Gardening for nature

I've been gardening for nature and encouraging others to do so for over three decades, now that I'm thinking about it.  Hmm.  It's good work and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to do so.

Doing another program tomorrow morning has me musing --

I thoroughly updated my presentation to suit Western North Carolina and the Southern Appalachians, where I now live, but not without a bit of wistfulness for our old garden in the Piedmont, too, as I deleted images that I'd talked about for a long time. 

I'm not sure that the stewardship and care of planting has been particularly appreciated by the new "owners" of the site, just from a remark or two that came our way.

Glad to come home (late August, 2015)

But, whatever, gardens and landscapes change, and that's the story.

How do we, however ephemerally, change the places where we live for the better?  My gardening companion and I plant natives, plants that work for a living, and ones that have great meaning.  Those have been our screens, and my talking points over the years.

So I'm glad to look back at the stewardship that we've done, too, in our landscapes.

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ADVERTISER OF THE WEEK Details:
Every Thursday on the Washington Gardener Magazine Facebook page, Blog, and Yahoo list we feature a current advertiser from our monthly digital magazine. To advertise with us, contact wgardenermag@aol.com today.

Fall sunset

Fall color is at its peak now in the Asheville basin, spilling down from the higher elevations to, perhaps briefly, illuminate the ridges surrounding the city and our neighborhoods.

The view of our neighbor's hickory in sunset light was wonderful this evening after a couple of days of rain.

Hickory and sunset

Video Wednesday: Shutting Off Water Sources to Winterize Your Garden

In this video, Kathy Jentz, Editor/Publisher of Washington Gardener Magazine, demonstrates how to shut off your water sources before winter.

View from the deck

The fall colors are muted this year, because of rain and warm temperatures, but are still wonderfully vivid.

They're close to peak now, a good couple of weeks late, I'd think,

Hickories, maples, black gums, buckeyes, etc. illuminate the ravine view.

ravine forest view in fall

Win Heaven is a Garden in October 2015 Washington Gardener Magazine's Reader Contest

For our October 2015 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest, Washington Gardener is giving a signed copy of Heaven is a Garden: Designing Serene Spaces for Inspiration and Reflection by Jan Johnsen (a prize value of $18.00).  
   Why do some gardens make us feel so wonderful, relaxed, and refreshed? Using ideas based on ancient and modern practices, this book shows how you can uplift yourself and others in a serene setting designed for “unplugging” and relaxing. Whether you are intending to create a lovely garden or just thinking about a future outdoor haven, Heaven is a Garden will help you see your backyard in a whole new light and reawaken an awareness of the wonders of Nature. “Simplicity, Sanctuary, and Delight” is the guideline that noted landscape designer Jan Johnsen recommends in this elegantly written book. She draws on her 40 years in the profession and offers stunning visuals and specific ways to make a garden look glorious and feel harmonious at the same time. She reveals how to highlight a power spot, explores the lure of the sheltered corner, explains why a gate facing east is considered auspicious, and suggests which trees you can use to impart a special atmosphere. Gardeners will also enjoy the chapters on the mysteries of color, a rock’s resonance, and the magic of water.
   To enter to win a signed copy of Heaven is a Garden, send an email to WashingtonGardener@rcn.com by 5pm on Friday, October 30, with “Heaven” in the subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us which was your favorite article in the October 2015 issue of the magazine and why. Please also include your full name and mailing address. The pass winners will be announced and notified on November 1.

UPDATE: Congratulations to our winner Karen Bishop Wood of Hollywood, MD! Her entry was chosen at random from among the submitted entries.

Planting more greens

I rescued some transplants from my local Ace hardware store yesterday, and planted them today, in newly cleared beds, free of green beans at last.

The transplants were rainbow Swiss chard (looking OK), some very nice looking Pac Choi (which will be taken out by the first hard frost, but I'll enjoy how attractive they are, in the meantime), and some Mizuna (ditto).

Maybe I'll even get a few sugar snap peas from the vines that are now tentatively climbing up the trellises -- it's all about whether the mild weather holds for a while through next week and early November!

It's totally nuts (from a gardening perspective), but we live in changing times (in terms of climate) as well as many other things...

Fenton Friday: Closing out the Season

While this week has been mercifully mild, it is coming to the end of the official growing season and we are to have our individual plots cleared out and cleaned up by November 1. We can still continue to grow crops through the winter, if we wish, but many do not at my garden. A few have set up row covers, but mostly as I walked around today, I saw emptied-out beds and a few with freshly sown cover crops.

