Washington Gardener February 2015

FEBRUARY 2015 VOL. 9 NO. 9

WWW.WASHINGTONGARDENER.COM

WASHINGTON WAS W WASHINGTO ASHINGTO

ggardener

the magazine for gardening enthusiasts in the Mid-Atlantic region

Top Heucheras for the Mid-Atlantic February Garden Tasks

Meet Chef and Author Jonathan Bardzik Native Pachysandra New Pixie Grape Introduction Be Prepared for Viburnum Leaf Beetle

17Award-Winning Garden Photos

Local Garden Events Listing

Year of the Coleus

Haven’s Natural Brew Tea conditions the soil so your plant’s root system can better absorb nutrients needed to build a strong, healthy root base. The manure tea can also be applied to compost piles to accelerate the composting process.

Order some today at: www.manuretea.com

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RESOURCESsourc

Need a Garden Club Speaker?

Washington Gardener Magazine’s staff and writers are available to speak to groups and garden clubs in the greater DC region.

Call 301.588.6894 or email wgardenermag@aol.com for available dates, rates, and topics.

Burtonsville, MD (301) 821-7777

RARE AND EXCEPTIONAL PLANTS FOR THE DISCRIMINATING GARDENER AND COLLECTOR

• Ponds - Waterfalls • Disappearing Fountains • “Pondless” Waterfalls www.premierpond.com

Barry Glick Sunshine Farm and Gardens HC 67 Box 539 B Renick, WV 24966, USA Email: barry@sunfarm.com

www.sunfarm.com

Specializing in Garden

Renewals & Renovations Yard By Yard Makeovers, LLC 7304 Carroll Avenue, #229 Takoma Park, MD 20912 301-270-4642 yardmakeovers@yahoo.com www.yardmakeovers.com

We can reshape and beautify neglected yards.

Green Spring Gardens

www.greenspring.org

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A “must visit” for everyone in the metropolitan Washington, DC, area. It’s a year-round gold mine of information and inspiration for the home gardener. It’s an outdoor classroom for children and their families to learn about plants and wildlife. It’s also a museum, a national historic site that offers glimpses into a long, rich history with colonial origins.

Located at 4603 Green Spring Rd., Alexandria, VA. Information: 703-642-5173.

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INSIDEcontents

FEATURES and COLUMNS

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Adult Viburnum Leaf Beetle larvae on a viburnum leaf. Photo by Bruce Watt, University of Maine, Bugwood.org.

In 2012, Mt. Cuba Center launched a comparative study of 83 Heuchera varieties to find the top-performing cultivars for the Mid-Atlantic region.

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Win two passes to the Capital Remodel and Garden Show! See page 5 for entry details. Entry deadline is 5:00pm February 25.

Jonathan Bardzik, a long-time advocate within the hort industry with a highly respected garden center background, touts the pleasures and benefits of cooking with farm- and garden-fresh, seasonal, and local ingredients.

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BOOKreviews 8-9 Organic Manifesto, Drink Your Harvest, Groundbreaking Food Gardens, Chesapeake Gardening and Landscaping GOINGnative 15 Alleghany Spurge INSECTindex 14 Viburnum Leaf Beetle NEIGHBORnetwork 6-7 Jonathan Bardzik, Chef NEWPLANTspotlight 10 Pixie Grape PHOTOcontestwinners 18-21 PHILLYflowershowtrips 11,17 TIPStricks 16 Top Heucheras, New USDA-NAL Database, Year of the Coleus

DEPARTMENTS

ADVERTISINGindex BLOGlinks EDITORletter GARDENcontest LOCALevents MONTHLYtasklist NEXTissue RESOURCESsources

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ON THE COVER

The grand prize winner of the 9th Annual Washington Gardener Magazine Garden Photo Contest.

It is a barred owl taken by Steven Silverman in Frederick, MD.

In Our Next Issue: MARCH 2015 Cabbage Growing Tips Daytrip to Virginia House Garden Challenges Q&A Hardy Orchid (Bletella sp.) and much more...

Be sure you are subscribed to:

Click on the “subscribe” link at http://washingtongardener. blogspot.com/ FEBRUARY 2015

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EDITORletter

Credits Kathy Jentz Editor/Publisher & Advertising Sales Washington Gardener 826 Philadelphia Ave. Silver Spring, MD 20910 Phone: 301.588.6894 wgardenermag@aol.com www.washingtongardener.com Call today to place your ad with us!

Ruth E. Thaler-Carter Proofreader Cover price: $4.99 Back issues: $6.00 Subscription: $20.00 Foreign subscription: $24.00 Address corrections should be sent to the address above.

Spring Countdown As I’m writing this, it is just 34 more days until spring and I cannot wait for its arrival.

This winter, like the one we had last year, has been brutally cold with sustained bouts of high wind courteous of the infamous polar vortex. How can we local gardeners make it through this last month or so of frigid, gray days?

For one thing, we start seeds. Here I am on one of the very few warm-ish days we’ve had this winter, at the recent Washington Gardener Magazine Seed Exchange at Green Spring Gardens with Pat Brodowski of Monticello. After both our Seed Exchanges this past month, I’m loaded down with seed packs and itching to get many of them in grow trays to fill all my table spaces. I love brushing my hands over the tiny seedlings and seeing them bounce back — all green and perky.

The next method for enduring winter is enjoying all the flowering houseplants and forced bulbs and branches I have in my home. I often share photos of them on my Instagram feed. You can find me there @WDCgardener.

When not enjoying my own flowers, I also like to visit the Smithsonian-USBG Orchid Show that is going on now at the Natural History Museum. I posted an album of blooms to our Facebook.com/WashingtonGardenerMagazine page this past week. I recommend going back several times to visit the exhibition, since select orchids are added and removed all the time from the displays as they peak and wane.

The final way I make it through is by attending as many local garden talks and events as possible (see listings on page 12-13) as well as attending the Philadelphia Flower Show. Did you know that Washington Gardener Magazine has two trips going up to that “Disneyland for gardeners”? One goes on Wednesday, March 4, from downtown Silver Spring, MD, and the other on Wednesday, March 5, from Behnke Nurseries in Beltsville, MD. See our trip details on pages 11 and 17 and consider joining us for an early breath of springtime.

Happy gardening!

Kathy Jentz, Editor/Publisher, Washington Gardener wgardenermag@aol.com

• Washington Gardener Blog: www.washingtongardener.blogspot.com • Washington Gardener Archives: http://issuu.com/washingtongardener • Washington Gardener Discussion Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ WashingtonGardener/ • Washington Gardener Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/WDCGardener • Washington Gardener is a womanowned business. We are proud to be members of: · Garden Writers Association · Think Local First DC · DC Web Women · Green America Magazine Leaders Network · Green America Business Network Retail stores wishing to sell our publication should contact Kathy Jentz at the contact information above.

To order reprints, contact Wright’s Reprints at 877.652.5295, ext. 138.

Volume 9, Number 9 ISSN 1555-8959 © 2015 Washington Gardener All rights reserved. Published quarterly.

No material may be reproduced without prior written permission. This magazine is purchased by the buyer with the understanding that the information presented is from various sources from which there can be no warranty or responsibility by the publisher as to legality, completeness, or technical accuracy.

All uncredited photos in this issue are © Kathy Jentz.

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READERcontt

Reader Contest

For our February 2015 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, Washington Gardener is giving away sets of two passes each to the upcoming Capital Remodel & Garden Show at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, VA (prize value: $20).

Find innovative products, new ideas, practical advice, and great deals in remodeling, home improvement, and gardening with hundreds of experts all under one roof. From windows and flooring to cabinets and landscaping and much more. Read more about the show at www. capitalremodelandgarden.com.

Garden speakers include Chris Lambton of HGTV’s Yard Crashers!, Dave Marciniak, owner of Revolutionary Gardens, and Mike McGrath, host of the nationally syndicated Public Radio show, You Bet Your Garden, and garden editor for WTOP News Radio.

Here is a special discount for Washington Gardener Magazine readers only – use promo code: “Deer” for a $4 discount off a $10 ticket.

To enter to win the Capital Remodel & Garden Show Passes, send an email to WashingtonGardener@rcn.com by 5:00pm on February 25 with “Cap Remodel and Garden Show” in the subject line and in the body of the email. Please also include your full name and mailing address. The pass winners will be announced and notified on February 26.

