Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia
Over 40 Years of Growing Gardens and Gardeners
Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
This native of dune grasslands, prairies, barrens, and open woodlands is considered an important species for soil stabilization along roadsides. In home gardens, its reddish-purple clouds of airy flowers are stunning in summer when backlit or sparkling with raindrops.
Featured Glossary word: Barren New in 2022!
barren: a substantial area of land, usually level, with limited growth of stunted trees and little other vegetation except perennial grasses or lithophytic (growing on rock) forbs.
The geographic areas known as barrens are of different causes and types. Many have in common that they are located in geographic areas sitting on several feet of gravel and coarse sandy soil, usually highly acidic, left behind by retreating glaciers during multiple ice ages.
Identifying and removing invasive plants from our home landscapes has become an essential part of gardening. Such plants can be more than bothersome, they can smother or outcompete the native and non-invasive ornamental plants. Gardeners know we have to pick our battles with invasive plants and stay informed on the best methods to tackle them.
Vegetable gardening information and events for September 2022
Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
This lovely wildflower, a hummingbird (one feeding in the image) favorite, shines with brilliant scarlet flowers. Its natural habitat is the floodplain forests, freshwater marshes, and wet meadows throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region. The Virginia Native Plant Society honored Cardinal Flower as Wildflower of the Year in 1991.
Featured Glossary word: Bilabiate
The Glencarlyn Library Community Garden added four species of blazing stars to the renovated beds bordering the parking lot. These are all attractive perennial native wildflowers that homeowners may want to consider for their own gardens. The plants, which are all members of the aster family, are distinctive in that their feathery flower heads consist only of disk florets without accompanying ray flowers.
