Starting Your Vegetable Garden From Seeds Indoors - Seminar

Wednesday, February 22, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. 

Walter Reed Community Center,2909 16^th Street South, Arlington, VA

Learn the basics of successful plant propagation, including seed selection, requirements for germination, tips on transplanting, and the importance of hardening plants before moving them outdoors.  

To register call the Master Gardener Horticulture Help Desk at 703-228-6414 or e-mail mgarlalex@gmail.com.   

Maryland Farmers Offer Bay Friendly Gardening Tips - with links

Well, I’ve seen this headline and read this media post on at least 5 sources, including CBS Baltimore, The Washington Post, delmarvanow.com, wjtv.com and others.
The media release says this:

Maryland farmers are offering homeowners tips on bay-friendly backyard gardening practices.
The Maryland Department of Agriculture says the educational campaign highlights the importance of garden planning during the winter for stronger, healthier gardens and lawns and a cleaner Chesapeake Bay. Topics include proper use of fertilizers, pesticide alternatives, erosion and runoff control and water conservation.
Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance says many routine farm-based conservation measures can easily be adapted to lawn care and gardens.
Gardeners can get tips by visiting the department’s website or calling the University of Maryland Home and Garden Information Center at 410-531-5573 from 8 a.m.-1 p.m.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

The problem is, none of the sources provide the direct link to the bay-friendly gardening tips.

So for everyone else who had a hard time finding the tips, here are some of the gardening tips provided by Maryland Farmers: Backyard Actions for a Cleaner Chesapeake Bay

• Try Composting - Leaf "recycling" brochure - or listen to a radio spot
• Use Fertilizers Wisely - Watch a 30-second video on Using Fertilizers Wisely
• Try Pesticide Alternatives brochure
• Watch a 30-second video on Trying Pesticide Alternatives
• Control Soil Erosion and Rainwater Runoff brochure
• Watch a 30-second video on Preventing Soil Erosion
• Conserve Water
• Winter Garden Planner and Checklist brochure - and listen to a radio spot
• A summary brochure of all five Backyard Actions for a Cleaner Chesapeake Bay.

10th Annual Good Gardening Symposium – March 10th

Prince George master gardeners will present their 10th annual Good Gardening Symposium, "Indulge Your Senses" from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 10, at Prince George High School, 7801 Laurel Spring Road.

Featured speakers will be Ruth Burch, with Butterfly Society of Virginia; Bill Swanson, master gardener in Powhatan; Kathy Chain, owner of The Herbs of Happy Hill; and Wanda Johnson, with VCE, VSU. Topics include identifying butterflies; how to harvest the most produce from a given space, a hobby that leads you around by the nose, and new and interesting ways to prepare your vegetable harvest.

There is limited seating at the symposium. The registration fee is $10. For more information, call 804- 733-2686, visit the Master Gardener website at www.pgmga.org or email m.g.prigeo@gmail.com . Read more.

Create a birding adventure in your own backyard

I stopped by my friend Leslie’s house the other day to drop off some native plants for her. I meant to just leave the plants and continue on with my chores but, as usual, her yard made me linger. The second I stepped out of my car and heard the lovely musical tweets, chirps and twitters coming from her wildlife friendly landscape, I just HAD to stay and soak it all in for awhile.

Leslie and her husband epitomize what it means to share a landscape with wildlife. Although my husband and I have left our yard natural for the wildlife, Leslie and her husband have taken a typical suburban lot and made it into the perfect bird sanctuary by planting the entire property with native plants, installing rain barrels and water features, eliminating chemicals and hanging multiple feeders throughout their property. They even special order seed that they know the birds love and hang pieces of fruit in the trees for woodpeckers and squirrels.

My thought as I was driving away that day was “Wow, they sure get a lot more birds than I do.”
And then when I got home, I stopped and listened for awhile and realized that my yard was filled with almost as much birdsong as hers was. It’s just that I was taking the time to listen while I was visiting Leslie, while sometimes at my house I get too busy with my chores and indoor activities to pay enough attention to what’s going on outside.

That is one of the great things about the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) that starts tomorrow, February 17th, and runs through February 20th. Now in its 15th year, the GBBC is an annual 4 day event that encourages participants to count the various bird species that visit their own backyard and record their findings online. Not only does the GBBC provide data that helps scientists track bird populations and trends, but it provides a great opportunity for anyone to get better acquainted with the wildlife that visits their own yard.

I encourage you to visit the Great Backyard Bird Count website and find out more. You even have the opportunity to win great prizes, just for participating!

To get an idea of the birds you might see,  enter your zip code on the website to get a list of some of the birds  in your area. Here is a link to the list for Washington, DC.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to run!! I hear the birds calling.
Related post: Does eco-friendly gardening help local wildlife populations?

And the survey says….Green is the new sexy

It's no secret that I think the environment….and taking care of it…are sexy. But the new Eco-Love Survey conducted by Timberland, a company that specializes in shoes and other clothing for the great outdoors, revealed that an awful lot of people agree with me.

