The Garden Club of Virginia was contacted recently by personnel of Sulgrave Manor, a small estate in the rural village of Sulgrave, England about 90 miles north of London, who asked if we’d be interested in mentioning their lovely gardens in our GCV Horticulture Blog. Indeed we would!
Well-known to many Virginians, Sulgrave Manor was built in 1539 by Lawrence Washington, the great-great-great-great-great grandfather of the Father of Our Country, George Washington. Lawrence was a wealthy wool-merchant whose descendents lived at Sulgrave for over 120 years. His great-great grandson and George’s great- grandfather, Colonel John Washington, a Royalist, immigrated to Virginia after the English Civil War.
Sulgrave Manor is situated on land belonging to Britain and America as it was restored and presented to the peoples of Great Britain and the United States of America in 1914 in honor of one hundred years of peace between the two nations. Inside the Tutor manor are a great deal of George Washington artifacts, such as letters, paintings, and personal items. Matter of fact, the estate possesses the largest George Washington artifact collection in the UK.
Although George Washington never actually slept here, it is quite a popular spot for Americans to visit, both to see the manor home and furnishings, the artifacts and the fragrant gardens. Visitors can stroll across the sweeping lawns and wander through colorful gardens that include an Elizabethan knot garden containing the famous Sulgrave lavender.
The apple orchard is underplanted with thousands of daffodils and boasts one of the oldest surviving Loddington apple tree in the country. Yew hedges and topiaries, rose parterres and herbaceous borders, clipped boxwood borders and the Herb Society’s National Garden are just some of the gardens to enjoy. The new Tudor Village Garden has been added as a contrast to show how low-income citizens lived in Shakespearean times.
Another garden was conceived to replicate working farms in the northern neck of Virginia, including Pope’s Creek Plantation where America’s first president was born in 1732 and the immigrant John Washington is buried. This Washington Garden comes complete with Indian maze, tobacco, sweet potatoes, kale and other brassicas.
Opened to the public in 1921, Sulgrave Manor is a work in progress, ever improving and adapting to meet current needs. Check out the Sulgrave Manor website for a more thorough description and do plan a visit next time you travel across the big pond.
It was a thing of real interest when Meriwether Lewis sent osage-orange tree (Maclura pomifera) cuttings and seeds back from St. Louis to President Thomas Jefferson in 1804 and in 1806. According to a letter from Lewis, the trees did not take, but since then it has been planted throughout America and can be found just about everywhere.
I am thankful for the two female trees that drop fruit nearby my home. It’s the time of year that I gather them, for, like many Virginians, I use the fruit for Christmas decorations. Colonial Williamsburg often uses them instead of apples, impaling them on nails on cone-shaped wooden forms, then using boxwood and holly to fill the spaces between each fruit or they are used on wreaths and swags along with other natural items like nuts, berries, cones and fruit. I always have a bowl of osage-oranges mixed with nuts, berries, cones and pine on the dining room table at Christmas. It’s a festive look and the fruit can release a delightful citrus aroma.
Called osage-oranges by most folks, the fruit is also called hedge apples, horse apples, or monkey’s brain. It is a bright green wrinkled ball about the size of a grapefruit, a relative of mulberry and fig trees. The Osage Indians prized the wood of the tree for bows and war clubs and early settlers prized it as a living fence for livestock. Until barbed wire, thousands of miles of this thorny pruned hedge kept farm animals in place on The Great Plains.
It is native to a small area of Texas and Oklahoma, but the absolute largest osage-orange tree, the National Champion and American Forestry Hall of Fame osage-orange tree does not grow there. It grows right here in Virginia at Red Hill, the home of Patrick Henry. It has an eighty-five foot span and is sixty feet high. No one knows the exact age of this remarkable tree. We know it postdates Henry as he died in 1799 before Lewis and Clark sent the first seeds to Virginia. A wonderful legend has it that a tree was given by Lewis and Clark to his daughters after his death and they immediately planted it in front of Red Hill. I like that…
There’s nothing like touring gardens to inspire the inner-landscaper in each of us. Not too long ago I visited a welcoming garden developed by a creative and well-known San Diego potter named Liz. Her garden stands alone as a beautiful small oasis but with the addition of her pottery, the garden thrives as an adventure in discovery.
The artist has maximized every square foot of her garden with whimsy and delight. Beneath a low limb, tucked next to a tiny bench, and at the end of every path is a discovery to inspire a smile. Liz’s art and her gardening design is inspired by her love of nature in all forms: insects, humans, bunnies, chicks, birds, cats and dogs.
