of transition from a synthetic system.

8) See Weeds as Messengers — Weeds usually appear on lawns only when something is wrong with the soil. Even if we kill the weeds, they will come back unless we fix the underlying problem within the soil.

9) Similarly: See Insects as Messengers — A rush of new grass growth caused by synthetic fertilizers will often attract insects. Predatory insects are rarely a problem in a natural system that is in balance.

10) Overseed Regularly — In nature, all plants produce seed to reproduce themselves. In a lawn system, where we mow regularly, grass is not allowed to reproduce and even the healthiest plants get tired. By overseeding in spring or fall, you are introducing robust young plants that will fill in bare areas and compete aggressively against weeds. o

Osborne recommends studying basic soil biology and abandoning applications “by the calendar.” He maintains that conventional turf management treats the systems, but does not address the core causes of lawn issues. “Be patient,” he advised. “It takes many years for a lawn to recover from conventional turf grass management methods.”

By going organic, not only will you be doing the right thing environmentally, you can also add to the value of your home! That’s right, a program for “kid-safe lawn” certification was started by realtors, so that when you buy or sell a home, you can be certain that the lawn has not been treated with dangerous chemicals.

Having a natural lawn will also be helping the health of yourself, your children, and your pets. In addition to those benefits, going organic can also save money, help wildlife, reduce pollution, and conserve our limited resources. o Kathy is editor of Washington Gardener Magazine (www.WashingtonGardener. com) and a long-time DC area gardening enthusiast. Portions of this article originally appeared in the DC Examiner newspaper.

The American Horticultural Society’s

Spring Garden Market at River Farm

Shop for natives, specialty plants, edibles and more!

APRIL 10 & 11 AHS MEMBERS-ONLY MORNING (with current membership card) Friday, April 10, 10 a.m.–12 p.m.

PUBLIC SALE Friday, April 10, 12 a.m.– 6 p.m.

Saturday, April 11, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

River Farm is located at 7931 East Boulevard Drive in Alexandria, Virginia.

Parking is $5 per car (cash only); free for AHS members (with valid member card, receipt, or other proof of membership).

for more information

Call (703) 768-5700 or visit www.ahs.org.

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PLANTprofile

Bletilla: Hardy Chinese Ground Orchid

physical beauty and provocative scent to deceive and attract its insect pollinators, who fly off dusted with the pollinia and move over to the next flower, hoping that this one will pay off.

The occasional slug or snail may munch on Bletilla leaves. Although it is not on any deer-resistant list, unless hard-pressed, deer will often ignore it in favor of almost anything else.

Lobelia, Monarda, Zizzia, and your native shady garden plant friends make room for a new old garden plant: the hardy Chinese ground orchid. Bring the unique charm of an orchid into your everyday life in USDA hardiness zones 5-8. Bletilla blooms three to six weeks in situ, providing cut flowers that are easy to pull — no scissors necessary — and have a long vase life.

Bletilla History

by Judith Mensh

Pretty in pink, purple, and white, with a ruffled lip and pleated leaves, Bletilla striata is a plant that’s all dressed up and happy to be here.

Also known as Chinese summer ground orchid, Urn orchid, or Hyacinth orchid, Bletilla is an orchid that is terrestrial, herbaceous, perennial, and hardy.

It’s non-invasive, forming clumps over time, but not taking over completely. Its requirements for success are simple: a well-drained site with composted material to provide nutrient-rich humus and sufficient moisture, but not wet feet; shade from the harsh afternoon sun; and, the warmth of a blanket of pine needles when temperatures go into the teens. Provide a seasonal dressing with 18

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compost and shredded leaves. It is not too fussy about soil pH. It is amenable to morning sun with afternoon shade or dappled shade all day long. Considered a well-behaved and beloved garden member by those who grow them and know them, they are routinely described as user-friendly.

With long-lasting cut flowers that resemble a Cattleya orchid (the classic prom flower) in shape, Bletilla has several of the interesting, unusual features of an orchid: leaves and flowers arise from pseudobulbs (modified stems produced by rhizomes); flowers are hermaphroditic; pollination by insects, e.g., bees and bumble bees. The Bletilla flower has no nectar, offering no reward to its pollinators, and must rely on its

Orchidelirium overcame the English during the Victorian years (1837-1901), much like the Dutch tulip mania of the 17th-century. One-hundred years later, orchids continue to intrigue. Today, tropical orchids can be bought at the supermarket, and even bright-blue (dyed!) is an option. The delirium of the 19th century coalesced into the devoted following that orchids have today.