77 percent of the people surveyed said that they regard eco-consciousness as an appealing trait in a mate and 50% are attracted to those who practice eco-friendly behavior around the house such as conserving water, recycling and turning off the lights. Which means, of course, that those who practice eco-friendly gardening by planting waterwise plants, using rain barrels and eliminating chemicals, aren’t just helping the planet. We are bumping up our sex-appeal!

The online poll surveyed over 1000 men and women 18 years of age or older and was conducted in January 2012.

Timberland then took the survey findings to the next level, partnering with dating gurus from the free dating site OKCupid to create the Timberland Green Guide to Dating and Love, full of tips for those on the hunt for their eco-sweetheart.

58% of those surveyed said that they would prefer to meet that special someone outdoors, at a venue such as a farmer’s market, community garden or volunteer activity. They even suggested planting a tree or gardening together as a great first date activity!

On the other end of the spectrum, nearly half of respondents say a date who is an “environmental zealot” is a turnoff.

So if you haven’t already done so, now is the perfect time to start your eco-friendly garden. And then next time you are out on the town looking for a date, don’t be afraid to say “Let me tell you about my rain barrel!”

Eco-friendly gardening is sexy – Valentines Day and Every Day

I can think of few things as sexy and romantic as lying in bed early in the morning and having my husband reach over and gently nudge me awake and whisper those words that always give me a little shiver.

"Hootie's outside," he'll say. And a huge smile crosses my face as I snuggle back into his arms and listen.

Hootie is the name that we have given to a large barred owl that lives on our property. The sound is often so faint through the windows, that I don’t know how my husband hears it. But he does. And knowing how it makes me feel, he wants me to hear it too.

Sharing the wonders of nature together has become a very special part of our relationship. It has made us more aware of our surroundings...more tuned in to the sights, sounds, smells and tactile sensations of the world around us. And of course, those feelings have spilled over into our relationship.

One of my favorite things in life is spending time in the yard with my husband. It’s not just that I enjoy watching him nurture and care for the plants. But he always takes a break from whatever he is doing if he finds some “wonder of nature” that he thinks I should see. Every time he shares something like this with me, it is as if he is giving me a gift, because he is reminding me of all that is special and wonderful in our lives.

We garden specifically to attract these wonders of nature. Our yard is very natural, filled with native plants and free of all chemicals and other dangers that would discourage the wildlife.

Albert Einstein once said “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

Perhaps that is the secret to all of life's relationships. Never forget to be amazed by the wonders around you. Hold on to that incredible joy that you felt when you first saw your newborn infant, that heart-racing rush of love when you first kissed your spouse, and the incredible sense of wonder that you experienced when you first heard the call of a wolf late at night while camping under the stars or first saw a tiny iridescent hummingbird fluttering around your gardens. And remember, remember, remember that none of those things will last forever unless you make an effort to protect them and nurture them and let them know you care.

So next time you are in your garden, look for the wonders. Soak them up, savor them, and then share them with someone you love.  

Happy Valentines Day!

Relationship Rule #2 for People and Gardens: Don’t Drown them with Love

In keeping with my Love theme for Valentine’s Day week, I am expounding on some of the rules that I wrote about a few years ago in my post The 12 Relationship Rules for Gardeners. Today’s rule: There is a fine line between showering with love and smothering with love.

In human relationships, everyone likes a little attention from their romantic partner. Certainly, none of us want to be ignored. But there is a fine line when just enough can become too much. And the tricky part is, the line is different for everyone, depending on just how much attention they require to thrive.

For me, a dozen roses and a fancy dinner at an elegant restaurant is almost too much attention. I had a boyfriend who once sent me three dozen roses for Valentine’s Day and, quite frankly, I probably could have bought groceries for a few weeks with the money he spent. On the other hand, a hand-written love note and a home-cooked dinner by candle light will keep nourishing the love in my heart for months!

The same principle can certainly be applied to gardens. Over-doing almost anything in the garden is a bad thing, from water, to fertilizer, to plants themselves.

So how do we know how much is too much? We get to know each other, really well.

Yesterday I wrote about the importance of  getting to know your garden and the site conditions of your landscape. Once you know your garden, you will better understand just how much of everything it needs to thrive.

How too much attention can harm your garden:

Over watering: Over watering is usually a death sentence for plants, especially when accompanied with poor drainage. Waterlogged soils limit oxygen uptake by plant roots, which in turn affects the plant's metabolism, nutrient uptake, water absorption and photosynthesis. Over watering causes runoff, which can wash harmful chemicals from your yard into natural water supplies. Over watering also wastes water resources and reduces water supplies.

Over fertilizing: Too much fertilizer can be harmful to the lawn and plants in your landscape.  Not only can it burn a plant’s roots and make the plant more vulnerable to insects and diseases but it  may lead to water pollution through run-off or leaching of nutrients. Excess fertilizer which finds its way into waterways can cause unsightly algal blooms which reduce oxygen, often resulting in fish kills.

