Tag Archives: gardens

Visit Demonstration Gardens for Education and Inspiration

flowers

small mailbox garden with suitable plants

In the summer I like to visit demonstration gardens to see how well the plants and vegetables performed in this area. Demonstration gardens are a great way to learn what works in the Washington DC metro area and how to manage our local issues, such as deer and rabbits. Each county that has a Master Gardener program usually has at least one demonstration garden, managed by the volunteer Master Gardeners. These are open to the public and free. To find such a garden, call your local county Master Gardener program representative (your local extension agent). Some have several to showcase various environmental conditions and some use the garden as a place to teach or host workshops.

In Northern Virginia, the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia (Arlington and Alexandria) now have eight demonstration gardens. They recently added Buddie Ford Nature Center Garden. The Prince William County Master Gardeners manage a very large Teaching Garden at St. Benedict Monastery, 9535 Linton Hall Road, Bristow. Within this property are mini gardens to illustrate certain conditions or issues, such as a deer resistant garden, shade garden, vegetable garden, and pollinator garden. The Loudoun County Master Gardeners uses Ida Lee Park on Ida Lee Park Drive, Leesburg, as a teaching garden.

deer sign

examples of deer resistant plants

In Maryland, the Montgomery County Master Gardeners manage six demonstration gardens. The Prince Georges County Master Gardeners have demonstration gardens at their headquarters at 6707 Groveton Drive, Clinton.

In DC there is the Washington Youth Garden, a program of the Friends of the National Arboretum, with support from the U.S. National Arboretum.  This is located on the Arboretum grounds.

plant sign

unusual plants at demonstration gardens

Some plant societies such as the National Capital Dahlia Society have demonstration gardens specific to their plant of interest. Contact the society directly to see if they have one. The National Capital Dahlia Society has the Nordahl Exhibition Garden for displaying dahlias at the Agricultural History Park in Derwood, MD. Plant NoVA Natives has a list of demonstration gardens that feature native plants on their site.

If you know of any that I have not listed here, please contact me and let me know.

Demonstration Gardens in the DMV

flowers

demonstration of a mailbox garden and suitable plants

As the summer peaks, I like to visit the local demonstration gardens to see how well the plants and vegetables performed in this area. Demonstration gardens are a great way to learn what works in the Washington DC metro area and how to manage our local issues, such as deer and rabbits. Each county that has a Master Gardener program usually has at least one demonstration garden, managed by the volunteer Master Gardeners. To find such a garden, call your local county Master Gardener program representative (your local extension agent). Some have several to showcase various environmental conditions and some use the garden as a place to teach or host workshops. Continue reading

Books About Gardens and Gardening in Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC

I just updated my website’s Books page about gardens and gardening in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC, from the year 2000 to the present.  There are 35 books. Below is the updated text in the Books page.

The public library is a great resource–not only are the books free but if the branch does not have a particular title, they can get it for you from another branch or through interlibrary loan. Most libraries have gardening magazines; you can borrow past issues. The reference section has non-circulating gardening books that are great resources. Local bookstores have plant and gardening books and many have web sites for searching or ordering books. Don’t forget Amazon.com and check your phone book for the used bookstores. Many of the public gardens have non-lending libraries; some are open when the gardens are open, others are by appointment only.  Public gardens also have books for sale in their gift shops. Brookside Gardens and Green Spring Gardens have reading libraries. For extensive research, try the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Library, Abraham Lincoln Building, 10301 Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, MD  20705; (301) 504-5755; http://www.nal.usda.gov.

Below are local books with the most recently published listed first through the year 2000:

All the Presidents’ Gardens: Madison’s Cabbages to Kennedy’s Roses: How the White House Grounds Have Grown with America by Marta McDowell, Timber Press, 2016

Mid-Atlantic Gardeners Handbook: Your Complete Guide: Select, Plan, Plant, Maintain, Problem Solve by Katie Elzer-Peters, Cool Springs Press, 2016

Gardens of Georgetown: Exploring Urban Treasures, text by Edith Nalle Schafer and photos by Jenny Gorman, Georgetown Garden Club, 2015

Maryland’s Public Gardens and Parks by Barbara Glickman, Schiffer Publishers, 2015

Mid-Atlantic Month-by-Month Gardening: What to Do Each Month to Have a Beautiful Garden All Year by George Weigel, Cool Springs Press, 2015

Chesapeake Gardening and Landscaping: The Essential Green Guide by Barbara W. Ellis; photographs by Neil Soderstrom, University of North Carolina Press in association with the Adkins Arboretum, 2015

Maymont: An American Estate (Richmond, VA) by Dale Cyrus Wheary, Scala Arts Publishers in association with the Maymont Foundation, 2015

Mid-Atlantic: Getting Started Garden Guide: Grow the Best Flowers, Shrubs, Trees, Vines and Groundcovers by Andre Viette, Mark Viette, and Jacqueline Heriteau, Cool Springs Press, 2015

The General in the Garden: George Washington’s Landscape at Mt. Vernon by Susan P. Schoelwer, editor, Mt. Vernon Ladies’ Association, 2015

Native Plants for Northern Virginia by the Virginia Native Plant Society, available via the Society, http://www.vnps.org, 2015

Great Perennial Plants, Vines, and Bulbs Guide for the Mid-Atlantic Garden by Donna Williamson, self-published, electronic and available via Amazon, 2014

