Three Silver Laurels in the 2023 GardenComm Media Awards!

I've got some Big News to share!

 

The GardenComm Media Awards were announced today and we won three!

Now we are up for the Gold Medal levels in these categories and will find out in August who won those honors.

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Here is the official press release:

Kathy Jentz Receives 2023 GardenComm Media Awards Silver Laurel Medal of Achievement

May 31, 2023 – Kathy Jentz received the 2023 Media Awards Silver Laurel Medal of Achievement presented by GardenComm: Garden Communicators International for 

• Podcast Series (Overall): GardenDC Podcast
• Social Media: @WDCgardener Twitter Account
• Speaking (Live Presentation): Deer & Garden Mammals Talk

The categories are judged for "accuracy, content, production value, and style."

This national award recognizes individuals and companies who achieve the highest levels of talent and professionalism in garden communications. The 2023 competition had 121 entries in 39 categories.  Recipients of the Silver Medal represent the best in their category and will now compete for Gold Medals in their category.

“The GardenComm Media Awards showcase writers, photographers, editors, videographers, social media managers, publishers, and trade companies that have demonstrated excellence in garden communications in print or electronic communications,” says Maria Zampini, president of GardenComm.

Since the early 1980s, the GardenComm Media Awards program has recognized outstanding writing, photography, graphic design and illustration for books, newspaper stories, magazine articles and other works focused on gardening.

The full list of winners will be available on the GardenComm website following the 2023 Annual Honors & Awards event on August 4^th at 6:30 pm ET held in conjunction with the GardenComm 75^th Annual Conference presented by Endless Summer® Hydrangeas, August 1-5.  For more information about this award, contact Chris Sabbarese via email at info@gardencomm.org.

About GardenComm

GardenComm, Garden Communicators International, is an organization of professional communicators in the green and garden industry including book authors, bloggers, staff editors, syndicated columnists, free-lance writers, photographers, speakers, landscape designers, television and radio personalities, consultants, publishers, extension service agents and more. No other organization in the industry has as much contact with the buying public as GardenComm members. Learn more at www.gardencomm.org.

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Monday Thoughts: “When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden.” ~ Minnie Aumonier

 

“When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden.”  

~ Minnie Aumonier

Win the Daylily ‘Handwriting on the Wall’ from Three Shovels Farm in our May 2023 Washington Gardener Reader Contest

For our May 2023 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, we are giving away a Daylily ‘Handwriting on the Wall’ from Three Shovels Farm (value $18). 

  This beautiful daylily was created by renowned daylily breeder Karol Emmerich. It has 6-inch, triangular-shaped flowers that are peach with a wine-purple eye. Like watercolor paint, the purple color blends to lavender toward the yellow throat for a stunning display. A thin, purple picotee edge frames the blooms. It is a short plant, growing to about 24 inches high, and is a mid-season bloomer. Three Shovels Farm (https://threeshovelsfarm.com/) is a small, family-owned mail-order nursery in South Carolina that specializes in daylilies, Louisiana iris, Japanese iris, and Siberian iris.

  To enter, send an email to WashingtonGardenerMagazine@gmail.com by 5:00pm on May 31 with “Daylily” in the subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us what your favorite article was in this May 2023 issue and why. Please include your full name and mailing address. The winner will be announced and notified about June 1.

UPDATE:

Congratulations to our contest winner John Rebstock of Cheverly, MD!

Watch #NoMowMay Discussion While GardenDC POdcast is on Break

#NoMowMay Discussion 

The GardenDC Podcast is on a short break. We encourage you to catch up with some of the past episodes that you may have missed or to re-listen to a past favorite.

You can also watch the No Mow May Discussion recording with Graham Gardner, author of Tiny and Wild (https://amzn.to/43eNdxU), and Kathy Jentz, author of Groundcover Revolution(https://amzn.to/3pOuoTw). The LIVE discussion was held on YouTube on Friday, 5/19/23. They discuss the pros and cons of the #NoMowMay movement and how both our books can offer more sustainable lawn alternatives.

