Washington Gardener Enews ~ April 2014

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ENEWSLETTER

APRIL 2014

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 Instagram Feed: http://instagram.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

Inside This Enews Issue • Back Issue Sale • April-May To-Do List • Hardy Ferns Magazine Excerpt • Latest Blog Links • Local Garden Events Listings • Transform an Invasive Bradford Pear Tree into a Fruiting Pear • New ‘Wild Boar’ Tomato • Reader Contest to Win Leesburg Flower and Garden Festival T-shirts

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Early Spring 2014

Our Early Spring 2014 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine has now printed and mailed to all current subscribers. The cover story is on Fabulous Ferns for the Mid-Atlantic Gardens.

You’ll also find in this issue: • Beet Growing Tips • Daytrip to Chanticleer Gardens • Profile of Patterson Clark. Washington Post’s Urban Jungle columnist • New Plant Introductions • Book Reviews • Native Plant Profile • Garden Tips and Tricks • Battling Iris Borer • And much, much more...

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.

Reader Contest

For our April 2014 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, Washington Gardener is giving away a two Leesburg Flower & Garden Festival T-shirts (prize value $20).

The Leesburg Flower and Garden Festival is held annually on the third weekend of April. Standard event hours are 10AM-6PM on Saturday and 10AM-5PM on Sunday.

There is a $3 suggested donation for visitors 10 years or older. This annual event heralds the coming of spring and features more than 120 vendors on the streets of historic downtown Leesburg, VA. Amazing landscape displays, plant material, annuals, perennials, tools, furniture, garden décor, and much more is on hand at this event.

To enter to win the Leesburg Flower & Garden Festival T-shirts, send an email to WashingtonGardener@rcn.com by 5:00pm on April 25 with “Leesburg T-shirts” in the subject line and in the body of the email, please also include your full name and mailing address. Tell us: “My favorite local plant sale or garden festival is.. ” The T-shirt winner will be announced and notified by April 30.

Quick Links to Washington Gardener Blog Posts

• Best Spots for Viewing Virginia Bluebells • Cherry Blossom Viewing Alternatives • Signs of Spring in the Native Plant Garden • Scenes at the US National Arboretum • A Crocus Lawn: You Can Grow That!

See more Washington Gardener blog posts at WashingtonGardener.Blogspot.com.

April Garden To-Do List

New Plant Spotlight Tomato Wild Boar ‘Mint Julep’ (Solanum lycopersicum)

Wild Boar tomatoes are gourmet tomatoes from farmer and breeder Brad Gates, who hand-picks his varieties based on flavor from over 1,000 heirlooms, crosses, and hybrids.

His main focus is on bicolor and striped varieties with extreme flavor and fascinating looks. The Wild Boar Series performs exceptionally well for home and market gardeners - even in areas with challenging climates. From the garden to your table, these are sure to be some of the prettiest, tastiest and most unique tomatoes you’ll ever grow and eat! Featured in Martha Stewart Living magazine. All are indeterminate.

These varieties perform exceptionally well. ‘Mint Julep,’ also known as ‘Michael Pollan,’ is a large plumshaped striped variety with a nice sweet tomato flavor.

Cultivation Facts Annual: 4 ft tall Seed to bloom: 75 days to harvest Bloom Time: Summer to Fall Color: Green and yellow striped fruits Light: Full sun Soil: Rich, well-drained Wild Boar Tomato seeds are available through www.SelectSeeds.com and www.TotallyTomato.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.

WASHINGTON GARDENER ENEWS © 2014 Washington Gardener Magazine. All rights reserved.

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Brought to you by the Town of Leesburg Parks and Recreation Department

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Grafting Invasive Bradford Pears to Produce Fruit

By Lincoln Smith With the pretty Bradford Pear trees blooming stinkily all around, the season is right for some grafting.

Using a simple bark-grafting technique, it’s possible to make these weedy trees into producers of delicious European or Asian Pear fruit.

