Washington Gardener Magazine March 2023

WASHINGTON g a rdener

What You Need to Know about

Mosquitos and PFAs

Growing Galloping

Horseradish

The Magnificent Red-Shouldered Hawk

Designing with Native Plants

Orchid Watering Tips

Low-Maintenance

Gardening Techniques

Meet Najwa Womack

Sistained8 Founder

Top Tomato Varieties

Sweet Box Plant Profile

Great Gardening Books Reviewed

Spring Flower

Arranging Inspiration

Carex

GARDEN AND NATURE TOURS WITH C. COLSTON BURRELL

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October 15 - 29, 2023

OPTIONAL EXTENSION Ñ GARDENS FROM MARLBOROUGH SOUNDS TO WELLINGTON

For Brochure, Full Itinerary and Registration Details, please visit: https://gardenandnaturetours.com/newzealand/

2023 Tour Schedule

June 13 - 20ÑDenver Gardens and Rocky Mountain Wildflowers

Post Tour to Vail and Steamboat SpringsÑJune 20 - 24

August 24 - September 7ÑGardens of Art and Architecture: Roberto Burle Marx, Oscar Niemeyer and Brazilian Modernism

Green

Red-shouldered Hawks are nesting now. This female on her nest high in a beech tree stands guard against predators: crows by day and owls by night.

Got a Garden Question?

Got a gardening question you need answered? Send your questions to KathyJentz@gmail.com and use the subject line “Q&A.” Then look for your answered questions in upcoming issues.

Sistained8 of Washington, DC, is a creative compost education company promoting environmental sustainability in underserved areas of the city. Their target community consists of parents with children aged 4 to 12 and elderly residents.

Credits

Kathy Jentz Editor/Publisher

Washington Gardener 826 Philadelphia Ave. Silver Spring, MD 20910

Phone: 301-588-6894

kathyjentz@gmail.com

www.washingtongardener.com

Ruth E. Thaler-Carter

Proofreader

Jessica Harden

Intern

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Is Gardening Only for the Rich?

I’ve been engaged in several conversations, both online and off, over the last month about barriers to gardening and how it is seen as being a rich person’s hobby or pastime. This comes as quite a shock to me because for years, I’ve felt the undercurrent of judgment that comes from gardening as something that was looked down on as lowerclass and a task you hired others to do. So, which is it?

Well, it is neither. Yes, it is a privilege to have access to your own land and the free time to nurture plants in it, but it is certainly not something out of reach of even those at the lowest rungs of the economic scale.

In the recent book The Urban Garden, which I co-wrote with Teri Speight, we take great pains to describe how gardening is accessible to all income levels, ages, classes, and ethnic groups. We describe how growing spaces can be carved out of even the tiniest city lot, balcony, or rooftop.

The land you garden on need not be your own. It can be rented or bartered for. It can be at a public garden where you volunteer. It can be at a school or work space.

Like any hobby, gardening can get pricey, if you let it. You can certainly rack up credit card debt buying the latest “rare” houseplant or fancy gadgets, but you don’t need those. You can garden with just a trowel, cloth gloves, and a pack of seeds from the dollar store.

My personal take is that gardening is a wide world of types and levels of investment and interests—from the DIY “hands in the dirt” folks to those with “point and have planted” staff and designer budgets. I’m not going to judge others and hope that others reserve their judgments as well.

Sincerely,

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Volume 18, Number 1

ISSN 1555-8959

© 2023 Washington Gardener All rights reserved. Published monthly. No material may be reproduced without prior written permission. This magazine is purchased by the buyer with the understanding that the information presented is from various sources from which there can be no warranty or responsibility by the publisher as to legality, completeness, or technical accuracy.

Reader Contest

For our March 2023 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, we are giving away a Tree Diaper TD24R for plants of up to a 12-inch rootball or 3-10 gallon shrubs/trees. (value $33).

TreeDiaper (https://www.treediaper.com/) was created by a Richmond, VA, couple, both Virginia Tech chemical engineers, who wanted to find a way to recycle diapers. It has now turned into TreeDiaper (although the product isn’t made of recycled diapers). It’s proudly made in Ashland, VA. TreeDiaper is a patented, multi-functional plant protection system featuring slow-releasing irrigation, auto-recharging with rain/snow, salt damage mitigation, weed control, and extreme weather protection. It also reduces water and fertilizer runoff, so it decreases erosion/pollution. When used properly, it promotes healthy outward root growth that facilitates establishment of newly planted trees and shrubs, and enhances longterm health. You mulch right over TreeDiaper, so you don’t even see it.

To enter, send an email to WashingtonGardenerMagazine@gmail.com by 5:00pm on March 31 with “Tree Diaper” in the subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us what your favorite article was in this issue and why. Please include your full name and mailing address. The winner will be announced and notified on/about April 1. o

Your Ad Here

Are you trying to reach thousands of gardeners in the greater DC region/MidAtlantic area? Washington Gardener Magazine goes out in the middle of every month. Contact KathyJentz@gmail.com or call 301.588.6894 for ad rates (starting from $200). The ad deadline is the 5th of each month. Please submit your ad directly to: KathyJentz@gmail.com.

February 2023 Issue

I loved the article about butterflies in shade (in the February 2023 issue), it has given me hope!

~ Kathy May, Kensington, MD

My favorite article in the February 2023 issue is “Seed Potatoes and Potatoes from Seed,” as I have no experience growing potatoes but have been considering doing so. This article served as a reminder to give potatoes a try this year.

~ Beth Wasden, Laurel, DE

My favorite article in the February 2023 issue of Washington Gardener was the book reviews. I am interested in two recent books, The Climate Change Garden and The Vegetable Garden Problem Solver Handbook, and both of these had good descriptive write ups/ reviews. I also enjoyed seeing the photo contest winners and runner-ups.

~ Lisa Lyon, Bethesda, MD

A short and sweet article. I really enjoyed the Plant Profile in the February issue. The picture of the Northern Spicebush is so cheerful. I thought: “What a wonderful way to bring some bright color to my winter garden.” Then I read it gets 6 to 12 ft tall, which really wouldn’t fit in my backyard, nor do I have the moist soil it requires. But one can still dream!

~ Jennifer Whalen, Silver Spring MD

My favorite article in the February 2023 issue is “Almost” Native Common Dandelions, since it promotes these much maligned but beautiful and beneficial plants.

~ Mary Finelli, Silver Spring, MD

My favorite article from the February issue was the Garden To-Do list because a lot of those tasks would have slipped my mind otherwise!

Plant a Row for the Hungry (PAR) is an easy program to participate in and really does not take any extra resources than what you may have in your garden. In normal times, about 35 million people wonder where their next meal will come from. Most of these are children. That’s where PAR steps in.

PAR is such a simple program: It urges gardeners to Plant A Row (or a container) dedicated to feeding the hungry, and then take the harvest to someplace or someone that needs it. Once you have donated, send an email to KathyJentz@gmail.com with the total (in pounds and ounces) of what you gave. That is all there is to it. Easy. Effective. Adaptable and Helpful.

~ Ashleah Younker, Rockville, MD

My favorite article (in the February 2023 issue) was the winners from the photo contest. It is always inspiring to see the wonderful photos that people take and how they often are able to provide fresh views of familiar subjects.

~ Wendy Bell, Takoma Park, MD o

Najwa Womack Sistained8 Founder

Inspired by her grandmother, Najwa Womack founded the educational composting company, Sistained8, to reduce litter and waste.

Can you tell us about you and your background?