With a studio in her home, what began as a hobby has developed into a pottery passion for this artist who has a sizable following in the San Diego area. Liz’s art is both functional and fun whether made for the garden or for inside the home and she is ever exploring and evolving with her craft to the delight of those who follow her.
Instead of an expansive pond, she has created a tiny structure surrounded by river rocks and her spouting frog to give the sound of water in the garden. Each one of her animal creations hidden in her garden tell a tale, whether it’s the cat waiting for a bird to wander too close or the flock of birds ready to take flight. Each has a personality and a life of its own. Liz has also built mystical totems to watch over her garden, inviting visitors to contemplate the meaning behind the individual pieces stacked atop each other.
Art in the garden can add a rich dimension and can be a delight for visitors to chance upon in the landscape. Liz’s whimsical vision of the flora and fauna world would not work in every garden but her sanctum is a magical and vibrant marriage of art and garden. Her artistic style is free-flowing and enchanting. I think she is truly inspirational, however I might be just a tad bit prejudiced…. you see, Liz is my little sister!
Do you know how to test a cranberry’s freshness? Bounce it. A cranberry that bounces means the skin is taut and unbroken and it is ready to be sold fresh to consumers. Only 5% of cranberries are sold fresh. The other 95% goes into products such as cranberry juice, sauces and dried cranberries.
Did you know the cranberry is only one of three fruits that are entirely native to North America? The other two berries are the blueberry (a cranberry cousin), and the Concord grape.
Did you know that the name is derived form the word “craneberry,” as the blossom bore a resemblance to the neck and head of a sandhill crane back in colonial times?
Did you know the cranberry is native to the swamps and bogs of northeastern America and is a member of the Heather family? It grows in cooler climates as a low-growing, woody perennial with runners that grow along the surface of the soil to form a dense mat. Flowers form from May to June and fruit ripens from late September to early October.
Did you know that the cranberry beds remain moist until harvest when the beds are flooded with water six to eight inches above the plants? A harvester is driven through the bed, whipping the plants which removes the fruit. Cranberries float and are corralled and conveyed or pumped out of the bed to processing stations.
Did you know there are distinct differences of opinion and often heated discussions among family members on the tastiest cranberry recipe that must be served on Thanksgiving Day? Many families serve two or more recipes just to keep the peace.
Here are three of the more common ways to serve cranberries:
Cranberry Relish: 1 lb fresh cranberries, 1 seedless navel orange, 1 cored apple, 3/4 c. sugar, 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts. Wash and pick over cranberries. Place in food processor and process until finely chopped, not liquified. Pour into bowl. Wash orange and quarter. Do not peel. Process until finely chopped. Pour into bowl of cranberries. Wash, core and quarter apple. Do not peel. Process until finely chopped. Pour into bowl with other fruits. Add sugar and walnuts. Stir. Add more sugar if needed. Refrigerate overnight. Serve cold.
Cranberry Sauce: 1 lb fresh cranberries, 1 c. water, 1 c. sugar. Place the berries and water in a pan and cook over medium high heat until all the berries burst. Lower the heat and stir until the mixture has thickened. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat. Taste and add more sugar if needed. Refrigerate overnight.
Jellied Cranberries: Slide it out of the can onto a silver dish, hearing the familiar suction sound. Make sure the lovely can ridges are visible around the middle. Slice and enjoy.
My personal favorite is the Cranberry Sauce, eaten with dinner, then later as a turkey, dressing and cranberry sandwich. Umm umm good.
I recently attended the Garden Club of Virginia’s 51st Annual Conservation Forum at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business in Charlottesville, where a panel of experts assembled by the GCV Conservation Committee spoke on Building Sustainable Communities (see A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood…). Attendees were brought up to date on sustainable community development, plans for the future, what is needed, and how we can help. From its inception in 1920, the Garden Club of Virginia has made conservation education a priority and it strives to protect environmentally sensitive habitats and responsible land use. All those in attendance left with enthusiasm knowing that we can make a difference individually and collectively.
Two-dozen exhibitors filled the reception area, communicating their valuable environmental messages to the two hundred attendees. I met John Ross, past chairman Virginia Council Trout Unlimited, at his display for Trout Unlimited. He shared the work the organization performs as stewards of Virginia streams and rivers. I browsed inside his beautiful full color book and saw pristine streams and rivers across America, banks covered with protected native plants and trees. He explained that I would not have to be a fisherman to enjoy fly-fishing. His wife casts a hookless line, never harming a fish but simply enjoying the beauty of the natural surroundings. I was ‘hooked’ and I bought his book to pass on his message. I left with a plan to visit a Virginia trout stream near me.
