Getting Fancy

Video Wednesday: Urban Foraging for Serviceberries and Mulberries

Urban Foraging time for Serviceberries and Mulberries here in the Mid-Atlantic! I hope you enjoy my two-minute video and that it inspires you to go out to do some foraging of your own.

If you are reading this post anywhere else on the Web aside from the Washington Gardener Magazine blog, you likely won't be able to see the actual video. To watch it, go directly to washingtongardener.blogspot.com.

My Garden's Name Revealed!

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The name for the Washington Gardener Magazine headquarters garden is *drumroll* Fenton Oaks! Slightly anglophilic snobby sounding, but I cogitated on it all weekend and I think it fits the best. I'm the southern end of Fenton Street here is downtown Silver Spring and if you look at an aerial shot of it, you'll see the oaks are a definite stand-out feature from the rest of the area, which is even more barren than when Google satellite images (shown above) were last updated as three of my neighbors have taken down all their trees in the last few months. (Those few street trees that remain were recently mutilated by PEPCO.)

Michelle White of Rockville, MD, submitted the winning entry of Fenton Oaks. She noted, "I know, it's a bit 'lofty' but it's the first thing I see when looking at the photo!" For her efforts. Michelle won a year's subscription to Washington Gardener Magazine.

Listed below here are the garden name choices submitted by contest entrants. Many of them I really liked, but could not choose as they were either taken by other garden bloggers I know or they were too similar to other area gardens and I did not want to cause any confusion. Funny thing is, I googled "Fenton Oaks" and found this mobile home development in Michigan. I'm not too worried about any mix-up between us though.

Submitted Garden Names:

~ Gnome Village

~ Asphalt Borders

~ Urban Oaks

~ Pleasant Corner

~ Urban Joy

~ Little Garden on the Corner

~ Nature's Haven

~ Urban Oasis

~ Urban Magic

~ City Seasons

~ SquirrelHaven

~ Lavender Hill

~ Rose Cottage

~ Small Pond

~ Urban Jungle

~ Hortus in Urbe

~ Plant Collective

~ Versace Green

~ Santino Green

~  The Urban Plot

~ The Garden Plot

~ The Corner Plot

~ The Garden @ Washington Gardener Magazine

~ The Greens at Washington Gardener

~ The Test Fields @ Washington Gardener

~ Fenton Gardens

~ Fenton Greens

~ The Faerie Garden on Fenton

~ Petite Plot @ Washington Gardener

~ Field of Green" @ Washington Gardener

~ Peekaboo Fields

~ Metropolitan Mini Meadow

~ Nature's Urban Preserve

~ Flourish Gardens on Fenton

~ Crossroads Garden

~ Soylent Green

~ Powerful Powerful

~ Frog Haven

~ Garden Magnificent!

~ Quiet Corner

~ Perennial Pathways

~ Purple (lavender) Reign

~ GW Garden as in Garden: Washington

~ The Garden "Around the Corner"

~ Op -Ed Garden

~ Heaven on Earth

~ The Play Grounds

~ Soil Mates' Place

~ Kathy's Garden Lab

~ House of Worm Regards

~ Cultivated Corner

~ Five Oaks Lavender Garden

~ EB's Garden (for Elizabeth Blair (later Lee) who found the Silver Spring)

~  Selim's Solitude (the horse Elizabeth Blair rode)

~  (Dirt, Plots, and Beds)

~  Intrigue (Dirt, Plots, and Beds)

~  Gnome Haven

~  Pentoak Spring

~  Unlikely Garden

~  Surprise Garden

~  Who'd A Thunkit

So, did I make the right choice? What do you think?

Garden Clubs & Plant Societies Day at Behnke Nurseries

Washington Gardener Magazine will be there with a table signing up new subscriptions, taking renewals, and selling current and back issues.


This first-of-its-kind event will be a great opportunity to explore local gardening groups, enjoy some time outdoors on a gorgeous day, and it is all the benefit Brookside Gardens.

I hope to see many of you there!

>>>
Garden Clubs & Plant Societies Day
at Behnke Nurseries

Saturday, June 4 from 10 to 4

Friends, Gardeners, Plant Lovers: join us at Behnke Nurseries in Beltsville Maryland on Saturday, June 4th for the first annual Garden Social to benefit the

Friends of Brookside Gardens. This is an opportunity for interested people to see what garden clubs have to offer their members, meet plant enthusiasts, ask questions, and maybe even join a club. Representatives from many different organizations are participating, including the Takoma Horticultural Club, the Azalea Society of America, the Beltsville Garden Club, Master Gardeners from Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties, the Gesneriad Society (African Violets and their relatives), the Potomac Hosta Club, Four Seasons Garden Club, and the Silver Spring Garden Club, just to name a few.

