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Vol. 2, No. 11 — November 15, 2006
In This Issue:
Making a Rain Barrel
Locating Local Garden Centers
November To-Do List
Spotlight Special: An Herbaceous Hydrangea
What's Blooming
Local Gardening Events
Welcome to the
Washington Garden Enews!
This is the free sister publication of Washington Gardener magazine.
Both the magazine and enewsletter share the same mission and focus — helping Washington DC area gardens grow — but our content is different.
In this monthly enewsletter, we will:
address timely seasonal topics and projects; post local garden events; and, include a monthly reminder list of what you can be doing now in your garden.
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The November/December 2006 Washington Gardener magazine is now out. If you subscribe by December 31, you can start your subscription with this issue. Single copies of this issue can be purchased directly from Washington Gardener. The issue is also on sale at area Borders and B. Dalton book stores. This issue's cover story is "Making Your Garden Passion Your Profession." Also in this issue: juniper selection and care guide; native plants for winter interest; a trip to Longwood Gardens holiday displays; weed-free garden beds; winter squash growing tips and recipes; and, much, much more.
Making a Rain Barrel
Rain barrels are essentially a small-scale conservation project. By collecting rain that would normally run-off your roof straight into the sewer system, you are directly helping the local watershed and the environment. More than that, rain barrels offer a ready source of water for your garden that is untreated by hard minerals and chemicals. Rain water can be stored up for times of drought and you can dip into your reserves even when local governments put restrictions of water usage. Finally, rain barrels save you money and trips to the hose. Once you have one, you'll want more and you'll never garden without one again.
Some people fear that rain barrels can attract mosquitos. In fact, if yours is properly constructed with a filter screen, you will have no problems. If you are still nervous, you can always throw in a Mosquito Dunk for good measure.
Rain barrels can be constructed for about $15 each or you can buy a ready-made one for around $100. To construct your own, you must use a food-grade barrel. The Pepsi Bottling Company in Baltimore is one source of barrels, but you can also scout out barrels left over from cooking oil, pickles, whiskey, etc.
Free rain barrels are occasionally offered by local parks or government groups -- usually in the spring-time and in limited number. One recent giveaway program in suburban Maryland was inundated with rain barrel requests this past year and had a wait list of several hundred before they cut it off.
Workshops on rain barrel building are also regularly offered by local conservation groups and are usually just a nominal fee. Again these are often in the spring-time, when the public's attention turns to the green outdoors. While your garden winds down this year, why not take a few hours to construct a rain barrel or two in preparation of the next growing season?
Here are a links to local sources that offer comprehensive directions for building your own rain barrel:
Happy Growing!
Kathy Jentz
Editor/Publisher
Washington Gardener
P.S. For a chance to win a family pass to Brookside's Garden of Lights Show, go to: www.washingtongardener.com and enter today. Keep checking our Contests page for more chances to win Garden of Lights passes in the next few weeks and for more exciting contests in the upcoming months.
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Local Gardening Events
Here is a selection of upcoming events (November 15 - December 15) in the DC area of interest to gardeners:
DC
Woods Walk—Preserving the Trees
November 16, 10:00am
National Cathedral, meet at the George Washington statue on Pilgrim Road, NW, Washington, DC
Led by Anne Elsbree. Come hear how all three phases of the Olmsted Woods restoration have benefited the health of the woodland trees, especially white oaks, tulip poplars, pignut hickories, and American beeches. Please wear sturdy water-proof shoes. Pets must be leashed. Walk cancelled in case of heavy rain.
Fee: $0/Free. Preregistration is not required.
For more information: call 202.537.2319 or go to: www.cathedral.org.
Wreathmaking Workshop
December 1, 10:00-11:30am or 2:00-3:30pm
Repeated December 2, 10:00-11:30am
Tudor Place, 1644 31st Street NW, Washington, DC
Bring your own creative edge to fashion a holiday wreath with greens from the Tudor Place garden. Cedar boughs, magnolia leaves, berry-laden holly, pinecones, and boxwood are provided. All wreaths are medium-sized and last well past the average nursery wreath. All materials are provided.
Fee: $35 ($28 members). Registration required.
For more information: visit: www.tudorplace.org or call 202.965.0400.
Savor the Season
December 2 through January 7, 10:00am-5:00pm
United States Botanic Garden Conservatory, 100 Maryland Avenue, SW, foot of the U.S. Capitol
Your experience begins with a new outdoor train garden. Then enter the Conservatory to find a sumptuous Della Robbia-style visual feast that includes a bounty
of colorful poinsettias and other winter-blooming tropical plants. Embark on a “Five Senses Tour” of the Conservatory, then follow the sound of whistling trains into the West
Orangerie where an enchanted village bustles with activity. Venture into the Garden Court to discover the National Mall in miniature, completely constructed of natural plant materials
such as willow, acorns, leaves, and bark. Both the train gardens and the enchanting replicas of Mall landmarks are once again the work of renowned garden railway designer Paul Busse of Applied Imagination.
Fee: $0/Free. Registration is not required.