Another interesting exhibit came from Virginia Association of Counties. I was intrigued with the green roof atop the historic 1866 building, the headquarters of VACo on East Main Street in downtown Richmond. Living roofs have come a long way from the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the sod covered roofs of Scandanavia. Two by four foot trays containing a growth medium are planted with low-growing, drought tolerant hardy sedums and placed side by side on the newly reinforced roof. I lifted one of the filled trays and was surprised at how light it was. Benefits of a green roof are aesthetics, reducing storm water surges, sound insulation, heat/cold insulation, evaporation of moisture to cool the air, and increasing the life of the roof. Constructed by Whitley/Service Roofing in Richmond and GreenGrid Roofs, the building is certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It is one of the greenest buildings in downtown Richmond.
All the exhibits were well done and beneficial for the environment. I did love seeing our local group, Friends of Dragon Run, with a worthwhile and informative exhibit. The Dragon Run is perhaps the most pristine body of water in Virginia and to kayak the Dragon for a day is heaven on earth. The 35 miles of swamp feeding into the Piankatank River does need our protection.
Landscape architect Phillip Merritt, of Hertzler & George in Williamsburg, recently posted a video on his blog, howitgrows, showing his landscape design approach. Taking a house and garage on a small city lot, he has digitally transformed the outdoor property into a functional and pleasing extension of the indoor space. We fly around the digital video viewing the property from all angles, including peeking through windows from inside the house.
I was intrigued with Phillip’s video. I am guilty of using little restraint in my gardens. Instead of a firm design plan, I depend on my instinct with all its shortcomings. Lovely plants from various nurseries catch my eye and they go home with me. Right now I have perhaps 6 shrubs waiting for me to decide their fate in the garden. It would be great fun to have a digital wand to wave over this property to correct mistakes and provide symmetry, balance, and all the elements of good landscape design. Instead, I am mentally reviewing my landscape with Phillip’s tips in mind. I think I can see future rooms and lines of sight that are waiting to be developed. Thanks for the garden design tutorial, Phillip! I know I have a long way to go.
They’re as common as… well, a sparrow, but I do love these little birds that return from their breeding grounds up north to spend the winter in our cotoneaster. I like to think the same family returns year after year as they seem so familiar with their surroundings and almost seem happy to see us. As soon as they arrive, I sprinkle sunflower chips over their same feeding station on the ground and they know the routine.
cotoneaster beneath the ginkgo tree
Just outside our bedroom retreat, we dug a small fish pond and surrounded it with a dense semi-circle of cotoneaster. It has created a thick tangle of screening around the pond and bird feeders, providing a favorite haven of protection for our returning white-throated sparrows. The cotoneaster shrub is a mounding and spreading evergreen thicket that birds love. A member of the rose family, it is not a showy shrub but it is perfect for our needs. It is drought tolerant and requires only an occasional pruning to keep it’s shape. The inconspicuous white flowers in the spring are followed by showy red berries in the fall and attracts many of our fine feathered friends, especially our white-throated sparrow.
This sparrow is a medium-sized bird with a striped breast and a large white throat. Its head is striped black and white with distinct yellow patches above the eyes. It loves the thicket we have provided and will move in and out all winter, dining on spilled bird seed from the feeder or on what I supply over the ground. Other birds move in and out of the cotoneaster during the day but for the white-throated sparrows, it is home. They will gather in numbers to roost in the cotoneaster at night and at sunrise, they begin to provide us with their sweet “chips” and their lovely clear song, “sweet, sweet Canada, Canada, Canada,” which is quite appropriate since Canada is a major area of their breeding grounds.
As our natural habitat shrinks from over development, think about how you can supply shrubs and thickets around your yard for bird habitat.
The river is high but it’s back within its banks where it belongs. Ida left us with plenty of clean up jobs around the yard and the gardens which will take some time to finish.
As payment for our toils and perhaps to make up for the terrible Nor’easter, Mother Nature rewarded us with an explosion of reds and yellows in the few trees left with leaves around the yard. The color season has really come to a close in Tidewater but whether this was Mother Nature’s apology or not, it sure made us whistle while we worked on Nor’Ida’s clean up.
Tropical Storm Ida, we’ve had enough! The dogs, the cats, mister gardener and I, the plants, the trees, the shoreline, the pier… we’ve all had enough. You caught us by surprise. Instead of bringing us blustery, inclement weather, you just had to merge with that low front in North Carolina to bring us The Perfect Storm, a Nor’easter.
