Egypt is much in the news this week, and while the country is best known for its desserts and ancient wonders, gardens were also cherished in the ancient days and were kept both for growing food and for honoring the gods.

Gardens at private houses and villas were mostly used for growing vegetables and were located close to a canal or the river. However, during the days of the Egyptian Empire, gardens were often surrounded by walls and they were enjoyed both for pleasure and for their utility.

Garden produce was an important part of the Egyptian diet, but flowers were also cultivated for use in garlands to wear at festive occasions and for medicinal purposes.

While the poor kept a patch for growing vegetables, the rich people could afford gardens lined with sheltering trees and decorative pools with fish and waterfowl. There could be wooden structures forming pergolas to support vines of grapes from which raisins and wine were produced. There could even be elaborate stone kiosks for ornamental reasons, with decorative statues.

Temple gardens had plots for cultivating special vegetables, plants or herbs considered sacred to a certain deity and which were required in rituals and offerings, like lettuce to Min. Sacred groves and ornamental trees were planted in front of or near both cult temples and mortuary temples.

As temples were representations of heaven and built as the actual home of the god, gardens were laid out according to the same principle. Avenues leading up to the entrance could be lined with trees, courtyards could hold small gardens and between temple buildings gardens with trees, vineyards, flowers and ponds were maintained.

The ancient Egyptian garden would have looked different to a modern viewer than a garden in our days. It would have seemed more like a collection of herbs or a patch of wild flowers, lacking the specially bred flowers of today. Flowers like the iris, chrysantemum, lily and delphinium (blue), were certainly known to the ancients but do not feature much in garden scenes. Formal boquets seem to have been composed of mandrake, poppy, cornflower and or lotus and papyrus.

Due to the arid climate of Egypt, tending gardens meant constant attention and depended on irrigation. Skilled gardeners were employed by temples and households of the wealthy. Duties included planting, weeding, watering, pruning of fruit trees, and harvesting.

(Information courtesy of Ancient Egyptian Religion; Photo courtesy of Days of the Pharaohs)

Posted by Susan Reimer at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden history
        

Photo credit: Michael Lemmon

Livistona chinensis
 
The Livistona chinensis or the Chinese Fan Palm is one of the majestic palms found in the original Palm House at Baltimore’s Rawlings Conservatory.

This slow-growing palm can reach a height of 40 feet with leaves growing over six feet long. Nestled close to the trunk high up in the spread of its fronds is a spray of small yellow flowers that will eventually turn into small, blue-black, olive-like fruits.
 
It grows naturally in the woodlands of southern China and Japan where natives still use the leaves for making fans. The name of the genus honors Patrick Murray, a 17th-century Scottish nobleman whose plant collection became the Edinburgh Botanic Garden.
 
Adaptable to zones 9 through 11.

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Categories: Baltimore's Rawlings Conservatory
        

These are from Tara Finnegan Coates in Columbia, who says weather like this is the reason she isn't a gardener. Seems reasonable to me.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Snow at night from Laura Mathews of Punk Rock Gardens

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Categories: Weather
        

Photo illustration: Baltimore Sun/John Makely

Garden Design magazine's Lindsey Taylor performs a gardening public service by testing some new -- and not-so-new -- mail order outlets for a plant material.

She rightly notes that Dave's Garden records consumer comments on over 7,000 gardening websites, so if you have questions about a catalog or website that has caught your eye, you should certainly check there.

But she checked seven outlets and found them to be solid performers.

Among them, Moss Acres, which provides mosses for gardens and terrariums; Tiny Treasures for dwarf conifers and other plants for rock gardens and dish gardens; Annie's Annuals and Perennials for California wildflowers and heirlooms; J&L Orchids for fragrant and miniature orchids; Rare Find Nursery for unusual shrubs and trees, and an old favorite, Plant Delights for hostas, succulents and "utterly new" plants for the garden.

Me? I am bookmarking Simply Succulents, which Lindsey checked out.

Succulents are my new favorite container garden plants. They are exotic looking with fascinating blooms, and they can withstand late summer in our Mid-Atlantic heat without batting an eye.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: From the catalogs
        

Photo credit: Baltimore Sun/Susan Reimer

Washington Gardener Magazine is hosting a seed exchange Saturday from 12:30 to 4 p.m. at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton.

This in-person seed swap allows you to meet the gardeners and get planting advice for their seeds. And everybody leaves with a bag of seeds. to try.