Orchids had reached England earlier, but lack of experience and knowledge of life cycle and nutrition led to a high rate of demise. Hunting and removing orchids in the wild is now outlawed. Propagation methods have advanced so that, between working with clones, tissue culture, and oldfashioned growing from seed, orchids are now readily available, affordable, and relatively low-maintenance (think of the now-common Phalaenopsis).

Today, all orchids are protected, by the international treaty organization — the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Responsible ownership requires that we purchase only nurserygrown specimens.

Hardy orchids are not found on lists for the colonial garden, the cottage garden, or native plant gardens. Look under “Rare and Unusual.” Despite the craze for tropical orchids, terrestrial orchids have remained a mystery to many.

Due to a physical resemblance, the

PLANTprofile name Bletilla is a diminutive of Bleti, a genus of small native terrestrial orchids found in the wild, but otherwise unrelated, and named by Linnaeus after the Spanish Botanist Luis Blet.

Of course, these orchids have been known forever in their home territory, Eastern Asia. The European Age of Discovery included plant exploration, bringing orchids never seen by the Western world. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Rhizoma Bletillae (Bai ji) and its rhizomes and pseudobulbs have been used for their antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and styptic qualities, for more than 1,000 years. A gum can be rendered from the pseudobulbs, and an invisible ink can be made from the mucilaginous pulp. Add water and hold it up to the light to read your secret message. In current times, its anti-bleeding and healing qualities have been included in toothpastes for those with bleeding gums. (Note that Bletilla root is incompatible with Aconite root in TCM.) The bulbs are harvested during dormancy, are dried and ground into a powder, mixed with sesame oil for topical treatment, or mixed with hot water and imbibed as a tea.

Many familiar with our native ground orchids have heard of Lady’s Slippers (Cypripedium) and Lady’s Tresses (Spiranthes), but Bletilla, native to Eastern Asia, maintains its best-keptsecret status.

Best Growth Conditions

To begin with, stick with the species; they are usually priced with their peers, not above them. Plant the pseudobulbs (the thickened moisture- and nutrientholding stem) at a shallow one to three inches in depth. (Although mostly sold as a bulb, strictly speaking, bulbs are enlarged roots.) A shallow root system develops over time. Be careful to hold the plant steady when you pull weeds that have grown under or through it.

It does not disappoint and “stunning” does not exaggerate its beauty as it blooms from May to June, then again from June on through frost.

A planting mix of Bletilla striata will grace a garden with an impressive color display of white, pink, lavender, and purple. If you’ve thought of converting your landscape into a woodland setting, consider Bletilla for adding a long-last-

ing floral display. If you want to, you can create a succession of blooming Bletilla, start with the B. striata spp., add in some B. striata ‘Kate,’ then the B. ochracea.

Orchids are gorgeous flowers and who wouldn’t want one. But we all know the common lament: Orchids are difficult.

Establishing a new clump of these orchids, although they are not native to our area, still supports biodiversity.

Easy-to-grow is the general consensus. Equal with the importance of our native gardens is a curiosity for learning about new plants. If you have a love of woodland dappled-shade or shady-edge gardening or are a collector of exotic or medicinal or terrestrial orchids, Bletilla should be on your list of shade-tolerant summer-blooming bulbs.

Cultivars for the DC Area

Bletilla striata and Bletilla striata ‘Alba’ (a brilliant white) are the two starter outdoor orchids. Bletilla ochracea, a yellow version, is perhaps less hearty, but responds to protection. Bill Mathis, author of The Gardener’s Guide to Growing Hardy Perennial Orchids and owner-operator of The Wild Orchid Company, Doylestown, PA (www.

WildOrchidCompany.com), recommends buying mature plants, rather than starting from rhizomes and pseudobulbs.

Many of the mail-order nurseries send them as bare-root pseudobulbs. A new planting will take two to five years to bloom. A mature plant will begin its life in your garden or container as an adult, ready to bloom from the bottom up, providing cut flowers and beauty in the environment. Give it space and let it spread. Clear out a patch of wayward ivy and replace it with Bletilla.

