Who doesn’t like butterflies? They are beautiful. They make us smile. They drink nectar from our flowering plants. They are colorful. We love them—even the little brown ones. So what can we do to bring them into our yards? Like other wildlife, if we want butterflies, and let’s include other pollinators, too, we need to provide water, food, and shelter. Lucky for us, the plants we plant for food will also provide shelter. And right now, the fall is a...
Mattey’s Garden is a hands-on learning garden at the Matthew Whaley Elementary School. And while the students were absent due to COVID-19, the garden continued to grow, including the weeds. Luckily, Louann Martin, who heads up this project for the James City County Williamsburg Master Gardener Association (JCCWMGA), assembled a team made up of the elementary school’s families and students as well as JCCW Master Gardeners. This team has been tending the garden with a watchful eye pruning, weeding, and...
Click here to Watch the Video! 11 years and Going Strong The student garden at J. B. Blayton Elementary School on Jolly Pond Road in Williamsburg is 11 years old and going strong. The garden was started by a pair of teachers and parents who were interested in creating a special outdoor space where students could learn about all types of plants and pollinators. The PTA supplied funds to construct a pavilion for shade and to serve as an outdoor...
When do you harvest watermelon? There are several factors that indicate ripeness First, the underside ground spot turns from whitish to creamy yellow. Next look at the tendrils closest to the melon, they should be brown and shriveled. The rind loses its gloss and appears dull. And last but not least, when thumped the melon produces a dull thud, rather than a ringing sound. Not just water and sugar Watermelon has many health benefits. One is that it is loaded...
Apples are a reminder that it is back-to-school time. But how did they come to represent this academic kickoff? Perhaps it is because September is harvest time for many kinds of apples in the Northern Hemisphere. Or because of the practice from colonial times, when teachers were compensated by receiving food and housing directly from families and apples were an abundant crop. Then of course there may be clues from the Garden of Eden story, the legend of Johnny Appleseed,...
You’re invited to a free lecture by renowned author and ornithologist, Dr. Colin Rees, compliments of the James City County Williamsburg Master Gardener Association. It will be held at the Williamsburg Regional Library Auditorium on Thursday, August 11, 9-10 am. and also on Zoom; dial-in information follows. Our speaker, Dr. Colin Rees, was with the World Bank as a biodiversity specialist and a professor of Zoology at the University of Maryland. He is one of the developers and founders of...
A Tour of KelRae Farm, by Michele Garrard, Master Gardener, Class of 2022 Boots on the Ground Tour – As part of their training, the James City County Williamsburg Master Gardeners (JCCWMG) recently received a “boots on the ground” tour of KelRae Farm, located in Toano, VA. Leading the tour was the farm’s owner-operator, Michelle Gulden. Michelle together with her husband Randy, took over the farm in 2001 from Randy’s great uncle, Henry M. “Buck” Hazelwood, and they...
A Special Needs Gardening Program! A collaboration between our Master Gardeners and Arc, the Arc of Abilities Day Support Program is for adults with special needs. The program teaches participants how to grow and use flowers, vegetables, and herbs that they cultivate in four large, raised beds year-round in the Williamsburg Botanical Garden’s Therapeutic Garden, and on rainy days in the Park’s Visitor’s Center. In a partnership that has lasted for more than five years, Master Gardeners meet with Arc...
The Historic Triangle Learning Garden is one of many projects led by members of the James City County/Williamsburg Master Gardeners. It is located right behind the CDR building and next door to Waller Mill Elementary School, at 312 Waller Mill Road. Originally known as “Incredible Edibles,” the project changed its name to the Historic Triangle Learning Garden in 2021 to reflect a broader range of interests, including growing flowers, supporting pollinators, and practicing other aspects of organic gardening, in...
A family of rabbits gathers each evening at dusk to nibble their way through the clover and creeping Charlie that populate our front ‘lawn.’ They prefer to nibble plants that we don’t cultivate and won’t miss. A motley mix of volunteer species, interspersed with a few grasses, grow in the open space between the patio and hedge. While we call it a ‘bee lawn,’ others might say our lawn is infested with weeds. What is a Weed? Any plant growing...