Even if you don't have seeds to swap, you are welcome to attend. There will be extra seeds and lots to learn. Experts from the local gardening community will give short talks on seed collection and propagation.

But hurry to register because there are only 100 spots available and the seed swap is expected to sell out. There is a $15 attendee fee, but discounts for Washington Gardener subscribers and friends of Brookside Gardens.

A second day of seed swapping will be helpd Feb. 5 at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, Va.

Participants are also urged to bring  new or used garden books and seed catalogs to swap and share at the event. And please bring your own water bottle or reusable mug.

To participate in the swap, package your seeds in resealable plastic zipper or wax sandwich baggies. Put about 20 seeds in each, more for small seeds like cleome, fewer for large seeds such as acorns.

Label each bag with a white sticker, giving all the information you have about the seeds: common and latin names, soil, sun and watering needs and the plant's origins. Unused or opened commercial seed packs are also welcome.

There will be door prizes and goodie bags, too.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden events
        

A: The size of the holes and the location along walls suggests rats (snakes can’t dig holes.) Rats are very shy, cautious animals, living any place, city or country, where there is a food source.  Because they normally live within 100 to 150 feet of their food supply, you need to locate the supply.  Does your neighbor leave dog or cat food outside for his pets?

Likewise, birdseed scattered on the ground under feeders can attract rats.  Clean up fallen birdseed and place a device to catch scattered seed under the feeder. Speak with your neighbor about pet food.  Pet owners can easily bring food inside at night or only put out amounts that will be quickly consumed by their pets.

In addition, be sure garbage cans are tightly secured with no holes, and compost piles are composed of yard waste, not food scraps.
 
Rat poison and traps must be used with caution when other animals or children may be in the vicinity.  Place then along walls or other paths used by the rats.  Traps and poison can be placed inside boxes with holes cut in either end, so the rats don’t feel cornered, otherwise they won’t enter.  A weight on top of the box can keep out inquisitive others.  Follow all label directions. Leave traps unbaited for the first few days until the rats have overcome their suspicions, then bait.

Q: My lawn care company wants to do a soil test of my lawn.  They said they have to do this by law.  Is this true or are they just looking for something to do in the winter?

A: Maryland Dept. of Agriculture regulations require that commercial companies perform a soil test of all customers and maintain records of any fertilizer practices. A soil test must be performed within 1 year of beginning service and then again every 3 years. For more information, refer to our publication, HG 103: Fertilizing Facts for Home Lawns.

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Photos by Karen Jackson

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Categories: Birds in the garden
        

We here at Garden Variety are big fans of forcing bulbs -- paperwhites, amaryllis, hyacinth. Even daffodils.

Forcing is something for the gardener to do in the winter, and it also provides a flower fix.

Meghan Shinn of Horticulture magazine is talking this week about forcing branches that flower in the early spring, such as forsythia, flowering quince, crabapple, plums and cherries.

The time to cut the branches for forcing is when the buds begin to swell, she says -- usually about six weeks before bloom time. And keep in mind that you are also pruning your shrub or tree, so you just can't hack away.

If we follow her advice, spring will arrive early! Me? I am looking long and hard at my neighbor's Bradford pear.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden how-to
        

Tomato ‘Juliet’
Lycopersicon esculentum ‘Juliet’

Text by Bob Orazi
Photo by HGIC, University of Maryland Extension

With stink bug problems ahead, why not plant a thick skinned tomato like the Juliet this year?

While tomato growers suffered high fruit damage last summer from brown marmorated stink bugs, some thick-skinned varieties showed less damage. It looks like 2011 may be worse, so planting a thick skinned tomato like the Juliet may be the solution.

Juliet is about 2 to 2¼ inches long and slender like a roma. A 1999 All-America Selections winner, Juliet does it all, from salad to sauce to salsa.

When discussing small tomato varieties, cherry and grape tomatoes are mentioned interchangeably, but there is a difference. Cherry tomatoes have a thin skin and high juice content adding to their flavor but are more susceptible to cracking during hot, moist weather conditions.

The grape tomato, on the other hand, has a thick skin and low water content with the flavor of a roma tomato. It is less susceptible to cracking and has a longer storage period.

Juliet is indeterminate with a maturity date of only 60 days. To assure availability, purchase seeds now through catalogs and start indoors in late March. Transplant the young seedlings outdoors after danger of frost has passed and follow the planting guidelines on the seed packet.

