The Greenest Garden in DC?

I saw an article in the Huffington Post recently, written by Nigel Sheinwald, British Ambassador to the United States. The article is entitled The Greenest Garden in Washington and lists some of the great eco-friendly features of the British Embassy.

 I love the fact that Sheinwald points out that today's gardeners need to be as concerned about the environment as they are about the good looks of their gardens.

 Below are some excerpts from the article: The single largest contributor to pollution in the Chesapeake Bay is chemicals applied to lawns and farms. To do our bit to combat this trend, the British Embassy adopted an organic approach to management of the Residence garden on Massachusetts Avenue in July of 2009.


 It has not been an easy task -- certainly spraying weeds is faster than plucking them by hand. But the extra work makes for a more responsibly and sustainably run garden. 


 In order to reduce the amount of water we use, we have installed a 1,700-gallon cistern. The cistern is the central part of our grey water system, collecting rainwater that we then use in the greenhouse and elsewhere. 


We're cutting down our chemical use, too. An integrated pest management approach is helping reduce our dependence on pesticides and herbicides: we check plants for bugs before they're introduced to the greenhouse, and use horticultural oil and soap to eliminate the pests that make their way in. 


We now compost all weeds, branches, appropriate kitchen waste, leaves and grass clippings. Reducing what we take of public resources, and decreasing the chemicals we put into the air and water, stems from our goal of being a responsible member of the DC community. 


 As well as being a good neighbour, we want to be an active participant in DC's verdant gardening scene. Our new rain garden slows down water flow across the property, so more water soaks into the soil. This reduces runoff onto Massachusetts Avenue, and helps us keep Winston Churchill's feet dry where he stands at the edge of the property.


 District of Columbia ordinances require properties to have some form of runoff control, and rain gardens have sprung up as a low-cost, aesthetically pleasing option. In many ways, gardening has much in common with diplomacy. 


The seeds you plant take careful care and cultivation to turn out well. Nothing is the same from year to year. You learn from what works -- and what doesn't -- to know better what to do the next time. And the end goal of your work is a productive area where all things have a chance to grow and thrive. 

Yes, it's a great article, but what do you think? Is the British Embassy really the GREENEST garden in DC?

This year, I am thankful for........

I love Thanksgiving, but my love of the holiday has very little to do with the actual meal that is the center of so many celebrations. What it does have to do with are the other sweets, treats and blessings that make up the daily feast that is my life.

I love the word itself -- Thanks-giving -- which is like a bright neon flashing light reminding me of everything that I have to be thankful for, not just on the last Thursday of November, but every day.

The people, of course, are the most scrumptious part of my life. My husband, although both a turkey and a ham, at times, is really the center of everything that is good in my life. But the rest of my family and friends are the perfect side-dishes to my life. Some are nutty. Some are mushy. Some nourish me. And some are just for pure pleasure!

But my feast doesn’t stop there. I’m thankful for my health, my home, my work, my gardens, the critters in our yard that add daily wonders to our lives, all the healthy babies that are in our extended family.

Every single day of my life, I have much to be thankful for. But there are days when I have to admit, I let the mundane and annoying aspects of my life get in the way, and I forget just how thankful I really am.

But that is why I like this season, when everywhere you look, you are being reminded, that this is a time for Thanks-Giving.

What do you have to be thankful for?

Help work off those holiday feasts! Volunteer!

If you are looking for a way to burn off some of those extra pounds that start piling on after the holiday feasts begin, here's a way to burn a few calories and help beautify the area at the same time. Volunteers are wanted to help clean-up the Supplee Lane Recreation Area on Saturday and Sunday, December 3rd and 4th WHAT: Stream and culvert clean-up WHEN: 9 a.m. to Noon, Saturday, December 3 and Sunday, December 4, 2011 WHERE: Supplee Lane Recreation Area, 16904 Supplee Lane, Laurel WSSC is looking for volunteers to help them clean out streams and culverts along its access road at Supplee Lane Recreation Area, 16904 Supplee Lane, Laurel on Saturday, Dec. 3 and Sunday, Dec. 4. Both cleanups will be from 9 a.m. to Noon. WSSC will provide gloves and tools, but volunteers are asked to bring shovels if they have them. The Supplee Lane Recreation Area is one of the recreation areas that WSSC has on its Rocky Gorge (aka T. Howard Duckett) drinking water reservoir. The purpose of the cleanup is to reduce the amount of erosion into the reservoir. Note to high school students: This event is approved for service-learning hours. For more information, contact Kim Knox at (301) 206-8233 or kknox@wsscwater.com

My Bucket List for the Planet

“The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost.” G.K. Chesterton

That was one of my favorite quotes when I was a young, romantic teenager. I’m still a romantic, although not quite as young as I used to be. And I still believe that one of the best ways to really appreciate anything is to think about how empty your life would be without it. It certainly works with age and time.

