Caladium 
Caladium bicolor

Text and photo by Ginny Williams

Extravagantly colored and patterned, Caladium bicolor is a tuberous rooted plant with lance shaped leaves held up by long stalks.

Growing one to three feet tall, caladiums come in attractive bi- or tri-color combinations of white, green, rose, pink, and red.

Originally from South America, they require warm temperatures to grow.  In areas such as Maryland, where temperatures go below 20 degrees F, the tubers should be dug up when the foliage dies and stored at room temperature until they are replanted in the spring when temperatures are above 60 degrees F.

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

Photo credit: Getty Images

Members of the Armed Services planted a very different kind of garden at Arlington Cemetery in time for Memorial Day.

The Flag-In Ceremony takes about 3 hours for 1,300 soldiers, sailors and Marines to put more than 300,000 flags in front of each of the gravestones.

Garden Variety would like to express her deepest respect to those men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of honor, duty and country.

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Categories: Garden news
        

I am a garden writer, for heaven's sake, but when I saw what celery looked like in the ground, I was floored.

"THAT'S celery?" I said, sounding very surprised. It didn't look anything like the grocery store version.

So it is no wonder that our children -- living in a non-agrarian society as most of them do -- don't have a clue where their food comes from or what it looks like when it is growing.

"Seed, Soil Sun: Earth's Recipe for Food," by Cris Peterson is a new book for young people that helps erase some of that ignorance. This introduction to how seeds become food is considered a standout in a field that has lots of entries.

Clearly written in simple language, it explains how seeds, planted in soil, watered by the rain and fed by the sun become food. The photos by David Lundquist are stunning as well.

This is the kind of book you should buy for the future gardeners -- or vegetable eaters -- in your life.

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

What kind of tree is that?

The Arbor Day Foundation is offering a pocket guide that will help you answer that question.

The booklet, "What Tree Is That?," is available for a $5 donation to the nonprofit tree-planting organization.

It is an easy-to-use tree identification guide that features hand-drawn botanical illustrations highlighting the distinctive characteristics of many tree species.

Nature lovers and professional arborists alike have called this pocket field guide one of the most user-friendly resources to have. It will help identify trees in Maryland and throughout the Eastern and Central regions of the United States.

"What Tree is That?" is also available as an online interactive version at arborday.org.

To obtain a tree identification guide in full color, send your name and address and $5 for each guide to What Tree Is That?, Arbor Day Foundation, Nebraska City, NE 68410.

You can also order the book online at arborday.org.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden tools
        

The house was build in 1937, sits on more than 12 acres in Regent's Park and boasts a private garden that is second in size only to that gardens at Buckingham Palace.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden news
        

Sam and Donie Ely had the best shade garden in The Sun's 2007 garden contest.

Photo credit: Baltimore Sun/ Amy Davis

If you have a garden that makes your neighbors green with envy, we want to hear about it.

The Baltimore Sun is searching for the most beautiful and creative gardens in the metropolitan area. Flower gardens, shade gardens, container gardens and even water gardens will be considered, but they should be designed and tended by amateurs. Those selected will be featured in a publication this summer. Category winners will receive a $50 garden center gift card.

To submit your entry, send 3-5 photos and a 200-word description of your garden to homes@baltsun.com.

Or mail the photos to Baltimore Sun, Garden Contest, 501 N. Calvert St. Baltimore, MD 21278

Be sure to explain the type and size of garden, its noteworthy features and your source of inspiration. The deadline for submission is June 3.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Garden contests
        

Q: Transplants of squash and cucumber--why are they sold two to a container? Do they need to cross pollinate?

A: More than one seed is planted to guarantee germination of at least one seedling, plus you get an extra transplant in case one is weak or dies.

When the seedlings are spaced far enough in the container, you can tease the root systems apart very gently and plant two plants. If close together, select the strongest plant, snip off the other with scissors so as not to disturb the root system, and plant the remaining one.

Plants in this family have separate male and female flowers on the same plant. You only need one plant for a crop. Squash and cucumber do require pollination by bees, so if you’re planning to use row cover for pest control you’ll need to pull it back when flowers appear.

Q: I want to start a new garden on my acre, but a ground hog has a burrow under an old concrete slab.  Are ground hogs territorial? He's a fast runner and good tree climber. Will he attack me when I cut my grass? Will he eat the vegetables and flowers?

A: Groundhogs can present a challenge to gardeners. They usually travel only 50 - 150 feet from their den in search of food and do not attack unless provoked. They are vegetarians and eat a wide variety of flowers and vegetables.

You may have to consider fencing to protect your plants if your groundhog does not have sufficient alternative food sources in the area. Groundhogs are good climbers and diggers. Our nuisance wildlife publication has information on groundhogs, including fencing options, at: hgic.umd.edu/content/documents/DealingwithNuisanceWildlifeHG90_000.pdf.

If you decide you can’t live with the groundhog, contact the DNR Wildlife Hotline for live trapping information at 1-877-463-6497.

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Guest post by Arielle J. Patterson

They planted a garden outside the visitors’ center in Catoctin Mountain Park. But it died.

The garden suffered from poor maintenance – notably, mis-directed weeding – and it was soon overrun by invasive plants from the park.

So, fourth-grade students from Robert Moton Elementary School in Westminster, Md., spent the school year designing a new garden for the center, and this month they were named winners of the First Bloom Garden Design Contest.