Because of their indeterminate nature, they will continue to produce late into the summer and should either be staked or grown in cages.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Photo by Michael Lemmon

Lycaste Consobrina
 
Lycastes are a genus of orchids named after the beautiful daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy.

They are easy to grow and produce large triangular shaped flowers in many different colors. Most are fragrant and long lasting, making them a favorite among orchid growers.

This Mexican beauty, the Lycaste Consobrina, has a strong cinnamon scent. Lycastes prefer warmer temperatures in the spring and summer months with cooler conditions in the winter when they will require a little more light. They like a well-draining medium, a moderate level of humidity and good air circulation.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 2:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore's Rawlings Conservatory
        

The seed catalogs are arriving in mailboxes by the, well, by the wheelbarrow-full, and Barbara Damrosch, who writes about vegetable gardening and cooking for the newspaper down the street, says she tries not to look at them when she is hungry.

Barbara gives a list of seeds she's going to order and I want to sign up for any of her surplus this summer.

Among the new veggies she mentions is a kale-broccoli hybrid called Brokali from Burpee, those baby sweet corns you find in Chinese food from Southern Exposure, the Lemon Drop cherry tomato from Seed Savers Exchange and a new loose-leaf lettuce from John Scheepers called Midnight Ruffles, which she says "sounds like a costume from "La Traviata."

A fun read, for sure. Whether you are hungry or not.

Photo courtesy of Burpee

Posted by Susan Reimer at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Vegetable gardening
        

Photo credit: Baltimore Sun/Karl Merton Ferron

Homestead Gardens in Davidsonville

Saturday, 11 a.m.: Owls Native to Maryland ($5) – Andy Brown of Battle Creek Cypress Swamp presents an informative session all about the varieties of owls that call Maryland home and how you can attract these elusive nocturnal hunters to your yard.

2 p.m.: Opening Your Pond ($5) – Water Gardening Specialist Dave Kemon guides you through the steps of getting your pond ready for spring and reviews pumps, containers and vegetation.

Sunday, 11 a.m.: Proper Planting Techniques ($5) (Davidsonville) – Education Coordinator Gene Sumi demonstrates the correct way to plant trees and shrubs that goes beyond just digging the hole. Ways to save your back and give your green investment a great start.

11 a.m.: Gardening in Small Spaces ($5) (at Homestead's Severna Park location) Lisa Winters discusses how to create a beautiful garden even in the smallest of spaces.

2 p.m.: Proper Planting Techniques ($5) (Severna Park) Education Coordinator Gene Sumi demonstrates the correct way to plant trees and shrubs that goes beyond just digging the hole. Ways to save your back and give your green investment a great start.

Behnke's Nursery

Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. Orchid diagnostics and re-potting clinic with Carol Allen (Behnke's Potomac location) Have an orchid question? Ask Carol. Her vast knowledge of orchids comes from many years of hands-on experience. She would love to answer your questions and, for a minimal fee, she will expertly re-pot your orchid.

Saturday, 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Children’s Workshop: Make a Gourd Birdhouse (Beltsville) ($25)A fun activity! Denise Sharp will show everyone how to create a birdhouse from a gourd and decorate it. Afterwards you will take it home to enjoy. Additional gourds will be available for sale if you would like to make another at home.

Sunday, 1 p.m.: Building a Houseplant Container Garden (Beltsville) ($35) Learn how to combine different plants with similar tastes to create a container garden for inside
your home and build it to take with you at the end of class. All materials included.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden events
        

News that a garden had been voted Scotlan's most important work of art, photographer Allan Pollok-Morris spent five years capturing the work of Scottish landscape designers and artists.

The results are on display, beginning tomorrow and continuing until June 5, at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington. The collection of large-scale photographs is titled, "Close: A Journey in Scotland."

Among the landscape designers whose work he has photographed are Andy Goldsworthy, Penelope Hobhouse, Charles Jencks, Ian Hamilton Finlay and Arabella Lennox-Boyd.

The works by these designers, captured by Pollok-Morris in his book, "Close: Landscape Design and Land Art in Scotland," help make the case that garden makers so-called "land artists" are part of the art community.

The U.S. Botanic Garden is open to the public, free of charge, every day of the year from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is located at 100 Maryland Ave., SW, on the west side of the U.S. Capitol. Visitors are urged to take Metrobus or Metrorail as parking is limited. For more information, visit the Botanic Garden website.

