Tagged: wildlife gardening

mountain laurel in bloom

Evergreen Shrubs / Flowering Shrubs / Garden Design / Heirloom plants / Native Trees / Ornamental Shrubs / Poisonous Plants / Spring / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Mountain Laurel, A Native Shrub to Love

  I love finding mountain laurel growing in large, lovely masses in the wild.  Its creamy pink flowers glow softly in the forest.  Wild mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia, sometimes grows along the undeveloped banks of creeks and rivers in Eastern Virginia.  It grows as an understory shrub in our oak, beach and pine forests. These evergreen shrubs, almost small trees, simply blend into the fabric of the woods through much of the year before bursting into bloom, suddenly elegant and...

Container Gardens / Edible Plants / Food Forest / Fragrant Plants / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Herbs / Propagation / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Landscaping With Herbs Part III: Annual, Biennial and Tender Perennial Herbs

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. ...

Beneficial Insects / Container Gardens / Fragrant Plants / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Herbs / Invasive Plants / Perennial Care / Permaculture / Sustainable Gardening / Tender Perennials / Vegetable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Landscaping With Herbs Part II:  Deciduous Perennial Herbs

What is an Herb? Why is mint an herb, but clover isn’t?  Have you ever given it much thought?  Botanically, any plant with a soft stem, that dies back in winter, is ‘herbaceous.’  Were you give a stack of a dozen cards, each with the name and picture of a plant, could you sort them into ‘herbs’ and ‘not herbs’? If asked, most of us could probably name at least five herbs.  Those used in cooking, like basil and thyme...

Beneficial Insects / Container Gardens / Evergreen Perennials / Evergreen Shrubs / Food Forest / Fragrant Plants / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Herbs / Sustainable Gardening / Therapeutic Gardening / Wildlife Gardening / Winter Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Landscaping with Herbs in Williamsburg

  Once upon a time, I found herb gardening a topic of mystique and mystery.  Maybe it was the herb gardening books I found, with their illustrations of medieval knot gardens, and the cute little pots of culinary herbs grown on the wide, sunny windowsill of someone’s gourmet kitchen.  Or maybe it was learning that many herbs prefer a Mediterranean climate with dry, rocky soil and lots of sunshine.  How could I replicate that in Virginia? It may have been...

Citizen Science / climate change / Flowering Shrubs / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Nature's Notebook / Phenology / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Timing is Everything- Nature’s Notebook

  We saw the first green leaf unfolding on a weeping willow tree today.  It was a tree growing in the loop of the off ramp from Route 199 onto Mooretown Road.  I can only wonder whether the heat from the road and passing vehicles enticed it to unfold so early, or if others all over the area are also opening on this warm, early February afternoon.     It can be hard to remember from year to year exactly...

Container Gardens / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Permaculture / Tender Perennials / Winter

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Weather Alert: Winter Cold

The Williamsburg area has recently been rezoned by the USDA to a slightly warmer Zone 8a. But temperatures can still get down to 5°F or -15 °C, although we don’t typically see temperatures much below the 20s. So as we pull out our gloves and coats, here are some simple things we can do even now to prepare for when extreme cold weather is in the forecast. Tips for Protecting Plants Potted shrubs and perennials hardy to Zone 6 or...

Beneficial Insects / Birds / Carbon Garden / Evergreen Perennials / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Holiday Plants / Native Plants / Poisonous Plants / Wildlife Gardening / Winter

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Legends, Lore and the Truth About Mistletoe

  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...

Beneficial Insects / Birds / Fall / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Wildlife Gardening / Winter

 by Wendy Hamrick, Master Gardener, Class of 2017

Wild Thing, You Make My Heart Sing!

While we are preparing our homes, vehicles, and closets for the cold winter season ahead, let’s not forget about our wildlife friends that bring us so much joy during the more temperate months.  Over the next 90 to 120 days, they will endure bone-chilling winds, frozen ground, and limited access to fresh water or easy foraging.  It is time to get up off the couch and winterize your backyard for their benefit. The most susceptible of our critters, particularly those...

Birds / Carbon Garden / Edible Plants / Fall / Food Forest / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Larval Host Plants / Native Trees / Sustainable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Diospyrus virginiana, the Divine Fruit

  A sadly spindly ‘mystery tree’ grows on a steep slope in our back fern garden.  I first noticed it six or seven years ago.  Its top was broken off in a winter snowstorm a while ago, and its odd growth pattern, plain looking leaves and immature bark left me clueless about its identify.  My best guess was that perhaps it was a paw paw tree, since the leaves are similar, and we have a stand of those nearby. But...

Carbon Garden / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Native Trees / Propagation / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

From History and Legends to My Own Front Yard:  The Beautiful Oak

  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...