Washington Gardener Magazine October 2022

Barry Glick

Sunshine Farm and Gardens 696 Glicks Road Renick, WV 24966, USA Email: barry@sunfarm.com www.sunfarm.com

Specializing in Garden Renewals & Renovations

Yard By Yard Makeovers, LLC

7304 Carroll Avenue, #229 Takoma Park, MD 20912 301-270-4642 yardmakeovers@yahoo.com www.yardmakeovers.com We can reshape and beautify neglected yards.

KathyJentz@gmail.com

Need a Garden Club Speaker?

Washington Gardener Magazine’s staff and writers are available to speak to groups and garden clubs in the DC region and ONLINE! Call 240.603.1461 or email KathyJentz@gmail.com for available dates, rates, and topics.

Green Spring Gardens

A “must visit” for everyone in the met ropolitan Washington, DC, area. It’s a year-round goldmine of information and inspiration for the home gardener. It’s an outdoor classroom for children and their families to learn about plants and wildlife. It’s also a museum, a national historic site that offers glimpses into a long, rich history with colonial origins. Located at 4603 Green Spring Rd., Alex andria, VA. Information: 703-642-5173.

Osage Orange is an amaz ing tree. The sawdust from downed trees is used to make a bright-yellow dye. The wood burns at the highest tempera ture of all trees and is one of the best firewood types avail able. It should be thoroughly dried, six to nine months first, because any sap in the wood will send out showers of sparks.

Got a Garden Question? Got a gardening question you need answered? Send your questions to KathyJentz@gmail.com and use the subject line “Q&A.” Then look for your answered questions in upcoming issues.

Know your good bugs. This lady beetle larva found among Crapemyr tle Bark Scale (CMBS) is often mistaken for its “bad bug” prey and killed by well-meaning gardeners. Photo by Dave Clement, UME.

Amy Highland manages both living and non-living collections, focusing on expanding the genetic diversity of Mt. Cuba’s gardens and coordinat ing its conservation efforts. She has traveled throughout the temperate forests of North America to find rare plants in need of conservation.

ON THE COVER

An Osage Orange tree in Wheaton Regional Park, Silver Spring, MD.

In our November issue: The Cook Sisters Garden Books Local Garden Tours and much more

on the “subscribe” link at

Speaking of Speaking

At a recent meeting of the Silver Spring Garden Club, a member asked where I find all the interesting speakers I book for the club’s meetings. In this particular case, it was Marie Mims Butler, who I have known for years as a fellow member of GardenComm (formerly the Garden Writers Association). She drove up from Norfolk, VA, to present her talk about “Tussie Mussies: The Modern Victorian Language of Flowers.” I get many of my best garden speakers through that organization.

Word of mouth is the next best way to find someone. I also find them through the GreatGardenSpeakers.com website, which has the great benefit of providing audience reviews and ratings that you can use to vet entries. I almost never book anyone whom I have not personally seen speak before, but these reviews help if it is not possible to do so.

At times, I’ve heard of someone who is an expert in some plant- or garden-related field, I have taken a chance on booking them for their knowledge alone, and been pleased that their speaking skills were decent. At other times, I’ve also taken a chance and booked a “big name” author or garden personality and regretted it when their presentation just didn’t live up to the hype.

I do a great deal of speaking myself and being on both sides of the program plan ning for various groups has helped me put together a stable list of local gardening speaker talent. If you are looking for a speaker for your group, feel free to drop me a line. I’d love to talk to your group, but if I’m not a fit, I bet I can help find someone who is.

Sincerely, Kathy Jentz, Editor/Publisher, Washington Gardener

KathyJentz@gmail.com

Credits

Kathy Jentz

Editor/Publisher

Washington Gardener 826 Philadelphia Ave. Silver Spring, MD 20910

Phone: 301-588-6894 kathyjentz@gmail.com www.washingtongardener.com

Ruth E. Thaler-Carter Proofreader

Brandie Bland

Jaime Breeden Interns

Subscription: $20.00

• Washington Gardener Blog: www.washingtongardener.blogspot.com

• Washington Gardener Archives: http://issuu.com/washingtongardener

• Washington Gardener Discussion Group: https://groups.google.com/g/ washingtongardener/

• Washington Gardener Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/WDCGardener

• Washington Gardener Instagram: www.instagram.com/wdcgardener

• Washington Gardener Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ WashingtonGardenerMagazine/

• Washington Gardener YouTube: www.youtube.com/ washingtongardenermagazine

• Washington Gardener Amazon Store: www.amazon.com/shop/wdcgardener

• Washington Gardener BookShop: bookshop.org/shop/WDCgardener

• Washington Gardener Podcast: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/

• Washington Gardener is a woman-owned busi ness We are proud to be members of:

· GardenComm (GWA: The Association for Garden Communicators)

· Green America Business Network

· National Garden Bureau

· One Montgomery Green

· Ladies in the Landscape

· Perennial Plant Association

Volume 17, Number 8 ISSN 1555-8959

© 2022 Washington Gardener

All rights reserved. Published monthly. No material may be reproduced without prior writ ten permission. This magazine is purchased by the buyer with the understanding that the infor mation 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.

Your editor (right) with Marie Mims Butler (left) at the Silver Spring Garden Club meeting held at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD. Photo by Phil Normandy.

Reader Contest

For our October 2022 Washington Gar dener Reader Contest, we are giving away three sets of the TreeDiaper® gar den mat twin-pack (prize value: $33.99).

This TreeDiaper® garden mat is great for your garden. Simply soak the mat in water to get it started, then place it around your plants. It can be arranged to satisfy watering needs and spacing of most plants: a single mat for a double row, double mat for a single row, or a single mat for a single row. If you prefer a natural look, just add mulch on top of the mat.

Because TreeDiaper® garden mat is made from durable materials, it can be used for years. Water release rate varies depending on indoor or outdoor plants, temperature, air flow, and humidity. In one test, the mat continued to release water for a full two months.

To enter to win one of the three TreeDiaper® garden mat twin-packs, send an email to WashingtonGardenerMagazine@gmail.com by 5:00pm on October 31 with “TreeDiaper® garden mat” in the subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us what your favorite article was in this issue and why. Please also include your full name and mailing address. Winners will be announced and notified on or about November 1. o

Your Ad Here

Are you trying to reach thousands of gardeners in the greater DC region/MidAtlantic area? Washington Gardener Magazine goes out in the middle of every month. Contact KathyJentz@gmail.com or call 301.588.6894 for ad rates (starting from $200). The ad deadline is the 5th of each month. Please submit your ad directly to: KathyJentz@gmail.com.

READERreactions

Reader Feedback

I liked the Gold Star Plants interview (on the GardenDC Podcast Episode 121 with Andrew Bunting, vice president of Horticulture at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society), because it includ ed so much concise information from such a knowledgeable source.

~ Mary Finelli, Silver Spring, MD

My favorite article in the magazine is “Zinnias.” I learned that I can plant them now (July/August) and have zin nias for the fall.

Thank you,

~ Phyllis Downey, Pasadena, MD

My favorite article in the May 2022 edi tion of Washington Gardener was “Early Bulbs for Bees.” I am working on using pollinator plants as much as possible. My backyard has had all grass removed and is planted with pollinator-friendly native plants. Now it’s time for some bulbs as well.

~ Susan Gellert, Silver Spring, MD

I thoroughly enjoyed the interview in the May 2022 issue with Peter Van Zalk, the gardener for the Embassy of Netherlands. His practical views of gar dening for an embassy, as well as gen eral differences between gardeners in DC and those in the Netherlands, were intriguing. And I am envious that plants are less expensive in the Netherlands. I would love to tour the grounds and greenhouse.

~ Annie Shaw, Greenbelt, MD

As usual, a Washington Gardener issue (April 2022) filled with informative, inspirational, and entertaining articles. Thank you for your editorial. A reflection of exactly how it’s seemed to me, read ing it made me feel a little more, “Okay, I’m not the only one.”

Plant a Row for the Hungry (PAR) is an easy program to participate in and really does not take any extra resources than what you may have in your garden. In nor mal times, about 35 million people wonder where their next meal will come from. Most of these are children. That’s where PAR steps in.

PAR is such a simple program: It urges gardeners to Plant A Row (or a container) dedicated to feeding the hungry, and then take the harvest to some place or someone that needs it. Once you have donated, send an email to KathyJentz@gmail.com with the total (in pounds and ounces) of what you gave. That is all there is to it. Easy. Effective. Adaptable and Helpful.

I especially liked the article about containers. My experience with an unusual use of containers occurred on a trip through Tennessee. We had stopped at a motel undergoing renova tion. Looking out the window, I noticed a row of bathtubs filled with flowers! How’s that for reuse, recycle?

~ Margaret Poore, Silver Spring, MD o

USDA’s People’s Garden Initiative Goes Nationwide

By Brandie Bland

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expanding its People’s Gar den Initiative, which supports local food systems and educates communities on how gardening benefits communi ties and the environment by combating issues like food deserts and climate change.

