What To Do in May and June Avid gardeners find lots to do during May and June as spring melts into summer. The enjoyment of spending time outside watching things grow and listening to the birds can distract us from our spring to-do list. But taking care of business early in the season will result in a more attractive garden and more success through the summer months ahead. The days are getting noticeably longer and warmer as the first flush...
Benefits of Garden Herbs Herbs attract hummingbirds and butterflies like few other plants. It is worth planting a few herbs whether you plan to harvest and cook with them or not because they are tough, easy to grow, and beautiful. They come with side benefits; their essential oils not only offer fragrance and flavor, but they also deter grazers. If you have watched deer chew your roses and impatiens like deer candy, know that your herbs will survive their curiosity. ...
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...
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...
Written by Patsy McGrady, Master Gardener, Class of 2010 Q. Why should I get a soil test and how do I get one? A. Gardening without a soil test is like cooking without a recipe. Sometimes the results are good, and other times, not so good. A soil test identifies the pH of the soil and states whether the soil needs to have lime added. The report provides the level of various nutrients in the soil, such as phosphorus, potash,...
My dad was a gardener. He grew vegetables. He grafted fruit trees. He grew gladiolus for my grandmother (his mother-in-law) because they were her favorite. He grew lots of peonies, and I have at least one in my garden that was moved from Iowa to Maryland to Virginia. And he grew a walnut tree, but it died the year he died. I was twelve, but I still remember that little tree. I like to think that, when we lose a...
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...
A fern table needs mosses to serve as mulch, holding the planting medium in place. Moss Garden Resources Find links to some excellent books, informative websites, and good sources for moss listed below: Hamilton, Helen. Ferns and Mosses of Virginia’s Coastal Plain. 2017. Martin, Annie. The Magical World of Moss Gardening. 2015. Nordström, Ulrica. Moss: From Forest to Garden: A Guide to the Hidden World of Moss. 2018 Smith, Richard R. New Methods in Moss Gardening: How to Grow...
What blooms through the snow in your yard? Many older homes in our neighborhood have established clumps of evergreen hellebores blooming from January through April or May. Suddenly, there are delicate pink and white petals emerging in the depths of winter. I asked a new friend about them soon after we moved to Williamsburg, and she generously gave me trays full of seedling plants when she thinned hers that spring. What a wonderful gift! The plants she gave to me...
Why do gardeners use ferns in their designs? Ferns form an important layer in the landscape, especially in shady gardens. Peaceful and calming, they grow lushly, providing both structure and interesting texture. Some may dismiss ferns as uniformly green, but many varieties provide vibrant color. Ferns make excellent ground cover, specimen and filler plants. While some grow as single fronds arising from a rhizome, or in small vase-shaped clusters, many ferns spread to form larger and larger clumps over time.
Ferns are very easy to grow, needing little care. They rarely have any sort of disease or pest, and neither chemicals nor machines are needed to care for them. All types of ferns are perennials and grow better with the passing years.