Category: Wildlife Gardening

Birds / Colonial Williamsburg Arboretum / Conservation / Evergreen Shrubs / Flowering Shrubs / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Historic Trees / Native Trees / Ornamental Shrubs / Resource Protection / Wildlife Gardening

 by Rick Brown

The Bassett Trace Nature Trail 

              Colonial Williamsburg welcomes visitors to the natural beauty of one of the wilder, quieter portions of the historic area.     The Bassett Trace is named after Burwell Bassett, Martha Washington’s nephew and a Virginia legislator and congressman. In 1800, he purchased a white farmhouse near the trailhead.  In 1936, that farmhouse, now known as Bassett Hall, became the favorite home of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and his wife Abby Aldrich Rockefeller.  During the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg, an...

Beneficial Insects / Birds / Bulb Gardening / Carbon Garden / climate change / Compost / Conservation / Deer / Evergreen Perennials / Evergreen Shrubs / Evergreen trees / Ferns / Flowering Shrubs / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Larval Host Plants / Ornamental Shrubs / Perennial Care / Phenology / Trees in Winter / Watering / Wildlife Gardening / Winter

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Winter in the Garden: To Do, To Do Less, and What to Avoid

  We can consider winter as the ‘weekend’ of the gardening year, both the last month and the first months of the year when we can enjoy a much-needed rest from the regular routine.  A period of rest and renewal restores energy to both the garden and the gardener.  It allows us time for reflection on the successes and challenges of seasons past and an opportunity to plan and prepare for the seasons to come. If winter is the weekend,...

Conservation / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Larval Host Plants / Native Trees / Soil Conservation / Tree Care / Tree Identification / Trees / Trees in Winter / Wildlife Gardening / Winter

 by Elizabeth McCoy

The Beauty and Promise of Trees in Winter

  There is a special beauty in the form and structure of a bare tree after it has dropped its annual crop of leaves.  Like the beauty of a classical statue, one can see the truth of its bones.  Leaves, for all of their movement and color, veil the beauty of branches and buds. Looking at a bare tree is a study in pure potential.     All of the tree’s life  draws inwards to the wood and roots as...

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...

Beneficial Insects / Carbon Garden / climate change / Conservation / Evergreen Shrubs / Evergreen trees / Flowering Shrubs / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Phenology / Pollinators / Sustainable Gardening / Trees / USDA Hardiness Zone Map / Wildlife Gardening / Winter Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Updated 2023 Plant Hardiness Map

  The United States Department of Agriculture released an updated Plant Hardiness Zone map on November 15 that reflects changes for about half of the country.  This updated map, the first since 2012, is based on the average coldest winter temperature, on the coldest night of the year, for each region of the country.  The trend shown on this map paints an accurate picture of how many parts of our country are warming.  The USDA cautions, however, that the data...

Birds / Evergreen Shrubs / Flowering Shrubs / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Holiday Plants / Invasive Plants / Nuisance Plants / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

The Problems with Nandina

  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...

Birds / Carbon Garden / Conservation / Edible Plants / Evergreen trees / Food Forest / Fragrant Plants / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Historic Trees / Holiday Plants / Larval Host Plants / Native Trees / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Eastern Red Cedar: An Uncommonly Useful Tree

  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...

Animal repellant products / Carbon Garden / Conservation / Evergreen Shrubs / Flowering Shrubs / Fragrant Plants / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Holiday Plants / Ornamental Shrubs / Permaculture / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Evergreen Camellias for Winter Flowers

    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...

Carbon Garden / Evergreen Perennials / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Hummingbird Gardening / Invasive Plants / Larval Host Plants / Native Plants / Nuisance Plants / Permaculture / Poisonous Plants / Sustainable Gardening / Trees / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Climbing Vines in Coastal Virginia

  Vines of all types love our Coastal Virginia climate.  Many different species thrive in summer’s heat and humidity, growing by inches each day.  They creep across the ground until they encounter something to climb.  Their tender, flexible tips reach up and out in search of a support, and then they climb. Benefits of Vines All vines in our area produce flowers and seeds.  While some flowers are bright and showy, like the bright orange trumpet creeper, others are nearly...