This coming Saturday, April 22nd, is Earth Day! Earth Day was established in 1969 at a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) conference in San Francisco, California. In March of 1970, a sanctioned Proclamation was signed at the U.N. A U.S. senator from Wisconsin organized a national demonstration about environmental issues, and the … Read more
GOOD OR BAD? IT DEPENDS Lately, homeowners have been coming into the garden center to talk about moss they have discovered growing in their lawns. Most want to know why and what they can do to eliminate the moss. Some other homeowners are OK with having a moss-covered yard. Here are some primary reasons why … Read more
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. In Polynesia, elephant ears are … Read more
WHAT A GREAT MONTH FOR GARDENERS The month of March was challenging. March was warm in the beginning and then turned colder during the middle of the month. The last 10 days of March were back to normal for March. But, on a more positive note—March kept up with giving us weekly rainfall, which was … Read more
It’s National Walk Around Things Day – Let’s Take a Walk Around My Garden Did you know that tomorrow (Tuesday, the 4th) is National Walk Around Things Day? The National Day Calendar is uncertain of the origin of this, so let’s just “run” with it. I’m a gardener, so maybe I’ll celebrate by walking around … Read more
SHOULD WE BE RECOMMENDING PLANTING BOXWOODS IN OUR LANDSCAPE? Should we be planting boxwoods knowing that boxwood blight is prevalent in Central Virginia? My answer to customers who ask this question is YES, but with a different mindset when choosing boxwood varieties. There is no question that people need to be concerned about boxwood blight … Read more
I get many people asking about making their yards more bee and butterfly friendly, but what can we do to make our whole yard a wildlife-friendly place? A New Way of Thinking Maybe we should reprioritize what we want. If we want a yard that’s wildlife friendly, then why sweat the patch of clover in … Read more
RUDBECKIA AMERICAN GOLD RUSH Rudbeckia is more commonly called Black-Eyed Susan. The Perennial Plant Association chooses a perennial to honor each year that is suitable for a wide range of growing climates, requires low maintenance, have multi-season interests, and is relatively pest and disease free. To me, this variety of Black Eyed Susan fits the … Read more
Today is the first official day of spring—in the northern hemisphere, anyway. On the other hand, the Celtic tradition has spring beginning on February 2nd (Candlemas) and continuing until May 1st (Beltane). In the southern hemisphere, spring begins on September 1st and ends on November 30th. Meteorologists consider spring the whole months of March, April, … Read more
ARE YOU READY TO START PLANTING? Here we are in mid-March. Up to this point, our winter has been the perfect storm. We have experienced a mild winter with just a few frigid days. And we have had weekly rainfall. Our ground soil is moist and warm for this time of year. So many of … Read more
