Saturday, October 23, 2021

GardenDC Podcast Episode 80: Bay-Wise Landscapes


In this episode, we talk with Wanda MacLachlan, Area Educator, Residential Landscape Management, University of Maryland Extension, about the Bay-Wise Landscape Program. The plant profile is on White Wood Aster and I share what's going on locally and in my garden.


BTW, YOU can become a listener supporter for as little as $0.99 per month! See how at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/support.

The episode is posted at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/episodes/Episode-80---Bay-Wise-Landscapes-e1970on

The GardenDC podcast is also available on -

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

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Friday, October 22, 2021

Fenton Friday: Working for Peanuts

Peanuts pulled straight out of the soil.

This week at the community garden plot, we harvested the peanuts! Back on June 25, I planted peanuts in a container as an experiment. Those came from the ladies at Garden sPOTS and they were a fun experiment this summer. I was very impatient and wanted to pull them in mid-September, but intern Charlotte Benedetto made me wait a couple more weeks until the peanut plant foliage was started to yellow and die-off.

We got two nice-sized hand-fulls that are tied up and curing (aka drying) in my sunroom for a couple more weeks. Then I will roast them and we can try them to see what they taste like.

Elsewhere in the plot, we are still picking cut flowers (zinnia, celosia, cosmos, and gomphrena) and cherry tomatoes. It has been a fairly mild fall with no killing frosts/freezes -- yet. We also harvested spinach and lettuces. The radish seedlings are growing rapidly and the Pak Choi are as well.

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 8th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

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Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Tatarian Aster Plant Profile


 Tatarian Aster (Aster tataricus) is a tall perennial that is hardy to zones 3 to 9. The lavender-colored flowers bloom from September into October. This aster is not native to the United States, instead it originates in Asia as the name indicates.

It can reach six feet high or more and is best planted at the back of a border or along a wall. It is very sturdy and does not normally require staking. ‘Jindai’ is a dwarf cultivar from Japan that stays about three feet tall and another short cultivar is ‘Blue Lake’, which has lighter blue flowers.

This plant is not picky about soil types and grows best in full sun. It doesn’t mind high heat and humidity. After a few years, it will spread to form a colony. It can easily be dug, divided, and shared in spring.

Tatarian Aster is a pollinator favorite. It is also deer resistant. It can suffer from fungal diseases that make the lower foliage unattractive, but that won’t kill this tough plant.

Tatarian Aster: You Can Grow That!

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine.

Audio and Text by Kathy Jentz
Video and Editing by Melinda Thompson

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

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Monday, October 18, 2021

Monday Thoughts: What is a weed? A weed is a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

What is a weed? A weed is a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson


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Saturday, October 16, 2021

GardenDC Podcast Episode 79: Boxwood


In this episode, we talk with Bennett Saunders, General Manager of Saunders Genetics LLC, all about boxwood from propagation tips to dealing with blight and leaf miner. The plant profile is on Hardy Begonia and I share what's going on locally and in my garden.

BTW, YOU can become a listener supporter for as little as $0.99 per month! See how at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/support.

The episode is posted at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/episodes/Episode-79---Boxwood-e18rqio

The GardenDC podcast is also available on -

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

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Friday, October 15, 2021

Fenton Friday Meets Bloom Day

I don't recall another time when my weekly Fenton Friday reports on our community garden overlapped with the 15th of the month aka Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, though I' m sure it must have... In any case, here is my combined post. 

The bloom that is putting on a terrific show right now in the garden plot is the Marigold 'Big Duck Yellow'. We started it from seed and it is just now really hitting its stride. The flowers are HUGE and the bumblebees are burying their heads into them. I had quite a struggle finding a few full blooms to cut as the bees were not letting me! It was an AAS winner in 2019. These plants is very sturdy and tall, so I am using it to divide the cherry tomatoes from another bed, as the indeterminate tomato plants would take over that whole side of the plot, if we let them.


We harvested the largest leaves from the 'Viroflay' Spinach today and picked some more cherry tomatoes. We also cut some branches off the Holy Basil aka Tulsi for the interns to sample. 

Last week's replacement seeding of 'Garden Party' radish mix and 'Shanghai Baby' Bok Choy are all up and doing great! Today, we thinned out the radish seedlings and can likely thin the bok choy next 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 8th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

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Wednesday, October 13, 2021

White Wood Aster Plant Profile

White Wood Aster (Aster divaricatus also known as Eurybia divaricata) is a perennial that is hardy to zones 3 to 8 and native to the eastern United States.