First Bloom, a program under the National Park Foundation, strives to teach fourth through sixth grade students about the environment by using hands-on experience working in national parks.

The students of Robert Moton teamed with Catoctin Mountain Park and produced the winning design from among 24 school-park partnerships.

The students visited the visitors center and found that the area outside the entrance was a barren eyesore.

Before they could begin their planning, the students had to learn about nature and the land that they were dealing with. They learned that the garden had been invaded by Japanese stiltgrass. They learned how it spread and how it impacted the other plants in the area.

They met with park rangers to select plants native to the Catoctin Park region and learned techniques to plant and maintain their garden. The students chose the native plants they wanted to include in their design: American holly, New England aster and milkweed.

They placed the American holly in the back because it was larger and needed more shade, but they put the New England aster in the front because it is a medium-sized plant and would catch a visitor’s eye. They put the milkweed in the front because it attracts butterflies, which make the garden look more serene and beautiful.

Once their plan was in place they used Google Earth to find an overhead image of the visitors’ center, and then mapped out their plans. The students converted their hand drawn map into a computer graphic and place it on top of the Google Earth image.

All of the submitted garden designs were displayed on the First Bloom website for public voting from April 15 to  May 16. More than 7,300 votes were cast and of that number, 1,500 went to Robert Moton Elementary School.

The students will be taking a trip to DC, funded by the National Park Foundation and Aramark, as their reward.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Guest post
        

The ceremonial gift exchange occurred at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday and while some of the gifts had great historical significance, others included plants, seedlings and seeds from the White House kitchen garden to Prince Charles, a well known advocate for organic farming.

The plants and seeds were packed in a hadcrafted wooden box made from the wood of a magnolia tree that came down on the White House grounds during the huge snowstorm of February, 2009.

The box also contained plants and seeds from the gardens at Monticello, the plantation home of Thomas Jefferson, and Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington.

The Obama's also gave the Prince and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, jars of honey from the White House beehive.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: White House Kitchen Garden
        

Boxwood basil photo courtesy of Burpee

America’s home gardeners have fallen in love with herbs, according to a new garden survey, and the first lady's White House vegetable garden may be part of the reason.

Each year since the Obamas moved into the White House, Michelle Obama has expanded the vegetable garden, and this year it includes a selection of herbs and companion flowers that line the winding paths between the raised vegetable beds.

“Interest in herbs has been growing steadily the last few years,” says Burpee chairman and CEO George Ball.  “But this year herbs are all the rage. Herb orders really took off right after the late March news reports about the 2011 White House garden.” 

Using sales data and surveys, Burpee reports that herb gardens represent the top garden trend for the 2011 season, followed closely by raised bed gardens and container vegetable gardens.

Herbs are rewarding, summer long pleasers, according to Chelsey Fields, manager for Burpee’s edible division.  “Most herbs are exceptionally easy to grow, and fun because they inspire and transform your cooking.”

Fields also said that herbs are great starter plants for children who are novice gardeners. Kids who garden alongside their parents are likely to be healthier eaters.

Burpee recommended anise hyssop, with tall, spiky purple flowers, planted en masse; "Boxwood" basil for borders and a purple-leaf basil, "Round Midnight" for color.
 

Posted by Susan Reimer at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Vegetable gardening
        

I used to have a vegetable garden, and it did really well.

My corner of the neighborhood used to be a small farm, and my garden was in exactly the same spot that the farmer's wife had planted hers.

But the Linden tree, which had been nothing more than a shoot when I planted my first vegetable garden years ago, has grown to be enormous. And now my vegetable garden is a shade garden, and it does really well.

I am content, for the most part, to purchase my vegetables from the farmer's market, but I need to supplement my tomato purchases, so I plant a couple of plants each summer in self-watering containers on my deck. Makes sense. They get more sun there than any place in my yard.

But growing tomatoes in pots isn't as easy as it sounds. So I turn for advice from my container gardening guru, Kerry Michaels.

The biggest problem with container tomatoes, Kerry and I agree, is a consistent source of water. And, she advises that tomato plants need to be fed much more often than I thought.

Here is Kerry's advice. Hey, she lives in Maine. If it works for her, it is bound to work for us here in the Mid-Atlantic!

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

Solenostemon scutellarioides

Text and photo Ginny Williams

Although a standard for color in the shade, coleus has been bred so that there are cultivars that grow well in the sun.  In addition, some cultivars can get to be five feet tall, much higher than your usual coleus.

Hence when purchasing plants, be careful to buy plants appropriate for your location.  Coleus provides all season color, having patterned leaves with many colors and shades of red, pink, orange, yellow and green.

Easy and versatile, it grows well in beds or containers and can be used as a houseplant.  It prefers moist, well-drained rich loam.

When it does not rain, water deeply.  Indoors, give it bright indirect light.  Flowers are small and are generally pinched off.

Because coleus is originally from southeast Asia, it is an annual in Maryland.

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The seed bird feeders have been put away for the summer -- the free lunch is over and I am counting on my flying friends to eat the insects in my gardens and clean the seed heads.

And in their place are my hummingbird feeders.

I have never been fond of the ubiquitous red-and-yellow plastic models. But when I saw this pressed glass feeders, I thought I'd try to attract these little "flying jewels," a name given to them by Spanish explorers, to my garden.