The ‘Bradford’ variety of Callery Pear (Pyrus calleryana) was for a time one of the most widelyplanted street trees, for its ornamental flowers, fast growth, and upright habit. It is ubiquitous on streets and in neighborhoods throughout the eastern U.S. The tree fell out of favor though as people realized that it splits easily in snow or wind, and its seedlings widely invade fields and forests. Some jurisdictions now have Callery Pear removal programs.

Grafting is a way to make use of Callery Pears. A quick word on grafts: this is a way of getting good fruit by taking a twig from a tasty tree and fusing it onto the base of a mediocre fruiter. Just about all the fruit you buy in the grocery store comes from grafted trees. In the case of wild Callery Pears, their fruit is tiny and inedible. But with a twig from a fruiting pear, they can bring forth sweet abundance.

And by the way, if you buy a pear tree from a nursery, it will already have been grafted onto, guess what — Callery Pear as the root stock. So why not graft your own, and skip the hardest part of growing trees — getting the plant to survive transplanting shock?

Bark grafting is a simple technique that works on pear trees with trunks ranging from about 1" thick up to 8" or more. It requires only simple tools and half an hour to make a graft, with most of the work being to fell the tree you want to graft.

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Bark Grafting Materials List

• Tree Saw • Scionwood (sticks from a fruiting pear tree) • Pruners • Knife (e.g. Victorinox Budding & Grafting Knife) • Parafilm Tape • Wax or Grafting Compound (e.g. Tanglefoot) • Grafting Compound Applicator (e.g. putty knife) • Labels (e.g. Impress-O-Tags)

Grafting Steps

1. Cut down your Callery Pear to about three feet above the ground. Make the cut clean and smooth, at right angles to the trunk.

2. Make a 1½-inch angled cut at the bottom of your 4 to 5inch scion, with 2 or 3 good buds above.

3. Cut a vertical slit in the tree’s bark, running down ¾ inch from where you cut the tree. Peel back the bark a little.

4. Slide the scion under the tree’s bark at the slit with the scion’s cut facing inward.

Make sure it is right side up.

5. Do at least two scions per tree in case one doesn’t take.

6. Wrap tape around the top of the cut trunk and scions to hold the scions in place.

7. Coat the cut trunk, bark slits and cut scion tips with grafting compound or wax.

8. Label the graft with the name of the variety, date, etc.

Scionwood Sources

The nice thing is, once you have some trees going, you can harvest your own scionwood in January or February while the tree is dormant. Then, you store the sticks in the fridge in a bag with a little moist paper towel until you’re ready to use them.

WASHINGTON GARDENER ENEWS © 2014 Washington Gardener Magazine. All rights reserved.

For me, choosing varieties is mainly about disease resistance. There are many, but as a sample: for European Pears, ‘Magness,’ ‘Potomac,’ and ‘Honeysweet’ are good, and for Asian Pears, ‘Korean Giant,’ ‘Shinko,’ and ‘Chojuro.’

Here are the three sources of scionwood I’ve used: • www.NutTrees.net Persimmon, Asian Pear, Pawpaw, Jujube, Chestnut, Pecan, Hickory and Hican, Walnut • www.RedManseFarm.com Apple, European Pear, Asian Pear, Cherry • www.BurntRidgeNursery.com Asian Pear, European Pear, and others

Grafting Tips

• The best time to graft pears is from late March until the beginning of May, preferably on a cool and cloudy day.

• Tree too large? Make your graft on a branch.

• Grafts can grow vigorously! Prune them back so they don’t become top-heavy and break off. Cut back suckers from the tree trunk.

Further Grafting Information

For an illustrated how-to, see the bark grafting section of this bulletin from University of Missouri Extension http://extension.missouri.edu/explorepdf/agguides/hort/g06971.pdf.

Want to see the technique first hand? Head out to Forested in Bowie, MD, where they’re hosting Callery Pear grafting workshops, and you can take a look at grafts that have been growing for a while. See the next dates at: http://Forested.us/ GraftingWorkshop.html.

