ADVERTISER OF THE WEEK: Behnke Nurseries

Behnke Nurseries today reflects the same old-fashioned principles set by our founders. We offer the widest practical selection of top quality plants, with knowledgeable staff to assist in plant choices and educate in plant care.

Behnke Nurseries now enjoys nationwide recognition as Washington’s premiere plant and garden center. Here you will find all kinds of great articles and tips on a wide variety of plants and products from our staff of seasoned horticulturists.

See: http://behnkes.com/website/

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.

Thyme to Grow Your Own Herbs! Class

Basil 'Genovese'

Join me for a summer afternoon talking about growing herbs -- no gardening experience required!

Register now at the link below - spaces are limited.

The class is this Sunday afternoon (7/3) at 2pm near downtown Silver Spring, MD.

Sign up at -
 http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2569943

>>Thyme to Grow Your Own Herbs!

You don't need to cultivate an entire backyard plot to grow enough herbs to use in meals; a simple container on a deck or patio can provide herbs all season, as you need them. This class provides you with the information you need to grow herbs in a container garden or in a small garden bed.

You'll discover which herbs are best started from seeds and which are best bought as seedlings. Youll also get tips on different sources for herbs and how to care for them.

Attendees will sample, smell, and taste a variety of herbs.

Instructor:
Kathy Jentz is editor and publisher of Washington Gardener Magazine. A life-long gardener, Kathy believes that growing plants should be stress-free and enjoyable, and her philosophy is inspiration over perspiration. She is currently the Green Media columnist for the Mid-Atlantic Grower. Kathy's work has been featured in numerous publications, including the Washington Examiner, Pathways Magazine, and Washington Women magazine. In addition, she appears on regular gardening guest spots on Channel 9, Channel 4, and WAMU radio in D.C.

Video Wednesday: Golden Streets of DC

The best street plantings in the downtown DC Golden Triangle District were selected this past week by a panel of judges including Washington Gardener Magazine, Smithsonian Gardens, and Ahmed Hassan: Celebrity Landscaper. Here is a video glimpse into the judging process.

The 2016  Winners are:
Fan Favorite - “Stars and Stripes Forever” at 1801 K Street NW.
Best in Design -  "Island in the Sun" at 1901 L Street NW
Sustainability Award - "Pollinators' Paradise" at 1200 19th Street NW

More photos are posted at:
https://www.facebook.com/145383542145752/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1365119740172120

Flowers for hospice

My garden club met last weekend to put together flower arrangements for a local hospice, for a memorial dedication the next day.

Everyone gathers up flowers from their gardens (or a local market), and we mix and match.  One of our members solicited vases from a neighborhood list-serve, so we had plenty of lovely vases.

A simple hour of time was rewarding.

arrangements for a local hospice

The note we received back from a hospice staff member was snuffle-producing.  Simple for us, lovely for the families and patients.

Fun Flower Arranging Class on Sunday July 10 at On The Purple Couch

Learn to "Arrange Flowers with Ease" on Sunday, July 10 from 1-3pm. Join us and learn hands-on how to put together a charming flower arrangement using the bounty of your own garden or sourcing from a florist. The class will go over Flower Arranging 101 — we will discuss the basics such as container selection, how to get flowers to last longer, design techniques, stretching your flower budget, and much more.

Then, we will cover the Hand-Tied method of flower arranging and you will get to make an arrangement of your own to take home in a rustic tin can or jam jar. We will paint the can/jar container with Annie Sloan chalk paint as part of the class.

  No prior florist skills or experience required! Bring your friends and family for a fun afternoon.

 The class is hosted at On The Purple Couch in Kensington, MD.
(Note that they moved recently to 10513 Metropolitan Avenue.)

   Register at http://www.onthepurplecouch.com/event/flower-arranging-washington-gardener-otpc/
 

Where the Wildflowers Grow

Drifts of beautiful, blue Flax [Linum] greeted us along our pathway.

Have trailer, will travel! It's my mantra for this summer. Horse trailer, that is.

Wild Geraniums dot the meadow. The majority are white and pale pink. But, 

I love the sassy fuchsia ones best of all.

Sonny, Sable, Jack & Katie  ~ those are horses ~ have been taking Janet, Beth, Bob & I ~ we're the humans ~ on some spectacular wildflower rides.