I have been working this week to pull out the last of the tomato vines and annual flowers (pictured below). My green beans are still producing well, so I'm leaving them up until the last possible second.

Over-wintering in my plot are:
- Calendula (pictured at top)
- Asparagus
- Strawberries
- Garlic
- Chives
- Arugula
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Broccoli
- Parsley




This will be my last Fenton Friday report for 2015. Check back in around mid-March 2016, when I plan to kick off the new growing season -- weather-dependent, of course.

 How is your edible garden growing this week?

About Fenton Friday:
Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 4th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) 

ADVERTISER OF THE WEEK: Love & Carrots

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They design, install, and maintain organically grown vegetable gardens, transforming backyards and rooftops into fresh, organic banquets. Veggies are just a part of what they do – Love and Carrots also works with native plants, chicken coops, and rain gardens.

See:  http://loveandcarrots.com/

Every Thursday on the Washington Gardener Magazine blog, we feature a current advertiser from our quarterly print magazine or monthly online enewsletter. To advertise with us, contact wgardenermag@aol.com today.

Being at home and in the garden

After a wonderful trip to Ireland, it's good to be home in the Southern Appalachians.

Tall trees, green hills, and the start of vibrant fall color, late this year, I think.

We've just about finished the last of the green beans after returning home (darn, I hoped the freeze/frost last weekend would have finished them off, but they've actually been quite good, developing slowly over the weeks we were gone, especially the broad Romano and Cranberry beans, not to mention the Emerite and Kentucky Wonders). Now it's on to the last of the lettuce, before harvesting mustards, etc.  We might even get a sugar snap pea or two if the weather holds.

I'm thinking I might put in some very late transplants from the local hardware store (just for fun), as well as sowing some more greens. Might as well take advantage of the increasingly warm climate, I suppose...

Video Wednesday: Orchid Potting

Carol Allen of Behnke Nurseries demonstrates how to re-pot or pot-up an orchid.

Coming down Healy Pass

My gardening companion took this photo (with my iPhone) coming down Healy Pass on the Beara Peninsula, on his way back to meet me after my writer's retreat.

Coming down Healy Pass

We looped back through the pass again on our way back, through the Dingle Peninsula, and then back to Shannon and home.

Here at home, there's fall color, still lots of leaves left on trees, and final green beans to harvest. But that waits for another post.

The western Atlantic coast of Ireland we visited, and especially the southwestern coast and peninsulas where we spent the most time, were magical.  

Washington Gardener Magazine ~ October 2015 issue ~ Growing Cauliflower, Overwinter Geraniums, Bulb and Perennial Combinations, and much more

The October 2015 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine is now out and posted online at:

http://issuu.com/washingtongardener/docs/washingtongardeneroctober15/1

This issue includes:~ Cauliflower: Growing Tips for Our Region
~ Large Flowered Bellwort: A Pure Gold Native
~ Your Garden Tasks To-Do List for October-November
~ Fall is for Planting: Giving Your Plants a Healthy Start
~ Local Garden Events Calendar for DC-MD-VA
~ How to Overwinter Geraniums
~ Combating Rhododendron Borer
~ Meet the New Director of the U.S. National Arboretum
~ Best Tested Bulb and Perennial Combinations
~ and much more...

Note that any submissions, event listings, and advertisements for the November 2015 issue are due by November 10.

Subscribe to Washington Gardener Magazine today to have the monthly publication sent to your inbox as a PDF several days before it is available online. You can use the PayPal (credit card) online order form here: http://www.washingtongardener.com/index_files/subscribe.htm

Fenton Friday: Arugula Seedlings Up

The Arugula seeds we planted are all coming up now. I tasted one tiny seedling and it was very nice. I will give it another week or so until thinning them to take more for eating.


Our big community garden clean-up session is tomorrow and I hope to get most of my plot cleared up -- especially the tomato vines are we are due to be hit by a frost/freeze this weekend.


Our cistern is also closing up for the season this week, so in order to have any nearby water for my cool-season edibles, I will be bring in over 20+ kitty litter containers that I have saved up for this purpose. We will drain the cistern into them and line them up for communal use,



 How is your edible garden growing this week?

About Fenton Friday:
Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 4th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) 

A last Beara dusk

It may not be the last time I come here, but walking the high road back for dinner, for a final evening session, it was still magical in a dull light.