Garden Centers and Nurseries in the DC Metro Area

Posted on June 12, 2021 | Leave a comment

nurseryNew to the area? Want to know where to purchase plants, fertilizer, soil, and seeds? Here is a list of garden centers and nurseries in the DC metro area. If I have missed one, please let me know. Continue reading →

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Growing Cilantro From Seed in the Summer

Posted on June 5, 2021 | 2 comments
cilantro

Cilantro in early spring

I love cilantro and I plant it every year. It is easy to grow from seed although one can find small plants at local nurseries. Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) is a member of the carrot family. Because of its tap root, it is best to sow seeds directly in the garden bed or in a container. Often called Chinese parsley, the leaves do look like parsley but if you rub the foliage you will smell a citrusy/woodsy scent.

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New to Gardening? Join a Garden Club

Posted on May 30, 2021 | Leave a comment

dahliaBy now I am sure you have heard that there is a great increase in the number of people gardening. People are turning to nature because they have more time, they are interested in growing their own food, and/or they would like to beautify their immediate surroundings. Many people find that plants, nature, and gardens help to ease anxiety and stress. Others are getting involved in gardening to help the environment by planting to support pollinators and fight climate change. Whatever the reason, I hope this increase in gardening continues as the pandemic wanes. Personally, I believe that if the new gardeners join a local gardening club, they may be more inclined to continue to garden. By joining, they can learn more about plants, feel more confident as they continue to garden, make new friends who have similar interest and may possibly serve as gardening mentors, and get more involved in the local gardening world.  Continue reading →

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Pegplant’s Post: DC’s Local Gardening Newsletter

Posted on May 25, 2021 | 3 comments

Enter your e-mail here to subscribe to Pegplant’s Post, an e-newsletter about gardening in the Washington DC metropolitan area. This monthly communication lists local gardening events, recently published gardening books, recipes, articles, and tips specific to this area. Each issue also features the opportunity to win a free plant or gardening-related product. For the upcoming June 2021 Pegplant’s Post, the giveaway is a garden stake from the Silhouette and Stand company.

 

These are very unique garden stakes because they can hold a hanging basket at the top while at the same time display a decorative magnet on the pole. You can purchase black metal silhouettes of images such as cats, dogs, and butterflies and attach these to a magnetic clip that you clip to the stake. Because these images are magnetic, you can easily attach and remove so you can have seasonal images or images specific to your own interest.

Made in the United States, the stakes are about 3 feet tall with a circle atop that holds a hanging basket. The stakes are powder coated, heavy duty, wrought iron, with a half-inch diameter. The hoop at the top is perfect for a 10-inch basket. These also elevate plants from rodents and pets and prevents damage from lawn care equipment.

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Got Deer? Try These Tactics in the Garden

Posted on May 20, 2021 | 5 comments

deerNewcomers to this area will eventually see deer standing on the roadside or venturing out of the woods at dusk. At first, they admire the lovely bucolic sight, gentle deer, twitching their tails, flicking their ears back and forth. But as the newcomers settle down and try their hand at gardening, they learn that the deer are not as cute as they once thought. Continue reading →

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Gardening Questions? Ask These Experts

Posted on May 12, 2021 | Leave a comment

cucumberSummer is here and by now your Victory garden is planted. Dreams of fresh red tomatoes and lush green cucumbers are dancing in your head. But wait, what are those green caterpillars? What are those brown spots? Answers to these gardening questions and more are available from your local Master Gardeners and county extension agents. Even during this pandemic, they are standing by to help you with your gardening issues. Best of all, this is a free service for the public. Continue reading →

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Lemon Verbena: Queen of Lemon-Scented Herbs

Posted on May 6, 2021 | Leave a comment

lemon verbenaKnown as the queen of lemon-scented herbs, lemon verbena has the clearest, sharpest lemon scent in the world of herbs. Lemon verbena (Aloysia citrodora) is a tropical plant that we grow as an annual in the mid-Atlantic area. Native to South America, the Spanish brought the plant to Europe where it was primarily used in perfume. In fact, lemon verbena is mentioned in the famous book/movie, Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Scarlett O’Hara’s mother Ellen used lemon verbena as her signature fragrance: “The faint of lemon verbena surrounded her, floating gently from Eleanor Butler’s silk gown and silken hair. It was the fragrance that had always been part of Ellen O’Hara, the scent for Scarlett of comfort, of safety, of love, of life before the War.” Continue reading →

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Herbs Attract and Support Beneficial Insects in the Garden

Posted on May 1, 2021 | 3 comments

Small thyme flowers

The herbs in my garden live among the annuals, perennials, vegetables, and shrubs. I do not have a separate, formal herb garden.  Every new herb plant gets tucked in any space I can find. I harvest them to use them fresh in the kitchen and for floral arrangements. By summer, many of my herbs are blooming along with everything else but that’s okay, they still serve a purpose. Even if I didn’t get to harvest them, they are helping the rest of the garden by attracting and supporting beneficial insects. Continue reading →

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Walking Onions: Perennial Onion Plants for the Garden

Posted on April 24, 2021 | 2 comments

walking onionWalking onions, also called Egyptian walking onions, tree onions, winter onions, and perennial onions, are very easy to grow.  Unlike an ordinary onion plant, Allium proliferum will produce little bulbs at the top of the plant in the summer. The weight of these marble-sized bulbils will pull the stem down, enabling the bulbils to root and produce a new plant. Although walking onions seem to walk by producing new plants a few inches away, they are not invasive. Continue reading →

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Subscribe to Pegplant’s Post: DC’s Local Gardening Newsletter

Posted on April 20, 2021 | Leave a comment

Enter your e-mail here to subscribe to Pegplant’s Post, an e-newsletter about gardening in the DC metro area. This monthly communication lists local gardening events, recently published gardening books, recipes, articles, and tips specific to this area. Each issue also features the opportunity to win a free plant or gardening-related product. For the upcoming May 2021 Pegplant’s Post, subscribers have a chance to win the Three-Pot Hanging Kit, courtesy of SkyPots.

Owned by Ryan Benoit, SkyPots is a revolutionary way to hang plants. Ryan has been experimenting with this design for several years and has many hanging pots in his California home. He also is the creator of the Horticult website, “a plant lover’s guide to enjoying a plant-infused lifestyle.” In addition, he authored the How to Window Box book.

Ryan has perfected an ingenious way to hang ordinary containers vertically, one above the other. This saves space and enables you to hang plants inside or outside. There are kits for one container, two containers, or three containers. No tools are required. Pots are not included but any container that has a flat bottom and a centered drain hole will work. This is ideal for houseplants, trailing plants, and tropical plants but any plant that will fit in the container will work. Although the kits are easy to assemble, the SkyPots website has detailed instructions.

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