Washington Gardener Enews ~ April 2013 ~ Impatiens Alternatives

ENEWSLETTER

APRIL 2013

Welcome to the Washington Gardener Enewsletter!

This enewsletter is the sister publication of Washington Gardener Magazine. Both the print magazine and online enewsletter share the same mission and focus — helping DC-MD-VA region gardens grow — but our content is different. In this monthly enewsletter, we address timely seasonal topics and projects; post local garden events; and, a monthly list of what you can be doing now in your garden. We encourage you to subscribe to Washington Gardener Magazine as well for indepth articles, inspirational photos, and great garden resources for the Washington DC area gardener.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This enewsletter is only sent out as a PDF via email to current subscribers. Without your support, we cannot continue publishing this enewsletter nor Washington Gardener Magazine! Our magazine subscription information is on page 9 of this enewsletter. If you know of any other gardeners in the greater Washington, DC-area, please forward this issue to them so that they can subscribe to our print magazine using the form on page 9 of this enewsletter. You can also connect with Washington Gardener online at: • Washington Gardener Blog: www.washingtongardener.blogspot.com • Washington Gardener Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/WDCGardener • Washington Gardener Pinterest boards: http://pinterest.com/wdcgardener/ • Washington Gardener Discussion Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WashingtonGardener/ • Washington Gardener Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/washingtongardenermagazine • Washington Gardener Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/WDCGardener • Washington Gardener Web Site: www.washingtongardener.com Sincerely, Kathy Jentz Editor/Publisher Washington Gardener Magazine

Reader Contest

In Our Next Issue... Great Garden Soil Smithsonian Gardens Garden Tour Season Wrap-Up Dealing with Weeds Lawn Renewal If your business would like to reach area gardeners, be sure to contact us by April 25 so you can be part of the next issue of our growing publication! To subscribe, see the page 9 of this newsletter for a form to mail in or go to www. washingtongardener.com/ index_files/subscribe.htm and use our PayPal credit card link.

For our April 2013 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, Washington Gardener is giving away the Ultimate Plant Cage to one lucky winner (prize value: $17.95). It’s the first-ever fully adjustable plant cage. The Ultimate Plant Cage’s unique, patented design opens up your plants to the sun and lets those nourishing rays penetrate from the fruit to the root. The cage revolves around a stable, durable and 100% recyclable plastic base and six adjustable support poles that direct your plant’s growth but does not stunt it. The poles extend up to 32" — giving your plants plenty of room to grow. Using the device’s simple, snaptogether design, your plants can be turned or moved with NO fuss. No more annoying afternoons spent wrestling with cheap metal plant cages. And best of all, with the Ultimate Plant Cage, the branches and fruits of your plants are fully secured to the support poles. Find out more at http://globalgardenfriends.com/store/products/ultimate-plant-cage/. To enter to win the Ultimate Plant Cage, send an email with “UP Cage” in the subject line to WashingtonGardener@rcn.com by 5:00pm on Monday, April 29. In the body of the email tell us: “what plant you have that needs caging” and please include your full name, email, and mailing address. The Ultimate Plant Cage winner will be announced and notified by Tuesday, April 30.

Quick Links to Recent Washington Gardener Blog Posts • April Smiles for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day • Veggie Seedlings Emerge • Who Needs Cherry Blossoms? • Sam Ullery, DC School Gardens Leader • Sweet Alyssum: You Can Grow That! See more Washington Gardener Blog posts at WashingtonGardener.Blogspot.com.

April Garden To-Do List

Spotlight Special Mulberry ‘Issai’ (Morus alba)

Rare and hard-to-find, Mulberry ‘Issai’ is a dwarf tree that performs admirably as a container plant. The fruit is larger than most dwarf mulberries, and the plant flowers and fruits most of the year in repeating cycles. When grown as a container plant, its plump sweet fruit is easily picked and is also easily protected from birds with lightweight netting. Mulberry ‘Issai’ is hardy as a garden plant in zones 5-9. When grown outdoors, it is deciduous. When grown inside in a container, it reaches 2-4 feet tall and will hold its leaves and continue to flower and fruit as long as the light level is high enough (a southern exposure is best.) Maintain indoor temperatures above 35 When grow outside in sub freezing temperatures in containers the pot needs to be mulched to protect the roots from freezing and thawing. Moderate to heavy feeder under warmth and high light. Feed with a balanced fertilizer at regular intervals through it active growing season. Don’t fertilize under low light and warm temperatures, which can be found in indoor growing conditions. Pruning plants in late winter or early spring will allow the summer growth to produce fruit. Seasonal varieties should be pruned after fruiting is complete or in winter when the branches are thinned and headed back enough to maintain form as fruit buds developed on the previous season growth. Allow the soil surface to become visually dry between waterings and then thoroughly saturate the soil. Try to avoid a severe wilt. One plant in a 4-inch pot sells for $19.95 in Logee’s catalog based in Danielson, CT, a destination greenhouse for thousands of gardeners throughout the Eastern United States. To receive a free Spring 2013 catalog or place an order, call Logee’s at 1888-330-8038 or visit the website at www. logees.com.

