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...
What’s the big fuss about Nandina? It is attractive, easy to grow, and can be found growing throughout older neighborhoods in our area. Its berries (drupes) turn bright red in October, just in time to brighten up the winter landscape. Some people cut the red fruit for use in holiday decorations. Nandina’s foliage may even turn bright scarlet after frost, depending on the cultivar. It can be a beautiful and useful plant. Nandina is so tough and versatile that...
If fragrance is the gate of memory, the spicy aroma of Eastern red cedar takes me back to childhood holidays. My parents would load us in the car, about a week before Christmas, for a drive out to a friend’s farm where we could walk through the meadows in search of our Christmas tree. After a lively debate about the trees we found, Dad would pull out an old handsaw and begin cutting the tree. We would all help...
The first Camellia shrub usually chooses a stretch of damp, cool October days to burst into bloom. I am always taken by surprise when its luminous white, spring-like blossoms unfold, because they look rather out of place beside the colorful leaves falling from nearby trees. Bright flowers in shades of white, pink, and red open on our evergreen Camellia shrubs each October and November while the rest of the garden fades, and as we begin preparing for winter’s...
The Historic Red, White and Blue Red, White and Blue is the iconic color scheme of an American summer. These colors each have deep meanings and various interpretations. American revolutionaries adopted these colors for our colonial flags beginning in 1776. Yet red, white and blue were also the colors of the British flag, and the British Red Ensign Flag, a field of red with a Union Jack in the upper left corner, which flew over Colonial and British ships from...
The sweet fragrance of Magnolia flowers on a warm breeze announces summer in Virginia. But that wasn’t the case 400 years ago, before European colonists began exploring for interesting tree species, transplanting them to new areas, and exporting them back to Europe. The original native range of Magnolia grandiflora is only from the Carolinas south to Florida and westwards towards Texas along the Gulf Coast. Our iconic Southern Magnolia trees aren’t indigenous in this region, but they have since...
Q. How do I care for a Christmas cactus so that it blooms well for Christmas? A. Christmas cactus, Schlumbergera x buckleyi, is native to tropical rain forests. It should be planted in a soil mix that is high in organic material but drains well. It likes to be root bound, so don’t feel you have to keep putting it in a larger pot each year. Keep the soil moist from spring through summer but let the soil dry out...
In late autumn, the Williamsburg area woods light up with evergreen holly trees as the hardwoods lose their leaves. It is their time to sparkle in the winter sunshine. Their broad, prickly leaves are waxy on top, reflecting what light reaches them through the forest canopy. Unobtrusive throughout the summer, hollies are among the few forest trees, along with wax myrtle, pines, cedars, and magnolias, which remain bright green and covered in leaves throughout the year. Holly King Legends...
From November through May we can admire the living mathematics of the trunks and branches of hardwood trees. Their leafy crowns have fallen, and their beautiful bark in all its silvery, marbled, textured variety is revealed once again. Looking up, we sometimes see lively green clusters of mistletoe shining in the treetops. These shrubby, evergreen plants have been a part of myth and folklore since ancient times. They live suspended between heaven and Earth, rooted into the branches of...
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...