The expanded nationwide initiative will include urban gardens like com munity gardens; urban farms; school gardens; and small-scale agriculture projects in urban, suburban, and rural areas.

Gardens under the expanded initia tive must meet the following criteria to be eligible:

• Benefit the community by providing food, beautification, arts, wildlife habi tat, education, green space, tree cano py, recreation, volunteer opportunities.

• Be a collaborative effort involving neighbors, co-workers, food pantries, master gardeners, conservation dis tricts, USDA agencies, veterans, youth organizations, seniors, faith-based groups, or others.

• Incorporate sustainable practices such as rain barrels or micro-irrigation, composting, cover crops, pest manage ment, bat houses or insect hotels, and/ or native plants.

• Educate the public about sustain

Mall in Washington, DC, on February 12, 2009—President Lincoln’s 200th birthday.

“Local gardens across the country share USDA’s goals of building more diversified and resilient local food systems, empowering communities to come together around expanding access to healthy food, addressing cli mate change, and advancing equity,” Vilsack said in a press release.

Since the expansion efforts began, gardeners and volunteers at the USDA headquarters garden have been work ing to bring gardening knowledge and resources to communities in the Washington, DC–Baltimore metro area. About 30 to 40 crop varieties, including squash, eggplant, and rice, grow at the headquarters garden.

able practices and the benefit of local food systems through signage, classes, events, outreach materials, websites, and youth field trips.

The People’s Garden, according to the USDA’s website, “was named in honor of USDA’s founder, President Abraham Lincoln, who described the USDA as ‘The People’s Department.’” Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack started the first People’s Garden at the USDA headquarters on the National

Jorge Penso, a soil conservationist with the USDA and one of the leaders of the headquarters garden, said, “This garden is a place where we can edu cate and kind of teach people on how to grow food at their home to increase their food security in their home(s) and in their neighborhood(s).”

The People’s Garden, nestled between iconic landmarks on the National Mall just steps from the Smith sonian Metro Station, looks like it could be a homeowner’s backyard. Penso said the garden is designed “to encour age people to garden on their own.”

The People’s Garden showcases diverse gardening styles and tech niques—including raised gardening beds, container gardening, and vertical gardening—to illustrate how gardening can be done in almost any space.

“We want to take away their excuses,” Penso said. “If you don’t have a lot of space, you can do a container with herbs and you could have fresh herbs year-round.”

Penso and the DC Food Policy Coun cil partner with the Care Community Association, a grassroots organization in Baltimore that focuses on community empowerment and development.

“We are finding ways that we can help them and the people that they serve,” Penso said.

In recent years, the USDA has focused its efforts on urban gardening to com bat its historic lack of support for urban producers. The 2018 Farm Bill estab lished the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (UAIP) in the USDA to focus on the needs of urban agriculture and farmers.

“We’re trying to encourage people to grow their own food and start their own food businesses within cities,” Penso said. “A lot of people don’t even know what these plants look like. They know what a tomato looks like because they’ve seen it at the grocery store, but they’ve never seen it on the vine.”

There are 17 urban hubs and hun dreds of farms participating in the pro gram across the U.S., including major cities like Los Angeles, Oakland, and Portland.

While the USDA’s initiative was met with both local and national support, there are a few vocal critics and skep tics. After the USDA posted about the initiative’s expansion on social media, misinformation began circulating that the USDA is collecting information from home growers to shut them down.

A USDA spokesperson said that, “the rumors are not true,” and clarified that the information collected about gardens are for the purpose of gardens being “posted to a map on the People’s Gar den website and sent a People’s Gar den sign to display.”

Anyone interested in volunteering at the People’s Garden in Washington, DC, can reach out to Penso at jorge. penso@usda.gov to sign up.

Those who run a garden and are inter ested in joining the People’s Garden initiative can visit usda.gov/peoples-gar den to find out how to get started. o

Brandie Bland is a senior multi-platform journalism major in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is an intern this fall with Washington Gardener.

“Inspire. Connect. Grow.”

The National Garden Bureau is a nonprofit organization that exists to educate, inspire, and motivate people to increase the use of garden seed, plants, and products in homes, gardens, and workplaces by being the market ing arm of the gardening industry. Our members are experts in the field of horticulture and our information comes directly from these sources.

Find out more at https://ngb.org/

Love Reading?

The book reviews in this issue are by volunteer members of the Washington Gardener Reader Panel. To join the Washington Gardener Volunteer Reader Panel, send an email with your name and address to: KathyJentz@gmail. com. We look forward to having you be a vital part of our local publication and its gardening mission o

Your Ad Here

Contact kathyjentz@gmail.com or call 301.588.6894 for ad rates

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

Amy Highland is a conservation liai son, connecting rare and endangered plants with people (and sometimes insects). She’s an authority on native plants whose curiosity often drives her to create new ways for conservators to think of the natural world. As Mt. Cuba Center’s director of collections and conservation lead, she has trav eled throughout the temperate forests of North America to find rare plants in need of conservation. A graduate of Purdue University’s Public Horticulture program, Highland has dedicated her life to conserving plants and preventing extinction events.

Tell us about your background: where you grew up, what your family was like, your education, etc.

I grew up in central Michigan. To this day, the scent of pine trees mixed with coffee is the scent of home. We lived in a close-knit neighborhood where the kids would run in a pack until we were called in for dinner. My brother and I named the little strip of forest behind the houses Destiny (we were big HeMan fans) and we would spend hours there, catching snakes and finding wild strawberries. We made up games and never wanted summer to end.

How did you get started on working with plants?

My parents knew I was a plant person

Amy Highland Director of Collections and Conservation Lead at Mt. Cuba Center

By Jaime Breeden

early on. I was the child too busy pick ing dandelions in the outfield on my softball team (to actually play ball). All my Fisher-Price dishes held flower arrangements. When I was a little older, our family trips to the bookstore got expensive when I discovered herbals and the magic of reference resources. But my family always encouraged me to follow my passion and when I went off to college, I think they knew I would pursue horticulture before I did. My first paid job in the botany department had me collecting specimens for a tax onomy class. I have a very vivid memo ry of standing in a field in Indiana, just flabbergasted that someone would pay me to collect wildflowers. I found my happy place.

Do you garden at home? If so, what do you like to grow?

I have a large vegetable garden with my husband and two boys. I love to cook and preserve, so it is a natural fit. Having just moved, I am excited for the future food forest we are planting. I cannot wait to geek out at the intersec tion of edible and native plants. I have visions of a persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) and elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) grove.

Tell us about Mt. Cuba Center and its mission.

Mt. Cuba Center is the former estate of

Pamela and Lamont DuPont Copeland. It was a family residence until 2002, when we opened to the public. As a public garden, we focus on native plants, a passion instilled by our found ers. We inspire and motivate people to conserve natural habitats, starting with the use of native plants in the garden. We are expanding our capacity to reach new audiences and welcoming more guests than ever. When people come to Mt. Cuba, they see beautiful naturalis tic gardens. We hope they leave with a deeper understanding of the vital role native plants play in creating healthy ecosystems, and their lives.

What does your average workday look like?

My days at Mt. Cuba are quite diverse. I act as our curator and am respon sible for Mt. Cuba Center’s identity as a museum. Our collections are living plants, not static objects, but many of the practices of a museum are on dis play here in our gardens. My duties to oversee the collections mean I spend a lot of time writing governance docu ments and policy. The curatorial team documents the collection. We work with several databases and informa tion management systems. We strive to make our collections as usable as possible. Working closely with our horticulturists to ensure accuracy, we deliver information for decision-mak ing. My favorite days are in the garden, taking samples or identifying a “volun teer” plant. A few times a year, I collect plants in the wild. These days are magi cal. They allow me to study how plants exist in their natural habitats and learn where a plant will thrive, what plants it wants to grow with, and if these plants are facing significant threats in the wild.

What makes the work you do so important?

Plants are the basis for life on Earth. By converting solar energy into a consum able form of energy, they are the base unit of our ecosystems. We need plants to live. The work we do at Mt. Cuba— studying plants, how to care for them, and how they support ecosystems—

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

helps inform decisions about what to plant, where to plant it, and how many plants we need. These questions are becoming increasingly important as we seek not only to improve the environ ments we live in, but ensure that plants thrive in a changing climate.

What has been the most rewarding and the most challenging thing about the work you’re doing?

As much as I love plants, the most rewarding part of the job is interact ing with people. I love turning large problems into consumable questions. We may not have all the answers to move forward, but we can still advance. Some days, it is my fellow Mt. Cubans reminding me of this; some days, I help remind them. The totality of conserva tion becomes less daunting when you know you are not working alone. Just as everything in nature is connected, we need connections to feel a part of nature. I feel connected to nature when I help others experience it and gain a broader understanding of it.

What do you like to do outside of your job?

Outside of work, I spend a lot of time with my family. My husband Mark and I have two boys and we like to be home together. We garden as a family, bake together, play too many hands of cards, and occasionally get in a Friday dance party. We are fun people; you would like us.

Is there anyone you look up to as inspiration, a hero, or a mentor?

