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Vol. 4, No. 6 — June 15, 2008
In This Issue:
Divine Annual Vines
Magazine Excerpt: Flavorful Fruiting Natives
June To-Do List
Spotlight Special: Sugar Tip Hibiscus
Reader Contest: Wings of Fancy Passes
Local Gardening Events
Welcome to the
Washington Gardener 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 May/June 2008 Washington Gardener magazine is available now. If you subscribe by June 25, 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, Barnes and Noble, and B. Dalton book stores plus many independent stores like the USNA's Arbor House. This issue's cover story is "Growing Great Tomatoes." It also includes stories on Mount Vernon, Gladiolus, Honey Locust, Gypsy Moth, and, much, much more.
Divine Annual Vines
Use them to hide an unsightly view, cover an ugly fence or wall, fill in an arbor while your perennial vine takes hold and grows. They can provide quick, cool shade when training over an arbor or pergola. Used on a south-facing wall, they even act as an insulator to keep put the hottest rays of the sun from your home. Many vines can even be planted on a slope or over a retaining wall to spread and trail over the edge. Annual vines are also beloved by wildlife. Many attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds to your garden and their prolific flowers.
Most all annual vines need full sun, good drainage, and of course, something to climb on, Try a trellis, balcony railing, light pole. No need to fertilize them. On the contrary, once established most of the vines thrive on neglect and just need watering spring hot, dry spells.
Start from seed by direct-sowing them now and by mid-summer you’ll have a terrific vine bursting with blooms. Some vines will need assistance. To get the climbing starting – put a twig next to the base of the seedling to guide it up to whatever support you have chosen. You may need to tie some vines up (a great way to recycle old pantyhose cut into strips). You may have to just coax and train it from spreading to wear you do not want it to go.
A couple of fair warnings, most of the annual vines form seed pods which are quite attractive and decorative if let on in the fall. You may want to collect most these however if you want to control self-seeding in future years and to save the seeds for sowing yourself next year where you’d like them to grow.
Keep in mind that many annual vines likely grow in your vegetable patch such as cantaloupes, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. You can train them upwards or let them trail on the ground as well. You may also consider having the less attractive edible vines share a trellis with one or two of the more lovely annual flowering vines to dress them up.
Try a few of these Annual Vines in your garden this summer:
- Balloon Vine
- Black-Eyed Susan Vine
- Cardinal Climber
- Climbing Gloxinia
- Cup-and-Saucer Vine
- Cypress Vine
- Hyacinth Bean
- Mandevilla
- Moonflower
- Morning Glory
- Nasturtiums
- Scarlet Runner Bean
- Snail (Corkscrew) Vine
- Spanish Flag
- Sweet Pea
- Sweet Potato Vine
Happy Growing!
Kathy Jentz
Editor/Publisher
Washington Gardener
P.S. I hope you will join us four our Annual Open Garden Party. See details below.
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Local Gardening Events
Here is a selection of upcoming events (June 16-July 15) in the greater DC area of interest to gardeners:
DC
USBG Family Day: One Planet – Ours!
June 19, 10:00am-4:30pm
U.S Botanic Garden, Washington, DC
The USBG has partnered with over 40 organizations to present this summer’s exhibition, One Planet – Ours! Sustainability for the 22nd Century. Come to our Family Day and participate in a wide variety of programs! Create a pollinator and be a part of the pollinator play, help create a straw bale house, discover how to cook with sunshine, create a hand-held wind turbine, and meet experts in the field of sustainability. Bring your plastic bags to recycle and receive a reusable shopping bag. Event will happen rain or shine.
Fee: $0/Free. Registration is not required.
For more information: www.usbg.org or call 202.225.8333.
Power Plants—Farming Fuel
Opens June 19 running throughout the summer, 8:00am-5:00pm daily
United States National Arboretum. 3501 New York Avenue, NE; Washington, DC
See how agronomic crops might become a major part of the renewable energy that will help fuel our future in a new one-acre outdoor exhibit. Learn about each of the fuel crops that range from algae to switchgrass, sugarcane, corn, poplar trees and even some lesser known plants such as jatropha, cuphea, mustard, and the African oil palm. Each plant is accompanied by informational signs and a brochure is available for self-guided tours.