Local Gardening Calendar

Each month includes a list of what to do in the garden for local DC-MD-VA and Mid-Atlantic gardeners, along with a gorgeous photo of a seasonal flower from a local public garden collection in our area.

Go to http://www.cafepress.com/ washgardener to order this new calendar for gifts and to treat yourself!

Be sure to note what month you want the calendar to start with. This calendar is a keeper that you can use for years!

Caption Contest

We asked our Facebook page followers to caption this photo: What are these two chilly flamingos, seen at the recent MANTS exhibition in Baltimore, saying to each other?

Look for more monthly caption contests at the Facebook.com/WashingtonGardenerMagazine page.

Winning Captions: “Take me back to Florida... like, NOW, Buddy.” ~ Marge McGugan “This gig is not worth it...can’t wait to get back to Florida.” ~ Monica Sirtori “Clearly, we didn’t go far enough south this winter!” ~ Patty Hankins “They bring me all the way up here to freeze my feathers!

People!” ~ Marge McGugan “Thank heavens I don’t live in Minnesota!” ~ Jinean Schofield

Flamingo photos by Kathy Jentz

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NEIGHBORnwork — and spent many years working with plants. Four years ago, I began exploring the next big adventure in my life and, beginning with weekly, live cooking demonstrations at Washington, DC’s historic Eastern Market, I grew that second big passion into a second career.

Q&A with

Jonathan Bardzik

Q: How did you start cooking?

Cook.

Storyteller.

Author.

Text by Kathy Jentz Photos by Dan Weil

The Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show (MANTS) in Baltimore every January is always a whirlwind of networking activity, order writing, and plant lust. At this year’s event, I paused in my sprint down the aisles to watch a cooking demonstration at the Overdevest Nurseries booth and was introduced to Jonathan Bardzik, who captivated a crowd with his storytelling and cooking skills. Back in DC, he hosted an evening of cooking and conversation in his Eckington rowhouse, and we peppered him with our questions.

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Q: Tell us a bit about yourself and your background. Are you native to the MidAtlantic region?

A: I moved to Washington, DC, to work with a national horticultural trade association. Originally from western Massachusetts, I’ve fallen in love with DC’s long growing season, perfect fall and spring, and the abundant locally produced foods.

While I have always loved to cook, I grew up in a family garden center and landscaping business — my other love

A: Cooking started with Mom. She loved to cook and grew much of the fresh produce we ate, and also used the fresh eggs and poultry from the chickens she and Dad raised. She even baked all the bread we ate until I was about four years old. My daily chores during the summer included picking fresh vegetables from the garden, and I often followed them into the kitchen.

I fell in love with cooking as an adult when I graduated from college mid-year and was living at home with my family.

With their garden center keeping my parents busy, I offered to cook dinner once a week. After fixing pasta sauce and tacos, I found myself, the morning of the third week, sitting in front of a large stack of cookbooks. Selecting six different dishes, I left the house with a long grocery list and spent the afternoon shopping before returning home to cook. From avgolemono (Greek chicken soup) and porcini risotto to fiddleheads and dandelion greens, by the end of spring, I had learned a lot and fallen in love with cooking.

Living just a few blocks from Eastern Market with a wonderful boyfriend (now husband) to cook for, I went from a passionate home cook to a culinary entertainer, sharing that love with audiences around the country. Today, cooking is my full-time job. I love that my team and I now start most of our meetings by preparing a quick meal together.

Q: What is your favorite thing to cook?

A: It’s not a dish, a cuisine, or an ingredient. My favorite thing to cook is “what I haven’t cooked yet.” I love trying new ingredients, new recipes, and new techniques. Seasonal ingredients drive a lot of what I cook. I find that fresh, local ingredients taste the best, whether it’s the light sweetness of spring asparagus puréed in soup or hearty Hubbard squash paired with earthy, salty miso in fall dumplings.

NEIGHBORnwork Q: What is a typical day like for you?

A: [Laughing] I’ll let you know when I have one! My days are varied and exciting. Today began by talking with my designer about my next cookbook.

I reviewed year-end financials and this week’s live events with my director of operations and baking (that’s her real job title!). After doing a few dishes (part of every day), we got ready to develop two brand-new recipes — a tomatillo, bok choi, quinoa soup, and a guajillo chile-tomato paste vinaigrette. [Which we thoroughly enjoyed during that night’s photo shoot and interview.]

Q: What mistakes and triumphs have you encountered in gardening in our region?

A: Moving to DC’s milder climate from Massachusetts has been the source of both joy and frustration. The 15-foot-long hedge of ‘Barbecue’ rosemary, tall and straight, that lines our front walk, is a triumph both ornamentally and for the 300 skewers I harvested this year for Christmas party hors d’oeuvres.

On the other hand, the drift of Pennisetum ‘Karley Rose’ at the bottom of our front stairs has taken over the sidewalk and needs to get moved this year. Free of New England’s short growing season, it has gotten twice as large here as I am used to it growing.

Q: What advice would you give to beginner/amateur home gardeners in the greater DC area?

A: First, plant edibles — herbs and vegetables. They are going to give you greater and more immediate satisfaction than any other starter project. A pot of Thai basil or parsley not only looks beautiful, but lets you add a little homegrown flavor to simple, home-cooked meals.

Secondly, buck common wisdom and plant your landscape before you upgrade the inside of your home. The landscape is the one investment you’ll make that increases with value over time. That stunning Redbud tree or

the Climbing Hydrangea on your back fence will need three years to really start showing its stuff, but each season, watching it grow is a joy.

Q: What plants are your favorites to use in the greater DC area?

A: With DC’s long growing season and relatively mild winter, I love having lots of fresh herbs potted in the back yard.

It would be criminal not to plant rosemary and lemon grass, given how well they performs here. I don’t have a lot of room for large plants like beans and pumpkins, so I leave those to the wonderful community of local farmers.

Ornamentally, I love how well Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydranga quercifolia), Redbud (Cercis canadensis), and Hellebores perform here. I can’t get enough!

with minimal heat, I love experimenting with hearty winter dishes and slowcooked meats and poultry.

Q: Where can people find you?

A: I am easiest to find online at www. jonathanbardzik.com, where you can find more than 200 of my recipes. Follow my cooking adventures on Facebook at Jonathan Bardzik or Twitter and Instagram @JonathanBardzik. Starting in late March, join me every other Saturday, outdoors at Eastern Market, for my live demos. Check my Facebook page for my schedule.

I’ll also be appearing at great garden centers from Maine to Virginia this season, cooking with Footprints Edibles, a wonderful line of sustainably grown and packaged herb and vegetable plants.

These plants are grown, chemical-free, in biodegradable, plantable pots. I am working with Footprints to create custom recipes; produce cooking videos; post simple, delicious cooking ideas on Facebook and Pinterest; and make live appearances at garden centers.

Q: Anything else you want to add or think would be of interest to our magazine readers?

Q: Conversely, what plants would you advise others to avoid growing in our area?

A: Good gardens make good neighbors, so avoid anything that runs too aggressively. The folks next door should get to make their own decisions about growing yellow groove bamboo (Phyllostachys aureosulcata). DC’s hot summers are tough on ephemerals and other plants better suited to the UK or the Pacific Northwest, so Delphinium and Bergenia may be a real challenge here.

Q: What do you do when it is not the growing season?

A: There is fresh produce available yearround, so I keep cooking. From root vegetables like celery root and rutabaga to fresh greens tolerant of cold frames

A: Two years ago, I wrote my first cookbook, Simple Summer, a collection of my 40 favorite summer recipes along with tips for successful preparation, music playlists, and drink ideas.

This year I am working on my second cookbook, Seasons to Taste, a fourseason look at cooking with fresh ingredients, and the communities of friends, family, and farmers that come together around good food.

If your readers want an up-close and personal experience of cooking together, I love doing in-home teaching dinners where I cook through a four-course menu while sharing an evening of storytelling, laughter, and delicious, farm-fresh food. Contact me at jonathan@jonathanbardzik.com. o Kathy Jentz is editor/publisher of Washington Gardener. She can be reached at wgardenermag@aol.com.

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BOOKreviews Organic Manifesto: How Organic Food Can Heal Our Planet, Feed the World, and Keep Us Safe

By Maria Rodale Publisher: Rodale Press List Price: $14.99 Reviewer: Kathy Parrent Maybe you feel overwhelmed by the barrage of disturbing information and mixed messages you hear about food, farming, and the environment. What is to be made of the toxic chemicals used in farming, bee colony collapse; antibiotics in meat; dead zones in the ocean; climate change; genetically modified organisms (GMOs); the prevalence of cancer, diabetes, autism, and Parkinson’s?

