GardenDC Podcast Episode 64: Daylilies -- the Perfect Perennial?

In this episode, we talk with Stuart Kendig, owner of Perfect Perennials, all about daylilies and what makes them the "perfect perennial." The plant profile is on Solomon's Seal and I share what's going on locally and in the garden.

Here are a few links mentioned in the episode:

~ American Daylily Society (American Hemerocallis Society)
~ Region 3 of the American Daylily Society
~ Lilyhemmer 2021 Fall Festival

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The episode is posted at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/episodes/Episode-64---Daylilies-e132t73

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Fenton Friday: Favalicious

This week at the community garden plot, the weather has been gorgeous! The heat finally broke and it has been amazing with moderate temps and low humidity.

We harvested the fava beans and processed them. They are pictured here shelled from their big, cushiony pod. Then, they still needed to be blanched and the tender inner beans removed and THAT is what you eat. I made them into a green hummus using this recipe. It was delicious! We'll be sharing a TikTok video of the whole process in a few days.

I pulled out one of the garlics to test it out, but I found it a bit small, so I am leaving the rest in for another week of so.

A few berries ripened on the blackberry plants and I got to eat a few of those plus the last of the strawberries and made a few more cuttings from the lettuce for salads.

The carrot tops are up and the 'White Egg' turnips are starting to get large enough to pull a few and try them out.

I planted two types of beans - 'Castandel' bush beans and 'Purple Podded' pole beans along with a mound of 'Lisboa Slicing' cucumber.

I still need to plant the okra seeds and some more cutting flowers. I am also debating on melons. After last year's tragic incident with them, I am hesitant to put so much time and effort in them again. I'll look through me seeds and see if any inspire me to take the plunge again.

How is your edible garden growing?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 8th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

Solomon’s Seal Plant Profile

Solomon’s Seal is a great perennial for the shade garden. The Solomon’s Seal plant has lovely, arching stems with white, bell-shaped blossoms that dangle below the foliage in April through June.

 There is a dwarf version that is 6-8 inches high as well as tall one that is over six feet high.  The common garden variety is between one to three feet tall. There is a solid green version as well as many variegated ones. The solid green true Solomon’s Seal and False Solomon’s seal are native to the US, and some of the variegated ones are native as well.

They are hardy to USDA Zones 3 to 8. They spread by underground rhizome, so give them space to spread when you plant them. They prefer moist, well-draining soil that is amended with organic compost. They are easily divided and moved around by digging out a root section in spring or fall.

True Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum spp.) is not to be confused with the False Solomon’s Seal (Maianthemum racemosum formerly Smilacena racemosa). The easy way to tell the difference is the true Solomon’s Seal carries its flowers underneath of the leaves, while the false version has the flowers emerging at the tip of the leaves. Also, the fruits of true Solomon's Seal are dark blue and the false one has red fruits.

Solomon’s Seal combine well in the woodland garden with ferns and hostas. They also make a good groundcover and understory plant beneath shrubs and trees.

 Solomon’s Seal - You Can Grow That!

 The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine.

Visuals and Audio by Kathy Jentz

Edited by Amanda Cash

 

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Dreaming on Bloom Day

 

It is Garden Blogger's Bloom Day again! On the 15th of each month, we gardeners with blogs share a few bloom photos from our gardens.

Here in the Mid-Atlantic USA (USDA zone 7) on the DC-MD border, the past month has been in turn dry for weeks, followed by monsoon-like rains, then sultry heat, the unseasonable cool, and back again. 

Pictured here is one of my asiatic lilies in bloom right now. It is ‘Purple Dream’ is from Brent and Becky Bulb's. It is almost as tall as me and I have nice-sized patch of them, so I have plenty to cut and share.

In the rest of the garden today, I have blooming: Hydrangea, Astilbe, Lavender, Roses, Campanula, Commom Milkweed, Clematis, Daylilies, and many annuals!

Be sure to follow @WDCgardener on Instagram for daily pics of what is blooming in the garden and area gardens that I visit.

So what is blooming today in YOUR garden?

Monday Thoughts

"How fair is a garden amid the trials and passions of existence." 

- Benjamin Disraeli

GardenDC Podcast Episode 63: Water Gardening and Koi Ponds

In this episode, we talk with Mike Gannon, owner of Full Service Aquatics, about water gardening and koi ponds. The plant profile is on Crocosmia and I share my impressions of the recent Philadelphia Flower Show.

BTW, YOU can become a listener supporter for as little as $0.99 per month! See how at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/support.

The episode is posted at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/episodes/Episode-63---Water-Gardening-and-Koi-Ponds-e12kci2

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://anchor.fm/gardendc/message Note that we may use these messages on a future episode.