Hummingbirds have an incredibly high metabolism and their appetite isn't satisfied with the nectar they find in the garden, so the brightly colored sugar water in feeders should bring some around.

I've learned some new things about my feeder, however.

It should be hung around flowers or a hanging planter. Tiny little feeders that can be tucked inside flower are also available, allowing you to have several sources of food because hummingbirds can be very territorial.

Unlike the seed feeders, hummingbird feeders need to be cleaned regularly -- at least once a week. Mold and bacteria growth in the nectar, as well as fermentation caused by yeasts can be harmful. And the sugar in the water often attracts ants, bees or wasps.

A hot water rinse usually does the trick, but you can rinse with a vinegar solution to give it a thorough cleaning.

How often to change the hummingbird nectar depends on the outside temperature. The hotter the temperature the more often it will have to be changed.

As a general rule, if the temperatures are cooler you can get by changing the nectar once a week. If the temperatures are in the 70s change every 5 or 6 days, if in the 80s change every 3 or 4 days, if in the 90's change every 1 or 2 days.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Birds in the garden
        

Photo courtesy of Longwood Gardens

This is the final week for Longwood Garden's spring show, "Lilytopia."

Inspired by the world-famous lily show at Holland's Keukenhof, Longwood has transformed the East Conservatory into a showcase of the newest varieties of lilies from Dutch hybridizers.

In addtion, a display of more than 10,000 cut stemps was designed by renowned Dutch floral designer Dorien van den Berg.

The show closes on Monday, Memorial Day.

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Categories: Flower Shows
        

A: Please avoid barberry. Yes, deer don’t eat it, but this has made barberry a new invasive.  Barberry has seeded (via birds) into our parks and natural areas, where deer are eating the native understory (mid and low height plants) and leaving the barberry. Thorny barberry, both green and purple varieties, are the new understory.

This is a sneaky plant which can actually change soil chemistry.  Pick a new plant from our Resistance of Ornamentals to Deer Damage publication, which lists plants according to how tasty they are to deer. Read it online or we’ll mail you a copy.

Keep in mind that deer will eat anything when they are hungry enough. Many “deer resistant” plants still need some protection when they are young and tender

Q: Can I use lumber from our neighbor’s old deck to build a raised bed?   I plan to grow vegetables, especially potatoes.  Recycle-Reuse is good, right?

A: Sometimes.  Old treated lumber is treated with arsenic and copper.  Arsenic can leach out into the soil as the lumber ages.   It does not travel far but can be absorbed by plant roots. So it’s best to avoid growing root vegetables nearby.

The lumber industry has discontinued arsenic-treated lumber, however now treated lumber contains copper (a heavy metal) or other chemicals and is not labeled for use in vegetable gardens.

Some people have used treated lumber in raised beds by sealing the lumber or lining the bed with plastic, but we recommend using stone, concrete block, locust or oak, recycled untreated board, or creating raised beds without side structures.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Baltimore Sun photographer Amy Davis captures everything but the scent of these heirloom roses from the garden of Donna Beth Joy Shapiro.

Heirloom rose Louise Odier

Heirloom rose Etoile de Holland

Zepherine Drouhin

Heirloom rose Madame Isaac Pereire

Heirloom rose Zepherine Drouhin

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Categories: Wordless Wednesday
        

Edamame bean

Glycine max

Text by Bob Orazi
Photo by University of Kentucky

Edamame bean, a vegetable soybean, has been gaining in popularity as a snack food or ingredient in soup, salad and stir fry.

It contains no cholesterol or saturated fat, yet has 40 percent protein and is rich in calcium, vitamin A and B as well as fiber.

They are easy to grow and suitable for Maryland soils, preferring a slightly acid pH of 6.0 to 6.5 and full sun.

Treat seeds with a bacterium inoculant before you plant them the first time. After danger of frost has passed, place edamame seeds 6 inches apart, 1 inch deep, in rows 2 feet apart, applying a complete fertilizer.

Like most vegetables, they require 1 inch of water per week.  Side dress with a nitrogen fertilizer after 6 weeks.

Maturity dates vary from 75 days to 125 days, so you can plant a mid and a late season variety at the same time and repeat the process every two weeks for successive plantings.

Maturity dates vary from 75 days to 125 days, so you can plant a mid and a late season variety at the same time and repeat the process every two weeks for successive plantings.

Deer and rabbits are fond of soybeans, so use a protective row cover. Stink bugs and aphids feed on the leaves but yields are not affected.

Harvest beans when they are plump in the pod but before pods begin to yellow. The seeds are self-fertile, meaning they can be saved for next season planting if pods are dried completely before winter storage.

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Martin Garcia and Lookin At Lucky make their way to the winner's circle following their triumph in the 135th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course Saturday, May 15, 2010.

Photo credit: Baltimore Sun/Kim Hairston

The Black-eyed Susan was designated Maryland's state flower in 1918 by an act of Gov. Emerson C. Harrington.

It seems that an article in the National Georgraphic deplored the state's lack of an official flower, especially since the Black-eyed Susan could be had for the picking, so to speak. And so the politicians were moved to act.

State Sen. Harvey Bomberger made this tribute in nominating the flower:

"The hardiness of the plant, its colors, the quiet beauty and refinement of its bloom, its adaptability for personal adornment, inclined me to think that if the state was to have a flower it might adopt by legislative action what seem to properly to be the natural choice. "

The flower was declared the Preakness flower in 1940 and Colonel Edward R. Bradley's Bimelech in 1940 was the first winner to wear the floral blanket.