About the Author Lincoln Smith runs Forested, a forest garden company in Bowie, MD (www.forested.us). He helps landowners in the eastern U.S. create forest gardens through consultation and through training at his 10acre demonstration forest garden. He gives regular lectures on forest gardening. He is working on making and marketing acorn foods.

WASHINGTON GARDENER ENEWS © 2014 Washington Gardener Magazine. All rights reserved.

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TOP AREA GARDENING EVENTS DC-Area Gardening Calendar ~ Upcoming Events ~ April 16 - May 15, 2014 • Virginia Plant Clinics Two Arlington, VA, plant clinics sponsored by Virginia Cooperative Extension will open in mid-April.

The plant clinic at Arlington Central Library will open on Thursday, April 17, and will be held from 6:45-8:45pm. every Thursday to mid-November. It is located in the East Lobby of the library, 1015 N. Quincy Street.

The plant clinic at the Arlington Farmers’ Market will open on Saturday, April 19, and will be held every Saturday morning from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. through September. The Farmers’ Market is located at N. 14th St. and N. Courthouse Rd. VCE Master Gardeners at the clinics answer general gardening questions as well as questions about plant pests and diseases, identify plants, and provide soil test kits on request.

VCE Master Gardeners also staff the Horticulture Help Desk, which operates from 9 a.m. to noon weekdays year round at the VCE office in Fairlington Community Center, 3308 S. Stafford Street, Arlington. The Help Desk can be reached by phone at 703-228-6414 or by email at mgarlalex@gmail.com.

• Saturday, April 19, 10am-12pm and 1-3pm April Floral Design Workshop Join Jason Gedeik, head of greenhouse & design operations, to learn practical floral arranging techniques and new design concepts while having fun creating your own arrangement using spring flowers. Each session is limited to ten participants maximum. All materials are included. Held at Hillwood Museum and Gardens in Washington, DC. Details: www.hillwoodmuseum.org.

• Monday, April 21, 8:00pm Container Vegetable Gardening Talk hosted by the Silver Spring Garden Club So what do you do if the only sun you get is in the middle of the driveway? ..... or on the deck? Container gardening, of course! Learn what your favorite veggies and herbs need in a container. Soil formulation, what containers really deliver, spacing, timing, and other tips will be covered! ...and of course it’s organic 6

and sustainable! Held at Montgomery College, Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus, Health Sciences Center Building Room 222, Silver Spring, MD. The talk is free and open to the public.

• Friday, April 25, 3-7pm; Sat. April 26, 10am-3pm; Sun. April 27, 1-3pm Native Plant Sale Friends of Black Hill Nature Programs (FOBH), 20926 Lake Ridge Dr., Boyds, MD 20841. www.BlackHillNature.org Call (301) 528-3484 for information on species and possible pre-orders.

• Saturday, April 26, 9am to 12noon 5th Annual Robot Tomatoes Sale Find the best of Heirloom Tomatoes, Peppers, and more at the 5th Annual Robot Tomatoes Sale at 792 Grant St, Herndon, VA. Organically grown seedlings in 3-inch pots, hardened off and ready to plant. All proceeds go to support local FIRST LEGO Robotics teams.

See our list of varieties at www.RobotTomatoes.org.

• Saturday, April 26, 9am-1pm Audubon Society of Central MD Native Plant Sale A wide variety of native perennials, shrubs, and trees for sale (cash or check only). Held on the grounds of the beautiful Audrey Carroll Audubon Sanctuary, 13030 Old Annapolis Road, just West of Mount Airy, MD. Expert advice available from Master Gardeners on plant selection and care, habitat creation, and other related areas of interest. Come early for the best selection – and bring your wagon! Rain or shine.

