Video Wednesday: Late Winter Blooms

This jazzy video from Meadows Farms garden centers youtube collection is a good round-up of what is blooming in late winter/early spring here in the Mid-Atlantic.

Winter - Early Spring 2012 Issue Now Out

The Winter 2011- Early Spring 2012 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine is printed and mailed. Current subscribers should have it in their mail boxes shortly (if not arrived already.)


In this issue:
~ All About Local Green Roofs and Walls
~ Top 10 Plants for 2012
~ Visiting Baltimore's Rawlings Conservatory
~ Growing Radiant Radishes
~ A Prison Yard Transformed
~ A Glossary of Garden Terms
~ Heavenly Heaths and Heathers
~ Hurray for Native Hepaticas
~ The Secret to a Weed-Free Garden
~ A New Invasive Insect Pest
~ Best Berry Varieties for our Region
~ and much, much more


To subscribe for the full year for $20 starting with this issue, do so by March 15. You can buy the individual from us by sending a check for $5 postage included. Send a check to "Washington Gardener" to Washington Gardener, 826 Philadelphia Ave., Silver Spring MD 20910. You can also subscribe online via PayPal using this link.

Win Tickets to Orchids Galore! at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens

For our February 2012 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest, Washington Gardener is giving away two sets of four passes each to Orchids Galore! at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond, VA. Orchids Galore! runs from March 10 - April 22.

Hundreds of orchids will dazzle the senses with color, fragrance and beauty throughout the Garden’s Conservatory. Discover how orchids traveled from native habitats to become a popular fixture in many homes, including tales of plant explorers who traveled far and wide to collect these enchanting plants. Learn about current issues related to conservation and saving wild orchids threatened with extinction due to habitat loss and over-collection.

To enter to win one of the four sets of two passes (valued at $40), send an email to WashingtonGardener@rcn.com by 5:00pm on February 29 with “Orchids Galore” in the subject line and tell us: what is your favorite orchid. In the body of the email, please also include your full name and mailing address. The winner will be announced and notified by March 2.

Video Wednesday: The Story of the Green Zebra Tomato

Barbara Melera of D Landreth Seed Company shares the story of the Green Zebra tomato during her recent talk at the Washington Gardener Magazine Seed Exchange at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, VA.

Early Season Bloomers for the Mid-Atlantic ~ Washington Gardener Enews ~ February 2012

Open publication - Free publishing - More flowers

Washington Gardener Enews ~ February 2012

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

~ Early Season Bloomers for the Mid-Atlantic

~ Magazine Excerpt: Radiant Radishes

~ Washington Gardener Magazine 2012 Philadelphia Flower Show Tour Details

~ Mid-Atlantic Garden To-Do List for February-March

~ Reader Contest: Win passes to Lewis Ginter's Orchid Show

~ Washington Gardener's Recent Blog Post Highlights

~ Spotlights Special: Columnar Fruit Trees

~ Top Local Garden Events Calendar for February-March

~ Washington Gardener Magazine Back Issue Sale!

and much more...

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day

 In bloom February 14, 2012m in my garden on the Washington, DC/Silver Spring, MD border -- zone 7A (was 6B) :


Snowdrops

 






 




'February Gold' Daffodils

 

Crocus

Not pictured: Pansies, Hellebores, Primroses, and Winter Jasmine.
So what is blooming in YOUR garden today?

Video Wednesday: Florist Behind-the-Scenes on Valentine's Eve

Thought you all would enjoy this one-minute video of a long-time, local florist business. I took this footage the day before Valentine's to go with this story I wrote from the Silver Spring Patch that is posted here.

Bring Your Valentine and Join Us at the Philadelphia Flower Show!

Washington Gardener Magazine is once again taking local DC-MD-VA gardeners up to the Philadelphia Flower Show on Wednesday, March 7, 2012. What sets this tour apart from all the others? 8 Great Reasons!

1. We feed you! That's right, lunch is included on the way up as well as a hearty snack on the way back in case you were too busy flower-gazing at the show to stop and eat before the return trip.

2. We entertain you! We'll have garden-related DVDs to view, flower trivia contests, prizes for bests (dressed, on time, etc.), and just plain silly games for your day off work.

