Monday, September 19, 2011

Raingarden Seminar

WHAT:   Seminar to promote the environmental benefits represented by rain gardens.  Homeowners will learn how to properly site, design, construct and maintain do-it-yourself rain gardens.

 WHEN:    Saturday, September 24, 10 a.m. – noon.  Check-in begins at 9:30 a.m.

WHERE:  ArtSpace Herndon, 750 Center Street, Herndon        

WHO:   Hosted by the Town of Herndon’s Department of Public Works and MarymountUniversity, respectively, in cooperation with the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District, the Community Appearance Alliance of Northern Virginia, and ArtSpace Herndon.

 WHY:   Stormwater runoff is the number one water quality problem throughout Northern Virginia, carrying pollutants to local streams, larger bodies of water and ultimately theChesapeake Bay.  Rain gardens allow stormwater to infiltrate into the ground, slowing its flow and preventing pollutants from reaching local waterways.  Due to their ability to retain and filter water, rain gardens also aid homeowners in solving drainage or standing water problems.

 COST:              The seminar is free and open to the public.

 CONTACT:       Registration is requested.  To reserve a seat for the seminar, contact Laura Grape, Senior Environmental Planner with the Northern Virginia Regional Commission at lgrape@novaregion.org or 703-642-4625

 For more information, visit www.novaregion.org/raingardens

Virginia GoGreen Garden Festival

BIG PLANT SALE, GREEN ROOFS, URBAN MEADOWS AND ANSWERS TO YOUR GARDENING QUESTIONS ALL PART OF THE VIRGINIA GOGREEN GARDEN FESTIVAL.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) announces the sixth annual Virginia GoGreen Garden Festival Saturday, September 24, 2011, at the Science Museum of Virginia, 2500 West Broad Street in Richmond, VA. Activities take place in the Gardener Pavilion rain or shine. The multi-faceted event, sponsored by the Virginia Green Industry Council, runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $3 for adults, free for children 12 and under. Parking is free on the museum lot.

This year’s Festival features plants for display and sale by Virginia growers, plant raffles every half hour, gardening products that can help make your yard the envy of the neighborhood, landscaping services that give your yard that wow factor, information on creating rain gardens using native plants, presentations by Sandy of Sandy’s Plants about fall gardening and perennials that thrive in Central Virginia and much more. Other attractions include Richard Nunnally of WCVE-TV’s Virginia Home Grown answering your plant and gardening questions and Catherine Zimmerman of The Meadow Project with a presentation on urban and suburban meadows. She will sign her book Urban & Suburban Meadows, Bringing Meadowscaping to Big and Small Spaces.

Food is available for purchase and Triad from Glen Allen will perform blue grass and popular music. The Silly Bus with entertain children with interactive music, and the sales area includes crafts, garden products, the Countryside Bakery, fall decorations and more. Exhibits will focus on garden and landscape design, green roofs and environmental stewardship for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. This annual family event is produced by the Virginia Green Industry Council to promote the Virginia horticulture industry, encourage interest in gardening and promote environmental stewardship.

Make plans now to attend the Garden Festival Saturday, September 24. Enjoy a few hours of fun and information for the entire family and go home with plants, decorations and ideas to make your garden the best it can be. For more information on the Festival, contact Rick Baker at rick.baker@vdacs.virginia.gov or 301.275.2077.

Eco-Friendly Resources for the Metro DC Area

September 19th - 25th, 2011 is National Pollution Prevention Week, a week that highlights the efforts of the EPA, its partners, and the public in making pollution prevention a cornerstone of sustainability.

There are a lot of great resources on the EPA's website to educate the public about ways to prevent pollution. For gardeners, they have topics such as:
But rather than just sharing the national information on the EPA website, I wanted to bring you information specific to the Metro DC Area. With that in mind, I have created a new page called:

Eco-Friendly Resources for the Metro DC Area.

Here, you will find lots of great resources for ways to be eco-friendly in the DC area.

Bookmark the list. Link to it from your blog or website. Share it with your kids. Thumb through it on your lunch hour. Or bring it up instead of that game of solitaire that you usually jump too when you need a break from your regular routine.

As it says on the EPA Website:

You Can Change the World — Get Started Now!

Website by Water Words That Work LLC