Correctly placing trees and shrubs in the landscape can significantly reduce the energy required to maintain a comfortable home or office. With fall officially arriving this coming Sunday, September 22nd, you may be thinking and asking yourself, “What do trees and shrubs have to do with the amount of energy I use for my home … Read more
EXPLORING OUR NATIVE PLANT SELECTION My native plant highlight for this month is DOELLINGERIA umbellate, commonly known as the Parasol Whitetop Aster. I picked this native because of its late summer/fall blooming time. This beautiful native plant symbolizes fall here in Central Virginia. Parasol Whitetop is an upright grower with narrow oval leaves and clusters … Read more
SEPTEMBER IS THE BEGINNING OF THE “FALL IS FOR PLANTING” SEASON FALL IS FOR PLANTING Yes, it is only the beginning of September. Fall is not officially here until September 22nd. However, in the plant industry, the whole month of September is considered the beginning of fall. Knowing that winter is next, you may ask … Read more
IT’S IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR Fall will be here soon and the fall planting season is fast approaching. I mentioned a couple times in recent blogs that August is the month to get ready and plan your planting projects for fall. One big QUESTION that many homeowners ask themselves is “can professional … Read more
DO YOUR HOMEWORK IN AUGUST Are you a new homeowner? Or do you want to re-do your existing landscape? Does it look old and worn out? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then August is the time to really ask questions about planting and plants and do plant research about what … Read more
GREAT PLANT IDEAS FOR A DORM ROOM OR NEW OFFICE It’s that time of year when some of you have kids moving back into a dorm room at college. You’ll want to add something green to soften or highlight an area. We all know there is not much room inside the living quarters of a … Read more
WE ARE NOW ONE MONTH AWAY FROM THE FALL PLANTING SEASON August is a great month to get organized as to what you want to do to your lawn and garden come September. To recap the month of July: Yes, July was typically a hot month. But it was not a dry month like June. In … Read more
MY TOP 5 FAVORITE SUMMER BLOOMING PERENNIALS FOR JULY It is now the end of July, and we are halfway through summer. Typically, the end of July and August can be our hottest and driest months of the year. But, we have many very hardy perennials that love this time of year. It is their … Read more
DIVIDE IRISES EVERY FEW YEARS Here we are in late July. If your irises are like mine, they are beginning to go dormant with the summer heat and have yellow foliage. Now is the time to consider dividing. Iris plants are a popular garden flower, but every few years, they need to be divided and … Read more
GARDENING AND YOUR HEALTH It’s mid-July, and it’s hot, humid, and dry. Summer weather can adversely affect gardeners who work outside caring for their plants. To understand how to reduce or minimize heat stress or heat-related illnesses, we must first understand what causes heat stress and when it is most likely to occur. Heat stress … Read more