You can watch it at the link above or at:

https://www.youtube.com/live/FU7e0ofgu7s?feature=share

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

Fenton Friday: Scapeshifters

It was a fairly dry week again, so mostly I've been weeding and watering at the plot.

I picked a few ripe strawberries and a handful of Peas pods this week. 

The Garlic scapes have formed (see pic above). This might be the latest they've ever done so. I cut them and plan to turn them into pesto.

The Spinach and Salad Greens are growing like gangbusters, so I plan to harvest those and bring them to a Memorial Day picnic to share.

I forgot to put a cover cloth on the Potato plants (to keep out the Colorado Potato Beetle coming soon), but I'll try to attend to that this week.

The loaded berries on the Blackberry plants are starting to darken, but I think are still several weeks away from fully ripening.

I'm leaving the bolted Arugula and Daikon Radish alone to form seedheads so I can harvest those for next winter's Seed Exchanges.

Next week, the new interns start and we'll be planting Tomatoes, Peppers, etc. and starting annual cutting flowers from seed. Speaking of which, right next to the plot number sign a cosmos plant has popped up. It is nice to see it reseeded there and I'll leave it in place as it is not sticking out too much into the front pathway.

How is your garden plot growing 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 12th 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).

May 2023 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine –Bearded Iris, Corn in Containers, the Eastern Phoebe, and much more…

The May 2023 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine is out.

Inside this issue:

·         Bearded Iris Plant Profile

·         A Visit to Pope Farm

·         Attracting the Eastern Phoebe

·         Meet Jeff Kushner of Plants Alive!

·         Growing Corn in Containers

·         Be Alert for the Allium Leaf Miner

·         Begonias Make a Comeback!

·         New Tulip Named in Honor of First Lady Jill Biden

·         Multifunctional Patch Offers Early Detection of Plant Diseases

·         Great Gardening Books Reviewed

·         Keep Plants Thriving Despite the Heat

·         DC-MD-VA Gardening Events Calendar

·         and much more…

 

Note that any submissions, event listings, and advertisements for the June 2023 issue are due by June 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: http://www.washingtongardener.com/index_files/subscribe.htm

Discuss "A Way to Garden" with the Washington Gardener Magazine Garden Book Club

For our next Garden Book Club selection, we will be discussing: 

A Way to Garden: A Hands-On Primer for Every Season by Margaret Roach 

NOTE: We will be discussing the 2019 updated edition.

You can order it new or used at our Amazon link: https://amzn.to/3qbBku3

or at our Bookshop store: https://bookshop.org/a/79479/9781604698770

“A Way to Garden prods us toward that ineffable place where we feel we belong; it’s a guide to living both in and out of the garden.” —The New York Times Book Review

Our Summer 2023 club meeting will be on Thursday, August 10 from 6:30-8pm ET via Zoom. 

To join us, register here: 

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIqf-GgrDouHNazm_h-eaAAxP2EDXkZ7EDg

The Washington Gardener Magazine's Garden Book Club meets quarterly via Zoom and is free and open to all. We will announce the details of each upcoming meeting about two months in advance. Please check back on this blog for schedule updates and announcements.

Want to read ahead? The next book club selections are

• Fall 2023 - Orchid Muse: A History of Obsession in Fifteen Flowers by Erica Hannickel
• Winter 2023/24 - American Roots by Nick McCullough, Allison McCullough, and Teresa Woodard

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Monday Thoughts: “There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.” - Elizabeth Lawrence

“There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.” 

- Elizabeth Lawrence

GardenDC on Short Break

We hit two big milestones with the GardenDC Podcast recently. The first was publishing our 150th episode (in a little over three years since launching in March 2020!) and the other was surpassing 100,000 listens to our show. We are so grateful to all of our show's supporters, guests, helpers, followers, and listeners! We couldn't be more proud!!!