3. We'll hold a lively show preview talk! I will be at the show on Saturday for the press preview and get a behind-the-scenes tour with the show management. We'll pass on any tidbits we learn to you.

4. We are going up later and arriving later then all the other crack-of-dawn folks! That means you'll hit the exhibit hall when it is at its least crowded and have some time to sleep in on the morning of your day off.

5. We take care of the details! We'll be your acting "den mother" for the day and you can just concern yourself with all the great things you will see. You can leave the driving, directions, and parking hassles to our coach transport. We also provide you with a packet of show information so you can arrive ready to hit the Flower Show running.

6. We leave from a convenient location! Downtown Silver Spring's Starbucks on Ellsworth Drive is our start and stop point so you can take the metro, train, or metrobus to Silver Spring metro or have a friend drop you off or drive yourself and park in the many downtown parking garages surrounding Ellsworth Drive for the day. Many who live in the Silver Spring/Takoma Park/NW DC area can just walk or bike on over.

7. We let you pick your seat-mate! Yes, no worry of being stuck with some weird-o on the Greyhound or of getting separated from your friend. If you are traveling with someone and want to sit together, just let us know and we'll place you together in our handy seating chart.

8. We set a great price! Whether you go by train or drive yourself - by the time you add up all the costs (gas, toll, parking, meals, etc.) and the price of the show ticket, you'll see we are a terrific bargain. Not only that, but we are giving Washington Gardener Magazine subscribers $5 off our fee. And yes, you can sign up for the trip and subscribe to the magazine at the same time to get the discount.

Complete registration information and form can be downloaded here. Register soon as we are over half-full at this point and expect a sell-out.
 
PS If that date, time, or location of this trip, does not work for you, we have a second tour on Tuesday, March 6 leaving earlier in the day from Behnke Nurseries in Beltsville, MD. Full details here.

RootingDC Roster of Stellar Presenters

RootingDC is a FREE Urban Gardening Forum held annually in February. This year it is on Saturday, February 18th at Coolidge High School in the Takoma neighborhood of WDC. Pre-registration is open now and you are urged to sign-up now to save your spot. (There are 500 openings and we are already over 300 attendees.)

Presenters this year include:
~ The Keynote Address: Why Gardening is Essential to a Sustainable DC by Brendan Shane – District Department of the Environment
~ Ethnic Foods in Washington, DC: The impact on immigrant and indigenous Populations byYao Afantchao – UDC Extension Educator
~ Getting Dirty: Soil Basics by Maureen Moodie – Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture
~ Backyard wildlife gardening in the District: Attracting pollinators with native (and edible) plants by Julie Dieguez – Audubon MD/DC and Damien Ossi – District Department of the Environment
~ DC Area Historic Heirlooms: Growing and Eating and Healing With History by Michael Twitty – afroculinaria.com
~ Canning for Beginners by Bradley Kennedy
And many more! Read the whole schedule at http://www.rootingdc.org/.
Eagle-eyed readers will also see that I'm speaking on: The Best Fruit Trees for the Mid-Atlantic Climate and Small-Space Gardens. This session was standing-room-only when I gave it at a DC library last fall with many requesting a repeat, so I anticipate a full room again. Be sure to also stop by and say, "Hi" at the Washington Gardener Magazine table in the information area.
I hope to see you there! And don’t forget to donate now to support the RootingDC forum! Donations are fully tax-deductible.

MoCo Home Show This Weekend

Washington Gardener Magazine will be at the Montgomery County Community Home Show this weekend (Feb 11-12) in Shady Grove/Rockville, MD. I hope to see you there!


Here is a $1 off the entry free coupon you can print and use:

http://www.midatlanticexpos.com/shows/Spring%202012_Rockville_8.5x11.pdf

General show information on the event can be found at:

http://www.midatlanticexpos.com/

The event is aimed at home owners looked to remodel or improve their homes and yards. It is all indoors and features some home-improvement celebrity speakers from HGTV, so you may want to plan your visit around the talks you want to attend.

Video Wednesday: Ira Wallace on Squash Seed Saving

An excerpt from the Seed Saving From Squash and Peppers talk. Presented by Ira Wallace of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange at the Saturday, January 28, 2012, Washington Gardener Magazine Seed Exchange at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD.