Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia
Over 40 Years of Growing Gardens and Gardeners
As you enjoy the spring blooms this May, start strategizing ways to keep mosquitoes and ticks at bay in your yard without the use of pesticides. Our May 20 class, "Controlling Mosquitoes and Ticks in Your Yard Without Pesticides, describes an integrated pest management approach based on an understanding of the life cycles of these insects.
Interested in growing your own vegetables, but no yard? No problem. Vegetables can be grown successfully in containers any place with enough sun -- on balconies, patios, driveways, rooftops, front porches, or indoors with sufficient or supplemental light. There are many books about vegetable container gardening. Two of the more recent are Tiny Victory Gardens: Growing food without a yard by Acadia Tucker with Emily Castle and How to Grow Your Own Food—An Illustrated Beginner’s Guide to Container Gardening by Angela S. Judd.
The Glencarlyn Library Community Garden coordinators have recently created a new series of short videos highlighting the beauty of native plants. We will be sharing these videos as well as additional resources on our website every month.
For many gardeners, reading about gardening and plants is the next best thing to working in their own garden or tending their containers or houseplants. If you are looking for a special book to give your favorite gardener this holiday season, consider one of the following Extension Master Gardener favorites.
The new trend toward hotter summers and warmer winters is necessarily changing the way we garden. While the DC metropolitan area has previously been designated as Zone 7 on the USDA’s Plant Hardiness Zone Map, our current lowest average temperature of 14 degrees now would place our region in Zone 8, which is presently located around Virginia Beach, a little over 200 miles further south.
If you are looking for planting strategies with the potential to improve the productivity of your vegetable garden, or if you have heard about “companion planting” and want to know what science supports, Plant Partners by Jessica Walliser is a good resource.
