Fenton Friday: Flowers Galore!

I've been writing a blog post every Friday during the growing season about my garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden, and mast all of those have been focused on the edibles there. And, in truth, that is what I got the plot for -- full sun and a fully fenced area -- to be able to have a wide range of vegetables.

At my home garden (diagonally across the street from the community garden), I do have areas of full sun, but unfortunately those are on a public corner and when I had luck growing edibles there in the past they were inevitably stolen (whole watermelon!) or damaged by pests (who knew squirrels loved tomatoes?).

The plot, though, is not exclusively edibles, some ornamentals have crept in, just as a few edibles remain mixed in at my home garden and that is the way I like things -- a bit of a this and that and nothing too overly tidy.

Pictured here are several buckets of flowers I collected from my home garden and the Fenton plot to bring to a Flower Arranging Class I gave this week at a local apartment complex. From the garden plot come the zinnias, cosmos, and many kinds of herbs (which you can't really see in this angle). I'm a big believer in using fresh herbs in flower bouquets instead of sterile, greenhouse-grown florist greens. They make great filler and smell wonderful too!

What non-edibles are you growing in your garden plot?

Video Wednesday: Okra Growing Basics

 

A short video from our vault: Okra growing basics. Yes, you can grow that! Kathy Jentz, Editor of Washington Gardener Magazine, the publication for DC/MD/VA gardeners, shares her tips for growing and enjoying okra.

Open Garden: Parade of Ponds Tour

Our Washington Gardener Magazine Open Garden is back by popular demand!

You are Invited to our Open Garden, which is also a stop on this year's Parade of Ponds benefit water garden tour!

Saturday, July 27 from 3-5pm

Hosted by Washington Gardener Magazine

☼ Come by with your gardening questions

☼ See our trial gardens in progress and the newly renovated water garden

☼ Pet our garden kitty, Santino

☼ Renew or subscribe to the Washington Gardener Magazine in person

☼ Purchase gift subscriptions to Washington Gardener Magazine

☼ Pluck a weed or two as a keepsake souvenir

☼ Single copies of  Washington Gardener Magazine back issues and current issue are also for sale

☼ Pick up a free pack of seeds with any purchase

☼ Take photos of whatever is in bloom for our upcoming Photo Contest

☼ Enjoy light refreshments and cold drinks


☼ Make a donation to Shepherd's Table

☼ Children’s activities include Ping-Pong Throw, Sidewalk Chalk, Bubbles, and a Fairie Garden

☼ Peruse the information table on various area garden events and groups

☼ Surprises and Prizes

☼ Dress in your tropical best (think pink flamingos, palm trees, big floppy sunhats, etc.)

☼ At 5:00pm we will cross the street for a brief tour of the Fenton Street Community Garden

Come to 826 Philadelphia Ave. (Rt. 410), Silver Spring, MD - at the corner of Fenton - across from the Public Storage building. Please walk, bike, bus, metro, or car-pool. We are a 10-15 minute walk from either the Silver Spring and Takoma Park metro stops. Also, several Metro and Ride-On bus routes pass nearby. If driving, there is limited free parking available nearby on King Street and in nearby public garages/lots along Fenton.

The Open Garden is shine or light rain. We’ll quickly duck in the gazebo, if it drizzles.
(In case of a big storm, the rain date is Sunday, July 28 same timing and other details.)

The event is free. Registration/reservations are not required.

Please pass this invite on to your DC-area gardening friends and family.

Fenton Friday: Summer Bounty Begins

The monsoon-like rains ended and the weather turned hot and sultry this weekl. The lettuce has turned bitter so I'm ripping most of it out and giving it away to those who don't mind bitter greens, but am leaving a couple plants to bolt and set seed so I can collect it for this fall and our winter Seed Exchanges.

I have been loving my purple bush bean harvests. Got two big waves and now is starting to end. I expect by next week that I will rip it out and the melon seedlings will be able to take over that space. I was disappointed to find that the beans turn green when cooked. I had read that in the descriptions, but somehow was still surprised when it happened.

The first tomatoes ripened this week as well. I have one plant each of 'Sun Gold' and 'Sun Sugar,' both are sweet, yellow cherry varieties. I get a couple a day to snack on, which is just my speed. Also, the "wild" self-sown currant tomato (which may be a 'Sweet 100' cousin) has started to ripen up and is a nice addition to my snacking-while-gardening menu.

The Nasturtium flowers are blooming and a few self-sown, hot pink Zinnias popped up. Together they are a pretty addition to the plot. I'm not that fond of the strong peppery taste of Nasturtiums, though I do like their looks as an edible garnish.

What is growing in your edible garden this week?

Support Your Local, Independent Garden Centers: You Can Grow That!

Today is Independence Day and it is also the 4th of the month, which is garden bloggers' "You Can Grow That!" day where we try to inspire you to get out and garden. For this month's theme, we were asked to extend ourselves and post on the theme of "independence."

I thought I'd tackle an issue near and dear to my heart -- that of supporting local and independent businesses -- particularly your local, independent garden centers (IGCs for short).

There are many reasons to BUY LOCAL at an IGC, from creating more local jobs to reducing your environmental impact to keeping your community unique and flourishing.




I'm not going to bad mouth the big box boys and their level of plant quality, but I will share one anecdote. Last fall, I bought two flats of the same variety of pansies -- one at the "HD" and the other at a family-owned IGC. I planted them at the same time, in the same conditions. The flat from HD just sat there all winter and just  slowly petered out. The one from the IGC settled in and then boom, it took off and is still going gang-busters for me almost nine months later!