For more information, visit http://www. centralmdaudubon.org/psinfo.htm • Saturday, April 26, 10am-6pm and Sunday, April 27, 9am-3pm Franciscan Monastery Garden Guild’s Annual Herb and Plant Sale Held at1400 Quincy Street NE, Washington, DC 20017. This year is going to unique due the large number of plants that we have propagated in our historic greenhouse. We will be showcasing a wide variety of plants that highlight different portions of gardens. We have Angel Trumpets, Pomegranates, Sibe-

WASHINGTON GARDENER ENEWS © 2014 Washington Gardener Magazine. All rights reserved.

rian Iris, and Roses to name a few. As always we will have an amazing selection of herbs, vegetables, annuals, perennials, roses, shrubs, fruit trees, camellias, azaleas and more!

Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/gardenguild.

• April 26-May 3, 2014 Historic Garden Week - Virginia Since 1929 funds benefit the restoration and preservation of Virginia’s historic gardens. Each spring visitors are welcomed to more than 250 of Virginia’s most beautiful gardens, homes and historic landmarks during “America’s Largest Open House.” This 8-day statewide event provides visitors a unique opportunity to see unforgettable gardens at the peak of Virginia’s springtime color, as well as beautiful houses sparkling with over 2,000 fabulous flower arrangements created by Garden Club of Virginia members.. See more at: www.vagardenweek.org.

• Friday, May 2, 10am-6pm and Saturday, May 3, 10am-5pm All Hallows Guild’s Flower Mart 2014 More than 80 gift vendors, 15 delicious and diverse food vendors and musical performances throughout the weekend on the glorious gardens and on the grounds of Washington National Cathedral, Wisconsin and Massachusetts Avenues, NW, Washington, DC. • Saturday, May 3, 9am-3pm Roses are Easy An annual rose symposium will teach you how to grow beautiful roses. There is nothing better than a fragrant rose bush along your garden path, in a container on your patio, or framing your gateway trellis. Topics include selecting roses for the DC area, planting, pruning, providing seasonal care, etc. Experienced rosarians will be on hand to answer all of your questions. Join us at the Franciscan Monastery, 1400 Quincy Street, NE, Washington, DC 20017. Fee: $45 ($35 for PRS members) includes a catered lunch and complimentary 2014 membership in the Potomac Rose Society. For more information, Jay Jensen, 301-460-1793.

TOP AREA GARDENING EVENTS DC-Area Gardening Calendar ~ Upcoming Events ~ April 16 - May 15, 2014 • Saturday, May 3, 3:30-9:00pm HERBS for ALL: An Herbal Encuentro A family-friendly event with Bilingual Workshops, Local Vendors, Kids Crafts, Hands on Activities, Free Samples, Raffles, Seed Exchanges, Global Beats, Dance, Art and Community Inspiration to Celebrate International Herb Day Held at the Emergence Community Arts Collective733 Euclid St NW, Washington, DC. Details at http://www.centroashe.org/herbsforall.html. Suggested Donation $5-10 per person.

• Thursday, May 15, 7am-1:00pm Bethesda Community Garden Club Plant Sale Held at the Bethesda Women’s Farm Market, 7155 Wisconsin Ave. A large selection of perennials grown in members’ well-tended gardens, herbs, annuals, and more. Details at: http://bcgc. esiteasp.com/bcgc/home.nxg.

NOTE: this is a change in date from previous announcements!

• Saturday, May 17, 10am-4pm Private Open Garden Tour Visit some of the most inspiring private gardens of Montgomery County at the height of gardening season. Join Brookside Gardens for our annual private open garden tour; this is your only opportunity to visit these extraordinary gardens! Discover your inner designer as you gather creative ideas and practical information for your own garden.

SAVE THE DATE:

Still More Event Listings

• Saturday, May 10, 9am-1pm Silver Spring Garden Club GardenMart The annual fund-raiser plant sale will be held at the Historic Silver Spring Train Station in the heart of downtown Silver Spring, MD. Come by for Mother’s Day Gifts, Garden Raffle, Perennials, Herbs, Annuals, Shrubs, Native Plants, Heirloom Tomatoes, House Plants, Vegetables and Hanging Baskets. Held rain or shine. Cash or check only.