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Categories: Garden events
        

Q: Can I still plant the bulbs I bought last fall?  They’ve been sitting in the garage, but most of them still look good.  I did throw out a few that dried up.

A: Yes, because you left them in a cold place where they could fulfill their “cold requirement”, you can still plant them. Plant as soon as possible. They will probably bloom this spring, though later than normal. If they don’t bloom, they should bloom in subsequent years and at the regular time.

Planting now actually has one advantage over fall planting—you’ll be able to see the location of your current bulbs. Their foliage will already be peeking out of the ground and you can avoid injuring them with your shovel.

Q: Can I grow blueberries in pots? What kind?

A: Blueberries can be grown in containers. Plant highbush blueberries, whose roots will better withstand cold.  Highbush blueberry plants normally grow 6 feet tall or more.  A wine barrel container or at least a 30 inch deep pot should work. Some blueberry varieties grow much smaller than others, however, and we’d recommend you choose a smaller variety such as “Bluetta”. Blueberries are self fertile but produce more and larger berries when two or more different varieties are planted.

Blueberries like a low 4.2 - 4.8 pH. Add iron sulfate to a light soil-less growing mix before you plant. The root system is fibrous and devoid of root hairs, so the blueberry plant is sensitive to changing soil/water conditions.  Make sure the roots stay moist throughout the year. Apply a 2-3 inch mulch of pine bark, rotted sawdust, or compost.

See our publication "Getting Started with Small Fruits" for more variety selections and cultural information hgic.umd.edu/_media/documents/hg68_000.pdf.

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Wednesday night is the full moon, and it is also known, according to my 2011 Old Farmer's Almanac calendar, as the Wolf Moon.

Wolfe Moon is the name the full moon is given in January, also known as the Old Moon or the Moon after Yule.

The name dates back to Native Americans and probably comes from the hungry packs of wolves who would howl during cold winter nights.

According to Wikipedia, Native Americans kept track of the season by giving names to each of the full moons. It is something that European settlers continued to do.

The moon is scheduled to rise over Baltimore at about 5:17 p.m., although cloud cover may dampen its drama.

Next month? The Ice Moon or Snow Moon. Due February 18.

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Categories: Weather
        

Baltimore Sun photographer Barbara Haddock Taylor captures herbs on ice.

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Categories: Garden photography
        

Text by Bob Orazi
Photo by Ryan Fessenden, Florida Museum of Natural History

Looking for an outdoor container plant that can double as a houseplant?  Consider the Brazilian plume.

Its pink pine-cone like clusters can brighten up a partially shaded walkway or garden, blooming from early summer to fall. It also comes in red, white, orange, as well as different shades of pink.

When night temperatures fall into the 50s, bring this tropical indoors for the winter and enjoy its shiny bronze-green leaves, which are about 8 inches long with the texture of leatherleaf  viburnum.

With an upright growing habit, it is sparsely branched, growing to 3 feet in height. It prefers a well-drained potting mix with a pH of 6.1 to 7.5. Keep it moist but not wet.

Brazilian plume tolerates Maryland’s high summer humidity and temperatures. Fertilize from spring to fall with a high phosphorous liquid fertilizer. The only other care required is removal of faded blooms.

Propagate easily from herbaceous stem cuttings dipped in a rooting hormone, then share it with your gardening friends.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Pelargonium Citrosum
 
The Mediterranean House at Baltimore’s Rawlings Conservatory bursts into flower during the months of January and February  providing a wonderful contrast to the barrenness outside.

One of the first plants to bloom is this amazing geranium commonly known as the Mosquito or Citronella Plant, named for the popular belief that the lemony scent of its attractive foliage can repel mosquitoes.

Scientifically the jury is still out but nonetheless the smell is intoxicating. The leaves are large and scalloped and form a dense ground cover making it a favorite border and patio plant.
Small lavender and maroon flowers will bloom in early summer.

It likes full sun, a well-drained soil, and does best in USDA Zones 9-11. As with all geraniums,  they make a great container plant and can be wintered inside in a sunny window.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore's Rawlings Conservatory
        

Gardening tips in January: Saturday, 10:00 a.m. What? Garden tips now? You bet. Valley View is starting a seasonal series of short meetings where staff will discuss topics from the gardening world. If you have ideas for this or any other month, email Carrie Engel at carrie@valleyviewfarms.com.