Are these things related?

Maria Rodale is the chair and CEO of Rodale, Inc., whose mission is studying, promoting, and educating the public about organic food production. She is the granddaughter of J.I. Rodale, who founded the magazine Organic Farming and Gardening in 1942. He is often called the “father of the organic movement.”

Her rousing book, Organic Manifesto, will fill in any gaps in your understanding, providing a comprehensive explanation of 21st-century chemical agriculture as compared to the safety and benefits of organic farming and gardening. Carefully cited and written with passion, Rodale’s “Manifesto” calls for a complete transformation of chemical food production. She also dispels myths about organic farming, answers common questions, and offers solutions that might save our health and our planet.

Much of agriculture is GMO-laden and lacking in crop diversity. It is largely dependent on toxic chemicals that are dangerous to human health. Our food is produced with toxins, hormones, hormone disruptors, antibiotics, and known carcinogens. Farm animals are kept on antibiotics because they aren’t allowed to graze and are instead fed corn that makes them sick. Polluted wells dot the countryside, soil is depleted of nutrients and prone to runoff, carrying chemicals along with it. The underlying belief is that humankind must conquer nature rather than understand it and work with it.

Rodale describes the federal Farm Bill, which defines the parameters of chemical agriculture, as a patchwork of arcane rules. It’s a system that began with paying farmers not to grow crops during the Great Depression, evolved to help farmers in crisis, and has also been largely shaped by chemical companies hoping to increase their profits.

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A fascinating chapter describes the development of German chemical warfare and how some of those same chemicals came to be used for food production. Monsanto is a typical example, says Rodale, of a company that has produced chemicals for both war and food. It began making saccharin in 1901, then PCBs, Agent Orange, Roundup, and now GMOs and bovine growth hormone, adapting, she writes, “with each disaster it has created and continuing to reap profits.”

How has Monsanto survived? Like all the major chemical companies, it lobbies for deregulation of rules that protect human health, ensure environmental safety, and require the humane treatment of animals.

Proffering big financial donations, the company ingratiates itself into farm communities and university agricultural departments.

According to Rodale, Monsanto donates to the 4H Club, Future Farmers of America, and 75 out of the 76 land grant universities. Financial contributions combined with lobbying in Washington have, Rodale asserts, led to the suppression of unbiased research both on GMOs and the use of toxic chemicals in food production.

The real eye-opener for me was Rodale’s keen description of the crazy merry-goround of chemical spraying and GMO use.

Instead of weeding or tilling or mulching, chemical farmers spray with Roundup or some other brand of Glysophate, a broadspectrum systemic herbicide. But Roundup kills all plants, so the company makes genetically modified seeds that allow weeds to be killed, but enables the plant to resist the spray. Eventually, though, the weeds start to resist Roundup, so the farmers spray more. Farmers then alternate using Roundup with even harsher herbicides. So the companies sell more herbicides while farmers and the government (and you and I) pay for it. And in this topsy-turvy world, farmers who till with tractors will not receive funds under a government conservation program. Why? Because frequent tilling causes erosion. So they spray.

For Organic Manifesto, Rodale not only relied on research, but conducted focus groups with chemical farmers. Many feel they are caught in a system of contracts with chemical companies and their “crop consultants” and entangled in the system of government subsidies and regulations.

Should they make the switch, organic certification requires three years of letting the land recover, fees, paperwork, compliance with many explicit rules, and no subsidies from the government to keep the price of produce artificially deflated.

Throughout the book, Rodale strives to find common ground with chemical farmers

and other potential allies. She suggests disincentives and heavy taxation for chemical companies selling toxins for food production. She advocates rewards and incentives for those businesses that use organic or “regenerative” practices, noting that it’s not the size of the farm or the business that matters, but how it behaves. And she implores those of us who share her vision to stop fighting with one another, to see the big picture and stand together.

Is it quixotic to think we could make changes this big? Rodale cites the long, uphill battle to get the USDA to certify organic produce, which is now strictly enforced so consumers can rely on the label. She looks to the demise of big tobacco, the popularity of farmers’ markets, and the growth of Whole Foods stores as examples of shifts in awareness and action that have happened in a lifetime. She is angry yet still motivated. Her motto is: “Demand organic.”

Kathy Parrent is a writer and gardener in Silver Spring, MD. She runs “Green Thumb to the Rescue” on Facebook.

Chesapeake Gardening and Landscaping: The Essential Green Guide

By Barbara W. Ellis Publisher: UNC Press List Price: $40.00 Reviewer: Paul Nuhn The purpose of this book is to bring fresh ideas, concepts, and designs to your property to bring about a better, healthier, environmentally friendly garden for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

The Chesapeake Bay Watershed covers 64,000 square miles (over 11,600 miles of shoreline!) and is home to 17 million people — all of whom are reliant on a healthy bay.

This book helps. Whether you have an estate or just a small cottage, each reader is encouraged to work with nature and bring about a better place to live and work — a yard at a time.

While the author strongly believes that a well-integrated landscape and restoration of the natural beauty of the watershed would be advantageous for all, it would be impractical to do so as the scale and scope of such a project would be immense. But to take one small piece of your garden, open field, golf course, public space, and replant as needed throughout the region, a little at a time, would bring the bay back to and keep it healthy for future generations.

By removing plant dead zones and adding natives, rain gardens, natural spaces, wildlife habitat areas, and more, you will be creating the very diversity you need to keep the region strong.

BOOKreviews In reworking a big landscape or a small suburban yard, you’ll get ideas in the well-done chapters, photographs, lists, and descriptions.

The book is in two parts, beginning with a three-chapter section called “Creating Your Chesapeake Bay Landscape.” The chapters in Part 1 give you the basics needed to build a sustainable property.

Part 2 of this book begins with “Recommended Plants, Gardens” such as the selection of proper shrubs, trees, vines, ground covers, perennials, grasses, wet zones, and even wildlife areas.

All-in-all, a great “how-to” for our region with many sidebars that include important, but often overlooked, observations and manageable steps that anyone could aspire to. Following the principle of “progress, not perfection” — meaning let Mother Nature do the hard work for you, but give her a little helping hand. The author has done meticulous work in her research with well-written chapters meant to be used as a reference idea book and as a straight read-through.

Ellis has given us much to ponder about and one finds oneself just rolling with ideas after reading through these chapters. It will be on my bookshelf, as it should for every property owner south of the Pennsylvania state line and north of the NC/VA border.

Paul Nuhn has been a Master Gardener in Arlington, VA, for more than 10 years. He is also co-coordinator of the Glencarlyn Library Community Garden in Arlington, one of five demonstration gardens maintained by Master Gardeners of Arlington/Alexandria.

Groundbreaking Food Gardens: 73 Plans That Will Change the Way You Grow Your Garden

by Niki Jabbour Publisher: Storey Publishing List Price: $19.99 Reviewer: Martha Sykora Think you have no place for a food garden? Well, get ready to plant because Nova Scotia resident Niki Jabbour, host of call-in radio show “The Weekend Gardener” and author of The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener, now offers 73 plans to inspire you to think otherwise.

Collected from an extensive variety of accomplished gardeners across North America, topics include Edibles on a Patio, Partially-shaded Vegetables, Front-Yard Foraging, Urban Homestead, 52 Weeks

of Salad, and more than five dozen more ideas for all sorts of conditions/locations/ food preferences, etc.

Jabbour’s writing style is friendly — the introduction to the Vertical Vegetables plan indicates, “Gardens are getting sneakier, and perhaps Rhonda Massingham Hart [the contributing designer] is to blame.” “No room to garden? No excuse!” begins the Community Plot plan. This is a light-hearted, but not light-weight, book of encouragement to look at almost any space as a potential location to grow something edible, and to have fun in the process. Beginning gardeners will be inspired to start out modestly, while those more experienced will be challenged to expand or start anew under conditions they might not have considered.

The book is attractively illustrated thoughout with watercolor representations and labeled layouts of the plants in each plan.

Tips on vertical support, pest control, preferred plant varieties, etc. are also included.

Because it is a book of plans, it is not intended to be a complete “how-to” book.