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Here is our comprehensive garden task list for gardens in the greater DC metro region for April 16-May 15. Your additions to this list are most welcome: 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. • 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. • 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 them 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.

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Heuchera and Torenia in a shade bed. Photo courtesy of Proven Winners.

Impatiens Alternatives:

Downy Mildew Disease Drives Local Gardeners to Search for Inventive Solutions for Color in the Shade by Kathy Jentz

You may have heard that a soil-borne disease, Impatiens Downy Mildew, hit the Eastern half of the U.S. last summer. Some had it worse than others. If you grew Impatiens walleriana and you were not impacted, count yourself lucky. For those hit by it, whole beds and containers of Impatiens seemed to collapse and lose all their flowers and foliage overnight. It spreads when sporangia (sac-like structures filled with zoospores that are produced on the underside of infected leaves) are easily dislodged and spread short distances by water splash and longer distances by air currents (up to 100 miles). Once a plant has been infected there is no cure. There are preventative fungicides that can be applied by licensed professionals while the plant material is being grown at grower greenhouses. These fungicides have proved affective preventing the disease for short periods of time. Unfortunately, at this time, there are no home sprays for the general public to use. It is not known how many years the disease may live on in the soil, so good gardening practice is to dispose of the soil, if in containers, and the plants in bags. Please do not add them to your compost pile. Most reputable garden centers and nurseries will not be carrying Impatiens this year in a cooperative effort to eradicate the disease. “Obviously, we are not carrying them. It is just too much of a risk to our customers’ gardens,” said Bobby Lewis of Meadows Farms Nurseries. Note that the New Guinea Impatiens (Impatiens hawkeri) are not effected by this disease and are fine for your garden. They can take more sun than Impatiens walleriana and are a bit more expensive as they are tissue-propagated and not grown from seed. They come in more vibrant colors and variegated foliage as well. Listed here are several choices for adding color to your shade gardens. Part-shade is defined as 3-6 hours of direct sunlight. Full-shade as 3 hours of direct sun or less. Perennials are plants that may die back over the winter, but come back each year. Annuals last for just one growing season. Kathy is going to miss using Impatiens in her shade-filled back garden, but is looking forward to experimenting with different shade-loving varieties . She is the editor of Washington Gardener Magazine (www.WashingtonGardener.com) and a long-time DC area gardening enthusiast. Kathy can be reached at wgardenermag@aol.com and welcomes your gardening questions. 4

Impatiens Alternative List

Annuals for Full Shade Coleus Dusty Miller Caladiums Fiber Optic Grass New Guinea Impatiens

Perennials for Full Shade Aralia Sun King Fern Heuchera & Heucherella Hosta Lysimachia Polemonium Polygonataum

Perennials for Part-Shade Ajuga Astilbe Aquilegia (Columbine) Cardinal Flower Dicentra (Bleeding Hearts) Heuchera and Heucherlla Oxalis Viola Caladium ‘Pink Beauty’ photo by Kathy Jentz.

Annuals for Part-Shade Ageratum Alternanthera Alyssum Begonia Browallia Dahlia Dianthus Dichondra Fuchsia Heliotrope Iresine Lobelia Nicotiana

Osteospermum Petunia Plectranthus Salvia Snapdragon Sunpatiens Sweet Potato Vine Perilla Torenia Verbena Vinca Zonal Geranium