Did we lose a huge old maple yesterday (Wed.)? Yes. Did it take power lines with it? Yes. Could we then start our generator? No. Did the maple fall across our lane blocking our exit by car? Yes. Thank goodness a kindly neighbor met mister gardener at the end of the lane for a trip to Walmart for a new generator battery. And as of 11 a.m. today, we’ve had limited power for lights and refrigerator, tv and… computer.
Right now, at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, we have 41 mph wind gusts with white caps over the river and high tide in one hour. The lower section of pier is completely under water and the waves are breaking over the high pier. Mister gardener is watching his small boat that is raised as high as it can go on the lift. So far our property is high and dry but much of Tidewater and coastal North Carolina is badly flooded with a state of emergency declared for Virginia.
Rain continues to pound us and trees are tilting precariously. Temperatures outside hover around 50 degrees. Temperatures inside hover around 59 degrees in every room but the family room where a roaring fire keeps all of us toasty warm. By the weekend, this slow moving offspring from Ida should be moving toward the northeast.
Mister gardener’s outdoor garden is growing but he grumbles that things are not going well. He points out that the sun is lower in the sky and hidden behind the trees much of the day and his vegetables are ’sun starved.’ So, while mister gardener was away for the day, I decided to take a peek at how his garden is progressing. From my point of view (the dinner table), I see nothing amiss with the vegetables that are harvested. We have eaten radishes, broccoli, arugula, curly kale, collards and we’re on hold for the cabbage, beets, and brussels sprouts. I’ll just have to see for myself if the garden is in trouble.
As one can see from these photos, I found mister gardener’s vegetables in fine shape. The radishes are numerous and very healthy. The collards and arugula are growing vigorously and have been delicious on the dinner table. The kale is thriving and lovely… but what’s this? I see some telltale holes. Could we be sharing our kale with visitors? Yep, beneath the leaf are cross striped cabbage worms. I wonder if mister gardener has noticed. I must let him know that garlic juice or red pepper powder have been shown to be effective organic controls for this little pest. Overall, except for the pokey brussels sprouts and beets, the winter veggies are flourishing.
Now that he is not spending hours in the outdoor garden, mister gardener has prepared his annual hydroponic Aero herb garden right on the kitchen counter. For those who may not know about the Aero Garden, herbs or other plants are grown in water in a compact appliance with timed lighting and alerts when the plants need more water or nutrients. This is mister gardener’s third year growing hydroponic herbs. You’d think a person who loves to work hard in the soil all summer might scoff at growing plants in water but he loves his fresh basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme and parsley. Plus, the handy little device does all the thinking for him. Once the herbs are depleted, he plants our favorite hydroponic vegetable: lettuce. In no time we enjoy green leaf, red leaf, butternut and romaine on sandwiches and in salads. In the spring, he will use the Aero Garden to start seeds for his REAL garden. Easy. Quiet. Fun. Tasty. Organic. And it keeps him gardening for 12 months of the year.
There is a quiet lull in the garden right now. Fall maintenance chores are complete, tools have been cleaned and put away, hoses have been drained, and the first frost has arrived in Tidewater. For me, this time of year signals a new excitement as I view the landscape from my windows, binoculars in hand, camera ready, and Sibley’s bird guide at my side for it’s all about birds and migration now. Much of what I have chosen for garden flora has been for the birds, their nesting, their food, and their winter protection.
One bird that I am eagerly awaiting is the cedar waxwing. My daughter in Maine delights in the arrival of cedar waxwings each spring that remain and breed in Maine, dining voraciously on her blueberries and honeysuckle berries and insects all summer. Before migration, she watches as they begin to flock in August over a fast running stream near her community, diving and swooping over the rapids chasing insects. It is such a spectacle that she makes the pilgrimage back to the rapids to watch the incredible show each August.
Now she has alerted me that she no longer sees her resident waxwings. Have they left Maine? For me that can mean only one thing; they’re migrating my way. And I am ready, checking the trees, listening for their high pitched calls, looking for movement around the cleaned and filled birdbaths. They could be here any day from now till March but I know they will come for the waxwings and I both favor one variety of our trees: the foster holly. I love it for its beauty and the food it brings my feathered friends. The waxwings love a variety of berries but this holly is their ‘caviar’ of berries on our property.
