GardenDC Podcast Episode 297: How to Photograph Your Garden

In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with photographer Becca Mathias about capturing better images of our home gardens. The plant profile is on Lemongrass 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 the Last Word on "How to Zoodle Your Zucchinis" from Christy Page of GreenPrints.

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

See how at: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/subscribe

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

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 238: Flower Photography Tips

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2025/04/gardendc-podcast-episode-238-flower.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 202: Documenting Gardens

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2024/07/gardendc-podcast-episode-202.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 17: Garden Photography

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2020/06/gardendc-podcast-episode-17-garden.html

Show Notes will be posted after 8/15/2026.

This episode is archived at: 

https://open.spotify.com/episode/06SQ27dJCtegDrJ9K8Cie5?si=wiHjkJxFQF-z8dWsgjSG4A

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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

Music: Let the Sunshine by James Mulvany

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Getting Our Laurels

We Won a Laurel Award! The Following Work Has Been Awarded a 2026 GardenComm Silver Laurel Media Award: Photography: Cover (book or magazine): July-August 2025 Washington Gardener Magazine - Kathy Jentz

We won a Silver Award in the Cover Photography category and now we are up for the Gold Award against some seriously talented photographers, wish us luck! The Gold Award winners will be announced in August at the GardenComm annual meeting in Portland, OR. The winning cover and issue are posted here:  https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2025/07/july-august-2025-issue-of-washington.html I took the photo at Mt Cuba Center in Delaware. It is of their beautiful pond and Black Cohosh plantings. I'm pretty proud of it as Black Cohosh is not an easy plant to capture well in still images, because of its tall, open, and airy growth habit.  Each year, I try to enter the GardenComm Laurel Awards in a category that I have not won in previously as a challenge to myself and to not continually dominate in one category (e.g. let others have a chance to win and get their Golds and Silvers). Here is the official awards press release: For Immediate Release                                                                        Media Contact: Chris Sabbarese   Ph: 951.899.5015  info@gardencomm.org   Kathy Jentz Receives 2026 GardenComm Media Awards Silver Laurel Medal of Achievement    Kathy Jentz has received a 2026 GardenComm Silver Laurel Medal of Achievement in Photography: Cover (book or magazine), presented by GardenComm: Garden Communicators International.  The international awards program recognizes individuals and companies that achieve the highest levels of talent and professionalism in garden communications. The 2026 competition drew 146 entries across 43 categories.  Since the early 1980s, the GardenComm Media Awards program has recognized outstanding garden-focused work across writing, photography, publishing, digital media, broadcast, podcasting, and other communications disciplines.  The 2026 Silver Laurel Medal recipients were announced July 20 during the GardenComm Silver Laurel Media Awards Live Stream. The full list of 2026 winners are available at gardencomm.org/awards/2026-winners. For more information about the awards, contact Chris Sabbarese 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, freelance 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.

Garden Photo Show Opening Reception 2026

You are invited to view the winning images of the 20th annual Washington Gardener Photo Contest at an art show at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, VA. All 17 stunning photos were taken in DC-area gardens. Both inspirational and educational, this show represents the best of garden photography in the greater DC metropolitan region.

The photo show reception is Sunday, August 2 from 2:00-3:30pm in the Meadowlark Visitor Center's lobby. The opening reception is open to the public and is free to attend. You may also come by and view the photos any time during the normal Visitor Center hours (10am-7pm daily). The photo show runs through August 31.  

Please RSVP at our Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/share/1HeMXQznBW/

Washington Gardener Magazine is already announcing the 21st Annual Washington Gardener Photo Contest. Start gathering your images now and throughout this year. Most of the entry rules will remain the same as this year’s contest. Photos need to be taken during the 2026 calendar year in a garden-setting in the greater Washington, DC area. We will accept the entries during the first three weeks of January 2027.

Washington Gardener Magazine (http://www.washingtongardener.com/) is the gardening publication specifically for the local metro area — Washington DC and its suburbs. Washington Gardener Magazine’s basic mission is to help DC area gardens grow better. The magazine is written entirely by and for local area gardeners.

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens (www.nvrpa.org/park/meadowlark_botanical_gardens) is a park of beauty, conservation, education, and discovery. Throughout the year at this 95-acre complex are large ornamental display gardens and unique native plant collections. Walking trails, lakes, more than 20 varieties of cherry trees, irises, peonies, an extensive shade garden, native wildflowers, gazebos, birds, butterflies, seasonal blooms, and foliage create a sanctuary of beauty and nature. Meadowlark is part of Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority.