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TOP AREA GARDENING EVENTS DC-Area Gardening Calendar ~ Upcoming Events ~ April 16 - May 15, 2013 • Wednesday, April 17, 7:30 - 9:00pm Ben Morrison and His Azaleas Talk This meeting is jointly sponsored by the Takoma Horticultural Club and Historic Takoma Inc. It will feature the ardent azalea aficionado William (Bill) Miller III, speaking on “Ben Morrison and his Azaleas.” The Glenn Dale azaleas, which are a feature of city parks and gardens in Takoma Park, were developed by the first director of the National Arboretum, Benjamin Y. Morrison. Beginning in the late 1920s, he worked more than 25 years to achieve a group of winter-hardy azaleas with large, colorful flowers, suitable for the Washington, DC region. Eventually the program included 454 hybrids. They are probably the best known and most popular feature of the Arboretum today. Morrison lived nearby on Piney Branch Road and shared his hybrids with many Takoma Park friends. Held at the Historic Takoma, 7328 Carroll Ave, Takoma Park, MD. FREE and open to the public. Doors open at 7, talk starts at 7:30 p.m. Please bring a snack to share. As usual, the Club will provide beverages. Wear a recycled name tag and save a tree. More details at: www.takomahort.org. • Thursday, April 18 - Saturday, April 20 The American Horticultural Society Annual Spring Garden Market Held at the AHS River Farm headquarters in Alexandria, VA. Shop from a wide variety of plants as well as garden supplies, gear, and decor. There also will be demonstrations and educational displays by area non-profit organizations. The event is open to the public on Friday, April 19 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, April 20 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The AHS members-only preview sale is Thursday, April 18 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., during which members get first choice of the available plants and products. http://www.ahs.org/about-riverfarm/events-programs#event-id-springgarden-market-members-only-preview (703) 768-5700. plantsale@ahs.org • Sarurday. April 20, 10am-2pm Mushroom Cultivation Workshop Join an all-around fun gal for a walk 6

in the woods! Learn how to find and properly identify edibles, but more importantly, learn what you can do to turn 1 into 1000! This hands-on workshop will cover Stem-Butt Propagation, Wood Dowel inoculation, and Straw Pasteurization. Participants will also plant a mushroom orchard and get to take home a log of their own. About the Instructor: Holli Elliott After owning a yoga studio in the DMV area and on the Eastern Shore for the better part of a decade, Holli decided to return to her farming roots and seek out farming as an occupation. Her particular passion lies with soil building and mushroom cultivation. Her long range goals involve collaborating with existing area farms to demonstrate how adding mushrooms to the permaculture model enhances food production on many levels and can also be used in environmental remediation More details and to register, go to: http://accokeekfoundation.org/oystermushroom-cultivation/. • Sunday, April 21, 12noon-4pm Earth Day Festival You can learn while having fun. Interactive family-friendly activities and a “green” vendor and craft fair. Enjoy wildlflower and plant walks starting at 12:30pm. Discover how small changes in your everyday habits can make a big impact on improving our environment. Free. Held at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD. See schedule at: http:// www.montgomeryparks.org/brookside/ earthday.shtm. • April 20-27 Historic Virginia Garden Week This 80-year-old statewide event, sponsored by the Garden Club of Virginia, offers entrance to 250 gardens, estates and exhibits, many usually closed to the public. The eight-day event also incorporates public sites, including Monticello and Mount Vernon. “They have an amazing array of gardens,” Sclar says. The mission of the week’s sponsors is to celebrate the beauty of the land, to conserve the gifts of nature, and to challenge future generations to build on this heritage.

View All VA Garden Week Tours http:// www.vagardenweek.org/tours.cfm. • Friday, April 26, 10 am Historic, Hyper-Local Kitchen and Herb-Garden Tour + Workshop Learn first-hand how the kitchen and herb garden together supported the urban estate in this tour with Tudor Place Education Director Talia Mosconi and Director of Gardens & Grounds Suzanne Bouchard. Tour the 1920s kitchen and garden beds outdoors and then plant your own herb garden. Along with potted herbs and information on caring for them, take home printed booklets of herb-based recipes including several from the Tudor Place kitchen. All materials provided. Members, $15 | Non-Members, $20 Tudor Place Historic House and Garden. 1644 31st Street, NW, WDC. Details at: www.tudorplace.org. • Saturday, April 27, 9am-2pm Spring Parkfairfax Native Plant Sale This is the tenth year and 20th occurrence for this twice-a-year, non-profit, community plant sale. A record 16 vendors from four states will be hosted this time! You’ll find contact information for these vendors at http://home.earthlink.net/~sknudsen/id3.html. Please contact them for advance orders, which helps them to “bring what you want and not bring what you don’t want” (to quote one of them). For more details, send an email to sknudsen@earthlink.net. Alternatively, you can “like” Parkfairfax Native Plant Sale on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ParkfairfaxNativePlantSale. The sale is held in the parking lot at 3601 Valley Dr, Alexandria, VA 22302. • Thursday, May 2, 7:00am - 1:00pm Bethesda Community Garden Club Plant Sale Large selection of perennials, herbs, annuals & more grown in member gardens. Proceeds benefit various community projects including landscaping at Bethesda and Davis libraries and a Montgomery College scholarship in landscape technology. Location: Bethesda Women’s Farm Market, 7155 Wis-