The slender, 20 – 30′ tall foster holly is a hybrid, the offpring of the female Dahoon Holly and the male American Holly. I planted 3 of them massed together off the corner of the house as a vertical accent. They produce tons of berries that are bright red against the glossy, dark leaves that are less spiny and softer than other holly leaves. These hollies are beautiful during the summer but they seem to save themselves for their brilliant berry display in the fall and winter. I check the trees each day, looking for movement or the high pitched call of the cedar waxwings. They could come today or they could come in January for they wander widely as they move south.
When the flock of birds do arrive, the scene is reminiscent of a piranha feed on the Amazon River. The hollies are under attack for 24 hours until nary a berry is left. The gluttonous feeding habits of the bird are a far cry from the image of the proper looking bird with its elegant silky feathers in shades of browns and yellow. The adults sport a distinctive black mask outlined in white that extends broadly over the face. The adult wings end in secondary feathers with red waxy tips and the tails of most end in yellow tips. However, since the 1960’s, there have been sightings of orange tipped tails due to eating the pigments of berry from a newly introduced variety of honeysuckle while the feathers are still growing.
After two days of feasting on foster hollies, cedars, cotoneasters, and wild cherries, my fascinating friends are off for a feeding frenzy at another location.
You see daddy longlegs just about everywhere in the garden. Usually nocturnal, they are noticed more in the fall than any other time of year, thus the reason for their old name, Harvestmen, as they are more common at harvest time.
First of all, let’s straighten out one common misconception. The daddy longlegs is not a spider. How many times have you heard someone say that the daddy longlegs the most poisonous spider in the world but it simply cannot pierce the skin? Talk about urban myths! You really don’t need to be afraid of this little animal because it has no venom at all. Yes, you read that right. It is non-venomous.
It may look like a spider with its eight legs but if you look closely you will see that the daddy longlegs body does not have the segment separation like spiders have. Longlegs’ head, thorax and abdomen are fused into an oval body. Another difference, instead of spiders’ usual eight eyes, daddy longlegs have just two tiny weak eyes at the top of a small black stump atop the body. In addition, they cannot produce silk like spiders and they have chewing mouth parts unlike a spider that ingests only liquids.
Having set all that straight, the daddy longlegs is a member of the Class Arachnida along with ticks, spiders, scorpions, mites, centipedes and other kin. Spiders are a member of the Order Araneae and daddy longlegs are a member of the Order Opiliones, which is a closer relative to mites.
These harmless invertebrates do not damage plants. They are scavengers of dead insects, decayed matter and hunters of small insects like aphids. I often see them nibbling on spilled cat food on our deck in the evening.
Notice the tiny black eyes in the center of the daddy longlegs (L.). The red dot on the Eastern Daddy Longlegs (R.) is a mite that is common to the animals.
The eyes of the longlegs are weak and cannot form images. Two of its legs contain thousands of sense organs and act as secondary eyes, ears, and nose for the longlegs. Hold your finger close to a resting animal and it will reach out and touch and explore your skin gathering information. However, if threatened, one of more legs will fall off. These legs continue to spasm allowing the longlegs a bit of time to escape. Another defensive mechanism for the daddy longlegs is the presence of two stink glands which release a pungent odor I experienced many times as a child!
An ancient creature, fossils have been found of the daddy longlegs that show the animal has remained unchanged for millions of years. It’s just another harmless, yet successful invertebrate in our gardens that we should take note of and learn about.
You can’t help stopping to admire mushrooms this year. A wet and humid season has them growing in a variety of habitats in all shapes, colors and types. Some grow alone, some in rings, and some in clusters. Interesting to look at, beautiful to photograph, but because they are very tricky to identify, harvesting a wild mushroom for food should be left to the experts. I have read that only ten percent of mushrooms are tasty and edible and five to ten percent are toxic to humans. The rest simply taste bad.
Although they were abundant in the spring and summer, when the leaves begin to turn colors in autumn is a great time to take a mushroom pilgrimage in a woods near you. Mushrooms are all spore-producing structures of fungi and nearly all are beneficial as they break down organic matter that is necessary for plant growth. They can decompose wood, leaves, and dead grass. Fungi can form beneficial partnerships with trees while some can be pathogenic and others are merely benign.
My knowledge of fungi is scant. Yes, someday I’d like to broaden my fungal horizon and learn how to identify these beautiful mushrooms but I’ll never bet my life on which ones I can eat. There are no hard and fast rules or tests to distinguish edible from deadly. The old adage, “There are old mushroom hunters and there are bold mushroom hunters, but there are no old, bold mushroom hunters” is one that runs through my head.
