Tuesday, April 30, 2013

The Garden Fair at the National Arboretum

Last Saturday the National Arboretum in Washington, DC held their annual Garden Fair.  This is always a fun event for anyone even remotely interested in gardening.  Needless to say, we were there bright and early.


The entrance to the show.  Admittance is free.  The volunteers were so helpful and happy to see everyone.


One of the first things we saw as we entered the enormous tent was this display of hanging plants and a "Know Your Zone" map.


Upon close examination, I learned that I am not only in Zone 7, but more specifically in Zone 7(a).


Once inside the tent, you were just overwhelmed with the variety of plants that were for sale.


A table of succulents, including, I believe, portulaca.



And another interesting table with these cleverly marketed Moss Milkshake containers.  As it states on the carton, you just add water - and shade - and you have a moss garden.  Moss can only be grown in a shady area of the garden.  You simply sprinkle the contents over the area you would like to grow moss in and mist it with your garden hose and in no time you will have a moss garden.  I will be applying this in my "Garten viele Pflanzen", or "Garden of Many Plants" which is located in the back yard under the soaring Sugar Gum Trees.


As I made my way further through the tent, I found this most unusual plant.  What on earth is this?



Well, . . . it is an Agave geminiflora "Rasta Man" Century Plant, of course.  I could not resist.  This particular agave is not winter hardy in Washington, but no matter.  I will plant it is a pot that can be put in the greenhouse for the winter.


Further along, more of these most interesting plants.  And this one is?


Agave parryi "Retrochoke" Parry's agave.  These are winter hardy in my area but excellent drainage is a must.


My third and final agave purchase was this delightful little plant.


Agave Iophantha "Splendida" Century plant.  Again, winter hardy in the Mid-Atlantic but care must be taken to provide excellent drainage.


What I did not know, but learned from a very nice gentleman named Jim at the garden fair, is that adding Poultry Grit or "Chicken Grit" to the soil will take care of the drainage issue with these exotic plants.  Thank you, Jim, for your time and instructions on how to care for my new plants.


Once I was finished with my tour through the tented area, I discovered that there was an outdoor area with all kinds of shrubs and trees.





In these last two pictures, the ivy tree in the center was actually "Ivy Man."  He would squat down to look like a shrub and then stand up and move from place to place.  I tried to get a picture of him "up" but unfortunately that did not happen.  All I succeeded in doing was getting a picture of Steven laughing at him.

And so was our visit to the 2013 Garden Fair at the Arboretum.  Lots of fun and we got some interesting new plants for the landscape.

The Garden Fair at the National Arboretum

Last Saturday the National Arboretum in Washington, DC held their annual Garden Fair.  This is always a fun event for anyone even remotely interested in gardening.  Needless to say, we were there bright and early.


The entrance to the show.  Admittance is free.  The volunteers were so helpful and happy to see everyone.


One of the first things we saw as we entered the enormous tent was this display of hanging plants and a "Know Your Zone" map.


Upon close examination, I learned that I am not only in Zone 7, but more specifically in Zone 7(a).


Once inside the tent, you were just overwhelmed with the variety of plants that were for sale.


A table of succulents, including, I believe, portulaca.



And another interesting table with these cleverly marketed Moss Milkshake containers.  As it states on the carton, you just add water - and shade - and you have a moss garden.  Moss can only be grown in a shady area of the garden.  You simply sprinkle the contents over the area you would like to grow moss in and mist it with your garden hose and in no time you will have a moss garden.  I will be applying this in my "Garten viele Pflanzen", or "Garden of Many Plants" which is located in the back yard under the soaring Sugar Gum Trees.


As I made my way further through the tent, I found this most unusual plant.  What on earth is this?



Well, . . . it is an Agave geminiflora "Rasta Man" Century Plant, of course.  I could not resist.  This particular agave is not winter hardy in Washington, but no matter.  I will plant it is a pot that can be put in the greenhouse for the winter.


Further along, more of these most interesting plants.  And this one is?


Agave parryi "Retrochoke" Parry's agave.  These are winter hardy in my area but excellent drainage is a must.


My third and final agave purchase was this delightful little plant.


Agave Iophantha "Splendida" Century plant.  Again, winter hardy in the Mid-Atlantic but care must be taken to provide excellent drainage.


What I did not know, but learned from a very nice gentleman named Jim at the garden fair, is that adding Poultry Grit or "Chicken Grit" to the soil will take care of the drainage issue with these exotic plants.  Thank you, Jim, for your time and instructions on how to care for my new plants.


Once I was finished with my tour through the tented area, I discovered that there was an outdoor area with all kinds of shrubs and trees.





In these last two pictures, the ivy tree in the center was actually "Ivy Man."  He would squat down to look like a shrub and then stand up and move from place to place.  I tried to get a picture of him "up" but unfortunately that did not happen.  All I succeeded in doing was getting a picture of Steven laughing at him.

And so was our visit to the 2013 Garden Fair at the Arboretum.  Lots of fun and we got some interesting new plants for the landscape.

Some New Spring Plantings at Crest Avenue

Yesterday I shared with you our early morning trip to our Wal*Mart garden center and all the many things we found.  Today I will share with you how some of those purchases are looking.