Thank you to our Washington Gardener Magazine 2026 Garden Photo Contest Prize Sonsors:

- Capital Photography Center

- Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Shrubs 

Additional prizes provded by Washington Gardener Magazine.

Washington Gardener Magazine 2026 Garden Photo Contest Winners

Here are the 17 Award-winning Garden Photos in the Washington Gardener Magazine 2026 Garden Photo Contest Winners. Contest entries must have been taken in the 2025 calendar year in a garden setting within 150-mile radius of Washington, DC. 

The winners will also be published in the March 2026 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine.

The photo show reception of the contest winners will take place on Sunday, August 2, at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens and the show will remain on view through September 1 at the Meadowlark Visitor Center's lobby.  

Washington Gardener Magazine is already announcing the 21st Annual Washington Gardener Photo Contest. Start gathering your images now and throughout this year. Most of the entry rules will remain the same as this year’s contest. Photos need to be taken during the 2026 calendar year in a garden-setting in the greater Washington, DC area. We will again accept the entries during the first three weeks of January. Look for the contest entry details at the end of this year on our blog and in our magazine.Learn more about the annual contest at https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/.

Thank you to our Washington Gardener Magazine 2026 Garden Photo Contest Prize Sonsors:

- Capital Photography Center

- Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Shrubs 

Additional prizes provded by Washington Gardener Magazine.

Garden Photo Show Opening Reception 2025

You are invited to view the winning images of the 19th annual Washington Gardener Photo Contest at an art show at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, VA. All 17 stunning photos were taken in DC-area gardens. Both inspirational and educational, this show represents the best of garden photography in the greater DC metropolitan region.

The photo show reception is Sunday, June 22 from 2:00-3:30pm in the Meadowlark Visitor Center's lobby. The opening reception is open to the public and is free to attend. You may also come by and view the photos any time during the normal Visitor Center hours (10am-7pm daily). The photo show runs through July 30.  The Garden Photo Show has been extended to September 3. 

Please RSVP at our Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/9454804134648403/

Washington Gardener Magazine is already announcing the 20th Annual Washington Gardener Photo Contest. Start gathering your images now and throughout this year. Most of the entry rules will remain the same as this year’s contest. Photos need to be taken during the 2025 calendar year in a garden-setting in the greater Washington, DC area. We will accept the entries during the first three weeks of January 2025.

Washington Gardener Magazine (http://www.washingtongardener.com/) is the gardening publication specifically for the local metro area — Washington DC and its suburbs. Washington Gardener Magazine’s basic mission is to help DC area gardens grow better. The magazine is written entirely by and for local area gardeners.

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens (www.nvrpa.org/park/meadowlark_botanical_gardens) is a park of beauty, conservation, education, and discovery. Throughout the year at this 95-acre complex are large ornamental display gardens and unique native plant collections. Walking trails, lakes, more than 20 varieties of cherry trees, irises, peonies, an extensive shade garden, native wildflowers, gazebos, birds, butterflies, seasonal blooms, and foliage create a sanctuary of beauty and nature. Meadowlark is part of Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority.

Thank you to our Washington Gardener Magazine 2025 Garden Photo Contest Prize Sonsors:

- Capital Photography Center

- Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Shrubs 

- Timber Press Books

Additional prizes provded by Washington Gardener Magazine.

GardenDC Podcast Episode 238: Flower Photography Tips

In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with Ngoc Minh Ngo, celebrated photographer and author of Roses in the Garden*, all about photographing flowers. The plant profile is on Kangaroo Paws 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 the Last Word on Transforming Urban Spaces by Christy Page of GreenPrints.

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

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 202: Documenting Gardens

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2024/07/gardendc-podcast-episode-202.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 17: Garden Photography

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2020/06/gardendc-podcast-episode-17-garden.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 13: Heritage Roses

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2020/05/gardendc-podcast-episode-13-connie.html

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

See how at: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/support.

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This episode is archived at: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/episodes/Flower-Photography-Tips-e3214lp

Show Notes will be posted after 4-29-2025.

The GardenDC podcast is also available on -

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We welcome your questions and comments! You can leave a voice mail message for us at: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/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

Interview Edit & Show Notes: Skylar Drew

Music: Let the Sunshine by James Mulvany

PIN THIS FOR LATER!

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