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Vol. 2, No. 2 ?? February 15, 2006
In This Issue:
Growing Violets
America's Anniversary Garden
February To-Do List
Spotlight Specials
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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We encourage you to subscribe to Washington Gardener magazine as well for in-depth articles, inspirational photos, and great garden resources for the Washington DC area gardener.
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Thank you to all who joined us at our first annual Washington Seed Exchange with the U.S. National Arboretum! We'll have a complete wrap-up in the March/April 2006 issue of Washington Gardener magazine.
Also in that issue is a primer on azalea care, a list of trees for small yards, and a before/after pictorial of an urban, corner yard. The issue will be mailed by March 1 to our subscribers and available in bookstores shortly after.
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Growing Violets
African Violets are one of the easiest houseplants to propagate and grow. Did you know that all you need to share is plant is to pull out a leaf? Just give it a friend and they can start a new plant by simply inserting it into a pot of sterile soil. The following is a quick list of dos and don'ts to have healthy violets of your own.
- Purchase plants in flower so you know what color and kind you are getting.
- Keep violets in small pots. They like to be kept tight.
- Be sure they are in a porous, sterile soil that is quick draining.
- Fertilize them twice monthly.
- Repot your plants regularly every six months to a year.
- Watch for signs of disease or insect damage.
- Promptly remove any damaged or dead leaves and flower stalks.
- Violets prefer bright, indirect light. Never put in strong sunlight.
- Do not expose them to temperatures below 60 degrees or above 80.
- Use room temperature water, not cold, and avoid getting any on the crown.
- It is okay to get the leaves wet, even encouraged to give them an occasional bath, just make sure the foliage is completely dry before placing it back in the light.
- Do not overwater and do not allow the plant to stand in a saucer of water.
- Violets need ventilation but avoid drafts and placing them near heat vents.
There are several local organizations for those who are addicted to African Violets. Two of the most active ones are the Mid-Atlantic African Violet Society www.maavs.org and the Old Dominion African Violet Society of Northern Virginia www.odavs.com. They hold regular meetings which may include diagnosis for plant problems, member plant sales, and trading plantlets of unique violet varieties.
Happy Growing!
Kathy Jentz
Editor/Publisher
Washington Gardener
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Local Gardening Events
Here is a selection of upcoming events in the DC area of interest to gardeners:
DC
Can You Identify this Tree?
February 16, 10:00am
Washington National Cathedral, Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenues, NW, Washington, DC
There are over 700 trees in the Olmsted Woods and this tour will showcase ways to identify trees in the winter time. Please wear sturdy, waterproof shoes. Meet at the George Washington statue on Pilgrim Road. Program cancelled in the event of heavy rain or snow.
Fee: $0/free. Preregistration is not required.
For more information: call 202.537.2319 or email: emullen@cathedral.org.
A Natural History Approach to Plant Conservation
February 24, 12:00-1:00pm
United States Botanic Garden Conservatory, 100 Maryland Avenue, SW, foot of the U.S. Capitol
Natural history has always been the foundation of conservation biology. For centuries, botanists collected specimens in the field to understand plant diversity. Now
that many habitats are threatened, botanists have turned their focus to conservation and, increasingly, they look to the collections of museums, herbaria, and botanical gardens for insight on developing
informed assessment and management programs. Join Gary Krupnick, Head of the Plant Conservation Unit in the Department of Botany at the Smithsonian Institution, and explore the value of natural history collections in light of contemporary biodiversity and conservation studies.
Fee: $0/free. Preregistration is requested.
For more information: call 202.226.4082 or www.usbg.gov
Bonsai Repotting
February 26, 1:00-2:30pm
US National Arboretum, National Bonsai & Penjing Museum Lecture/Demonstration Center, 3501 New York Avenue, NE, Washington, DC
Does your bonsai need a boost? Is it in the right pot? What type of soil should it be in? Join curatorial staff for this combined lecture and demonstration focused on horticultural and design issues faced during the repotting process. Participants will observe the repotting of one of the bonsai from the museum collection.
Fee: $12 ($10 FONA members). Registration is required.
For more information: call 202.245.2726 or www.usna.usda.gov
MD and PA
Fragrance in the Garden
February 19, 1:00-2:00pm
Behnke Nurseries, Beltsville, MD
Randy Best of Behnke Staff explains how to choose the best plants to create a wonderfully fragrant garden. Randy will reveal his picks for the most reliably fragrant garden subjects.
Fee: $0/free. Registration is recommended.
For more information: www.behnkes.com or call 301.937.1100 .