Companion Plants

Bletilla is effective in containers and appropriate in the medicinal garden, the afternoon shade garden, or en masse in a woodland garden. Possible combinations include Hosta, Geranium ‘Rosanne,’ Campanula carpatica, low-growing ferns such as Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum), Epimedium (so many choices), Podophylum, and other woodland plants. Calanthe striata, another Asian terrestrial orchid, provides a compatible note. Where a native plant collection overlaps with an inter-

est in terrestrial orchids, plan to team North American native orchids with compatible planting conditions, such as Rattlesnake plantain (Goodyera pubescens), and Nodding Ladies tresses (Spiranthes cernua).

Also, look for B. striata ‘Ogon’ (Ogon Hardy Orchid), a striking golden-leaved variety. Warning: Some new hybrids have been found to revert back to the plain species.

Sources and Information

Ask for Bletilla at your local garden center. It often arrives in bloom in the spring, and may appear again in the fall for the beauty of its foliage. Look for it at nurseries that specialize in rare and unique plants.

In some quarters, terrestrial orchids are still categorized as plant novelties.

Pseudobulbs are available from Brent and Becky’s Bulbs and Michigan Bulb Co. Other online resources include Plantdelights.com (NC) and the Wild Orchid Company (PA), which are both accessible also by car from DC. When in London, look for it at the Chelsea Physic Garden, in the Herb & Medicinal plant collections; you will also find it at Kew Gardens.

Nearby, look for it at JC Raulston Arboretum (NC) and Chanticleer (PA).

Locally, you can find it in abundance at the National Arboretum and in the rock garden by the visitor center at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens.

If you are open to exploring the world of the hardy terrestrial orchid, it is an underused gem that deserves a place in your garden — from its crenelated, green monocot leaves (sometimes striped with white) to the fancy rippled flower petal called the lip, decorated with splashes and drips of color, lightly scented, it is a delight in color and form.

It’s a topic with a following, a fan base, and a growing awareness. Time heals all wounds and Bletilla has healed wounds for a long time. For many of us, hardy orchid is an oxymoron — like hardy begonia and hardy geranium — but yes, it really does exist. o Judith Mensh is a local horticultural consultant. She is available to walk your yard with you and identify plants and possibilities.

She can be reached via email at JudithMenshNurtureNature@gmail.com.

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TIPStricks

Poison-Frog Compounds to Control Fire Ants

Easy-Care Beds & Borders

by Judie Brower Here are 10 tips and tricks to keep in mind for easy flower gardening: 1. Select eco-friendly, low-maintenance plants. Investing in low-maintenance plants that are drought-tolerant and require no harsh chemicals to perform will pay for themselves 10 times over.

2. Create a framework. Shrubs are often thought of as stand alone plants, but when interspersed throughout a bed or border, they add “framework” and structure. Shrubs are available in a variety of sizes and shapes, foliage types, bloom time and colors, and much more. The University of Illinois web site offers a great deal of helpful information for Selecting Shrubs for Your Home.

3. Spread the love. To create seasonlong color, select flowers that last for long periods of time and then add in more seasonal color and spread these long bloomers throughout the garden.

For instance, in our region, Salvia ‘May Night’ sends out 12" purple/blue blooms starting in mid-spring and continues to bloom all summer long.

Flower Carpet, the original “eco-rose” blooms from late June through October and comes in a variety of colors. One of Pennsylvania garden writer Doug Oster’s favorite long-bloomers is Corydalis ‘Canary Feathers,’ which is filled with bright-yellow blooms from April until October.

Space these long-bloomers throughout your beds and then fill the areas in-between with more partial-season bloomers such as spring-blooming bulbs and early summer-blooming Siberian iris, Oriental poppies, and peonies; low-maintenance mid-to-late summer bloomers include daylilies (the Stella-types rebloom for even longer color), Phlox paniculata, achillea, campanula, coreopsis, asters, and hardy mums. And don’t forget the silver!

Silvery-blue artemisia comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and adds a constant neutral tone to any garden, blending with most other colors.

4. Don’t underestimate the power of white. White can be used to break up otherwise clashing colors and helps to soften harsh edges. Try combining white-variegated or white-blooming plants with contrasting shapes, like 20

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MARCH 2015

Volcano® phlox. White blooms often show up even in the dark, and as an added bonus, many, such as flowering tobacco, brugmansia, and moonflower, are quite fragrant in the evening air.