I am a Washington, DC, native who was born and raised in the city. DC is a very diverse city, so I was inspired to take up international studies and development for my undergraduate degree. Later, after studying more about composting, I came to realize that composting is an international activity. From that point, my interest in the art of traditional community composting skyrocketed. I went on to obtain a Master Composter certificate with DC’s Department of Parks and Recreation, then joined the United States Composting Council as a soil advocate.

What inspired you to start SiStained8?

Still to this day, if you really observe our fellow humans, you may realize that there is a grave human-earth disconnection. Furthermore, it was the amount of litter and pure waste I began to take notice of that ignited the inspiration behind SiStained8. I essentially wanted to create a cool culture around bridging the gap in how our

human activity affects our planet and the result of that was SiStained8 and our famous saying, “Think Like a Boss, Watch What you Toss.”

How did you get started on that journey?

The journey for me started as a young girl, watching my dad incorporate trench composting into his daily activities.

Then, later in life and after eight years of planning and sitting still, I decided to be the change I wanted to see. Along with a few other community members, I settled on the name SiStained8 in 2016 and transformed it into a business about two years ago. From this, I started composting regularly as well as receiving community scraps in my residential neighborhood for routing to be composted.

What are your biggest accomplishments so far?

My biggest accomplishments so far include being invited by the U.S. National Arboretum to teach a 30minute lecture on the basics of traditional composting, in 2021 and again in 2022. I felt very aligned in my purpose—carrying out these presentations at a very prominent and treasured nature-based arena in Washington, DC.

Next, teaching Maryland’s Baltimore city youth the basics of composting on Earth Day 2022 was a major accomplishment because I had the opportunity to witness just how intrinsic compost knowledge can be for even the youngest of students (grades 1–5).

What does a typical work day look like?

It varies depending on the season, but a day centered on composting can look like checking communications after a quick nutritional breakfast around 9am, then picking up a community member’s SiStainer Container between 10am and 11am. I’ll then route, chop, and offload containers into the community bins for the next one to two hours of a day. Next, maybe a quick munch on a small lunch, some snacks, and water. Then I’m off to sift compost, monitor temperatures, scents, and moisture (if community members are available, they’ll volunteer assistance).

Lastly, I water the bins after they’ve been turned and reinstate the compost thermometer. From that point on, I incorporate cleaning, relaxation, and reading into my schedule before taking an early bed.

Who are your personal heroes?

My maternal grandmother fought through a variety of health issues, but still managed to grow her own crops in her backyard. I remember her producing loads of turnips, tomatoes, and collard greens on a very small patch of land. To this day, she is one of the reasons I am inspired to continue my work in soil.

What do you do in your free time?

I like to travel, listen to music, dance, cook, and spend time with my family in my free time.

What plants do you grow in your personal garden?

‘Abundant Bloomsdale’ Spinach is without a doubt an almost year-round favorite plant/crop in my personal garden. It withstands so many temperature changes and tastes delicious...oh, and rosemary, too!

Is there anything else you want to add for our magazine readers?

SiStained8 has plans to release a new T-shirt called the “Compost Ampersand Tee” that joyfully lists a host of amazing organisms associated with the soil food web. Look out for the shirt anytime before Earth Day 2023.

How can our readers contact you?

Readers can visit our website at https://sistained8.com, follow our Instagram @sistained8 (direct message us), or email us directly at info@sistained8.com or sistained888@gmail.com. We’d like to encourage readers to sign up for the newsletter on the website under “Claim your free copy of 8 Ways To Step Into SiStainability.” o

Jessica Harden is a junior journalism major minoring in law and society, with a concentration in criminal law, at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. She is an intern this semester with Washington Gardener and is from San Antonio, TX

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Top Tomato Varieties

Summer is still a few months away, but local gardeners, thoughts are turning to those wonderful garden-grown tomatoes and deciding which seedlings to start or purchase this year.

At the recent Washington Gardener Seed Exchange, held at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, VA, on February 4, horticulturist Carrie Engel of Valley View Farms in Cockeysville, MD, gave a presentation about growing the best tomatoes in our region.

Engel specified that when choosing what tomato plant you want to grow, you first have to decide if you want a determinate or indeterminate plant. Determinate plants are shorter and stop growing after blooming, while indeterminate varieties continue to grow— indeterminate plants produce tomatoes faster and longer.

The different shapes and sizes of tomatoes should also be considered when purchasing a tomato plant. Plum tomatoes are great for canning, cherry tomatoes are great for snacking and just to have around, and beefsteak tomatoes are good for sandwiches.

Engel handed out a catalog with the different tomato varieties sold at Valley View Farms that can help customers decide on the perfect tomato plant for their needs. The catalog had columns for each tomato that specified if the variety was an heirloom; open-pollinated; indeterminate/determinate; and disease-resistant against verticillium wilt, fusarium wilt, nematodes, and tobacco mosaic virus. There are also columns that specify the color, shape,

weight, harvest time, and flavor or texture of the tomato.

She then shared some of their bestsellers and the plants that she personally recommended for growing in our region.

One of the heirlooms, ‘Cherokee Purple’, is an open-pollinated, indeterminate, purple beefsteak tomato, but it isn’t disease-resistant.

Another purple heirloom tomato relative is the ‘Tomatillo Purple’. It is an open-pollinated, indeterminate globe shape that is noted to be a “salsa staple.”

The ‘Lemon Boy’ is an indeterminate globe tomato with “lemon-colored flesh” that is resistant to verticillium wilt, fusarium wilt, and nematodes.

The ‘Sunrise Bumble Bee’ is an openpollinated, indeterminate, yellow-andorange cherry tomato that has marbled flesh.

The ‘Tomatoberry’ is an indeterminate cherry tomato that is strawberryshaped. This unique plant is also resistant to verticillium wilt, fusarium wilt, and nematodes.

Engel also stated that ‘Celebrity’, a determinate, red globe tomato is a best-seller for them because it is very disease-resistant. o

Jessica Harden is a junior journalism major minoring in law and society, with a concentration in criminal law, at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. She is an intern this semester with Washington Gardener and is from San Antonio, TX

Tips for Designing and Maintaining a Low-Maintenance Garden

Don’t let your spring garden enthusiasm lead to overplanting and the creation of a summer gardening nightmare. A design with maintenance in mind and some strategic care can help reduce the time you spend managing your garden and landscape.

Consider using fewer plant species when designing perennial flowerbeds. Increase the number of each kind to boost the visual impact of the garden and reduce maintenance. You’ll have fewer species to manage, identify, and differentiate from the weeds as they emerge in spring.

Select plants suited to the growing conditions and that do not require deadheading and staking. Avoid pestand disease-prone plants, as well as those that multiply quickly and overtake neighboring plants and the garden bed.

Design garden beds with gentle curves and avoid tight spaces that limit access and will make managing the surroundings difficult. Make sure all parts of the garden can be reached easily for planting, weeding, harvesting, and care. Add a path of wood chips or a few steppers, like Leaf Stepping Stones, to large garden beds as needed for easier access.

Reduce watering needs by growing plants suited to your area’s normal rainfall. Group moisture-loving plants together to minimize the amount of water used and time spent watering. Enlist the help of soaker hoses or drip irrigation systems like the Snip-n-Drip Soaker (source: gardeners.com) when watering is needed. This irrigation system applies water to the soil where needed and can be cut with scissors to fit any garden that is planted in rows. Reduce watering frequency, suppress weeds, and improve the soil with the help of organic mulches like leaves, evergreen needles, and wood chips. You’ll gain multiple benefits with this

one task. Spread a 1- to 2-inch layer of mulch over the soil surface. Pull it away from tree trunks, shrub stems and off the crowns of flowering plants and vegetables. The finer the mulch material, the thinner the layer of mulch you’ll need.

