GROUND COVER: Silene caroliniana (Wild Pink)

Posted on May 24, 2019 by

Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic

New fact sheet!

Silene caroliniianain April landscape. Photo © 2016 Elaine L. Mills
Silene caroliniiana in June Photo © 2017 Elaine L. Mills
Silene caroliniiana flower detail. Photo © 2015 Elaine L. Mills
Silene caroliniiana in June landscape. Photo © 2017 Elaine L. Mills
Silene caroliniiana in April landscape. Photo © 2017 Elaine L. Mills
Silene caroliniiana in May. Photo © 2015 Elaine L. Mills

This charming wildflower is native to dry forests, barrens, and outcrops throughout Virginia where it tolerates a range of soils. Its rose-pink flowers, which somewhat resemble those of phlox, bring bright color to the spring garden, and it remains evergreen in winter. Learn more . . .

Posted in Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic | Tagged , , ,

Plan Now for the Arlington County Fair!

Posted on May 23, 2019 by

Plan Now for Arlington County Fair Competitive Exhibits in August 2019

Arlington County Fair Logo 2019Have you just planted your vegetable bed or your summer annuals, or do you have summer flowering shrubs in your yard? If you live in Arlington County, Alexandria City, the City of Falls Church, or Ft. Myer-Joint Base Henderson, you are eligible to enter your vegetables or ornamentals in the Competitive Exhibits of the Arlington County Fair. Compete for blue ribbons! Enjoy growing the best squash, the tallest corn stalk, the most perfect zinnia! There are separate categories for adults, teens, and children. Look at what is growing in your garden and plan now to enter your best in the County Fair.

More information about specific categories, dates, and entry forms at Arlington County Fair Competitive Exhibits

Posted in Arlington County Fair | Tagged

Westover Garden Open House

Posted on May 22, 2019 by

A Neighborhood Champions Event

Saturday May 25th 1:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Silene virginica (fire pink )flowers and buds in June.
Photo © 2017 Elaine Mills

This neighborhood Garden Open House will highlight Extension Master Gardener Cheryl Lai’s use of native plants and rain gardens.   Volunteers will conduct tours through the garden, answer questions on gardening, and help children plant lettuce seeds in pots to take home.

5527 22nd Street in the Westover neighborhood
North Arlington

MGNV - Public Education logoThe goal of the Neighborhood Champions Program is to expand the public education outreach of Extension Master Gardeners by sharing their horticultural knowledge with neighbors through neighborhood listservs, Nextdoor, or newsletters and events and activities such as open houses, presentations at neighborhood civic associations, or neighborhood projects such as native plant gardens in common spaces or expanding the tree canopy.

Posted in Neighborhood Champions Program | Tagged , ,

Parking Lot Beds at Library Get Major Re-do

Posted on May 22, 2019 by

By Wendy Mills, Extension Master Gardener

New Ground Cover – Zizia aurea (golden alexanders)
Photo © 2017 Elaine Mills

Master Gardeners at the Glencarlyn Library have been renovating the garden beds along the parking lot. As the growing season progresses, local residents will see dozens of new plantings and a more intentional, holistic design that highlights native plants.

The parking lot beds have evolved over the years to include an eclectic collection of native and non-native perennial shrubs, flowers, grasses and bulbs, many installed by interns as part of their Master Gardener certification. Over the years, the beds have changed. Sections have become shady as the oaks and sweet gum in the cemetery have grown. In the beds themselves, plants have matured; some have become aggressive, reseeding liberally, while others have underperformed or died due to the challenging conditions—cars, foot traffic. and intense weather.

Continue reading →

Posted in Glencarlyn Library Community Garden | Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

VINE: Wisteria frutescens (American Wisteria)

Posted on May 17, 2019 by

Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic

American Wisteria makes a lovely show on the fence of Bed 7. Photo © Elaine Mills, 2014-05-14, Sunny Garden, Bon Air Park.
Wisteria frutescens (American Wisteria) flowers. Photo © Mary Free, 2015-05-18, Sunny Garden, Bon Air Park.
Wisteria frutescens (American Wisteria). Photo © Elaine L. Mills, 2016-05-25, private garden, Arlington, Virginia.
Wisteria frutescens (American Wisteria) in the landscape. Photo © Louis J. Free, 2008-05-10, Colonial Williamsburg, VA.

The wild native wisteria is a climbing vine with chains of richly colored, sweetly fragrant flowers, although not as dramatic or as rampant as its Asian cousins. This member of the Pea family is native to wet forests and stream banks of the southeastern United States. Learn more . . .

Posted in MG in the Garden, Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic | Tagged , , ,

PERENNIAL: Amsonia tabernaemontana (Bluestar)

Posted on May 10, 2019 by

Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic

Amsonia tabernaemontana (Bluestar) emerging shoots in April. Photo by Elaine L. Mills, 2018-04-02, private garden, Arlington, Virginia.
Amsonia tabernaemontana (Bluestar) flower buds in April. Photo by Elaine L. Mills, 2015-04-29, National Garden, U. S. Botanic Garden.
Amsonia tabernaemontana (Bluestar) in April. Photo by Robert M. Kline, 2017-04-17, private garden, Arlington, Virginia.
Amsonia tabernaemontana (Bluestar) flower detail in April. Photo by Elaine L. Mills, 2017-04-25, private garden, Arlington, Virginia.
Close-up of Amsonia tabernaemontana flowers. Photo © Mary Free, 2019-04-30, Glencarlyn Library Community Garden, Arlington, VA.
Bombus griseocollis (brown-belted bumble bee) feeding on Amsonia tabernaemontana ‘Montana’ flowers. Photo © Mary Free, 2019-04-29, Green Spring Gardens, Alexandria, VA.
Amsonia tabernaemontana ‘Montana’ en masse. Photo © Mary Free, 2019-04-29, Green Spring Gardens, Alexandria, VA.
Amsonia tabernaemontana (Bluestar) seed pods in August. Photo by Elaine L. Mills, 2017-08-31, private garden, Arlington, Virginia.
Amsonia tabernaemontana (Bluestar) leaves in November. Photo by Elaine L. Mills, 2015-11-20, private garden, Arlington, Virginia.

This native perennial of floodplain and mesic slope forests, open woodlands, and stream banks has much to recommend it. It is easy to maintain and has showy blue blooms in the spring and attractive foliage color in the fall. Learn more . . .

Posted in MG in the Garden, Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic | Tagged , , ,