The idea is for members of different groups to share with each other and pass on their knowledge and enthusiasm to Behnke's gardening customers. But there's more to it than that-- anyone who brings a garden plant from home can participate in the "plant swap" at 11:30. Also, there will be many wonderful items offered as raffle prizes. All money raised from the raffle goes to the Friends of Brookside Gardens, supporting the magnificent public garden in Wheaton, so dear to all of us in the Washington, DC area.

In addition, at 3:00PM, internationally renowned perennial expert David Culp of Sunny Border Nurseries will be giving a free lecture on perennials. David's Pennsylvania garden was recently profiled in the "Best of" edition of Martha Stewart Living. He is currently writing a book about his garden for Timber Press.

We expect this to become an annual event, so why not attend the first one? Like Woodstock... you can tell your grandchildren: "I was there!" There is plenty of parking at Behnkes, and food will be available to purchase from Monte's Barbeque. The Garden Center will be open from 8 to 6, with the Garden Social running from 10AM to 4PM.

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Fenton Friday: Watering and Weeding

Cucumber Seedlings

 This week at #16 at the Fenton Community Garden plot it was all about watering. With no rain -- not one drop -- in over a week and blazing hot record temps, the garden was extremely thirsty. I was over there daily giving each plant a sip just to keep them alive.

I was happy to see my Cucumber seeds pop up within 3 days of planting them. I planted 'Sugar Baby' Watermelon seeds this week and am salivating over the thought of the fruit in 10-11 weeks!

Bush Beans

One note of bad news, my bush beans are being decimated by some unseen bug. My plot neighbors have all had their bean plant leaves skeletonized as well. There are a couple beans and flowers hanging on my plants, but hardly any leaves left. I may have to pull them up entirely next week.

All the tomato, okra, squash, potato, and other plantings seem to be healthy and insect-free, so I'm not too discouraged.

Registration Now Open for DayTrip to Viette's Daylily & Wine Festival!

Washington Gardener Magazine is partnering with Cheval's 2nd Act Garden Tours and Behnke Nurseries for a special garden-day bus trip to Viettes Annual Daylily and Wine Festival on Saturday. July 16, 2011. Your chartered coach departs from Behnke's in Beltsville at 9 a.m. and returns to Beltsville around 6 p.m. The tour includes charter coach with restroom, Garden DVD on ride, tour of gardens, raffles for garden goodies, goody bags, and bottled water.

If your idea of a great time is enjoying fine food and spirits, learning about gardening and cooking, listening to music and relaxing in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley with family and friends, then put this on your calendar! Join horticultural and culinary experts in the seminar tents and learn new tips on gardening and cooking. Taste wines from Virginia's award-winning wineries. Sample fine locally brewed beers. Enjoy live music while feasting on delicious foods by local restaurants. Stroll the nationally renowned Viette gardens, see favorite summer bloomers flowering amongst the daylilies. Wander in the butterfly and hummingbird garden and visit lovely English rock and water gardens.

The fine print:
The fee is $80 ($75 to subscribers of the Washington Gardener Magazine). We go rain or shine. There are tents in case of inclement weather. No refunds. Transportation time is approximately 2.5 hours in each direction.

Reserve Your Seat TODAY: http://shop.behnkes.com/products/detail-3197369-Viette%27s-Annual-Daylily-and-Wine-Festival.

Need More Infornation to Make Your Decision?

On Saturday, June 11 at 10:00 a.m. at Behnke Nurseries in Beltsville, MD, Cheval Force Opp will give a FREE Talk: All About Viette's Annual Daylily & Wine Festival.
Learn about the upcoming bus trip to Andre Viette's nationally renowned gardens, which just happens to be during their Wine Festival! Garden writer, lecturer, and garden tour guide Cheval Force Opp will have photos and a world of information about this exciting trip leaving by motorcoach from Behnke's in Beltsville on July 16, 2011. Cheval and Kathy Jentz, editor of the Washington Gardener magazine, will host this tour and impart their knowledge along the way. So whether you've already signed up or are still thinking about going, we're certain you'll enjoy this overview. (This talk focuses on the logistics of the tour, and is not a lecture about the gardens and festival per se.)

UPDATE: The registration fee is $80 and a $3 credit card processing fee, if you register through the Behnke Nurseries web site. As a current subscriber of the Washington Gardener Magazine, it is $75 each, but you cannot register for the discounted fee going through the Behnke Nurseries web site. To take advantage of the subscriber discount, you must download, fill out, and mail the registration form in with your payment. You can get the form and full details here.