It's called 'bushwacking' ~ when we ride beyond the hiking trails, meandering through the wilderness in search of rare flowers and picnic spots.

How are you with your pets?

Are you strict, firm? Lenient, caring?

I suppose there is no right answer to that question.

Sometimes it depends on the animal. For instance, my 9 month old puppy is huge, now, (50 pounds!) and hell on wheels.

I'm tough on him because I'm mortified when he jumps on someone and knocks them down.

My other pet, horse Sable, is 1000+ pounds. But, I'm a whole lot nicer to her. Because she's well-behaved.

Here's me being all tough and stuff with my horse, Sable. 

I can't stand people who are cruel to animals.  And, I meet a lot of 'horse people' who behave that way.

They feel they need to be harsh with their horses in order "to show them who's boss." I have a hard time dealing with that sort of stuff.

Discovered a field of Splitleaf Paintbrush along the trail. And, no! 

I'm not gonna tell you where it is. :) That's our little secret...

So, anyhoo... I made the foolish mistake of joining Backcountry Horsemen.

That's why my head is filled with horses and wildflowers instead of pesky weeds and not so neatly tended gardens.

Up close and personal ~ with a Penstemon.

Our first group ride was long and steep, horribly rocky and pretty much a misery all day long.

Behold! A Shooting Star! First time I've ever seen one in the wild...

Me, being the loudmouth of the group, I kept harping on our 'leaders' to stop and allow the horses to take a rest.

They were exhausted and who could blame them? It was a relentless uphill climb that went on for hours.

These last few Wildflowers are called: I don't know.

It's different up here, in the mountains.

We don't have gently rolling hills. You're climbing or descending, all day long. If you love your horse, you give them a break.

Why wouldn't you want to linger? When you're surrounded by such beauty...

Finally! Our fearless leader listened and gave us a brief rest.

"Let's get a move on," barks the Jackass, 5 minutes later. To be clear, there were no donkeys on this ride. That's my new pet name for the jerk of a horseman leading our group.

A short time later, his horse collapsed. The Jackass was injured. Nicer riders than me hopped off their horses to help him. Worried about the man while I was worrying about the horse.

Oh, my gosh!!! I didn't want to help him. I wanted to rescue his unhappy horse and leave him in the wilderness to fend for himself. Serves him right! I was so furious!

Fortunately, for me, I have friends who are the voice of reason. Handling things ever so politely.

Standing between me and the Jackass and telling me to shut up.

And, I did! Or, at least I quieted down to a whisper. One only the Jackass could hear.

"I hope that arm of yours is broken," I whispered to him as we trotted on by.

May the bridges I burn light the way... 

- Kate


* A Jackass is a male donkey. Males are Jacks and females are Jennys. But, of course, Jackass is used to describe a few other types of males, as well.


Follow @Kate_HAGardens

Fenton Friday: Small-ish Garlic Harvest

Garlic cleaned and ready to be cured

This week at the community garden plot started off hot and dry and then the rains came and it cooled off for a bit -- now it is in our usual hot, humid, and pop-up storm pattern.

The garlic foliage was browning so the interns and I dug it up. The bulbs are about half the size of last year's crop -- nothing to brag about, but not awful. Thy are hanging now in my sunroom to cure for a couple weeks.

Intern John's watermelon seeds did not really germinate, so we put in sweet potato slips in that spot instead. Intern Jacqueline's cucumber seedlings are doing just fine and we thinned them back to the strongest two.

I also planted 3 each -- Nicotiana seedlings, 'Genovese' Basil, and 'Black Pearl' Ornamental Peppers. About half of my cut-flower seeds have not germinated so I may go in and re-space out some of the flower seedlings that did come up and add a few new seeds.

The strawberry crop has ended and the peas have petered out. I'll pull the latter's vines this week and put in green beans and some 'Baby Boo' pumpkin seeds.

Has 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 5th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.)

ADVERTISER OF THE WEEK: University of Maryland Extension Home & Garden Information Center

The Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) is a state-wide program that provides outreach education to Maryland residents and beyond.

HGIC has been a national model for outreach education since 1990. Their success is the result of inter-disciplinary programming and multiple learning/teaching modes. Their educators develop web resources and are engaged in social media, direct client consultations via email and phone, classroom instruction, hands-on training, and demonstration projects.