5. Create a backdrop. “A tall flowering hedge at the back creates a canvas for the rest of your ‘art,’” says Anthony Tesselaar. He suggests Fairy Magnolia® Blush, with its dark-green, compact foliage and masses of russet-colored buds followed by heavenly scented spring flowers: “Who wouldn’t love a fragrant, flowering hedge to divide or frame garden spaces?” Limited space? Use a few pieces of ornamental fencing material to create your backdrop.

6. Make it mow-friendly. When creating new beds or adding to old, stay away from sharp angles and tight corners.

Straight lines or broad curves look best and are easy to keep mowed. One of the easiest ways to plan (and test mow-ability) for new beds is to lay out a garden hose to form your border, making certain the curves are smooth and gradual enough to mow around easily.

7. Choose a range of heights. “Go tall in back, medium in the middle, and low in the front,” says Tesselaar. “But don’t line them up like a school photo. Think of overlapping drifts.”

8. Include evergreens, ornamental grasses, and foliage plants for yearround color and texture. Ornamental grasses add color and texture all year long, as do a variety of evergreens.

9. Select plants with strong form and color. “One or two kinds are enough, and repeat them throughout the border,” says Tesselaar.

10. And finally, never underestimate the value of mulch! Applying mulch is ultimately the most important time-saving and labor-saving measure you can take.

Regardless of the type of mulch used, it helps to discourage weeds and hold in moisture, thereby reducing the amount of water you need to keep your garden looking great all season long. Organic materials include grass clippings, shredded leaves, pine needles, shredded bark, wood chips, and newspaper. o

by Sandra Avant U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists and their collaborators have found that naturally occurring compounds — alkaloids — that are found on the skin of certain poison frogs can incapacitate and kill fire ants.

The red imported fire ant damages crops, devastates small animal populations, and inflicts painful stings to livestock as well as to humans. To determine whether poison-frog alkaloids would kill fire ants, scientists at the Agricultural Research Service’s (ARS) Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology (CMAVE) partnered with researchers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute at the National Zoological Park in Front Royal, VA, and the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. Poison frogs, natives of Central and South America, do not make alkaloids, but instead sequester them by eating ants, mites, millipedes, and other arthropods that produce these compounds, according to Robert Vander Meer, research leader for CMAVE’s Imported Fire Ant and Household Insects Unit. He and his colleagues developed a bioassay to measure the toxicity of 20 poison-frog alkaloids, some of which were very effective in controlling fire ants, while others were not.

Alkaloids derived from mites and found on the skin of Central America’s poison frog, Oophaga pumilio, were more effective at incapacitating fire ants than the fire ants’ own alkaloids.

Scientists are considering expanding their research to include mosquitoes.

Earlier work published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences demonstrated that a poison-frog alkaloid called pumiliotoxin 251D was effective against the yellow fever mosquito.

Insects that landed on surfaces treated with the compound could no longer fly and died.

Mosquitoes cause problems worldwide, transmitting pathogens that can lead to serious diseases. In the future, poison-frog alkaloids or derivatives may prove useful in helping control mosquitoes, according to Vander Meer. o

KNOWitall

Ask the Expert

by Debra Ricigliano

Growing Strawberries in Containers

Cocoons in Compost

We built a raised-bed garden and used it last year with great success. My wife also started composting last summer, and we put the compost on the garden last November. This spring, I noticed a lot of cocoon-looking carcasses all over the top of the soil. Can you tell what these are? If so, should we do anything about it?

Glad that you had success with your raised bed and with composting. From the photos you submitted with your question to the “Ask Maryland’s Garden Experts” widget on the HGIC web site, we determined that the larvae are soldier flies. It is not unusual to find them in compost. These, and a number of other soil-dwelling invertebrates, play an important role by breaking down organic matter and recycling nutrients.

Do not be alarmed; these will not harm your plants or cause you trouble in your landscape. No control is necessary.

I am thinking about growing some strawberries this season in containers.

Have you had any success with growing them here? If so, please let me know when I should plant them.

Strawberries can be grown in the Washington, DC, area successfully. They would prefer being in the ground, but if space is limited, containers will suffice.

