Saturday, April 26, 2025

GardenDC Podcast Episode 238: Flower Photography Tips

In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with Ngoc Minh Ngo, celebrated photographer and author of Roses in the Garden*, all about photographing flowers. The plant profile is on Kangaroo Paws 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 Transforming Urban Spaces by Christy Page of GreenPrints.

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

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 202: Documenting Gardens

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2024/07/gardendc-podcast-episode-202.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 17: Garden Photography

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2020/06/gardendc-podcast-episode-17-garden.html


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

See how at: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/support.

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

This episode is archived at: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/episodes/Flower-Photography-Tips-e3214lp

Show Notes will be posted after 4-29-2025.

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: Skylar Drew
Music: Let the Sunshine by James Mulvany

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Friday, April 25, 2025

Fenton Friday: Pollinator Garden Reboot

This week we rebooted the pollinator garden strip on the exposed corner of our community garden. Some of you may recall the school bus incident last May that demolished it, but it bounced back just fine (after I spent hours replanting it and pulling out pieces of embedded metal, rocks, and other debris.) After our hard winter, I thought few things would come back, but when we cleared out the dead material and weeded it yesterday, I was happy to say many plants returning. Those included Swamp Milkwood, self-sown Calendula and Borage, Mountain Mint, and a miniature Thyme. To those, we added Jerusalem Artichoke (Don't worry, the pollinator strip is hemmed in by concrete on all sides!) and started seeds of: Zinnia 'Andew Jewel, Zinnia 'Purity', Zinnia 'Forecast Mixed Colors', a dwarf yellow Tithonia, and Celosia 'Flamma Orange'. To that, I hope to add some unique Marigold varieties next week. As you can see from this listing, it is mainly going to be flowers in hot colors and that corner is practically going to GLOW. I hope that keeps any further incoursions by errant vehicles away!


I also bought a fancy metal sign for it that says: "Pollinator-friendly Garden." My aim is that the sign discourages plant and flower thefts. We also made little plant labels for everything, so that I hope folks take pictures and can see this is being cared for/deliberately planted.

This week also marked the end of the rabbit-proof box from our plot. It had done a great service in protecting our vulnerable veggies over the last few years, but the wood was starting to rot and fall apart. I salvaged one end of the box and made a little fence at the top of our plot. I also took off all the hardware cloth and formed those pieces into loose wire cages around the lettuces and other greens that I thought bunnies might be most interested in.

Everything else in our plot is humming along. We should be able to harvest the Arugula and Lettuce soon. I see heads forming on our Broccoli plants, some Potatoes are making a come back (We were SO SURE we dug all of them up last fall!), and the Dahlias left in the ground iver-winter are sending foliage up too.

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 13th 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).

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Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Basket of Gold Plant Profile

Basket of Gold Plant Profile

Basket of Gold (Aurinia saxatilis) is an evergreen perennial with a long period of bloom. Its bright-yellow flowers can last for 4-6 weeks in mid-spring. It is also known as Golden Alyssum, Madwort, and Golden Tuft.

It is native to Europe and is a member of the mustard family. It is hardy to USDA zones 3 to 7.

It attracts butterflies and is a nectar source for other beneficial insects as well. It is also deer-resistant

Basket of Gold prefers to grow in full sun in well-draining soils and is drought-tolerant once established.

It is low-care. Simply sheer it back after the flowers fade and be careful not to over-fertilize it.

Basket of Gold is low-growing, so it is a good choice for containers, rock gardens, and in the front of garden beds.

You can propagate it by sowing seeds in the early spring or by dividing it in the fall.  

Basket of Gold: 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 and text by Kathy Jentz

Video and editing by Madison Korman

➤ 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, you may enjoy these other plant profiles:

~ Sweet Alyssum Plant Profile

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2019/11/plant-profile-sweet-alyssum.html

~ Candytuft Plant Profile

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/04/candytuft-plant-profile.html

~ Chamomile Plant Profile

http://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/06/chamomile-plant-profile.html

 

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Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Reduce Your Lawn Day is May 20th

Happy Earth Day! Here is a NEW green holiday to boost!
Mark Your Calendar: Reduce Your Lawn Day is May 20th

Reduce Your Lawn Day returns on May 20, 2025—a national invitation to rethink our outdoor spaces and reimagine them as thriving habitats. Whether you’re planting a small pollinator bed or rallying your block to convert a shared green space, this movement makes sustainable gardening feel accessible and highlights the power of collective action.

Last year, over 3,000 participants pledged to replace more than 10.5 million square feet of lawn with pollinator plants, meadows, and low-water landscaping. This year’s goal? Inspire 10,000 pledges to take back turf for the planet.

Reduce Your Lawn Day is supported by over 25 organizations dedicated to sustainability, water conservation, and pollinator-friendly landscapes—and the movement is still growing! High Country Gardens is actively seeking additional partners to help spread awareness and inspire more homeowners to take action.