Creating Ecologically Functional Landscapes with Native Trees, Shrubs and Groundcovers
February 19, 2:00-3:00pm
Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve, 1635 River Road, 2.5 miles south of New Hope, PA
As more wild areas are depleted by development, there is an ever-increasing need for landscapes that are not only sustainable but also ecologically functional ?? landscapes that provide food and shelter for wildlife and that form bridges between fragmented natural areas. This presentation will focus on creating landscapes with native trees and shrubs and herbaceous groundcovers that perform these functions. The talk also will include information from a Maine-based evaluation program on the use of native woody plants in managed landscapes.
As Assistant Professor of Horticulture at the University of Maine from 1998 to 2005, Reeser C. Manley, PhD taught classes in woody plants, plant physiology, and environmental horticulture. Currently a science teacher at Shead High School in Eastport, ME, Reeser has devoted the past eight years to studies on the use of native plants in managed landscapes. He also works as a horticultural consultant and garden writer.
Fee: $12 ($8 members/students). Registration is recommended.
For more information: www.bhwp.org or call: 215.862.2924.
Green Matters Symposium: After the Rain
February 24, 8:30am-4:00pm
Brookside Gardens, Visitor's Center, 1800 Glenallan Ave., Wheaton, MD
Water is an essential element for our plants to flourish. Though rainwater is clearly beneficial to nature, sometimes the pollutants it
carries with it are destructive. Yet the perfect filter is just underfoot: the soil in our gardens. What are the best methods to capture and use this resource to its greatest advantage while creating beautiful landscapes?Come to Green Matters and find out!
Fee: $79. Registration is required.
For more information: 301.962.1400 or www.brooksidegardens.org.
VA and WV
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Capitol Home & Garden Show
February 23-26
Dulles Expo Center, Chantilly, VA
The event will showcase more than 600 exhibits featuring every type of product and service for the home and garden.
Providing inspiration for your backyard, stroll through Dazzling Dream Gardens. Created by the area??s leading landscape companies, these captivating works of art will showcase the latest outdoor trends and styles
With warm weather approaching, it??s time to think about getting back outdoors. Collect great gardening tips and top landscaping advice from experts offering workshops all four days at the Green Thumb Theatre Stage located in the South Hall. Highlights include Q&A sessions with nationally-recognized garden guru Mike McGrath and hardscape expert Paver Pete.
Fee: $10. Registration is not required.
For more information: www.CapitalHomeShow.com or call 800.274.6948.
Butterflies in Winter
February 25, 3:30-5:00pm
Herndon Community Center, 814 Ferndale Ave., Herndon, VA
If you are interested in making your garden more butterfly friendly, this class is for you? All ages welcome!! Where do butterflies go in the winter? What is that crumble of leaves under the bush? How does a miniscule egg form into a beautiful creature of flight? Can you raise butterfly eggs to adulthood for release? These and many more questions will be answered by Mona Miller! Learn how you can help butterfly populations and encourage butterflies to over-winter in your very own backyard. Door prizes (butterfly plants or books) will be given to a few lucky attendees.
Fee: $3 per person or $7 per family. Registration is required.
To register, email susan.lilly@herndon-va.gov or call 703.435.6800 ext.2113.
Growing Communities Workshop
March 17-18
Saint John??s Church 2401 East Broad Street Richmond, VA
Co-sponsored by the American Community Gardening Association (ACGA) and The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. An in-depth, hands-on workshop based on the ACGA??s curriculum for leadership development, ???Growing Communities: Community Building and Organizational Development through Community Gardening.??? Learn proven strategies that community organizers use to develop dynamic leaders and create strong communities through a participatory approach to community building.
This two-day workshop covers: Community Organizing, Leadership Development, Grassroots Fundraising Basics, Asset-Based Community Development, Communications Planning, Coalition Building, and Urban Forestry topics.
You will learn the principles and practices of community building, and how to pass these techniques on to others in your community by conducting your own workshops. Includes urban forestry topics and discussion of how to integrate trees into urban greening projects as well as care and maintenance considerations will be covered as well.
Fee: $35. Registration is required.
For more information: www.acb-online.org/ or call 804.775.0951.
To submit an event for this listing, please contact: editor@washingtongardener.com.
Our next deadline is March 12 for the March 15 edition of this enewsletter.
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Spotlight Specials
What local growers and sellers have in store for your gardens in the season ahead.
Scheduled to arrive in select Mid-Atlantic garden centers this spring, the Burpee Gardens?? vegetable plant series will include 32 of Burpee??s top performing, best-known vegetables and herbs chosen for their outstanding flavor and home garden performance. The Burpee Gardens?? series is being brought to market by W. Atlee & Burpee Co. and Hines Horticulture. Under the terms of the partnership, Hines will grow the Burpee vegetable plants from seed at their Pipersville, PA, growing facility.
