Monday Thoughts: “Contemplation about nature, and in nature, allow us to redirect inward to deeper knowledge." ~ Teresa H. Sabankaya

"Contemplation about nature, and in nature, allow us to redirect inward to deeper knowledge."

~ Teresa H. Sabankaya

GardenDC Podcast Episode 273: Mushrooms Are Everywhere

In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with Dr. Jessica Allen, lead mycologist at NatureServe, all about the world of mushrooms. The plant profile is on Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum) and we share what's going on in the garden as well as some upcoming local gardening events in the What's New segment. We close out with the Last Word on "The Unwritten Garden Journal" from Christy Page of GreenPrints.

BTW, YOU can become a listener supporter for as little as $0.99 per month! 

See how at: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/subscribe

If you liked this episode, you may also enjoy listening to:

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 220: The Age of Lichens

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2024/11/gardendc-podcast-episode-220-age-of.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 132: Moss Gardening

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2023/01/gardendc-podcast-episode-132-moss.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 219: Native Ferns

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2024/11/gardendc-podcast-episode-219-native.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 37: Foraging

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2020/11/gardendc-podcast-episode-37-foraging.html

Show Notes will be posted after 2/21/2026.

This episode is archived at: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3DAiHCpBy05pt4J49yIKCC?si=kPuz37-AT2SML6vhpc4_AQ

The GardenDC podcast is also available on -

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gardendc/id1502631179
• Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc
• RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/gardendc-G2ql5V
• iHeartRADIO: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-gardendc-73615877/
  
• aCast: https://play.acast.com/s/gardendc
  
• Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/776561ca-75d6-4c63-833b-7dafedf57a72/GardenDC
• Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/GardenDC-Podcast/B08JJNZBMX
• Breaker: https://www.breaker.audio/gardendc
  
• Bullhorn https://www.bullhorn.fm/gardendc
• Chartable: https://link.chtbl.com/GardenDC
• Castbox: https://castbox.fm/channel/GardenDC-id2691161?country=us
• Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/us/show/5587897
• GoodPods: https://goodpods.app.link/u3gtlpybILb
• Headliner: https://play.headliner.app/podcast/37086
• Himalaya: https://www.himalaya.com/courses/gardendc-1747568
• Ivy: https://ivy.fm/podcast/gardendc-940013
• Listen Notes: https://lnns.co/VIfcBjWRnw6
• Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/podcast/gardendc/
• PocketCasts: https://pca.st/9phvd8bk
• Podcast Addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/2629285
• Podfollow: https://podfollow.com/GardenDC
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• Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1502631179/gardendc
  
• Reason: https://reason.fm/podcast/gardendc
• TuneIn: http://tun.in/pj7Sb
• Vurbl: https://vurbl.com/station/gardendc/
• YouTube: https://youtube.com/washingtongardenermagazine

We welcome your questions and comments! You can leave a voice mail message for us at: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/message Note that we may use these messages on a future episode.

And be sure to leave us a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform plus share us on social media with #GardenDC, so other gardeners can find us too!

Episode Credits:
Host and Producer: Kathy Jentz

Music: Let the Sunshine by James Mulvany

PIN THIS FOR LATER!

Images courtesy of Jessica Allen.

Win a one-year membership to the Azalea Society of America in the February 2026 Washington Gardener Reader Contest

 

For our February 2026 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, we are giving away a one-year membership to the Azalea Society of America (ASA) and their local chapter (a $35 value).

   The Azalea Society offers membership to anyone with an interest in azaleas, from home gardeners, collectors, and students to plant professionals. Local chapters have social activities, garden tours, meetings, and plant sales featuring unusual varieties. National conventions have garden tours, talks by well-known azalea authorities, plant sales, and opportunities to make and renew friendships. The Azalean, the ASA’s quarterly journal, has timely, informative articles about azalea culture, hybridizing, propagation, garden design, new introductions, and chapter activities. This Azalea Society website (https://azaleas.org/) is the source of information about azaleas.