When I was a student at Longwood Gardens in the early 2000s, I had a mentor in the Plant Records Department: Ann Mattingly taught me my craft and gave me the confidence to work at a public garden. I will for ever be in her debt for that, but what makes Ann a special person in my life is that she taught me that work is so much more than what you accomplish in a day. We all have the ability to cre ate the world we want to live in. Ann showed me how to care for the people in my work life. I truly believe in the need to build others up. Creating a community of conservators is just as

important as creating plant communi ties in my career.

What advice have you gotten that you’ve carried with you throughout your life?

One of the best bits of advice I ever received came from another mentor, Tomasz Anisko. He was the curator who guided my early curation years. When I asked him about his plant col lecting expeditions, he encouraged me to explore my backyard. There are so many discoveries to make, and these discoveries do not require a passport. New species are being found in the United States every year. People identi fy these species not by exploring exotic destinations, but by knowing a place so well that they notice when something is different. Tomasz encouraged me to look for the new things all around me. He inspired me to go deeper, to look, and finally to see.

What tips or tricks do you have for our readers and their gardens?

I encourage you to spend time in your garden and listen to what it tells you. I joke that the cat and I will sometimes watch “nature TV.” We just look out the window and see what is happening out there. She loves it because she gets to chatter at the birds. There is a lot you will see when you take the time to slow down and listen. The connections that plants make with their habitats are not invisible. We just need to learn how to observe.

How can our readers contact you?

You can contact me through Mt. Cuba Center at mtcubacenter.org or email me at info@mtcubacenter.org. o

Jaime Breeden is a fourth-year journal ism student at the University of Maryland, College Park and an intern this fall session with Washington Gardener

Highland was recently inter viewed on the GardenDC Podcast in Episode 99: Trilliums. You can listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or at https://washingtongardener. blogspot.com/2022/04/gardendc-podcast-episode-99trilliums.html.

Cocooning with Amaryllis

Outside, the wind is blowing and temps are turning colder; time to get cozy at home, and Amaryllises or Hippeastrum are great at bringing warmth to your interior.

In the fall, we feel an urge to retreat into the security of our homes. This works best if there is a cozy, warm atmosphere where you really can withdraw from the outside world.

Amaryllises are natural and fascinating creators of atmosphere; They enchant your home with their magical growth and magnificent flowers.

At first glance, an Amaryllis bulb looks spectacular in and of itself, because of the large and plump appearance that raises your expectations. In this case, feel free to judge the book by its cover! When the glorious bulb starts to grow, you will be impressed by its ever-expanding stem. The climax is the emergence of stunning flowers.

The name Amaryllis comes from the ancient Greek word amarusso, which means “I sparkle.” There are more than 70 varieties. The best known color is red, but the flowers can also be white, orange, pink, or cream. Some flow ers are very large, others delicate and elegant. But the transformation from bulb into flower is equally fascinating for every variety.

If you want to enjoy your Amaryllis for as long as possible, hear are tips.

• Before an Amaryllis can start to grow, you’ll need to wake it up. Place the bulb for an hour in a container filled with lukewarm water. This will ensure that its roots start to grow.

• You can plant the Amaryllis bulb in a pot filled with potting compost, simply put it in a shallow bowl, or place it over water.

• Amaryllises prefer warm surround ings; a room temperature between 68 and 74 degrees is perfect.

• Give it sufficient light. If it doesn’t get enough, its stems will grow too long and need support.

• Amaryllis availability is optimal between November and April.

• As many as six flowers will grow on a single stem. The larger the flower bulb, the more flowers it will produce.

To learn more about flower bulbs, take a look at www.flowerbulbs.com. o

Soil Moisture Affects the Speed of Nematodes

Did you know one of the oldest life forms on Earth can be found in your backyard? Soil nematodes have been thriving in habitats around the world for at least 400 million years. Even though they are only 1/500th of an inch wide and 1/20th of an inch long, these worm-like animals are an important part in almost every ecosystem.

Soil nematodes are grouped by what they eat, which includes a diet of bacte ria, fungi, plants, and more. While most nematodes are good for the soil, the ones that eat plants are a concern to farmers around the world. These nefari ous animals are called plant-parasitic nematodes.

Plant-parasitic nematodes are unwel come guests in agricultural soils. They attack plants at their roots and use the plant as a food source to support their own reproduction and growth. By steal ing the plant’s resources to grow and multiply, nematodes cause yellowing, stunting, wilting, and declines in yield.

Understanding the movement of nem atodes through the soil is important to helping farmers protect their crops. How fast do they move? How does soil mois ture affect their movement? Answers to these questions could help prevent crop damage and losses.

Sebastián González Bernal, a researcher at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso in Chile, studies a type of nematode called Meloidogyne ethiopica. This is a highly aggressive plant-parasitic nematode species. His team examined the speed of Meloidogyne ethiopica under different

soil moisture conditions.

The study was published in Agronomy Journal, a publication of the American Society of Agronomy.

Using tomato plants, the researchers set up an experiment. They placed the plant-parasitic nematodes into the soil at different moisture levels and multiple distances from the plant roots. They then monitored a microscopic race to see how long it would take for the nem atodes to reach the tomato plant roots.

The nematodes were given up to 26 days to reach the finish line. “Knowing the speed of migration nematodes has enormous applications for farmers because they can control damage to plants by managing irrigation frequen cy,” González Bernal explained.

Nematodes in the driest soil were the slowest, showing little to no movement. This indicates that nematodes can’t travel as quickly in soils with less mois ture, which is useful information for farmers. “Damage to plants could be controlled through proper management of the frequency of irrigation,” González Bernal said.

Most of the nematodes did not move at all or moved so slowly that the researchers weren’t able to detect their speed. The slow speed is good news. According to González Bernal, this implies that unless the roots were close to the nematodes, they will not be infected.

González Bernal is excited about this research and its overall importance to agriculture. “By studying the basic bio logical behavior of nematodes, we have found a possible management solution for farmers/producers that benefits the plants and their root systems.” o

New Plant Spotlight

Two new roses from the Bloomables collection of Star® Roses and Plants. Find out more at www.bloomables. com.

Quick Links to Recent Washington Gardener Blog Posts

Raised Bed Gardening

The White House Kitchen Garden

Fuchsia Plant Profile

Picking the Pumpkin

See more Washington Gardener blog posts at: WashingtonGardener.blogspot.com o

October–November Garden To-Do List

• Cover pond with netting to keep out fallen leaves and debris.

• Harvest sweet potatoes.

• Plant garlic.

• Force the buds on Christmas Cactus by placing in a cool (55–60 degree) room for 13 hours of darkness.

• Apply deer-deterrent spray.

• Prevent the spread of disease by cleaning up all infected plants and disposing of them in your trash—not your compost pile.

Top Cream™

‘Meiroguste’ PP 33,493

Top Cream™ is a white Hybrid Tea Rose with very large and fully double flowers. Depending on the season and climate, the flowers may some times be suffused with light pink.

Habit: Bushy, upright, up to 6' h x 23' w

Scent: Very strong, fruity, pear

• Plant cover crops in your vegetable gardens and annual beds (i.e., rye, clover, hairy vetch, winter peas).

• Set up a cold frame, then plant lettuces, radishes, and carrots from seed.

• If you have a water garden, clean out the annual plants and compost them. Cut back the hardy plants and group them in the deepest pond section.

• Leave seedheads on Black-eyed Susans, Echinacea, Goldenrod, Sunflowers, and Thistles for the birds to enjoy over the winter.

• Check for bagworms; pick off, bag, and dispose of them.

• Dig up and store potatoes in a cool, dark spot.

• Continue to divide and transplant perennials.

• Rake leaves and gather in compost piles.

• Pick pumpkins at a local pick-your-own farm or visit a local farmer’s market.

• Cut garden herbs and hang to dry in a cool, dry place indoors.

• Start feeding birds to get them in the habit for the winter.

• Attend a local garden club meeting.

• Mulch strawberry beds for winter.

• Turn your compost pile weekly and don’t let it dry out. Work compost into your planting beds.

• Plant evergreens for winter interest.

• Weed.

• Plant spring-flowering bulbs.

• Sow wildflower seeds, such as California Poppies, for next spring.

• Collect dried flowers and grasses for an indoor vase.

• Clean, sharpen, and store your garden tools.

• Lightly fertilize indoor plants.

• Pot up Paper Whites and Amaryllis for holiday blooming.

• Check that all vines are securely tied against winter’s cold winds.

Raspberry Cupcake™

‘Korcarmsis’ PP 33,406

The flowers produce a very strong raspberry fragrance. Plants rebloom throughout the season with attractive pink to purple-colored blooms. It has excellent resistance to mildews and rust, and performs well against black spot on the East Coast.

Habit: Bushy, 4' h x 2-3' w

Scent: Very strong, rosewater, lemon, raspberry. o

• Collect plant seeds for next year’s planting and for trading.

• Pull out spent summer annuals.

• Plant hardy mums and fall season annuals.

• Water evergreens and new plantings to keep them hydrated this winter.