Simply notice them or photograph them on your next woodland walk and you will be amazed at the abundance in Virginia. A good standard reference to stick in your back pocket is Peterson’s A Field Guide to Mushrooms:North America, where you will find mushrooms identified by names like sponge, inkycaps, waxycaps, jelly or smut fungi.
After days of warm, dry weather, a cold front moved into Virginia over the weekend, dropping temperatures to the 50’s and bringing us a trace of rain. We woke this morning to a landscape filled with attention grabbing golds and yellows. Here’s what I saw on my walk today:
It won't be long before the ginkgo leaves turn lemon yellow, then all fall in a day's time to cover the ground like melted butter.
Crape myrtles frame mr. gardener's winter vegetable garden in yellows and golds.
Yellows from maples, poplars, and hickories greet us on the lane.
I’ve got a thing for pine trees. The very first trees I put in the ground in Gloucester were loblollies that are now sixty feet tall and limbed up not to interfere with our view of the river. Ten years ago, I found a small longleaf pine (Pinus palustris)at a local nursery and snatched it for our yard. It now stands 25-feet tall, on its way to 100-feet, and I am infatuated with it.
I buy needles from North Carolina’s longleaf pines for garden mulch and the remarkable needles are over a foot long. My longleaf pine stands in the middle of my new Secret Garden and I love to walk under it and be awed by its carpet of fallen needles at this time of year.
At one time, longleaf pine forests dominated the southern landscape from Virginia south through nine states and covered over 90 million acres. It is what the first Europeans witnessed in discovering the new world. In today’s fragmented environment of developments, highways, farms and cities, it’s hard to imagine seeing these pine forests that often stood alone as the only species. Amazingly, the tree’s survival depended on fire. Frequent fires in dryer areas moved quickly through southeast forests where longleaf pines over ten feet tall survived and thrived. Where there was fire, you could find a longleaf pine forest.
Sadly, in the last 150 years, the longleaf pine forest has been transformed from a forest that dominated the southern landscape to protected pockets of forests in most of the nine states. Used for lumber, turpentine, pitch, tar, cleared for development or agriculture, 97% of the original longleaf pine forests have disappeared.
Today the tree is being seen for sale more often at nurseries in the Tidewater area. I bought one last year and two more this fall at great prices for 10’ trees. My purchases won’t restore the longleaf pine forest in Virginia but perhaps we will see an effort to re-establish the forests on large tracks of private lands in Virginia. If more is not done, it is possible that we see the demise of the remaining forests and the unique habitat that depends on them.
To protect those forests and educate the public, the Longleaf Alliance (LLA) was established in 1995. The group coordinates partnerships between private landowners, forest industries, state and federal agencies, conservation groups, researchers, and other enthusiasts interested in managing and restoring longleaf pine forests for their ecological and economic benefits. Learn more here.
Unless you live in a Rocky Mountain State, you probably have seen a certain evergreen ground perennial running in all directions through your grass this summer. Best known as Creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea), but sometimes called Ground Ivy, it is an aromatic member of the mint family. It thrives in cool, moist, shady soil and the Commonwealth has provided perfect conditions for Creeping Charlie to take hold this summer. And once it does take hold, watch out. It spreads quickly by sending out runners and putting down new roots every few inches. It also reproduces by seed and by rhizomes. I left a pair of clippers at the edge of a new border where Charlie was prolific. They disappeared in Kudzu-like fashion in no time. It took me two weeks to find those clippers and only with a weed trimmer did they reappear.
Recently I walked with a friend through her yard while she pointed to the bane of her existence. Crowding out almost half of her shady yard of new grass was Creeping Charlie. As we walked, she shared her tales of struggle against it. Her story is not unique. I have seen folks fight for years to control Charlie. Often gardeners give up the war and manage to just keep it somewhat tamed. Of course, if you happen to rid your property of it, that doesn’t mean the neighbors won’t share their healthy Creeping Charlie.
Landscapers consider the invasive plant a weed and as a last resort will use a glyphosate-based herbicide like Roundup to kill everything, then begin again with grass seed or sod. Homeowners often use a post-emergent broadleaf herbicide twice in the fall and twice again in the spring for several years to have any success. Others, like me, simply weed it by hand knowing that the fix is temporary.
According to Peterson’s Field Guide, Edible Wild Plants, the plant has culinary uses. It makes a robust tea, and herbalists around the world hail the perennial for its medicinal benefits. However, common sense tells us to educate ourselves before ingesting the plant or using it for medical purposes.
