at Potomac Overlook Regional Park
by Nancy Dowling, Certified Master Gardener
Photos © 2017 Nancy Dowling unless otherwise noted
Summer Bounty from the Organic Vegetable Garden
Photo © 2017 Judy Salveson
Abundance! That’s the word that describes a vegetable garden in August. It’s a time for smiling ear to ear while you grab a 15-inch Tromboncino squash that curves like a saxophone off the vine, where you look under big leaves and find a Kabocha squash, a Japanese squash sweet as sugar when baked in the oven. I’ve been co-teaching an Edible Landscaping class* for Virginia Cooperative Extension/Master Gardeners, with Alyssa Ford Morel at Arlington Central Library for a few years, trying to relay the joy of growing edibles, and how the rules of design, planning, spacing, and symmetry that apply to edibles also apply to annual ornamental plantings. I have to say that the real difference for me is the picking, cooking, and eating of edibles that really provides the most enjoyment for me. Of course I love tulips, irises, peonies, sages, etc., and all of these have space in my own garden, but they all fade away without nourishing me beyond my eyes and spirit. Edibles do more–they nourish. And August is the treasure at the end of the gardening rainbow. Continue reading →
Come get free seeds and try your luck in a plant raffle as you tour our magnificent gardens and learn first-hand how to grow beautiful plants in the sun or the shade. You can get advice from our Master Gardeners and pick up helpful information resources and ideas for that special place in your own yard.
