Washington Gardener Magazine is offering a *Govt Shutdown Special*

Washington Gardener Magazine is offering a *Govt Shutdown Special* tomorrow (Sat 10/12) at the National Capital Orchid Society Show from 9am-5pm.
  Remember that the NCOS Show has moved because of the shutdown from its usual home at the US National Arboretum to Behnke Nurseries in Beltsville, MD!
   Govt Shutdown Special Details: 10% off on all new subscriptions and renewals to Washington Gardener Magazine placed at the NCOS show. Everyone is eligible -- no Fed Govt ID required!
   Don't forget to bring your camera -- the orchid competition displays are simply gorgeous!!!

Fenton Friday: Rain Delay

It has been pouring rain this past week, today looks like another 2-inch day and it is predicated to continue on like this through to Sunday. I'm not complaining though! After the weeks of drought, this is a blessing. But due to it, I've stayed out of my community garden plot for fear of compacting my good soil. When I do get back in, I need to plant my garlic and dig my sweet potatoes. All in good time though.

Meanwhile, I'm keeping more than busy outside the garden giving garden talks and attending local gardening events like the re-dedication of the Bishop's Close Garden at the National Cathedral (pictured here). More on that here next Wednesday, when I share a video I'm putting together of that ceremony.

Stay dry and enjoy some indoor garden shopping at the NCOS Orchid Show and the Meadows Farms' Pink Day this weekend!

How to Take Coleus Cuttings and Over-Winter Your Coleus

Washington Gardener Magazine (www.WashingtonGardener.com) shows you how to over-winter your coleus plants by taking cuttings from them and rooting them in water.

I posted this two years ago, but somehow it never made it onto our main Youtube channel.






My cat, Santino, was a BIG help filming this one. Because he would get out of the shots, I worked him into the video. I think a star is born!

Furloughed in the Garden!?!

DC-area gardeners, as well as gardeners throughout the country, are being directly impacted by the Federal Government Shutdown in several ways.

First, there are the gardeners who rent community garden plots on Federal land within Rock Creek Park. They are officially barred from accessing their plots and harvesting, planting, watering, etc. Can you imagine?!
   The nonprofit Neighborhood Farm Initiative's Kristin Brower says, "We cancelled our workday on Wednesday, but we need to go out! So since we have access (unlike the Washington Youth Garden) we are still planning to have a secret workday." Many gardeners share her sentiment that "I'm not going to have my garden shut-down just because of the shutdown!"
   The Washington Youth Garden on the grounds of the US National Arboretum (USNA) similarly cannot host volunteers or field trips in their garden. The Friends of the National Arboretum report that USNA collections are being watered as they are an "essential" activity, but all other access and activities at the USNA is at a standstill. Same thing goes for the US Botanic Gardens (USBG) on the National Mall. If you were signed up to take a class or go to an event at these public gardens, they are canceled for the time being. If you are a garden speaker, as I am, and you were set to speak to a class during this shutdown, you do not get paid.
   In addition, gardeners, visitors, and volunteers are prohibited from fully accessing the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens , Mt Vernon, and Claude Moore Colonial Farm. The latter two properties are privately funded and access was/is being blocked to their parking and roads, which may or may not technically by legal. 
   Gardener groups who hold their meetings and events at these public gardens have had to cancel them or scramble for alternatives. The National Capital Orchid Society (NCOS) has their big annual show and sale at the USNA each October and was fortunate to be able to move it to Behnke Nurseries in Beltsville, MD, this upcoming weekend. It will not be the same, but at least it will go on.


Second, gardeners are being cut off from vital information. The USDA plants database is down, as reported on GardenRant, and the National Agricultural Library is closed to the public. That means I'm also cut off from researching stories and accessing photo files. I cannot interview experts, nor even get official quotes for this blog post since all the press offices are closed.

Third, small gardening businesses are being severely hurt by the shutdown. Federal workers and contractors on furlough have told me in the last week that they have cut all purchasing to the bone. Which means, the plant sale at Green Spring Gardens last Saturday was not as well attended as in previous years, despite a perfect weather day and great selection of vendors.
   As fed workers and contractors are on furlough, landscape crews and landscape designers are having jobs canceled both due to the workers going the DIY route with the extra time of their hands and for the anticipated lack of pay once this is all over.
   For my own small, local business, I'm seeing that renewals and new subscriptions to Washington Gardener Magazine have slowed down to almost nothing this week as well. I also have single issue sales of our publication at the Arbor House store, which sits at the now-shuttered USNA property. This is directly impacting our bottomline.

I'm not reporting all of this for sympathy or to stir up political debate (plenty of other online venues for that!), just to relate that this shutdown has a far more reaching impact than the general media and our leaders acknowledge. Have you been directly affected by the shutdown?

Warning: Many of the links above do not work because of the shutdown -- try them again once it is over.