For more information: call 202.226.4082 or www.usbg.gov
MD and PA
Rose Bud in Lights
November 30, 2:00-3:30pm
Brookside Gardens, 1800 Glenallan Ave., Wheaton MD
Here’s your opportunity to learn how Brookside’s staff makes those wonderful light forms featured in the Garden of Lights! Jeff Patterson and Leslie McDonald will teach you how to make a beautiful rose bud out of lights, which you can take home to use in your own light display. Each student will make one rose bud. Fee includes all materials. Each participant will be given one complimentary ticket to the Garden of Lights, so you can come back to enjoy the show with family and friends.
Fee: $20. Registration is required.
For more information: www.brooksidegardens.org
How to Be Green
December 2, 8:30am-5:00pm
Green Building Institute, 7761 Waterloo Road (Rte. 175), Jessup, MD
Introductory seminars on: Rainwater collection for garden use' Efficient and healthy buildings; Solar hot water for your home; and, Solar electric for your home.
Fee: $65 ($35 Green Building Institute members). Registration is required by November 21.
For more information: www.greenbuildinginstitute.org or call 443.733.1234.
Holiday Greens Sale
December 2, 10:00am-4:00pm -- sale continues through December 14
Adkins Arboretum, 12610 Eveland Road, Ridgely, MD
Fresh local greens, wreaths, and natural materials will be on sale to deck the halls for a beautiful Eastern Shore holiday. Special boxed greens will be available and packaged to be shipped upon request.
Fee: $0/Free. Registration is not required.
For more information, go to www.adkinsarboretum.org or call 410.634.2847.
VA and WV
Garden Journals
November 18 • 9:00am-12:00noon
6700 Azalea Garden Road, Norfolk, VA
Spend a creative morning with art instructor Nance Corriveau and explore many techniques to create a whimsical garden journal to record treasured plants in your garden and special moments from your life.
Fee: $30 ($20 members). Registration is required.
For more information: www.norfolkbotanicalgarden.org or call 757.441.5838.
Weed Buster Workday
November 18, 10:00am-1:00pm
Parking Area C2, Turkey Run Park, McLean, VA
Members of the Virginia Native Plant Society have been hard at work controlling the invasive shrubs of Linden Viburnum that have been overrunning parts of Turkey Run Park. These plants are spreading fast, and through controlling them we can help protect the biodiversity of the forests and famous wildflower displays. They will be cutting shrubs with hand saws and loppers and staff will follow behind with an herbicide on the stump to prevent re-sprouting. Since it is fall, they'll also be removing the berries to send out with the trash. Bring a lunch for afterwards and they will have some snacks to share.
Fee: $0/Free. Advance sign up is required.
For more information: email PotomacGorgeVol@tnc.org or call 301.897.8570.
Springfield Art Guild Exhibit
Weekdays, Now through January 16, 2007, 9:00am-5:00pm
River Farm, 7931 East Boulevard Dr., Alexandria, VA
The American Horticultural Society hosts the Springfield Art Guild (SAG) show at River Farm. Members of the guild will display art with a botanical theme as well as landscapes and seascapes. Trudi Van Dyke, an independent curator and fine arts consultant, will jury the show. The SAG, located in Springfield, VA, is a nonprofit group that promotes an interest in arts and crafts through educational programs for adults and children and sponsors juried art shows. The SAG was founded nearly 40 years ago and currently has over 100 members. These include both professional and amateur artists who use a wide range of media including acrylics, watercolor, photography, sculpture, and digital technology.
Fee: $0/Free. Registration is not required.
For more information: www.ahs.org or call 703.768.5700.
For even more area garden event notices than we can't possibly squeeze in here, become a member of our free online discussion group. To join the email list serv, just send an email to: WashingtonGardener-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
To submit an event for this listing, please contact: editor@washingtongardener.com.
Our next deadline is December 12 for the December 15 edition of this enewsletter featuring events from November 15 - December 15.
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Spotlight Special: An Herbaceous Hydrangea
Among Heronswood’s 2007 featured items and the winner of the of the 2007 Fleuroselect Gold Medal is Pink Kii. Described as “an herbaceous hydrangea,” Deinanthe bifida ‘Pink Kii’ (Zones 5–9, 9–5), a form of a species collected by the Heronswood founder, Dan J. Hinkley, in Japan. It produces hydrangea-like heads of nodding white flowers with pink sepals on two-foot stems of glossy foliage. ‘Pink Kii’ grows best in a shady spot with cool, moist soil. It is available January 2007 at www.heronswood.com. Heronswood was acquired in 2000 by Burpee. They recently relocated the Heronswood nursery operation from Washington state to Pennsylvania.
