"The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul."
- Alfred Austin
"The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul."
- Alfred Austin
In this episode of the GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with Gregg Tepper, Senior Horticulturist at Laurel Hill, all about garden cemeteries. The plant profile is on Celosia 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 also solicit contributions for a new segment -- The Last Word.
Parsley photo from https://harvesting-history.com/ |
This week I planted Parsley in the plot. I was inspired by the article in our October 2022 issue of Washington Gardener by Barbara Melera. I had grown parsley for a few years, but let it peter out and had been wanting to replace it for a while. Her article reminded me how much I love the taste of fresh parsley. My favorite way to eat it is finely chopped up and sprinkled on truffle fries. What is your favorite way to eat it?
I also read fellow garden writer Lynette L. Walther's article here on "trick or treat" plants and had no idea all of the folklore that surrounded parsley and how closely it is tied to the Devil -- really fascinating and a great read!
The weather was fairly mild this week and we had some light rains. The Dahlias are looking particularly spectacular and I cut several for Halloween bouquets. The rest of the cool-season crops are growing well. I'm still hanging on to some of the warm-season crops like the peppers, cucamelons, and pumpkin vine as they are also still putting out some fruits and I don't have the heart to rip them all out yet.
Our goal for next week is to get the garlic planted and maybe pull a radish to check it for size aka "doneness."
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 11th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.
Brazilian Verbena (Verbena bonariensis) is a tall flowering plant that is also known as “Verbena on a stick”, “Purpletop Vervain,” and “Tall Verbena.” It is a hardy perennial to USDA zones 8-11 and a self-seeding annual that comes back for years in colder zones. It is native to Brazil and Argentina. (Note that in some mild climates like California and Australia it has naturalized and some consider it to be a weed.) With its puff of purple flowers sitting atop long stems, Brazilian Verbena looks great planted in groupings or planted in combination of low-growing plants. It requires full sun and well-draining soils. It is drought-tolerant once established as well as deer- and rabbit-resistant. The flowers are attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds. Brazilian Verbena is also excellent for cut-flower arrangements. A few new cultivars are on the market. Verbena bonariensis ‘Purple Haze’ has 1-inch sized balls of flowers and ‘Vanity’ is a more compact version the straight species. It is very pollinator-friendly and has a subtle evening fragrance. Brazilian Verbena: 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 Brandie Bland ➤ 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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For our October 2022 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, we are giving away three sets of the TreeDiaper® garden mat twin-pack (prize value: $33.99).
This TreeDiaper® garden mat is great for your garden. Simply soak the mat in water to get it started, then place it around your plants. It can be arranged to satisfy watering needs and spacing of most plants: a single mat for a double row, double mat for a single row, or a single mat for a single row. If you prefer a natural look, just add mulch on top of the mat.
Because TreeDiaper® garden mat is made from durable materials, it can be used for years. Water release rate varies depending on indoor or outdoor plants, temperature, air flow, and humidity. In one test, the mat continued to release water for a full two months.
To enter to win one of the three TreeDiaper® garden mat twin-packs, send an email to WashingtonGardenerMagazine@gmail.com by 5:00pm on October 31 with “TreeDiaper® garden mat” in the subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us what your favorite article was in the October 2022 issue and why. Please also include your full name and mailing address. Winners will be announced and notified on or about November 1.
UPDATE:
The winners of the “TreeDiaper® garden mat” in our October 2022 Reader Contest are:
Robert Alonso
Marsha Douma
Marjorie Smith
Congratulations to all!
In this episode, we talk with Ashlie Thomas aka The Mocha Gardener and author of How to Become a Gardener: Find empowerment in creating your own food security.* The plant profile is on Brazlian Verbena 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 also introduce a new segment -- The Last Word.
Today is Amazon Prime Day, so I thought I'd again share the garden products I use almost every day. These are the tried-and-true w...