Whether you like Creeping Charlie or not, swift success in controlling it is highly unlikely. Either prepare your battle plan or think of Charlie as a lovely evergreen ground cover.
There are a number of weeds that germinate in the fall, both grasses and broadleaf. They are called winter annuals because they can germinate in October and November, then over-winter as small plants until warmer weather in March triggers growth, followed by flowers, then seeds. By summer the plants often die back or go fibrous.
One of these winter annual broadleaf weeds is common chickweed, Stellaria media, sometimes called starweed or tongue grass. It is a low-growing, succulent plant that can form large mats over the ground in the spring. The branched stems, with rows of hairs, trail along the ground and can root at each of the swollen nodes. The oval, paired leaves are cool and smooth to the touch and the showy deeply cut white spring flowers can be solitary or clustered at the tips of the stems. Tiny flat seeds are formed in oval, one-celled capsules and can germinate at just above 32 degrees F. Seedlings can survive the severest frost and can stay green under snow.
A native to Europe, the leaves, stems and flowers have long been used as herbal folk medicine for skin conditions, however contact dermatitis may develop in those with allergies so caution is indicated. Records show it was sold by street vendors in Victorian London as food for pet birds and it is consumed by many animals including wild birds, sheep, rabbits, horses, cows, geese, pigs and, of course, chickens, thus the name ‘chickweed.’
As a plant it can serve a purpose, but for most gardeners and farmers, it is a weed. The battle with chickweed can never be won in North America but fortunately it’s not a hard fought battle for me. One interesting fact about chickweed is that it is found growing in rich, moist, fertile soils and does not tolerate poor soil or dry soil or hot sunny spots. So sadly, chickweed is quite well behaved in my yard, which means my soil needs work.
To weed by hand, I simply pull the tender succulent in the cool spring while still in flower and before it sets its seeds. The roots are very fragile and quite shallow and compact and the plant pulls up easily. If you use chemicals, pre-emergents are the best way to control these weeds. Use them now before you see the weeds as they work on the germinating seeds. Post-emergent herbicides for broadleaf weeds are not as effective in the fall since winter annuals are beginning their dormant stage. Use these in the spring when weeds are actively growing.
Although it can be a pest in our gardens, it’s nice to think of weeds as part of the tapestry of nature. They can make life interesting and it’s worth knowing a bit about them before we yank them from the ground.
Sulgrave, England about 90 miles north of London, who asked if we’d be interested in mentioning their lovely gardens in our GCV Horticulture Blog. Indeed we would!
Sulgrave Manor is situated on land belonging to Britain and America as it was restored and presented to the peoples of Great Britain and the United States of America in 1914 in honor of one hundred years of peace between the two nations. Inside the Tutor manor are a great deal of George Washington artifacts, such as letters, paintings, and personal items. Matter of fact, the estate possesses the largest George Washington artifact collection in the UK.
Sulgrave lavender.
Another garden was conceived to replicate working farms in the northern neck of Virginia, including Pope’s Creek Plantation where America’s first president was born in 1732 and the immigrant John Washington is buried. This Washington Garden comes complete with Indian maze, tobacco, sweet potatoes, kale and other brassicas.
The river is high but it’s back within its banks where it belongs. Ida left us with plenty of clean up jobs around the yard and the gardens which will take some time to finish.
Ann Hohenberger, The garden Club of Gloucester
Tropical Storm Ida, we’ve had enough! The dogs, the cats, mister gardener and I, the plants, the trees, the shoreline, the pier… we’ve all had enough. You caught us by surprise. Instead of bringing us blustery, inclement weather, you just had to merge with that low front in North Carolina to bring us The Perfect Storm, a Nor’easter.
lights and refrigerator, tv and… computer.
Rain continues to pound us and trees are tilting precariously. Temperatures outside hover around 50 degrees. Temperatures inside hover around 59 degrees in every room but the family room where a roaring fire keeps all of us toasty warm. By the weekend, this slow moving offspring from Ida should be moving toward the northeast.
broccoli, arugula, curly kale, collards and we’re on hold for the cabbage, beets, 
and brussels sprouts. I’ll just have to see for myself if the garden is in trouble.
As one can see from these photos, I found mister gardener’s vegetables in fine shape. The radishes are numerous and very healthy. The collards and arugula are growing vigorously and have been delicious on the dinner table. The kale is thriving and lovely… but what’s this? I see some telltale holes. 