There is only limited information on preparing your soil, although two plans — by Jeff Lowenfels’ Teeming With Microbes, and Mac Mead’s Biodynamic Farm — go into more depth and are excellent general reading. Other considerations such as whether the suggested plants should be started from seed, or when seedlings should be transplanted, as examples, are not covered in detail, either. It is fairly obvious that in our region, we do not need to consider a suggested 12-foot moose fence, but it is still up to the reader to do further research to adapt a selected plan to local conditions if necessary.

This is not a criticism. I found this book to be inspiring, entertaining, educational, equally fun to browse or read in-depth.

Adding to the enjoyment, in her introductions, Jabbour shares the motivation behind and occasional quirks of each contributor’s plan. The short contributor biographies assembled in the beginning of the book include web sites and references to the contributors’ own published works so the reader can obtain more information if desired.

This book comes with a great deal of inspiration and leads the way to even more. I recommend it to anyone and everyone!

Martha Sykora has been lucky to try gardening in climates as diverse as Maryland, Colorado, and England. She currently lives in a LEED-certified homestead-wannabe in Annapolis. The bees haven’t survived a full year yet but the vermiculture composting operation is doing well.

Drink the Harvest

By Nan K. Chase and DeNeice C. Guest Publisher: Storey Publishing List Price: $18.95 Reviewer: Teresa Speight If you are in the throes of figuring out what to try new this year in your garden, then you simply must consider reading this book. The authors start off by sharing the options of things one can grow and use for refreshment in and out of the garden. Creativity is key when trying to figure out the plant combinations required for such things as Prickly Pear Cactus juice (yes, those large stands of cactus) you can drink the finished product from that and quite amazingly delicious if prepared properly.

Having abundant fruits or herbs and the right tools to prepare enough quantity is very important. Not that you have to grow all of the required ingredients yourself, but tapping into a CSA or a local farmer, who would love to sell quantity of a needed item, is handy. Developing a relationship with local growers will only expand the choices of what you can create from your harvested material.

From apples to currants to celeriac to birch trees, the options are endless if you are looking to branch off into making drinkable delights from your garden. Discussing the proper tools and options for what can be canned, refrigerated, or frozen starts the reader on a journey with pretty simple recipes for things like Peerless Pear Cider or fresh-made Sensational 7 Vegetable drink.

If juices are simple, then the wines, mead, and specialty drinks, which require a few more steps, are simply sensational.

Breaking down the process of plant selection; instructions on how fermentation works; exercising patience, patience, and a bit more patience will produce the perfect bottle of happiness. Some of the recipes that were gathered for this chapter of this wonderfully short book include Heirloom Potato Wine, Spiced Apple Mead, and Luscious Limoncello.

The final chapter includes choosing the right ingredients for making tea. Harvesting the herbs and vegetables for tea at the right time can make freshly made drinks more flavorful. This book breaks all this down into enjoyable little recipes. For those who love to think outside the box and try new things, this is a great book to have on hand for a special treat.

Teresa Speight is a native Washingtonian, who resides in District Heights, MD. She owns Cottage in the Court Landscape Consulting. She can be reached at cottageinthecourt@gmail.com.

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GARDENnews

Quick Links to Recent Washington Gardener Blog Posts

• Spring Dreaming in the Native Garden • Protecting Our Pollinators • Seeds with Presidential Provenance • Celery Stalks at Midnight See more Washington Gardener blog posts at: WashingtonGardener.Blogspot.com

February Garden To-Do List

New Plant Spotlight Pixie Grape (Vitis labrusca)

Pixie grape is a mutant of Pinot Meunier, a grape variety widely used in making Champagne. A genetic mutation in Pixie makes it insensitive to gibberellic acid, a plant hormone that regulates growth and development. This accounts for the plant’s small stature; a mature Pixie grape plant is only about 18 inches tall.

In addition to its small stature, when started from a cutting, Pixie starts to flower in about three or four months and then continues to produce flowers and fruits throughout the year. Most grape varieties flower for the first time during their second or third year and produce fruit only once a year thereafter.

The plant will require a trellis for support. Keep the soil moderately moist but avoid allowing the plants to sit in water. Prune the vines in winter, removing the previous summer’s growth and leaving two main branches. Fertilize with a low nitrogen fertilizer three times during the growing season with the final application in mid-summer to encourage fruit to ripen. Put the plant in a protected location in winter months.

Pixie grape is self-pollinating. It requires full sun to part shade outdoors, or a bright window indoors.

Hardy in USDA Zones 5-9.

It will be available at local independent garden centers and by mail-order this spring. o 10

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• Cut some branches (forsythia, quince, bittersweet, redbud, willow, etc.) for forcing indoors.

• Put suet out for birds.

• Keep bird feeders filled and provide a source of water.

• Check outside plants and trees for animal (deer) damage.

• Mist indoor plants and set up pebble trays to increase humidity.

• Rejuvenate holly bushes and boxwood with a hard pruning.

• Plan landscape design projects.

• Check evergreens for signs of desiccation.

• Start seeds of cool-season vegetables and flowers.

• Keep ice-melting chemicals away from garden beds. Use coarse sand instead.

• Prune any dead or diseased wood off trees and shrubs.

• Fertilize trees, shrubs, and evergreens.

• Prune roses.

• Begin tilling beds (when the earth is dry enough to work, but not muddy) and work in compost.

• Plant or transplant trees or shrubs, including berries, roses, and evergreens.

• Apply pre-emergent weed control such as corn gluten.

• Protect tender plants by covering them with some type of cloth material, if an unusually cold day or night is forecast. Be sure to uncover when it warms up.

• Weed.

• Trim ornamental grasses such as liriope, mondo, and pampas.

• Divide overgrown or crowded perennials such as daylily and shasta daisy.

• Scan houseplants for insect activity.

• Dust your house plants with a slightly damp cloth.

• Clear perennial beds of any dead plant parts and debris.

• Clean and organize the garden shed.

• Clean, sharpen, and oil tools, if not already done last fall.

• Walk your yard to check plants and bulbs for heaving and place them back into the ground. Cover with more mulch to prevent further heaving.

• Apply dormant oil spray to ornamentals and fruit trees before dormancy breaks.

• Check and tune-up power equipment (mowers and trimmers).

• Build garden furniture.

• Spread new gravel on paths.

• Mulch bare areas.

• Design new beds and gardens.

• Pick up new gardening books and magazines for inspiration.

• Start seedlings indoors under grow lights. Some good choices to start early are peppers, artichokes, onions, beets, turnips, cabbage, kale, and leeks.

• Put up trellises and teepees for peas and beans to climb on.

• Direct-sow early, cool-season crops as soon as ground soil can be worked.

Good choices are peas, lettuces, mustards, onion sets, kale, and cabbages.

• Start or turn your compost pile.

• Do an annual soil test and amend soils as recommended.

• Check for snow damage. Gently brush off snow weight, if you must, but it’s better to let snow melt off on its own.

4th Annual Philadelphia Flower Show Tour with Behnke Nurseries Organized by Washington Gardener Magazine Thursday, March 5, 2015, 10:00AM-10:00PM

Leaving and returning from Behnke Nurseries, 11300 Baltimore Ave., BELTSVILLE, MD

The Philadelphia Flower Show is the oldest and largest indoor flower show in the world. The theme for 2015 is “Lights, Camera, BLOOM! Celebrate the Movies.” Experience the combination of cinema and horticulture as the 186th PHS Philadelphia Flower Show celebrates everyone from Disney to Marilyn Monroe. Join us for a visit to magnificent floral and garden exhibits, special programming, and new attractions like the interactive Butterfly Experience. This is not your grandmother’s Flower Show … but she’s going to love it! The Flower Show attracts non-gardeners as well as die-hard green-thumbed people of all ages. Foodies of all tastes will love the Garden to Table Studio. Participate in the Lectures and Demonstrations series, Gardener’s Studio, and the “Make & Take” workshops. First-time and returning riders will enjoy the welcoming, custom details of our coach service.