The GardenDC Podcast is on a short break. We encourage you to catch up with some of the past episodes that you may have missed or to re-listen to a past favorite.

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

The GardenDC podcast is available on -

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gardendc/id1502631179
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5AsWArNpQo8OlzHoMDMSI8
• RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/gardendc-G2ql5V
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• Google Podcasts at this link (note that currently, this link will only work on Android devices.)

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!

Fenton Friday: Peas Popping

It was a fairly dry week again, so mostly I've been weeding and watering at the plot.

The Peas jumped into flower and formed pods this week. In the pic above you can see the Arugula behind it has definitely bolted, but I still picked a few leaves to add to my egg salad sandwich yesterday and they tasted fine.

Another plant that is flowering/bolting this week is the Daikon Radish. I suppose I should pull that whole row soon and let the Carrots next to them stay and grow a bit longer.

We had a couple of Strawberries ripen and the Garlic is starting to form scapes.

The rest of the Greens are growing very well and the Potato plants are looking really robust. That does make me think I should put a cover cloth on them soon, as I really fear the Colorado Potato Beetle coming in soon due to the warmer weather.

I did manage to somewhat cover the loaded Blackberry plants with a plastic mesh, but any determined creature could get under and grab the fruits, so as the ripen I just need to be more vigilant to pick them asap.

The risk of frost and freeze has passed, so I'll be planting the summer crops from seed and the tomato, pepper, and herb seedlings soon.

I also want to revamp the cutting flower beds. The Yarrow is already blooming, which looks nice at this stage and a BIG surprise today was seeing at least two Dahlia plants had popped up. These were tubers I had failed to dig and store last fall, but I was sure they had been killed by a early freeze, so I didn't bother! I'm happy to see them return and will look forward to seeing which flowers they produce.

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 12th 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).

Bletilla Plant Profile

Bletilla Plant Profile

Bletilla (Bletilla striata) is also known as Chinese ground orchid, Urn orchid, or Hyacinth orchid. This beautiful perennial plant is known for its pink, purple, or white flowers that resemble a Cattleya orchid. It is in fact a hardy terrestrial orchid.

It stays in bloom for several weeks in the garden and makes a great cut-flower. This is an easy-to-grow and low-maintenance plant. When not in bloom, the plant has elegant tall, accordion-pleated foliage to admire.

Bletilla prefers to be planted in well-draining soils amended with composted material. Give it a top dressing of shredded leaves in spring and fall. It likes consistent moisture but not to sit in wet ground. It does well in part shade out of the harsh afternoon sun.

It is hardy to USDA zones 5-8 and it is reported to be deer-resistant.

Bletilla forms clumps over time that can be divided and moved around the garden. Plant them shallowly (about one to three inches in depth). It is best to buy mature plants. If you purchase them from bare-root pseudobulbs, note that a new planting can take two to five years to bloom.

Bletilla: 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, audio, and text by Kathy Jentz

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Monday Thoughts: “Gardeners are stewards of plants, which makes them stewards of everything.” - Doug Tallamy

“Gardeners are stewards of plants, which makes them stewards of everything.” - Doug Tallamy

GardenDC Podcast Episode 150: Sourcing Native Plants

In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with Amanda McClean and Claudio Vazquez, co-owners of Izel Plants about sourcing native plants. Izel Native Plants developed a unique model in horticulture by consolidating the inventories of several native plant nurseries in a user-friendly website. The plant profile is on Baptisia 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 HOMESTEADucation 

podcaster and author Angela Ferraro-Fanning, who shares the Last Word on Food Forest gardening.

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

See how at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/support.

