Category: Crafting With Plants

Crafting With Plants / Evergreen Shrubs / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Holiday Plants / Native Trees / Poisonous Plants / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

The Roots of a Virginia Christmas

  Our contemporary Christmas celebration is an amalgamation of many diverse strands of meaning, custom, and tradition.  The first English colonists who ventured to Virginia on behalf of the Virginia Company of London brought their traditions and customs with them.  And those customs were already an odd mix drawing bits from the ancient world of the Neolithic Celts, the Greeks and the Romans; all molded into the contemporary post-Reformation culture of urban England. Keep in mind that the earliest Virginia...

Conservation / Crafting With Plants / Evergreen Shrubs / Fragrant Plants / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Herbs / Holiday Plants / Invasive Plants / Wildlife Gardening / Winter

 by Elizabeth McCoy

How to Make a Natural, Compostable Wreath

  You may already have everything you need to make a simple, wildlife friendly, natural Christmas wreath.  Can you remember Christmas before the decorations were all made with plastic and came from a store?  This is a simple wreath that you can make in an afternoon, enjoy during the season, and then add to your compost pile.  It will be fresher, more fragrant, and will last longer than any purchased wreath.  Best of all, you can find the materials as...

Crafting With Plants / Fall / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Native Trees

 by Wendy Hamrick, Master Gardener, Class of 2017

The Peculiar Osage Orange

The Osage orange (Maclura, pomifera), a member of the mulberry family (Moraceae), has proved to be both useful and ornamental in its rich history.  It was identified by an American geologist, of Scottish descent, named William Maclure (1763-1840), a successful merchant, who later in life distinguished himself as a geologist and cartographer. This native American tree was originally found in the dust bowl states, Oklahoma and Texas, as well as the northern tip of Louisiana, but has since become naturalized...

Crafting With Plants / Fall / Halloween

 by Marion Guthrie, Master Gardener, Class of 2019

The Origin of Jack-o’-lanterns

Did you know that the tradition of carving jack-o’-lanterns started in Ireland, where turnips and potatoes were originally used? In fact, the name, jack-o’-lantern, comes from an Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack who tried to trick the Devil. It ended badly for Stingy Jack with the Devil sending him off into the night with only one hot coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth ever...

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...

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 / Crafting With Plants / Evergreen Shrubs / Fragrant Plants / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Herbs / Holiday Plants / Ornamental Shrubs / Tender Perennials

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Tips for Growing Holiday Plants

  Did Santa bring you a potted plant for Christmas?  Or maybe a neighbor dropped by with a beautiful potted something to spread a bit of good cheer your way?  Or do you always linger at the rack of holiday plants and wonder which ones you might be able to keep alive for a few weeks this winter? December and January are a great time to shop for plants.  And this week, especially, after Christmas, you’ll find some good values...

Animal repellant products / Beneficial Insects / Birds / Bulb Gardening / Container Gardens / Crafting With Plants / Edible Plants / Evergreen Perennials / Ferns / Flowering Shrubs / Fragrant Plants / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Herbs / Lepidoptera / Native Plants / Ornamental Shrubs / Perennial Care / Sustainable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Making Container Gardens for Wildlife

  An older woman made her way slowly through the aisles of the garden center’s outdoor display area, leaning heavily on a cane.  As I turned, hands loaded with small pots, she was behind me.  She smiled and asked whether I had seen any bee balm on the display of herbs I’d been scanning. We began to chat, and it turned out that she wanted to attract hummingbirds to the balcony of her apartment.  Someone had told her that hummingbirds...