Seed Exchanges 2014

Register NOW to Save Your Seed Exchange Spot

It's that time again! Washington Gardener Magazine's Seed Exchanges are coming up on Sat Jan 25 in Maryland and Sat Feb 1 in Virginia. I hope you can make one (or both) of those dates. We are limited to 100 attendees at each location so sign up soon to reserve your spot.

The full information and registration form is posted here:

http://issuu.com/washingtongardener/docs/seedex2014

Video Wednesday: Trains of Lewis Ginter's GardenFest of Lights

 
Season's Greetings! Enjoy this video of the trains at Lewis Ginter's GardenFest of Lights. Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens are located in Richmond, VA.

Favorite Flower Colors for DC-Area Gardeners

For our December 2013 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest, we asked readers to tell us: "What flower colors do you like best and least for planting in your garden?" Here are their responses:

"My favorite flower colors in the garden are burgundy/claret and pale green.  With some limited exceptions (daffodils, for example), I tend to avoid yellow."
~ Linette Lander, Takoma Park, MD

"What flower colors do I like best and least for planting in my garden? I am really surprised to discover after designing and redesigning over the last decade or two that my most-used color appears to be… pink. I was never a pink lover growing up; it was "girly" in a way I didn't want to be. But now, moving beyond sexism in gardening, I'm recognizing the strength of all the various pinks out there, from pale to bright, and how well they work with other colors, especially yellow, which is the second-most prominent color in my flowerbeds.

    I don't think I have a least favorite color - just whichever one doesn't work with everything else and I have too much of for some reason. I have discovered over the years that the flowers with the most vibrant, clash-prone colors are the ones that come back when they're not supposed to, like the 10-plus-years-old orange tulips growing in 8 inches of clay by my mailbox, or the chartreuse and magenta gladioli that someone gave me, that lived outside through two winters before succumbing. Flowers with strong personalities."

~ Erica H. Smith, Germantown, MD

"Best -  red and Least - lavender."
~ Wendy Bruno, Silver Spring, MD

"I like pink/purple/blue flowers the best and tend to stay away from orangey/bright yellow."

~ Katie Rapp, Gaithersburg, MD

"Least favorite - hot/neons in pink, purple, orange. also not crazy about some yellows and reds.

Most Favorite - layered textures & greens. also white and soft-med purples/blues."

~ Jennifer Gardiner, Washington, DC 

"Favorite color flowers are whites, particularly any white that is long-lasting.  This time of year, a Snow Flurries Sasanqua camellia is divine.  Resplendent double white flowers that blooms over and over again from October through February.

   Least favorite is harder to define.  Maybe pink, but only because it is sometimes over used and can seem a little jolting in the Spring."

~ Jeff Trunzo, Takoma Park, MD

"I love pinks and azaleas."

~ Lisa Titus, Leesburg, VA

"I want all colors in my garden beds, but always try to have as many orange flowers as possible. I less prefer white, but am learning to use it because it accents everything else really well!"

 ~ Alison Mrohs, Rockville MD

 

Congratulations! Each of the above entries received a vehicle pass to the Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens. Enjoy illuminated giant flowers, snowflakes, a rainbow and showers, and more. Walk along the easily accessible paths and you’ll see what sets this light show apart from others. This festive, secular light show, now in its 16th season, is a popular family tradition in the Washington, DC area drawing close to 40,000 visitors each winter.

Why did I think assume would be some consensus or trends amongst our responses? Each entrant's taste in flowers was unique. If anything can be extracted from among this varied group, I would say that overall cooler shades are preferred over the warmer more intense ones.

Personally, my tastes have changed over the years. At one point I strived for an all-white garden, now I have paired most everything white out as I dislike the look of the spent white blooms. My favorites now are chartreuse green and lavenders. I also find that I'm adding very dark (black) blooms where I can find them.

 

So, what flower colors do YOU like best/least in your garden?

Growing Green Dreams at Local Schools!

GUEST BLOG by Anna Benfield

Gardening is hard work. So is being a public school teacher.

It’s no surprise then that school gardens are such an uphill battle for DC teachers and administrators. This letter from one of the Washington Youth Garden’s partner schools helps show why partnerships are so valuable. If you agree, please consider contributing to this work.

Below, Mel Jones, the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Coordinator at John Burroughs Education Campus shares more about why she values the Washington Youth Garden and the programming the partnership enables.


Since beginning as a science teacher here over ten years ago, I have made repeated attempts to start a garden. I knew my students would have a better understanding of science if there was more hands-on learning. However, despite my efforts, I didn’t have the expertise or the time to develop a real, working garden.
In 2011, our partnership with the Washington Youth Garden made the dream of a school garden come alive as third graders filled new raised beds with soil and transplanted lettuce, which they later harvested for salad pitas. Since then, the garden has become a part of every student’s experience—from compost investigation projects to school-wide sweet potato tastings.
The garden continues to expose students to new fruits and vegetables and provide an outdoor science laboratory. With grant funding, we’ve hired a School Garden Coordinator who regularly teaches our Early Childhood classes and collaborates with teachers to integrate the garden into science and literacy lessons. Plans are in progress to install a kitchen classroom to give our students year-round opportunities to cook healthy foods and learn about science and nutrition. The Washington Youth Garden has made a truly wonderful difference for our students and our school!

If your believe that under-served kids deserve gardens and garden-based instruction at school, please support the Washington Youth Garden’s online campaign to raise $7,000 by the end of the year.
Learn more and GIVE TODAY!

About the Author
Anna is the Education Programs Manager at the Washington Youth Garden, which is located on the grounds of the US National Arboretum in Washington, DC.

Win Passes to the Garden of Lights

For our December 2013 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest, Washington Gardener is giving away passes to the Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens.

    Enjoy illuminated giant flowers, snowflakes, a rainbow and showers, and more. Walk along the easily accessible paths and you’ll see what sets this light show apart from others. This festive, secular light show, now in its 16th season, is a popular family tradition in the Washington, DC area drawing close to 40,000 visitors each winter.

   To enter to win a pass to the Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens, send an email to WashingtonGardener@rcn.com by 5:00pm on December 23 with “Garden of Lights” in the subject line and tell us: What flower colors do you like best and least for planting in your garden? In the body of the email, please also include your full name and mailing address. The calendar winner will be announced and notified by December 25.

Mail-Order Gardening ~ Washington Gardener Enews ~ December 201

The Washington Gardener Enews ~ December 2013 issue is now out. It is also posted and archived online at: http://issuu.com/washingtongardener/docs/wgenews-dec13.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

• Back Issue Sale

• Mail-Order Gardening

• Garden To-Do List

• Latest Blog Links

• Local Garden Events Listings

• Magazine Excerpt: Kudzu Bugs Attack Soybeans

• New Holly ‘Berry Heavy Gold’

• Photo Contest Details

• Reader Contest to Win Passes to the Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens

• Seed Exchange 2014 Details and RegistrationForm

Subscribe to Washington Gardener Magazine today to have the monthly enewsletter sent to your inbox as a PDF. 

Voila! Violas

On this unusually chilly and windy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, my outdoor garden is fairly bloom-free. In DC/MD Zone 7 at this time in past year, I still had some summer annuals going! But this past month has been one of frigid temps and early ice storms, bah humbug! I'm hardly able to get out and do anything due to the frozen ground. Glad I got my spring-blooming bulbs in early, at least.

I thought I might have no outdoor flowers to report this month, but I actually found two bloomers:

Hellebore aka Christmas Rose

Viola

What is blooming in YOUR garden today?