???The vegetables in the series will include nostalgic, old-time favorites like the Big Boy tomato and the ever-popular Big Burpless cucumber,??? says George Ball, president of W. Atlee Burpee & Co. Ball says that newer cultivars like Brandy Boy Tomato and Health Kick tomato (pictured here), which packs 50% more heart-healthy lycopene than any other tomato on the market, will also be available in the plant collection.
Burpee says that home gardeners will see a notable difference between the Burpee Gardens?? plants and generic brands usually found at the garden center, describing the Burpee plants as ???healthy, lush and full-bodied.??? The plants in the Burpee series will be pre-hardened off before they reach the garden center making them especially hardy for home garden use. The plants will also be packaged in an ample sized 4??? container, which is the optimal size for promoting performance.
Home gardeners can expect to find the Burpee Gardens?? plants in garden centers from mid-April through May. All of plants will feature an oversized plant tag printed with the Burpee logo, care instructions, and nutritional benefits.
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What's Blo
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Before the recent snowstorm, our readers reported the following blooms and items of interest in their gardens during the first week of February:
Ursula Sukinik of North Bethesda, MD, has: Callicarpa D. ???Issai,?? Hamamelis ???arnold promise,?? Heleboruous orientalius, Ilex opaca, and Mahonia bealei.
Taffy Turner in the Four Corners area of Silver Spring, MD, has: Hellebores, Mahonia aquifolium (Oregon grape holly), snowdrops, Sarcococca (sweetbox), and Daphne odora. My poor Camellias are very confused by this strange weather. Both the spring blooming Camellia ???April Blush?? and the fall blooming Camellia ???Showa-no-sakae?? have lots of buds and several flowers. And there are still lots of berries on all of the hollies, nandinas and cotoneasters.
Jerry McNamara also in the Four Corners area of Silver Spring, MD, has: Forsythia that started blooming two weeks ago, snowdrops, Crocus ???Blue Pearl,?? and Eranthus Winter Aconite.
Sheryl Hovey Oakton, VA, has: Johnny Jump Ups and Nandina berries.
In your editor's own garden in my Silver Spring/DC/Takoma Park border site: one snowdrop, heather, primula, winter jasmine just breaking into flower, 'February Gold' daffodils about a week away from blooming. Berries/texture: beautyberry, juniper, nandina, and golden eunoymous. Indoors: orchids, begonias, violets, and primroses.
Seen around downtown DC in bloom: witch hazel, pansies, ornamental cabbage, winter jasmine, camellias, daffodils, crocus, and snowdrops.
Let us know what is blooming or of particular interest in your garden during the week of March 5. 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 March 12 and we??ll note it in our March 15 issue.
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Washington Gardener Gear: T-shirts, totes, mugs, calendars, hats, mouse pads, and more!
February To-Do List
We've completed a whole year of garden to-do lists for our region. Last year's February list can be found in our February 2005 issue. Here are a few more task
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to the previous listing:
- Cut some branches (forsythia, quince, bittersweet, redbud, willow, etc.) for forcing indoors.
- Put suet out for birds.
- Check outside plants and trees for animal (deer) damage.
- Mist indoor plants and set up pebble trays to increase humidity.
- Rejuvenate holly bushes with a hard pruning.
- Plan landscape design projects.
- Check evergreens for sign of desication.
- Start seeds of cool season vegetables and flowers.
- Keep ice melting chemicals away from garden beds.
Have you put in your garden catalog orders yet?
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Ame
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arden
In 2007, Virginia will mark the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. The 18-month-long commemoration begins in May 2006 and will feature educational programs, cultural events, fairs, and various live and broadcast entertainments sponsored by Virginia and cities and towns across the commonwealth. Communities and citizens also will be improving their streets, parks, schools, businesses, and gardens as part of the commemoration.
The Virginia Cooperative Extension has developed the America's Anniversary Garden to help individuals, communities, and groups mark America's 400th Anniversary with a signature garden planting. The signature gardens will have red, white, and blue color schemes. All across Virginia, city and town entrance corridors, public gardens, sidewalk containers, hanging baskets, residential lawns, and other forms of gardens and landscapes will display the colorful theme in 2006 and 2007. Everyone can have an anniversary garden. Some will be large and some as small as potted plants on a balcony.
This Virginia Cooperative Extension has a series of publications and support materials to guide gardeners - new and experienced - in developing their anniversary gardens. Visit www.ext.vt.edu/americasgarden for free garden designs, plant lists, and planting guides. They are customized to Virginia gardeners, but are certainly suitable for all those throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
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Next Issue
The March issue of Washington Gardener Enews will cover Dealing With Deer.
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Edited by Kathy Jentz
Contact: editor@washingtongardener.com or 301.588.6894.
?©Washington Gardener 2006
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