Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia
Over 40 Years of Growing Gardens and Gardeners
This is the time of year when the changing leaves pique our interest. If you pick up a leaf and look at it closely you’ll notice its veins follow a certain pattern. The arrangement of veins on a leaf is called venation, which is a starting point for many plant identification systems. One of the most common forms of venation is pinnate.
Vegetable gardening information and events for November.
Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
This sprawling aster (formerly classified as Aster divaricatus) traditionally blooms in late summer to early fall with numerous clusters of small white flowers. It is great for woodland gardens, where it grows vigorously and aggressively, even in dry shade. Although native throughout much of the Mid-Atlantic Region, it is infrequent to rare in the Coastal Plain and absent in southeastern Virginia.
The Glencarlyn Library Community Garden coordinators have created 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 Porcelainberry, (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata).
Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
One of the few “good” Euonymus, this native shrub gives a spectacular show each fall. The raspberry color husks of the seed capsules burst open to reveal DayGlo orange covered seeds, hence the common name Heart’s-a-Bustin’. This surreal effect is fun to show children and adults!
It’s that time of year again! We are pulling out the pumpkins and the paper skeletons and hanging spider webs and ghosts from the trees, but what if you level up your decorating this year with a houseplant that adds a little “yikes” to the season’s staples.