• Saturday, May 17, 9am-3pm Spring Garden Day Don’t miss this exciting annual tradition. More than 40 vendors of rare and unusual plants descend on Green Spring Gardens to fill your spring gardening needs! FROGS members receive 10% off plants in the Garden Gate Plant Shop. Green Spring Gardens, 4603 Green Spring Road, Alexandria, VA.

See even more event listings on the Washington Gardener Yahoo discussion list. Join the list at http://groups.yahoo. com/group/WashingtonGardener/.

Event Listing Submissions

To submit an event for this listing, please contact: Wgardenermag@aol. com and put “Event” in the email subject head. Our next deadline is May 12 for the May 15 edition of this enewsletter featuring events taking place from May 16-June 15.

WASHINGTON GARDENER ENEWS © 2014 Washington Gardener Magazine. All rights reserved.

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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

SUMMER 2009 • Grow Grapes in the Mid-Atlantic • Passionflowers • Mulching Basics • Growing Hops

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

FALL 2009 • Apples • How To Save Tomato Seeds • Persimmons

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

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

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006 • Shade Gardening • Hosta Care Guide • Fig-growing Tips and Recipes

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

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006 • Horticultural Careers • Juniper Care Guide • Winter Squash Growing Tips and Recipes • Layer/Lasagna Gardening

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 • 40+ Free and Low-cost Local Garden Tips • Spring Edibles Planting Guide • Testing Your Soil for a Fresh Start • Redbud Tree Selection and Care • Best Viewing Spots for Virginia Bluebells

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

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

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

WASHINGTON GARDENER ENEWS © 2014 Washington Gardener Magazine. All rights reserved.

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Coming Soon!

Washington Gardener Magazine’s DayTrip columns compiled into one handy publication — available soon in both paper and e-book versions. Great gift idea!

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In Our Next Issue Spring 2014...

Backyard Beekeeping Daytrip to Winterthur

Garden Event Wrap-Up Photo Contest Winners

If your business would like to reach area gardeners, be sure to contact us by May 15 so you can be part of the next issue of our growing publication! oooooooooooooooooooooooo

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Magazine Excerpt: Hardy Ferns for the Mid-Atlantic by Judith Mensh

Bright green, light green, olive green, deep green, hardy evergreen ferns offer us color we appreciate during the drab winter months. When everything else is cut back by winter, there appear above the melting snow areas of green, the color of life. It could be a Polystichum or a Dryopteris, perhaps a Christmas fern, a wood fern, a holly fern, an autumn fern, tassel fern, maidenhair fern, or the native log fern, Polystichum celsa. Like the orchid, with its avid collectors, and the Iris, Daylily, and Rose, evergreen ferns have their own following and devotees. And for good reason.

Hardy evergreen ferns can play many roles in the woodland and the shade garden. Think of them as small shrubs; as solid background color; as hedging; edging, or specimen; as guiding the eyes through the garden; or guiding you along a garden pathway. Evergreen ferns provide a rich variety of texture, color, size, and shape. Even among the relatively small group of ferns that are evergreen, there are weepers and uprights, tall and small, natives and international varieties.

Disappearing briefly, between the time we prune off last season’s fronds in late winter or early spring (not in the fall like most perennials), and the emergence of the fiddleheads pushing upward for this year’s show, the fronds unfurl, on their way to beginning a new green year. Unfurling behind or among the blooming spring bulbs, a complex range of greens provide a rich backdrop. The young fronds have great personality and some look like fuzzy aliens as they grow and unfurl in front of your eyes.

In most cases, it is the sterile fronds that persist; the fertile fronds, being perennial, go dormant in the cold and are removed as needed when brown and ugly. Like evergreen shrubs, these persistent fronds provide us with a color break from the cold, gray skies. The genera Dryopteris and Polystichum include several great evergreen ferns. The most tried-and-true fern in this category is...

Want to read more growing hardy ferns in the PlantProfile column in the Winter-Early Spring 2014 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine out soon. See how to subscribe below to start with this issue.

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