TOP AREA GARDENING EVENTS DC-Area Gardening Calendar ~ Upcoming Events ~ April 16 - May 15, 2013 consin Ave. For more information go to: http://bcgc.esiteasp.com/ and click on Plant Sale in the menu bar to the left. • Saturday, May 4, 12Noon-3pm Annual Rachel Carson Open House Held at the National Historic Landmark home of Rachel Carson, located at 11701 Berwick Road, Silver Spring, Md. 20904. This house, where Carson wrote Silent Spring, also serves as the headquarters for the Rachel Carson Council. The event features three outstanding speakers and is open to the public without charge. The Open House will feature an exhibit of paintings by the nature artist, Dave DeRan. Further information may be found on RCC’s web site: www. RachelCarsonCouncil.org or by calling RCC at 301-593-7507.

includes motor coach and tours. Lunch is on your own at Winterthur Café. Register at www.greenspring.org or call Green Spring Gardens 703-642-5173. Code: 290 292 1901. Fee: $120.

SAVE THE DATE: • Saturday, May 18, 9am-3pm Spring Garden Day More than 40 vendors of rare and unusual plants descend on Green Springs Gardens to fill your spring gardening needs! Friends of Green Spring (FROGS) receive 10% off plants in the Garden Gate Plant Shop. Don’t miss this exciting tradition. Free Admission! Green Spring Gardens, 4603 Green Spring Road, Alexandria , VA. www. greenspring.org.

• May 10-11 The Baltimore African Violet & Gesneriad Club 60th Annual Mother’s Day Show & Sale Held at The Shops at Kenilworth, 800 Kenilworth Drive, Towson MD. Hours are Friday, May 10 Sales 9AM-7PM Show 1pm-7pm and Saturday, May 11 Show & Sale 9AM-5PM. The show will feature Still More Event Listings many unbelievable and unusual plants. See even more event listings on the The sale tables will hold hundreds of Washington Gardener Yahoo discussion beautiful African violet, gesneriads, and list. Join the list at http://groups.yahoo. other exotic houseplants. Also availcom/group/WashingtonGardener/. able will be leaves, cuttings, and many growing supplies including soil mix, Event Listing Submissions • Sunday, May 5, 2-4pm plant rings, self-watering pots and much To submit an event for this listing, DC State Fair’s more. Experienced growers will be there please contact: Wgardenermag@aol. Third Annual Seedling Swap to answer your growing questions. This com and put “Event” in the email subDozens of DC-area gardeners will share event is free to the public and is handiject head. Our next deadline is May 12 seedlings, get gardening tips, watch capped accessible. For additional inforfor the May 15 edition of this enewsletdemonstrations, and more to kick off mation, contact Shirley Huffman 301  ter featuring events taking place May the summer planting season. Be sure 854-2021 or bshuffman2@aol.com. 16-June 15. to show up on time to get your chance to walk home with seedlings, and plan to spend the afternoon learning about gardening in DC. The American Horticultural Society’s 2013 *THURSDAY, APRIL 18 3 p.m.–7 p.m. If you don’t have any seedlings (*AHS members only) to share, there will be some available to get you started with FRIDAY, APRIL 19 your garden! Held at the Cenat River Farm 9 a.m.– 6 p.m. ter for Green Urbanism, 3938 Benning Road NE, WDC. ClosSATURDAY, APRIL 20 est Metro: Minnesota Avenue. 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Details at http://dcstatefair. wordpress.com/.

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• Thursday, May 9, 6:30am-7:30pm Winterthur and Mt. Cuba Travel to Wilmington, Delaware, to some of the finest woodland gardens around: Mt. Cuba Center and Winterthur. Tour Mt. Cuba’s native plant gardens in the morning and spend the afternoon at Winterthur with a house tour and a tram tour of the grounds and gardens. Morning tour requires extensive walking on various surfaces. Price

Browse a wide selection of plants and garden-themed items • Get free advice from Master Gardeners • Meet alpacas and raptors • Bring a picnic and enjoy gardens in spring bloom River Farm is located off the GW Parkway a few miles south of Old Town Alexandria. Parking is $5; free for AHS members (with valid member card). For more information, call (703) 768-5700 or visit www.ahs.org. River Farm • 7931 East Boulevard Drive • Alexandria, VA 22308

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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 • Indoor Bulb Forcing Basics • Delightful Daffodils

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

MARCH/APRIL 2008 • Patio, Balcony, Rooftop Container Gardens • Our Favorite Garden Tools • Coral Bells (Heucheras)