• Fertilize your lawn and re-seed if needed.

• Dig up bulbs from your Gladioli, cut off foliage, dry for a week, and then store for the winter.

• Transplant trees and shrubs.

• Gather seeds and label them carefully. Store in a dry location.

• Keep an eye out for the first frost date and insulate plants as needed. In Zone 6, it is expected between September 30 October 30; in Zone 7, it is predicted for October 15–November 15. o

Osage Orange Tree

By Kathy Jentz

Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera) is a tree that bears large, inedible fruits in the fall. It is also known as prairie hedge, hedge apple, horse apple, or bowwood. The latter name comes from the tree’s use for making bows. The wood of this tree is strong, durable, and rot-resistant. It was also notably made into wagon wheel rims by the pioneers. It is native to Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and portions of Missouri.

These trees were planted by farmers and homesteaders as living fences and windbreaks. It grows fast from seed—this is your warning not to put the fruit in your compost pile, unless you want a crop of saplings to emerge next season.

The softball-sized fruit is bright-green with a bumpy texture. It is covered with hairs and a sticky sap. It exudes a somewhat astringent scent and many people gather them in bowls to use inside as an insect repellent or interesting table décor.

The fruit is said to have been eaten by the extinct Mastodon. Today, the only edible part is the seeds, and squirrels will tear open the green globes to get access to them.

Aside from the unique fruit, the bark itself is distinctive, with deep furrows and sometimes saggy bottoms. The branches are thick and thorny. The leaves are small, oval, and turn yellow in the fall.

It prefers to grow in full sun and is hardy to USDA Zone 4 through 9. It is not picky about soil type and is drought-tolerant once established.

It is said to be a relatively small tree, but can be long-lived. The national cham pion Osage Orange at River Farm (headquarters of the American Horticultural Society in Alexandria, Virginia) is at least 200 years old and measures around 58 feet tall. o

Kathy Jentz is the editor and founder of Washington Gardener.

TOP AREA GARDENING EVENTS

Classes, Events, and Plant Shows/Sales

• Thursday, October 20, 6:30–8pm

Getting Your Garden Ready for Winter Gardeners are often overwhelmed by the long to-do list of seasonal garden tasks. Learn what chores are essential and which you can safely skip as you prepare your garden for winter while making a big difference to the suc cess of next year’s garden. Kathy Jentz shares her best cost-saving tips and teaches you how to “batten down the hatches” for winter’s worst weather. Held live online. Hosted by Brookside Gardens. Fee: FOBG $10, Nonmembers $12. Register for class #PBG0062 300001 at ActiveMONTGOMERY.org.

•Thursday, October 27, 10am–2pm

Ikebana Lunch and Demo Ikebana International Chapter No. 1 members will present “The Long River of Ikebana from Ancient to Modern,” tracing the evolution of ikebana styles throughout history at the Columbia Country Club, 7900 Connecticut Ave., Chevy Chase, MD. Ikebana, mean ing “living flowers,” is the traditional Japanese art of flower arrangement. Its roots can be traced to the 6th century with the introduction of Buddhism to Japan. Like water in a river, it drew from many sources and continues to flow and change with the social landscape. Chapter No. 1 members will demon strate the breadth and depth of artistic styles available in ikebana. Nine styles that continue to be arranged today will be presented and discussed. This is an excellent program for those who enjoy the artistry of Ikebana and a wonderful introduction for those new to ikebana. Tickets are $60.00 for members, $65.00 for nonmembers, and $25.00 for demonstration-only. Tickets may be purchased at the Chapter website: https://www.iichapter1.com.

• Saturday, October 29, 9am–5pm

Persimmon Festival

Tours, tastings, lectures, and more. Everything is 20% off. Held at Edible Landscaping in Afton, VA. Directions and details are at http://edibleland scaping.com.

• Saturday, October 29, 11am–2pm

Garlic Planting Party

Held in the Washington Youth Garden (WYG) at the U.S.. National Arboretum. Celebrate the WYG community and the end of the growing season with garlic planting, face painting, fall art activities, food tastings, vegetable harvesting, and more. Wearing costumes is highly encouraged! Free. Register at www. fona.org.

• Sunday, October 30, 2–4pm Great Garden Restoration at the American Rose Center

Join the Potomac Rose Society (PRS) to welcome American Rose Society (ARS) Executive Director Jon Corkern. In this two-part presentation, he will first review the benefits that the ARS provides to individual members and to local societies such as PRS. Then, he will provide an update on the longawaited completion of the Great Garden Restoration project at the American Rose Center in Shreveport, LA, and how it benefits the American Rose Society.

The ARS is based in Shreveport and is the parent organization of PRS. We first learned about the Great Garden Resto ration project from then-ARS Regional Director and current PRS board member Ray Shipley in March 2019. Since then, the 118-acre property has expanded to include more than 20,000 plants, a visitor center, and a reflecting pool, in America’s largest park dedicat ed to roses. This program is FREE and open to the public, but you must regis ter to receive the Zoom link at https:// potomacrose.org/event-5005837

• Friday, November 4, 9–11am Arlington National Cemetery Fall Colors Tour

Come join the Arlington National Cem etery (ANC) horticulturist and urban forester for a walking tour to see the plants of Arlington at the peak of their autumn splendor. The vibrant reds, oranges, yellows, and russets of more than 500 species of trees, shrubs, and perennials at ANC are a must-see for anyone visiting in the autumn. On this tour, you will learn about the cemetery’s Memorial Arboretum and various land scapes and gardens. You’ll gain insight

into the urban forestry and horticulture programs, and extensive tree, shrub, and perennial collections. The variety of techniques used to create some of the most breathtaking formal and informal landscapes and gardens will also be highlighted. All tours will meet at the ANC Welcome Center Information Desk. Wear sturdy shoes and consider bring ing a bottle of water. The tour may be cancelled for inclement weather. Free. Details at https://www.arlingtoncem etery.mil/.

• Thursday, November 10, 7–8pm Virtual Garden Book Party

Get the dirt on four exciting gardening books from their authors in this virtual book party. Free. Register at https:// ngb.org/great-garden-webinars/. Hosted by the National Garden Bureau and GardenComms.

Looking Ahead

•Thursday, November 17, 6:30–8pm Garden Book Club

For our next Garden Book Club selec tion, we will discuss One Man’s Garden by Henry Mitchell and will also pick books for our 2023 meetings. Please be prepared to share your suggestions. To join us, register at https://us02web. zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAoduCspjw oHdXFr5fyvwqO8548SM9iCic8

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing infor mation about joining the meeting.

The Washington Gardener Magazine’s Garden Book Club meets quarterly via Zoom and is free and open to all.

Event Listing Updates

See updated event listings on the Washington Gardener discussion list. Join by emailing WashingtonGardenersubscribe@googlegroups.com

How to Submit Events

To submit an event for this listing, email washingtongardenermagazine@gmail. com with “Event” in the subject line.

Our next deadline is November 5 for the November 2022 issue, for events taking place after November 15. o

Parsley: The World’s Most Beloved Herb

By Barbara Melera

Parsley, you say? Everybody knows about parsley…Well, maybe you don’t. Parsley is the most popular herb in the world. The name “parsley” means rock celery. Parsley is, in fact, related to cel ery.

Native to the Mediterranean, it is now cultivated on every continent and is an ingredient in more cuisines than any other vegetable/herb. It may be the oldest vegetable/herb cultivated by people. As a culinary herb, it has been used for more than 2,000 years, but as a medicinal herb, it has been used for much longer. Its earliest uses were as a breath freshener and to counteract the odor of corpses during funerals. Parsley is rich in vitamins and minerals.

The Romans were familiar with both the flat and curled varieties. The Greeks held the herb to be sacred and used it to crown the heads of athletic contest winners and for decorating the tombs of

the deceased. During the Middle Ages, perhaps because of Charlemagne, who grew the herb on his estates, parsley began to be used as a seasoning.

In some countries, curly-leaved pars ley is much more popular than flat leaved parsley. Although it is not known for certain, this popularity may be because the flat-leaved variety resem bles fool’s parsley, which is a poisonous weed.

It was introduced to the British Isles in the 1500s and brought to America with the earliest colonists. It is described by Bernard McMahon in the very first book about American horticulture, The Amer ican Gardener’s Calendar, (1806).

Parsley is a hardy biennial. There are fundamentally three types of parsley. The flat-leaved type has a stronger taste than others and is preferred by many chefs; the curly-leaved type is not as strongly flavored and is used most com

monly as a garnish; the turnip-rooted or Hamburg type is grown for its roots, which are eaten like carrots.

Flat-Leaf or Italian Parsley

Most Americans now think of flat-leaf (Italian) parsley as the version to cook with, curly-leafed as the condiment parsley, and Hamburg-rooted as the parsley no one has ever heard of. Unfor tunately, flat-leafed parsley has such a strong flavor that it often masks the other flavors in a dish.