It is said the Susan's flower usually has 13 petals, which is taken to symbolize the 13 original colonies, of which Maryland was one.

The flower reproduces the state's black and yellow colors, which were the colors of the founding Calvert family.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 2:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Flowers
        

Here in Maryland, we paint the daisies black for the Preakness.

Maryland's state flower is the Black-eyed Susan and, like the blanket of roses draped over the winner of the Kentucky Derby, a blanket of wannabe Black-eyed Susans will be draped over the withers of the winner of the Preakness on Saturday afternoon.

Trouble is, as any gardener knows, Black-eyed Susans are not in bloom in May in Maryland, so  yellow daisy chrysanthemums are doctored with paint to create a black-eyed center and then woven into a blanket for the winner.

(The work will take place Friday at the York Road Giant, and The Baltimore Sun will have video. Stay tuned.)

The fact is, even if the Black-eyed Susans were in bloom at Preakness time, they are a wildflower, not a commercial flower, and too delicate to be woven into a blanket, which requires perhaps 2,000 blooms.

The flower was chosen as Maryland's state flower because its colors, yellow and deep brown, echo the colors of the state's founding Calvert family. For years, the color was created for Preakness with a little black shoe polish.

That's the truth behind the Preakness flowers. The horses are real, though.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Flowers
        

I've been thinking about hanging flower boxes or flower pots from my picket fence, but I don't like the look of most of what's out there.

Even the black wire baskets with the coconut grass inserts look trite to me, and a little too formal for my garden.

Finally, I found something just different enough to catch my eye. Woolly pockets!

They are flexible, breathable, lightweight and foldable. Made from a kind of felt that is created from recycled water bottles.

They look really cool, but apparently you can over-water and cause them to leak. And a high quality potting soil with water retention qualities is recommended, along with filtered water. My guess is, that prevents salt staining.

There are woolly pockets for indoor use and outdoor use and they can be layered to create a living wall.

They come in various lengths -- from 24 inches to 112 inches wide --  and three colors. But they aren't cheap. The 24-incher goes for about $40. and the 112-inch pocket sells for $150.

There is a also table-top version that is a pentagon shape which sells for about $20.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Garden tools
        

Photo credit: Keith Bluestone and Riess Livaudais.

Dickeyville, an historic community in Baltimore,, is hosting its home and garden tour Saturday noon to 4 p.m.

Dickeyville is on Baltimore City's western edge, located between Catonsville and Woodlawn. This old milltown, dating to the late 18th century and refurbished in the 1930s, has been compared by some to a small Ellicott City.

The community is built on the skeleton of an industrial village and three of the original stone dwellings remain, as well as other old structures. Its charm rests in the diversity of the homes and the luxurious gardens tended by its residents.

Visit the Dickeyville website for a map, a list of the 30 homes and gardens and some information about each.

In addition, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Show House is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. until the end of the month. Twenty-five designers decorated two luxury condos and their patios at the Ritz-Carlton Residences at 801 Key Highway. Admission is $30. Advance tickets, $25, and information: (410) 783-8000 and BSOmusic.org.

This year marks the 125th anniversary of Hyattsville, and the 32nd annual tour sponsored by the Hyattsville Preservation Association. Nine sites will be open from 1 to 5 p.m., including a former stone armory that houses a church, several houses and an organic flower and plant garden. Tickets, $12, beginning at 12:30 p.m. at the Municipal Building, 4310 Gallatin Street. Advance tickets, $10, and information: (301) 524-6082 and preservehyattsville.org.

And the Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage continues Sunday in Baltimore County. The historic properties will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission, $35, at any of the sites, listed at mhgp.org. Advance tickets, $30, and information: (410) 821-6933.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 3:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden tours
        

Photo credit: Baltimore Sun/Barbara Haddock Taylor

May is the best time for gardeners for a lot of reasons, but garden club plant sales are high on the list.

Plants are always inexpensive and they are propagated by the real "pros" of gardening.

Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., eight garden clubs of District 3 of Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland will be celebrating Mayfair, their plant sale at Kenilworth Mall in Towson.

Popular as well as unusual perennials, annuals, ferns and herbs will be on sale for as little as $2 and not much more than $5.

The money from the plant sales helps the garden clubs fund their garden-based charity works.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 2:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Plant sale
        

Photo credit: Patuxent Publishing/Sarah Pastrana

Gail Gee's garden in Fulton, Md., is known for its collection of rare peonies, and she is opening it to visitors Saturday in an event to benefit Brookside Gardens in Wheaton.

For a $35 donation, you can arrive at 9 a.m. and purchase select peony varieites and other signature plants and take a tour of the garden with Gail. For $5, you can tour her garden from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. There will be refreshments.

Registration is required at ParkPASS.org and the event number for the preview party is 138799 and for the public garden tour, 138849. Directions will be provided with registration confirmation.

The rain date is May 28.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 2:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Garden events
        

In landscape design, that is.

Choosing a landscape designer might be like choosing a hairdresser. This could be a long-term relationships so it should be someone you can communicate with, someone who "gets" you and, most important, someone who cuts your hair the way you like it.

I asked Nancy and Pierre Moitrier, of Designs for Greener Gardens of Annapolis, to help me.