Schedule for the day: • 10:00AM coach leaves Behnke Nurseries in Beltsville, MD, with lunch, games, and DVD viewing en route • 12:45-7:15PM Explore Philadelphia Flower Show ~ dinner on your own • 7:30PM Coach departs Philadelphia Convention Center with snacks, games, and DVD showing onboard • 10:00PM Coach arrives back at Behnke Nurseries in Beltsville, MD This tour package includes: 1. Charter Passenger Coach - reserved seating and storage under the bus 2. Choice of Gourmet Box Lunch on the way up to the show 3. Snacks for the return trip 4. Listing of nearby restaurants for dinner on your own at the show 5. Information package on the show which will assist in prioritizing your day 6. Two Garden DVD showings 7. Admission to the show & Driver Tip 8. Convenient drop-off and pick-up at Behnke in Beltsville, MD with free parking 9. Lively show and garden discussions led by Washington Gardener’s Kathy Jentz 10. Surprises and prizes.

To register, please use the form below. (One form per person.)



Name _______________________________________________________________ Address______________________________________________________________ Phone number________________________________________________________ Email________________________________________________________________ Name of seatmate_____________________________________________________ We will try to seat groups together, but cannot guarantee group seating.

Name of group _______________________________________________________

Registration deadline: March 1, 2015

Full refund if canceled by February 7. $40 refunded until February 28.

No refunds after March 3.

Questions?

Kathy Jentz Wgardenermag@aol.com www.WashingtonGardener.com

Brought to you by:

Code 3/5 Behnke

Fee: $100.00 each $95.00 each for Washington Gardener Magazine subscribers

Check/money order #_______ ~ Please make payable to “Washington Gardener” Send this registration form along with your payment to: Washington Gardener, 826 Philadelphia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910

If you’ve never been to the Philadelphia Flower Show, this is your opportunity to escape from the last of winter’s cold winds and experience a garden paradise. Walk through floral wonderlands, take notes at one of the many workshops, enjoy new plants on display, and shop the vendors’ tempting array of goodies.

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TOP AREA GARDENING EVENTS DC-Area Gardening Calendar ~ Upcoming Events ~ February 16 - March 15, 2015 • Wednesday, February 18, 7:30-9pm Foraging Foods in Takoma Park Matt Cohen, a professional forager and landscaper based in Silver Spring, will present a slide show of various wild edible foods that can be found in Takoma Park throughout the year, including what can be found even in the cold of February. He will cover a buffet from humble weeds to fruiting trees and top it off with a few edible mushrooms. At Historic Takoma, 7328 Carroll Avenue.

Parking is available in the public lot located adjacent to the Takoma Park/ Silver Spring Coop across the street from the building. This talk is open and free to all. No need to RSVP. Please wear a recycled nametag and bring a snack to share. Hosted by the Takoma Horticultural Club, see details at http://takomahort.org/ .

• Saturday, February 21, 10am-2pm OrKid Family Festival Visitors of all ages are invited to explore the world of orchids at the “Orchid Exhibit Family Festival” in the Evans Gallery at the National Museum of Natural History. This fun-filled day of free activities celebrates the exhibition, “Orchids: Interlocking Science and Beauty.” Activities include constructing a botanical bookmark, a flower corsage, and an orchid terrarium. Visitors can even pot an orchid to take home! Orchid experts from the Smithsonian and U. S. Botanic Garden will be available to answer questions and tell visitors about unique plants from their collections that will be on display. Free. Details at http://www.gardens.si.edu/whats-happening/orchid-exhibition.html.

• Saturday, February 21, 8:30 am-4 pm 11th Annual Eco-Savvy Symposium: Evolving Landscapes Gardeners quickly learn that success requires embracing change. As gardens mature, what was a balanced design is now overgrown, difficult to maintain, and perhaps shaded by maturing trees.

Learn strategies for adapting to the challenges of your evolving landscape.

Lunch included. Call site for vegetarian request. $70/person. Green Spring Gardens, 4603 Green Spring Road, 12

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Alexandria, VA 22312. Register online at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/ greenspring using code 290 188 5501 or call Green Spring Gardens at 703642-5173.

• Saturday, February 21, 15th Annual Montgomery County Master Gardeners Spring Gardening Conference The daylong event offers multiple workshops, morning snacks, a delicious bag lunch, door prizes, networking with other gardeners, answers to your gardening questions, handouts, and reference materials. Participants can attend three of nine concurrent workshops, all taught by Master Gardeners. This year’s topics include water features, herbs, perennials for shade, urban gardening, design tricks, DIY irrigation, peppers, and much more, plus several lunchtime presentations. The event will be held at the University of Maryland Extension Montgomery County Office, 18410 Muncaster Rd, Derwood, MD, at the Agricultural History Farm Park. Advance registration is $55 (box lunch included); bring a friend and the cost is $100 for two. Registration information can be found at: http://goo.gl/i4nalm.

• Wednesday, February 25, 7-8:30pm Turf and Alternatives VCE Master Gardeners of Arlington/ Alexandria will present a program on Turf and Alternatives to Turf at Fairlington Community Center, 3308 S. Stafford St., Arlington, VA. The program will focus on how to have a luxurious lawn with minimal harm to the environment.

Participants will learn how to invigorate a lawn and manage weeds while protecting pollinators and friendly insects.

Alternatives to turf will also be explored.

The program is free and open to the public, but advance registration is requested at mgnv.org. The VCE office can be reached at 703-228-6414 or by e-mail at mgarlalex@gmail.com.

• Friday, February 27, 8:30am-4:00pm Green Matters Symposium Theme: Protecting our Pollinators.

This year’s Green Matters will be held at the Silver Spring Civic Center. See

http://www.montgomeryparks.org/ brookside/green_matters_symposium. shtm.

• Saturday, February 28 The 8th annual Rooting DC forum is the central meeting ground for individuals and nonprofits looking to grow a healthier food system in the nation’s capital. Registration is now open at www.RootingDC.org.

• Saturday, February 28 Perennially Inspired, PPA MidAtlantic Regional Symposium Co-sponsored by the Perennial Plant Association and the Horticultural Society of Maryland, Inc. Held at the Conference Center at Sheppard Pratt, 6501 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD. For details, email ppa@perennialplant.org or go to www.perennialplant.org.

• Monday, March 2, 9am-4pm Rethinking Swale & Filter Strip Design Swales and filter strips are an important, but often overlooked, part of stormwater management and Low Impact Development. This workshop will review the most innovative designs for swales. Design for urban areas will be emphasized. Additionally, a new swale concept — the regenerative stormwater conveyance (RSC) — will be discussed.

University of the District of Columbia, 4200 Connecticut Avenue, Washington, DC. Fee; $225 (includes lunch, refreshments and workshop materials). For more information and to REGISTER ONLINE, please visit the web site at: http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/stormwater/ training/swales.html.

• Wednesday, March 4, 10am-10pm Philadelphia Flower Show Trip 2015 with Washington Gardener Magazine Depart from downtown Silver Spring, MD. See details on page 17.

• Thursday, March 5, 10am-10pm Philadelphia Flower Show Trip 2015 with Washington Gardener Magazine.

Depart from Behnke Nurseries in Beltsville, MD. See details on page 11.

TOP AREA GARDENING EVENTS DC-Area Gardening Calendar ~ Upcoming Events ~ February 16 - March 15, 2015 • Thursday, March 5, 7pm Free Garden Lecture: The Magic and Mystery of Vernal Pools The pools of water that appear every spring in the Loudoun landscape and slowly fade by late summer are the lifeline for rare water plants, amazing wood frogs, and marbled salamanders. Held at the Virginia Cooperative Extension Office, 30 Catoctin Circle, Leesburg, VA. Naturalist Tammy Schwab will share the secrets of how these special waters nourish plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. She also will tell us how to identify a vernal pool and protect it. For more information about the lecture or the Loudoun County VCE Master Gardener program, visit the website: www.loudouncountymastergardeners.org or call the Loudoun Extension Office at 703-777-0373.

• Mondays, March 9-April 13 (except Monday, March 23), from 6:30-8:00pm.

Local Gardening Talk Series with Kathy Jentz on Capitol Hill. Cost: $50 per class or $235 for entire series. Register at http://hillcenterdc.org.

3rd Annual

• March 14 and 15, 9am-5pm 2015 FOBG Orchid Show Friends of Brookside Gardens’ Orchid Show will be held at Behnke Nurseries in Beltsville, MD, again this year because of the on-going renovations to Brookside Gardens. There will be opportunity for consultation with orchid experts, vibrant displays, and orchids and orchid growing supplies available for purchase. The Rock Creek Orchid Club will exhibit exotic collections.