Could we be sharing our kale with visitors? Yep, beneath the leaf are cross striped cabbage worms. I wonder if mister gardener has noticed. I must let him know that garlic juice or red pepper powder have been shown to be effective organic controls for this little pest. Overall, except for the pokey brussels sprouts and beets, the winter veggies are flourishing.
growing plants in water but he loves his fresh basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme and parsley. Plus, the handy little device does all the thinking for him. Once the herbs are depleted, he plants our favorite hydroponic vegetable: lettuce. In no time we enjoy green leaf, red leaf, butternut and romaine on sandwiches and in salads. In the spring, he will use the Aero Garden to start seeds for his REAL garden. Easy. Quiet. Fun. Tasty. Organic. And it keeps him gardening for 12 months of the year.
There is a quiet lull in the garden right now. Fall maintenance chores are complete, tools have been cleaned and put away, hoses have been drained, and the first frost has arrived in Tidewater. For me, this time of year signals a new excitement as I view the landscape from my windows, binoculars in hand, camera ready, and Sibley’s bird guide at my side for it’s all about birds and migration now. Much of what I have chosen for garden flora has been for the birds, their nesting, their food, and their winter protection.
offpring of the female Dahoon Holly and the male American Holly. I planted 3 of them massed together off the corner of the house as a vertical accent. They produce tons of berries that are bright red against the glossy, dark leaves that are less spiny and softer than other holly leaves. These hollies are beautiful during the summer but they seem to save themselves for their brilliant berry display in the fall and winter. I check the trees each day, looking for movement or the high pitched call of the cedar waxwings. They could come today or they could come in January for they wander widely as they move south.
cry from the image of the proper looking bird with its elegant silky feathers in shades of browns and yellow. The adults sport a distinctive black mask outlined in white that extends broadly over the face. The adult wings end in secondary feathers with red waxy tips and the tails of most end in yellow tips. However, since the 1960’s, there have been sightings of orange tipped tails due to eating the pigments of berry from a newly introduced variety of honeysuckle while the feathers are still growing.
more in the fall than any other time of year, thus the reason for their old name, Harvestmen, as they are more common at harvest time.
You can’t help stopping to admire mushrooms this year. A wet and humid season has them growing in a variety of habitats in all shapes, colors and types. Some grow alone, some in rings, and some in clusters. Interesting to look at, beautiful to photograph, but because they are very tricky to identify, harvesting a wild mushroom for food should be left to the experts. I have read that only ten percent of mushrooms are tasty and edible and five to ten percent are toxic to humans. The rest simply taste bad.
structures of fungi and nearly all are beneficial as they break down organic matter that is necessary for plant growth. They can decompose wood, leaves, and dead grass. Fungi can form beneficial partnerships with trees while some can be pathogenic and others are merely benign.
my fungal horizon and learn how to identify these beautiful mushrooms but I’ll never bet my life on which ones I can eat. There are no hard and fast rules or tests to distinguish edible from deadly. The old adage, “There are old 
mushroom hunters and there are bold mushroom hunters, but there are no old, bold mushroom hunters” is one that runs through my head.
that are now sixty feet tall and limbed up not to interfere with our view of the river. Ten years ago, I found a small longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) at a local nursery and snatched it for our yard. It now stands 25-feet tall, on its way to 100-feet, and I am infatuated with it.
Frequent fires in dryer areas moved quickly through southeast forests where longleaf pines over ten feet tall survived and thrived. Where there was fire, you could find a longleaf pine forest.
year and two more this fall at great prices for 10’ trees. My purchases won’t restore the longleaf pine forest in Virginia but perhaps we will see an effort to re-establish the forests on large tracks of private lands in Virginia. If more is not done, it is possible that we see the demise of the remaining forests and the unique habitat that depends on them.
was prolific. They disappeared in Kudzu-like fashion in no time. It took me two weeks to find those clippers and only with a weed trimmer did they reappear.
seen folks fight for years to control Charlie. Often gardeners give up the war and manage to just keep it somewhat tamed. Of course, if you happen to rid your property of it, that doesn’t mean the neighbors won’t share their healthy Creeping Charlie.
or go fibrous.
To weed by hand, I simply pull the tender succulent in the cool spring while still in flower and before it sets its seeds. The roots are very fragile and quite shallow and compact and the plant pulls up easily. If you use chemicals, pre-emergents are the best way to control these weeds. Use them now before you see the weeds as they work on the germinating seeds. Post-emergent herbicides for broadleaf weeds are not as effective in the fall since winter annuals are beginning their dormant stage. Use these in the spring when weeds are actively growing.