May is National Asparagus Month

May is asparagus month, so I thought I'd re-post one of my favorite plant profile videos for one of my favorite foods! What's not to love about Asparagus? It is perennial and so easy to grow -- practically set-it-and-forget-it! It tastes great raw or cooked. And, most interesting of all, it makes your pee smell funky -- at least mine does after consuming it. 

Here is how to grow asparagus along with a few extra fun facts about this unique edible plant. (BTW, if you have any favorite asparagus recipes, please share them in the comments below.) 

Nothing says, "SPRING!" like fresh asparagus. With no real work on my part, I am able to get a decent harvest of asparagus from my community garden plot. The only thing this perennial vegetable really requires is patience.

Having to hold off on harvesting for three years from the initial planting date was a real test of my will power, but the wait is worth it. They are so tender fresh from the garden that they only need a quick blanching to prepare them.

To plant them, buy asparagus crowns (roots) via mail-order or from your local garden center. Plant them in a trench about 6 to 12 inches deep and a foot wide in a sunny spot in your garden. Add in some organic compost when re-filling the hole and then keep the area well-mulched.

Let the plants go through their growth cycle for two years without picking any so they gain strength and get well-established. In the third year, you can finally selectively harvest some spears by grasping them near the ground to bend them and they will naturally snap off at their weakest point.

At the beginning of May, stop harvesting and let the asparagus spears grow. They need the tall foliage and recovery time to send energy back down to the developing roots. You will need to tie-up the long asparagus fronds in the summer with a bungee cord or string as they like to flop over.

 In the fall, the plant forms little red seed pods or "berries," The asparagus seeds can be collected, dried, and planted the next spring. Towards the end of autumn, the foliage starts to turn brown --cut it back and compost it. Then mulch the bed with an organic material like straw.

I let strawberries encroach in my asparagus bed as their surface-runners don't really interfere much with the asparagus roots, but you really should keep it weeded and free of other interloping plants.

By the way, “white” asparagus is the same plant as the regular green one. It is just deprived of sunshine so it can’t produce chlorophyll and turn green. To grow white asparagus, bury the spears in mounds -- adding a few inches of soil a little at time, leaving the very tips showing. Harvest by digging them out and cutting off the top growth.

Asparagus - You Can Grow That!

The profile video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine.

Visuals by Khloe Quill
Audio by Kathy Jentz

 

 PIN THIS FOR LATER!

This post is part of the #GardenBloggersChallenge sponsored by Gardencomm for the month of May. You are invited to join in and can see more details at https://info.gardencomm.org/bloggerschallenge

My favorite flower colors are…

My favorite flower colors are shades of purple and green. I especially love it when those two colors are combined in one bloom. Here are a few examples from my garden:

Clematis ‘Taiga’

Hardy Hibiscus ‘French Cabaret Purple’

Rose 'The Bishop'

Bearded Iris - variety unknown

Campanula - variety unknown

Datura Hybrid  'Double Purple'

What are your favorite flower colors?

This post is part of the #GardenBloggersChallenge sponsored by Gardencomm for the month of May. You are invited to join in and can see more details at https://info.gardencomm.org/

Collecting My Laurels

Photo by Sean and Allison McManus.

I’m honored to announce that I won two 2023 Media Awards—Gold Laurel Medals of Achievements—and a Silver Laurel as well. These international awards are presented by GardenComm (Garden Communicators International) and recognize individuals and companies achieving the highest levels of talent and professionalism in garden communications.

    Here are the awards I received:

• Gold: Podcast Series (Overall): GardenDC Podcast

• Gold: Speaking (Live Presentation): Deer & Garden Mammals Talk

• Silver: Social Media: @WDCgardener Twitter Account

   The categories are judged for “accuracy, content, production value, and style.” The 2023 competition had 121 entries in 39 categories.  

   “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 at https://gardencomm.org/.

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.

-------------------------------

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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Power Circle Amplified!

A few months ago, I shared the details of a "power circle" for garden bloggers that I facilitate. I thought I'd now share about another power circle I am in for garden speakers. They are all members of the Garden Communicators International aka GardenComm (you may have known it by its previous name of the Garden Writers Association).

We have monthly meetings via Zoom on various topics ranging from marketing ideas to tax tips. We each take a turn being that month's topic facilitator and none of us is expected to be the "expert" on that topic, but to do a bit of research and lead the conversation on it. One of the power circle members, Carol Michel, writes, "One thing I think makes this group stand out from the other Power Circles I was in is the use of Zoom. Seeing everyone and not just hearing people on the phone I think improves our ability to share. It also helps that everyone takes a topic to lead. Even if you don't know much about the topic, being willing to go out and research it is helpful. And we all know the teacher learns more than the student. Plus, the Google Group is helpful for storing documents, more so than sharing a Google Doc."

The members of this group are an outstanding roster of garden speakers, so I thought I would share a bit about each of the current members (Including myself 👧!).

