Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia

Over 40 Years of Growing Gardens and Gardeners

Phlox Subulata (moss pink) in landscape. Photo © Elaine Mills

MG in the Garden

2018: Year of the Bird

2018 is the Year of the Bird.
Migratory birds play a critical role in our ecosystems. They pollinate plants, disperse seeds, and eat insects, acting as a natural control of garden and agricultural pests and rodents. In order to protect migratory birds, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA)1 was implemented 100 years ago today on July 3, 1918. It has been amended several times since its inception.

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Unusual ‘Accents’ in the Shade Garden

The Shade Garden at Bon Air Park in Arlington is one of the smallest of the demonstration gardens maintained by the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia. Located off Wilson Boulevard at 850 N. Lexington St., the garden hosts nearly 100 different plant varieties, a few of which may be unfamiliar, if not unusual, to visitors. Learn about three of the unusual plants in the garden.

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Giant hogweed

This article by Jennifer Gagnon from Va Tech describes how to deal with the dangerous invasive, Heracleum mantegazzianum (Giant Hogweed), recently discovered in Virginia.

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Spring Beauty or Beast?

When spring finally arrived in the DC metro area, a rather showy groundcover had already made its presence known – lesser celandine or Ranunculus ficaria.
Despite its visual appeal, this groundcover is highly invasive.

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Five Things You Didn’t Know About . . . The History of Master Gardeners

In 1971, before Master Gardeners were even a gleam in anyone’s eye, Washington State University assigned two extension agents to the Seattle and Tacoma metro areas. Their job: to help the public with their urban and commercial horticulture questions. And did they get questions! The overworked agents put on radio and TV gardening shows, but that only drew more people to the Extension offices. The agents brainstormed how to handle the crowds. How about recruiting and training volunteers to help backyard gardeners?

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Grasses vs. Sedges

Grasses and sedges are both classified as monocots. These are plants whose seeds have one cotyledon (the part that will grow into embryonic leaves), and which possess flower parts in multiples of three, leaves with parallel veins, and scattered vascular bundles.  While they resemble each other superficially, grasses are members of the Poaceae family and sedges belong to the Cyperaceae family.

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Edible Flowers in the Vegetable Garden

When I plan a vegetable plot, I always include flowers. You might think that this would take needed space from the vegetables, but I argue that the flowers will pay you back handsomely. For one thing, they attract pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects during the growing period. Also, many flowers are edible, so one could argue that they earn their keep twice over. . . .

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Chocolate Mint and Fennel

This is the first in an occasional series of short articles on herbal additions to food and drink. Each featured herb  is grown in the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden at the Glencarlyn Branch Library in Arlington County, Virginia, and used to make food or drink to be served as “tastes” at our annual AutumnFest celebration in September.

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Encounters with America’s First Gardeners

The First Nations Development Institute, a Denver-based non-profit, conducted the tour, which focused on native agriculture, community gardening projects and food sovereignty–the right of people to healthy, culturally appropriate, sustainably produced food. Across Indian Country, and with the support of groups like First Nations, a revival of agriculture and community gardening is taking place.

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