Behnke Nursery, Beltsville

Building a Houseplant Container Garden: Saturday 11 a.m. Learn how to combine different plants with similiar tastes to create a container garden for inside your home and build it to take with you at the end of class. $35. All Materials included.

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Categories: Garden events
        

Q: My friend’s puppy is throwing up some kind of larvae that the vet said not a normal animal parasite. We figure she ate something out in the yard. Can you identify this thing from the attached photos?  We are stumped and dog is in distress.

A: After looking at the photos, our entomologist has identified it as a type of cutworm, Noctua pronuba, the larvae of the large yellow underwing moth. This cutworm is unusual because it is a winter feeder.  High numbers of them can show up in winter, feeding at night on lawns or agricultural fields planted with a winter cover crop. Your puppy must have gorged himself on one of these larval outbreaks.

Q: My feet stuck to the floor under my schefflera plant when I moved it. The stickiness seems to be sap on all the leaves and being deposited on my floor underneath. New leaves are not affected yet. Symptoms seem to be getting worse.

A: Scheffleras are often infested by mealybugs or scale insects, both of which excrete a sticky substance commonly known as "honeydew."   Mealybugs are white, fuzzy, and found in the crotches of plants.  Since you do not report anything looking like that, we suspect that your schefflera has a species of scale insect.

Scale insects look like small bumps on stems or leaf undersides (that is why their honeydew fell on the top of the leaves beneath).  Look closely and you will see them.  They are protected by a small shell like a turtle.  You can spray them with insecticidal oil or soap.  You'll need to apply it at least once a week for three weeks.  Stem-infesting scale can also be wiped or scraped off.

You may want to try a systemic houseplant insecticide which would be absorbed into the plant. Scales are difficult pests to eradicate.  During treatment, isolate your schefflera from other plants so the scale does not spread.  It can be so persistent that it is wiser to dispose of the plant and buy another one.

Check out: http://plantdiagnostics.umd.edu/level3.cfm?causeID=723  and http://plantdiagnostics.umd.edu/level3.cfm?causeID=691 for photos and control.

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Sycamore, American planetree

Plantanus occidentalis

Photo and text by Ellen Nibali

Seeing the bark of this white giant glow against a blue winter sky is truly a thrill.

A sycamore is not for the faint of heart or small of yard however. It grows at a fast clip, up to almost 2 feet a year, reaching 75 to 100 feet (or much higher). Along with tulip poplar, it is the tallest of the East Coast native trees. 

But it is magnificent at a time of year when few plants are, the white exfoliating bark being its best feature. It is also valuable for native birds and wildlife. 

The big 3-5 lobed and serrated leaves appear fairly late in spring. Insignificant flowers give rise to single dangling seed balls that add winter interest. 

Occurring naturally in rich, deep bottomlands or along streams and rivers, sycamores should be situated not too close to houses or manicured landscapes.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Plant_of_Week, University of Maryland Extension
        

Canna-x-generalis

“Lucifer”
 
The Canna will stand out with its bold splash of color and tropical leaves. This hybrid called “Lucifer” is particularly striking with a flame-like flower of fiery red and brilliant yellow.

Canna lilies, as they’re commonly called, are native to Central and South America and love a tropical climate. They do best when grown in full sun and like a rich moist soil. Hardy in USDA Zones 8-12, they can also be grown in colder climates where they will need to be heavily mulched.

Cannas grow to different sizes: towering to an impressive 8-feet tall or with a variety of dwarf species like this one that will only get to 2 to 3 feet.

They come in a wide variety of colors, different types of foliage and will certainly be demanding attention in any garden.

Photo credit: Michael Lemmon

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Categories: Baltimore's Rawlings Conservatory
        

If you look on the Baltimore Convention Center web site, you won't find a listing for one of its oldest and largest events: the Mid-Altantic Nursery Trade Show.

About a thousand vendors -- of everything from petunias to tractors -- line the convention center floor every January while lawn and garden center retailers look to see what they can sell their customers in the spring.

But the show isn't open to the general public. It isn't a home and garden show. There isn't anything to buy, unless you want to buy a dozen of them.

To keep the public from misunderstanding, storming the convention center and ending up disappointed or angry, MANTS, as it is called, tries to keep the lowest of low profiles.

As a result, I was asked not to write about what I saw there (journalists are admitted) until after the show closed on Friday.

Seems a little over the top to me, but I went along with the request. This is a gardening blog, after all, not a national security blog.