Donna Balzer's web site is https://donnabalzer.com/. She was based in Calgary where she had a regular city-wide newspaper column, province-wide radio show, and international television show on HGTV for three seasons. She recently moved to the Canadian West Coast and is rebuilding her garden empire from there including a new Podcast. You can listen to it at https://donnabalzer.com/podcasts/.

Kate Copsey is a freelance garden writer. She is also the author of "The Downsized Veggie Garden" and "Month by Month New Jersey and New York." Originally from Leicestershire, UK, she hopscotched around a bit on the East Coast of the US, she currently lives in South Carolina and writes a regular column for the county newspaper. Her web site is https://katecopsey.com/.

Toni Gattone became a Master Gardener and started exploring ways to give back to the community. She began speaking at public seminars on edible landscaping and growing edibles in containers, but when her bad back went out she discovered adaptive gardening and recently wrote a book on that topic, "The Lifelong Gardener, Garden with Ease and Joy at Any Age." She is now speaking full-time and her web site is https://tonigattone.com/.

Kathy Jentz is the editor and publisher of Washington Gardener Magazine. A life-long gardener, my background is in journalism. I am also currently the Green Media columnist for the Mid-Atlantic Grower newspaper and I edit the quarterly Water Garden Journal, the official publication of the International Waterlily & Water Gardening Society. My speaker web site is here.

Jan Johnsen is a professional landscape designer and a principal of the established design/build firm, Johnsen Landscapes & Pools, in Westchester County, NY. She is the author of "Heaven is a Garden." Her web site is https://www.janjohnsen.com/about-jan/.

Carol Michel is a retired techie and now full-time gardening geek. Her award-winning blog is May Dreams Gardens. She has self-published a series of humorous gardening books and "Creatures and Critters: Who's in My Garden" is the most recent title. She also hosts a garden podcast with Dee Nash called "The Gardenangelists."

Carolyn Mullet was a potter before she spent the last 30 years as a garden designer in the Washington, DC metro area for other firms and then for her own design company, Carex: Garden Design by Carolyn Mullet. A few years ago, she decided to start a garden tour company called CarexTours . She has a book coming out this fall about private European gardens and speaks on garden design topics.

Marianne Willburn has a degree in archaeology/photography and a past life in regional theater. She writes as the Small Town Gardener and wrote a book titled Big Dreams, Small Garden, She lives in Lovettsville, VA, and is working on a new book on tropical gardening. She recently joined the GardenRant blog as a regular contributor.

Ellen Zachos left a "barely successful career" as an actor for a career in horticulture. She started her own company, designing, installing, and maintaining rooftop gardens in New York City. She moved to New Mexico about 5 years ago and gave up her garden design business. She is focusing on writing garden books, including the recent "The Wildcrafted Cocktail" and speaking. She co-hosts the Plantrama podcast with C.L. Fornari. Her web site is https://www.backyardforager.com/. 

Power Circle Activated!

For the past few years, I have been helming a "power circle" for a small group of garden bloggers -- all members of the Garden Communicators International (used to be called Garden Writers Association). We have monthly phone calls on various topics ranging from marketing tips to content ideas. The group is winding up to a close now, so I'll miss our regular gatherings. I still plan to stay in touch through GardenComm and by visting their blogs regularly. I thought I would share the other members' blogs and highlight a bit about them.

Amy Whitney blogs at Small Garden News and she is the Southeast USA. Her blog concentrates on organic food gardening and she has two books that you will want to check out -- one on Fall Garden Planning and the other is a Garden Planner and Notebook.

Duane Pancoast blogs at The Geriatric Gardener. He covers issues surrounding aging in the garden. He just published a book on that same topic and you should be able to order that soon.

Gail Pabst co-writes her No Farm Needed blog with her daughter. Check out their online store which features their pressed flower crafts from flowers that they both grow.

Gerald Simcoe's web site is GeraldSimcoe.com. He studied horticulture at Longwood Gardens, but now spends his time painting. Check out his floral still lifes -- from flowers grown in his own garden.

Keri Byrum's blog is Miss Smarty Plants. She was in Florida for awhile, but is back in Iowa on a farm. She specializes in growing hops for local breweries and has great information on raising backyard chickens.

Marianne Willburn writes at Small Town Gardener and you may know her from her two recent guest appearances on the GardenDC podcast. You may also know her book Big Dreams, Small Garden, which we reviewed in the magazine a few years ago. She is a DC-area local -- living in Lovettsville, VA.

I am GardenComm

You may have heard me talk about GWA or the Garden Writers Association in the past. Recently, the organization re-branded to become GardenComm (https://gardencomm.org/). We are trying to get the word out that the organization is for everyone in the garden media world -- garden book authors, podcasters, photographers, radio hosts, bloggers, public relations professionals, newspaper columnists, speakers, etc. If you communicate about gardening, you should join up (or renew if you let your membership lapse in the past)! Feel free to use me as your referral!!!

This video was shot and edited by Alexa Silverberg at the Smithsonian-USBG Orchid Exhibit.