Fenton Friday: Everybody is Getting Garlic for Christmas!

So I went a bit crazy last fall planting garlic in my garden plot at the Fenton Community Gardens.
It was just a few heads and I planted all their cloves. I had the space, so why not? Well, today I literally "reaped what I sowed."

I dug them all this evening between thunderstorms and washed them off. Then I spread them out on laundry racks in my sunroom to cure for a few days. They are so heavy that my racks are bowing under their collective weight.

I counted over 40 large heads and several more small ones that got lost in the shade of other plants and never fully developed. And when I saw "large" I mean almost fist-sized! Looking at last year's garlic harvest on this blog that I was so proud of, I have to laugh, though that is probably more the amount I'd actually use in a year.

So what am I going to do with all of these? I will enter a few in the county fair, a few of the good-sized ones I will save for planting this fall, some I'll use for making pesto and other recipes, but most will go as presents. I'm going to bundle them with a bottle of olive oil and a stoneware garlic grating dish. Several local potters are making them now and I haven't found anyone that does not love this as a gift. I buy them whenever I see them at local craft shows. Hmmm, maybe I should take up pottery next and make my own?

Win Passes to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, VA!

For our June 2013 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, Washington Gardener Magazine is giving away 3 pairs of passes to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, VA. Each set of two passes is a $22 value. The passes are good until June 30, 2014 and are good for one-time daily admission (including Butterflies LIVE!).
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With something for all ages and interests, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden (http://www.lewisginter.org/) is a place to learn about plants, to marvel at nature, to relax in a beautiful setting, to take gardening classes, or to have a wedding or a business meeting. A wide variety of experiences are offered through its diverse gardens and facilities.

To enter to win one of the three pairs of passes, send an email with “LGinter2013” in the subject line to WashingtonGardener@rcn.com by 5:00pm on Sunday, June 30. In the body of the email please include your full name, email, mailing address, and tell us: What is Your Favorite Public Garden to Visit and Why. The pass winners will be announced and notified by July 2. Some of the entry responses may be used in future online or print articles.

Video Wednesday: Summer Flower Show at Phipps

This week's featured video is from my garden writer friend, Doug Oster of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Doug takes you on a tour of the Summer Flower Show in the Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, PA. This would be an easy day trip more most of us in the Mid-Atlantic and the glass art mixed in with the plantings looks stunning. 

Garden Photo Show Reception THIS Sunday

You are invited to view the winning images of the 7th annual Washington Gardener Photo Contest at an art show at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, VA. All 17 stunning photos were taken in DC-area gardens. Both inspirational and educational, this show represents the best of garden photography in the greater DC metropolitan region.

The photo show reception is Sunday, June 30 from 2:00-4:00pm at the Meadowlark Visitor Center's lobby. The opening reception is open to the public and is free to attend. You may also come by and view the photos any time during the normal Visitor Center hours (10am-8pm daily). The photo show runs through August 25.

The winning photos are also published in the Spring 2013 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine along with additional details on the entrants and their images. You can subscribe to the magazine for just $20 a year and start with this current issue or you can purchase the single issue at the opening reception.

Washington Gardener Magazine is already announcing a 8th Annual Washington Gardener Photo Contest. Start gathering your images now and throughout this year. Most all of the entry rules will remain the same as this year’s contest. We will again accept the entries during the first three weeks of January.

Washington Gardener magazine (http://www.washingtongardener.com/) is the gardening publication specifically for the local metro area — zones 6-7 — Washington DC and its suburbs. Washington Gardener Magazine’s basic mission is to help DC area gardens grow better. The magazine is written entirely by local area gardeners.

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens (www.nvrpa.org/park/meadowlark_botanical_gardens) is a park of beauty, conservation, education and discovery. Throughout the year at this 95-acre complex are large ornamental display gardens and unique native plant collections. Walking trails, lakes, more than 20 varieties of cherry trees, irises, peonies, an extensive shade garden, native wildflowers, gazebos, birds, butterflies, seasonal blooms and foliage create a sanctuary of beauty and nature. Meadowlark is part of Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority.

Pet-Friendly Gardening in Washington Gardener Enews June 2013 issue

The Washington Gardener Enews ~ June 2013 issue is now sent to all current Washington Gardener Magazine subscribers. It is also posted and archived online at: http://issuu.com/washingtongardener/docs/wgenews-june13

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

~ Pet-Friendly Gardening -- Cats and Dogs Can Coexist with Your Gardens

~ Top Local Garden Events Calendar for June-July

~ Magazine Excerpt: Squash Growing and Fighting the Vine Borer

~ Mid-Atlantic Garden To-Do List for June-July
~ Reader Contest: Win Passes to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

~ Washington Gardener's Recent Blog Post Highlights
~ Spotlights Special: Canna ‘South Pacific Scarlet’ from seed

~ Washington Gardener Magazine Back Issue Sale!
and much more... 