Orchid expert, Carol Allen will offer repotting services for a nominal fee and a raffle to win a beautiful orchid. Proceeds will benefit programs sponsored

by FOBG at Brookside Gardens. For further information, see the FOBG website www.friendsofbrooksidegardens.org.

cessful container plantings, from ornamental to edible containers as well as the different styles and fashions in container gardening. Fee: $22, FOBG: $20; registration required. Held at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD.

Save These Future Dates:

How to Submit Local Garden Events

• Thursday, April 2nd, 2-3:30pm OR Saturday, April 4, 10-11:30am Container Gardening Basics and Beyond Instructor: Kathy Jentz, editor/publisher, Washington Gardener Magazine. Kathy will cover the basics of growing suc-

• 7th Annual DC Plant Swap Details hosted by Washington Gardener Magazine on Saturday, June 14 at 11am.

Meet at the US National Arboretum’s R Street parking lot. Anyone is welcome and it is FREE.

Still More Event Listings

See even more event listings on the Washington Gardener Yahoo discussion list. Join the list at http://groups.yahoo. com/group/WashingtonGardener/.

To submit an event for this listing, please contact: Wgardenermag@aol. com and put “Event” in the email subject head. Our next deadline is March 10 for the March 15 issue, featuring events taking place from March 16-April 16, 2015. o

Grow Your Health A Gardening, Local Food & Wellness Festival

IER PREM NING E SC R E

Gardening Classes · Children’s Activities 50 Local Vendors · Food Court Supported By:

Saturday, March 28 2015 ~ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Woodson High School in Fairfax VA $10 Adults ($15 at the door), free under 16

Sponsored By:

All Proceeds Benefiting the Weston A. Price Foundation and Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture

www.GrowYourHealthNova.com FEBRUARY 2015

WASHINGTON GARDENER

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Adult Viburnum Leaf Beetle on arrowwood viburnum berry. Photo by Paul Weston, Cornell University, Bugwood.org.

INSECTindex

Viburnum Leaf Beetle

by Carol Allen

When it comes to versatility, wildlife benefit, and out-and-out beauty no other group of shrubs beats viburnums.

Other than an easily controlled issue with very early spring aphids, viburnums are fairly pest-free. They are also pretty deer-resistant or at least are not severely damaged by them — depending on the species or cultivar. Several members of the family are excellent for small-space gardens, as they can be trained to just a few trunks and pass for small trees.

My viburnum season begins with V.x bodnantense ‘‘Dawn,’ which is one of the first shrubs to bloom in the late winter and has fragrant, pink blossoms. The fragrance-fest continues with Burkwood viburnum (V. x burkwoodii ‘Mohawk’) in April, Fragrant Snowball (V. x carlcephalum) blooming in mid to late April, followed by Koreanspice viburnum (V. carlesii) in late April to May. While the aforementioned are Asiatic or hybrid in origin, there are many native viburnums whose lace-cap-type flowers are followed by a good berry show and go on to support native wildlife. Arrowwood Viburnum (V. dentatum), Nannyberry (V. lentago), and the Blackhaw (V. prunifolium) immediately come to mind.

With this profusion of garden-worthy shrubs, it is particularly devastating when an alien pest threatens this backbone of the garden. That pest is the Viburnum Leaf Beetle (VLB) or Pyrrhalta viburni.

VLB is native to Europe and Asia, and was first observed in Canada in 1947.

It later spread into Maine (1994), New 14

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York (1996), and since then into Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, and Washington state.

The adult beetle is approximately 4.5–6.5mm in length and light brown in color with the wing covers darker on the outer edges. Adults emerge from pupation in July. The females will lay eggs from mating until the first killing frost in late October/ early November and can lay 500 eggs during a life span. The eggs are laid in the underside of the terminal twigs and small branches. The female makes a deep, but pinhead-sized excavation; lays five to eight eggs; and covers the depression with a mixture of fecal material, chewed bark, and a mucus secretion.

This mixture hardens to seal in the eggs and protect them from predators.

The egg depressions are made in a straight line up the twig and are characteristic of the pest.

The eggs hatch in early May in conjunction with leaf emergence. Small at first (about 1mm), the larvae gain in size as they feed, becoming 10-11mm in length and turning from their hatching color of greenish-yellow to yellow with rows of black spots. By mid-June, the larvae crawl down the trunks of the viburnum to pupate in the soil. They emerge as adults about 10 days later.

Although the young larvae are difficult to see, they often feed in groups on the underside of the leaves. As they grow, they move to the tops of the leaves and will skeletonize the leaves as they feed on the tissue between the leaf veins.

The adults also feed on viburnum

leaves, making round to elliptical holes, and can rapidly defoliate the shrub.

The adults will often migrate to feed on nearby viburnums. Both the larvae and adults will drop to the ground when disturbed.

Control begins at this time of year (late winter/early spring) by examining the terminal twigs of the shrubs. Prune off any twigs exhibiting the characteristic line of egg depressions and dispose of the prunings. Susceptible cultivars can be treated with systemic insecticides at this time as well, and this treatment is less damaging to predatory insects than spraying later in the year. If the infestation is extensive or the shrubs particularly tall, a 4% horticultural oil spray is effective in suffocating about 75–80% of the eggs. Spray well before leaf emergence to avoid leaf damage from the concentrated oil.

The larvae are sensitive to a number of contact pesticides, though caution must be exercised as there are many beneficial predators that will feed on the young pests. Ladybird beetle young, as well as the larvae of lacewings, have been found feeding on VLB larvae.

Not all cultivars are equally vulnerable. Some of our native viburnums are highly to moderately susceptible, notably V. dentatum, V. nudum, and V. lantana. Some landscape viburnums are resistant, including: V. carlesii, V. x juddii, V. plicatum var. tomentosum, and others. A list of cultivars and their susceptibility can be found here: http:// www.hort.cornell.edu/vlb/suscept.html.

If not controlled, the Viburnum Leaf Beetle can kill a susceptible cultivar in a couple of years. If you see evidence of VLB in Maryland, please contact: Dick Bean, entomologist at the Maryland Department of Agriculture, at 410-841-5920. You may also contact the University of Maryland Home and Garden Information Center at hgic.umd. edu. o Carol Allen describes herself as a committable plant-a-holic. She has more than 25 years’ experience in the horticulture industry, with a special interest in plant pests and diseases, and is a Licensed Pesticide Applicator in the states of Maryland and Virginia.

Carol can be contacted at carolallen@erols. com.

Please use pesticides safely! Read and heed all label directions!

GOINGnative In most cases, I’ve discovered the Asian counterparts of our native plants to be much showier, more robust, and, in many instances, more floriferous than our native species. Take Claytonia, for example. Our native Claytonia virginica and Claytonia caroliniana are very early, beautiful little plants. However, although their flowers are lovely, they’re very small and the entire plant is extremely ephemeral. On the other hand, Claytonia sibirica has thicker, more deeply veined foliage and it flowers for months.

One major exception to this rule is Pachysandra procumbens. It’s an East Coast member of the Boxwood (Buxaceae) family and is commonly referred to as Allegheny Spurge. This plant is superior to the Asian variety, the more commonly used Pachysandra terminalis, in virtually every respect.

The Asian Pachysandra is a very aggressive, stoloniferous thug in the garden. And, although this can be a benefit if you want to fill in a very large area, super-fast, its well-behaved American cousin, P. procumbens, is a clumpforming groundcover that fills in an area slowly, but, much more elegantly.

Pachysandra procumbens is hardy in most areas of the US, probably into zone 4, maybe even 3. In zones 7-10 or during mild Winters elsewhere, it stays evergreen. In colder areas, it will be a herbaceous perennial.

In the early spring, Pachysandra procumbens shoots up very cool spikes of pink and white fragrant flowers that last for a week or two. Soon after, the flowers have set seed, the first vegetative shoots poke their heads through the soil, and their dark-green leaves begin to unfold. In deep shade, the foliage remains a dark, luxurious green all summer. The more sun that the plants get, the lighter their leaves are. I planted a row in full sun as an experiment to test the plant’s extremes. The plants in the sun were healthy and productive, but the leaves were paler in color, some with an almost chloritic appearance.

This is definitely a dappled to deepshade plant.