Curly-Leaved Parsley

Actually, curly-leafed parsley, for the American palate, is excellent because its milder flavor does not dominate the other flavors in a dish. It is much, much more cold-tolerant than flat-leafed. With good mulching, in most winters, curlyleaved can be harvested all winter at Zone 5 and higher.

Hamburg-Rooted Parsley

Hamburg-rooted parsley is little known in the United States, but it has been known and used in Europe since the 16th century, when it was first used in Germany. The plant produces leaves that can be harvested like other pars leys, but the root is the important part of this plant. The root is used similarly to the parsnip root—in stews, soups, sauces, and roasted. It has the mild

Parsley Tabbouleh Recipe

Ingredients:

flavor of parsley, but when roasted, it sweetens slightly.

Growing Parsley

Parsley should always be sown directly in the ground, because it does not transplant well. Moss-Curled Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) can be sown as soon as the ground can be worked in the spring and the danger of frost has passed. Soil should be deeply spaded before planting. Rows should be 8–10 inches apart. When seedlings are 2 inches high, thin them, leaving 6–8 inches between individual plants.

Parsley in Companion Plantings

Perhaps the neatest characteristic of parsley is that it is an excellent com panion plant. It attracts many beneficial pollinators and insects. When planted near tomato plants, it is known to attract the wasp that preys on tomato hornworms. What better friend can you have than that? o

Barbara Melera is president of Harvesting History (www.harvesting-history.com), a company founded in 2016 to provide horti cultural and agricultural products, largely of the heirloom variety, along with garden tools and equipment.

The Urban Garden: 101 Ways to Grow Food and Beauty in the City IS OUT NOW!

By Kathy Jentz and Teresa Speight Published by Cool Springs Press/Quarto Homes

Order it today at: https://amzn.to/3yiLPKU

1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced

4 scallions, thinly sliced

1 cup water

½ cup bulgur

¼ cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon minced garlic

¼ teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

2 tomatoes, diced

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 cups finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, (about 2 bunches)

Steps:

Combine water and bulgur in a small saucepan. Bring to a full boil, remove from heat, cover, and let stand until the water is absorbed and the bulgur is tender, 25 minutes or according to package directions. If any water remains, drain bulgur in a fine-mesh sieve.Transfer to a large bowl and let cool for 15 minutes.

Next, combine lemon juice, oil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Add parsley, mint, tomatoes, cucumber, and scallions to the bulgur. Add the dressing and toss. Serve at room temperature or chill for at least 1 hour to serve cold.

Adapted from a recipe in EatingWell

GardenDC Podcast

The GardenDC podcast is all about gardening in the greater Washington, DC, and Mid-Atlantic area. The pro gram is hosted by Kathy Jentz, editor of Washington Gardener Magazine, and features guest experts in local and national horticulture. The lat est episodes include interviews with experts on Crapemyrtles, Japanese Maples, and Harvesting Vegetables. You can listen online at https:// washingtongardener.blogspot.com/ or on Spotify, Apple, etc o

Tabbouleg photo by

BY-SA

Walking Gingerly T hrough the Woods (Asarum canadense and Hexastylis virginica)

(heart-shaped) leaves 4–6 cm 1 1.5") wide. The plant is very low-growing reaching only from 8 24 cm (2 6") in height. The foliage is silvery, mottled, and, like snowflakes, no two are alike.

By Barry Glick

It’s a blazing hot summer afternoon and you’ve decided to go botanizing. Hiking up one of the steepest, rockiest slopes that you’ve ever ventured out on, your parched throat feeling like sandpaper, you reach for your canteen and...Oh, no! It’s empty. And you’re two hours up the mountain, past the point of no return. Whatcha gonna do, who ya gonna call. How ‘bout Ginger?

No, I don’t mean the Ginger that you buy at the supermarket, the one that they make ginger ale from, or that you use in your stir-fry. I’m talking about Asarum or Hexastylis species, our wild Ginger.

Long known and used by Native Americans for its stimulant effect, a member of these genera has a pungent aroma when you snap their firm roots that’s reminiscent of the tropical Ginger. In fact, you can easily substitute it for the culinary ginger in your favorite Thai or Chinese recipe.

I frequently chew a piece of the root of our most common Ginger, Asarum canadense, whenever I discover a patch, which is almost every time I go hiking in the woods. It’s very easy to identify because its foliage is among the largest of our native plants, Wild Gingers are members of the Artistolochiacea (Birthwort) family. This is a very small family of five genera, most of the species being of tropical ori

gin. The common name of the family seems to be derived from two Greek words, Aristos, meaning best and Lochia, meaning delivery. This name pertains to the genus Aristolochia, which is sup posed to be of value as a medicinal herb in childbirth.

In West Virginia, we have five spe cies of Wild Gingers. According to C. Ritchie Bell, author of the Flora of the Carolinas, only the deciduous species are still in the genus Asarum, the evergreen types are now placed in the genus Hexastylis Asarum canadense is most common in moist, rich woods in light to dense shade. I have seen leaves as big as your head under favorable conditions.

In early spring, you have to get down on your hands and knees to see the curious, pendulous flowers, which hang down under the foliage. The flowers are pollinated by ants and other small insects that crawl into the flowers and move the pollen from the open sacs on the anthers to the sticky, receptive stig mas.

Hexastylis virginica is the only ever green type that I’ve found here in the Mountain State. It seems to favor the higher elevations of Greenbrier County on mainly northern facing slopes. According to Flora of West Virginia, it occurs in 16 of our 55 counties. You can tell it by the glossy, round to cordate

Also worth noting are H. memmingeri, named for Edward Read Memminger, and supposedly similar to H. virginica, but with a more rounded leaf and small er calyx (the outer part of the floral struc ture), and H. heterophyllum (heterophyl lum means diverse-leafed), which can be found in five of our western counties, and H. shuttleworthii, named for Robert James Shuttleworth 1810 1874, which is much larger than any of the others and has been seen at only four stations in West Virginia. It is more common in the mountains of the Carolinas and down through Georgia and Alabama.

Fred Galle of Callaway Gardens in Georgia discovered a particularly beau tiful variegated plant and named it ‘Callaway’. I have seen leaves of H. shut tleworthii approaching 6" long.

There are several other Asarum and Hexastylis species in the U.S. Another more Southern species is H. arifolium, native from southern Virginia down through Florida and west to Alabama.

The specific epithet refers to the arrowshaped leaves, which are evergreen and can be up to 20 cm (5") long.

On the West Coast, there are two species, both considered evergreen, putting them into the genus Hexastylis, H. caudatum, which grows from British Columbia to California and H. hartwegii, said to grow in Oregon and California.

I also grow some of the Asian spe cies such as H. splendens, which has the most silvery markings of any plant that I have seen, on huge, arrow-shaped leaves. In Japan, people fanatically col lect these plants. There are several soci eties and many exhibitions. One of my Japanese trading partners recently sent me two books, each with more than 400 color photos of cultivated Asarum and Hexastylis. One book focused on the various leaf types and the other on the bizarre flowers.

In the garden, these Gingers, particu larly Asarum canadense, make great groundcovers in the shade. If conditions are favorable, they spread quickly and vigorously. I use them under trees and in front of taller plants. If they get

too much sun, they will burn a little, so the more shade, the better. In cul tivation, they usually reach 8–12" tall. Plants can be divided in the early spring by slicing the thick rhizome, which grows very close to the soil level, and some times is exposed.

You can also collect the seeds, which ripen in mid- to late summer. Sow them on the surface of 4" pots and cover with a layer of granite grit. Place the pots out side for the winter and the seeds will germinate the following spring.

Another genus in the Artistolochiacea family is Aristolochia. We have two spe cies in these mountains: A. macrophylla, (named for its large leaves), formerly known as A. durior, and A. serpentaria aka “Virginia Snakeroot” (named for its reputed value in curing snakebites).

A. macrophylla is common in rich, moist woods throughout the state. The common name, Dutchman’s Pipe Vine, refers to the unusually shaped curved flowers that resemble a Dutch pipe. The leaves on this vining plant are very large; I’ve seen them approaching 20 cm 25 cm (up to 12").

The vine can climb 5 m 10 m (15–30') up a tree. They make a great addition to the garden when you have a porch or trellis to cover. If you look in the woods, you can find old vines that are 3 cm 6 cm (1–2") thick and perfectly coiled around tree branches.

The other species, A. serpentaria, grows from 12 cm to 45 cm (4 to 18") tall and has oblong leaves, cordate at the bases that are 4 cm to 12 cm (1.5 to 5") long. It has a history of use as a bitter tonic since pioneer times.

The key to successful gardening with native plants is to replicate the growing conditions found in their natural habitat.

I hope that everyone gets a chance to enjoy these wonderful plants both in the wild, and in their gardens o

Barry Glick, a transplanted Philadelphian, has been residing in Greenbrier County, WV, since 1972. His mountaintop garden and nursery is a mecca for gardeners from virtually every country in the world. He writes and lectures extensively about native plants and Hellebores, his two main specialties, and welcomes visitors with advance notice. He can be reached at barry@sunfarm.com, www. sunfarm.com, or 304.497.2208.

