Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia
Promoting environmentally sound gardening practices for over 35 years!
Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
This compact shrub is indigenous to woodland edges, prairies, and roadsides throughout much of the Mid-Atlantic. Although somewhat slow to establish, its extensive root system, drought tolerance, and ability to fix nitrogen make it an excellent choice for challenging garden sites.
When we speak of our gardens sustaining local wildlife, we’re often thinking of the nectar and pollen that insects and hummingbirds collect from our flowering plants . . . Woody plants provide shelter and nesting spots for animals in our home landscapes with their evergreen foliage, holes and hollows, thorns and thickets.
At the end of each month in 2023, we will post The Last Word. This will introduce the new word(s) added to our Illustrated Glossary. You may recognize some words as common gardening or botanical terms. Other words may be more obscure. In any case we hope you find them interesting and even helpful in your gardening endeavors.
January's last words are in this adage: Although most conifers are evergreens, not all evergreens are conifers. (Click on the links to go to the individual Illustrated Glossary pages and also learn How to Identify a Conifer Species.)
Vegetable Gardening information and events for February 2023.
Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
Eastern White Pine is the largest conifer of forests in the eastern and upper midwestern United States. It is common in the Virginia mountains and is native to NoVA except to Arlington. It neither abides air pollution of urban and populated areas nor salt spray, but given the right environment and enough room to grow, this conifer will become a magnificent specimen.
The Glencarlyn Library Community Garden coordinators are creating a new series of short videos about locally invasive plants and native alternatives. This series looks at individual invasive plants, discussing how to remove them and suggesting native plants to consider as replacements. This month's post is on Nandina domestica.
