Author: Wayne Koenig

Carbon Garden / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Native Trees / Propagation / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

From History and Legends to My Own Front Yard:  The Beautiful Oak

  At the intersection of myth, fantasy, and living reality stands a towering oak tree, covered in plump acorns.  More than 400 species of oaks grow across temperate and tropical regions of North America, Europe and Asia, with 90 species here in the United States and another 160 species growing in Mexico.  China has 100 different types of oak. Types of Oaks All oaks, members of the Fagaceae family along with beech and chestnut trees, produce acorns.  Some, like our...

Fall / Teaching Garden / Therapeutic Gardening

 by Carolyn Stringer, Therapeutic Gardening Project Manager, Class of 2012

Fall Sessions Begin

It was a beautiful day to welcome the Arc of Abilities (AoA) group back to Williamsburg Botanical Garden (WBG) after our summer break. The AoA friends greeted Master Gardeners with clever cards they had created using herbs and other plants as puns! It was a wonderful surprise to start our session and greet old and new friends! Karen Brooks and Barbara Floyd, project leads, created an interesting program based on the current growing season in the garden. We talked about...

Community Gardening / Fall / Sustainable Gardening / Teaching Garden / Water Wise / Watering

 by Elvin & Kay Clapp

The JCC Community Wellness Fair

The Water Wise Team was busy preparing and hosting a tour of our Water Wise garden at the JCC Human Services Center (5249 Olde Towne Rd.) for the JCC Community Wellness Fair on September 10, 2022. The Fair was a great success with approximately 300 people visiting our Water Wise garden. Master Gardeners Kay Clapp and Linda Neilson had 57 adult visits to the JCCW Master Gardener booth and delighted over 35 children in a garden lesson on butterflies. Project...

Fall / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Invasive Plants / Native Plants / Native Trees

 by Judy Kinshaw-Ellis

Replacing Your Non-native and Invasive Plants with Natives

Using Natives – For most of us, once we have learned the value of native plants versus non-native or even invasive plants, we cannot afford to rip out everything we have and start over. If you can, just skip to the links at the bottom of the page to learn what you need and where to buy plants! The rest of us need to develop more of a long-term plan, replacing or adding a few plants at a time. You...

Beneficial Insects / Birds / Carbon Garden / Deer / Edible Plants / Evergreen Perennials / Evergreen Shrubs / Fall / Ferns / Flowering Shrubs / Food Forest / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Keystone Species / Lepidoptera / Native Plants / Native Trees / Ornamental Shrubs / Sustainable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Making the Choice: Native v. Imported Plants

  What do you consider when choosing plants for your home and yard?  We all have a checklist of criteria in the back of our minds.  Our criteria are very personal to our own needs and situation.  You may not purchase and plant as many plants as I do each year, but I’m sure that you enjoy the choosing and the planting just as much.     We gardeners have been encouraged to plant more native plants for quite a...

Fall / Halloween / Poisonous Plants

 by Michele Jett Garrard

Henbane: A Witch’s Tale

Opening Last night I had a peculiar and rather disturbing dream. I dreamt that I was driving my car at night careening wildly and uncontrollably along a coastal mountain highway. It was pitch black, high up on the winding and twisting roads with the sinister ocean waves crashing loudly beneath the cliffs. Quite suddenly, the car shot off the road and started plummeting toward the ocean below! I panicked and tried to scream but nothing came out! And just before...

Community Gardening / Edible Plants / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Keystone Species / Native Trees / Permaculture / Planting Trees / Propagation / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Growing Indigenous Trees from Seeds

  What Are Indigenous Trees? Indigenous trees are those native species that have grown in our area since before European colonization.  They are uniquely suited to our climate.  They support our indigenous wildlife and make our landscape unique.  Trees produced from long generations of the same species, that have all grown in our immediate area, are considered indigenous.  A tree ordered from a mail-order nursery, even of the same species, was likely grown from seed, or a cutting, indigenous to...

Beneficial Insects / Fall / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Wildlife Gardening

 by Judy Kinshaw-Ellis, Master Gardener, Class of 2015

Attracting Butterflies

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...

Community Gardening / Fall / Farming / Garden Maintenance / Herbs / Teaching Garden / Vegetable Gardening

 by Louann Martin, Master Gardener, Class of 2014 and Nan Snyder, Master Gardener, Class of 2020

Mattey’s Garden

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...

Community Gardening / Fall / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Teaching Garden / Vegetable Gardening / Watering

 by Pam Arnold, Master Gardener, Class of 22018

Blayton’s Garden – Growing Knowledge Starts Here

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...