Here is another reason to support local -- they care about our gardens! Here on the East Coast of the US, we were hit with a powdery mildew on our Impatiens. Most IGCs pledged not to stock them this year, but the big box boys continue to do so and are selling consumers plants doomed to die from the start and spread this disease on to others' gardens as well! Disregard for our local garden community like this is one reason I will be taking my hard-earned dollars elsewhere.

There are some terrific summer sales going on at IGCs near you. With our unusually cool, long, wet spring in the Mid-Atlantic, the planting season is still going strong and this weekend would be a terrific time to buy some perennials, trees, or shrubs at bargain prices. Fill in any bare spots with annuals and tropicals too. Get out and support garden INDEPENDENCE!

Garden Bloggers You Can Grow That! Day was started by C. L. Fornari of Whole Life Gardening because she believes “Gardening is one of the most life-affirming things we can do.…We need to thoroughly saturate people with the belief that plants and gardening are worth doing because of the benefits gained.” Garden bloggers who agree post about something worth growing on the fourth day of every month. Read this month’s You Can Grow That! posts.

Video Wednesday: Summer Succulent Gardens at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

I filmed and posted this video together in 2011 of the summer succulent gardens at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, VA. I was just there this past weekend and it is pretty much the same, but less filled-in due to all the recent rains. I'm sure by the end of July, it will be similar. Enjoy the video and stay dry!

Our Readers Tell Us Their Favorite Public Gardens

For our June 2013 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, we asked our readers to tell us: What is Your Favorite Public Garden to Visit and Why. Here are some of their responses. Is your favorite public garden among them?

Nancy Khan of Washington, DC, said, “My favorite public garden is the US National Arboretum. Mostly, I love that it's a huge green space right in the city where you can ride a bike, picnic, and just relax. As expected there are some magnificent trees scattered throughout the arboretum and I've gotten some great gardening ideas from their displays, particularly the Asian and Dwarf Conifer collections. The bonsai exhibit is amazing and it's fun to feed the koi in the aquatic garden.  It's definitely one of our DC highlights to visit with out-of-town guests.

Lynn Benich of Washington, DC,  commented, “I love the US Botanic Garden on the National Mall because it has all the different type of growing zones under one roof.  It is enjoyable to walk the path through the different areas especially. I love the orchid display and medicinal plant area. Outside, there is a large garden to walk thru with plants always growing and pleasant, calming water features and ponds. A true paradise.”

Jennifer Whalen of Silver Spring, MD, said, “My favorite public garden is Brookside Gardens. It’s close by and always has something of interest to see no matter the time of year. My son loves watching the turtles and fish in the pond. Plus the Christmaslights and butterfly show are fun additions.”

Catherine Jamieson of Arlington VA, wrote, “My favorite public garden is Fairchild TropicalBotanic Garden in Coral Gables, FL. I've visited it approximately 40 times (we are part-time Florida residents) and it's a breathtaking but at the same time peaceful, calming experience. The garden is so large that visitors often encounter very few other visitors. More importantly, Fairchild is dedicated to the conservation of tropical plants in South Florida, the Caribbean, oceanic islands, tropical Africa and Madagascar. The cycad garden preserves the oldest see-bearing plants in the world. The mission to preserve biodiversity is the driving force behind the garden.”

Anne Hardman of Silver Spring, MD commented, “My favorite public garden, other than Brookside Gardens is Chanticleer!  It was designed as a pleasure garden and has fantastic variety, rolling terrain with woods, streams and sweeping open spaces.”

Rachel Williams of Waynesboro, VA, said, “My favorite public garden is Diamond Falls in St. Lucia. I don't think we've visited a public garden here locally before, but would love to. It was our favorite because it was our first and now we'd like to see more!”

Anne Rullman submitted: “It is hard to say which is my favorite garden, since we are blessed with so many choices. I do enjoy Lewis Ginter and have even stopped on my way home from Raleigh from visiting my daughter, to stroll through the gardens. Longwood Gardens has to be right up there at the top, but I also really enjoy the US Botanic Gardens and the National Arboretum. Guess I just like gardens!”

Madeline Caliendo of Washington, DC, said, “I have three favorite public gardens:

1.  Chanticleer in PA--for its creative/innovative plantings

2.  Ladew in MD--for its intimacy and sense of whimsy in a beautiful setting

3.  Hillwood in DC--for its fabulous and peaceful gardens close to home.”

Debra Levay of Columbia, MD shared: “I absolutely love Ladew Topiary Gardensin Monkton, MD. The gardens are beautiful in all the various seasons from the earliest spring blooms to the autumn blossoms. I enjoy passing through the different "garden rooms"; each with its own ambiance, color and story. While it is old-fashioned with regard to the older plants and garden style, it is also timeless and magical with the topiaries and hidden surprises. It is always a relaxing and enjoyable day from the stroll through the gardens to the exploration of Harvey Ladew's home and, indeed, hearing the story of Harvey Ladew and how he created the gardens. If one can make it to any of the events, many of them musical, it just adds another dimension to the pleasures one can enjoy.”

So did your favorite public garden make the list? Let us know in the comments field below.

 

Congratulations to our reader contest winners, chosen at random from among the submitted entries, they are: Nancy Khan of Washington, DC; Catherine Jamieson of Arlington, VA, and Debra Levayof Columbia, MD. 

They each receive a pair of passes to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, VA. With something for all ages and interests, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is a place to learn about plants, to marvel at nature, to relax in a beautiful setting, to take gardening classes, or to have a wedding or a business meeting. A wide variety of experiences are offered through its diverse gardens and facilities. We hope they enjoy their visits to Lewis Ginter!