When to Prune Spring Flowering Trees and Shrubs

Washington Gardener Enews Vol. 4, No. 4 — April 15, 2008 is now out and archived here.


In This Issue:
When to Prune Spring Flowering Trees and Shrubs
Magazine Excerpt: Elevated Edibles
April To-Do List
Spotlight Special: Garden Splendor
Reader Contest: Leesburg Flower & Garden Fest Passes
Local Gardening Events

Pictured here is my arch - moved from the backyard framing my pond entrance to the side yard -- to be covered soon in Clematis 'Sweet Autumn' and a yellow climbing rose , whose name escapes me right now. To the right you see the last of my Forsythia blooms still hanging on.

Blooming My Head Off

It is Garden Bloggers Bloom Day again. What a cheery way to greet tax day! I've loaded a few pics here of my weeping cherry and other blossoms. My garden has exploded and my little neighbor, Oona, stopped by last night to peruse the flowers and pick some. How sweet is it that she is most impressed by the common vinca, violets, and the dandelions that creep into my borders? I think the the fact that they are tiny, sweet, and low-to-the-ground are the big attraction factors. So for all those wanting to garden for kids, take note. Think cute and small, not big and tall.

Early Earth Day

Surrounded by plants and attentive listeners, I had a great time talking about, smelling, tasting, and potting up herbs at Whole Foods Silver Spring's Earth Day last Saturday. Holding the event early was great for me as my spring weekends are all double-booked and this gave me an actual chance to be close to home for once.

Bizarre weather forced us indoors, but we made the best of it and managed not to get too much soil on the floor. Though the cleaning crew still gave me the stink-eye when they saw a minuscule pile of potting soil on the floor afterwards. I said, "Just wait until the next guy!" Mark Smallwood followed me with a compost demo.

Another pic of me giving this class is at 94.7 The Globe's radio station web site here. This radio station is classic rock and bills itself as being green. I suppose that goes together if you are looking to attract a certain age group and demographic.

Trees Benefit from Mortgage Crisis

From the TPM/IPM Weekly Report for Arborists,Landscape Managers & Nursery Managers courtesy of the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension

>>Hardwood Mulch Shortage Coming? One of the interesting side impacts from the slow down in the housing market is that less land is being cleared. Usually the land that is cleared for housing is hardwoods. This waste product of the housing industry has been supplying the bulk of the hardwood mulch that is used in the landscape industry. There is less available hardwood mulch in 2008 and if the housing market stays down much longer there could be a shortage of hardwood mulch in 2009.<<

So reading between the lines, fewer trees will be killed for McMansion sprawl and nasty hardwood mulch prices will soon increase. The good-for-the-plants-stuff (i.e. pine needles, leaf compost, etc.) will remain steady in price and just as available. The days of almost-free hardwood mulch chips are nearing their end and now landscape crews everywhere can stop pushing mountains of that crap on unsuspecting clients just because it is cheap and abundant. I hear all those trees and shrubs throughout suburban DC singing, "Alleluia."

This picture is from the Public Storage building across the street from me. I came home to this frightening sight earlier this week. The topped and tortured tree pruning is bad enough, but that volcano-like application of bright red, hardwood mulch -- Ack! Somebody on their landscaping crew really hates those trees. If tonight you see some gnomes digging those trees free, please avert your eyes and keep walking.

Herbal Remedy to Weekend Boredom

Here is the online link to this week's The List: Top Home & Garden Events on page 26 of today's print edition in the Washington Examiner. You can find the Examiner in the many red street-boxes around town. I saved a screen capture of the listing as a JPG and posted it here -- which you can click on to read at 100%.

For item #1, Earth Day at Silver Spring Whole Foods, I stopped in the store today to check on my Herb Pot workshop arrangements for Saturday morning. All is set, now I just have to pull out my herbal texts tonight and get cramming. There are still a few registration spots open, so sign up now if you'd like a space.

Also, if you have not gotten a chance to learn your Orchid ABCs - go by the USBG on the Mall and see the orchid show before it closes on Sunday.

Live TV - Take 2

My NBC4 segment on container gardening got postponed due to technical difficulties. Ah, the thrills of live television. A nearby radio station had upped their signal last week and now any outdoor live recordings pick up their feed or have a loud hum in all the microphones. We tried it four different ways and if you watched you even saw a teaser for us "coming up." In the end though, they decided it'd be best to tape it inside and it will air tomorrow (Thurs 4/10 at 4pm -- should be close to the 4:50 block.) Pictured here is Veronica Johnson in our compromise indoor set-up. Such gorgeous weather outside today, too bad we could not use it.