The small, white flowers cover the plant in late summer into early fall. The daisy-like blooms are a pollinator favorite. It is the host plant for the caterpillars of the Pearl Crescent and Checkerspot Butterflies. The plant is also quite deer-resistant.

White Wood Aster grows in low mounds and is not picky about soil types. It is a tough plant and does well in part- to full shade.

This plant is very low-maintenance. To stop it from getting too leggy and flopping over, you can cut it back in late spring or early summer to about 6 inches high.

The selection ‘Eastern Star’ is a more compact plant and it received the highest ratings in a study of 119 asters by the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Plant Evaluation Program.

It can form large, dense colonies spreading by underground rhizomes. White Wood Aster tends to also self-sow freely, so cut off the flowers after they bloom, if you want to limit that tendency.

White Wood Aster: You Can Grow That!

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine.

Audio and Text by Kathy Jentz
Video and Editing by Melinda Thompson

Footage gathered at Green Spring Gardens and Brookside Gardens.

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

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Monday, October 11, 2021

Monday Thoughts: My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece


"My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece."
~ Claude Monet
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Saturday, October 09, 2021

GardenDC Podcast Episode 78: Dumbarton Oaks

In this episode, we talk with Jonathan Kavalier, Director of Gardens and Grounds at Dumbarton Oaks, about the garden's past, present, and future as it hits its centennial mark. The plant profile is on Prickly Pear and I share what's going on locally and in my garden.


BTW, YOU can become a listener supporter for as little as $0.99 per month! See how at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/support.

The episode is posted at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/episodes/Episode-78---Dumbarton-Oaks-e18h0s8

The GardenDC podcast is also available on -

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

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Friday, October 08, 2021

Fenton Friday: Hits and Misses

Pak Choi

Some of the cool-season crops we direct-sowed a month ago were duds or washed away in one of the storms we had. Either way, we spent time this week replacing the seeds or adding seeds to partial rows.

The seedlings that are up and filing out nicely include the 'Viroflay' Spinach and 'Mesclun Mix' Lettuce. The ones that had partial success are the 'Bopak' Pak Choi (pictured) and Arugula. While complete o-shows were the 'Cherry Belle' Radish and Cilantro. I'm really surprised by those last two as they are usually so prolific and reliable.

In place of ' 'Cherry Belle' Radish, we planted 'Garden Party' a five color radish mix and to fill out the rest of the Pak Choi run, we added seeds of 'Shanghai Baby' Bok Choy. We'll give those a bit and see if we have better luck with them.

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 8th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

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Wednesday, October 06, 2021

Hardy Begonia Plant Profile

Hardy Begonia (Begonia grandis) is a long-blooming garden perennial that is hardy to zones 6 to 9.

They bloom from mid-summer through early fall with delicate pink or white dangling flowers. You can deadhead the blooms to encourage continuous flowering.

The foliage is also attractive with large heart-shaped leaves that are a lovely red on their underside. If you can place the plants in an elevated spot, the sun reflecting through the veined leaves is quite attractive.

They thrive in part sun to full shade with rich, moist (but well-draining) soil. The plant is of Asian origin and is a good addition to any woodland garden.

Hardy Begonia grows to between 1 to 2 feet high. They perform well underneath shrubs and trees.

They will spread to form a small colony if allowed to self-sow. However, if you mulch or clean up around them in the fall, it will prevent them from reproducing.

Hardy Begonia dies back in winter and reemerges in spring from an underground tuber. You can spread a bit of compost on the soil surface in early spring when the plants are still dormant to give them some extra nutrition, they need little care otherwise.

Hardy Begonia: You Can Grow That!

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine.

Audio and Text by Kathy Jentz
Video and Editing by Melinda Thompson

Footage gathered at Green Spring Gardens, Brookside Gardens, and Dumbarton Oaks.

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

➤Remember to TURN ON notifications to know when our new videos are out

➤ FIND Washington Gardener Magazine ONLINE

~ WashingtonGardener.blogspot.com

~ http://twitter.com/WDCGardener

~ https://www.instagram.com/wdcgardener/

~ Facebook.com/WashingtonGardenerMagazine

~ Podcast: GardenDC

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