check out the new structures at Green Spring Gardens
3, Saturday, Under the Arbor: Chile Pepper Day, 1:00 to 4:00 pm, National Herb Garden, presented by members of the Mid-Atlantic Units of the Herb Society of America, free and no registration required. U.S. National Arboretum, 3501 New York Avenue, NE, Washington DC 20002. http://www.usna.usda.gov
3, Saturday, Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) Urban Agriculture Symposium, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. This is an opportunity to meet local and regional government representatives to learn how the growing interest in urban agriculture is being accommodated in space-challenged cities. Learn about community gardens, small space gardening, growing microgreens and mushrooms, faith-based community gardening, urban permaculture and more. Fairlington Community Center, 3801 S. Stafford Street, Arlington, VA. Sponsored by the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia, VCE, AFAC, VSU, George Mason University, and The Garden Whisperer. Fee and must register. Call (703) 228-6414; e-mail mgarlalex@gmail.com. http://www.mgnv.org
3 and 4, Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 am, Your Edible Garden: Preparing your Vegetable Garden for Winter with Carol Allen, free but must register. Behnke Nurseries, 11300 Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, MD, (301) 937-1100. http://behnkes.com
4, Sunday, Fruit Trees and Pruning Strategies Workshop, 1-4 pm, by Ecologia owner Michael Judd, at Judd Homestead, Frederick MD. For more information contact ashley@ecologiadesign.com. $50 and must register (limit 25 people). http://www.ecologiadesign.com
6, Tuesday, Fall Composting Workshop, 7:00 to 8:30 pm, Fairlington Community Center, 3801 S. Stafford Street, Arlington, VA. Sponsored by the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia, free but registration required. Call (703) 228-6414; e-mail mgarlalex@gmail.com. http://www.mgnv.org
7, Wednesday, Jeff Lowenfels, author of Teaming with Microbes and Teaming with Nutrients will speak from 7:00 to 8:30 pm about soil and microbes. Free. Arlington Central Library Auditorium. 1015 N. Quincy Street, Arlington VA; (703) 228-5990. http://www.library.arlingtonva.us/events/garden-talks/
10, Saturday, Meadows Farm Nursery will host Pink Day events over the Columbus Day weekend with main events being held on Saturday, October 10. Each Meadows Farm location will host their own event so call in advance to see what is scheduled; for example, the Manassas store will have vendors, entertainment and food while the 7 Corners location will have a silent auction. Proceeds will go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. (703) 327-3940. https://www.meadowsfarms.com/About-Us/Giving-Back-to-the-Community/Pink-Day
17, Saturday, opening day of the National Building Museum’s exhibit “The New American Garden: The Landscape Architecture of Wolfgang Oehme and James van Sweden,” running until May 1, 2016. In collaboration with the Cultural Landscape Foundation, the NBM exhibit will chronicle the careers of and influence of Oehme and van Sweden, who revolutionized landscape architecture with the creation of the New American Garden, featuring large swaths of ornamental grass and perennials that celebrate the seasonal splendor of the American meadow. Check NBM’s web site for hours and admission, there is a fee to enter the museum. National Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW, Washington DC 20001, (202) 272-2448. http://www.nbm.org
24, Saturday, Lecture: Creating a Forest Garden, by Lincoln Smith, founder of Forested, 10:30 am to noon, free but must register. U.S. Botanic Garden, 100 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington DC (202) 225-8333. http://www.usbg.gov
24, Saturday, Wild About Mushrooms, 1-3:30 pm, by Ecologia owner Michael Judd, at Yellow Springs at Judd Homestead, Frederick MD. For more information contact ashley@ecologiadesign.com. $65 and must register (more details and directions will be given once registered). http://www.ecologiadesign.com
27, Tuesday, 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Lecture: A Plantsman’s Favorites: Exciting, Long Blooming Perennials. Visitor Center Auditorium, National Arboretum. Jimi Blake is a noted Irish horticulturist, teacher, and plantsman who began his career as head gardener of the historic Airfield Garden in Dundrum County, Dublin. Eventually, he secured twenty acres for his own collection. Hunting Brook Gardens is Blake’s boldly idiosyncratic creation and is considered Ireland’s most innovative landscape. Fee: $12 ($10 FONA) and registration required. U.S. National Arboretum, 3501 New York Avenue, NE, Washington DC 20002. http://www.usna.usda.gov
Green Spring Gardens always has events but highlights include The Continuous Garden Symposium, on October 3, Saturday, 8:00 am to noon. The symposium introduces people to low-maintenance shrubs, lovely perennials and container gardens that inject beauty and carry the garden through the year. Learn how to use color and focal points to draw the eye through the garden, how to use containers to manage problem areas and get a recipe for winning plant combinations for a beautiful, four-season garden. Fee and must register. Also at Green Spring Gardens (check their web site for possible fees and registration):
- 16, Friday, GardenTalk: Gardening with Deer, 1:30 to 2:30 pm, presented by Northern Virginia Master Gardeners
- 17, Saturday, Best of the Eco-Friendly Fall Garden, 10:00 to 11:00 am. Educational walk of the gardens with Green Springs staff.
- 24, Saturday, Regionally Adapted Plants, 11:00 to noon, presented by Washington Gardener magazine owner/editor, Kathy Jentz
- 24, Saturday, Fall Garden Highlights Tour, 9:30 to 10:30 am, presented by Green Springs staff
Green Spring Gardens, 4603 Green Spring Road, Alexandria, VA 22312. (703) 642-5173. http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/greenspring/events.htm
Merrifield Nursery has free classes and workshops every Saturday in October at their three locations. In addition, they have a sunrise tour at the Fair Oaks store on Sunday, October 4, 7:00 am for a special behind-the-scenes tour before the garden center opens to learn what is blooming and what is exiting at the garden center. Must register for the free garden tour. All other Saturday workshops are free, do not have to register, and start at 10:00 am. http://www.merrifieldgardencenter.com
- 3, Saturday: Merrifield, Creating Real Curb Appeal; Fair Oaks, Gardening with Native Plants; Gainesville, Bulbs 101
- 10, Saturday: M, Designing Gardens with Color; FO, Dazzling Displays of Bulbs; G, Living fences
- 17, Saturday: M, Native plants for wildlife and pollinators; FO, Drainage Solutions; G, Trees and Shrubs for Fall and Winter Interest
- 24, Saturday: M, Trends in urban gardening; FO, Four Season Gardening; G, Prune Like a Pro, Part 1
- 31, Saturday: M, Gardening in Deer Country; FO, Halloween Fun Just for Kids; G, Prune Like a Pro, Part 2
Ladew Topiary Gardens has announced its Fall Lecture Series, which are on Thursday mornings in October, starting at 10:30 am. $25 for Ladew members and $30 for non-members. To register, call Rachel at (410) 557-9570 or e-mail at rhebert@ladewgardens.com. Ladew Topiary Gardens, 3535 Jarrettsville Pike, Monkton, MD 21111. http://www.ladewgardens.com
- 1: New and Underused Perennials to Expand your Palette with Ruth Rogers Clausen
- 8: Coherent Design versus Obsessive Collecting with John Gwynne
- 15: Windowsill Art by Nancy Ross Hugo
- 22: Stonecrop Gardens: A Hudson Highlands Gem with Caroline Burgess
- 29: Thomas Jefferson: Gardener with Peter Hatch