Fenton Friday: Lettuce Seed

This week in my garden plot at the Fenton Community Garden it was dry and hot -- a real Indian Summer for us. I only had time to go over and throw some water and harvest more okra and cherry tomatoes.

Rain is finally in the forecast. So, today I ran over to collect the lettuce seeds, I had let several lettuces bolt (go to flower and form seedheads) over the summer in hopes of getting a good crop of fresh lettuce seeds for next year.

After hosting our annual Washington Gardener Magazine Seed Exchanges for several years now, the one thing I have learned is that lettuce seed must by fresh - preferably just a year old - in order for good germination.

I pulled up all the bolted plants, shook the soil off their roots, and put them upside down in brown paper bags. I'll let them dry out a bit more in my sunroom, then give the bags a few good shakes to collect as many of the tiny seeds as possible.

Pictured at top are the lettuce seeds from one of the lettuce plants and you can see how small they are -- I hope to have many to share at the Seed Exchanges.

I only wish now that I had marked which lettuce was which variety with a ribbon or twist-tie or something. I definitely had two kinds that I personally preferred in my salads. Ah well, now I know for next year.

Are you saving seeds from any of your edible plants this year?

 

Salvia 'Black and Blue': You Can Grow That!

Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue'

This tender perennial salvia grows best in full sun to part shade in well-drained soil. It has bright green foliage and brilliant blue flowers with black calyces. The iPhone photo above does not do it justice, it is a true-blue that really is striking in the late summer-early autumn garden.

Butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinators love it. 

Deer do not bother it.

Deadhead the spent flowers to encourage additional blooms. Otherwise, it is pretty low-maintenance.

It can survive here in the Mid-Atlantic if we have a mild winter, but if you think we will have a hard winter, cut it back and pot up several plants in the fall for overwintering in a sunny window.

Garden Bloggers You Can Grow That! Day was started by C. L. Fornari of Whole Life Gardening because she believes “Gardening is one of the most life-affirming things we can do.…We need to thoroughly saturate people with the belief that plants and gardening are worth doing because of the benefits gained.” Garden bloggers who agree post about something worth growing on the fourth day of every month. Read this month’s You Can Grow That! posts.

Video Wednesday: Tiny Houses of DC

Last weekend I attended a tour of the Tiny Houses of DC. These are located at the colorfully named Boneyard Studios off of North Capitol Street and next to an historic cemetery. There are four "tiny" houses on the pie-shaped lot and also several fruit trees and garden beds. In this video, you will get a quick overview of the site and the basics of tiny houses. The simplicity movement has always fascinated me and I think many of us share that "on Walden Pond" fantasy, but being able to live in the city gives you (in theory) the best of both worlds. I encourage you to attend a tour yourself. They are offered monthly, are free, and take less than an hour.

Fenton Friday: Time to Plant More Green

The weather has cooled off so I spent an hour sorting through my seed packs and seeing what greens I wanted to plant in my community garden plot. I decided in Cilantro (Coriander), Parsley, a Romaine mix, and a Mesclun mix. I'm not a big salad fan, but these greens are great additions to other dishes that I enjoy.

I considered Kale and Swiss Chard, but after having a raw Kale salad at a RootingDC planning meeting last night, I just cannot summon much enthusiasm for it. It just feels like such a chore to eat and frankly, life is too short to suffer through tough, tasteless greens. Maybe I'll change my mind and add some later.

What greens are you growing in your garden this fall?

Video Wednesday: "Less Lawn, More Life" Garden Tour

This video posted by "nestboxer" to Youtube is of the recent  garden tour of homes in the Greenbelt, MD,  meant to showcase the beauty and value of lawn alternatives. Greenbelt is a National Historic Landmark planned community built in 1937 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. Greenbelt was designed as a cooperative garden suburb that would be a model of modern town planning in America.

Fenton Friday: Pepper Envy

So the only pepper I planted at my Fenton Community Garden plot this year was an ornamental one (pictured above). It is one of the series related to 'Black Pearl.' It is doing very well covered in black and red peppers and dark foliage marking the front boundary of my plot. As it is ornamental, it is technically edible, but likely hot but tasteless.

Judging from how well it did and looking around at other plot garden neighbors, I definitely missed the boat and should have planted some sweet peppers. I had tried them last year and not had much luck, so I decided to give them a pass this year. I love sweet peppers though and the can be quite pricey, so I have learned my lesson and will try again next year.

Meanwhile, I'll consider bringing this ornamental in as a houseplant this winter if I have the window space left from all my other over-wintering plants, forced bulbs, and coleus cuttings.

What do you regret not planting this season?

Video Wednesday: How to Make a (Mini) Green Roof

In this fun, educational tutorial you can learn how to make your very own green roof out of materials that you have at home. "Guaranteed fun for the entire family." This educational video was produced by the National Building Museum and sponsored by the Institute for Museum and Library Services.