When you are young, you think that your time on earth is endless, and you waste an awful lot of it. As you get older, your time is much more valuable to you, and you really don’t want to waste any. Since you can’t do a lot about the quantity of time you have left, you start making an effort to put more Quality into your time. You start making Bucket Lists of all of the things you want to do before you die. You realize you want to squeeze everything you can out of life, and not waste a drop. 

The problem with getting people to learn to appreciate and save things like natural resources…wildlife… the environment…and the planet in general, is that everyone thinks that there is an endless supply of those things. I just can’t imagine the day when there are no more lions or tigers or bears because of habitat loss or human predation, but it certainly could happen. Their numbers are dwindling because of stresses brought about by hunting, habitat destruction and introduced predators and diseases.

 Water, though, is another story. The planet will probably NEVER run out of water. That's because the amount of water is always the same -- it just changes in form. Water from oceans, lakes and rivers evaporates into the atmosphere where it becomes clouds and returns to Earth as rain or snow.

 However, we COULD run out of clean water. Almost all of the water on the Earth is salt water, and 77 percent of the fresh water is frozen at the Earth's poles. That leaves only a small amount for drinking, washing and growing things.

As the Earth's population increases, more people need water and the earth’s supply of clean water gets even smaller. And a further problem, of course, is that a lot of the things that human beings do pollute water which means that we have to spend lots and lots of money to have water cleaned to make it usable again.

 As logical as this all is, people waste a heckuva lot of water. According to the EPA website, the average family of four can use 400 gallons of water every day. Let’s see. The current population of the United States is 312,625,280, divided by 4, times 400 gallons =……. Sorry, my calculator doesn’t go that high. But it’s a LOT. Still, I drive down the road and see people idly running sprinklers in the rain, or letting their hose run down the driveway while they are soaping their car or dog.

 Its hard to get people to understand the importance of conserving water. Around our house, one of the ways that we save water is with our Bucket List. We have a whole slew of buckets and watering cans, and we keep them filled up with water from our rain barrels, leftover water from steaming veggies, graywater from when we clean the hummingbird feeders, etc. We try to restrict ourselves to using JUST that water on our plants and gardens. And like the hours and minutes of our lives, we try not to waste a drop.

 I encourage you to start your own Bucket List for the planet. Put up a couple of rain barrels around your yard. They not only help collect water but are great at cutting down on stormwater runoff, which is one of the main things that pollutes clean water. And then start collecting watering cans and buckets. You can find them at garage sales and thrift stores for less than a dollar. And when you have enough of them, you rarely have to waste any clean water to keep your garden growing.

 'Cause life is short. And we've got a lot more fun things to do with our time than worry about water. Betsy's Bucket List: #34 - Try to encourage a few people to take better care of the planet

Help Get the Chesapeake Bay Off Her Diet

In case you haven't heard, the Chesapeake Bay, whose watershed includes six states and covers 65,000 square miles, is failing to meet federal water quality standards and is being put on what essentially amounts to a “pollution diet” by the EPA.

Both the cause and the effect of the Bay's pollution problem impact every resident of the area.

America Recycles Day is November 15th

As a green gardener, my favorite things to recycle are vegetable scraps, plant waste, grass clippings and leaves, which all make excellent additions to my compost pile. But for almost everything else you need to get rid of around your home, recycling of it properly helps reduce our impact on the local landfills.

Since 1997, communities across the country have come together on November 15 to celebrate America Recycles Day.  America Recycles Day is the only nationally recognized day dedicated to the promotion of recycling in the United States. One day to educate and motivate. One day to get our neighbors, friends and community leaders excited about what can be accomplished when we all work together. One day to make recycling bigger and better 365 days a year. Get involved!

There are plenty of ways to participate in America Recycles Day in the Washington DC area. Check out the list and find something fun and GREEN to recognize the importance of recycling.

Montgomery College thinks the World of Water

As an eco-friendly gardener, I think the world of water. I know that fresh water is a limited resource and so, on my own property, I don't use chemicals and I utilize rain barrels to help keep harmful stormwater runoff from entering local water supplies.