By Jaime Breeden

When you And for next year, we’ll do it even bigger and better.”

Jaime Breeden is a fourth-year journal ism student at the University of Maryland, College Park with Washington Gardener

Visit DCGardens.com for Photos of the 16 Major Local Public Gardens in the Washington, DC Region shown in each month of the year.

And local resources like...

Where to Buy Plants

Where to Connect Local Garden Media

Where to Volunteer Youth Gardens

Where to Find Designers Tours and Events

Where to Learn to Garden

Registration Link: https://connect.ahsgardening.org/virtualprograms/ ahs--gardencomm-webinar-series-3

reviews

The Vegetable Gardening Book: Your Complete Guide to Growing an Edible Organic Garden from Seed to Harvest

Author: Joe Lamp’l

Publisher: Cool Springs Press List Price: $28.99

Order Links: https://amzn.to/3VMofTF and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9780760375716

Reviewer: Jaime Breeden

The Vegetable Gardening Book might be the perfect guide for anyone look ing to start a vegetable garden on their own. From seed to harvest, the book talks about every single step in such intricate detail that it almost reads like a cookbook for how to ensure a lucra tive bounty, including plant-specific guides for many vegetables the author personally recommends. The immense amount of technical know-how on display in this book points out what seems to be every possible variant and alteration one could possibly think of when planning and starting a vegetable garden. For those in tune with the gar dening or the “do it yourself” world, the author of the book should come as no surprise to you.

Joe Lamp’l has been in the garden ing business for more than 30 years, first hosting the then-fledgling DIY Network’s “Fresh from the Garden” and now public television’s Emmy awardwinning “Growing a Greener World.” In the foreword, he talks about how these televised experiences forced him to be perfect in his work, and how that necessity to reap success in the face of potential failure left him a living library

of organic growing expertise.

Lamp’l focuses on the most eco logically healthy and amateur-friendly methods to make sure that anyone with the resources can provide a safe envi ronment for everyone and everything. The book, therefore, demonstrates how expansive your options are for keeping it green while growing greens, even if you’re green.

Of the book’s 256 pages, the first half is a “Joy-of-Cooking”-esque gen eralized guide of best practices for gardeners, with each chapter breaking down a different aspect of the growing process. Lamp’l constantly stresses the idea that there is no one-size solution for a perfect harvest, and offers read ers numerous potential answers and ideas for whatever it is they may be trying to do. The book is not completely exhaustive—some minute or high-level concepts might be ignored for the sake of simplifying these ideas for a wider audience, but those sorts of extremely specific questions aren’t the focus of this book. What does crop rotation at home look like? How can I manage pests without pesticides? What about disease? All covered. The book may not break down the pros and cons of using blood meal vs. alfalfa to supplement your soil nutrients, but it does tell you both are viable options and it’s best to monitor your own garden and research such things as the need arises.

The book treats every situation like an opportunity to learn more about your garden and in doing so, learn more about yourself. Its a method by which the reader establishes habits and practices that give back to the Earth just as much as they take. The back half of the book is dedicated to Lamp’l’s own recommended veg etables for getting started, as well as intricate analysis for what each one needs and wants. From artichokes to winter squash, the guides are excellent miniature lessons on ways to maximize yield and minimize headaches, further establishing a meditative element to the garden, cultivating both the harvest and the environment from which it comes.

Joe Lamp’l’s The Vegetable Gardening Book bills itself as a onestop shop for your vegetable garden

needs and comes as close as anything I’ve seen to actually offering it. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or someone who’s never touched or planted a seed, this book’s ability to display so much information, while making it easy to digest, is no small feat. It could eas ily become a modern mainstay on a gardener’s shelves. o

Jaime Breeden is a fourth-year journal ism student at the University of Maryland, College Park and an intern this fall session with Washington Gardener

Eat Weeds: A Field Guide To Foraging: How to Identify, Harvest, Eat and Use Wild Plants

Author: Diego Bonetto

Publisher: Thames & Hudson

List Price: $34.95

Order Links: https://amzn.to/3geM4mL and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9781760762797

Reviewer: Brandie Bland

Eat Weeds introduces readers to the ancient practice of foraging. The author, Diego Bonetto, takes readers back to his childhood in northern Italy where he was taught by his mother to gather wild plants. Bonetto credits his mother for teaching him about the local ecology and for his “plant eyes” or the ability to properly identify plants.

In the foreword, Costa Georgiadis, an Australian land architect, calls Bonetto “mongrel and resilient as the plants that he celebrates.”

While Bonetto may be Italian by nationality, he resides in Australia with his family, where the wild plants dis cussed in the book can be found in the subtropical climate.

The plants discussed in the book are grouped into five ecosystems: back yard, urban streets and parklands, sea, river, and forest. The breakdown of ecosystems in this way for beginner for agers is easy to understand and makes plant identification easier.

“I deliberately approached the sub ject by zones—as opposed to seasons or alphabetical order of plants—so that wherever you are, you will have a clear image of what you can find and how to interact with it,” Bonetto wrote in the book.

The plant profiles in the book detail the edible parts of a plant alongside a quick snapshot of where the plant grows, what it looks like, and look-alike

plants it can be confused with. (Not all of the plants profiled in the book will be familiar or available to U.S. audiences.)

Each plant profile is accompanied by color photos of the plants, which add a nice contrast to the pages’ stark blackand-white text.

Depending on how fast a reader you are, each profile averages between a 5–10 minute read, which makes this the perfect book for foragers who like straight-to-the-point reads. For those who enjoy a more theoretical break down, this may not be the book for you.

Eat Weeds scores major points for its photography and creativity in over all design. As for versatility, the book misses the mark for both outdoor and indoor use with its cardboard cover and open spine. One drop of rainwater and the contents will get soggy and moldy.

A commendable part of the book is its mention of aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that acknowl edges the effects of colonialism on Australia and the ability for some com munities to forage.

With global challenges like climate change and food security on the rise, Eat Weeds is one of those books that will be more than just a dust-collec tor on a bookshelf. It’s a vital and resourceful tool that foragers can trust and will reach for over and over. o

Brandie Bland is a senior multi-platform journalism major in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is an intern this fall with Washington Gardener.

Freeze Fresh: The Ultimate Guide to Preserving 55 Fruits and Vegetables for Maximum Flavor and Versatility

Author: Crystal Schmidt

Publisher: Storey Publishing

List Price: $19.99

Order Links: https://amzn.to/3s4kknu and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9781635864472

Reviewer: Kaylee Steck

Crystal Schmidt lives off the land at her Wisconsin homestead. A gardener and food lover herself, she draws on her own experience in this preservation and recipe book. Although Schmidt is a seasoned homesteader, she wrote this book for anyone looking to get the most out of high-quality seasonal produce, whether grown at home, sourced from a local farm, or bought at a grocery store. For home preservers and food lovers alike, it provides tried and true methods, useful techniques, and deli cious recipes that optimize the freezer.

While freezing might be easier and more fool-proof than other preserva tion methods, like fermenting and can ning, certain techniques should still be followed to ensure food safety and freshness. The book reviews the basics of freezing and shares essential tech niques, like steam blanching, boiling-water blanching, and flash freezing, which is particularly useful for fruits meant for smoothies. It also provides instructions about how to properly thaw foods. In case you need a reminder, it is considered unsafe to thaw food out at room temperature since this encourages bacteria growth.

One of my favorite tips from the freez ing basics section is using silicone molds to freeze small quantities, which can then be popped out and stored in standard freezer bags. I love this method for homemade bouillon cubes or pesto blocks. Schmidt also suggests keeping a handful of other tools on hand, like a food processor, half-sheet baking pans, and sharp knives to facili tate processing and freezing fruits and vegetables.

If you want some inspiration to use your freezer, the book provides recipes for working with 55 different fruits and vegetables, from apples to zucchini. The recipe section is my favorite since I spend a lot of time preparing meals and I’m always looking for hacks to increase efficiency and flavor. Schmidt

recommends using the steam blanch method for asparagus and then blend ing into a sauce or soup once thawed to mask the mushy texture. I also learned that sauerkraut can be frozen and packed in freezer bags or rigid con tainers. The author warns not to thaw sauerkraut using heat, because that will destroy the benefits of its bacteria.

Every single recipe in this book is clearly written and can be easily adjusted for smaller or larger yields. I personally can’t wait to make the cin namon baked pears, which Schmidt recommends flash freezing and trans ferring to a freezer bag for storage. Don’t miss out on all the tips in Fresh Freeze. They will not only reduce your meal prep time, but also reduce food waste. o

Kaylee Steck is an herbalist and volun teer gardener at Lafayette Park in Chevy Chase neighborhood of Washington, DC. She first gained experience with plants as an apprentice on a small berry farm in Ashfield, Massachusetts. She works with plant medicine to support overall vitality as a holistic fertility awareness educator. You can learn more about her work on Instagram @capitalfertilityawareness.