I have worked with Nancy and Pierre on gardening articles for The Sun before. And, more important, I have visited their garden and it looks like a garden I would like: not at all formal, something fun to see everywhere you look but with an overall design that is very pleasing, very welcoming.

Nancy took my measure during a tour of my gardens, and her plans for my front bed relect her understanding of who I am -- as a gardener, anyway.

She has created a design that uses the three euonymous shrubs and the three rose bushes that are already there, saving me money and doing a little something for the environment.

She found a couple of other plants -- Siberian iris and a hellianthus -- that she will move from elsewhere in the yard, and she found a spot for the weigela "Merlot" that came free in the mail -- requiring a minimum of new purchases.

When it is done, the foundation bed will have the eclectic quality of my shade and sun gardens -- I haven't met a plant I didn't have a spot for -- but it will have the hint of formality that a front bed should have.

And it will have some fun additions that I will love: baptisia australis "Blue False Indigo), an agastache in some brilliant color to be decided and Asclepias tuberosa "Butterfly weed."

I am a little bit nervous about the dwarf specimen conifer near the porch, but that's just me. I am not a huge conifer lover, but I am sure Nancy will find something I like and I trust her eye.

Now the hard part: waiting for the team to arrive and for the facelift to begin.

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

Q: Hundreds of these insects [photo sent through HGIC website “Send a Question”] have appeared on our front porch for several days every year. Can you determine if they are ants or termites? I do not see any damage to the house.

A: These are winged swarming termites.  Flying ants are easy to identify by their tiny pinched (almost non-existent) waist, uneven-length wings of a brownish color, and sharply bent antenna.

Your termites, in contrast, have no noticeable waist, transparent wings of all the same length, and unbent antenna.

To view color photos of ants vs. termites, go to our website Plant Diagnostics:  http://plantdiagnostics.umd.edu/level3.cfm.  Also read our short termite publications.

Always remember: termites eat very slowly.  Never rush into choosing a pest control company.  Get several opinions before you decide.  In your case, it’s definitely time to begin the process.

Photo courtesy of University of Maryland Extension

Q: Please recommend foundation plants (18-25”) for baking afternoon sun.  Also small flowering trees to replace a Bradford pear provided by the builder.

A: Low-growing evergreen shrubs for full sun include lowgrowing junipers, dwarf nandina, and dwarf conifers.  Read the tag carefully to determine the ultimate height.

The problematic and invasive Bradford pear can be replaced with Washington hawthorn (variety 'Winter King'),  crape myrtle, deciduous magnolias such as saucer magnolia, sourwood (a striking native), Eastern redbud, flowering cherry and Japanese snowbell.

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

Baltimore's Roland Park community is dedicated to promoting the use of native plants in gardens and landscapes becuase of their beauty and their ecological benefits.

To that end, the community will be holding its third annual native perennial plant sale Saturday at Roland Park Elementary/Middle School at 5207 Roland Ave., beginning at 8 a.m.

There will be flowers, grasses, ferms and shrubs -- ones that are native to the Piedmont and Coastal regsion. And this year, the group will be offering plants grown from seeds produced by plants specifically collected in the area -- called "local eco-types."

 And, hey, you can buy plants whether you live in Roland Park or not!

Come early to get the best selection -- most of the plants are gone by 10 a.m. And for more information, visit the organization's website.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Plant sale
        

Text by Bob Orazi
Photo by R.A. Howard

Looking for some wow in a small specimen tree?  With appealing flowers, attractive fruit, uncommon shape, and showy bark, a Japanese snowbell, or styrax, will be the envy of your neighborhood.

The distinctly horizontal branches and broad, rounded crown can grow as wide as its 20- to 30-foot height and yet result in a very dainty tree. The prolific flowers in mid-May are bell-shaped, slightly fragrant, and pendulous.

Like little eggs wearing a green cap, the fruit remains on the tree from August to November. With under lighting they brighten any dark area of the lawn.

Yet another desirable feature is styrax bark--handsome gray-brown and smooth overlaid with irregular, orange brown interlacing fissures, great for winter interest.

When planted close to a walk or driveway, the low spreading branches can be pruned to form an upright, vase-like shape tree. Styrax grows in full sun or partial shade in well drained soil.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Photo credit: Baltimore Sun/Susan Reimer

I need a facelift. And at the end of the day I decided to go with a pro instead of doing it myself.

A garden facelift, I mean.

The area underneath the front windows of my house have been a garden dead zone for me.

Rhodedendroms have died there. Azaleas, too. Fothergilla. Mountain laurel overgrew and looked out of place. Miscanthus indeed behaved like an invasive.

Clearly, more than 20 years of failures make me the wrong person to redesign this bed.

So I went with a pro.

I have written about Nancy and Pierre Moitrier of Designs for Greener Gardens in Annapolis before. And Nancy sketched out a sun garden along the fence that I went on to install myself.

"I want peonies," was all the direction I gave her on that project.

But this is the front of the house. The first thing visible from the street. The first impression for visitors. Clearly, I need help.

"I just don't want three yews," was all the direction I gave her.

Nancy took a tour of the rest of my garden with me and took in an impression of the kind of gardener I am.

I am a "specimen gardener" for want of a better description.

The shade garden is made up of plants I purchased for 50 cents or a dollar at garden club plant sales. And the sun garden is filled with plants I just happen to like.

No threes and fives for me. I don't really "mass" plants in my gardens. I just plant the "ones" I like. I make mistakes and the beds require editing, but that is the fun of it for me.

