Master Gardener Natalie Brewer has a great profile of the native green hawthorn tree (Crataegus viridis), especially the variety ‘Winter King’.   I’d never heard of it before, but it looks like a great size for small gardens.   And now I want one.

Now who’s going to tell me what to get rid of so I’ll have room for this vision of loveliness?   That’s the lament of the plant nut with a jam-packed garden.

Posted by Susan Harris

Happy Blog Action Day 2010!  It’s a worldwide collective action of thousands of bloggers focusing on the same topic on the same day – October 15.  In 2008 the subjectwas climate change, then poverty in ’09, and this year it’s a huge topic for us gardeners – WATER.  And here in the watershed of the Chesapeake, what better sort of garden to show you than rain gardens – those stormwater-holding depressions that give runoff a chance to percolate and cleanse before ending up in the bay?

Rain Garden by the U. Minn Extension Service

Also at the U.MN, notice they've used the dry-soil-loving sedum at the top? Then at lower levels they've used plants that tolerate changing water levels.

Rain Garden at Fannie Norwood Memorial Home in Washington, D.C.

How Rain Gardens help the Chesapeake Bay, and How to Create Them

By the Behnkes Landscaping Department

Development in Maryland and Virginia has exploded in recent years and we have witnessed the conversion of rural areas to urban. This conversion has created increased impervious cover, such as roads, sidewalks and roofs. This in turn has increased the amount of stormwater runoff. Problems created by runoff include increased pollutants and temperatures in waterways, and increased flooding.

A great way to minimize the impact of storm water runoff is bioretention. Rain gardens are a form of bioretention that can be implemented on an individual level and have a significant impact on water quality locally and regionally. A rain garden collects water runoff and stores it, permitting it to be filtered and slowly absorbed by the soil. This is a small contribution that anyone can make to help improve the water quality in our region.

A rain garden should be placed so that impervious surfaces drain into the depressed area. Impervious surfaces can include a patio, driveway, roof (downspouts), large lawn, or any other surface that water does not penetrate.

Components of a Rain Garden

• A grass buffer strip around the garden will slow the velocity of the runoff  and filters particulates from the runoff.
• A mulch/organic layer provides for the decomposition of organic material and helps in the removal of metals from the runoff. Shredded hardbark allows the maximum surface area for binding and resists floatation and washout.
• Plants that can tolerate both wet and dry conditions go at the bottom.  At the very top it’s best to use plants that like it dry.   More qualities to look for in the plants include their ability to cycle and assimilate nutrients, pollutants and metals.  The Virginia Extension Service has a good list.
• A soil layer is where the plant roots will collect the moisture and nutrients for their growth. The soil layer will also absorb heavy metals, hydro carbons and other pollutants.
• A sand bed beneath the soil layer further slows runoff. The sand helps prevent anaerobic conditions in the planting soil.
• A ponding area or depression of the garden will provide the storage needed for the runoff. The surface area must be level for maximum infiltration.
• A berm that is at least 6” of soil that works like a dam to pond the runoff.

Photo credits:  U.Minnesota Rain Garden, and Norwood Memorial Home Rain Garden.

Pink dogwood in my garden

New on our website:  Great article about native dogwoods by Master Gardener Natalie Brewer, so check it out.  I did and learned a couple of things – that there are at least 90 birds that eat dogwood berries, and that it’s primarily the red fall foliage that attracts birds to them.  Plus, some super-useful tips about keeping our dogwoods disease-free, and the good news that even in the wild, dogwoods are reported to be showing increased resistance to anthractnose.  Excellent!  Thanks, Natalie, and keep those plant profiles coming!

Posted by Susan Harris.

By Natalie Brewer, University of Md Extension Master Gardener

The goddess Virgo cried. And where her tears fell to the earth, asters sprang up from the ground.

Aster oblongifolius Raydon's Favorite or (October Skies) at William Paca Garden, Annapolis, November 1, 2009

My favorite season is autumn. The weather is cooler, the sun shines abundantly, and I love the autumn colors of red, yellow and orange… and blue, purple and pink. Yes, that’s right, blue, purple and pink, and you can add to that magenta, rose, red-purple, royal blue, lavender and sky blue. These are all the true colors of autumn here in the United States due to one of our most glorious and prolific wildflowers, the aster.

Asters are heralds of the autumn garden. There are nearly one hundred and fifty different species of native asters in the United States, many of which (over 50) are native east of the Mississippi River. There are so many different asters with many different qualities that there is definitely an aster for the likes of every gardener and every gardening situation. Asters are beautiful, easy to grow, and blanket themselves in a flush of bloom.

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An Explorer’s Journal of Native Plants in the Landscape
Great Falls National Park – September 9 & 11, 2010

By Miri Talabac, Woody Plants Buyer/Manager

On the 9th, I’m back on the VA side this time to revisit the River Trail, to see what the season would bring. The trail is part woods, part rocky outcropping along the river, so the mix of habitats always brings something interesting into view. A couple days later I headed back to the MD side’s Billy Goat Trail, section B.

This is the time of year that many plants are ripening fruit. Female Winterberry hollies had berries that were turning red, and several Hackberry trees had berries turning orange and reddish-black. Although it was quite dry in the woods, masses of River Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) were sporting their flattened seed pods. I ran across one Solomon’s Seal with dark blue berries, and a lone Jack-in-the Pulpit with a drumstick of bright red berries. Even the Yellow Passionflower I discovered before was setting fruit, and in the process of moving aside a cluster for a picture, I found that a squished berry’s juices make for a really nice purple dye.

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