From their website you can access:

• Earth-friendly, research-based gardening information and education: extension.umd.edu/hgic
• Certified Professional Horticulturists who will answer your garden, plant ID, and pest questions. To send your questions and upload images, click on "Ask Maryland's Gardening Experts." 
  
• The Maryland Master Gardener program
• The Grow It Eat It program

See: http://extension.umd.edu/hgic

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

Video Wednesday: Joseph Tychonievich Gives Plant Breeding Talk to Silver Spring Garden Club

Joseph Tychonievich , is a life-long gardener and lover of plants. Joseph earned his BS in horticulture from Ohio State University, went on to work for Shibamichi Honten Nursery in Saitama, Japan, has been a repeated guest on public radio’s food show “The Splendid Table,” wrote a book, Plant Breeding for the Home Gardener (Timber Press, 2013), spent two years working at the famed rare plants nursery Arrowhead Alpines, and was named by Organic Gardening Magazine as one of “...six young horticulturists who are helping to shape how America gardens.”

Plant Breeding, the art of creating your very own new varieties of plants, may sound complex and technical, but it isn’t. People have been breeding plants since agriculture began, and you can easily create your own new plants in your backyard. In this talk, you’ll learn the simple principles and techniques that will allow you to start creating a perfectly delicious tomato, columbines in JUST the right shade of purple, technicolored corn, or whatever else you can dream up.

Wildflower Wednesday: Spiderwort

For this month's Wildflower Wednesday post, I am sharing a humble and lovely plant -- Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana). I first came across this flower 15 years ago at a neighborhood yard sale, where they had self-sown all along the driveway. The neighbor was selling plants from her garden for a few bucks each so I asked for a piece of this plant and brought it home to plant along a newly laid-out garden bed in fairly dry, part-shade.


Since this it has reliably returned and self-seeded along the path here-and-there, but is not aggressive and never need any care. I mean literally ZERO care. I never cut it back, water it, fertilize it, weed it nada, nothing. It has no serious insect or disease problems plus a long blooming period. Occasionally, a stem falls over into the pathway. I simple step on it and keep going -- it is that resilient.

If you are looking for a native wildflower to plant that is truly no-maintenance, Spiderwort is a great choice.

Wildflower Wednesday is about sharing wildflowers from all over the world. It was started by Gail Eichelberger on her "Clay and Limestone" blog. It is always on the fourth Wednesday of the month.

Gardening for pollinators

It's National Pollinator Week, and in Asheville, the Pollination Celebration for 2016 is in full swing.

I participated in an excellent pollinator walk this morning with Heather Holm at BGA (Botanical Gardens at Asheville), and heard her speak about native bees and other pollinators this evening. Wonderful photographs and information!

I'm looking forward to reading her book, too, which she's obviously spend a LOT of time producing; it promises to provide some info that will be helpful for encouraging folks to plant more pollinator-friendly plants.

I'll be doing what's become a habit for me during Pollinator Week (doing a Native Plants for Pollinators program on Saturday at BGA, a wonderful native plant garden here).  My approach is primarily plant-focused, with a bit about pollinator habitats and ecology, so it was fun to hear more details about native pollinators from an insect-based perspective.

Win a Copy of the Idiot’s Guides: Foraging

For our June 2016 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest, Washington Gardener is giving away two copies of the Idiot’s Guides: Foraging (a $22 value).  To enter to win one of the copies of the book, send an email to WashingtonGardener@rcn.com by 5pm on Thursday, June 30, with “Foraging” in the subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us which was your favorite article in the June 2016 issue of Washington Gardener and why. Please also include your full name and mailing address. The book winners will be announced here and notified on July 1.


UPDATE:
Congratulations to our two book winners! They are:

~ Madeline Caliendo, Washington, DC 

~ Faith Hood, Falls Church, VA

June 2016 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine - Herbaceous Peonies, Okra, Native Clintonia, and much more...

The June 2016 issue ofWashington Gardener Magazine is now out.