The Montgomery College campus is having their two-million gallon "Earthoid" water storage tank repainted, which can help remind all of us that water means the world to us.

The 100-foot tall tank was built for the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission in 1978 and was painted to resemble the world in 1980, based on a National Geographic globe.

The “Earthoid” has since won the "Steel Tank of the Year" award from the Steel Plate Fabricators Association and pictures of the tank have been exhibited in numerous magazines.

The re-painting is expected to be finished by the end of November, Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission officials said in a press release Thursday.

The tank is located at 20150 Observation Drive.

Deer Talk & Plant Swap

What: Deer Talk and Plant Swap

When: November 16, 7:15p.m.

Where: Chevy Chase Community Center

The next meeting of the Chevy Chase Citizens Association Garden Club is this Wednesday,Nov 16, and features Bob McDowell, a Maryland Master Gardener, talking about deer proofing methods for urban gardeners. Everyone is welcome, the meeting is at 7:15 pm; there is a plant swap afterward so bring one to share. The location is 5600 Conn Ave, NW in the Chevy Chase Community Center. The rain garden on the north side of the building and the Library garden both look great, check them out before the meeting. Questions? Email Barbara Baldwin: bbaldwing@yahoo.com

How to Have an Organic, All Natural Veteran’s Day

How to Have an Organic, All Natural Veteran’s Day

Step #1 – Go outside. Take a 360 degree look around you. Consider how lucky you are to live in the United States of America. Now, go find a veteran. A veteran, of course, is someone who has served, or is serving in the military.

That step shouldn’t be hard. You may have a veteran in your family, or work with a veteran. Perhaps your mailman or the elderly worker in the local hardware store is a veteran. If you aren’t sure, all you have to do is ask.

Now, depending on your personality and temperament, the next step may be a little harder.

Step #2 –  Say thank you. Don’t worry. You don’t have to get all mushy about it. Depending on how well you know the veteran, you can add a pat on the back, a hug or a handshake. Just let them know that you are thanking them for their service.

That’s it. That’s all you need to do to thank a veteran. And there really isn’t anything more organic and natural then a good, in person, heartfelt thank you.

 But for a few  more ideas, here is another post called “8 Ways to Say Thank You to Our Veterans.”

 And here are some other great ideas I found online: Veteran’s Day: Ways to Say Thank You

Native Azaleas Program

What: America’s Treasure: Our Native Azaleas (Silver Spring Garden Club's November 2011 meeting)

WHEN: Monday, November 21
Doors open at 7:30pm
Talk starts at 8:00pm

WHERE: Brookside Gardens Visitors Center,
1800 Glenallan Avenue, Wheaton, Maryland

The rich flora of North America boasts 17 species of native azaleas. Don Hyatt, a noted authority on these plants, will first introduce the various species showing the range of flower color and form he has observed in the wild. Don will then shift to a series of visual tours to the scenic places where these native azaleas often grow. Join him in the Southern Appalachians when rare native azaleas and wildflowers herald the arrival of spring. Experience breath-taking vistas along the Appalachian Trail near Roan Mountain in high season when the flame azaleas and rhododendrons turn entire mountaintops ablaze with color. Climb to the top of Gregory Bald in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park to see one of the most impressive floral displays of them all. Share his appreciation of gorgeous scenery, native azaleas, and wildflower companions as Don “chases the bloom” from coast to coast throughout the season. As is Don’s typical presentation style, expect an entertaining and fast-paced program filled with many beautiful photographs, lots of information, occasional touches of humor, and a few digital tricks in this multi-media presentation.

Don Hyatt holds a Bachelors degree in Horticulture with a double major in Biochemistry, and a Masters degree in Computer Science. lthough professionally a mathematics and computer science teacher for 33 years, Don has maintained a life-long interest in plants of all kinds. He started gardening as a toddler, and continues to maintain his garden, now in its 60th year, at the family home where he grew up. After retiring from teaching in 2002, Don has devoted most of his time to horticultural interests, especially the study of native azaleas, rhododendrons, and wildflowers in their natural habitats. He has served on the national boards of both the Azalea Society of America and the American Rhododendron Society, and has received numerous awards. Don is an accomplished botanical illustrator and photographer, and has authored many articles on azaleas and rhododendrons. He has become a popular speaker at national and international conferences on a variety of horticultural topics.

Open to the public and free to attend.
Silver Spring Garden Club dues are just $10 a year per household.

Information provide by Kathy Jentz
Editor/Publisher
Washington Gardener Magazine
www.WashingtonGardener.com