Or store them right where they are needed. Convert an old mailbox or invest in a small storage container like the waterproof Galvanized Garden Tool Storage Box. Mount it on the end of a raised bed, fence, or post to keep small tools, gloves, safety glasses, and more in a handy location.

Use carts, wagons, or a gardener’s summer sled when moving large or heavy loads. You’ll be able to accomplish the move with fewer trips and less muscle strain.

Take time this season to implement some of these strategies. A few changes can save you time that you can instead spend relaxing, enjoying, or adding more gardens. o

Slow the infiltration of grass and weeds into garden beds and eliminate the need to hand-trim with a bit of edging. Use a shovel to dig a V-shaped trench around the perimeter of the garden edge. Fill this with the same mulch used in your flowerbed to create a mowing strip around the garden bed.

Join forces with neighbors and rent an edging machine for the day or weekend. These machines can make it easier and quicker to accomplish this task. With a shared rental, you all save money and no one has to maintain and store the equipment.

Keep tools handy to save time and energy spent retrieving forgotten tools from the shed or garage. Weather-proof garden tool bags with multiple compartments make it easy to organize, store, and carry hand tools, plant tags, gloves, and other small items to the garden.

Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including the recently released Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition, and Small Space Gardening She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” instant video and DVD series, and the nationally syndicated “Melinda’s Garden Moment” TV & radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and was commissioned to write this article by Gardener’s Supply for her expertise. Her website is www. MelindaMyers.com.

Pictured: Snip-n-drip irrigation systems apply water directly where it is needed and fit any garden planted in rows.. Photo courtesy of Gardener’s Supply Company/ gardeners.com.

Growing Galloping Horseradish

Once you have committed to being a vegetable gardener and living in your home for at least five years, you should consider creating beds for three spectacularly delicious plants: Asparagus, Rhubarb, and Horseradish. Time is the greatest challenge for gardeners who wish to raise these three vegetables because it takes three years for an asparagus patch to mature, two years for a rhubarb patch to mature, and six months for a horseradish patch to mature. With this in mind, you need to get started now.

The Egyptians knew about and used horseradish as early as 1500 BC. At the time of the Jewish Exodus, horseradish was designated as one of the “five bitter herbs” that Jews were told to eat during Passover. The early Greeks used horseradish as a lower-back rub and an aphrodisiac. By 1300–1600 AD, the root was being used by Europeans, especially in Central Europe, Scandinavia, and England. It was increasingly used for medicinal purposes such as cough expectorant and treatment for food poisoning, scurvy, tuberculosis, and colic. During the 17th century, horseradish gained new popularity as an ingredient in “Horseradish Ale” made from horseradish, wormwood, and tansy.

The horseradish variety that is most popular today is ‘Malinor Kren’. It originated in Czechoslavakia more than 100 years ago and is still the most reliable horseradish available.

Horseradish is sold as crowns and sticks. Crowns are the main stems and

are very hard to find. Sticks are the runner roots that emerge from the main stems and can grow to 20+ feet. Sticks are sold much more frequently than crowns.

Annually, more than 24 million pounds of horseradish plants are processed to produce approximately 6 million gallons of prepared horseradish.

Growing Horseradish

To plant horseradish roots, dig a hole 1 foot in diameter and 8 inches deep. Loosen the soil at the bottom of the hole. Place the root in the hole with the small end at the bottom of the hole and allow the root to rest along the side of the hole so the top of the root just breaks the surface of the soil. Refill the hole with a mixture of soil and compost or dried cow manure and mound up the dirt 2–3 inches above the soil’s surface because the dirt will settle with time and watering. Make sure the top of the root is left uncovered.

Keep the soil slightly moist. The composted soil mixture should provide the plant with enough nutrients, but can be supplemented with a low-nitrogen fertilizer two to three times during the year. For the most pungent flavor, do not harvest the roots until the leaves have seen a hard frost. One-year-old plants have the most flavor, so dig the roots up each year and replant in the spring. Horseradish roots may also be planted in the fall like onions and garlic.

Root Vegetable Tips

Root vegetables are essential for those gardeners looking to live off the production from their vegetable gardens. Should we ever face a worldwide disaster, it will be the root vegetables— asparagus, rhubarb, potatoes, onions, shallots, horseradish, sweet potatoes, carrots, turnips, etc.—that will be key to humanity’s survival. Learning how to grow and nurture root vegetables should be a part of the curriculum of every middle and high school in this country. In fact, it once was. I hope each of you includes some root vegetables in your garden. They are delicious, nutritious and essential! o

Barbara Melera is president of Harvesting History (www.harvesting-history.com), a company founded in 2016 to provide horticultural and agricultural products, largely of the heirloom variety, along with garden tools and equipment.

Horseradish root photo courtesy of Frank Vincentzderivative work — The Man in Question (gesprec) · (forðung), CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons.

where such as in a hall, in your home office, or next to your bed.

For a change, arrange ready-potted flower bulbs in a tall vase so the flower bulbs barely peek out above the rim. If the pot holding the flower bulbs sinks too far below the rim, raise it up by using a little upside-down flower pot or pebbles.

For more flower arranging inspiration, go to www.ilsysays.com

Flower Arranging for the Spring Holiday Season

Brighten up your home with flowers in radiant spring colors, from a single stem to a big vase just bursting with flowers. Bulb flowers are a quick and easy way to give your home that look and feel of springtime—perfect for the spring holiday season!

An arrangement of branches is simply part of the Easter tradition. If you think this is old-fashioned, however, think again. They’re right back in style. To make one, start with a fairly big vase, preferably glass. Fill the bottom with clean water and put some twisted branches (or pussy willow or flowering forsythia) in it. Among these branches, arrange long-stemmed bulb flowers such as yellow Persian buttercups (Ranunculus) or white tulips, or limit the color scheme to just a single color. Finish it off with matte-black Easter or spring decorations.

The basis of each bulb flower is its bulb, so why not show it off as well? To create this effect, place each hyacinth with its bulb still attached into small glass vases that reveal the bulbs and their roots. These add a botanical touch to your house. Almost all bulb flowers are available as ready-potted bulbs that you can place either indoors or outdoors. Using them in your home is a nice way to connect the indoors with the outdoors.

Celebrating a spring holiday meal together calls for a beautifully decorated dining table. A vase of fresh flowers such as tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, or grape hyacinths provides just the right touch.

Make a flower still life in a spring theme by filling a plate or bowl with items like colored Easter eggs and individual spring flowers, for instance. Then casually arrange your still life some-

Orchid Watering Tips

With National Orchid Day coming up on April 16, Westerlay Orchids (www. Westerlay.com) shared these easy tips for how not to be an orchid killer. After all, they were voted plant of the year for 2023!

Soak, Drain, Thrive! It literally takes 3 minutes to step up your orchid game and keep them thriving. They could provide a lifetime of beauty if you stay in this routine:

• Check the roots that are in the plastic liner. If they are green and the bark is dark and moist, watering can wait a few more days. If the roots look gray, and the bark is dry, it’s time to water.

• Place the orchid in the kitchen sink in inside a watertight container like a large bowl.

• Pour water onto the bark, and let the water fill the container to the halfway mark.

• Let the orchid soak for at least 20 minutes. If the orchid is very dry, it can even soak for one to two hours.

• Remove the orchid from the water and allow it to drain. Re-purpose the drainage water for your outdoor plants so the water doesn’t go to waste.

