Archives for the "virginia" Category

Afghan Women’s Garden Beds

This blog post about the Afghan Women’s garden beds was written before the events in Afghanistan the week of August 16, 2021. The women continue to visit their garden beds […]

English Ivy: A “Dirty Dozen” Plant

Have you ever looked along a highway and observed all the trees covered in vegetation from trunk to branches? It was most likely English ivy (Hedera helix), the final of […]

Garden Shop: Local Business & Farm Favorites

I can’t think of a better way to spend a cool spring morning than with a cup of hot tea, celebrating the sun with the tulips. We chat about the […]

Japanese Honeysuckle: A “Dirty Dozen” Plant

Our Dirty Dozen plant of the week is Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica). This ornamental vine is still widely available in the horticultural trade, even though it has invaded all of the […]

Elaeagnus: A “Dirty Dozen” Plant

For this week’s Dirty Dozen plant, we have a triple threat: autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata), Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) and thorny olive (Elaeagnus pungens). All three Elaeagnus species are invasive, […]

Italian Arum: A “Dirty Dozen” Plant

Our “Dirty Dozen” plant of the week is Italian arum (Arum italicum). Even though Washington is the only U.S. state to officially recognize arum as invasive, our horticulture staff have […]

A Lesson Learned: The History of Horticulture & Invasive Plants

Invasive Plants: How did They Get Here? If you’ve been reading our “Dirty Dozen” blog series, you’ve probably noticed a recurring theme in several of the articles: many invasive plants […]

Instagram GardenFest Contest

The GardenFest Instagram contest has become one of our favorite holiday traditions. It’s a wonderful way for us to reflect on a season of festivities, joy and see how our […]

Tree-of-Heaven: A “Dirty Dozen” Plant

This week we are featuring tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) as our “Dirty Dozen” plant. While this tree may have been used in folk medicine or even as an insecticide, it is […]

Crape Myrtle: Pruning

February is the time of year you may notice stark “stubs” of crape myrtles in parking lots and other areas around town. Often crape myrtle is so harshly pruned only […]