Fee: $0/Free. Registration is not required.
For more information, call 202.245.2726 or visit www.usna.usda.gov.
Rolling Out the Green Carpet at Hillwood
June 22, 1:00-5:00pm
4155 Linnean Avenue, NW, Washington, DC
What’s new in the gardens? Brian Barr, director of horticulture, discusses some of Hillwood’s latest garden projects, including a welcoming green space in front of the Greenhouse and current seasonal displays. This special Sunday opening includes docent-led garden and Mansion tours, shopping, and Caf? dining.
Fee: Included in the $12 estate donation for adults. Pre-registration is required.
For more information, call 202.686.5807 or www.hillwoodmuseum.org.
MD and PA
The Capital Beltway Perennial Show
June 21-22
Behnkes Nurseries, 11300 Baltimore Avenue (U.S.1), Beltsville, MD
The Perennial Show highlights the joys of growing the aristocrats of decorative gardening-summer perennials. This final show in the series will run from Saturday, June 21st through Sunday June 22nd, and will feature the most extensive collection of perennial varieties in the Washington Metro area. Feast your eyes on the incredible variance in color, texture, structure, and growth habits. Expert speakers and workshops will address your perennial gardening questions. Note: the previously announced Friday evening wine reception has been cancelled—please join us instead for festivities on Saturday or Sunday. Special guest horticulturists, vendors, growers and master gardeners will be on hand to answer questions and dispense advice. Behnke Nurseries and Washington Gardener Magazine are working hard
to make these events fun while retaining their “serious horticulture show” status. Raffle drawings and native plant sales to benefit Earth Share, free event logo t-shirts, vendor giveaways, and more will provide fun for the whole family.
Fee: $0/free. Registration is not required.
For more information: www.washingtongardener.com or call 301.937.1100.
Oaks and Hickories
July 9, 1:00–3:00pm
Adkins Arboretum, 12610 Eveland Rd., Ridgely, MD
Oaks and hickories abound in the forests of the Delmarva and are a critical food source for many animals. Take a walk with botanist Chris Frye to learn how to identify many oak and hickory species, and why their biology makes them so difficult to tell apart sometimes. Dress for the weather and bring a hand lens.
Fee: $8 Adkins members, $10 general public. Pre-registration is required.
For more information: www.adkinsarboretum.org or call 410.634.2847.
Lily Show
July 12, 12:30-5:00pm and July 13, 9:00am-4:00pm
Brookside Gardens, 1800 Glenallan Ave., Wheaton MD
Sponsored by the Potomac Lily Show. A wide variety of exotic and colorful lilies will be on exhibit.
Fee: $0/Free. Registration is not required.
For more information, call 301.962.1400 or go to www.brooksidegardens.org.
VA and WV
Meadow Planting at River Farm
June 17, 2:00pm
George Washington’s River Farm, 7931 East Boulevard Drive, Alexandria, VA
The American Horticultural Society invites anyone who would like to lend a hand to its River Farm headquarters. The AHS will plant the last phase of its Andre Bluemel Meadow from 2:00pm until dark and refreshments will be provided. (Rain date is Wednesday, June 18.) Please come be part of this exciting event as the AHS completes its 4-acre meadow, which has been installed in phases over the last 5 years.
Fee: $0/Free. Preregistration is not required.
For more information: www.ahs.org or call 703.768.5700, ext. 112.
Butterfly Gardening
June 22, 2:00-3:00pm
Meet at Gulf Branch Nature Center, 3608 Military Rd., Arlington, VA
Join the Gulf Branch Nature Center for an informative presentation on butterfly gardening and learn how to invite these beautiful creatures to your own yard! Dr. Dexter Hinckley will discuss local butterflies, their plant associations, and local butterfly gardens that you can visit for inspiration and ideas to bring back to your own garden.
Fee: $0/Free. Registration is required.
For details: visit www.arlingtonva.us or call 703.228.4747 and request program # 643204A.
Deciduous Tree ID
July 12, 8:30-10:30am
4603 Green Spring Road, Alexandria, VA
“What tree is this?” is one of the most frequent questions they get at Green Spring Gardens. Walk through the gardens with Mary Olien to learn strategies for identifying trees in your landscape. Review basic terminology and work with plant identification keys to build your skills.