• Return the orchid to the decorative pot and location. Enjoy! o

Begin Mowing Your Lawn at the Proper Height

Valerie Smith of Sod Solutions shared the following tips for spring lawn maintenance. Spring maintenance tips differ somewhat from maintenance practices that take place during the rest of the year because the weather is beginning to warm up and new growth is starting again.

Before the onset of summer heat, lawn patchwork and a light top dressing with a sand and topsoil mix is a great way to recover any weak areas. Plugs can be purchased to fill in areas of the lawn with bare spots.

Aerating your lawn is also an ideal way to help deliver nutrients and break up compacted soils. Smith typically recommends doing this once every couple of years. If you notice thatch that is thicker than 1⁄2 inch, dethatch in late May.

The timing of the first mow of the spring for mature, established turfgrass lawn varies widely depending on the area you live in. Grasses come out of dormancy differently depending on the environment and temperatures your area encounters.

Generally speaking, however, midMarch is about the time to begin your regimen for spring green-up and mowing. It’s important to note that the first mow of the spring shouldn’t take place while warm season grass is dormant.

Mowing heights vary for each grass type, but you should never remove more than a third of the leaf blade from any grass type. If you mow more than this, you risk scalping the grass. To find out the ideal mowing height for your specific grass type, view the Lawn Mowing Guide at https://sodsolutions.com/ lawn-care-guides/mowing/.

Lastly, a good tip for spring is to make sure your lawn mower blades are sharpened so the blades slice neatly through the grass rather than ripping the tender new growth. If the grass blades aren’t cut neatly, the mower is damaging them, which opens the grass to the possibility of disease. Performing regular maintenance on your mower is good practice for the end of the mowing season or before spring takes place o

New Plant Spotlight

Sanguisorba x ‘Plum Drops’ PPAF

Intrinsic Perennial Gardens, Inc., announce their first Great Burnet (Sanguisorba) introduction: Sanguisorba x ‘Plum Drops’ PPAF.

Intermediate plants grow 3–4 feet tall and 2 feet wide. They bloom heavy in August and continue into October with hundreds of fingershaped, plum-colored flowers.

The plants have clean, deep-green pinnnate foliage below the upright wiry-like stems. They are hardy to USDA Zones 4–9. This easy-to-grow plant prefers a moist to average soil in full sun.

It combines nicely with fall Asters and ornamental grasses like Calamagrostis and Deschampsia. While these plants are widely available in the EU, they are an up-and-coming genera in the U.S. market.

For more information, visit www. intrinsicperennialgardens.com. o

Quick Links to Recent Washington Gardener Blog Posts

• Cherry Blossom Viewing Alternatives in our Region

• Daphne Plant Profile

• Hydrangea Care and Maintenance

• Nature’s Best Hope with Doug Tallamy

• Bountiful Berries

See more Washington Gardener blog posts at WashingtonGardener.blogspot.com o

March–April Garden To-Do List

• Avoid walking on and compacting wet soil in the garden.

• Prune grapevines.

• Put up trellises and teepees for peas, climbing beans, etc.

• Plant peas, potatoes, beets, turnips, radishes, cabbage, mustard greens, onion sets, carrots, and kale.

• Set out traps for mice, moles, and voles.

• Get a soil test.

• Do soil preparation—add lime, compost, etc., as needed.

• Mulch beds with a light hand.

• Start or update your garden journals.

• Clean out any old debris from last season from your growing beds.

• Turn your compost pile.

• Repot root-bound houseplants and start fertilizing them.

• Clean leaves and debris from your water garden.

• Do not be alarmed if your pond turns green from algae bloom—this is natural until your water plants fill the surface area. Add a barley ball to combat it for now.

• Cut back ornamental grasses.

• Water during dry spells.

• Cut your daffodils for indoor bouquets, but do not combine daffodils with other flowers in one vase. They give off a toxic substance that may kill off your other blooms prematurely.

• Weed by hand to avoid disturbing newly forming roots.

• Walk your garden to look for early signs of fungal disease.

• Divide perennials and herbs.

• Fertilize new growth.

• Plant and prune roses.

• Transplant small trees and shrubs.

• Buy or check on your stored summer bulbs (such as dahlias and caladiums). Pot them and start to water to give them an early start on the season.

• If you started seeds last month, thin them and start the hardening-off process.

• Start some more seeds—try flowering annuals like impatiens and petunias.

• Prune fruit trees as their buds are swelling. Check for dead and diseased wood to prune out. Cut a few branches for indoor forcing, if desired.

• Build a raised bed for vegetables. Add lots of manure and compost.

• Buy an indoor plant to liven up your office space. Try an orchid or African violet.

• Cut back and clear out the last of your perennial beds.

• Feed birds and provide nesting materials (try dryer lint), as well as houses, for the start of their family season.

• Plant a tree for Arbor Day, which falls on different dates in different states. In our area, it is the first Wednesday in April for Maryland, second Friday in April for Virginia, and last Friday in April for DC. In addition, many local groups and towns have their own celebrations.

• Read a good gardening book or magazine.

• Cut some branches (Forsythia, Quince, Bittersweet, Redbud, etc.) for forcing into bloom and enjoying indoors. o

TOP AREA GARDENING EVENTS

Classes, Events, and Plant Shows/Sales

• Saturday, March 25, 10am–2pm Davidsonville Green Expo Green exhibits and a book signing by garden author Kathy Jentz. Homestead Gardens in Davidsonville, MD. See https://homesteadgardens.com/ upcoming-events/.

• Saturday, March 25

Lahr Native Plant Symposium & Native Plant Sale

The symposium is hosted by the U.S. National Arboretum. The Native Plant Sale is hosted by FONA. See details at https://www.fona.org/.

• Sunday March 26, 10am—2pm

Native Plant Open House Sale, Chesapeake Natives Nursery in Rosaryville

The Chesapeake Natives Open House Sale features native plants that are grown on site from locally gathered native seed. Chesapeake Natives volunteers will be at the sale to help you find the right native plants for your space. A list of the inventory will be available closer to the sale date. Please reach out to info@chesapeakenatives.org if you have any questions. Note that the entrance to the nursery is at 9640 Rosaryville Road. You cannot reach the nursery through the Rosaryville State Park entrance on 301 in Upper Marlboro, MD.

• Saturday, April 1, and Sunday, April 2, both days 10am—4:30pm

White House Spring Garden Tour

Free, timed tickets will be distributed at a National Park Service tent located near the White House Visitor Center (1450 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, WDC) each day beginning at 8:30am. The Spring Garden tour entry point will be at 15th Street NW between E Street NW and Constitution Avenue NW. Tickets are first-come first-served. Only one ticket per person, so everyone in your group (including small children) has to be present in line to receive a ticket. More details at Whitehouse.gov.

• Wednesday, April 12, 6:45pm Edible Landscaping

Imagine a border of lush lettuce with bright-red tomatoes on lattice work. Gain practical tips and inspiration to make vegetables a beautiful part of your landscape, using small spaces to the best advantage. Part of the weekly garden talks at Arlington Central Library, 1015 N. Quincy Street, Arlington, VA. Free, no registration required. Sponsored by Friends of Urban Agriculture and Master Gardeners. Details at https://arlingtonurbanag.org/gardentalks-2023/.

• Friday, April 14, and Saturday, April 15, 10am–4pm AHS Spring Garden Market

30+ vendors and plant sellers at AHS headquarters, River Farm, in Alexandria, VA. Entry fee is $5 per individual for walk-ups and $20 per car for parking (includes entry for all passengers). Free for AHS members. Details at www. ahsgardening.org/sgm.

