November is a transition time in our area, outside gardening activity diminishes but the number of inside holiday displays increase as well as speaking events.
5, Thursday, Plant NoVA Natives Campaign Community Leader training, held at the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, 3040 Williams Drive, Suite 200, Fairfax, VA 22031, 7:00 to 8:45 pm, for more information contact Corey Miles at cmiles@novaregion.org or visit http://www.plantnovanatives.org. This is a free training (but must register in advance) for existing and new volunteers with gardening, landscaping or naturalist experience who would like to help promote the use of native plants in the residential landscape. Will learn how to: reach local companies, identify and recruit new volunteers, successfully communicate the Plant Northern Virginia Natives message, make presentations to community groups, and influence the local retail market to make purchasing native plants easy and fun.
10, Tuesday, Claudia West, author of Planting in a Post-Wild World (with Thomas Rainer) will be speaking on Stunning Plant Communities that Stand the Test of Time at 7:30 pm. Free to Horticultural Society of Maryland members, non-members $10. Hosted by the Maryland Horticulture Society at the Vollmer Center Auditorium, Cylburn Arboretum, 4915 Greenspring Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21209; (410) 821-5561. http://www.mdhorticulture.org (410) 821-5561 or programs@mdhorticulture.org
14, Saturday, Designing the Sustainable Landscape, 9:00 am to noon. Fairlington Community Center, 3308 Stafford Street, Arlington, VA 22206; (703) 228-6414. http://www.mgnv.org. Free and open to public but must register.
Forrest Pritchard, author of Gaining Ground: A Story of Farmers’ Markets, Local Food and Saving the Family Farm (I have read this book; very good story), has just recently published Growing Tomorrow: Behind the Scenes with 18 Extraordinary Sustainable Farmers Who Are Changing the Way We Eat (can’t wait to read his new book). According to his web site, http://www.forrestpritchard.com, Forrest will be at the following locations in the month of November to promote his new book. He owns Smith Meadows in Berryville, VA, where he sells meat, eggs, and pasta directly and through Farmers Markets.
- 10, Kramerbooks in Washington DC, 7 pm
- 15, Dupont Circle Farmers Market signing with Kramerbooks in DC
- 17, National Press Club, 5:30 to 8:30 pm
- 18, Arlington Central Library with One More Page Books, 7:00 pm
- 21, Arlington Courthouse Farmers Market, 8:00 am to noon
- 24, Busboys and Poets, Takoma Park, MD 7:00 pm
From November 26 through January 3, the U.S. Botanic Garden will have a holiday exhibit in the conservatory, free and open to the public. The conservatory boasts a tropical paradise; one of the largest indoor decorated trees in Washington, DC; a showcase of poinsettias; and a miniature train display. Also, there will be a Pollination Station where one can see oversized flowers, bees, and butterflies in this year’s scenic wonderland. Landmarks such as the Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument, all made from plants, will be on display in the Garden Court. Check the website for times, http://www.usbg.gov