This picture was taken this morning.  As you can see in the background, it was a little foggy.  We have had two days of nice, gentle, soaking rains, which the plants love.  Here are two baskets of Mandevilla.  These will vine down over the sides of the baskets as we make our way through spring and summer.  Super beautiful.  If you live in Zone 7 (as I do) or lower, and you want to try Mandevilla in your garden, you must know that special care will need to be taken if you would like to continue it from season to season.  Mandevilla is a woody vine, native to Central and South America. It is a tender perennial, hardy in Zones 9 through 11 and, with winter protection, in Zone 8. It will not withstand prolonged freezing temperatures but can be overwintered indoors.  We can trim these back in the late fall and bring them indoors and enjoy them again next year.

Read more: Are Mandevillas Annuals or Perennials? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_7634099_mandevillas-annuals-perennials.html#ixzz2Rxp1CVfW




The two Andromeda (Pieris japonica) are in pots on either side of the front entrance.  These are so dramatic.  I love the showy little pearl-like flowers.  They are an evergreen shrub.  You will recall last year I found two topiaries which I thought were perennial, but turned out not to be.  About midway through the winter, I had to remove them from these planters.  This year I made sure I was planting an evergreen.  These should be very happy in this location.  They get the morning sun for about 4 hours and then indirect sunlight for the remainder of the day.


Taking a slightly different direction, I found these wonderful little asparagus ferns for the pot on the entry table.  I had not been happy with the look of this table for some time, but could not figure out exactly what I wanted to do.  Two small asparagus ferns in this cute little tole painted, footed bin was what we needed.  (The bin came from a store called "Z Gallerie" in Las Vegas.)

Tomorrow we will talk about the Garden Fair which was held at the Arboretum in Washington, DC this past weekend. 

Some New Spring Plantings at Crest Avenue

Yesterday I shared with you our early morning trip to our Wal*Mart garden center and all the many things we found.  Today I will share with you how some of those purchases are looking.


This picture was taken this morning.  As you can see in the background, it was a little foggy.  We have had two days of nice, gentle, soaking rains, which the plants love.  Here are two baskets of Mandevilla.  These will vine down over the sides of the baskets as we make our way through spring and summer.  Super beautiful.  If you live in Zone 7 (as I do) or lower, and you want to try Mandevilla in your garden, you must know that special care will need to be taken if you would like to continue it from season to season.  Mandevilla is a woody vine, native to Central and South America. It is a tender perennial, hardy in Zones 9 through 11 and, with winter protection, in Zone 8. It will not withstand prolonged freezing temperatures but can be overwintered indoors.  We can trim these back in the late fall and bring them indoors and enjoy them again next year.

Read more: Are Mandevillas Annuals or Perennials? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_7634099_mandevillas-annuals-perennials.html#ixzz2Rxp1CVfW




The two Andromeda (Pieris japonica) are in pots on either side of the front entrance.  These are so dramatic.  I love the showy little pearl-like flowers.  They are an evergreen shrub.  You will recall last year I found two topiaries which I thought were perennial, but turned out not to be.  About midway through the winter, I had to remove them from these planters.  This year I made sure I was planting an evergreen.  These should be very happy in this location.  They get the morning sun for about 4 hours and then indirect sunlight for the remainder of the day.


Taking a slightly different direction, I found these wonderful little asparagus ferns for the pot on the entry table.  I had not been happy with the look of this table for some time, but could not figure out exactly what I wanted to do.  Two small asparagus ferns in this cute little tole painted, footed bin was what we needed.  (The bin came from a store called "Z Gallerie" in Las Vegas.)

Tomorrow we will talk about the Garden Fair which was held at the Arboretum in Washington, DC this past weekend. 

Monday, April 29, 2013

A Full Basket from the Garden Center

Yesterday, we went to Wal*Mart to pick up potting and gardening soil.  That was the only thing on the list.  Bags of soil.  But,  . . . as frequently happens, we ended up with a little more than just soil.


This is but one of three baskets of items we purchased from the garden center.  It was early in the morning and we were nearly the only people there.  You can see the bags of soil here along with Andromeda.  These are also called Japanese Pearl.  Underneath them are two pots of Mandevilla (the pink, trumpet-like flowers).  I also picked up a few patio stones.  Steven got six knock-out Roses, Salvia, soil and numerous other plantings for Dewey Street.  Since we shopped so early in the day there was plenty of time to get everything planted and I'll share that with you tomorrow.

A Full Basket from the Garden Center

Yesterday, we went to Wal*Mart to pick up potting and gardening soil.  That was the only thing on the list.  Bags of soil.  But,  . . . as frequently happens, we ended up with a little more than just soil.


This is but one of three baskets of items we purchased from the garden center.  It was early in the morning and we were nearly the only people there.  You can see the bags of soil here along with Andromeda.  These are also called Japanese Pearl.  Underneath them are two pots of Mandevilla (the pink, trumpet-like flowers).  I also picked up a few patio stones.  Steven got six knock-out Roses, Salvia, soil and numerous other plantings for Dewey Street.  Since we shopped so early in the day there was plenty of time to get everything planted and I'll share that with you tomorrow.

Friday, April 26, 2013

A Beautiful Sunny Morning

We are having a lovely Friday here in DC.  The weather is just perfect.  It was in the 50's early this morning, bright sunshine and no humidity.  That is perfection for me.  Everything has come alive as is evidenced in the picture of Washington Circle below.


This weekend, they are running the Women's Half Marathon sponsored by Nike starting and ending at Washington Harbour.  Things are buzzing this morning with people stopping by to sign up.  They have done such a good job with putting up the signs and tents for this event.






I wish all the walkers/runners great success.  We are expecting perfect spring weather this weekend, so it should be a fun event for all.

At Crest Avenue, we will be busy bringing completion to projects we started this week.  Be sure and check us out on Monday for these updates.  Everyone have a great weekend!