However, the garden across the front of my house containes three euonymous and three shrub roses and that ratty miscanthus. It doesn't look like the work of a specimen gardener. It looks like the work of a bad gardener.

I felt hopeless. And I needed Nancy's help.

Stay tuned for more on the garden facelift in the days ahead.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: My Garden
        

Those who bike or walk along the B&A Trail through Anne Arundel County are annually treated to a view of Ginny Bell's garden that causes many to stop and admire. Her daughter, Lyn, created this video of her mother's garden for Mother's Day.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Garden video tours
        

If yours has not already opened, it will soon, and we have some numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

There were 6,132 farmers markets in 2010 -- a 16 percent increae from 2009.

The average vegetable gardener can purchase 10 times the amount of food at a farmers market they he can grow himself.

By 2012, the USDA predicts, the number of consumers who will demand locally grown food will reach 7 billion.

But the most telling statistic might be that in 2005 -- and it is certainly higher today -- 25 percent of the vendors at farmers markets said the markets were their sole source of income.

It is fun and healthy and a good thing to grow your own food. But remember the farmers who count on us to put food on their tables.

Here is the directory of farmers market in Maryland for this season. Or you can call 410-841-5770.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Farmers Markets
        

May 10th is the average date of last frost in central Maryland, and that means it (should be) safe to plant tender annuals and vegetables!

Here is advice from the Universitty of Maryland Extension on getting those seedlings into the ground.

One of the most important dates for gardeners is the “ frost-free” date. The average frost-free date for central Maryland is May 10th. This means that frost sensitive annual flowers and vegetables such as: salvia, marigolds, zinnias, petunias, begonias, tomatoes, peppers, beans, sweet potatoes, etc. can be safely planted.

(It also means it is time to move tropical plants outdoors.)

The average frost date is about a week earlier for Baltimore city and southern Maryland. It can be as late as June 5th in western Maryland. Keep in mind that these dates are ‘averages’ and there is a slight chance that a late frost, although mild, could occur after the last frost date. If light frost is expected simply cover the plants with paper bags, newspaper, quilts, or floating row cover.

If you started your own flower and vegetable transplants indoors remember to ‘harden’ them first for a week or two before planting them outdoors. This is important because plants grown indoors under lights when planted directly outdoors will get burned by the UV radiation. The result is badly damaged or dead transplants. Young transplants must also acclimate to cooler temperatures and wind.

The “ hardening-off” of seedlings/ transplants  involves gradually getting seedlings adjusted to the wind, sun and temperatures outdoors. This term simply means to toughen the tender succulent cells of young plants. Begin the process by placing the plants outdoors in a location where they receive filtered sunlight, never direct sun and out of the wind, and bring them in at night. Gradually over a course of ten days to two weeks expose the plants to more sunlight. By the end of this period they are ready to be planted into their permanent spot.

Young plants purchased from a nursery or grown outdoors in a cold frame are already hardened and can be planted directly into the garden.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 1:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Vegetable gardening
        

Photo credit: Baltimore Sun/Susan Reimer

Under blue skies and a bright sun, Baltimore officially welcomed spring with the opening of Flower Mart, a city tradition dating back 100 years.

Ladies in hats, babies in strollers and office workers with crab cake sandwiches strolled around Mount Vernon where dozens of booths overflowed with flowers, crafts and food.

Missing, however, was the late William Donald Schaefer, a determined Flower Mart stalwart who missed his beloved event for the first time in something like 60 years.

But his presence was felt at the city’s springtime ritual – and no more so than at the Institute of Notre Dame booth where a picture of the late mayor, governor and comptroller was placed among the flowers.

“He was a good, honest, clean-cut gentleman at all times,” said Sister Hildie Sutherland of IND. She has volunteered at this event for 30 years.

“He did have a temper, but when he cooled down it was over,” she said, a flower bonnet sitting on top of her veil. “I miss him. That’s why his picture is here.”

Baltimore has welcomed spring with the Flower Mart since 1911, with lemon sticks, crab cakes and ladies in hats. But by the late 1990s, the ages of the volunteers had increased and their energy had diminished and the event was in danger.

But Schaefer was determined to keep the event going as a sign of Baltimore’s civility and gentility and he forged a team to do it. Event host Tony Pagnotti called him “the grandfather of the Flower Mart” and opened the day with a moment of silence for Schaefer, who died last month.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 2:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Garden events
        

Big plants sales this weekend in the Baltimore region -- at Ladew Topiary Gardens in Monkton and at the William Paca House in Annapolis and at Cylburn Arboretum in Baltimore.

William Paca House Plant Sale

Saturday,  10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Sunday,  Noon - 4 p.m.

1 Martin Street
Free Admission

Click here for a plant catalog and pictures of the plants.

All plants are grown by Historic Annapolis volunteers in the William Paca Garden greenhouse, and proceeds support the operation of the site.

Ladew Topiary Gardens

Priority Preview Sale: 8am - 10am; $75 for members, $100 for non-members (you can purchase at the door)
Offers first chance shopping from vendors, continental breakfast, and lecture reservation, (includes Individual Ladew membership for non-members).

General Admission: 10am - 5pm
$15 for sale, $25 for sale & lecture (you can purchase at the door)
Shop from vendors and register for the lecture (lecture tickets, $10, are limited and will be sold on a first come, first serve basis to general admission ticket buyers beginning at 10am.) House tour reservations can be made when you arrive (space is limited). Tour the Gardens, House and Nature Walk.

