Hill Gardens News for November 2013

   

Hill Garden News   

 Member of National Capital Area Garden Clubs, Inc., Member of National Garden Clubs, Inc.

Volunteers Needed for October 26 & 27

The Capitol Hill Garden Club Bulb Sale is in the home stretch. Please contact Carol Casperson, carol.casperson@gmail.com or 202-714-0566, to volunteer. All volunteers will receive a deep discount bulb purchases.

Bulb Sale Extra!

Bulbs will go on sale to the general public as of 2:00 pm on Saturday.  Please spread the word to your friends and neighbors.

Favorite and Reliable Perennial Introductions

Tuesday, November 12

What perennials work best in Washington gardens?  Jessica Bonilla and Drew Asbury from Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens will share their love of perennials with garden club members.  Tried and true, new interesting cultivars and some of their personal favorites will all be presented.  Hillwood, the former home of heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, gives these two experienced gardeners 13 acres of formal gardens (plus greenhouse and cutting garden) in which to observe as well as try new plants and planting combinations.  They will be bringing their experience and expertise to share.

As usual the garden club meeting starts with informally with refreshments at 7:00 pm with the presentation at 7:30 pm.  See you at the Church of the Brethren, corner of South Carolina Avenue and Fourth Street, SE (enter by the 4^th Street side door).

Jessica Bonilla and Drew Asbury

  

Jessica Bonilla is the Lead Gardener at Hillwood.  She was previously employed caretaking gardens at a private estate in Rochester New York  and started her career managing garden installations at Leisure World in Silver Spring, Maryland.  She has a bachelor’s degree in Landscape Contracting from Penn State.  Drew Asbury is Hillwood’s Greenhouse and Cutting Garden Grower.  Drew was landscape supervisor at Baywood Greens in Rehoboth, Delaware and started his horticulture working in a tropical greenhouse while in college.  He has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Indiana University and graduated from the Longwood Gardens Professional Gardener Training Program in 2006.

Synopsis of Gardening in the Great Indoors

In October, Regina Lanctot, plant specialist at Merrifield Garden Center in Fair Oaks, gave a lively presentation October 8 on “Gardening in the Great Indoors.” Starting with the psychological and health benefits of houseplants, which like all plants absorb toxins in the air, she provided many suggestions on how to keep houseplants thriving. Among the highlights:

·         Be careful when transporting plants home; even brief periods in the car in freezing winter can kill newly purchased plants, especially orchids but other tropicals as well.

·         Houseplants need time to acclimate to your home’s surroundings; gradually introduce plants to new settings. Try to replicate the conditions in which they thrive in their natural habitat. Even cacti can burn if thrust suddenly in a very sunny spot.

·         Many houseplants like humidity, especially during the winter when artificial heating creates desert like conditions. Don’t spritz houseplants with water. It’s better to place them in a saucer on pebbles in tray above a small layer of water. Gravel at the bottom of a pot is not helpful for drainage, either (contrary to common perception). A clever way to prevent water accumulating in the potting soil is to place a block of Styrofoam at the bottom of a jardinière and set the pot on top of it. Clear plastic “growers’ pots,” which permit a good look at the plant’s root system and general state of in-soil health, are especially good for this technique of displaying houseplants.

·         Plants love an occasional hose-down with water to provide moisture and to eliminate some kinds of insect pests.

·         Don’t repot houseplants often; some actually thrive in root-bound conditions. And never report a new houseplant until it’s clearly adapted to your home’s surroundings.

·         Indoor plants, like those outdoors, need ventilation, which helps prevent fungus. In still air try a gentle fan.

·         A layer of activated charcoal can help prevent root and stem rot.

·         Don’t overwater plants, notably succulents. Houseplants love rainwater, free of many compounds present in tap water that can be harmful to plants.

·         Don’t over fertilize houseplants, and don’t fertilize at all during their natural “resting periods.” Light-colored deposits on the top layer of houseplant soil can be a sign of fertilizer salt accumulations, which can be treated by running water gently through the plant’s soil in the pot.

·         Another sign of overfertilization can be leaf tip discoloration, which can also the result of other difficult-to-diagnose problems.

·         Orchids like to be potbound, but when the bark and other aerating planting medium breaks down and gets mushy, it’s time to repot, generally in 2 years.

·         Don’t prune more than one-third of a plant’s foliage or its roots at a time.

·         Insect pests come in many varieties, some of the common ones being mealybugs (which look like tiny cotton tufts) and  scale (look like tiny shields); both are sap suckers (often resulting in “honey dew”—sticky, carbohydrate-rich goop from the insects’ feasting on your plants) and are best treated by plucking them with Q tips and alcohol.

·         Two good websites are toptropicals.com and davesgarden.com.

This is but a sampling of Regina’s thorough presentation. For more information, visit Merrifield Garden Center at Fair Oaks and talk to Regina one-on-one. But do call the center at 703-968-9600 to make sure she’s there. Regina’s a busy lady who conducts many workshops, including those for Master Gardener candidates, and was recently asked to organize all Merrifield workshops and related activities.

Membership Dues for 2013–2014 due by October 31

Please mail your membership form to Donna Brauth.  Only members will be able to register for the Holiday Greens Workshop & Potluck Dinner, which will be held on Wednesday December 4 at 6:30 pm.  Watch your email for further details and the workshop registration form.

Tour of Fallingwater

On May 17, 2014,  District I of National Capitol Area Garden Clubs is sponsoring a bus trip to Fallingwater,  the amazing southwest Pennsylvania home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. This all day trip includes transportation by motor coach, a morning stop to purchase breakfast, a guided tour of Fallingwater with extra time, and a late lunch (included) at the Stone House Inn.  The tour is open to all Capitol Hill Garden Club members.  Registration fee is $100.  For further details, please see the registration form.