You can view it online at: 

http://issuu.com/washingtongardener/docs/washingtongardenerjune2016

Inside this issue:

• Herbaceous Peonies: You Can Grow That!
• How to Grow Okra
• Your Monthly Garden Tasks To-do List
• Schwartz Peony Gardens at Seneca Creek State Park
• Gain More “Legroom” in the Garden
• Local Gardening Events Calendar
• Learn all about the Lily Leaf Beetle
• At Home with the Clintons (Native Clintonia)
• Future Plans for the Smithsonian Gardens
• New Photo Feature:  Local Pets in Gardens
• And much more!

Note that any submissions, event listings, and advertisements for the July 2016 issue are due by July 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

More vole (presumably) woes

I transplanted a small eggplant that had been shaded out in my front raised bed, and perhaps out-competed, too, by the vigorous sugar snap peas vines nearby, to a slice of garden that's between us and the apartment next door.

It's a space that's only good for vegetables in summer, as it's shaded in winter and in the shoulder seasons, by our house and the apartment.  But I've grown beans there, productively, and the chard looks good at the moment. 

Eggplant that succumbed to voles (I think)

Now, the bean seedlings have been nipped by an opossum, and other veggies have been marauded by voles, so I shouldn't have been surprised when the eggplant transplant started wilting.

Chewed stem

Its roots had been consumed!  And check out the chew marks on the lower stem...

Sunset, enhanced by sycamores

A local non-profit, Asheville GreenWorks, has been planting trees around Asheville for more than 25 years.

These sycamores, planted some years ago, soften the otherwise harsh landscape outside of a popular brewery (The Wedge), down in the River Arts District,

Sunset was lovely last night, but I most appreciated the sycamores!

Sycamores and sunset

Fenton Friday: Baby Veg

cherry tomato

This week in my community garden plot, I continued to pick a few handfuls of snap peas and strawberries. I put in some new bark chips for the pathways and continue to battle the nastiest of weeds -- Canada thistle!

The tomatoes, peppers, and okra are flowering and forming tiny fruits -- promises of good things to come.

The cut-flower seeds I planted are coming in very sporadically, I will give them another week and may re-plant some sections.

Meanwhile, the cucumber and watermelon seeds the interns planted last week are already making their appearances.

red okra

A fellow community gardener gave me some sweet potato slips so I will clear a space for them next.

How is your edible garden growing this week?

cucumber seedlngs

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 5th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.)

Woody enjoying a rest

Woody, whose role in life is to make people happy (when they look at him), looped through downtown Asheville with me this evening.

He worked his usual magic, but initially scoffed at the Farm Burger's warm water in the dog bowl. 

I asked some young girls who were admiring him, along with their mom, if they'd like to get Woody some fresh water.  He then decided it was drinkable and plopped down for a short rest.

Woody enjoying the halfway spot in our loop downtown.

Thanks, Farm Burger for providing water for dogs!

ADVERTISER OF THE WEEK: Plant a Row for the Hungry

Plant a Row for the Hungry is People Helping People Since 1995, over 20 million pounds of produce providing over 80 million meals have been donated by American gardeners. All of this has been achieved without government subsidy or bureaucratic red tape -- just people helping people.

Plant A Row is a public service program of the Garden Writers Association and the GWA Foundation. Garden writers are asked to encourage their readers/listeners to plant an extra row of produce each year and donate their surplus to local food banks, soup kitchens and service organizations to help feed America’s hungry.

There are over 84 million households with a yard or garden in the U.S. If every gardener plants one extra row of vegetables and donates their surplus to local food agencies and soup kitchens, a significant impact can be made on reducing hunger.

Support Plant A Row and help make a difference in your community.

PAR Hotline 1-877-492-2727 or go to  http://www.gardenwriters.org/GWA-Foundation-Projects-Plant-a-Row-for-the-Hungry-Start-a-PAR-Campaign

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.

Sharing extra produce

A friend and I harvested ~ 20 lbs of chard and collards for the Kitchen Ready's Southside Kitchen today, from the Southside Community Garden, and then continued with another 20 lbs or so of chard, collards, and kale, that I took to the YMCA's Healthy Living food pantry for distribution this afternoon.

one of the boxes from last week's harvest (~ 10 lbs)

Another volunteer took ~ 30 heads of butter lettuce to the BeLoved Shelter, just one of the many organizations who serve meals and provide shelter to folks who need it here in Asheville.