• Saturday, April 15, & Sunday, April 16 Leesburg Flower & Garden Festival

The downtown festival boasts 125+ vendors, including landscapers, gardening suppliers, plant sellers, outdoor living businesses, and more. The festival is free and open to the public. Held in the historic town of Leesburg, VA. Details at https://www.leesburgva.gov/.

• April 15–22

90th Historic Garden Week

Celebrate nature with tours of inspired private landscapes, public gardens, and historic sites across Virginia during the 90th Historic Garden Week, presented by Garden Club of Virginia. Learn more at www.vagardenweek.org.

• Saturday, April 20, 9am–5pm, and Sunday, April 30, 10am–3pm

Franciscan Monastery Garden Guild Plant Sale and Garden Tours

Plant sales to benefit the Franciscan Monastery include herbs, annuals, and much more. Details at http://www. fmgg.org/.

Also, free drop-in Franciscan Monastery Garden Tours begin Saturday, April 1, at 11am and 12noon. Meet at the monastery’s visitors entrance. Group requests for garden tours are also welcome. Contact Pat Cunniff at pcunniff@gmail.com.

Looking Ahead

• April 22–23 Weekend

Local Ace Hardware Annual Garden Parties

Get 20% off plants, pottery, tools, paint, and practically everything else (some exclusions apply) at all of the employeeowned Ace Hardware locations in the DC and Baltimore metro areas.

On April 22, 10am–2pm, stop by for the main event with local gardening experts, goodies, and more! More information and RSVP for an extra raffle entry at https://acehardwaredc.com/ pages/2023-ace-garden-parties.

• Thursday, April 27, 6:30–8pm Garden Book Club

We will be discussing The Sakura Obsession: The Incredible Story of the Plant Hunter Who Saved Japan’s Cherry Blossoms by Naoko Abe You can order it new or used at our Amazon link: https://amzn.to/41LWOfk Our meeting will be via Zoom. To join us, register here: https://us02web. zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUtceioqz8 oHtZ9PiA4EzcsktFCm8xcGbQ9. The Washington Gardener Magazine’s Garden Book Club meets quarterly via Zoom and is free and open to all.

Event Listing Updates

See updated event listings on the Washington Gardener discussion list. Join by emailing WashingtonGardenersubscribe@googlegroups.com

How to Submit Events

To submit an event for this listing, email washingtongardenermagazine@gmail. com with “Event” in the subject line. Our next deadline is April 5 for the April 2023 issue, for events taking place after April 15. o

Carex for the Mid-Atlantic Region

Carex is a large genus of grass-like perennials that are found in nearly all corners of the planet. Eastern North America alone hosts hundreds of species, although relatively few of these are available commercially. The genus Carex belongs to the Cyperaceae plant family. Members of this family are commonly referred to as sedges. Sedges may resemble plants in other families such as the Poaceae (grasses), but Carex have specific anatomical features, such as triangular stems and unisexual flowers, that set them apart.

The diversity of Carex matches the wide spectrum of habitats in which they grow, from shaded wetlands to coastal sand dunes and almost everything in between. In the garden, some Carex species are surprisingly adaptable to conditions outside of their typical wild preferences. Carex may be planted en masse to cover ground, stabilize soil, and suppress weeds, and some species are so striking that they can be used as individual specimens and accents. In a typical cultivated landscape, Carex are low-maintenance, requiring a late winter or early spring cutback, but many species thrive even without this level of care.

According to a four-year trial conducted by Mt. Cuba Center in Hockessin, Delaware, Carex are one of the most effective and versatile problem-solving plants for home gardens.

The trial evaluated 70 types of Carex, including 65 species and five cultivars native to the Mid-Atlantic region. Results are available now in the new report Carex for the Mid-Atlantic Region

Carex can be found in a wide range of habitats, and provide food and shelter for wildlife, as well as being a sustainable alternative to traditional turfgrass lawns.

Sam Hoadley, Mt. Cuba’s manager of horticultural research, ranked the species and cultivars based on plant vigor and foliage quality in both sun and shade locations. Carex woodii, or Wood’s sedge, was the top performer in the trial, demonstrating the genus’s

ornamental value and versatility in the garden. It excels in both sun and shade and offers a carpet of straw-colored flowers from April to May.

“Carex are quickly becoming favored by homeowners and horticulturists alike, thanks to their beauty, utility, and overall minimal maintenance requirements,” explained Hoadley. “The diversity of the genus is outmatched only by the wide spectrum of habits in which they grow—from shady wetlands to coastal dunes, you can find a Carex to grow and thrive there.”

Hoadley added that not only do Carex provide food and shelter for wildlife, but they also proved to be an option for those looking to replace their lawns with a more sustainable option.

“How many perennial genera have members that we can recommend as successful and mowable replacements for traditional turfgrass lawns? That aspect alone pulls Carex into the longterm sustainability conversation,” he said.

Key Takeaways

• Carex woodii, or Wood’s sedge, was the trial’s top performer and exemplified the genus’s ornamental value and versatility in the garden. Although similar to C. pensylvanica in its low-growing, slow-spreading habit, C. woodii forms a

denser mat of foliage, and is therefore, superior to suppressing weeds. It excels in both sun and shade locations and offers a carpet of straw-colored flowers from April through May.

• The trial’s top-performing species and cultivars thrive in average soils; i.e., their trial conditions were not considered too moist or too dry. But do not dismiss those without high marks as “underperformers.” These may, in fact, excel in landscapes with differing soil types. Those considering Carex species in their landscapes are encouraged to consult the “Carex for Dry Soils” and “Carex for Moist-to-Wet Soils” charts in the research report.

The Carex trials included a year-long mowing component and found a vast majority of types trialed were tolerant of regular mowing. Small- to medium-sized Carex with fine-textured foliage gave the aesthetic most closely associated with that of a traditional lawn. Those species with horizontally growing underground roots showed potential to fill in gaps within a lawn, as well as requiring fewer plants when installing a Carex lawn from scratch.

C. woodii is also the trial’s top-performing mowable sedge. Find the other top mowable sedges in the research report.

• While most Carex are wind-pollinated

with little value for pollinators, Carex provide for other wildlife in a variety of ways. The seeds of Carex are eaten by mammals and birds and the leaves of Carex of consumed by caterpillars of numerous species of butterflies and moths. In some cases, the Carex themselves are the habitat, providing refuge for a diversity of organisms, both in home gardens and in the wild. Mt. Cuba is working with the state of Delaware to help expand suitable bog turtle habitats, and C. stricta is playing an important role as part of the turtles’ habitat.

This research report details Mt. Cuba’s top 16 Carex performers. Descriptions of all 70 plants included in the trial are available at mtcubacenter. org/trial.

Mt. Cuba Center is near Wilmington, DE (USDA Hardiness Zone7A/6B) and grows multiple plants of each taxa in a 15,000 sq. ft. trial garden that includes areas for growing both sun-loving and shade-loving plants. The clay-loam soil in the trial garden has an average pH of 6.5.

The trial garden is maintained with

the home gardener in mind. Plants are watered as needed during the first year to get them established, but afterward they are left on their own. Pesticides are not used unless there is a serious threat to the entire trial’s survivability. Perennial plant trials usually run for three years to ensure the plants experience a variety of weather conditions. It is Mt. Cuba’s policy to replace dead plants after the first winter to compensate for poor establishment or initial plant quality. However, no replacements are made during subsequent years. Each taxa is evaluated weekly and assigned a rating based on a scale of 1–5 (5 being the highest rating). This rating takes into account many factors, including habit, floral display, disease resistance, hardiness, and foliage quality. The average of these weekly ratings is then used to calculate the final score displayed on Mt. Cuba’s website. o

Katie Dubow is president of the Garden Media Group, based in Kennett Square, PA . All photos on pages 14–15 are courtesy of Mt. Cuba Center

Top Carex Performers

• Wood’s Sedge (Carex woodii)

• Cherokee Sedge (Carex cherokeensis)

• Common Brome Sedge (Carex bromoides)

• Hayden’s Sedge (Carex haydenii)

• Upright Sedge (Carex stricta)

• Emory’s Sedge (Carex emoryi)

• Long-Beaked Sedge (Carex sprengelii)

• Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica)

• Straw Hat Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica ‘Straw Hat’)

• Little Midge Muskingum Sedge (Carex muskingumensis ‘Little Midge’)

• White-Tinge Sedge (Carex albicans)

• James’ Sedge (Carex jamesii)

• Oehme Muskingum Sedge (Carex muskingumensis ‘Oehme’)

• Fringed Sedge (Carex crinita)

• Leavenworth’s Sedge (Carex leavenworthii)

• Plantain-leaf Sedge (Carex plantaginea)

Designing with purpose was the 2023 theme for the annual GreenScapes Symposium, held this year on February 17 online over Zoom. The annual program started in 2004 and focuses on the intersection of horticulture and environmental issues. It is hosted by Brookside Gardens and Montgomery County Parks. About 900 people, from all over the region and beyond, took part in the program this year.

The event started out with landscape architect and co-owner of Studio Sustena Laura Hansplant talking about “adaptive strategies for sustainable plant design.” Hansplant said that gardeners and landscapers typically focus on the initial outcome as opposed to long-term results.

For example, the industry focuses on using cuttings to propagate plants that look identical to each other and maintain uniformity. This lack of genetic biodiversity doesn’t mimic nature and makes plants vulnerable to disease. Instead, Hansplant said people should use seed-grown plants, allow plants to reproduce, and learn to value natural variation.

Sustainable plant design occurs when there is intentional replication of natural landscapes, Hansplant said. This will create low maintenance landscapes because reproduction will do the work.

“Carbon Sequestering Sites” by Panela Conrad followed Hansplant’s talk. Conrad is a landscape architect, founder of Climate Positive Design, and current Loeb Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She created the Pathfinder app to help people measure the carbon sequestration

of their designs so they can be more intentional with their sustainability efforts. Some of Conrad’s tips for reducing carbon footprints are to increase planting, reduce paving, and use lower-carbon materials.

Human activities threaten biodiversity, Conrad said. Efforts to protect the remaining biodiversity include conserving existing ecosystems, as well as soil biodiversity. Restore and repair soil by simply composting because 40% of waste in the United States is compostable. She also said people need to work toward carbon-smart planting design to work toward long-term goals.

Veronica Tyson-Strait, a landscape designer, educator, artist, and horticulture manager at Randall’s Island Park Alliance, talked about “connecting minority communities to the natural world.”

Immigrants who have left their home countries and are living in countries like Canada or the United States have an aversion to gardening and landscaping because it’s seen as something done by the poor, Tyson-Strait said. Doing those things, though, could help heal the trauma from leaving their homelands. Efforts to make these activities more accessible include advocating for more landscapes; adding planters, terraces, and green roofs to residential areas; and advocating for land equity because only 2% of farmland in the United States is owned by people of color.

Tyson-Strait said people can make their own landscapes feel more welcoming by including plants that are native to other countries. Plants like banana trees, red amaranth, and even

potatoes can help people feel connected to the natural world because these are reminders of their home country, Tyson-Strait said.

The final speaker, Benjamin Vogt, is an author and the owner of Monarch Gardens. Vogt’s new book, Prairie Up, is an invaluable reference in sustainable garden design for those wanting both beautiful and functional landscapes. In a talk entitled “Lessons in the Design and Management of Natureinspired Landscapes,” he provided a unique perspective on who biodiverse landscapes are for.

While most gardeners say they plant those landscapes for wildlife, Vogt said it’s important to remember to also plant for people. Natural human instinct is to feel threatened by the hint of wildness that sometimes occurs in urban wildscapes. To prevent that, Vogt said to choose shorter species; only have three or fewer flowers blooming at a time; and include bird baths, walkways, or benches to show the design is intentional and meant for people.

Vogt also gave tips for dealing with the weed control department of a local county/municipality or the strict rules of a homeowner association (HOA). First, he said to stay calm and thank them for doing their job—they’re yelled at by other people all the time. Next, remember that city ordinances are vague, so officials can make case-bycase decisions.That makes it important to know the scientific name of every plant in the landscape, know what pollinators are present and their benefits, and be able to cite specific studies that show the benefits of urban wildscapes.

Biodiverse landscapes are beneficial for people, too, and can be welcoming if done intentionally. o

Jessica Harden is a junior journalism major minoring in law and society, with a concentration in criminal law, at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. She is an intern this semester with Washington Gardener and is from San Antonio, TX

Mosquitos and PFAs

There has been significant press on the presence of “forever chemicals” in the environment. Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are a large chemical family of more than 4,700 highly persistent chemicals that do not occur in nature. They are in paper packaging, nonstick cookware, cosmetics, electronics, and other products.

Research has shown PFAs to be present in blood and breastmilk of both people and wildlife around the world. This rising concern might be what prompted two researchers at the University of British Columbia to look at how the presence of microplastics might affect the health of mosquito larvae. Mosquito larvae may not be our favorite insects, but in the ecosystem and far away from our backyard barbeques, they are an important part of the food chain.

Markus Thormeyer and Michelle Tseng, Ph.D. reported their findings in the February 2023 edition of the Journal of Medical Entomology (https://academic.oup.com/jme/ advance-article/doi/10.1093/jme/ tjad014/7043721). They carried out their studies on Culex pipiens, the common house mosquito, and Culex tarsalis, the Western Encephalitis Mosquito. Both are natives of the United Sates. Their goal was to look at the possible impact microplastics would have on developing mosquito larvae. Their study found no impact, but another group found conflicting evidence in a 2020 Brazilian study (https://ecotoxbrasil. org.br/).

We should be concerned about the continued proliferation of microplastics in the environment. That is especially important since this study from

Chemosphere (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00 45653522011596?via%3Dihub) found that female mosquitoes can potentially transmit microplastics in their bites.

Check your water features for active larvae and distribute Mosquito Dunks/ Bits (https://amzn.to/3JQTqZI) now!

Seriously: I am currently finding live mosquito larvae in standing water here in central Maryland. The unusually warm late-winter weather has allowed mosquitoes to breed as well as flowers to bloom early. o

Carol Allen describes herself as a committable plant-a-holic. She has more than 25 years’ experience in the horticulture industry, with a special interest in plant pests and diseases; is a Licensed Pesticide Applicator in the state of Maryland; and is an ISACertified Arborist. She can be contacted at carolallen@erols.com.

Sweet Box (Sarcococca)

Sweet Box (Sarcococca spp.) is a small evergreen shrub or groundcover that is hardy to USDA Zones 6 to 8. It is native to China and virtually maintenance-free.

It thrives in shade even dry shade—and is deer- and rabbit-resistant.

This easy-to-grow plant can be propagated by semi-hardwood cuttings in late summer.

Christmas Box (Sarcococca confusa) has small, white flowers in late winter that send out a sweet, vanilla-like fragrance that gives this plant its name. Red berries appear in fall and then turn black. They are enjoyed by birds. It can be pruned to a low hedge of about 3 feet wide and high.

Himalayan Sweet Box (Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis) grows to only about a foot high and spreads by underground roots to cover an area about 3 feet wide. The flowers are not as sweet as the Christmas Box and the berries or drupes are black.