The Mid-Atlantic Garden: An Insider’s Guide to a Successful Lower Maintenance Garden by Donna Williamson, self-published, electronic and available via Amazon, 2014

Thomas Jefferson’s Revolutionary Garden at Monticello by Peter J. Hatch, Yale University Press, 2014

Take Our Advice: A Handbook for Gardening in Northern Virginia by Margaret Fisher, Student Peace Awards of Fairfax, 2014

The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast by Ira Wallace, Timber Press, 2013

Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Gardening: Plant, Grow, and Harvest the Best Edibles: DE, MD, PA, VA, DC, and WV by Katie Elzer-Peters, Cool Springs Press, 2013

Vegetable Gardening the Colonial Williamsburg Way: 18th Century Methods for Today’s Organic Gardeners by Wesley Greene, Rodale Press, 2012

American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America by Michelle Obama, Crown Publishing Group, 2012

Capital Splendor: Parks and Gardens of Washington DC by Valerie Brown, Barbara Glickman Countryman Press, 2012

A Guide to Smithsonian Gardens by Carole Otteson, Smithsonian Books, 2011

Historic Virginia Gardens: Preservation Work of the Garden Club of Virginia by Margaret Page Bemiss, University of Virginia Press, 2009

Virginia’s Historic Homes and Gardens by Pat Blackley and Chuck Blackley, Voyageur Press, 2009

The Virginia’s Garden Companion: An Insider Guide to Low Maintenance Gardening in Virginia by Donna Williamson, Morris Book Publishing, 2008

Garden Walks in the Southeast: Beautiful Gardens from Washington to the Gulf Coast by Marina Harrison, Lucy Rosenfeld, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2006

Garden Walks in the Mid-Atlantic States: Beautiful Gardens from New York to Washington DC by Marina Harrison, Lucy Rosenfeld, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2005

The American Horticultural Society Guide to American Public Gardens and Arboreta:  Gardens Across America, Volume 1, East of the Mississippi by Thomas S. Spencer and John J. Russell, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2005

A City of Gardens: Glorious Public Gardens In and Around the Nation’s Capital by Barbara Seeber, Capital Books, 2004

Month by Month Gardening in the Mid-Atlantic by André and Mark Viette and Jacqueline Hériteau, Cool Springs Press, 2004

Selecting, Growing and Combining Outstanding Perennials: Mid-Atlantic and New England Edition by Teri Dunn, André Viette, Mark Viette, Jacqueline Hériteau, Cool Springs Press, 2003

Mid-Atlantic Gardener’s Guide by André and Mark Viette and Jacqueline Hériteau, Cool Springs Press, 2003

Barnes & Noble Complete Illustrated Guidebook to Washington, D.C.’s Public Parks and Gardens, published by Silver Lining Books, 2003

Complete Illustrated Guide to Washington DC’s Public Parks and Gardens by Richard Berenson, Silver Lining, 2003

The Virginia Fruit and Vegetable Book by Felder Rushing and Walter Reeves, Cool Springs Press, 2002

Virginia Gardeners Guide by Jacqueline Heriteau, Cool Springs Press, 2001

The New York/Mid-Atlantic Gardener’s Book of Lists by Bonnie Lee Appleton, Cooper Square Press, 2001

 

PBS Show: The Queen’s Garden, January 11

I am a serious Downton Abbey fan; love the era and anything related to England. I can’t wait for Season V to start this Sunday, January 4, on PBS. But I am equally interested in another PBS show premiering after the second episode of Downton Abbey. The Queen’s Garden will be on PBS on Sunday, January 11, 10:00 EST. Below is a short description and link from the PBS web site. To all of you gardeners, this promises to be as great as Downton Abbey!!

http://video.pbs.org/video/2365385033/

Using cutting-edge natural history film-making methods, this film explores and captures the garden from every angle to offer viewers a rare, rich and intimate insight into a 39 acre oasis in the center of London (equivalent to 30 American football fields). The techniques used include aerial photography, time-lapse, thermal imaging and remotely-operated motion-sensitive cameras positioned around the garden that will capture animal activity when no one is around.

We will witness the striking transformation as each season brings different sights, sounds, smells and visitors to the garden. Surprises, delights, and unusual and unexpected discoveries abound as wildlife and plantlife are filmed in all their forms, both commonplace and rare, both by day and by night. And we will discover how the garden is used inside the Palace: from the mulberries that are used by the royal kitchens to cook dishes for the Queen to the foliage collected from the garden to decorate the Palace at Christmas.

And the expertise, organization, craft and graft required to meet the challenge of maintaining a garden fit for a Queen is shown as senior garden staff share their approach and unique trade secrets — such as the use of the invaluable ‘arisings’ (Buckingham Palace argot for fertilizer from the Royal stables).

Over the year spent at the garden, The Queen’s Garden yields stories and spectacles rarely heard or seen beyond its secure walls. Royal historian Dr. Lucy Worsley describes the garden’s origins as part of a much bigger hunting ground for Henry VIII and its evolution to its present day dimensions via its role as a playground for the Queen and Princess Margaret during their childhood. And the Royal Family’s attachment to the garden is brought to life with rare archival footage.

From its wildest corners, where it functions as one of the most important havens for wildlife in London to its role as the sumptuous venue for an 8,000 strong Royal Garden Party, The Queen’s Garden will offer viewers privileged access and a unique perspective into a special place.