Volunteers have created a productive garden here, with the support of the Housing Authority of Asheville and Green Opportunities, a local non-profit.

It's great to see abundant harvests going to good places.

Blazing Glory

GLOBE MALLOW

I suppose it is a bit too late to be yapping about Memorial Weekend...

MORE GLOBE MALLOW

Seeing as how it's mid-June :)

ARE YOU SPOTTING A TREND, HERE? :)

Such is the life of a bizzy gardening gal.

A bizzy, out of shape, gardening gal... who limps into the house at the end of a long day. Far more interested in a well-deserved glass of Pinot Noir than a blogging session.

Waging war on weeds is hard work!

Waging war on ants is painful work.

First up-turned rock in the garden and a swarm of ants came racing up my arms. (Biters.)

I was soooo disappointed with that. I thought I had successfully bumped off the queen. By watering their holes incessantly. Dousing them with baking soda and vinegar. Which created a mini-volcano and nobody warned me about one.. Cayenne pepper. You name it; I've tried it... And, failed.

But, they're back. A gigantic colony, as annoying as ever. Now, I'm resorting to dish soap. (Fingers crossed this works.)

Back to Memorial Day.

Which is still worth yapping about.

Our vintage camper.

Our plentiful rains have created an astonishing show in Utah's West Desert. We took the Wee House (aka vintage camper) out there for the weekend.

While driving to our camping spot, I saw a gigantic field of brilliant orange, slowed down...

Exclaiming... what in the world?? Turns out it is Globe Mallow. More plentiful than I have ever seen.


Outrageously Orange:
Are you in love? Me, too!

* Globe Mallow is a very well-behaved wildflower / perennial that grows nicely in your garden. Munro's Globe Mallow (Sphaeralcea) is super waterwise, and stunningly beautiful.

Follow @Kate_HAGardens

Bring on the Butterflies for Bloom Day!

Butterfly Weed

It is Garden Blogger's Bloom Day again! On the 15th of each month, we gardeners with blogs share a few bloom photos from our gardens. Here is the Mid-Atlantic USA (USDA zone 7) on the DC-MD border, we had lots of rain this spring - interrupted by two long bouts of dry, heat that stressed out my garden. We got a bit of rain today after the latest week of desert-like winds, so I'm feeling some relief.

Yesterday, I found this Butterfly Weed (pictured above) finally blooming in the hell-strip pollinator garden I planted last year. The area needs a bit of attention and TLC, but this IS a weed so it fought its way through and I hope will soon be munched on by some Monarch caterpillars.

This Gladiola (pictured below) is an odd one. I think I planted it from a purple mix I bought, but cannot recall for sure. Can anyone ID it? It looks very different in low-light and much more purple in person. This photo was the best direct lighting I could give it to show the striping in the throat.

Gladiola - name?

What is blooming in your garden today?

Video Wednesday: 9th Annual DC Plant Swap

Here is a short vidseo of the recent 9th Annual DC Plant Swap Details hosted by Washington Gardener Magazine at the US National Arboretum in Washington, DC. Make plans to join us for the next one in early June 2017!

Seven Fab Reasons To Love Bearded Iris

 1) Those fabulous, fabulous ruffles.

 2) The crazy-ass colors!

 3) They're as close to an outdoor Orchid as this mountain gardener has ever found.

 4) They are unbelievably waterwise.

 5) They divide, and produce more Bearded Iris every year. {Gotta love that!}

 6) They come in every color of the rainbow.

 

 7) They bloom earlier than most of my mountain perennials.

Did I say seven? Actually, it's eight. I forgot to mention how gorgeous they are!

Follow @Kate_HAGardens

Beet greens

I've been amazed by the productivity of the traditional market garden approach, taken by the community gardens that I'm associated with.  Yikes!  Who's going to harvest all of this? My friend and fellow volunteer and I are only over there (at this point) two times a week.

Half of the Southside Community Garden

Geez, I thought my raised beds were productive enough, and they are.

This is what I harvested this evening to cook.  Way more than enough for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow, not to mention extras for dinner, too.

Beet greens and chard: today's harvest

I've frozen so many cooked greens already, along with foraged service berries, I'd better keep room for the tomatoes yet to come.