MARCH/APRIL 2006 • Top 10 Small Trees and Large Shrubs • Azaleas • Figs, Berries, & Persimmons • Basic Pruning Principles MAY/JUNE 2006 • Using Native Plants in Your Landscape • Crabgrass • Peppers • Secret Sources for Free Plants JULY/AUGUST 2006 • Hydrangeas • Theme Gardens • Agave • Find Garden Space by Growing Up SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006 • Shade Gardening • Hosta Care Guide • Fig-growing Tips and Recipes NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006 • Horticultural Careers • Juniper Care Guide • Winter Squash Growing Tips and Recipes • Layer/Lasagna Gardening JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2007 • Indoor Gardening • Daphne Care Guide • Asparagus Growing Tips and Recipes • Houseplant Propagation MARCH/APRIL 2007 • Stormwater Management • Dogwood Selection & Care Guide • Early Spring Vegetable Growing Tips • Franciscan Monastery Bulb Gardens

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MAY/JUNE 2008 — ALMOST SOLD OUT! • Growing Great Tomatoes • Glamorous Gladiolus • Seed Starting Basics • Flavorful Fruiting Natives JULY/AUGUST 2008 • Landscaping with Ornamental Grasses • Edible Grasses to Graze On • Slug and Snail Control • Sage Advice: Sun-loving Salvias SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2008 • Autumn Edibles — What to Plant Now • Beguiling Barrenworts (Epimediums) • The 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, and Vines • 5 Top Tips for Overwintering Tender Bulbs • Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009 • Compost Happens: Nature’s Free Fertilizer • Managing Stormwater with a Rain Garden • Visiting Virginia’s State Arboretum • Grow Winter Hazel for Gorgeous Winter Color MARCH/APRIL 2009 • 40+ Free and Low-cost Local Garden Tips • Spring Edibles Planting Guide for the Mid-Atlantic • Testing Your Soil for a Fresh Start • Redbud Tree Selection and Care • Best Local Viewing Spots for Virginia Bluebells

MAY/JUNE 2009 • Top 12+ Easy Summer Annuals for DC Heat • Salad Table Project • Grow and Enjoy Eggplant • How to Chuck a Woodchuck from Your Garden SUMMER 2009 • Grow Grapes in the Mid-Atlantic • Passionflowers • Mulching Basics • What’s Bugging Your Tomatoes • 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

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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

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Magazine Excerpt: A Dependable Duo of Native Azaleas

BY BARBARA L. BULLOCK Native plants are getting a lot of press these days, much of it through electronic media and internet sites. Many nurseries now specialize in native plants. A successful native plant design calls for a knowledge of plants native to your region, the growing conditions they require, and combining or layering plant types like trees, shrubs, and groundcovers to create a diverse habitat for insects, birds, and animals. This does not mean you have to give up beautiful flowers. One group of natives, the native azaleas, can and should be used more often as part of today’s landscapes. The North American native azaleas are curiously absent from the traditional gardening pallet but are among the most beautiful ornamental shrubs in the world. It might surprise you to learn that many native azaleas are not difficult to grow. They’re deciduous, which may be the reason they are not more widely grown. There are two azalea species that grow without the help of the gardener’s hands in Washington, DC area woodlands: the pinxter azalea, Rhododendron periclymenoides and the swamp azalea, Rhododendron viscosum. The pinxter azalea, sometimes called “wild honeysuckle”, is quite showy and has long stamens that extend past the perianth evoking the look of Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica). Its delicate flowers are white to pale pink but it’s not particularly fragrant. The swamp azalea is very fragrant with tiny white flower clusters appearing in late June. They are great plants for woodland gardens, but gardeners looking for azaleas with loads of bright spring flowers that are adaptable to a range of conditions might want to consider a couple of azaleas that are found in other parts of the eastern U.S. ... Want to learn more about this two native azaleas? Read the rest of this Special Feature Story in the Spring 2013 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine now printing and mailing soon. See how to subscribe below to start with this issue.

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Washington Gardener Enews ~ April 2013 ~ Impatiens Alternatives

Published on Apr 16, 2013

Kathy J

This enewsletter is the sister publication of Washington Gardener Magazine. Both the print magazine and online enewsletter share the same mission and focus — helping DC-MD-VA region gardens grow — but our content is different. In this monthly enewsletter, we address timely seasonal topics and projects; post local garden events; and, a monthly list of what you can be doing now in your garden. We encourage you to subscribe to Washington Gardener Magazine as well for in-depth articles, inspirational photos, and great garden resources for the Washington DC area gardener. IMPORTANT NOTE: This enewsletter is only sent out as a PDF via email to current subscribers. Without your support, we cannot continue publishing this enewsletter nor Washington Gardener Magazine!