Between the Rows – A Guide to Vegetable Gardening:October 2025 #veggiegardening #vegetablegardening #mgnv #urbanagriculture Vegetable gardening information and events for October.

50 Plants that Changed the World #renting #gardening #mgnv #book review Discover the intriguing history of 50 plants that shaped civilization, from tomatoes to barley, and their impact on our world in Stephen Harris's book, 50 Plants that Changed the World.

Plants and People Thrive at the Small Space Garden #mgnv #mastergardener #smallspacegardening The Small Space Garden, tucked into a courtyard at the Fairlington Community Center, is a hub of activity on Sunday mornings from May to November. This petite demonstration garden, overseen by Master…

TREE: Benthamidia florida (Flowering Dogwood) #MGNV Tried and True #NativePlant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic Commonly found in the forest understory or as a landscape ornamental, this high wildlife value native with four-season interest is both official floral and arboreal emblems of Virginia.…

New to the Glossary: Elliptic, Ellipsoid, Oval, Ovate, Obovate, Ovoid, Obovoid #MasterGardener #MGNV In everyday conversation, when a form resembles an egg, we simply say it is egg-shaped. In botany, the terms ovate, obovate, ovoid, and obovoid describe egg-shaped plant parts. Similar shapes are…

Bringing Fall Color Inside #mgnv #mastergardener #fallcolorshouseplants Bring houseplants with fall-colored foliage into your home to extend the season and enjoy the warm shades of red, orange, and yellow year-round.

PERENNIAL: Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal Flower) #MGNV Tried and True #NativePlant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic This lovely wildflower, a hummingbird favorite, shines with brilliant scarlet flowers. Its natural habitat is floodplain forests, swamps, and wet meadows throughout the Mid-Atlantic…

Join the Fall Fest at Duncan Library Garden! #mgnv #mastergardeners #fallfestival #duncanlibrarygarden

PERENNIAL: Veronicastrum virginicum (Culver’s-root) #MGNV Tried and True #NativePlant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic Elegant, easy-to-grow #Culver’s-root inhabits stream banks and moist meadows in the eastern U.S. and around the Great Lakes. Striking, candelabra-like inflorescences add vertical…

Making Wise Plant Choices, Part 3:  Cultivars & Hybrids #mgnv #mastergardeners #nativeplants #nativeplantcultivars Native plants, especially those identified as “keystone” species, may be best suited to changing environmental conditions and provide critical support to wildlife but cultivars of…

PERENNIAL: Monarda fistulosa (Wild Bergamot) #MGNV Tried and True #NativePlant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic This showy mint family member boasts a fragrance similar to bergamot oranges. Its aromatic leaves are used in herbal tea. Flowers attract myriad pollinators, especially native bees. The…

#mgnv #mastergardener #vegetables #peppers Come tour the Organic Vegetable Garden and sample the many kinds of peppers on Saturday, September 13 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm at Potomac Overlook Park. And check out our cool new resource - A Pepper Primer! mgnv.org/demonstratio...

Between the Rows: Vegetable Gardening September 2025 #mgnv #mastergardener #vegetable gardening #donateproduce OVG Pepperfest, donate your produce, Wednesday library talks and vegetable gardening to do lists!

Making Wise Plant Choices, Part 2: Keystone Plants, 2025 Studies have shown that the particular selections gardeners make can have a tremendous impact on the diversity of life in our yards. Years of observations and research by University of Delaware entomologist Dr. Douglas Tallamy and his…

VINE: Clematis virginiana (Virgin’s-bower) #MGNV Tried and True #NativePlant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic In eastern North American lowlands, the vigorous vine of native #Virgin’s-bower quickly climbs by twining or trails along the ground in twisted fashion. A prolific bloomer, its white…

New State Law Aims to Educate Consumers About Invasive Plants for Retail Sale Learn about Virginia's new law requiring signage for invasive plants, effective 2027, to protect local ecosystems and promote alternatives.