The Day the Sun Stands Still

I'm trying to pin down a date to host our annual Open Garden and since the Summer Solstice worked well last year, I'm going to schedule around that again. Who know that there was so much leeway and controversy in the exact date. Some sources say Summer Solstice in 2008 is on June 20, others say it is June 21. I mean the longest day of the year, should be pretty easy to measure and confirm, right? Maybe leap year or global warning has a few folks thrown off their game. When I do the NBC News at 4 garden segment tomorrow (Wed. 4/9) I'm going to quiz weather guru Veronica Johnson on the exact timing. For now, I'm setting the Open Garden date as June 21. More details and invitation will be posted as the date gets closer.

Photo source: eumetsat

Get Out There and Garden!

It is a glorious day and perfect weather to get out and garden. Garden helper Dan Edwards and I tackled several of my to-do list items including hacking back my groundcover roses. We filled 12 big bags with yard waste and my lower back is tight, but nothing like standing back and being able to see real progress and accomplishment.

This photo is from Lewis Ginter Gardens inside the conservatory. Yes, someday your cottage garden could look just like this with the assistance of a large staff and a perfect climate-controlled atmosphere. We can all dream...

WHAT in a Pot?

I'm presenting an Herb Pot workshop (see announcement below). The photo here is NOT representational of what we will be creating. I took this shot at a home on the Georgetown Garden Tour in 2005. Now THAT is a herb container garden!

I'd like to see these pots go to folks who have never gardened before, have a very sunny (in other words, all day sun) spot to put a pot of herbs, can devote a minute each day to water the pot and keep it clipped, like to cook, and would actually use these herbs. I'm thinking many of our condo and apartment dwellers in downtown SS would fit that description.

Note that the herb pot project is limited to 20 attendees total and you must pre-register in person at the Whole Foods Silver Spring store. If interested, you should do so ASAP -- registration opened last Monday.

Herb Garden in a Pot
Kathy Jentz from Washington Gardener Magazine
Saturday, April 12
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Celebrate Earth Day at Whole Foods Silver Spring by enjoying the bounty that Mother Earth provides. Herbs are cultivated for their fragrance, flavor, and healing properties. Kathy Jentz, editor of Washington Gardener Magazine, will describe the various herbs you can grow in your own home garden. Then you'll plant an herb garden in a pot to take home and put in a sunny spot so you can enjoy them all growing season long.

Even though I chose this workshop name, I now intensely dislike it. Though descriptive, it sounds way too close to a certain SNL sketch (uncensored version here). Now I get the giggles every time I sit down to compose the "herb in a pot" project handouts, signage, and press releases. Which is really professional, I know.

BTW, I have updated the Cherry Alternatives post with a new addition. That post was picked up on DCist as well a few days ago. If you know of any more great local cherry tree display, please share.

Happy National Garden Month!

Yes, April is National Garden Month, but we all know every day is "gardening day," right?

Here is the online link to this week's The List: Top Home & Garden Events on page 22 of today's print edition in the Washington Examiner. You can find the Examiner in the many red street-boxes around town. I saved a screen capture of the listing as a JPG and posted it here -- which you can click on to read at 100%.

This daffodil photo was taken in the test field outside of Brent & Becky Heath's home in Gloucester , VA. I was thrilled to finally be able to visit them on Monday for the GWA regional meeting and took so many pictures I filled up all my memory cards, which is quite a feat in just one afternoon! They'll be hosting several walk tours there this month and I urge you to get down there asap while the blooms are still brilliant.

I Am (Definitely) Woman

I have an article on page 28-29 of the new issue of Washington Woman Magazine. Christine McIntyre, Co-Publisher of Washington Woman, writes in her page 6 Publisher's Note (aka Editor's Letter), "a useful garden article by Kathy Jentz, owner of Washington Gardener Magazine. In “Seeing Green,” Kathy details some of the many home and garden shows in our area this spring which will give you fresh ideas for any indoor or outdoor project." The article is accompanied by my side-bar, "5 Home & Garden Show Shopping Tips."

You can pick up the Washington Woman Magazine April 2008 issue free around town -- I see it regularly at my local Whole Foods, Giant, and library locations. You can now also read Washington Woman online. They have a nifty viewer on their web site that lets you page through, zoom in, and print out what you like. It is a step above just posting a PDF version and if I could afford to do this and then be able to add a layer of password-protection to it so that only current subscribers could access it, I'd definitely do it in a heartbeat.

BTW "definitely" is one of my most over-used word habits and no, I'm not going to curtail its use. I stumbled across this page put up by someone with too much time on their hands, though I have to give them a thumbs up for their public service. After seeing this article in the Washington Post Magazine a few months back that (purposely?) misspelled the word several times, I was even starting to doubt myself.