Category: Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature

Help Wanted / Invasive Plants / Native Plants / Native Trees / Nuisance Plants / Ornamental Shrubs / Soil Conservation / Summer Color Plants / Tree Identification / Trees / Vegetable Gardening / Watering

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Master Gardeners’ Homeowner Outreach Programs 2026

Transform Your Garden with Expert Advice from Certified Master Gardeners Do you dream of a flourishing garden but aren’t sure where to start? Or perhaps you’ve encountered some gardening issues that require expert intervention. The James City County Williamsburg Master Gardener Association has just what you need! We offer free, environmentally sound, research-based recommendations for your home’s trees, lawn, landscape, and water-saving practices.  Our teams of 2-3 certified Extension Master Gardeners are ready to visit your home, discuss your gardening...

Protect Your Garden from Snow Damage!

Winter Gardening

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Protect Your Garden from Snow Damage!

As we find ourselves in the clutches of ‘Ole Man Winter” and will be dealing with snow, ice, and freezing rain from this most recent storm, we found an article from our great Master Gardener friends up in northern Virginia that is a great resource for preparing and dealing with winter’s challenges. Enjoy, and keep safe and warm. Essential Tips to Protect Your Garden from Snow Damage

Bulb Gardening / Carbon Garden / Container Gardens / Edible Plants / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Geophytes / Herbs / Holiday Plants / Ornamental Shrubs / Permaculture / Propagation / Seeds / Trees / Wildlife Gardening

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The Secret Lives of Roots

  A display of striking, contemporary glass vases waited on the counter where I paid for my bulbs in the Heath family’s Bulb Shop in Gloucester last week.  A Hyacinth bulb nestled in the curves of one of them; with thick white roots emerging from its base reaching into the water below.  These were tall, crystal clear vases designed for forcing bulbs indoors during the winter.  Their height allowed room for the bulb’s roots to grow freely, as they do...

Birds / Carbon Garden / Conservation / Deer Resistant Plants / Edible Plants / Flowering Shrubs / Food Forest / Foraging / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Healing Garden / Hedge / Hedgerow / Larval Host Plants / Native Trees / Permaculture / Poisonous Plants / Soil Conservation / Wildlife Gardening / Williamsburg Botanical Garden

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The Many Uses of Sumac

Vibrant Fall Foliage Are you drawn to bright scarlet leaves in autumn? You have probably admired sumac shrubs growing along the roadsides even if you didn’t know their name.  Sumac’s huge, compound leaves can grow to two feet long, made up of as many as 31 leaflets arranged along its colorful central stem.  They are deep green and glossy through much of the year, until they turn golden, orange, scarlet, or even deep purple from September until the leaves finally...

Colonial Williamsburg Arboretum / Evergreen trees / Forest Bathing / Fragrant Plants / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Healing Garden / Trees / Trees in Winter / Wildlife Gardening / Williamsburg Botanical Garden

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How Do You Bathe in a Forest?

What is Forest Bathing? Have you ever wondered about the practice of forest bathing?  It is one of several recent eco-prescriptions to help us heal what ails us and adapt to the stresses of contemporary life.  Many therapists and physicians are sending their patients outdoors to enjoy the benefits of unplugged time in nature, away from screens, pings, and climate-controlled spaces lit with fluorescent tubes and LEDs.  Ecotherapy has proven highly successful for millions of people.   Biophilia Medical professionals...

Community Gardening / Conservation / Edible Plants / Evergreen Perennials / Evergreen Shrubs / Flowering Shrubs / Food Forest / Fragrant Plants / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Healing Garden / Heirloom plants / Herbs / Native Trees / Permaculture / Sanctuary Garden / Sustainable Gardening / Therapeutic Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

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Making a Healing Garden

“The art of healing comes from nature, not from the physician.” Paracelsus Creating Sanctuary Sometimes we all need a place to get away from the noise of our daily lives to find some peace.  We want a place to relax, to heal, to reconnect with the natural world, and to dream of a better future for ourselves and our loved ones.  Our outdoor spaces can provide us with peace, healing, sanctuary, sustenance, and inspiration when we design them with these...

Conservation / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Invasive Plants / Soil Conservation / Wildlife Gardening

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Eliminate Stilt Grass Now

A Window of Opportunity Your window to destroy any Japanese stilt grass on your property closes when its seeds emerge in late August through October.  This tenacious, invasive grass has all the adaptations it needs to gobble up real estate in private yards, public spaces, and in woodlands across America.  But your swift action now, before this year’s seeds ripen, can help stop its spread.     Japanese stilt grass, Microstegium vimineum, is an annual that will die back with...

Beneficial Insects / Conservation / Container Gardens / Evergreen Perennials / Fairy Gardening / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Holiday Plants / Invasive Plants / Poisonous Plants / Tree Care / Wildlife Gardening

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In Defense of Ivy

  Ivy:  Hero or Villain? English ivy, celebrated in hymns and carols, rich in history and tradition, may be among the most hated of ‘imported’ plants for some American gardeners.  Native plant enthusiasts may call ivy a ‘noxious weed.’  And now, thanks to a new state law, HB 1941, which will go into effect in Virginia in January of 2027, horticultural retailers will be required to label ivy as an invasive plant and suggest alternatives whenever it is sold directly...

Deer Resistant Plants / Ferns / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Native Plants / Perennial Care / Plant Literacy / Sustainable Gardening / Taxonomy / Tender Perennials / Tropical Houseplants / Wildlife Gardening / Williamsburg Botanical Garden

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Finding Success with Maidenhair Ferns

  Maidenhair ferns look so delicate and fragile I avoided planting them for the first thirty-odd years of my gardening adventures.  I had no confidence in keeping them alive through a Virginia summer because I expected them to be fussy, requiring far more skillful care than I could offer. Native Northern Maidenhair Ferns When I first toured the Williamsburg Botanical Garden as a newly minted Master Gardener intern in April of 2018, our guide, Dr. Donna Ware, pointed out a...

Carbon Garden / Deer Resistant Plants / Evergreen Shrubs / Flowering Shrubs / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Ornamental Shrubs / Poisonous Plants

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The Fragrant Gardenia

  Fragrant Gardenia Flowers Fragrance often announces the shift in our seasons, alerting us to look more carefully for what has changed since the day before.  In June, a languid sweetness in the air calls our attention to the first flowers opening on the Gardenia shrub, a fixture in many Southeastern gardens, including residential gardens in coastal Virginia. Pristine, white and elegant, Gardenia flowers tend to fade all too quickly.  Their beauty is ephemeral as they fade first to beige...