Monday, February 27, 2023

Monday Thoughts: "Love is like wildflowers; it's often found in the most unlikely places." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Love is like wildflowers; it's often found in the most unlikely places."

 - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Saturday, February 25, 2023

GardenDC Podcast Episode 139: Bountiful Berries


In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with Kristen Pullen the Woody Ornamental Portfolio Manager at Star® Roses and Plants all about growing bountiful berries in small spaces. The plant profile is on Phlox stolonifera 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 Christy Wilhelmi, founder of Gardenerd, who shares the Last Word on Composting.


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

Show Notes:

01:23 Meet Kristen Pullen, the Woody Ornamental Portfolio Manager at Star Roses and Plants 01:53 Was Kristen born with a green thumb and chlorophyll in her veins? 03:28 Going outside during college labs changed Kristen’s career path. 05:26 Longwood Gardens’ plantings are tested before being installed for public display. 08:11 Kristen’s preferences for her Pennsylvania home garden. 09:20 What are Bushel and Berry plants? 11:16 If you grew berries for a living, you’d bring your work home too. 13:15 ‘Perpetua’ blueberries – gives you two crops of fruit. 14:16 ‘Peach Sorbet’ has peachy-red new growth in the spring. 14:30 ‘Pink Icing’ has nearly neon pink new growth. 15:21 Hanging basket varieties have the deepest red foliage in the fall. 18:00 The berries are always marketed with taste profiles. 19:52 Blueberry plants in containers need at least one acid treatment per season. 21:24 The dreaded four letter words: deer and bird. 22:59 “The birds are smart.” 24:21 Deer are not brave. 25:48 Go vertical! 27:10 June-bearing and ever-bearing strawberries. 28:56 Picking and snacking berries – not enough to make your grandma’s secret jam recipe. 32:20 What do I do with container-grown berries when we have wet winters? 34:15 All about fertilizing your berry plants. 36:20 These raspberry plants are trained to be child- and pet-friendly. 40:44 Blackberry flavors – ‘Baby Cakes’ 41:19 Raspberry ‘Shortcake’ is sweeter than store berries. 42:00 The future of Bushel and Berry is expanding outside of berries! 44:38 Rose-breeding projects: larger hips or compact plants? 46:53 Phlox stolonifera: this week’s Plant Profile. 49:01 Garden updates: magnolias and daffodils are in bloom! 50:14 February 2023 edition of Washington Gardener Magazine is out! 50:57 Upcoming events: Native Plant Open House Sale; Creating a Wildlife Habitat Under in Our Powerline Corridors; Winter Landscape Design Lecture: American Roots. 52:40 “The Urban Garden” by Kathy Jentz and Teri Speight 53:40 “Groundcover Revolution” by Kathy Jentz. 55:00 The Last Word on Composting by Gardenerd’s Christy Wilhelmi.

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

GardenDC Podcast Episode 22: Fruit Trees, Crape Myrtle, and Low-Maintenance Lawn Alternatives
https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2020/08/gardendc-podcast-episode-22-fruit-trees.html
GardenDC Podcast Episode 82: Persimmons and Other Unusual Fall Fruits

This episode is archived at: 

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.

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
Editing and Show Notes: Jessica Harden

PIN THIS FOR LATER!
Learn more about the Bushel and Berry collection

Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Stinking Hellebore Plant Profile

Stinking Hellebore Plant Profile

Stinking Hellebore (Helleborus foetidus) is a perennial plant that is native to the mountains of Europe and south-west Asia.

Despite the common name, the flowers don’t smell bad at all. In fact, to notice the “stink” you will have to actually crush the foliage and take a whiff of that. So don’t let that scary name keep you from growing it.

This tough plant has beautiful, finely cut leaves and bright-green flowers. They bloom in late winter and early spring.

It is very low-maintenance. In mid-spring, you can prune off any spent flowers as well as any old, tattered foliage. The plants spread fairly quickly and form large clumps that can be divided every few years. Plant the divisions immediately and water them in well to give them a good start.