Lecture: 11 am with Honorary Chair, Marco Polo Stufano, Wave Hill's Founding Director of Horticulture

Cafe Open 7am - 4 pm

You can purchase tickets at the door.

Click here for vendors and plant information.

This event is rain or shine. For more information or to make reservations, call (410) 557-9570, ext. 224.

Cylburn’s biggest plant sale kicks off Friday, with the BEST pick of plants and crafts at the first ever preview sale and extends into the main event Saturday. 

For a complete list of vendors and to buy tickets for the preview sale through a secure PayPal account please click here.

Preview sale: Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and be the first to find unusual, special plants and unique crafts. Admission is $20 and includes a choice between a Curbside Cafe burrito or a Haute Dog specialty, plus one complimentary soda, beer or glass of wine. Members also receive a $5 off coupon redeemable at the Cylburn Arboretum Association plant booths or gift shop. Tickets can be bought at the event or in advance online.
 
Market Day: Saturday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Parking on the grounds: $5; parking on Cylburn Avenue or at Sinai Hospital (off Greenspring Ave.) is free and a complimentary shuttle to Market Day is available.

Market Day is famous for great plants and wildflowers. More than a dozen growers from around the region will offer specialty plants, wildflowers, azaleas, vegetables—all your plant needs! Experts will also give demonstrations on the benefits of rain gardens and permaculture, and how to compost effectively or install a rain barrel.

Greenhouse-grown plants—great annuals and coleus and more—will be sold at the greenhouses.

Special features this year: Red wagon rental ($5)—makes transportation of plants so much easier!

Plant “sitting”—leave your plants in the plant sitting area while you have lunch, continue shopping, or enjoy the entertainment. Next to vendor area. FREE

Plant pick-up: leave your purchases in a tended area while you get your car and drive to the pick up area in front of the Vollmer Center. FREE

Posted by Susan Reimer at 4:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Garden events
        

Q: Weeds took over my vegetable garden last year. I don’t have the time or energy to pull weeds all summer! Can I use RoundUp?

A: This is a tricky issue.  Originally, RoundUp was formulated by one company and contained only the chemical ingredient glyphosate. New versions of RoundUp, however, contain other chemicals also and are not safe to use in vegetable gardens.

YOU MUST CHECK THE LABEL CAREFULLY BEFORE APPLYING.

Gardeners who inadvertently apply RoundUp Plus, for instance, may have to wait a year before their garden is usable again.  Also, now many companies make products with glyphosate.  Read the label!

We generally don’t recommend using chemical herbicides in food gardens. By mulching early on with layered newspapers covered with mulch, mulched leaves from last fall, or other free materials, you can have a virtually weed free—and healthy--garden all summer

Q: I want to get rid of worms in my yard. In spring they make little hills and soften the soil--though the grass does grow well.  I’ve tried all kinds of chemicals and nothing works. I’d tear up my lawn and put in new topsoil, but I'm afraid they’d return. Is there anything that will kill them?

A: Earthworms are unique benefactors of soil, moving nutrients upwards to where they are available to plants, breaking down compounds into useable nutrients, and tunneling to let air down to plant roots—critical for plants.

Earthworms indicate you have healthy soil.  Under no circumstances can we recommend a pesticide to kill earthworms, and, in fact, none are labeled for this purpose. Applying any insecticide to your soil also harms other tiny organisms that keep your soil healthy.

You may have an unusually high population of a particular earthworm species.  Mother nature has a way of balancing things out eventually. Earthworm predators and diseases will increase in response to a high earthworm population, and in time you should see fewer worms on the soil surface.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 3:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

That's what happens when you sit down and choose 10 regional public gardens to recommend: people write and ask why their favorite wasn't on the list.

Garden Variety loves all gardens and, to make sure everyone is satisfied, we are going to feature some of the Mid-Atlantic -- especially Maryland -- gardens that did not make the list in Sunday's Baltimore Sun TRAVEL story.

First up? Ladew Topiary Gardens on Jarrettsville Pike in Monkton.

"Few more colorful figures embellish American cultural history than the late Harvey S. Ladew (1887-1976). As traveler, artist, foxhunter and creator of an extraordinary garden, Ladew filled the nearly 90 years of his life richly, creatively, and above all, amusingly.

Born into New York City's social world, Harvey Ladew spoke French before he spoke English and was treated to boyhood drawing lessons from curators at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In 1929, at the age of 43, fox-hunting drew him to this property in rural Maryland, in the My Lady's Manor section of Harford and Baltimore Counties. He bought Pleasant Valley Farm, a 200-plus acre property bordering the hunt club, "where I have been happy ever since," he wrote in the 1960s.

During the 1930s Ladew added wings to the house, renovated outbuildings before beginning work on the gardens. Then, with the help of local farmers, Ladew carved 22 acres of gardens out of fields previously used for crops and livestock and set to work transforming Pleasant Valley Farm into "the most outstanding topiary garden in America," as described by the Garden Club of America."

A self-taught gardener, Ladew created 15 thematic "garden rooms" on 22 acres of his property.

The Ladew Manor House is also open for guided tours. An impressive collection of antique English furniture graces the rooms of this equestrian-inspired country house accented with paintings and fox hunting memorabilia. Everything in the collection was acquired by Mr. Ladew.

