Posts Tagged ‘garden’
DIY: Container Gardens for Beginners
Posted by Geoff Nelowet / Thursday, May 17th, 2012
By Lynn Norusis
Marie C Fields/Shutterstock
1. Choose Your Container. Familiarize yourself with the benefits and disadvantages of each type of pot or alternative container option. Different varieties of containers suit different types of plants.
2. Select Your Soil Mix. Soils for containers must be well drained, have good aeration and retain enough water to maintain good growth. Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix contains a polymer that absorbs and stores up to 33 percent more moisture so you don’t have to water as often. If you prefer a traditional soil mix, a 1:1:1 mix can be made. Mix together one part good garden soil, one part peat moss and one part perlite or coarse builders sand.
3. Start Watering. Check containers daily; the amount of water will vary based on size of container, amount of sunlight and type of plant used. Water thoroughly so entire soil ball is moistened. A good sign is when the water is dripping out of the drainage holes at the base of your container.
Read more here.
May 2012
Posted by Geoff Nelowet / Monday, April 9th, 2012
1000 Words/Shutterstock
April 21-28 is the 79th annual Virginia Garden Week, which means the state’s historic gardens will hold celebratory tours. We’ve gathered a few of the best tours from Virginia’s various corners and highlighted what to do when you’re down there, besides view the blossoming scenery.
by Matt Basheda
Ashland
Take a walking tour through historic Ashland, a few miles north of Richmond off I-95. You’ll see six different private residences, all done up in grand spring time glory. Ashland is a little old train town, and still looks like a postcard from a by gone age, complete with railroad running right through the center of town. Once you’re done walking, take in the rest of this blast from the past in the fine spring air.
Saturday, April 21
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Website: www.vagardenweek.org
$25 in advance; $30 day of tour.
Distance from Fairfax: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Nearby Essentials:
For Lunch: Homemades by Suzanne
For Dinner: Ironhorse Restaurant
For Fun: Ashland Historic Railroad Station
Staunton
Staunton’s stunning flora is the main draw here, but it’s by no means the only astounding sight in this spectacular town. The host homes are marvels of architecture from a wide range of historical styles. The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library is a stop on the garden tour, with its own magnificent greenery. The flowers will be out like patriotic fireworks. Staunton’s garden walk welcomes families and children—ages 6 to 12 receive half-price admission, and 5 and under for free.
Saturday, April 21
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Website: www.vagardenweek.org
$20 in advance; $25 day of tour; ages 6 to 12 half-off; ages 5 and under free.
Distance from Fairfax: approximately 2 hours, 30 minutes
Nearby Essentials:
For Dinner: The Beverley Restaurant
For Fun: Blackfriars Playhouse
For Stay: Stonewall Jackson Hotel
Albemarle County
Albemarle’s tour centers in the tiny town ofKeswick, several miles east of Charlottesville. Keswick’s charms are well known—even the New York Times has noticed. The tour includes several regal residences, plus the castle-like Grace Episcopal Church. The church has been an active parish since the 1700s. Also on the tour list is the Keswick Hunt Club, open since 1896. Nearby Charlottesville will also get in on the Garden Week action: check out Monticello’s and UVA’s big plans.
Monday, April 23
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Website: www.vagardenweek.org
$30 in advance; $40 day of tour.
Distance from Fairfax: approximately 2 hours, 15 minutes
Nearby Essentials:
For Dinner: Bashir’s Taverna
For Fun: The Glass Palette
For Stay: Keswick Hall
April 2012
How to Repair Your Garden during the Winter
Posted by Rebekah Lowe / Wednesday, December 28th, 2011
By Lexie Ramage
Stephen Cockerham, president and general manager of Betty’s Azalea Ranch in Fairfax, offers some quick tips to help your garden stay healthy through the winter so it will be beautiful during the spring and summer.
Shutterstock.com/GSphotography
• Lime your yard and garden. Lime changes the acidity of the soil and controls fungus and pests. Don’t use fertilizer the same year that you lime. The combination disrupts the pH balance of the soil and depletes the nutrients.
• Mulching helps plants to survive the winter, and it’s a great insulator. It’s better to mulch in the winter, and it looks nicer because it doesn’t bleach out from the sun.
• Replant bulbs and other perennials like tulips and daffodils.
•Don’t trim plants because they’re not in the growing season. You’re actually trimming off the buds.
• Water when the temperature is rising, not falling.
• Remove debris from your yard. If left alone, debris can promote fungus spore growth in cool or wet weather.
• When it snows, use a broom in an upward motion to remove heavy snow from trees and shrubs.
• Let ice melt. If necessary, use sand or kitty litter instead of salt.
Want more tips? Check out Betty’s Garden & Plant Calendar
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
By Warren Rojas
Photography by Warren Rojas
Attention would-be NoVA farmers: The road to sound food production runs just due north of Warrenton.
That’s where you’ll find Local Food Project director Pablo Elliott coaxing about 60 seasonal crops out of a modest two acre farm (including the recently erected passive solar hoophouse) built on the Airlie Foundation campus just over a decade ago.
But the LFP doesn’t just grow food. It helps spawn more local farmers.
“It’s kind of an empowerment model of food production,” Elliott asserts.
According to an LFP aide, the garden supplies the Airlie Center kitchen with 100 to 125 pounds of produce—including: mixed lettuces, heirloom tomatoes, Swiss chard, strawberries, bok choy, lavender, lovage and an array of edible flowers—per week from May to late October.
“It’s all about having a really efficient system that churns out good food,” he insists.
Elliott fosters sustainable agriculture by hosting monthly workshops and annual farming conferences that draw hundreds of attendees. He estimates that they hosted nearly 1,000 participants in 2008, laying out a lofty goal of forcing 4,000 Airlie conferees out into the sunshine for a garden tour this year.
During a January 2009 workshop, one grizzled farmer voiced concerns that all his peers seem to be dying out for fear of modernization. “Sometimes I feel like an anachronism,” he stated woefully. A green roofing designer shared that she was hoping to flesh out ideas for weaving urban gardens into our high-traffic areas.
Another Airlie regular was totally enamored with idea of raising her own food—even if it’s only a very limited capacity.
“I’m just a backyard, not-very-good farmer,” she admitted. “But I like to dream about it.”
Airlie Foundation and Conference Center: 6809 Airlie Road, Warrenton; 540-347-1300. To learn more about the Local Food Project, please visit: www.airlie.org/activities/foodproject.htm.
Wise Acres
Sage advice from local fieldhands Plagued by groundhogs?
“You need Jack Russell terriers.”
Got rabbits?
“I recommend you grow garlic.”
Feeling sluggish in winter?
“Join a gym.”
Bad back?
“If you can’t lift it, don’t grow it.”
(April 2009)