GROUND COVER: Heuchera villosa (Hairy Alumroot) #MGNV Tried and True #NativePlant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic Although Hairy Alumroot’s native habitat in Virginia is mostly in the southwestern mountains (it is not native to NoVA), its five-inch wide, semi-evergreen leaves and late-season…

2025 March-July Public Education Classes – Now Online! #mgnv #mastergardener Public ed classes offered from March through June, 2025 are now online. Each video has been edited and captioned, and each page includes multiple resources.

Come to the Annual Pepper Fest at the Organic Vegetable Garden #mgnv #mastergardener #vegetables #peppers Pepper Fest! Come celebrate the end of summer at the Organic Vegetable Garden! Sunday September 13 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm at Potomac Overlook Park.

VINE: Passiflora incarnata (Purple Passionflower, Maypop) #MGNV Tried and True #NativePlant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic Found naturally along roadsides, pastures, and open woods, the exotic flowers and edible fruit of Purple Passionflower make this unique vine a striking ornamental plant for…

How to Garden When You Rent #renting #gardening #mgnv #book review Back in the day, when I was renting, it never occurred to me that with relatively little effort I could make my small townhouse patio anything other than the uninviting space it was. Fortunately, that is not a problem for today’s…

mgnv.org/event/county... #countyfair #mgnv #mastergardeners

PERENNIAL: Helianthus divaricatus (Woodland Sunflower) New in 2025! #MGNV Tried and True #NativePlant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic This native of open woodlands is a truly high-value wildlife plant. Showy fall flowers draw myriad pollinators to nectar, seven species of specialized bees to…

Meet the Farmers at Your Farmers Market #farmersmarket#vegetables#fruit#farmers When you meander through a farmers market, do you ever think about where that colorful cornucopia of vegetables and fruit comes from? The first week of August is National Farmers Market Week (Aug. 3-9 in 2025), an…

GRASS: Eragrostis spectabilis (Purple Lovegrass, Tumblegrass) #MGNV Tried and True #NativePlant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic An important native species for soil stabilization along roadsides, Purple Lovegrass is a lovely ornamental in home gardens. Its reddish-purple clouds of airy flowers are…

Garden Myth Busters! Pine Needle Mulch THE MYTH: Using pine needles as mulch will cause your soil to become significantly more acidic. THE REALITY: False! Read on to learn more!

Between the Rows – A Guide to Vegetable Gardening:August 2025 Vegetable gardening information and events for August

Arlington County Fair 2025: Enter Competitive Exhibits Now Registration Deadline - August 11, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. Have you had a spectacular garden this year? Are your beans beautiful and your zinnias amazing? Come to the Arlington County Fair and enter the Competitive Exhibits for Fruits and…

Making Wise Plant Choices, Part 1: Natives vs. Invasives, 2025 In preceding posts in this series, we have considered gardening approaches that can reduce homeowners’ carbon footprints and presented adaptive techniques to assist in dealing with the challenges posed by climate change. Another area…

PERENNIAL: Pycnanthemum muticum (Short-toothed/Clustered Mountain-mint) #MGNV Tried and True #NativePlant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic Clustered Mountain-mint flowers may be unassuming, but their nectar enticed the greatest number and diversity of pollinators out of 86 species monitored by Penn…

The Houseplant Helpline – July 2025 Edition This month, our houseplant expert, Evin Morrison, answers questions about aerial roots and browning leaves.

PERENNIAL: Agastache foeniculum (Anise or Blue Giant Hyssop) #MGNV Tried and True #NativePlant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic Though indigenous in the Mid-Atlantic to only a few counties in Pennsylvania, Anise Hyssop grows easily throughout in well-drained soil. Purplish flower spikes, which…

Weed Watch: What’s that sprawling plant with white, cross-shaped flowers in my summer garden? Weed or #NativeWildflower? Diodia virginiana (Virginia buttonweed) may be desirable as a native ground cover in its natural wet habitats, but in cultivated landscapes from the mid-Atlantic southward, it…

Is your garden spectacular this year? Come to the Arlington County Fair & enter the Competitive Exhibits for Fruits & Vegetables or Flowers! Entries will be judged by EMGs and there are prizes galore. For registration and more information see: arlingtoncountyfair.us/participate/... #mgnv #countyfair

