June 2017 in the Organic Vegetable Garden
Potomac Overlook Regional Park, Arlington, VA By Nancy Dowling, Certified Master Gardener Walking into the Organic Vegetable Garden (OVG) in early June after having been gone for nearly a month, …
MG in the Garden
Lessons from the Garden
Judy Funderburk, Emeritus Coordinator of the Glencarlyn Library Community Garden, shared her wisdom at the MGNV Membership Meeting, on June 21, 2017. For those who could not attend and those who want to ponder her words again, here is the transcript of her talk.
Sunny Garden Leaves No Stones Unturned
by Joe Kelly, Certified Master Gardener Although we’ll never stop adding new plants and moving others, the Sunny Garden’s multi-year renovation is finally coming to a close. Right now, the …
Five Annuals for a Pollinator Garden
Pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds gravitate to gardens that bloom throughout the growing season and that contain an abundance of the same plant species as well as a diversity of species of like colors arranged together. Annuals, with their extended bloom period, ensure a continual nectar source for pollinators when perennials have yet to flower or are in decline.
Five Things You Didn’t Know About . . . Annuals
Unlike perennials, which live for more than two years, annual plants sprout, bloom, produce seeds, and die in a single growing season. If the garden was a stage, perennials would be the leads and annuals would be supporting performers.
Hellebores – A Gardener’s Comfort
By Dina Lehmann-Kim, Extension Master Gardener Avid gardeners spend the winter months gazing through plant catalogs, planning for changes and new additions to their gardens while eagerly awaiting the first …
Organic Fertilizers: Giving a Jump Start to New Plantings
Most of the soil test results we receive at the VCE Horticultural Help Desk for vegetable gardens are high in phosphorus and potassium leaving nitrogen as the nutrient needed most. However, many of our organic fertilizers contain similar amounts of all three nutrients. So, what can we use that provides more nitrogen than phosphorus and potassium?
Five Things You Didn’t Know About . . . Bonsai
In honor of World Bonsai Day on May 12, we looked into the history and art of bonsai. You may know the proper pronunciation is “bones-eye” or “bone-sigh,” but did you know the Japanese weren’t the first to practice the art or that a gardener of tiny bonsai plants might need a crowbar?
Regional Gardens: The National Garden
Text and Photographs by Elaine Mills, Certified Master Gardener Last October marked the 10th anniversary of the National Garden, the three-acre outdoor garden adjacent to the conservatory of the U. …
Notes from the Organic Vegetable Garden
By Master Gardener Nancy Dowling Satisfaction to this gardener is coming back to the Organic Vegetable Garden in March after a 4-month break and seeing beds filled with green foliage. We …
Five Things You Didn’t Know About . . . Paula Kaufman, Master Gardener Coordinator, Virginia Cooperative Extension-Arlington-Alexandria
Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia extend sincere thanks and wish happy trails to Paula, who resigned Feb. 27 after serving for MG Coordinator for nearly two years. Her last day …
‘Tis the Season — A Meditation on Wonder
Fall and winter in the Glencarlyn Library Garden - 2016
Fall Colors in the Shade Garden
by Dina Lehmann-Kim, Master Gardener Fall on the East Coast usually conjures up the colors associated with the incredible display of the season’s changing leaves— brilliant oranges, fiery reds, and …
WHAT’S HOPPIN’ In The Glencarlyn Library Demonstration Garden
Learn about the Golden Hops vine at the Glencarlyn Library Garden
August Notes from the Organic Vegetable Garden, in Potomac Overlook Regional Park
by Master Gardener Nancy Dowling Enough already, the tomatoes seem to be screaming. It’s too hot; you expect too much from me. And I agree. It is too hot to put …
High Summer at Simpson Gardens
We’ve survived a long siege of fairly relentless heat this summer as July brought day after day of 90-degrees and higher, with humidity also pushing the limits. Some plants love the heat and are thriving, while others have passed the flowering bursts of spring and early summer and started setting seed or gone dormant.
For Your Pollinator Garden
Do you want to create or add to a pollinator garden? Do you look at lists of plants that claim to be superior at attracting pollinators, then wonder which ones really perform best?
If you wish to target bees, then consider native Monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot).
The Shade Garden Showcases Ferns
by Dina Lehmann-Kim, Master Gardener While the Shade Garden at Bon Air Park is host to a wide variety of plants, the stars this month are the ferns. Ferns thrive …
From the Organic Vegetable Demonstration Garden, July 2016
By Master Gardener Nancy Dowling If you enjoy growing vegetables, it’s probably due to the months of July and August – months when your garden starts to give back way …
The Demonstration Gardens at Simpson Park
By Master Gardener Christa Watters for the Simpson Crew May at Simpson is usually one of the most beautiful, flower-rich months, but with all the rain, things have been a …
May @ the Organic Vegetable Garden (OVG)
At Potomac Overlook Regional Park By Nancy Dowling, Master Gardener Please excuse me while I empty the water out of my Wellies! Geez. After 18 straight days of rain, it’s …
May at the Glencarlyn Library Demonstration Garden – 2016
Glencarlyn Library Garden happenings in May 2016
Sunny Garden Kicks Off the Season
What’s with all the Weeds? By Joe Kelly, Master Gardener Where did all those weeds come from? Yes, the overabundance of weeds has been our greatest challenge so far this …
Shade Garden News
by Dina Lehmann-Kim, Master Gardener When the Shade Garden held its work party April 16 to pot up plants for the Master Gardeners (MG) of Northern Virginia’s annual plant sale …