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

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...

Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Uncategorized

 by Jim Easton

Bye Bye Birdies

In our yards and gardens, ways to help migratory birds Our kids getting on the school bus aren’t the only things that are on the move this fall.  More than 40 species of birds make the Williamsburg-James City County area their spring and summer home and return to warmer climes as our weather turns cooler in September & October.  These include osprey, terns, flycatchers, swallows, and many species of warblers.  Many head to Central America, South America, and the Gulf...

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...

Community Gardening / Edible Plants / Fall / Farming / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Vegetable Gardening

 by Marion Guthrie

But Is It Ripe?

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...

Farming / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Planting Trees

 by Marion Guthrie

Apples Remind Us

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,...

Birds / Native Plants / Native Trees / Soil Conservation

 by Bill Dichtel

Naturalist, Dr. Colin Rees to Speak!

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...

Community Gardening / Edible Plants / Farm-To-Table / Farming / Vegetable Gardening

 by Michele Garrard and Elizabeth Myers

Farm to Table in Williamsburg

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...

Community Gardening / Container Gardens / Edible Plants / Herbs / Organic Vegetable Gardening / Therapeutic Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy and Karen Brooks

Therapeutic Gardening in a Botanical Garden

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...