Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia
Over 40 Years of Growing Gardens and Gardeners
If you have been out and about enjoying the warmer weather, then you may have noticed, especially in shady areas where the soil is moist, scattered clusters of tiny, white, 4-petaled flowers with 4–6 stamens.
The cicadas are coming!
Brood X, also called the “Great Eastern Brood,” will emerge in DC, DE, GA, IL, IN, KY, MD, MI, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TN, VA, and WV in 2021. Beginning as early as late April and continuing into June, adults will emerge at sunset from their underground locations where they spend most of their lives 1 to 8 feet below the surface as nymphs feeding on sap of tree roots.
If you’re looking to introduce indoor plants to your home, Tradescantia pallida (purple heart) and Chlorophytum comosum (spider plant) are two good choices for starter houseplants. Following are growing basics for each plant.
Learn about adaptive strategies that gardeners can take to improve their soil.
Maintaining the health of our soil is the primary strategy for climate resilience. As the second largest ecosystem after the world’s oceans, soil not only provides physical support of our plants, but also is crucial in the cycling of water and nutrients. In addition, it provides habitat for a multitude of living things, including beneficial microbes that develop special relationships with plants.
The best way to get in touch with what is greening is to take a walk outside. The six demonstration gardens maintained by the MGNV in Arlington and Alexandria are open to the public, so visitors can go and observe the varying stages of new spring growth. Throughout our area, trees are budding, birds are returning or passing in migration, opossums and salamanders are reviving from their winter’s sleep, even though spring doesn't come officially until mid-March.
Enjoy another entry in our series of short form thoughts on gardening and gardeners.