Show Notes: 02:25 Meet Amanda McClean and 03:39 Meet Claudio Vazquez, co-owners of Izel Plants 05:18 McClean and Vazquez were unhappy with the lack of availability of information about plants, which was the “spark” leading to the creation of Izel Plants. 06:50 McClean has a small front and backyard garden in her home in downtown Washington. 07:09 Vazquez upkeeps his “mishmashed” garden in DC, which allows him to learn more about the different species of plants. 09:22 “We saw gardening as … problem solving,” said McClean. “Being able to input [your] wishes, those filter options, and have it spit out things - not only that were native to your area but were actually available - really seemed like a need that we saw.” 10:47 The company name “Izel Plants” came from Vazquez’s family tradition of naming their children after Aztec names, with Izel meaning “unique.” 14:48 “I think there are generations coming up that see plants more as part of our environment, part of our ecosystems, part of our world,” said Vazquez. 16:25 What are native plants? What is the importance of the distinction? 17:19 The most common interpretation of native plants is plants that existed before European settlers started distributing plants across an area. 20:10 The depth of what makes a plant “native” is dependent on what you’re trying to do with your plant. Something may be native to your country, but not to your state. 23:55 “The further away and the more different the ecosystem is that you’re bringing a plant in from, the higher the risk of something going wrong,” said Vazquez. 24:09 Many invasive species come from areas of similar climates, but the adaptation and competition is different. 25:07 A cultivar is a “species that has been selected for particular traits.” 29:00 Why is genetic diversity important? 31:37 Izel Plants looks for growers that are “primarily focused on natives, and it’s very important that they be very confident in their plant ID” as well as a number of other priorities, said McClean. 33:20 What are neonicotinoids (neonics)? How do they affect plants and the surrounding environment? 37:18 Izel Plants sells plugs and quarts rather than seeds - what does this mean? 40:04 What should you do when your plugs are delivered? 44:43 Seed shortages primarily affect restoration of large areas, meaning much of the effects are not felt by home growers. 47:50 Carex ‘Woodii’ has been experiencing a lack of commercial availability. 50:41 “We do have a shortage, but I would argue it’s not really a shortage, it’s more like a need for more education,” said McClean. 53:01 How are native seeds collected? Is it ethical? 58:07 Some plans with the highest demand for Izel Plants include milkweed and grasses used in matrix growing. 1:03:15 Barry Glick, founder of Sunshine Farm (https://sunfarm.com/) and columnist for the Washington Gardeners “GOINGnative” section. 1:03:47 How to contact the founders of Izel Plants - (https://www.izelplants.com/). 1:04:59 Baptisia: This week's Plant Profile! 1:07:04 Garden updates: Cut a couple of bouquets of Bearded Iris and picked the community garden’s first strawberry for the season. 1:07:16 Upcoming events: Silver Spring Garden Club meeting (https://www.silverspringgardenclub.co... live discussion on Youtube with Kathy Jentz and Graham Gardner, author of “Tiny and Wild”; the Bel Air Garden Mart; Contemporary Conversations with Karen Washington and Jabari S. Walker. 1:09:26 Thank you to all listeners, guests, and interns for sticking around for our 150th episode! 1:10:10 “The Urban Garden” by Kathy Jentz and Teri Speight. 1:11:10 “Groundcover Revolution” by Kathy Jentz. 1:12:32 The Last Word on Food Forest Gardening by Angela Ferraro-Fanning. 1:12:47 What is Food Forest gardening? Why do gardeners do it? 1:13:32 What are some of the benefits of a Food Forest garden?

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

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 20: Native Plants, Diversity in the Garden, and Sunflowers
https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2020/07/gardendc-podcast-episode-20-native.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 134: Carex for the Mid-Atlantic Region

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2023/01/gardendc-podcast-episode-134-carex-for.html

This episode is archived at: 

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/episodes/Sourcing-Native-Plants-e23qm14

The GardenDC podcast is also available on -

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gardendc/id1502631179
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• Google Podcasts at this link (note that currently, this link will only work on Android devices.)

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

Show Notes: Marissa Yelenik

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