Sweet Box (Sarcococca ruscifolia) is very similar to Christmas Box except that the berries stay red and the plant is somewhat larger, reaching 4 feet high and wide at maturity. o

Urban Foraging: Find, Gather, and Cook 50 Wild Plants

Author: Lisa M. Rose

Publisher: Timber Press

List Price: $20.00

Order Links: https://amzn.to/3JSkN5M and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9781643260839

Reviewer: Jessica Harden

Urban Foraging is a how-to guide for identifying, gathering, and preparing foods that grow in urban landscapes. The book starts out with warnings about contaminants and how to identify them because plants will absorb pollutants and urban foragers can’t test the soil. Rose lists areas to avoid foraging since there’s a high probability that foods near those areas are contaminated. Rose also talks about the legality of urban foraging, what to include in a foraging tool kit, and botany basics for identifying plants. She also includes a section about what to forage during different seasons.

After the introduction section, the rest of the book is about the 50 wild plants Rose selected listed in alphabetical order. Each listing includes a photo, the species, what part of the plant should be harvested, “culinary uses,” “how to identify and gather in urban areas,” “things to consider,” and a recipe. The book includes easily identifiable fruits like apples and blackberries, as well as flowers like honeysuckles and roses.

Overall, I think this book would be a good starting point for beginners who want to get experience with urban foraging. I also really appreciate that as Rose is a resident of Flint, Michigan, she put so much emphasis on identifying and avoiding contaminants that might be present in the plants. o

Jessica Harden is a junior journalism major minoring in law and society, with a concentration in criminal law, at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. She is an intern this semester with Washington Gardener and is from San Antonio, TX.

Planting for Garden Birds: A Grower’s Guide to Creating a Bird-Friendly Habitat

Author: Jane Moore

Publisher: Hardie Grant Books/ Quadrille

List Price: $16.99

Order Links: https://amzn.to/3ls78Jk and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9781787138292 and

The Little Book of Crops in Small Spots: A Modern Guide to Growing Fruit and Veg

Author: Jane Moore

Publisher: Hardie Grant Books/ Quadrille

List Price: $14.99

Order Links: https://amzn.to/3loqxe3 and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9781787137318

Reviewer: Andrea F. Siegel

Jane Moore is a British garden writer and avid gardener, having amassed awards and accolades for both, and has an online and video presence; her career has spanned three decades. Her two recent books, Planting for Garden Birds and The Little Book of Crops in Small Spots, are small in size, but hold a large amount of information and advice.

Moore takes a practical, organized, and encouraging approach to the subjects of creating a welcoming environment and buffet for backyard birds—she’s authored other books in Quadrille’s “Planting for” series—and making the most of the space you’ve got for growing edibles; two hot topics.

Bird populations have been noticeably declining, and destruction of their habitat and dwindling food supply is a

large part of why. Gardens, however, can help increase habitat and food for them, improving a gardener’s corner of the world for local birds.

Also, growing food to feed ourselves— part of the publisher’s “little book” series—is gaining popularity, and many gardeners do have a space crunch. In Planting for Garden Birds, Moore writes in a personal way, carefully explaining that our “green corridor” of gardens plays a key role for birds, from commonly seen wrens to the less frequently seen owls. Although bird feeders are great, she writes, birds also need habitat, places to nest and hide, insects to eat, and water to drink. They eat not only the seeds produced by our plants, but insect pests in the garden. Build a more bird-friendly garden and you’ll host more birds—they might, she notes, become your natural insect control. They bring the outdoors to life in song, movements, color, and social ways, whether they are migrating visitors or year-round residents of our neighborhoods.

The starting point is that many a reader is likely to already have a jump on building a bird-friendly garden. Think bird feeders and shrubbery. Moore shows us that a beautiful garden also can be a fabulous place for birds.

In each chapter, Moore spotlights a bird or a group of birds we may spot in our surroundings. But not all of us. Readers should remember that while many of the same birds (or their cous-

ins) can be found in both the UK and U.S., not all may be in your neck of the woods, especially considering the varied climate zones in North America and the British Isles. (For example, different jays live around the world and not all of them are bright blue, and the English robin is not the same bird as the American robin.)

Four chapters are devoted to the seasons. Moore recommends plants from trees to clover, and provides details about them, explaining why and how these plants are good for which birds, especially during which seasons, helping readers appreciate nature’s harmony. She also tells us why these are lovely in our gardens, since many plants have multi-season interest for people, too. She advises readers about what to do seasonally to attract birds.

The spring chapter, for example, includes putting out foods to help birds feed their young, planting annuals to lure insects now and provide seeds for later, and tips for bird houses and nesting materials. She also discusses the value of plant layering, and gives those of us who don’t want to rake leaves welcome reasons not to.

Other chapters focus on such essentials as habitat and predators. Throughout, simple illustrations by James Weston Lewis depict birds, settings, and plants.

Moore’s book can guide new gardeners seeking direction and experienced ones looking to enhance their knowledge. Throughout, Moore shares her enjoyment of birds and reassures readers that it’s not difficult to garden in ways that welcome birds, and that

we would do well not to downplay their importance in our lives.

In The Little Book of Crops in Small Spots, Moore has created a helpful grow-your-own (GYO) guide, selecting more than three dozen edibles that perform well in limited spaces, be they pots on a balcony or a raised beds in a small yard.

Many of us, especially those new to gardening or who live in urban settings, lack expansive space for producing crops and, not knowing where to begin, could benefit from an experienced gardener’s knowledge and direction.

Moore tells us that it’s not difficult, although newbies should start with successfully cultivating the edibles that are easier to grow before branching out to the more demanding plants.

Her book is organized in a way that sets up new gardeners for success, starting by telling readers that they may find crop varieties that perform better in their climates than the ones she recommends and should take advice locally from nurseries and other gardeners; make good use of information on the seed packet; figure out where the sunny spots are (most veggies thrive in lots of sun); and the like.

It then gets into the nitty-gritty of growing your edibles—the right plant in the right small place with the right care is the key. Chapters are organized by growing space and feature plants suited to the space’s limitations. That helps with making decisions about what to grow and where: pole beans help with a space crunch because they grow vertically and can be placed to shade those vegetables that bolt in too much summer sun. With exceptions, she advises growing from seed, which is not as daunting as it may sound to beginners; many plant varieties are not sold as seedlings.

Chapter topics include space-savers and ways to extend the season by starting with cool-weather edibles and ending with crops that are harvested after summer’s heat. There’s also one about growing uncommon eats.

Throughout, her advice includes tips on everything from companion planting to dealing with insect pests. The book also features growing fruit and herbs. Moore provides gardeners with the

information they need to plan their gardens and support bringing their plants to harvest.

For each featured plant, advice comes in two ways: text and a sidebar list. Text subjects always include planting, growing, harvesting, pesky pests, know-how, and recommendations for varieties. Sidebars use symbols to identify the topics that include when to plant, weeks to harvest, skill level, sunlight, watering, height, and feeding. These are a huge convenience.

The information helps readers decide whether they can meet a plant’s needs. (If you grew everything in the book, your garden wouldn’t be small.) For example, tomato-lovers will find that tomatoes (intermediate skill level) can be grown indoors; bush tomatoes are more manageable than vining ones that need support for their single tall stems, but still reach 3 feet tall. Both require a larger container than will fit on most windowsills, making them better suited to growing in a bay window or by a floor-to-ceiling glass door; they need daily watering and weekly feeding. Herbs, on the other hand, are easy to grow indoors and need less sun— great for starting out.

Supplementing Moore’s words are helpful photos by Emli Bendixen.