Video Wednesday: My Little Pond

Here is a short video of my pond for some cooling relief from our current heat wave. It is a nine-foot oval shape and about 2.5 feet deep in the center. Right now, it is overfull with parrothead, hardy water lily, iris, and much more. If you look closely towards the end of the video, you'll see my shy goldfish like to nibble on fingers.

If you are reading this post anywhere else on the Web aside from the Washington Gardener Magazine blog, you likely won't be able to see the actual video. To watch it, go directly to washingtongardener.blogspot.com.

Fenton Friday: Soil and Toil

This week I planted three Bush Bean seedling plants between the squash mounds at my Fenton Community Garden plot. My theory being when the bush beans mature all at once, I'll harvest them, then pull up the whole plants and by then the squash will be meandering and need the space where the beans were growing. We'll see if this particular inter-planting theory works or not.

I added one mound of 'Long Green Improved' Cucumbers from seed. This seed pack was given to me to trial by the Fabulous Beekman Boys and is from D Landreth Seed Company. The soil is 50-50 mix of the wretched stuff originally at the garden plot site and an organic soil mix, Mr. Natural, that I'm trialing.

David Hadary, President of Green Stripe Products in Alexandria, VA, called me up and asked me if I'd like to trial some of the Mr. Natural soil mixes in the garden plot and I thought that was a great idea. Little did he know the toil he was in for! He came by today and we dug out a 3x5ft bed and mixed in 50-50 of the Mr Natural CLM (Complete Landscape Mix). I think it will be worth it though to see how it does in comparison to adjacent beds and garden plots. The CLM mix is all organic and is made up of hen manure compost, worm castings, pine bark humus, coarse natural river sand, and Permatill expanded slate. In that bed, I'm planting 7 different Tomato seedlings, one Eggplant, and two Basil plants.

David (pictured above) and I probably lost about 5 pounds each in sweat working that new planting bed this morning. The sun was scalding and the infamous DC humidity has definitely moved in. Worst of all, was the cistern had run dry the night before and was awaiting a refill from our busy garden leader, so we weren't even able to splash a little water on our faces for relief. I went home and hand-carried a few gallons of water from my rain barrel over to the plot to at least get the tomato plants and other seedlings a drink until tonight's predicted thunderstorms.

Video Wednesday: Wings of Fancy Brookside Butterfly Show

Today's Washington Gardener Magazine Video Wednesday montage is from the Wings of Fancy butterfly and caterpillar show that runs all summer at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD. Take a minute to sit back and enjoy some beautiful butterflies and the jazzy tune called "Nice & Easy" from my friend Dane Riley.

BTW, the original video is posted to washingtongardener.blogspot.com. If you are viewing this link anywhere else, you may not be able to experience the video footage.

Garden Photo Contest Moves to Virginia for the Summer

Winning photo by Mike Whalen

Tomorrow is the last day to view the Washington Gardener Magazine Garden Photo Contest winners' show in Silver Spring, MD. The "PhotoSynthesis" show will then move to Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, VA.

SAVE THE DATE for the opening reception on Friday, June 10 from 5-7pm at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens. The show features the 17 winners of the 2011 Washington Gardener Magazine Garden Photo Contest. The reception is open to the public and you are encouraged to bring along family and friends. The photo show will then run from June 11-August 9 at Meadowlark.

BTW, are YOU gathering images for next year's contest yet? Remember our rules: taken within this calendar year and in a garden-setting within 150-miles of the US Capitol building. We will start accepting the next garden photo contest submissions on January 1, 2012, but you will kick yourself if you are not taking, gathering, and sorting your garden images through out 2011 in preparation for it. Every year I hear from people who wish they'd started collecting their images earlier and missed out of the contest entry deadlines. This year, I'm giving plenty of advance notice and will repeat the reminders every few months.

Reader Contest: Name Our Garden!

For our May 2011 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, Washington Gardener is giving away a year’s subscription to Washington Gardener Magazine. (Should a current subscriber win, we will add a year to their subscription.)

Name Our Garden! We need a name for the Washington Gardener Magazine headquarters’ garden. It can be serious or funny, whimsical or clever. The name can incorporate one of the garden’s features or the nearby street names (Fenton or Philadelphia) or can be completely outside-the-box. Garden features include a small goldfish pond, five 80-year-old oaks, lots of lavender, roses, and other perennials. The garden is set on an urban corner in downtown Silver Spring near Montgomery College, Takoma Park, and the Washington, DC border.

To enter to win a year’s subscription to Washington Gardener Magazine (valued at $20), send an email to WashingtonGardener@rcn.com by 5:00pm on May 31 with “Name Contest” in the subject line and tell us: What you would name the Washington Gardener Magazine headquarters’ garden? In the body of the email, please also include your full name and mailing address. The winner will be announced and notified by June 2.