SHRUB: Vaccinium corymbosum ([Northern] Highbush Blueberry) #MGNV Tried and True #NativePlant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic Commercially valuable as a food crop, this species yields the best blueberries and autumn color when grown in full sun. Due to widespread hybridization, its distribution in…

New to the Glossary: Glaucous #MasterGardener #MGNV Glabrous and glaucous often describe plant parts, especially stems, leaves, and fruits. Glabrous surfaces are smooth, lacking hairs, bristles, and glands. Glaucous surfaces have a whitish, gray, or bluish-green bloom. Most conspicuous on fruits,…

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! Veterans Memorial Rose Garden in Norwich, Connecticut is located on two acres of gently sloping land in Mohegan Park and displays ~2,500 rose bushes in 120 varieties. A video shows a common eastern bumble bee and a longhorn beetle foraging for pollen…

Your Natural Garden #mgnv #mastergardeners #bookreview In a series of essays, author Kelly Norris discusses principles, concepts, and methods designed to help gardeners rethink gardening with a focus on how the garden contributes to the local ecosystem while benefiting the humans who care for it. 

Between the Rows – A Guide to Vegetable Gardening:July 2025 Vegetable gardening information and events for July.

Adaptive Vegetable Gardening – 2025 #mgnv #mastergardener #climatechange #vegetablegardening Climate change has brought about the need for adaptive approaches to home vegetable gardening. These include general steps for reducing the garden’s carbon footprint: minimizing the use of power equipment…

PERENNIAL: Verbena hastata (Blue or Common Vervain)  #MGNV Tried and True #NativePlant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic Found naturally in meadows, floodplains, and swamps (and sometimes called swamp vervain), this native blooms throughout the summer and into autumn, longer than most other…

Fairlington Villages: Creating and Sustaining a Resilient Urban Landscape in a Condominium Setting #mgnv #mastergardener #hoa #fairlington #nativeplants For historic Fairlington Villages in Arlington, Virginia, enhancing the sustainability, safety, and appearance of the grounds has been a central…

SHRUB: Hypericum prolificum (Shrubby St. John’s-wort) New in 2025! #MGNV Tried and True #NativePlant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic The bright flowers of this compact, native shrub lack nectar, but its showy, pollen-covered stamens draw numerous native bees. This easy-to-grow species is…

Starting a Houseplant Collection: A Beginner’s Guide to Five Easy to Care for Plants #mgnv #mastergardener #easyhouseplants Starting a houseplant collection is an exciting step toward creating a more vibrant, peaceful, and healthy home environment. Whether you're looking to add a natural aesthetic…

What’s that butterfly up to? Happy #PollinatorWeek! Support native pollinators by growing #nativeplants. #Lepidopterans require both nectar plants, which provide energy for adults to mate and reproduce, and host plants on which caterpillars can eat and grow. Watch an azure butterfly deposit an egg…

PERENNIAL: Zizia aurea ([Common] Golden-alexanders) New in 2025!   #MGNV Tried and True #NativePlant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic Although tiny, the flowers of Golden-alexanders serve an out-sized role in spring and early summer as a nectar source for short-tongued beneficial insects when other…

New to the Glossary: Umbel, Umbellate, Umbellet, Umbelliform #MasterGardener #MGNV Racemes and panicles occur widely across plant families. Even casual observers are likely acquainted with some examples. But what of an umbel? Those who grow herbs, like dill and fennel, and vegetables, like…

SHRUB: Hydrangea arborescens (Wild or Smooth Hydrangea) #MGNV Tried and True #NativePlant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic Wild Hydrangea is a fast-growing shrub with large handsome leaves and large, flat to dome-shaped heads, comprising hundreds of small fertile flowers, sometimes edged with…

Introducing the Newest MGNV Demonstration Garden: Duncan Library Garden #DemoGarden #Duncan #DelRay #MasterGardener #MGNV mgnv.org/demonstratio...

Between the Rows – A Guide to Vegetable Gardening:June 2025 #MGNV #MasterGardeners #vegetablegardening Vegetable gardening information and events for June.