The book is a solid starting point for people beginning a gardening journey or who are gardening in small and odd spaces, as well as for those with community garden plots. In addition, suggestions for miniature versions of popular vegetables, hanging plants, and the like benefit all gardeners. o

Andrea Siegel is a master gardener in Maryland.

The Artistry of Flowers: Floral Design by La Musa de las Flores

Author: María Gabriela Salazar

Photographer: Ngoc Minh Ngo

Publisher: Rizzoli

List Price: $50.00

Order Link: https://amzn.to/3LCa8gS and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9780847899081

Reviewer: Marsha Douma

The Artistry of Flowers is a visual ode to the beauty of flowers. The subtitle, Floral Design by La Musa De Las Flores, is the name of the floral design

studio of the author, Gabriela Salazar. The written portion of the book is her personal journey from earlier training in painting and design to a very successful floral design business. The book is therefore not a “how to” book in the typical garden book style. In fact, the flowers in the photographs are not even identified. This is a “why to” book. The author wants her readers to fall in love with flowers as deeply as she has.

“Flowers are not just beautiful to arrange but working with them teaches you how to be patient, kind, resilient, and graceful—offering immeasurable life lessons.” This quote, from her web site, is the encapsulation of the book’s theme.

The many, many magnificent photos, which are absolutely the highlight and point of the book, are evenly interspersed throughout the volume. When I first started to read the book, the pictures of the flowers felt like I was looking at a renaissance art book of still lives. The photographs have that beautiful, dreamy quality. And, pointedly, the author does want to get into the readers’ minds. She wants her readers to visit awhile with her flowers, not simply take a quick look—no speed-reading for this book. In case the reader is not adept at slowing down to smell the flowers, so to speak, she helps the reader by focusing in closer on the individual flowers to appreciate better their many shapes, colors, and textures with multiple photographs of the same arrangement.

In this way, Ms. Salazar is reminding the reader both that these are more than pretty arrangements, and that she is not the star; the flowers are. It is always about the flowers. The first

photo in each mini-series is usually the entire arrangement, plus the setting if that is useful or interesting. The subsequent photos of the same group of flowers concentrate on individual flowers or smaller groups of them within the arrangement. At first, I was surprised at the repetition—with all our electronic devices, the art of looking slowly has almost been abandoned. But it worked.

She grows her own flowers for her arrangements, and there are some inspiring pictures of her garden as well, which is full of dahlias and cosmos, among many others. The photos successfully inspired me to try my hand at growing dahlias this season. They were simply too beautiful to not see them anymore.

This is a perfect book for the coffee table whenever one needs a flower garden staycation. It is also a lovely present for all of your gardening friends. o

Marsha Douma is a retired dentist and lifelong gardener who also enjoys swimming, tennis, and playing the piano. She lives in Rockville, MD.

The Journey of Neil The Great Dixter Cat

Author: Honey Moga

Illustrator: Dabin Han

Publisher: Regan Arts

List Price: $19.99

Order Link: https://amzn.to/3a3D1lc and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9781682451939

Reviewer: Kathy Jentz

This is an illustrated book all about Neil, the true story of the Great Dixter cat. (By the way, Neil means “champion” in Gaelic.)

The book tell the story of the “loving men” who rescued Neil from the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan, and brought her to live out her days in one of the most beautiful wild gardens in the world—the Great Dixter Garden in the UK. We also meet famed plantsman Fergus Garrett in the book, who takes Neil in and makes her Great Dixter’s garden cat.

Honey Moga, the late author of the book, plays a role in the story herself and her introduction is also fully illustrated, including her dream of becoming an author after her husband walks

out and leaves her alone with nine children. Inspiring, uplifting, and true, this is a unique history and a beautifully illustrated depiction of the magical garden where the courageous cat Neil now resides happily.

This book is delightful and is aimed at cat and garden lovers alike from ages 4 to 99+.

Kathy Jentz is the editor and founder of Washington Gardener

Note: These book reviews include links to Amazon.com and BookShop.org for ordering them. Washington Gardener Magazine may receive a few cents from each order placed after you click on these links.

RED-SHOULDERED HAWK

feet above the ground. They line the nest with soft materials like mosses or lichens, adding a sprinkling of downy breast feathers.

The female usually lays three or four eggs and does most of the incubation. The male brings her food, and may take a turn sitting on the eggs. Then the female can stretch her wings and catch her own tasty mouse, vole, or frog before returning to duty.

The eggs hatch in about a month. The female stays with the hatchlings while the male brings food for the family; she feeds bite size morsels to the young hawks. Unlike many baby birds, young hawks are not fed special soft food. They eat “grown-up” food (e.g., snake strips and toad tidbits) from the start.

The youngsters stay in the nest for about six weeks. After fledging, they are fed by the parents for another two or three months. Their pale, downy feathers are soon replaced by their juvenile plumage, which they’ll retain for about 18 months. Instead of the reddish chests of the adult, juvenile Red-shouldereds have dark streaks on a pale chest.

The backyard falls silent; birds vanish. Enter, stage left: A Red-shouldered Hawk glides in on long, narrow wings. Its body and underwings are chestnut, flight feathers and tail striped black and white, shoulders a rusty red. The bird drifts up to a central tree branch, settles its feathers, and stares about. Even in leaf-dappled light, that russet-gold beauty and fierce gaze compel respect.

Then the fussing starts. Wrens, chickadees, and titmice dart through the branches above the hawk, drawing attention to the concealed raptor. Often, the hawk will fly off, as if satisfied to have proved its mastery. Seen in flight, Red-shouldered Hawks show a crescentshaped translucent patch contouring the tip of each wing. This distinctive “wing window” is a defining field mark for the species.

Red-shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus) are birds of the forested wetlands. Permanent residents in the Mid-Atlantic, these middlesized hawks hunt areas that have tall trees and water—swamps, edges of rivers and creeks, wood margins, even our suburbs. While Red-shouldereds will sometimes eat small birds, a hunting hawk is much

more interested in finding small mammals, amphibians, or rodents, or a snake in the grass. The hawk will swoop down from its perch, snatch the snake, and either start tearing strips off it right there, or fly away to the nest with the snake dangling from its talons.

Nesting season starts early for these big birds of prey. Courtship begins in late winter. The male performs a soaring “sky dance” display and the pair makes tandem flights accompanied by loud “Kee-aah” calls. By February, they are engaged in nest-building or refurbishing a prior year’s nest, usually beneath the canopy of a tall deciduous tree in a fairly open area near water. The pair works together to bring sticks and wedge them into a fork where a sturdy limb meets the trunk, 35–50

Both parents defend the nest. A word to the wise: Many years ago, I was trying to see how many youngsters were in a Red-shouldered Hawk’s nest and stood too close to their tree. The parent at the nest screamed and arrowed down at me, talons out. I took the hint and departed. In general, though, these hawks seem to tolerate quite a bit of nearby commotion. For example, my local pair is nesting this year in a big beech tree in a narrow band of woods between a creek and the noisy elementary school playground.

Through habitat loss and hunting, Redshouldered Hawk numbers plummeted early last century, but slowly recovered after the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 made hunting them illegal. Current populations are stable, according to data collected and analyzed by the Breeding Bird Survey, and the bird is considered a Species of Least Concern.

We are lucky that these beautiful hawks are fairly common and loyal to their territory year after year. The Red-shouldered Hawk, soaring aloft, wing windows gleaming, is a graceful and beneficial neighbor.

Cecily Nabors is a retired software manager who has been watching and counting birds for much of her life. She publishes the Good-Natured Observations blog at cecilynabors.com.

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