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

Ask the Expert

By Miri Talabac

New Sprout, Same Garden

Greetings, fellow gardeners and plant enthusiasts! I would like to introduce myself as the new author of this Q&A column about all things green, grow ing, and the organisms populating our leafy spaces. I have been an avid lover of the outdoors and all its inhabitants since childhood. As one of my favorite critters, insects were my field of study at the University of Maryland, and I worked in the nursery industry for more than 20 years, helping residents make the most of their green spaces. I enjoy hiking and discovering native plants in their natural habitats, and tend my own home garden of miniature orchids, terrarium-suitable species, and an array of other tropicals almost exclusively under lights. I have my feet in two worlds—enjoying the full range of exciting plants horticulture has to offer, while still aiming to support our local biodiversity and plant communities. As a self-avowed plant nerd, I can’t ignore well-behaved non-native plants, where a rich diversity awaits gardeners eager to explore myriad possibilities of color, form, texture, and scent. Even so, I encourage a greater appreciation for native plants and gardens that support wildlife.

A: It certainly could be squirrels, since they snip off twigs to repair or build dreys (nests/shelters) for much of the year, and are probably fortifying them now in preparation for winter, or just fixing storm damage. It could also be the work of Twig Pruner or Twig Girdler beetles, both of which chew off twigs. It’s entirely possible more than one of these culprits is responsible simultane ously.

Twig Girdler females drop twigs with eggs laid in them in late summer or early autumn, and the larvae overwin ter and feed on the twigs until summer, when they mature. The cut ends look like a tiny beaver chiseled the twig, pointed in the center and sloped out ward to the bark perimeter. Adults can be attracted to light and sometimes congregate on a single tree, so think of this as one good reason to reconsider up-lighting your landscaping at night.

Twig Pruner females lay eggs in twigs still attached, and the larvae sever the connection in late summer and drop to the ground inside the twig. They overwinter in the twigs as pupae. These adults are also attracted to light, so you may see some around a lit porch or deck door next spring. Their twig cut ends are concave; the inverse of the above.

Both beetles are minor pests (more of a curiosity than a pest, really) and don’t warrant control. If you want to try to suppress the next generation, rake up and dispose of the fallen twigs.

Squirrels you can’t do much about because no tactic works for long, but fortunately this leaf and stem loss won’t hurt a mature tree and can be ignored.

Bleached-looking Asters

Q: What gave my asters a bleached look this season? They look a bit starved, but I try not to fertilize my perennials since I know they usually don’t need it.

Healthy Oak Twigs Falling

Q: Twigs from my oaks have been fall ing with foliage attached and seeming ly healthy. I expected to see scars from cicada damage, but I don’t. Squirrels?

A: Probably lace bugs. The Chrysanthemum Lace Bug, a native insect, feeds on a variety of daisy-fam ily species, although I’ve seen them on aster and goldenrod more often than mums. Like azalea and other lace bugs, they cause stippling feeding damage: sucking the cell contents out

with their piercing-sucking mouthparts and draining the leaf of its green color. Given enough feeding, most of the leaf (or an entire plant) turns pale yellow.

Nothing has to be done treatmentwise this late in the season, but these insects do overwinter in leaf litter (or under convenient shelters like nearby stones), so if an infestation was par ticularly heavy, you might sacrifice this otherwise-valuable debris and do a clean-up around the plant once it’s dormant.

Natural predators and parasitoids help control lace bug populations with out our intervention, but monitor the plants next year to try to catch them early. If they seem to be reproducing with abandon and causing too much damage, spray them off with a strong jet of hose water. Injured leaves cannot heal, so just monitor for new damage to determine if the problem is wors ening. You can try insecticidal soap or horticultural oil to knock numbers down, but this can also kill beneficials present at the time of application.

Don’t spray when blooms are open. Sprays like these are contact-only, so they must touch the pests to be effec tive, and getting good coverage on leaf undersides can be difficult. Your other option is to just cut the plant back to remove most of the bugs (and to refresh its look), although how late you try this will affect its bloom time and final height. Fortunately, otherwisehealthy asters tend to pull through just fine and resprout normally the following year.

White Stuff Appearing on Crapemyrtle Bark

Q: My crapemyrtle has white stuff on the bark that I’ve never noticed before, although the foliage looks unaffected, if a bit dull lately. I thought these plants

Twig

Girdler

photo by Miri Talabac.

Chrysanthemum Lace Bug adults, juveniles, and frass on goldenrod. Photo by Dave Clement, UME.

were pretty pest-free, so what might this be?

A: We’ve had a lot of inquiries about this lately. Your plant has Crapemyrtle Bark Scale (CMBS), a non-native insect pest that was discovered in Texas in 2004 and confirmed in Maryland in 2020. Incidentally, crapemyrtles also can host the Crapemyrtle Aphid, and it’s possible for the two to infest a plant simultaneously; their impacts are simi lar.

These plants tolerate a lot of abuse, true, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t stressed. Improper pruning forces weaker regrowth, and insufficient watering during drought (especially if planted in medians or hellstrips with poor soil and limited root room) takes its toll on the plant’s resilience.

While CMBS might feed on other host plants, so far, they seem to strongly prefer crapemyrtle, although we’ve received a few reports this season about populations on Beautyberry (Callicarpa). The aphid in question sticks to crapemyrtle, at least. Both secrete honeydew, the sugar-water waste common to sap-feeding insects, which is dulling the leaf appearance and probably cultivating a bit of sooty mold on the foliage, bark, or any sur face below the plant.

Since Mid-Atlantic gardeners have embraced crapemyrtle to such an extreme that it’s everywhere you look, that’s a big buffet enabling this pest proliferation. We really need to diversify our landscapes.

Scale insects lead relatively seden tary lives, generally only moving about to any notable degree as newborns, appropriately called crawlers. After roaming to find a feeding site, crawlers settle down and stay put, using their straw-like mouthparts to feed on plant juices. Layers of protective wax, in this case feltlike and white, cover their bod ies as they mature. For our purposes, this also means they are harder to treat with contact-type insecticides like oils or soaps because that shell prevents the pesticide from reaching them.

Crawlers, running around shell-less for that brief window of time, are the most vulnerable life stage any treatment should focus on.

This pest is so new to our area that

we are still collecting data about when those crawlers appear. Insect develop ment relies on temperature, so while we try to predict activity based on how CMBS behaves to our south, we’re still refining our knowledge for the DC region. Complicating matters is the like lihood of several overlapping genera tions per year.

For such a tiny thing with limited mobility, you may wonder how it got there in the first place. Like plant mites, crawlers can blow around on the wind, and might also disperse by hitch ing a ride on other animals, like birds. CMBS arrived in our area the way many plant pests do: accidental introduction on plants with undetected infestations shipped in from out of the area.

Management of an established scale population, usually booming by the time we notice them, takes time. Don’t expect one or two treatments to resolve the issue quickly, and you’ll probably need to employ the services of a certi fied pesticide applicator.

Not only should certified applicators treat trees too high for gardeners to reach, but they will have more-effec tive equipment and the ability to apply chemicals the general public cannot use due to Maryland pollinator protec tion law. Overlapping the use of more than one type of pesticide may be needed, and re-treatment might occur for over a year. Dead scale won’t fall off right away, although treatments for scale will probably suppress aphids at the same time. Once the honeydew production wanes, any sooty mold will go away.

While we usually suggest trying chemical-free methods to suppress pests, once scale are numerous, there is often little recourse than resorting to pesticide treatment or just replacing the plant. Manually scrubbing scale off without wounding bark is difficult and not highly effective, given the nooks and crannies they can wedge themselves into that you cannot reach. Beneficial insects definitely help and should be encouraged, but can’t eradi cate a high population by themselves. Remember that for natural enemies to stick around and provide pestsuppression services when you need them, they need alternative food sourc

es and refuges. This means including a diversity of flowering species in the yard, preferably native.

You also need to pay close atten tion to detect the beneficials and determine how abundant they are. For example, certain lady beetle larvae will consume CMBS, so avoiding contact pesticides or enthusiastic scale-squish ing attempts will spare them. Some look nearly identical to the scale them selves: These wolves-in-sheep’s-cloth ing have pink bodies and white fluff. One difference is they’ll walk around when nudged and have legs to wiggle in protest when flipped over.

Drastically cutting back a large crapemyrtle is not recommended since that could ruin its branching structure, although you could try it with dwarf shrubby varieties since otherwisehealthy plants should regrow.

With proper application timing to avoid impacts on beneficials and pol linators, treatments can be done with minimal risk to the biodiversity in your landscape. Or—here’s an unpopular opinion for future consideration—plant something different and rely on other species to fill that aesthetic niche. o

Miri Talabac is a Certified Professional Horticulturist who has worked as a hor ticulture consultant for the University of Maryland Extension Home and Garden Information Center since 2019. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, with a focus in entomology. To ask a gardening or pest question, go to http://extension.umd.edu/hgic and scroll to “connect with us.” You can submit digital photos as well.

An infestation of Crapemyrtle Bark Scale on a crapemyrtle trunk. Sooty mold is dark ening some of the outer bark layers. Photo by Jim Robbins, University of Arkansas CES, Bugwood.org.