You can access it as well as all of the other Washington Gardener Enews back issues online now and anytime in the future at http://issuu.com/washingtongardener/docs/.

Rainy Day Garden Gazing

On a rainy Sunday like today where Mid-Atlantic gardeners are stuck inside, I wanted to point out that I have literally thousands of photos posted on the facebook.com/WashingtonGardenerMagazine page of local private gardens, visits to public gardens, and from garden-related events in the area. Today is a great day to sit and scroll through them for inspiration and ideas.

The photo above is from a trip to the Winterthur in Delaware that I made with fellow garden writers/bloggers this past week. I'll be adding photo albums from Nemours, the Morris Arboretum, and Mrs. Hamilton's private state over the next few days.

Enjoy!

Fenton Friday: Garden Apprentice

This week at my plot in the Fenton Community Gardens I had a helper! Alex Getachew is a student at the Montgomery College campus down the street and asked if he could join me in the garden to learn some new skills.

We tackled a few chores including pulling out the spent sugarsnap pea vines and re-wood chipping the central path in the plot since most of that washed away in last week's torrential rains.

Then we weeding out many basil and cosmos seedlings and planted the Cucumber 'Marketmore' seeds I got from Botanical Interests.

The strawberries have stopped producing any fruit so we thinned out the runners. I left a few in my plot and cut the rest that had started to root and brought them home to pot up. They look a bit sad right now. Will see if they recover as I'd like to donate them to a school food garden.

Alex went home with a bag of lettuce and lots of sweet, tender basil. He reports that he made a great pesto with the latter. I hope to do the same with my basil and also with a batch of garlic scapes I cut earlier in the week.

Video Wednesday: Spring 2013 Washington Gardener Magazine

Spring 2013 Washington Gardener Magazine

Here is our new issue video -- just 30 seconds of fun. Be sure to select the high-resolution (360p) to watch it full-screen.

The Spring 2013 Washington Gardener Magazine issue is now out. The cover story is on creating Great Garden Soil in 7 easy steps. You’ll also find in this issue the 2013 Photo Contest Winners and much, much more...

To subscribe, send a check for $20.00 payable to Washington Gardener Magazine today to:
Washington Gardener 826 Philadelphia Ave. Silver Spring, MD 20910
or go to www.washingtongardener.com/index_files/subscribe.htm.

Spring 2013 Washington Gardener Magazine Now Out!

Our Spring 2013 Washington Gardener Magazine issue is now out. The cover story is on creating Great Garden Soil in 7 easy steps.

You’ll also find in this issue:
• Squash Growing Tips
• Plant Profile of Asters
• 2013 Photo Contest Winners
• Eastern Hemlocks Threatened
• Never Let Weeds Go to Seed
• A DayTrip to 11 Smithsonian Gardens 
• Avoiding Crape Murder
• Duo of Native Azaleas
• Lovely Native Carolina Spiderlily
• And much, much more...

To subscribe, send a check for $20.00 payable to Washington GardenerMagazine today to:    
                    Washington Gardener
                    826 Philadelphia Ave.
                    Silver Spring, MD 20910  
or go to www.washingtongardener.com/index_files/subscribe.htm and use our PayPal credit card link.

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New issue out!

The SPRING 2013 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine is being printed and mailed this week to all Washington Gardener subscribers.

The June 2013 issue of the Washington Gardener Enewsletter will be posted in the next few days. Look in that for our monthly event calendar, local garden to-do list, a feature story on Pet-Friendly Gardening, and much more.

A Passionate Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day

It is the 15th of the month, which means Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day again. To view links to other garden bloggers' blooms around the world to see what it blooming in their gardens and to read their collective comments, go to http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/.

This month the garden seems alive with passionate hot pinks and reds. I'm not a big fan of red in the garden, but somehow it was found a niche in mine. Here is a small selection of what is blooming in my garden on the Washington, DC/Silver Spring, MD border -- solid USDA zone 7.

a trial plant from Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. Echinacea 'Supreme Elegance'

Cityline Hydrangea 'Berlin'

Rose Campion (Lychnis coronaria)

Daylily 'Earlybird Cardinal'

So what is blooming in YOUR garden this month?

Fenton Friday: Water-Logged

So I thought LAST week at the Fenton Community Gardens we were soggy! This week, we got at least another 6 inches dumped on our gardens and the weeds sure are happy about it! I did manage to get a little gardening in between rains.

My sugarsnap peas and strawberries are starting to peter out now. Still getting bags full of lettuce and the carrots are almost ready to dig.

How is your garden growing?

Fresh strawberries on chocolate cake

first baby carrot of the season

okra seedlings finally up!

purple bush beans flowering

SunSugar tomatoes forming