In the late summer to early fall, Pachysandra procumbens reminds us of the approaching Autumnal Equinox by “opening its windows to let in more light.” This effect takes its form as

Allegheny Spurge (Pachysandra procumbens)

by Barry Glick

beautiful silvery mottling on the leaves that I can only compare to snowflakes in the respect that no two leaves are alike. Oh! The joy of jumping around on the ground like a frog from plant to plant, trying to select the most striking patterns! In the end, they’re all brilliant and unique.

Pachysandra procumbens is a very easy, but slow, plant to propagate. You can take stem/leaf cuttings in the early spring, but rhizome divisions are quicker and easier. On a mature rhizome, there are many joints. If you make a complete cut at each joint, leaving the plant above it with a few good roots intact, you will have several 2-4" pieces that you can pot up or lay out in a flat and cover with about a 1/2" of soil.

Root pieces taken in the early spring,

while the plants are still dormant, will produce new plants ready for planting the same season.

All in all, it’s difficult to find a better, more all-around, more useful, adaptable groundcover plant than Pachysandra procumbens. o Barry Glick, the self-proclaimed “King of Helleborus,” grew up in Philadelphia in the ’60s, a mecca of horticulture. Barry cut high school classes to hitchhike to Longwood Gardens before he was old enough to drive.

In 1972, he realized there was just not enough room for him and his plants in the big-city environment, so he bought 60 acres on a mountaintop in Greenbrier County, WV, where he gave birth to Sunshine Farm & Gardens (www.sunfarm.com), a mail-order plant nursery. Contact him at 304.497.2208 or barry@sunfarm.com.

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TIPStricks

Mt. Cuba Releases Top Heuchera Report 2015 is Year of the Coleus!

With the continued emphasis on foliage in our gardens, the wide and exciting range of coleus varieties available should nicely augment one’s planting palette. Chosen as the annual for the National Garden Bureau’s 2015 program, coleus is a durable plant with very significant gardening potential for almost all gardeners and their garden situations.

Coleus has gone through various phases of popularity over the past couple of centuries. This member of the mint family comes in a wide range of coloration, leaf texture, and plant form.

Considered an herbaceous perennial in its native range, coleus are used primarily as annuals. Previously grouped into different species or classified as hybrids, coleus (formerly Coleus blumei and Coleus hybridus) are now all placed under Solenostemon scutellarioides (2006). As of 2012, taxonomic authorities consider the correct name for coleus to be Plectranthus scutellariodes.

While modern coleus breeding focuses on new color combinations and foliage characteristics, other considerations such as sun tolerance, delayed flowering, more prolific branching, and an emphasis on more compact and trailing forms have become prominent.

The primary ornamental feature of coleus is the foliage, which can be green, pink, yellow, orange, red, dark maroon (almost black), brown, cream, and white. This plethora of colors and combinations lends itself to the other common names for coleus: painted nettle or flame nettle. While some gardeners will leave the small flowers, it’s recommended that you pinch these back to a leaf node to encourage more energy into stem and foliage growth and not flowering. Coleus left to flower may lose vigor as the plant puts energy into seed production. o 16

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Mt. Cuba Center’s Heuchera Research Report details three years of study by native plant experts at the renowned botanical garden in Delaware. “With qualities like beauty, low-maintenance, attractive flowers, multi-season interest, drought-tolerance, deer-resistance, and numerous color options, Heuchera are just about the perfect shade garden plants,” said George Coombs, assistant research horticulturist at Mt. Cuba Center.

Native plants such as Heuchera bring ecological benefits to the home garden.

They attract native pollinators and thrive in the local climate, soil, and food web, meaning less work and better results.

Heuchera, commonly called coral bells or alum root, are one of the most popular native perennials on the market today, with hundreds of cultivars available for purchase, which has left many gardeners overwhelmed and in need of guidance. Mt. Cuba Center launched a comparative study in 2012 to find the top-performing cultivars for the MidAtlantic region. Research staff evaluated 83 Heuchera cultivars assessing their vigor, fullness, and uniformity over the course of three seasons, and identified the top selections that are sure to flourish in the Mid-Atlantic. “The report helps gardeners, designers, and the nursery industry make better-informed choices about which plants to grow. It also gives novice gardeners the confidence to grow Heuchera in their own backyards,” said Coombs.

Mt. Cuba Center is also unveiling the results of its Visitor Favorites program.

For the first time, trial results are compiled alongside the opinions of the public. This information is valuable to the nursery industry for matching inventory with consumer preferences.

The report is free and available on Mt. Cuba Center’s web site: http:// www.mtcubacenter.org/horticulturalresearch/trial-garden-research/. o

NAL Unveils New Search Engine for Published USDA Research

The National Agricultural Library (NAL) has unveiled PubAg, a user-friendly search engine that gives the public enhanced access to research published

by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists. NAL is part of USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

PubAg, which can be found at PubAg. nal.usda.gov, is a new portal for literature searches for full-text access to more than 40,000 scientific journal articles by USDA researchers, mostly from 1997 to 2014. New articles by USDA researchers will be added almost daily, and older articles may be added if possible. There is no access fee for PubAg. Phase I of PubAg provides access to searches of 340,000 peer-reviewed agriculturally related scientific items of literature, mostly from 2002 to 2012, each entry offering a citation, abstract and a link to the article if available from the publisher. This initial group of highly relevant, high-quality items was taken from the four million bibliographic citations in NAL’s database.

Phase II of PubAg, planned for later in 2015, will include the remainder of NAL’s significant bibliographic records.

PubAg has been specifically designed to be easy to use and to serve a number of diverse users, including the public, farmers, scientists, academicians, and students. There is no requirement for a username, password, or any other form of registration to use PubAg. NAL has one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive compilations of agricultural information. o

9th Annual Washington Gardener Philadelphia Flower Show Tour Organized by Washington Gardener Magazine Wednesday, March 4, 2015, 10:00AM-10:00PM Leaving and returning from downtown SILVER SPRING, MD

The Philadelphia Flower Show is the oldest and largest indoor flower show in the world. The theme for 2015 is “Lights, Camera, BLOOM! Celebrate the Movies.” Experience the combination of cinema and horticulture as the 186th PHS Philadelphia Flower Show celebrates everyone from Disney to Marilyn Monroe. Join us for a visit to magnificent floral and garden exhibits, special programming, and new attractions like the interactive Butterfly Experience. This is not your grandmother’s Flower Show … but she’s going to love it! The Flower Show attracts non-gardeners as well as die-hard green-thumbed people of all ages. Foodies of all tastes will love the Garden to Table Studio. Participate in the Lectures and Demonstrations series, Gardener’s Studio, and the “Make & Take” workshops. First-time and returning riders will enjoy the welcoming, custom details of our coach service.

Schedule for the day: • 10:00AM Coach leaves downtown Silver Spring with lunch, games, and DVD viewing en route • 12:45-7:15PM Explore Philadelphia Flower Show ~ dinner on your own • 7:30PM Coach departs Philadelphia Convention Center with snacks, games, and DVD showing onboard • 10:00PM Coach arrives at downtown Silver Spring This tour package includes: 1. Charter Passenger Coach — reserved seating, storage under the bus 2. Choice of Gourmet Box Lunch on the way up to the show 3. Snacks for the return trip 4. Listing of nearby restaurants for dinner on your own at the show 5. Information package on the show to assist in prioritizing your day 6. Two Garden DVD showings 7. Admission to the show & driver tip 8. Convenient drop-off and pick-up at downtown Silver Spring, MD 9. Lively show and garden discussions led by Washington Gardener’s Kathy Jentz 10. Surprises and prizes.

To register, please use the form below. (One form per person.)



Name _______________________________________________________________ Address______________________________________________________________ Phone number________________________________________________________ Email________________________________________________________________ Name of seatmate_____________________________________________________ We will try to seat groups together, but cannot guarantee group seating.

Name of group _______________________________________________________

Registration deadline: March 1, 2015

Full refund if canceled by February 7. $40 refunded until February 28.

No refunds after March 3.

Questions?

Kathy Jentz Wgardenermag@aol.com www.WashingtonGardener.com

Brought to you by:

Check/money order #_______ ~ Please make payable to “Washington Gardener” Send this registration form along with your payment to: Washington Gardener, 826 Philadelphia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910

If you’ve never been to the Philadelphia Flower Show, this is your opportunity to escape from the last of winter’s cold winds and experience a garden paradise. Walk through floral wonderlands, take notes at one of the many workshops, enjoy new plants on display, and shop the vendors’ FEBRUARY tempting array of goodies.