   To enter to win the membership, send an email by 5:00pm on February 28 to WashingtonGardenerMagazine@gmail.com with “Azalea Society” in the Subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us what your favorite article was in the February 2026 Washington Gardener issue and why. Please include your full name and mailing address. Winners will be announced and notified on/about March 1. Replies might be published. 

Foxglove Plant Profile

 

Foxglove Plant Profile

Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) is a biennial or short-lived herbaceous perennial. The flowers resemble long, tubular bells running along a tall stem and they are commonly found in shades of pink and purple. The foliage is a clump of coarse leaves covered in fine hairs.

It is native to Western Europe and is hardy to zones 4 to 9.

Foxglove prefers full sun to light shade and soils with lots of organic matter and good drainage, although they can grow in most soil conditions.

During the first year of growth the leaves form and then in the second year the tall flower stalks emerge in late spring or early summer.

The flowers are visited by many pollinators including hummingbirds.

The flower spikes make good cut flowers.

Exercise caution though as all parts of the plant are toxic if eaten and the leaves can irritate sensitive skin. This also makes them deer- and rabbit-resistant.

To get a jumpstart on the two-year cycle, sow Foxglove seeds in late summer and they should then bloom for you the following spring.

You can deadhead it after flowering or discard the whole plant. If you want to collect seeds or let it reseed itself in your garden, then allow a few spent flower stalks to remain until the seeds disperse.

Foxglove: You Can Grow That!

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine.

Audio, Video, Photos, and Text by Kathy Jentz

Editing by Aicha Bangoura

 

➤ If you enjoy this video, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe to our Youtube channel (thank you!)

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If you liked this video, we think you will like these other Plant Profiles:

~ Astilbe Plant Profile

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2021/06/astilbe-plant-profile.html

~ Hosta Plant Profile

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2025/06/hosta-plant-profile.html

~ Bletilla Plant Profile

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2023/05/bletilla-plant-profile.html

Thank You to Our Generous 2026 Seed Exchange Sponsors and Donors

Thank you to our generous sponsors and donors for contributing products, support and information to our annual Washington Gardener Magazine Seed Exchanges.

• American Meadows

• Bloom Soil

• Brookside Gardens

• Chesapeake Bay Trust

• Cobrahead

• Cool Springs Press/Quarto Publishing 

• The Espoma Company

• Green Spring Gardens

• Harvesting History

• Plant NoVa Natives

• Quince Blossom Ridge

• Silver Spring Garden Club

• Soil Moist

• Valley View Farms Garden Center

• Washington Gardener Magazine

• Zanfel Laboratories

Monday Thoughts: "Gardens are a form of autobiography." ~ Sydney Eddison

"Gardens are a form of autobiography." ~ Sydney Eddison

Washington Gardener Magazine 2026 Garden Photo Contest Winners

Here are the 17 Award-winning Garden Photos in the Washington Gardener Magazine 2026 Garden Photo Contest Winners. Contest entries must have been taken in the 2025 calendar year in a garden setting within 150-mile radius of Washington, DC. 

The winners will also be published in the March 2026 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine.

The photo show reception of the contest winners will take place on Sunday, August 2, at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens and the show will remain on view through September 1 at the Meadowlark Visitor Center's lobby.  

Washington Gardener Magazine is already announcing the 21st Annual Washington Gardener Photo Contest. Start gathering your images now and throughout this year. Most of the entry rules will remain the same as this year’s contest. Photos need to be taken during the 2026 calendar year in a garden-setting in the greater Washington, DC area. We will again accept the entries during the first three weeks of January. Look for the contest entry details at the end of this year on our blog and in our magazine.Learn more about the annual contest at https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/.

Thank you to our Washington Gardener Magazine 2026 Garden Photo Contest Prize Sonsors:

- Capital Photography Center

- Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Shrubs 

Additional prizes provded by Washington Gardener Magazine.