However, as production declines, replacing soil and plants every two or three years will probably be necessary.

June-bearing strawberries will produce a crop the second year after planting (remove all flowers the first year).

Day-neutral varieties, which produce flushes of berries from late spring to fall, can also be grown.

Typical “strawberry pots” are difficult to keep watered, so a weather-resistant large container or a half whiskey barrel is recommended. Plant them after the danger of frost has passed (early to mid-May). Strawberries need well-drained rich soil; mix three parts bagged potting mixture to one part compost. Place in full sun and keep them regularly watered. See the Maryland Extension Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) publication on small fruits for a list of recommended varieties at http://extension.umd. edu.

Black soldier fly larvae photo by Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org.

Replacement for Ash

We had to have an ash tree removed from in front of our house last fall. I do not think it had emerald ash borer, but because ash trees are susceptible to this insect, I do not want to plant another one. What do you suggest as some replacement trees?

Emerald ash borer is an exotic invasive beetle that was accidentally introduced into Maryland back in 2003. It is a serious pest of ash trees and therefore it is not a good idea to plant those. You are wise to look for an alternative tree.

Some native suggestions are Black Gum (Nyssa sylvatica), Willow Oak (Quercus phellos), and Red Maple (Acer rubrum). Japanese Zelkova (Zelkova serrata) is a well-behaved non-native tree. These trees have relatively few

pest problems. For additional information on emerald ash borer, look in the November/December 2008 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine.

Robin Flying into Glass

Why would a robin fly into the glass of my living room windows? This has been happening for the past two weeks. It flies away when I go outside, but then it starts right back up again when I go back in. Do you have any idea why he would be doing this?

What you describe is a fairly common spring behavior for territorial bird species like robins, sparrows, and cardinals that nest close to houses. Both males and females do this as they attempt to thwart possible competitors or birds they view as a threat to their young.

They see their reflections in your window and assume these are birds they need to drive away, which leads them to fly into the glass. You can prevent this temporarily by covering the outside of the window with bird netting or fabric so their reflections are no longer visible to them, or hang shiny objects like CD discs or Mylar tape in front of the window. There are also semi-transparent stickers sold to prevent birds from flying into windows. o Debra Ricigliano is a Certified Professional Horticulturalist. She has worked as a horticulture consultant for the University of Maryland Extension Home and Garden Information Center since 1997. Debra enjoys gardening at her home in Highland, MD. She is a graduate of the Institute of Applied Agriculture at UMCP and a talented, allaround horticulturist. To ask a gardening or pest question, go to http:// www.extension.umd. edu/hgic and click on “Ask Maryland’s Garden Experts.” You can also attach a digital photo.

Got a gardening question you need answered? Send your questions to wgardenermag@aol.com and use the subject line “Q&A.” Please also include your first name, last initial, and the city and state you are writing from. Then look for your answered questions in upcoming issues.

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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 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

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

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

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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MARCH 2015

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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Got a gardening question you need answered? Send your questions to wgardenermag@aol.com and use the subject line “Q&A.” Please also include your first name, last initial, and what city and state you are writing from. Then look for your answered questions in upcoming issues.

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Donate to Support DC Gardens and Gardening in DC!

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dc-gardens-beyond-the-cherry-blossoms

What is DCGardens.com?

• Images and videos of DC-area gardens by month, enticing people to visit yearround. (See DCGardens.com for examples.)

• Deep local resources turning more residents into gardeners.

• Digital images are donated by volunteers, so DC Gardens is inexpensive.

Managed and funded independently from the gardens; nimble and very useful!

Why Gardens (and Gardening) Matter The Washington, DC, area is blessed with fabulous gardens that are open to the public, most of them free. Sadly, many are largely unknown and lack the funds to get the word out. If people could just see what they look like — throughout the year — more would visit and that matters because: • Gardens bring visitors close to plants and to all of nature, which benefits them mentally, spiritually, and physically.

• Visiting gardens is a gateway experience to taking up gardening at home and in the community.

• Public gardens are the primary teaching facilities for turning residents into gardeners, with classes and workshops on growing food, providing for wildlife, protecting our waterways from polluting run-off, and creating beauty in our home gardens or balconies.

• Turning people on to gardening results in more beauty for all of us to enjoy and better stewardship of our land — without nagging.

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