Stinking Hellebore thrives in part-shade and rich, well-draining soils. It is hardy to USDA zones 6 through 9. They are fairly drought-tolerant once established. Like its Hellebore cousins, it is poisonous if ingested and therefore deer-resistant.

Stinking Hellebore: You Can Grow That!

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

Video and editing by Jessica Harden

Audio and text by Kathy Jentz

 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

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~ Facebook.com/WashingtonGardenerMagazine

~ Podcast: GardenDC

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Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Win a $100 Gift Certificate for Logee’s Tropical Plants in our February 2023 Washington Gardener Reader Contest

 UPDATE: The winner chosen at random from the submitted entries is Beth Wasden of Laurel, DE. Congratulations, Beth!


For our February 2023 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, we are giving away a gift certificate for Logee’s Tropical Plants (value $100). 

   Logee’s Greenhouses was started by William D. Logee in 1892 in Danielson, CT. It began as a cut-flower business and soon, Logee’s interest turned to tropical and unusual plants. Today, they carry on the family tradition and offer fruiting, rare, and tropical plants, as well as hardy garden plants, easy-to-grow houseplants, begonias, and many more rare and unusual plants to thrill and delight their customers. Logee’s Tropical Plants is online at www.logees.com.

  To enter to win the Logee’s Tropical Plants $100 gift certificate, send an email to 

WashingtonGardenerMagazine@gmail.com by 5:00pm on February 28 with “Logees” in the subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us what your favorite article was in the February 2023 issue and why. Please also include your full name and mailing address. The winner will be announced and notified on/about March 1. 

Monday, February 20, 2023

Saturday, February 18, 2023

GardenDC Podcast Episode 138: Forcing Bulbs into Bloom


In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with Brent Heath of Brent and Becky's Bulbs all about forcing bulbs into bloom. The plant profile is on Daphne 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 Teri Speight of Cottage in the Court, who shares the Last Word on Sustainable Landscapes.


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

Show Notes: 01:27 Meet Brent Heath of Brent and Becky’s Bulbs. 05:42 Forcing is simply fooling Mother Nature. 07:00 “Repurpose, reuse, and recycle” your bulbs. 07:50 Plant your bulbs as soon as possible. 10:22 Spring-flowering bulbs require vernalization – stick them in your beer fridge. 13:45 No fruits or vegetables in the refrigerator. 18:45 Compost tea to help your planted bulbs. 20:03 Species tulips – awesome and underutilized. 24:22 Anemone tubers – soak before planting. 25:04 More bulbs are forced at the Philadelphia Flower Show than anywhere else in the country. 26:28 There’s nothing common about plants, stop calling them common names. 27: 28 Forcing blooms indoors protects them from deer and rabbits. 28:41 Brent and Becky’s living flower arrangement workshops. 31:40 They use plastic instead of terracotta pots. 33:46 “We tend to kill plants with kindness.” 35:38 Carry your water with you when taking garden clippings. 37:57 What to do with a bulb you forgot to plant. 39:31 Waxed amaryllis – how to plant it. 40:27 “We are a throw-away nation aren’t we?” 41:19 Will my bulbs still bloom after a deep freeze? 43:00 Leaves are natural insulators. 43:50 Brent and Becky’s Bulbs shop just opened for the season! 45:17 Gloucester Daffodil Festival. 45:37 Brent will help people identify their daffodils. 48:57 Daphne: this week’s Plant Profile. 51:07 Garden updates: ‘February Gold’ daffodils are blooming! 51:40 Upcoming events: Davidsonville Green Expo; Plant Swap; Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage. 53:45 “Groundcover Revolution” by Kathy Jentz. 55:08 “The Urban Garden” by Kathy Jentz and Teri Speight 56:06 The Last Word from Teri Speight of Cottage in the Court on Sustainable Landscapes. 56:39 Reduce the use of lawns.

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

GardenDC Podcast Episode 127: Unusual and Specialty Flower Bulbs with Brent Heath

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/11/gardendc-podcast-episode-127-unusual.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 43: Galanthus with David L. Culp



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.

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
Editing and Show Notes: Jessica Harden

PIN THIS FOR LATER!

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