Propagation Archives - Page 2 of 2 - JCCWilliamsburg Master Gardener Association

Container Gardens / Deer / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Perennial Care / Permaculture / Poisonous Plants / Propagation / Soil Conservation / Sustainable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

January 29, 2022

by Elizabeth McCoy

Hellebores: Winter Flowers for Pollinators

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...

Carbon Garden / Edible Plants / Ferns / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Larval Host Plants / Native Plants / Permaculture / Propagation / Sustainable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

September 29, 2021

by Elizabeth McCoy

Fabulous Ferns for Every Garden

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.