Elephant ears have been cultivated for more than 10,000 years as a food crop—making it one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world. The botanical name is Colocasia esculenta—esculenta comes from the Latin word for edible. It’s toxic when raw due to calcium oxalate crystals, but edible when cooked. On the other hand, I’m … Read more
CAN A TROPICAL LANDSCAPE BE DONE HERE IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA? Can we create a tropical oasis in this area? A quick answer to this question is yes! You will need to put on your creative cap because there are a few steps that you can do now knowing that you will add to this landscape … Read more
What vegetable is low in calories, high in fiber, a rich source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants—and tastes delicious? Asparagus, of course. Interesting Facts About Asparagus Thomas Jefferson had asparagus beds at Monticello and often ate it marinated in oil, red wine vinegar, capers, and herbs. Asparagus gets its name from the Greek word for … Read more
Yesterday, in the Northern Hemisphere, was the first day of Spring—astronomically anyway. For meteorologists, spring started three weeks ago on the first of March. And, if you are living south of the equator, it’s the first day of fall. From here on out, the days will continue to get longer until the Summer Solstice. Spring … Read more
NATIVE PLANTS ARE ESSENTIAL In a nutshell, native plants are essential if bees are to survive and thrive. Make sense? It does to me and it does to many others, thank goodness. Matter of fact, adding natives to the landscape has become very, very popular over the last few years. And, The Great Big Greenhouse … Read more
This coming Thursday is St. Patrick’s Day. Are you planning to get a shamrock? To get the best out of yours, while it’s blooming, keep it in bright light—several hours of direct morning sun or afternoon sun (before 11 a.m. or after 2 p.m.) is best. Water when the soil is dry to the touch … Read more
PROPER MULCHING TECHNIQUES AND PROBLEMS CAUSED BY OVER MULCHING Now is the great time to be mulching existing garden beds. Here is a quick list of what proper mulching will provide: Mulch is considered the first line of defense against weed growth. New mulch adds a fresh, clean look to all garden beds Mulch helps … Read more
KNOWLEDGE IS THE KEY TO BEING A SUCCESSFUL GARDENER March is finally here and Spring is in the air!! March is an exciting month for gardeners and landscapers. To enhance this excitement is that we have Daylight Saving Time that begins on Sunday, March 13. With Daylight Saving Time we “spring forward” on clocks one … Read more
VEGETABLE GARDENING TO ANOTHER LEVEL How many of you are aware of the PLANT A ROW FOR THE HUNGRY (PAR) program? I didn’t know this existed until recently. I believe wholeheartedly in its concept. As a matter of fact, I mentioned this idea of donating our extra produce to our food pantries in past blogs. … Read more
FEBRUARY IS HOUSEPLANT MONTH AT THE GREAT BIG GREENHOUSE In order to support FEBRUARY IS HOUSEPLANT MONTH I decided to step out of my comfort zone with my weekly blog and highlight a very popular tropical plant—the Prayer Plant. The Prayer plant is a member of the Marantaceae family, which also includes the beautifully colored … Read more