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Fenton Friday: Summer Crops Started

'Sun Gold' Tomato seedling.
Photo by Jackie DiBartolomeo.

This week at the community garden plot, the interns and I planted two mounds of 'Cocozelle' green striped summer squash (basically a small zucchini), a 'Sun Gold' tomato, and two peppers - 'Shishito' and 'Lunchbox' - the latter of which I am very excited about as I love snacking on sweet peppers.

The fava beans are so plump now that the plants are falling over! I plan to harvest them this weekend. Today, we are getting heavy rains (yay!) and this follows on a week of blistering heat.

I think I will also pull a garlic out to test it too - I have a feeling they are all ready for harvesting early this year. 

I plan on starting okra either where the fava or garlic ones and then am debating on starting cucumbers next to that.

Elsewhere in the plot, the 'White Fordhook' swiss chard seedlings are settling in well. The strawberries are slowing down and sugarsnap peas are likely done after this week of intense heat, so I will plant green beans in their place. 

I also still have to clear out and set up an area for the several kinds of cutting garden flowers I have. The seedlings really need to get in the ground asap. 

How is your edible garden growing?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 8th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

Monday Thoughts

“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.”
~ Luther Burbank

GardenDC Podcast Episode 62: Edible Flowers with Denise Schreiber

In this episode, we talk with Denise Schreiber, author of "Eat Your Roses, Pansies and Lavender and 49 Other Delicious Flowers," about edible flowers. The plant profile is on Amsonia hubrichtii and we share our upcoming events and local gardening news!

BTW, YOU can become a listener supporter for as little as $0.99 per month! See how at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/support.

Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

The episode is posted at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/episodes/Episode-62---Edible-Flowers-with-Denise-Schreiber-e124ntb

The GardenDC podcast is also available on -

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gardendc/id1502631179
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We welcome your questions and comments! You can leave a voice mail message for us at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/message Note that we may use these messages on a future episode.

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Fenton Friday: Fava Voom

 

This week at the community garden plot, the fava beans have started forming. They are blowing up like balloons! I'll give them another week and then start harvesting a few to try out. I am interested in eating them at the tender stage, rather than dried and saved. Got any good fresh fava recipes?

Elsewhere in the plot, the new summer interns started and we pulled the bolting broccoli plants finally and planted several 'White Fordhook' swiss chard seedlings in their place. We harvested the lettuces and pick strawberries and sugarsnap peas. I cut all the garlic scapes and have them in the refrigerator waiting for a spare hour to make pesto with them.

This next week, we should get the tomatoes and other summer crops in. I also have several kinds of cutting garden flowers I need to find the space for in the plot. Some of those may end up mixed in my home garden beds as well.

How is your edible garden growing?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 8th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

Introducing the Summer 2021 Interns

This summer, I have taken on three editorial interns. Look for their author bylines in our upcoming Washington Gardener Magazine issues and on this blog. Pictured above is the trio at our community garden plot during their first day of the internship this week. As a first assignment, I asked them each to write a short introduction to our readers...

Hello, readers! My name is Jackie DiBartolomeo, and I’m excited to be joining the team as an editorial intern at Washington Gardener Magazine this summer. I’m a junior journalism major and French minor at the University of Maryland. I am currently a staff reporter at the UMD publication, The Campus Trainer, covering everything from fitness to beauty. In my free time, I love to read and write fiction, and I am also a very outdoorsy person (here’s hoping we’ll go on lots of outdoor adventures at the magazine these next few months). This summer, I’m looking forward to bringing my writing experience to the magazine, and to expanding my knowledge of the gardening world.

Hi everyone! My name is Amanda Cash and I’m currently a senior at the University of Maryland College Park in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. I’m a broadcast journalism major with a concentration in public policy. I am hoping to gain more skills not only with my writing and editing through this internship, but also with gardening. I have a plethora of houseplants in my apartment, but I would love to learn more about outdoor plants and gardening. I have written, edited, and shot a variety of stories and TV news packages at Towson University, as well as the University of Maryland. This past semester, I was a news producer for the Capital News Service and over the summer I will also be interning at WBAL-TV11. I’m looking forward to learning more about gardening, helping publish a magazine, and making new connections!

Hi! My name is Molly Cuddy and I’m a rising senior at the University of Maryland from Hamilton, NJ. I am majoring in journalism with a concentration in film studies. I’m also a campus tour guide and I’ll be a teaching assistant for a professional writing class next semester. A few years back, I worked for an online teen magazine called Affinity, where I wrote about arts and culture. Ever since then, I loved magazine writing, and knew I wanted to make a career out of it, so that’s why I knew this internship was the perfect spot for me. Although I would consider myself a very amateur gardener, I’m excited to learn more this summer while also advancing my magazine journalism skills!