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What's Blooming
Our readers reported the following blooms and items of interest in their gardens during the first week of November:
Jim Dronenburg of Knoxville, MD, has:
In bloom
Adenophora
Annual dianthus
Camellia oleifera
Chrysanthemums, variousCorydalis lutea and C. ochroleuca
Cyclamen hederifolum
Elaeagnus pungens
Hamamelis virginiana
Helleborus foetidus- normally blooms Jan-Feb
Heptacodium (Seven Sons Plant) both flowering and enlarged red calyces after flowering
Osmanthus heterophyllus
Pansies
Roses, various
Salvia guaranitica
In berry
Callicarpa
Cornus florida
Hollies, various
Ursula Sabia Sukinik of North Bethesda, MD, has:
Anemone X hybrida
Aster app
Begonia 'Dragon Wing Red'
Begonia gradensis (seed heads)
Callicarpa D. ‘Issai” (berries)
Camellia Blanchette
Chelone glabra
Chrysanthum spp
Clematis paniculata
Eupatorium Rugosum ‘Chocolate’
Heuchera Autumn Bride
Hydrangea 'annabel' (dried flowers)
Hydrangea quercifolia (dried flowers)
Hypericum perforatum (berries)
Ilex Americana (berries)
Impatiens
Lonicera sempervirens
Melampodium paludosum
Nicotiana ‘Sylvestris’
Passiflora ‘Waterloo Blue
Persicaria microsephala ‘red dragon’
Phlox spp
Physostegia virginiana
Rosa' knock out'
Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue'
Sedumn ‘Autumn Joy’
Stokesia laevis
Tricyrtis formosana
Anne Hardman in Silver Spring, MD, has:
Ajania pacifica, the pacific chrysanthemum
Petunias - purple and lavender - in a pot, no less
In your editor's own garden in my MD/DC-border site:
Alyssum
Angelonia
Aster monch
Beautyberry/Callicarpa
Black-eyed Susan
Cosmos
Dianthus
Echinacea
Fuchsia ‘GartenMeister’
Gallardia
Geranium (annual)
Grasses (various)
Hydrangea
Impatiens
Iris ‘Eleanor Roosevelt’
Lavender
Marigolds
Mums, various including Sheffield Pink
Pansies
Petunias
Primrose
Rhododendron PJM
Roses (Mutabilis, New Dawn climber, Scarlet Meidiland, and miniature yellow)
Salvia
Sedum ‘Neon’ and ‘Autumn Joy’
Cheval Force Opp in Dunn Loring, VA, has:
Ajania pacifica
Chrysanthemum Pacificum
Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ Feather Reed Grass
Camellia x autumn pink icicle
Cleome Hasslerana, Spider Flower, Violet Queen, Helen Campbell
Cosmos bipinnatus Cav. Gardem cosmos
Hardy Gardenia White Azalea, parentage: (unknown x (‘Hexe’ x ‘Vervaeneanum’))
Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’
Salvia guaranitica ‘Blue Anis’ Sage
Tagetes patula, Marigolds French Brocade, Red Metamorph
Zinnia elegans, Persian Carpet
Compare to last year's November blooming lists in our November 2005 issue. Let us know what is blooming or of particular interest in your garden during the first week of December. Please include your name, city, state, and a plant list in alphabetical order. You may also send low-res digital images. Send to editor@washingtongardener.com by December 12 and we’ll note it in our December 15 issue.
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November To-Do List
We've completed a whole year of garden to-do lists for our region. Last year's November list can be found in our November 2005 issue. Here are a few more tasks and chores to add to the previous listing:
- Switch your deer deterrent spray, if you've been using the same one for several months.
- Have your soil tested at least every three years.
- Water newly planted trees, shrubs, and perennials esp. if there is a dry spell.
- Cover carrots and other root crops with straw to extend the harvest season.
- Deadhead spent mums and plant them (if still in pots).
- Leaf drop on established evergreen shrubs and rhododendrons is normal.
- Bulb foliage already starting to surface? Don't fret. It is also normal and will not impact next year's blooms.
- Check for vole problems and set out traps.
- Caulk and seal your home to prevent wildlife coming indoors.
- Protect fig trees from freezing by piling up leaves around them.
- Clean the leaves of your houseplants to prevent dust and film build-up.
Bonus Tip: Do not place live wreaths or greenery in between your door and a glass storm door, especially if the doorway is facing south. This placement will “cook” the arrangement on a sunny day.
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Locating Local Garden Centers
Many area gardeners are only aware of a few garden centers and nurseries in their immediate neighborhood, but there are many more our there for you to explore.
About eight months ago,
Mapmuse.com began a project -- the interactive mapping of garden centers and nurseries across the country. They initially researched and populated these maps ourselves, with the idea in mind that the public would subsequently add to, and enhance, the information provided. They mapped each garden center or nursery, and provided space for a written description, photo, and link to a web site.
Since this project was launched, gardening enthusiasts have made 100s of additions and enhancements to our maps. If you know of any garden centers or nurseries in your local community that are new or have closed in the last six months, please make those changes to the maps. Also, please feel free to add any places that are still missing.
The link to the Garden Centers and Nurseries Map is:
http://find.mapmuse.com. They also have a searchable map and listing of local public gardens and arborerta to visit that gives a good basic listing for our region.
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Next Issue
The December issue of Washington Gardener Enews will cover Poinsettia Pointers.
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Edited by Kathy Jentz
Contact: editor@washingtongardener.com or 301.588.6894.
©Washington Gardener 2006
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