GardenDC Podcast Episode 272: Goldenrod for the Mid-Atlantic

In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with Sam Hoadley, Manager of Horticultural Research at Mt. Cuba Center, all about Goldenrod (Solidago spp.) for the Mid-Atlantic Region. The plant profile is on Skunk Cabbage and we share what's going on in the garden as well as some upcoming local gardening events in the What's New segment. We close out with the Last Word on "The Sweetest Winter Squash" from Christy Page of GreenPrints.

BTW, YOU can become a listener supporter for as little as $0.99 per month! 

See how at: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/subscribe

You can find Mt. Cuba Center's Solidago Report here.

If you liked this episode, you may also enjoy listening to:

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 227: Ironweed

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2025/02/gardendc-podcast-episode-227-ironweed.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 182: Amsonia

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2024/02/gardendc-podcast-episode-182-amsonia.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 134: Carex

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2023/01/gardendc-podcast-episode-134-carex-for.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 99: Trilliums

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/04/gardendc-podcast-episode-99-trilliums.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 69: Garden Phlox

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2021/08/gardendc-podcast-episode-69-garden-phlox.html

Show Notes will be posted after 2/14/2026.

This episode is archived at: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1khfwjPdkHnAyPaJNKkBp0?si=cV8NNc0HS6SXrZ26rbZcdQ

The GardenDC podcast is also available on -

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gardendc/id1502631179
• Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc
• RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/gardendc-G2ql5V
• iHeartRADIO: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-gardendc-73615877/
  
• aCast: https://play.acast.com/s/gardendc
  
• Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/776561ca-75d6-4c63-833b-7dafedf57a72/GardenDC
• Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/GardenDC-Podcast/B08JJNZBMX
• Breaker: https://www.breaker.audio/gardendc
  
• Bullhorn https://www.bullhorn.fm/gardendc
• Chartable: https://link.chtbl.com/GardenDC
• Castbox: https://castbox.fm/channel/GardenDC-id2691161?country=us
• Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/us/show/5587897
• GoodPods: https://goodpods.app.link/u3gtlpybILb
• Headliner: https://play.headliner.app/podcast/37086
• Himalaya: https://www.himalaya.com/courses/gardendc-1747568
• Ivy: https://ivy.fm/podcast/gardendc-940013
• Listen Notes: https://lnns.co/VIfcBjWRnw6
• Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/podcast/gardendc/
• PocketCasts: https://pca.st/9phvd8bk
• Podcast Addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/2629285
• Podfollow: https://podfollow.com/GardenDC
• Podlink: https://pod.link/GardenDC
• Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/gardendc-1137444
• Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1502631179/gardendc
  
• Reason: https://reason.fm/podcast/gardendc
• TuneIn: http://tun.in/pj7Sb
• Vurbl: https://vurbl.com/station/gardendc/
• YouTube: https://youtube.com/washingtongardenermagazine

We welcome your questions and comments! You can leave a voice mail message for us at: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/message Note that we may use these messages on a future episode.

And be sure to leave us a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform plus share us on social media with #GardenDC, so other gardeners can find us too!

Episode Credits:
Host and Producer: Kathy Jentz

Music: Let the Sunshine by James Mulvany

PIN THIS FOR LATER!

February 2026 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine: Calendula, Warblers, Azaleas, and much more…

 

The February 2026 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine is now out.

Inside this issue:

·         Cool-Season Calendula

·         Preventing Rabbit Damage

·         Jumping Worms Revisited

·         Attracting Winter Warblers

·         The Inside Scoop on Seed Buying

·         Year of the Azalea

·         Garden Book Reviews and Reader Contest

·         What the Interns Grew Last Fall

·         Meet an Azalea-Loving Volunteer

·         A New Hydrangea

·         Hosta ventricosa: The Self-Seeder

·         Flowering Bulbs for Your Valentine

·         Boxwood Blight or Burn? Know the Signs

·         and much more…

 

Note that any submissions, event listings, and advertisements for the March 2026 issue are due by February 10.

 

>>  Subscribe to Washington Gardener Magazine today to have the monthly publication sent to your inbox as a PDF several days before it is available online. You can use the PayPal (credit card) online order form here: https://www.washingtongardener.com/index_files/subscribe.htm