Old-Fashioned Favorites

Our latest articles in the Examiner is now out. It is on old-fashioned favorites for the flowe garden. Read the Washington Examiner version of the article online here (May 11 edition - page 67), or grab the print version at the red street boxes around town today - the article is on R411 (Real Estate section - page 11). Read the Baltimore Examiner article online here (May 11 edition - page 85), or grab the print version at the red street boxes around town today - the article is on R21 (Real Estate section - page 21).

Pictured here is one of the photos I submitted with this article -- a pink Lily of the Valley by Drena J Galarza, Washington Gardener Magazine staff photographer. It was taken in my garden last April. Odd thing is the photo printed with this article is not one that I had submitted with this piece, but was sent with another one. It is from a garden tour I went on last year in the Capitol Hill neighborhood and will be going on again tomorrow evening. That is after I have a table at the Silver Spring Garden Club's annual Garden Mart tomorrow morning and then do the Georgetown Garden Tour tomorrow afternoon. Whew!

Then I have to prep for my Channel 9 WUSA appearance at about 8:45 am Sunday morning. We'll be talking about the current cover story on roses. And luckily many of mine are starting to come into bloom now so I'll have plenty to cut and bring for "show and tell." A big bloom of my Zepherin Drouhin opened yesterday. I think I almost swooned. My two ZD's are in almost total shade flanking my front door. The fact that this rose blooms and has this heavenly fragrance is a minor miracle to me. So no excuses for not growing a rose - even if you lack sun!

Been a great spring so far for roses. Tons of buds forming, though the aphids are also swarming more than ever. I have done absolutely no spraying this year, which I may need to remedy. I have samples of Messenger to try out as well as an organic Rose Defense spray I purchased last summer. It is tough to find a day without much breeze around here as well as one that I'm actually home and able to get out in the garden! Plus I'm just naturally averse to spraying of any kind, just seems rude somehow -- like spitting in public, but on a much bigger scale.

Speaking of being out of the garden, you only have 9 more days to visit ArtOMatic. It is a good excuse to play hooky from work or a great place to take a date in the evening. It pains me that so few Washingtonians are aware of this incredible display of art that happens just once every few years. It is free, the hours are generous, and the art mix has something for everyone (except maybe the sheltered and protected young child). One of our photo contest award-winniers, Rob Rudick, is showing there too. My personal tastes run to found art and outsider art, so ArtOMatic is a real treat for me in that artists of all levels and backgrounds are admitted. No filtering by snooty art "experts." This is a true DC institution that is very fleeting. Take the metro over to Crystal City and catch it before it is too late.

Related to an earlier blog entry: Bethesda Magazine printed a correction of my quote attribution in their March/April cover story. The correction is on page 14 of their May/June issue.