Fee: $20. Registration is required.
For more information: www.greenspring.org or call 703.642.5173.
Washington Gardener Special Event
Open Garden Party: A Midsummer's Garden Revelry
June 27, 7:00-9:00pm
826 Philadelphia Ave. (Rt. 410), Silver Spring, MD
Come by with your garden questions. See our trial gardens in progress. Pet our garden watch-kitty, Chantilly. Renew or subscribe to the magazine in person. Purchase gift subscriptions. Pluck a weed or two as a keepsake souvenir. The Open Garden is rain or shine.
Fee: $0/Free. Registration is not required.
For more information: www.washingtongardener.com or call 301.588-6894.
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: Wgardenermag@aol.com and put "Event" in the email subject head. PLEASE NO ATTACHMENTS! Our next deadline is July 12 for the July 15 edition of this enewsletter featuring events from June 16-July 15.
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Spotlight Special: Sugar Tip Hibiscus
Sugar Tip™ Hibiscus syriacus Rose of Sharon from Proven Winners is an eye-catching new Rose of Sharon with brightly variegated creamy-white and bluish-green foliage. Unlike 'Purpureus Variegatus' this beauty actually flowers. Loads of clear pink, double flowers and it does not produce seed like older cultivars. Adds a tropical flair to any garden.
Sugar Tip™ ('America Irene Scott' US PPAF; Can. PBRAF) grows in any soil unless it is either very dry or very wet. Prune in late fall or early spring. Can be heavily pruned. Prefers medium moisture. Deciduous shrub. Fertilizer in early spring by applying a slow release fertilizer specialized for trees and shrubs. Needs full sun and reaches from 8-12 feet.
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Reader Contest
For our June 2008 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, Washington Gardener is giving out five sets of two passes each (worth $10 per set) to the Wings of Fancy - Live Butterfly Exhibit at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD, The event runs May 3 through September 21, 2008 from 10:00am to 4:00pm daily.
Asian, Costa Rican, and North American butterflies take flight in Brookside’s international exhibit celebrating its 12th season. Be surrounded by butterflies flying freely among the tropical flowering nectar plants. Come witness the butterfly life cycle as tiny eggs hatch into crawling, chewing caterpillars, which then encase themselves in jewel-like chrysalides and emerge as sipping, flying adult butterflies. Learn about the best annual and tropical plants, and hardy shrubs that are used as nectar sources to attract butterflies to your own garden.
To enter to win the Wings of Fancy passes, send an email with "Brookside Wings" in the subject line to WashingtonGardener@rcn.com by 5:00pm on June 30. In the body of the email please include your full name and address. The pass winners will be announced and notified on July 1.
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June To-Do List
Here is our comprehensive garden task list for gardens in the greater DC metro region for June 16-July 15. Your suggestions and additions to this list are most welcome:
- Water newly planted trees and shrubs weekly or as needed.
- Contact a certified arborist to have your trees' health inspected.
- Check on your container plants daily and keep them well watered.
- Celebrate the Summer Solstice with a cool drink out in your garden or in ours (see EVENTS listing above).
- Watch for insect and disease problems throughout your garden.
- Mow in the early evening and cut off no more than one-third of the grass height at one time.
- Leave grass clippings on the ground to provide nutrients.
- Add barley straw to your pond to improve water clarity.
- Take cuttings from azaleas and roses to start new plants.
- Harvest herbs to use in salads and summer dishes.
- Try a few new tropical plants on your patio.
- Shape your evergreens.
- Look for slug trails in the early morning and put out slug bait as needed.
- Tie-up climbing roses and other wandering vines.
- Fill in bare spots in the garden with annuals.
- Deadhead spent flowers to encourage reblooming.
- Prune flowering shrubs as their flowers fade. Last chance to do so for fall blooming camellias.
- Spray roses with Neem oil every two weeks.
- Start a sunflower patch with help from a few kids.
- Harvest strawberry beds daily.
- Cut a few flowers to enjoy at your workplace.
- This is the perfect time to apply grub control.