The Nature Walk at Ladew opened in 1999 and is a 1.5 mile trail through the woods and fields of the Ladew property. In addition to educational stations along the trail, there is a short boardwalk through wetland forest and marsh. Tours are self-guided, aided by a printed map and descriptions of each station.

Ladew is open from March 26 to Oct. 31 and admission is free for members and starts at $10 for non-members. There is also a cafe on the grounds. Call 410-557-9466 for more information or visit ladewgardens.com
 

Posted by Susan Reimer at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Garden tours
        

Rosa ‘Zephirine Drouhin’

Text and photo by Christine McComas

How about growing a virtually  thorn-less, beautifully fragrant  antique climbing rose?

Antique roses are old-fashioned, floriforous, fragrant, and often lower maintenance roses than their modern hybrid counterparts.

‘Zephirine Drouhin’, is a French Bourbon rose and has been delighting  gardeners since its introduction in 1868. Bearing hundreds of  3- to 4-inch deep pink  fragrant flowers on long reaching canes makes this plant a show-stopper.

Rosa ‘Zephirine Drouhin’

Text and photo by Christine McComas

How about growing a virtually  thorn-less, beautifully fragrant  antique climbing rose?

Antique roses are old-fashioned, floriforous, fragrant, and often lower maintenance roses than their modern hybrid counterparts.

‘Zephirine Drouhin’, is a French Bourbon rose and has been delighting  gardeners since its introduction in 1868. Bearing hundreds of  3- to 4-inch deep pink  fragrant flowers on long reaching canes makes this plant a show-stopper.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Photo credit: Baltimore Sun/Jerry Jackson

The tulips are fading fast at Baltimore's renowned Sherwood Gardens, but Sun photographer Jerry Jackson has captured them forever in his beautiful photo gallery.

Not to worry. The 80,000 tulips planted there keep on giving. Bring a shovel -- and a bag -- to the Guilford neighborhood garden on Saturday May 28 and help volunteers dig up the bulbs. You can buy as many as you like for a 30 cents a bulb. The dig starts at 7 a.m.

During the 1800s the property on which the Sherwood Gardens is located was part of the Guilford estate of A. S. Abell, founder of The Baltimore Sun. The site of the gardens was a pond, which was filled in when the area was developed for housing in 1912.

Sherwood Gardens was created in the 1920's by John W. Sherwood, local petroleum pioneer and conservationist. Begun as a hobby, and planted by Mr. Sherwood with tulips that he imported from the Netherlands, the gardens have become known as the most famous tulip garden in North America. 

When Mr. Sherwood died in 1965, he bequeathed sufficient funds to continue the gardens for one year. After that period, the Guilford Association purchased the additional lots from the Sherwood estate and took responsibility for its care.

The tulips are joined each spring by dogwoods, flowering cherries, wisteria and magnolias. There are also brightly colored azaleas and old English boxwoods which were particular favorites of Mr. Sherwood. During the mid-summer months the beds of the gardens are planted with masses of annuals thanks to the adopt-a-plot effort of the Guilford Association.

More than six acres in size, Sherwood Gardens has no gates, fences or other barriers. The public may stroll at leisure through the grounds. There is no admission charge and a reservation is not required.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 2:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden destinations
        

Photo credit: Baltimore Sun/ Jerry Jackson

In today's Baltimore Sun, I write about the city's Mothers' Garden, located in a corner of Clifton Park, that is suffering badly from neglect.

The garden was first installed in 1926 -- and we have a photo gallery  of what it looked like then, and now -- and was rededicated by the Mayor William Donald Schaefer to his late mother in 1984.

I write that the garden could certainly do with some of the late Mr. Schaefer's do-it-now spirit, and that budget woes in the city mean that spirit is going to have to come from businesses and private citizens.

Well, it looks like it has.

Baltimore City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke emailed to tell me that the Mothers' Garden has become the mission of a volunteer group, The Friends of Mothers' Garden Association, headed by Mayfield resident Jim Bartlett.

The group has acquired a $5,000 grant from the Parks & People Foundation, and it has opened a Facebook page to inform readers about the garden's progress and to recruit help.

The group's first  event will be held Saturday in the garden from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be live music, a reading by local author Katia Ulysse, refreshments, historical photographs and a chance to learn more about the plans for the garden.

In addition, the FOMG, as it is calling itself, can accept donation as an official public charity, and it is looking for people who might have photographs or memories of the garden they'd like to share.

Jim Bartlett emailed me to say that they hope to have the climbing roses planted at the pergola  this month, and they have the money for a part-time "steward" who will help keep the park clean. In addition, they are looking for a stone mason who will donate his time to train volunteers to repair and maintain the stonework in the garden.

Sounds like a great start!!!

Posted by Susan Reimer at 1:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden news
        

Photo credit: Baltimore Sun/Susan Reimer

Sunday was May Day in Annapolis and for the 55th year, the Garden Club of Old Annapolis held its May basket competition.

Businesses on Main Street at City Dock and residents of the Historic District as well as the Murray Hill neighborhood decorated their doors, gates and entrances with May baskets, and some were beyond clever. Especially this unconventional display by the Annapolis Running Store.

Enjoy the photo gallery Garden Variety shot.

And, no, I didn't have a May basket. I was too busy taking pictures of everyone else's.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden events