Monday Thoughts: "The kitchen gardener’s life isn’t romantic or exotic, but it is rich." ~ Linda Ziedrich

 

"The kitchen gardener’s life isn’t romantic or exotic, but it is rich." 

~ Linda Ziedrich

GardenDC Podcast Episode 245: Innovative Approaches To Meadow Plantings

In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with Claire Chambers of Meadow Lab about a new technique for establishing meadows. The plant profile is on Black Cohosh 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 Decoding Tomato Leaf Aromas by Christy Page of GreenPrints.

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

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 195: Reduce Your Lawn

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2024/05/gardendc-podcast-episode-195-reduce.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 101: Sustainable Lawn Care

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/04/gardendc-podcast-episode-101.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 130: Groundcovers versus Groundcovers

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/11/gardendc-podcast-episode-130.html

BTW, YOU can become a listener supporter/subscriber at: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/subscribe

Visit https://shop.kathyjentz.com/ to browse our new online store!

This episode is archived at: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/episodes/Innovative-Approaches-To-Meadow-Plantings-e34rjug

Show Notes will be posted after 6-30-2025.

The GardenDC podcast is also available on -

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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

Interview Edit & Show Notes: Miguel Zarate

Music: Let the Sunshine by James Mulvany

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Fenton Friday: Open Garden

We hosted an Open Garden for members of the Takoma Horticultural Club and other community guests. (See pics here taken by Miguel Zarate.) We gave garden tours, held a scavenger hunt, and decorated plant label sticks for the Pollinator Garden Strip. Refreshments included some Garlic Scape Pesto I made with the scapes from my plot and Blackberry Sauce (to pour on store=bought poundcake) that I made from our last few blackberry harvests.

This week brought record heat and not so much rain -- so I was out there watering the seedlings daily.

A few of the bean seeds we planted last week have already emerged -- Pole Bean 'Rattlesnake' and 'Iron and Peas' Cowpea. I am hoping the others emerge soon too and that the pesky baby bunny I found hiding under the Asparagus spares them.

The Basil 'Prospera' seeds are up, but no sign yet of the 'Italian Large Leaf' Basil. We can give that another week. 

In the Pollinator Garden Strip, I added a "Bee Happy" Bidens plant that I'd been sent to trial and will sow some dwarf Sunflowers today too to fill in the middle of the strip that was looking a bit empty. 

The heat finally broke today and we were able to woodchip most of the pathways. 

Next week, we conquer rebooting the Cutting Garden.

What are you growing in your edible garden this week?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 14th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton"  into the Search box above (at the top, left on this blog).

Win a pair of Long Straight Snips from Corona Tools in the June 2025 Washington Gardener Reader Contest

For our June 2025 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, we are giving away a pair of Long Straight Snips from Corona Tools. The prize value is $14.

   The Long Straight Snip has a straight, pointed blade for a wide range of applications. The corrosion-resistant stainless steel blades pivot to prevent rusting, are easier to clean, and reduce germ build-up. It also has an unobtrusive leather strap lock.

   An authentic American brand, the Corona Tools company was born in the orange groves of California in the 1920s. Since then, generations of agriculturists, gardeners, landscapers, arborists, and construction professionals have turned to Corona to find high-quality tools that work as hard as they do. They know that Corona’s iconic red handles are an immediate symbol of quality and long-lasting durability. Learn more about Corona Tools at http://coronatoolsusa.com/.

   To enter to win a pair of Corona snips, send an email by 5:00pm on Monday, June 30, to WashingtonGardenerMagazine@gmail.com with “Corona Snips” in the Subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us what your favorite article was in the June 2025 Washington Gardener issue and why. Please include your full name and mailing address. Winners will be announced and notified on/about July 1. Replies might be published. 

Horsetail Plant Profile

Horsetail Plant Profile

Horsetail (Equisetum praealtum formerly Equisetum hyemale) is a perennial plant that looks like a reed with joints along its stem. It can grow to three to six feet tall and is also known as Scouring Rush.

It is hardy to USDA zones 4 to 10 and is native to most of North America.

Horsetail is a fern relative and does not produce flowers or seeds. It can be propagated by division.

It prefers to grow in sites with consistent moisture. It can thrive in full sun to part shade.

Horsetail is native to wetlands and in places with shallow water.

It is best grown in a home garden either in a container or at the edge of a pond/water garden as it can be an aggressive spreader when planted in a wet soil location and can quickly form a large colony.

Due to its rough texture and high silica content, the plant is not eaten by deer.

Horsetail: You Can Grow That!

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine as part of our Plant Profile series for Mid-Atlantic USA gardeners.

Audio, video, and text by Kathy Jentz

Editing by Colin Davan

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

~ Lotus Plant Profile

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2023/08/lotus-plant-profile.html

~ Hardy Waterlily Plant Profile

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2019/07/video-plant-profile-hardy-waterlily.html

~ Little Bluestem Grass Plant Profile

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/08/little-bluestem-grass-plant-profile.html

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Monday Thoughts: "Back in the orchard I could again home in on the natural world, on gratitude and hope.” ~ Diane Flynt

 

"Back in the orchard I could again home in on the natural world, on gratitude and hope.” 

~ Diane Flynt

GardenDC Podcast Episode 244: Got Milkweed?

In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with UMD extension educator Ginny Rosenkranz all about Milkweeds. The plant profile is on Gardenia 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 Making Gardening Fun for Kids by Christy Page of GreenPrints.

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

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 227: Ironweed for the Mid-Atlantic

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

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 29: Butterfly Gardening

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2020/09/gardendc-podcast-episode-29-butterfly.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 47: Pollinator Victory Gardens

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2021/02/gardendc-podcast-episode-47-pollinator.html

BTW, YOU can become a listener supporter/subscriber at: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/subscribe

Visit https://shop.kathyjentz.com/ to browse our new online store!

This episode is archived at: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/episodes/Got-Milkweed-e34i2n7

Show Notes will be posted after 6-24-2025.

The GardenDC podcast is also available on -

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gardendc/id1502631179
• Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc
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• TuneIn: http://tun.in/pj7Sb
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• 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

Interview Edit & Show Notes: Ian Ferris

Music: Let the Sunshine by James Mulvany

PIN THIS FOR LATER!

Fenton Friday: Cucumbers and Dahlias

Cucumber seedlings - hardware cloth screen
covering mound - photo by Colin Davan

This week's weather was hot and humid with LOTS of rains -- so there was no need for any supplemental watering. We did apply a weak solution of fish fertilizer* to the tomato and pepper plants, now that they've been in the ground for a few weeks. We'll continue to do that weekly throughout the season.  

The Cucumber seeds planted last week have sprouted (pictured above), but only one of the Zucchini ones has. I will give those another week before considering replanting that mound.

We harvested another quart of Blackberries and cut a few Dahlias (these plants were left in the ground last year).

We reset a large trellis up and started four kinds of bean seeds on/around it. Those include Bush Bean 'Jade', Bush Bean 'French Filet', Pole Bean 'Rattlesnake', and 'Iron and Peas' Cowpea.

And we seeded in a couple rows of Basil ('Prospera' and 'Italian Large Leaf') and planted a Thai Basil seedling along with a 'Prospera' Basil photo for comparison purposes.

In the Pollinator Garden Strip, the Marigold seedlings are starting to flower, but the Zinnias are still a few weeks from any flowers. 

Next week, we conquer rebooting the Cutting Garden.

What are you growing in your edible garden this week?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 14th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton"  into the Search box above (at the top, left on this blog).

*This link is to our Amazon affiliate account. Washington Gardener may earn a few pennies if you click on the link and order something, but it will not impact your purchase price.

June 2025 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine: Centaurea, Mock Strawberry, Bottle Gourd, Summer Bulbs,, and much more…

 

The June 2025 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine is out.

Inside this issue:
·         Scintillating Centaurea
·         How to be a Green Gardener
·         Native Spring Flowers
·         A New Penstemon
·         Overhead Power Line Safety
·         Mock Strawberry
·         Blackberry Fizz Cocktail
·         Growing African Miniature Bottle Gourd
·         “Earth, I Thank You” Documentary Premieres
·         Garden Book Reviews and Contest
·         Summer Bulbs for Containers
·         Meet Ilana Z. Rubin, Forest Therapy Guide
and much more…

Note that any submissions, event listings, and advertisements for the July 2025 issue are due by July 5.

>>  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