- Change the water in your birdbath daily and throw in a mosquito dunk in any standing water.
- Put in supports for tomatoes and tall-blooming plants such as dahlias.
- Order spring flowering bulbs.
- Take photos and update your garden journal.
- Inspect your garden hose for leaks and tighten all connections.
- Weed.
- Sow beets and squash for fall harvest.
- Prune boxwoods.
- Sharpen your lawnmower blade.
- Avoid pesticides or any chemicals near your water garden.
- Harvest herbs just before flowering.
- Make hummingbird food by boiling two cups sugar in four cups water.
- Turn your compost pile.
- Clean up fallen fruit and berries.
- Cover berry bushes and fruit trees with bird netting.
- Work in morning or early evening to avoid intense sun and humidity.
- Fertilize your azaleas and rhododendrons and monitor them closely for any lacebug damage.
- As the heat and humidity move in, take it easy and leave the big projects for this fall. For now concentrate on maintaining the beds you've already established and nurturing your new plantings.
Have a wonderful 2008 growing season!
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Magazine Excerpt: Flavorful Fruiting Natives by Sylvan Kaufman
Cherry bounce, elderberry wine, bayberry candles — all are made from the bountiful fruits of native plants. These fruits attract wildlife, but they also benefit humans with their taste or fragrance and the plants that produce them can look great in the landscape.
Cherry Bounce by the Ounce
Black cherry is of course well known now for the popularity of the wood used in furniture and cabinetry. But the fruits were used by early pioneers to make a cordial called cherry bounce made by infusing the juice of the cherries with rum or brandy. Because the fruit does not have much pulp, it is easiest to use the juice for flavoring. The juice can be used to make an excellent pie or pudding. Wildman Steve Brill, a famous forager, describes the flavor as “an unusual bittersweet, cherry-grapefruit flavor — somewhat strange, at first, until you realize you can’t stop eating them!” He does recommend trying to find trees with larger fruits which generally grow in open fields and thickets. When black cherry grows in the forest, it becomes a tall, straight tree. In the open, they are shorter
with more branches. In spring, long, white, hanging clusters of flowers bloom, attracting many pollinators. The fruits hang in blue-black clusters when ripe, but birds and small mammals quickly pick them off. Although black cherries establish easily, they are not pest free. They are very susceptible to black knot fungus and are the favored food of tent caterpillars and many other caterpillars. Despite this, they still seem to thrive in the landscape and all those caterpillars provide a lot of food for baby birds!
Elderberry Wine is So Fine
Another native plant noted for its summer fruits is the prolific elderberry. Elderberry grows in the wild in moist soils along streams and marshes, but in the garden it will tolerate average soils. It grows into a tall shrub, reaching up to 13 feet in height. The leaves are made up of many leaflets giving them a feathery appearance. Some cultivars have very finely cut leaves and purple leaves. The flowers bloom in late spring arranged as a large, flat-topped cluster of small, white flowers. In summer, the ripening fruits weigh the branches down. All parts of the elderberry are poisonous, and even raw, ripe fruits should be eaten sparingly, but once dried or cooked the fruits can be eaten in abundance and the flavor improves. They are very high in calcium, potassium, and vitamin C. Dried
fruits can be put whole in muffins with the small seed adding a crunchy texture. Juice strained from cooked fruit can be used to make wine, jam, and pies, but will need added sweetener and for jam thickener.
Muscadines Jam Spread
A few years ago, I planted the southeastern native muscadine or scuppernong grape and have been enjoying its unique flavor every summer. These large grapes can be golden or dark purple in color depending on the cultivar. Eaten raw, the thick skin has a tart taste contrasting with the sweet, juicy flesh. Large seeds are easy to spit out or can be eaten. The juice has a distinctive flavor and can be used to make jelly, jam, or wine...
Read the rest of this article and learn about the many kinds of fruiting natives found within our MidAtlantic region in the May/June 2008 issue of Washington Gardener magazine.
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Next Issue
The July 15, 2008 issue of Washington Gardener Enews will list the Creating Easy Water Features for your garden.
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Edited by Kathy Jentz
Contact: WGardenerMag@aol.com or 301.588.6894.
©Washington Gardener 2008
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