Less Lawn, More Flowers: 10 Easy Ways to Reduce Your Lawn
Looking for yard ideas and garden design inspiration? Here are 10 simple planting projects to kickstart your sustainable yard transformation:

  1. Remove the grass along your driveway and plant an easy-to-grow native wildflower border.
  2. Surround your mailbox with perennials to brighten the neighborhood.
  3. Flip the strip! Replace the lawn between the sidewalk and the street with a mini-meadow or no-mow groundcovers.
  4. Carve out a flower bed to create a pollinator pit stop in your yard.
  5. Expand your existing flower beds by pushing out their boundaries and adding more low-growing flowers.
  6. Remove tough-to-trim grass along walkways and plant creeping groundcovers to create a pretty pathway.
  7. Build a raised bed near your house for an easy-to-access kitchen garden or cut flower garden.
  8. Replace the grass along your fence with a beautiful blooming border.
  9. Designate a corner of your yard “for the birds” with a pre-planned garden of native plants.
  10. Flank your front walkway with flower beds to boost your curb appeal.

Join the Movement
You can pledge to take part in Reduce Your Lawn Day on May 20th. Downloadable yard signs are available to help spread the movement—because sustainability begins in your backyard.

American Meadows, a leading advocate for doing good through gardening, in collaboration with Kathy Jentz, author of Groundcover Revolution*, proudly announced the inaugural Reduce Your Lawn Day scheduled on May 20th, 2024. This new national day is an annual event aiming to raise awareness and encourage participation in adopting eco-friendly yard solutions at any scale, promoting a shift away from traditional turf lawns. 
   Why Reduce Your Lawn? Traditional turf lawns, prevalent over the last two centuries, lack biodiversity, fail to support pollinators, and are often water-intensive. Reduce Your Lawn Day “is a day to step back and take stock of what you are growing in your landscape and make a conscious decision to reduce turfgrass areas” says Kathy Jentz.   
   Rooted in the spirit of No Mow May, this initiative goes beyond simply refraining from mowing, instead providing better value-added alternatives.
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Monday, April 21, 2025

Monday Thoughts: "Our spring has come at last with the soft laughter of April suns and shadow of April showers." ~ Byron Caldwell Smith

 

"Our spring has come at last with the soft laughter of April suns and shadow of April showers." 

~ Byron Caldwell Smith

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Sunday, April 20, 2025

April 2025 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine: Tulips, Parsnips, Mock Orange, Spring Natives, and much more…

 

The April 2025 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine is out.

Inside this issue:

·         How and When to Repot Houseplants

·         Magically Fragrant Mock Orange

·         Winterburn on Evergreens

·         Celebrating Tulip Time

·         Weeding Out Bad Bedstraws

·         Asiatic Lilies for Summer Drama

·         Parsnip, the Ancient Heirloom

·         Spring Native Plants

·         Garden Book Reviews and Contest

·         6 Tips for Transplanting Encore Azaleas

and much more…

 

Note that any submissions, event listings, and advertisements for the May2025 issue are due by May 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



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Saturday, April 19, 2025

GardenDC Podcast Episode 237: Edible Native Plants

In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with Wendy Brister, Marketing Director of Cavano's Perennials, all about native edible plants. The plant profile is on Basket of Gold 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 Playing with Frost by Christy Page of GreenPrints.

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

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 28: Preserving Your Harvest

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2020/09/gardendc-podcast-episode-28-preserving.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 148: Serviceberries

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2023/04/gardendc-podcast-episode-148.html


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

See how at: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/support.

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

This episode is archived at: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/episodes/Edible-Native-Plants-e31o464

Show Notes will be posted after 4-22-2025.

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: Skylar Drew
Music: Let the Sunshine by James Mulvany

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Friday, April 18, 2025

Fenton Friday: Finally Feeling like Spring!


This past week, we had a little more rain along with some chilly nights and very windy days. The forecast for the next 10 days shows lots of sun and warmth, so I think we may be past any more frost/freeze alerts for the season. (Knock on wood!)

Our cistern faucets are still not connected so any watering we do needs to be hauled from home -- not fun. I'm hoping we get some decent rains and we can avoid that chore -- but please no rain on weekend garden festival days!

The cool-season seedlings are all doing nicely (see pic above). They include 'Traditional Chioggia' Beets, Black Seeded, Simpson Lettuce, Cilantro, Arugula, 'Frosty' Peas, and the 'White Globe' Turnips.

We officially gave up on the 'Crispy Colors Duo' Kohlrabi and 'New Zealand; Spinach. In their respective places now is Carrot 'Dragon' and Radish 'Plum Purple' -- both of which I bought from https://seedsavers.org/. I have not grown these varities before and honestly picked them simply because they look gorgeous in the catalog photos. I hope they taste as good!

We did a little weeding and .I was able to harvest a few more Asparagus spears this week. 

The thornless Blackberry is covered in blossoms so I take that as a good indication of lots of fruits this summer. I have also seen a few flowers appearing on our Strawberry plants.

We added a row of heirloom Dill 'Leafy Diana.' I'm not expecting to harvest anything from these plants -- just growing it for the pollinators. Speaking of which, we still need to clean out the Pollinator Garden strip and start more pollinator-supporting flowers from seed in there. I might get to that right after Easter.

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 13th 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).

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