Thankful for so many things.
On this day, there are so many things in our gardening world to appreciate. Sharing just a few of many favorites and wishing you a peaceful and warm day.
Native Plant Expertise
Gardening with native plants would not be anywhere close to where it is without the incredible array of native plant nurseries across our region. These small business owners have undertaken a challenging, competitive and all consuming path! On top of all their work, I just love how, when you stop by, you can ask a simple question and in a couple of minutes learn so much more.
I was reminded of this in late September when I stopped by Kollar Nursery in Harford County. Owner Stan Kollar was showing me where the winterberries (Ilex verticillata) were and before I knew it, I was learning a new level of detail about the incredible shrubs. We talked about the persistence of the berries and how some years they seem to last almost the entire winter and others, the birds have eaten them by late December. Stan told me some winterberry types have berries known to persist longer than others. For those of us wanting to feed birds and have winter interest in our gardens, it might make sense to plant more than one type. The winterberry with the longer persisting berries is Winter Red winterberry (Ilex verticillata 'Winter Red').
Native plant nursery owners are a fountain of knowledge and they share it so liberally, thankfully!
You and Your Gardens
Nuts for Natives would not be possible without you. Every subscriber, every gardener, each comment and all of the e-mails contribute to our content and community. Most of the ideas for posts are generated by you. Thank you!
Garden DC
When I travel, I always try to to squeeze in a visit to a garden or nursery. The more I talk to gardeners in other places, the more I appreciate what a special resource we have with Garden DC, a weekly podcast about gardening in the mid-Atlantic. Kathy Jentz, the Washington Gardener, hosts in depth conversations about all things gardening. As Kathy says "if it grows in our area, we talk about it!" Often times the topic is not native plants but I have never listened to an episode where I didn't learn something applicable!
Adkins Arboretum
Adkins Arboretum has been promoting native plants for over 25 years. The first ever native plant sale I became aware of was the Adkins Arboretum Annual Plant Sale back in the 90s. Driving from Baltimore for a plant sale wasn't even a decision that needed to be made and, from there, I was hooked. What drew me in was a casual and artful flower bucket filled with wild blue indigo (Baptisia australis) flowers, bare branches and trailing trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) vines cascading over the side. As you can see, Adkin's artistry with native plants only gets better!
Thank you all. Wherever you find yourself today, I hope you get a minute to step outside and take nature in.
Shari
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