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Food Forest / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Keystone Species / Native Trees / Restoration / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy and Patsy McGrady

Two American Chestnut Trees Planted at Freedom Park on Arbor Day 2022

A second annual Earth Day and Arbor Day celebration on Saturday, April 23, at 10:30 AM will include the planting of two wild-type American chestnut seedling trees at Freedom Park in James City County, Virginia. The celebration results from a collaboration between the Clean County Commission, and volunteers at the Williamsburg Botanical Garden and Freedom Park Arboretum, with support from the Freedom Park staff. One tree will be planted in the Pine-Hardwoods section of the Garden, and the other will...

Beneficial Insects / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Larval Host Plants / Native Plants / Native Trees / Sustainable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

For Love of Trees

  Trees enrich our lives in countless ways. Yet we may not pay them much attention, until they are gone. A Million Trees in a Single Day Pioneers in the Nebraska Territory missed the trees they left behind back East.  They needed trees for shade from the summer sun, for windbreaks to hold the soil, for fuel and for building materials.  They needed trees so much, that Nebraska’s Board of Agriculture planned the first American Arbor Day celebration on April...

Garden Maintenance / Jamestown Settlement / Native Plants / Spring

 by Judy Kinshaw-Ellis

Jamestown’s Café Garden, Spring 2022

In the fall of 2021, the JCCW Master Gardeners were invited by the Jamestown Settlement to design and install a native plant demonstration and herb garden just outside the visitors’ center cafe. After meeting with Jamestown management, touring the site, and developing a project proposal, a team was formed to get the project going. In January 2022, team leads Angela Cingale and Judy Kinshaw-Ellis met with Bain Schultz, the grounds department supervisor for both Jamestown and Yorktown, to get an...

Birds / Spring / Wildlife Gardening

 by Marion Guthrie

Are Robins the First Sign of Spring?

Photos by Jim Easton, Nature Photographer The old wives’ tale is that a robin is the first sign of spring, but American Robins are an adaptable lot. Some migrate and others don’t. They do seem to disappear in winter, but they may just be flocking to nearby wooded areas where they’re protected. Then as the weather warms, these flocks split up and our local robins emerge, looking for food and mates while they unknowingly pollinate flowers and control pests in...

Crafting With Plants / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Permaculture / Propagation / Soil Conservation / Sustainable Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Resourceful Gardening with Seed Bombs

Seed bombs, also known as earth balls or seed balls, have roots in classical Egyptian agricultural practices.  The method may have been widespread in the ancient world as an efficient way to sow large amounts of seed quickly, with minimal tools, especially after floods and other disruptions.  Available sources indicate that some Native Americans used this method for sowing seeds. It is an effective way to sow seeds in areas with little rain. A seed bomb is made with clay...

Beneficial Insects / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Larval Host Plants / Lepidoptera / Native Plants / Native Trees / Permaculture / Soil Conservation / Sustainable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Invitation to a ‘Homegrown National Park’

The bright flash of a butterfly’s wing brings instant joy.  My mind clears for a moment of rapt attention to see what sort of butterfly it is.  Where is it flying?  Where is it feeding?  Will it stay in our yard?  Whatever had been churning through my mind evaporates in that moment of pure beauty. Birdsong in the morning gently pulls me back from dreams, and we hear birds chattering and calling throughout the day, flying from shrub to tree. ...

Flowering Shrubs / Spring

 by Marion Guthrie

Forget Forsythia?

One of my favorite garden memories is cutting forsythia boughs in March, before they bloomed, with my Dad. He would give them to Mom who would put them in water in a large glass vase, placed as a centerpiece on the kitchen table. We would watch and sometimes at mealtime discuss, how each day brought small changes that eventually resulted in a bouquet.  I learned some botany from this exercise and the fact that forsythia flowers emerge before their leaves...

Carbon Garden / Container Gardens / Crafting With Plants / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Moss Gardening / Native Plants / Permaculture / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Cultivating Moss Part 1: Native Mosses in the Garden

How much do you know already about mosses?  They are so common; you will find them growing most anywhere.  Take the Moss Quiz, and you’ll find the answers at the end of Part 2 of this post. The Moss Quiz      1.  Which will kill moss the fastest?   A.  Letting it dry out     B.  Watering it        2.  Will moss make new roots if you transplant it?   A.  Yes       B. No        3.  Can I share my beer...

Container Gardens / Evergreen Perennials / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Moss Gardening / Native Plants / Perennial Care / Permaculture / Sustainable Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Cultivating Moss Part 2: Propagation Methods

Mosses are wild, native plants, and find spots to grow where conditions support them.  They reproduce sexually with tiny spores that blow on the wind.  They need consistent moisture to transform from a spore to a small plant, but they do it without any interference from the gardener.  One way to develop a moss garden is to provide favorable conditions and let the mosses colonize on their own terms.  This may take several years, even with consistent efforts to keep...