It was tough to visit a thousand booths and find what is new or "hot" for the 2011 gardening season. Especially since the gardening world is slow to change and even slower to test and introduce new plants.

And right now, members of the gardening industry are just happy to have survived the recession. They are not necessarily feeling confident enough for risky innovation.

But I found a few things worth mentioning, and I wrote about them today in the Baltimore Sun. Check it out. I will blog about a few others this week.

Call it my "wish list."

Posted by Susan Reimer at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden events
        

A winter warm spell is a terrible temptation for the gardener. You immediately think, "Why not get out there and get a head start on spring clean-up?"

But the best advice comes from Margaret Roach of A Way to Garden: keep off the grass. And out of the beds, too.

Walking on the grass or on the beds when they are frozen or even in a bit of a thaw does more harm than good to the soil -- which is the gardener's best friend.

Instead, she advises, when pruning off that broken branch or pulling those winter weeds, keep to the paths, walkways or driveways if you can.

Besides, I have another chore for you this weekend....

If you are ready to commit to vegetable gardening this spring -- even a modest vegetable garden -- get yourself a copy of Gardener's Supply's spring 2011 catalog.

It offers a step-by-step guide to installing and planting raised beds, as well as the equipment you need to start your own seedlings.

With lots of drawings (and a drag-and-drop planner on line) and shopping lists, it is easy to figure out what size raised bed is right for your yard. You can always add a new bed for fall vegetables, or a second bed next spring.

With a bed liner, you can even plant a vegetable garden on a patio, concrete slab or driveway!

And there is advice and supplies at Gardener's Supply for garden covers and cold frames that can extend the gardening season.

The best way to get the most out of your raised beds is to use a technique called square-foot- gardening, a planting concept that provides for high yield in even the smallest spaces. You can read all about it and see demonstration videos on line.

If you are thinking about vegetable gardening this year, now is the time to start your research. Whatever you do, don't wait until May!

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Categories: Weekend Chores
        

This is the final weekend of holiday festivities at Winterthur, the historic home of H.F. du Pont located north of Wilmington, Del.

Du Pont owned several houses, but only Winterthur was considered "home," where family and friends gathered each year to celebrate the holidays.

This year, a series of rooms in the main house focuses on the winter of 1937-38 when in addition to all the holiday festivities, the du Ponts were preparing for the wedding of their daughter, Pauline Louise, to Alfred Harrison.

Winterthur is open 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. Formore information, visit winterthur.org.

Valley View Farms in Cockeysville.

Bonsai Basics Workshop

Saturday, 9:00 a.m.: Attend Valley View's first seminar of the year to learn more about the art and science of Bonsai. Martha Meehan will discuss how to care for a new tree or starter Bonsai.

Learn about pot shapes and how to use them with appropriate Bonsai tree styles. Each month, new Bonsai topics will be discussed.

Valley View's Bonsai classes are held on the first Saturday of most months through 2011. Martha's company, Meehan's Miniatures, has been in business for over 40 years.

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Categories: Garden events
        

Q: The stink bug invasion continues. Not a day goes by without me killing at least four. My infestation is out of control. Can anything be done? They seem to get through window screens.

A: Stinkbugs are not coming into your house from the outside at this time of year.  This invasive brown marmorated stinkbug needs to "hibernate" this time of year. He looks for a sheltered place in the fall. Back in its native Asia, he hides in cliff cracks, but here the closest thing seems to be house siding and crevices.

Stinkbugs wander into your home interior by accident. They do not want to be in your rooms, because being active in your house is going to kill them eventually. They cannot eat, spread disease, bite, or reproduce in your rooms.
 
Please do not spray any toxic chemicals.  It will only waste your money and possibly sicken you or your family. Do not use a "bomb," which may kill multitudes of sleeping stinkbugs in your walls, but then you'll have decaying bug bodies that attract other bugs which eat dead bugs! Call us for a variety of healthy indoor disposal methods.

When it warms up in spring, the stinkbugs overwintering in the walls of your home will disperse into the landscape (where they will do their real damage--destroying our crops).  Some will be confused and head the wrong way into your home.  This also happens when we have a warm spell in the winter.

Unfortunately, no easy solutions for this invasive pest exist yet.  Much research is being done.  Stay tuned for progress. This stinkbug is spreading over the U.S. and is here to stay, but its high numbers will likely temper somewhat in the years ahead. It is a vivid reminder that we need to protect our country from imported pests.