Pesticide Use: In my opinion, any use of chemical pesticides is too much. Pesticides are usually indiscriminate, killing the good bugs as well as the bad bugs. They can also have harmful effects for humans and other forms of garden wildlife.

Over planting: Even the practice of overcrowding a garden can be harmful to your plants. Overcrowding can cause weak growth and reduce air movement, resulting in increased insect and disease problems.

So when it comes to your relationship with your garden, don’t be an obsessive lover. Get to know what it wants and needs and then shower it with just the right amount of affection. That’s the best way to keep your relationship growing!

Gardening Symposium - March 24th-25th, 2012

The Loudoun County Master Gardeners present their Third Annual Gardening Symposium - two days packed with gardening inspiration and practical information from knowledgeable and engaging speakers. This year's line-up of speakers and topics offers something for every gardener and lover of the landscape. Network with others, pick-up new ideas and get in gear for spring. Speakers:

• Dr. Jeff Kirwan, Professor, Department of Forestry. Virginia Tech, Remarkable Trees Two, An Update
• Nancy Hugo , Gardener, author and lecturer, Seeing Trees
• Chip Osborne , President, Osborne Organics LLC, Simple Steps to Organic Lawn Care
• Mary Stickley , Manager of Gardens and Grounds, Museum of Shenandoah Valley, The Lazy Gardener
• Donna Williamson , Garden designer, teacher, Seven Strategies for Garden Success
• Adria Bordas , Urban Horticulturalist, Fairfax County Extension Office, IPM is Like a Green KISS for Your Garden
• Karen Rexrode , Horticulturalist and teacher, Why Challenge Yourself?
• Peter Deahl , Arborist, the Pruning School, Pruning Woody Plants Naturally
• Jeffrey Pfoutz , Loudoun County Beekeepers Association, Pollination Under Pressure
• Paul Gibson , Organic gardener, Prince William County Master Gardener, Organic Sustainable Vegetable Gardening
• Debbie Dillion , Urban Horticulturalist, Loudoun County Extension Office, It's a Small World -- Small Fruit that is!

Prices include the conference, lunch and trade show. Lunches include vegetarian options. One day: $37.50 Two days: $65 Holiday Inn Leesburg at Carradoc Hall For more information and to register, visit the Loudon County Master Gardeners website.

The right way to love your garden

"Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you." — Wayne Dyer

A few years ago, I wrote a post entitled The 12 Relationship Rules for Gardeners. In it, I mentioned that many of the same “rules” that work in human relationships also apply to our relationships with our gardens.

This week, in honor of Valentine’s Day, I will be going over some of those rules.

To get things rolling, I will start with what I think is the number one rule in both relationships and gardening, and that is “Don’t try to change the object of your affection.”

In human relationships, no matter how much we think we love someone just the way they are, eventually we come up with something that we think needs to be changed about them. Perhaps we want them to go on a diet or to drink less. Maybe we think they should be more affectionate or more talkative or less opinionated. Whatever the change may be, we think, for some reason, that we should be able to modify this human being that has already been existing just fine on their own, to better suit our desires. And we expect them to be happy about it. Or at least to accept our version of the new and improved “them” without protest. But this rarely works. And so the secret to a happy long-term relationship with another human is to get to know as much about them as you can, before you commit to them, to make sure that you can live with them just the way they are. And then instead of trying to change them, spend your life encouraging them to be the best of what they already are.

The same theory holds true of our landscapes. To have the most successful relationship with a landscape, you have to get to know as much about it as you can before you start trying to co-exist with it. You need to learn how it has been living up until the time it met you. How much does it like to drink? What does it like to eat? Is it showy and flamboyant or is it more laid back and natural?

Sure, we have a lot more control over modifying a landscape than we do another human being. But the result in both cases is the same. To have the happiest, most successful, maintenance-free relationship with a person or a garden, learn to work with and bring out their natural beauty rather than trying to change them into something else.

So, the number one rule for successful gardening is: Get to know your site conditions and learn to Work With Mother Nature, Not Against Her

Getting to know your landscape and its needs and wants will help you chose the right plants which are properly adapted to your site conditions. It will help you conserve water and will reduce the need for unnecessary and unhealthy garden additives such as chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.

There are way too many beautiful people and beautiful pieces of land in the world that are suffering because someone is trying to make them into something they are not. And when any of that natural beauty fades away and dies, the whole world suffers for it.

Green Living Expo

Saturday, March 17^th, 10 AM – 4 PM.  

The Green Living Expo will feature green products and suppliers, exhibits and seminars presented by green building experts, activities for kids, raffles, and more!

Learn practical ways to green your lifestyle and lighten your carbon footprint with a focus on energy conservation, solid waste reduction, eco-friendly transportation, green home remodeling, sustainable landscaping, and healthy homes.

Washington-Lee High School, 1301 N. Stafford St. For more information: www.arlingtonenvironment.org