U.S. Botanic Garden Celebrates Agriculture with its Fall Festival

By Brandie Bland

The U.S. Botanic Garden held its first fall festival this year since the start of the global pandemic on Saturday, October 8, at the U.S. Botanic Garden in southwest Washington, DC.

The free event, which started at 10am, quickly filled the garden with visi tors as the smell of food samples began to engulf the senses.

The highly rhythmic sound of steel drums and calypso music created a friendly, upbeat atmosphere that danced festival-goers around the terrace from vendor to vendor.

Among the food vendors were Afro 91, who provided free samples of their African spinach stew with yellow rice, and Harper Macaw, a local chocolate maker, who provided free samples of raw chocolate.

Other vendors included local organic farm owner Tope Fajingbesi of Dodo Farms, from Montgomery County, MD, and the University of Maryland Bee Lab, educating visitors about the tiny pollina tor, its different species, and how honey is made.

For people who couldn’t make the event in person or wanted to experience the festival in a hybrid format, there was a free online cooking demonstration with forager, cookbook author, and con tent creator Alexis Nikole Nelson, where attendees learned how to cook with for aged acorns.

“It was wonderful to see so many people from our local community and across the country attending our first festival since before we closed for the pandemic,” said Dr. Susan Pell, execu tive director of the U.S. Botanic Garden. “The diversity of cuisine, music, and visitors made for a fantastic celebration of the science of agriculture and high lighted how cultures from around the world connect to food plants.”

Inside the conservatory’s west gallery, attendees could purchase home goods from the gift shop Rewild or observe the botanic garden’s variety of fruit, veg etable, and plant life.

There was also a “What tastes like home?” display on a wall where attend ees left sticky notes about the foods, smells, and tastes that remind them of home.

Some of the tastes posted included: a hot bowl of pho; pickled herring and sea buckthorn; fresh basil and tomatoes; lemon and garlic chicken over a bed of orzo, lumpia, and pansit; and kartoffelstampf (German mashed potatoes).

First-time festival attendee Chi Nguyen said, “Pho was always cooking in my house growing up. The taste of garlic, ginger, and basil takes me back to rainy days as a little girl in Vietnam, when my mom would make pho and our family would sit around laughing and enjoying being together.” o

Brandie Bland is a senior multi-platform journalism major in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is an intern this fall with Washington Gardener.

National Dahlia Show

By Jaime Breeden

A three-star hotel became a garden get away when the American Dahlia Society held its annual national show in Reston, VA.

From September 22–25, gardeners from all over the country entered their blooms, competing for more than 100 prizes for cultivation-based categories like Best Giant Entry, Best Three Micro Waterlily, and Best Challenge Flower.

But the gardeners weren’t the only ones in search of glory. The event featured many non-grower categories including dahlia photography, as well

as several classes in floral arrange ment design, with themes centered around Washington, DC, area attrac tions like the National Portrait Gallery or Smithsonian Gardens.

In addition to the competition, the event featured lectures on topics rang ing from plant pathogens to how to improve flower photography.

Overall, the event was the place to be for anyone looking to see outstanding dahlias and an opportunity to network with gardeners outside local organiza tions. o

White House Garden Tour

By Jaime Breeden

Thousands of visitors lined up along 15th Street NW for entry to the recent White House garden tour on October 8 and 9. (The grounds are typically only open on a few select weekends each year in spring and fall.)

The tour of the grounds passes by several presidential-planted trees dating back as far back as Andrew Jackson’s nearly 200-year-old Southern magnolia. The tour also allowed roped-off views of the rose garden, kitchen garden, and nearby apiary.

Despite the well-manicured grounds, the first thing to notice about the area, aside from all of the Secret Service agents, is the band stationed on the White House balcony playing patriotic staples, as well as a few jazz numbers, to keep visitors entertained.

Even with a slow-moving queue for the kitchen garden, the tour was a breezy 30 to 45 minutes on the lawn of the most famous house in the country, an invigorating way to spend an October afternoon. o

Jaime Breeden is a fourth-year journalism student at the University of Maryland, College Park, and an intern this fall session with Washington Gardener

BACK ISSUE SALE!

YOU CAN REQUEST A SINGLE COPY OF PRINT BACK ISSUES FOR $6 EACH OR ANY 6 BACK ISSUES FOR $24, OR ALL 40+ PRINT BACK ISSUES FOR JUST $100. PRICE INCLUDES POSTAGE AND HANDLING. PLEASE SPECIFY THE ISSUE DATE(S). ORDER MUST BE PREPAID BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER. SEND ORDERS TO: WASHINGTON GARDENER, 826 PHILADELPHIA AVE., SILVER SPRING, MD 20910

MARCH/APRIL 2005

• Landscape

vs.

• Prevent Gardener’s Back

• Ladew Topiary Gardens

• Cherry Trees

MAY/JUNE 2005

• Stunning Plant Combinations

Turning Clay into Rich Soil

Wild Garlic

Strawberries

JULY/AUGUST 2005

Water Gardens

Disguising a Sloping Yard

• Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005

• Container Gardens

• Clematis Vines

• Sponge Gardening/Rain Gardens

• 5 Insect Enemies of Gardeners

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2005

• Backyard Bird Habitats

• Hellebores

• Building a Coldframe

• Bulb Planting Basics

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006

• Garden Decor Principles

• Primroses

• Tasty Heirloom Veggies

• U.S. Botanic Garden

MARCH/APRIL 2006

• Top 10 Small Trees and Large Shrubs

Azaleas

• Figs, Berries, & Persimmons

• Basic Pruning Principles

MAY/JUNE 2006

• Using Native Plants in Your Landscape

• Crabgrass

• Peppers

• Secret Sources for Free Plants

JULY/AUGUST 2006

• Hydrangeas

• Theme Gardens

• Agave

• Find Garden Space by Growing Up

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006

• Shade Gardening

• Hosta Care Guide

• Fig-growing Tips and Recipes

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006

• Horticultural Careers

• Juniper Care Guide

• Winter Squash Growing Tips and Recipes

• Layer/Lasagna Gardening

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

MAY/JUNE 2007

• Roses: Easy Care Tips

• Native Roses & Heirloom Roses

• Edible Flowers

• How to Plant a Bare-root Rose

JULY/AUGUST 2007

• Groundcovers: Alternatives to Turfgrass

• How to Pinch, Prune, & Dead-head

• William Paca House & Gardens

• Hardy Geraniums

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2007

• Succulents: Hardy to our Region

• Drought-Tolerant Natives

• Southern Vegetables

• Seed Saving Savvy Tips

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

• Gardening with Children

• Indoor Bulb-Forcing Basics

• National Museum of the American Indian

• Versatile Viburnums

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 (Heuchera)

MAY/JUNE 2008

• 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)

• Best Time to Plant Spring-blooming Bulbs

• 14 Dry Shade Plants Too Good to Overlook

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2008

• Outdoor Lighting Essentials

• How to Prune Fruiting Trees, Shrubs, Vines

• 5 Top Tips for Overwintering Tender Bulbs

• Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009

• Compost Happens: Nature’s Free Fertilizer

• Managing Stormwater with a Rain Garden

• Visiting Virginia’s State Arboretum

• Grow Winter Hazel for Winter Color

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

MAY/JUNE 2009

• Top Easy Summer Annuals for DC Heat

• Salad Table Project

• Grow and Enjoy Eggplant

• How to Chuck a Woodchuck

Your Ad Here

Are you trying to reach thousands of gardeners in the greater DC region/MidAtlantic area? Washington Gardener Magazine goes out in the middle of every month. Contact kathyjentz@gmail.com or call 301.588.6894 for ad rates (starting from $200).

The ad deadline is the 5th of each month. Please submit your ad directly to: kathyjentz@gmail.com

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

• Dwar f 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

Got a Garden Question? Got a gardening question you need answered? Send your questions to KathyJentz@gmail. 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.

Advertising Index

A big THANK YOU to all of our Washington Gardener advertisers. Please tell them you saw their ad in Washington Gardener!

Audubon Naturalist Society 2 DCGardens.com

GardenDC Podcast

Green Spring Gardens

Jentz Prints

MD HGIC MG Handbook

Plant-a-Row GWA

Plants & Gardens Happy Hours 17 Summer Creek Farm

Sunshine Farm & Gardens

The Urban Garden Book

Washington Gardener Back Issues 23 Washington Gardener Speakers

White’s Nursery

To advertise with us, please contact KathyJentz@gmail.com or call 301.588.6894 today.

Next deadline:

5

Jentz Prints

Antique Botanical Prints for the decorator, collector, connoisseur, and art lover. Jentz Prints can be purchased on most Saturdays at the Eastern Market.

Antique prints are affordable—most in the $10-$30 range—and they are the perfect gift idea for that plant lover in your life. And don’t forget to buy a few for yourself!

For more information, to make a private appointment, or to get a detailed show schedule, please contact Jentz Prints by email at UllrichJ@aol.com. You can also find Jentz Prints on eBay.com under the seller ID printyman.