Q: I lost a lost of perennials last year to frost bite. What type of precautions can I take to insure that my plants survive this winter?

A: First, be sure they are hardy in your USDA hardiness zone: http://www.growit.com/bin/usdazonemaps.exe?mystate=md. They should be able to survive our winter, as long as they are planted in a suitable site. Many Mediterranean plants demand good drainage, for example, and succumb to the constant wet of clay soils in winter.

Frost heaving can push new or shallow-rooted plants right out of the ground. It is tempting to tidy up a garden in the fall by removing all plant debris. However, to help maintain a constant soil temperature and prevent frost heaving, allow the plant’s winter-killed top growth to remain over it, forming a protective mulch.  Or apply a layer of organic mulch such as shredded leaves, compost, wood chips etc., no more than 3" deep.

It also doesn't hurt to check the plants every once and a while when it's above freezing and if you see heaving, to press them gently back in good contact with the soil.

Some perennials, such as penstemon, are short-lived and naturally die after only a few years.

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Photo credit: Margaret Roach

Margaret Roach is the author of A Way to Garden, one of the most popular - and informative - garden blogs out there.

And one of the loveliest.

Margaret has published a photo gallery of 2010 in her upstate New York garden. It was a year of extremes, she writes: too much snow followed by a too early spring, a too dry summer and a too wet fall.

Margaret gave up a high-pressured life in New York, where she worked for Martha Stewart's enterprises, and retreated to her garden. She has written about that journey in a just-published: "And I Shall Have Some Peace There."

Take a tour of Margaret's garden as it displayed itself during 2010. It is worth your time.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Garden blogs
        

Baltimore Sun photographer Amy Davis found evidence of hope and determination in the midst of bitter cold: buds set by trees in preparation for spring.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Wordless Wednesday
        

Winter is the time to learn more about gardening by reading about gardening. And if you are new to gardening, a little help sorting through the thousands of titles out there is welcome.

Genevieve Schmidt, the author of the blog North Coast Gardening, offers her list of the best five books for beginning gardeners, and I heartily agree with two of her selections: "From the Ground Up: The Story of a First Garden," by Amy Stewart and "The Well-Tended Perennial Garden," by Tracy DiSabato-Aust.

Amy's book is utterly charming. And Tracy's thorough list of the proper care and pruning of perennials has been my Bible for a decade -- and she has a new and expanded version. 

In addition to her top 5 for beginners, Genevieve has a list of other books she recommends for gardeners - rookies or veterans.

Check out the rest of Genevieve's list and recommend your own go-gardening books for the beginners out there.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Garden books
        

The Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show, known as "The Masterpiece of Trade Shows" comes to the Baltimore Convention Center this week, and retailers who visit will be making decisions about what to have for sale for gardeners this year.

MANTS, as it is called, is here Wednesday through Friday. It features nearly 600 booths and about a thousand vendors -- down from previous years -- and they will be displaying everything from petunias to heavy equipment.

This trade show began in 1970 as a cooperative effort among the Nursery and Landscape Associations of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. It moved around for a few years before settling permanently at the Convention Center in 1981 because it had gotten so large.

There is plenty for retailers to see: plants, shrubs and trees, landscape and garden items, heavy and light duty equipment, tools, furniture, fountains, containers, sheds, greenhouses and dozens of other yard and garden products.

But the general public is not invited. Indeed, the event isn't even featured on the Convention Center's web site. (Just as well. There is no shopping.)

But Garden Variety will be there, and I will report back on what looks like it will be hot for 2011.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Garden events
        

Santolina chamaecyparissus

Text by Ellen Nibali

Photo by Virginia Williams

Aromatic leaves make this evergreen herb a “deer-proof” addition to the garden. In addition, the finely incised foliage, available in silver or green, retains its good looks through winter.

Normally growing 1 to 2 feet, santolina makes a good border, low hedge, or knot garden plant which you can lightly shear and shape all summer.

The dwarf variety Nana stays a compact 10 inches. You can enjoy the bright yellow button flowers or remove them to keep a tighter form.

Santolina demands well-drained soil and full sun. While it tolerates drought, it may “melt out” in high humidity, so space it to ensure good air circulation.

Tip prune in spring and, to prevent legginess, cut back to 6 to 8 inches every few years after new growth appears. 

Posted by Susan Reimer at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)