2015 WASHINGTON GARDENER

Code 3/4 Silver Spring

Fee: $100.00 each $95.00 each for Washington Gardener Magazine subscribers

17

9th Annual Washington Gardener Magazine Photo Contest Winners

PHOTOcontt

18

Congratulations to our Photo Contest Winners! Photo entries must have been taken during the 2014 calendar year in a garden located within a 150-mile radius of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Be sure to take photos all year long and gather the best of your images. We urge you to enter next year’s contest when the entry period opens up again this winter. Your photos could be winners, too!

Small Wonders Category

Tight close-up or macro image of a single flower, plant parts, leaves, fruits, etc.

First Place Martha Brettschneider, Vienna, VA “Nandina in the Mist” Martha wrote, “Though I’ve lived in the DC-area for over 20 years, my formative years were spent in the Pacific Northwest. Perhaps that’s why I love the type of misty day that covered my Nandina foliage in jewels.” It was taken in her garden with a Canon EOS Rebel T5i, Tamron SP 60mm F/2 macro lens; exposure 1/6 sec at f/5.6, focal length 60mm, ISO 100.

Second Place Wendy Niemi Kremer, Herndon, VA “Trumpet Lily in Bud” A Lilium regale in bud as seen from above in Wendy’s home garden.

This image was taken with a Olympus OM-D E-M10 with Olympus m.Zuiko 45mm lens, ISO 200, 1/500 sec. at f/1.8 in available natural light.

Third Place Angela Napili, Washington, DC “Curl” This was taken at the US Botanic Garden with a Nikon D5100, 55.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6 at f/22, 195mm, 1/200 sec., using flash.

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Honorable Mention Mike Whalen, Fairfax Station, VA “Dewdrops” Dewdrops on spider web with colorful background taken in Mike’s own garden with a Sony NEX 6 mirrorless camera with Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro lens; at 90mm, ISO:800, f/16 (guess), 1/13sec.

FEBRUARY 2015

A special thank you to our contest prize sponsors Capital Photography Center, LLC, DODGE-CHROME, Inc., and Timber Press. Be sure to take photos all year long and gather the best of your images. We urge you to enter next year’s contest when the entry period opens up again this winter. Your photos could be winners, too!

PHOTOcontt

Beautiful, dramatic, or unusual perspectives of a garden landscape, including wide shots showing the setting.

First Place Caitlin Garvey, Alexandria, VA “Reflection in a Wetland” This image is of a reflection in the water of a wetland at Huntley Meadows Regional Park, Alexandria, VA. It was taken with a Nikon D7000 w/ 18.0-270.0mm f/3.5-6.3 lens in natural light, ISO 640, 1/125 sec at f 6.0.

Second Place George Valentin Waters, Riverdale, MD “Leafless Trees in the Snow” This image was taken at the US National Arboretum, Washington, DC, with available daylight using a Canon Power Shot A-560.

Third Place Angela Napili, Washington, DC “Blossom View” Cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin taken with a Nikon D5100, 85.0 mm f/1.8 at f/1.8, 85mm, 1/100 sec., in natural twilight.

Honorable Mention Dina Keilany, Bethesda, MD “Late Fall” Flowers in late fall, taken at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC. Dina used a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EF 35mm f/2, natural light, ISO 200, f/8, AWB.

FEBRUARY 2015

9th Annual Washington Gardener Magazine Photo Contest Winners

Garden Views Category

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9th Annual Washington Gardener Magazine Photo Contest Winners

PHOTOcontt

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Winning photographs from this year’s Washington Gardener Magazine photo contest will be on display at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens this summer. You are invited to the Washington Gardener Magazine Photo Exhibit Opening Reception; details will be announced this spring.

Garden Creatures Category Images of insects, birds, frogs, domestic pets, wild animals, etc., in a private or public garden setting.

First Place Angela Napili, Washington, DC “Gull” A ring-billed gull above Constitution Gardens on the National Mall in Washington, DC. It was taken with a Nikon D5100, 55.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6 at ƒ/8.0, 1/1600sec., 120.0 mm, in natural sunlight.

Second Place Steven Silverman, Ijamsville, MD “Nuthatch” This image of a White-Breasted Nuthatch was taken in Boyds, MD, with a Nikon D300, 300mm lens, 1/320 @ f5.6, ISO 400. Steven is also our grand prize winner this year. See the cover photo for his “Barred Owl in a Tree.”

Third Place Ruth Frock, Manassas Park, VA “Dragon Fly” A dragonfly near a lotus leaf, taken at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Washington, DC, with a Canon 5DIII and Sigma 150-500 lens.

Honorable Mention Young Choe, Ellicott City, MD “Cardinal” Young took this picture during a cold and rainy day at the National Zoo, near the panda exhibit, with a Canon EOS REBEL T5i, EFS 55-250 mm, focal length 194 mm, ISO 1600, f5.6, exposure time 1/250 sec, natural light.

WASHINGTON GARDENER

FEBRUARY 2015

Our expert panel of judges, Patty Hankins of Beautiful Flower Pictures and Katherine Lambert of Katherine Lambert Photography, had a mighty struggle again this year to select the best from among such stiff competition. ,

PHOTOcontt

Groupings of plants in beds or containers, unusual color or texture combinations, garden focal points, and still scenes.

This is a new category this year.

First Place Susana Tamayo, Washington, DC “Sunflowers: a New Life” This image shows the beauty of the flowers, in particular of sunflowers, one fully open to receive the rays of the sun and the other beginning to open. It was taken at the McKeeBeshers, WMA, in Maryland with a Nikon D3000, lens: 240 mm,f/5,3, 1/1250 sec, ISO 1600.

Second Place Wendy Niemi Kremer, Herndon, VA “Two Clematis” This image of Clematis ‘Princess Diana’ and Clematis ‘Perle d’Azur’ mingling on a fence was taken last June in Wendy’s home garden with an Olympus OM-D E-M10 and Olympus 12-40mm 2.8 lens, ISO 200, 1/400 sec. f/2.8, focal length 34mm in natural light.

Third Place Mike Whalen, Fairfax Station, VA “Birdbath” This image of a birdbath with green ferns and redbud pods was taken in Mike’s own yard with a Canon 5D III with 100mm f2.8L lens at 100mm, ISO:1600, f/16, 1/80sec.

Honorable Mention Wendy Niemi Kremer, Herndon, VA “Autumn Light and Shadow” Looking through Panicum ‘Heavy Metal’ in the early morning after a rain. Wendy took this photo in her home garden last October with an Olympus OM-D E-M10 with Olympus m.Zuiko 45mm lens ISO 200, 1/2500 sec. at f/1.8 in natural light.

FEBRUARY 2015

9th Annual Washington Gardener Magazine Photo Contest Winners

Garden Vignettes Category

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MARCH/APRIL 2005 • Landscape DIY vs. Pro • Prevent Gardener’s Back • Ladew Topiary Gardens • Cherry Trees

MAY/JUNE 2007 • Roses: Easy Care Tips • Native Roses & Heirloom Roses • Edible Flowers • How to Plant a Bare-root Rose

MAY/JUNE 2005 • Stunning Plant Combinations • Turning Clay into Rich Soil • Wild Garlic • Strawberries

JULY/AUGUST 2007 • Groundcovers: Alternatives to Turfgrass • How to Pinch, Prune, & Dead-head •William Paca House & Gardens • Hardy Geraniums

JULY/AUGUST 2005 • Water Gardens • Poison Ivy • Disguising a Sloping Yard • Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2007 • Succulents: Hardy to our Region • Drought-tolerant Natives • Southern Vegetables • Seed Saving Savvy Tips

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005 • Container Gardens • Clematis Vines • Sponge Gardening/Rain Gardens • 5 Insect Enemies of Gardeners

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007 • Gardening with Children • Indoor Bulb Forcing Basics • National Museum of the American Indian • Versatile Viburnums

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2005 • Backyard Bird Habitats • Hellebores • Building a Coldframe • Bulb Planting Basics

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008 • Dealing with Deer • Our Favorite Garden Tools • Indoor Bulb Forcing Basics • Delightful Daffodils

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 • Garden Decor Principles • Primroses • Tasty Heirloom Veggies • U.S. Botanic Garden

MARCH/APRIL 2008 • Patio, Balcony, Rooftop Container Gardens • Our Favorite Garden Tools • Coral Bells (Heucheras)

MARCH/APRIL 2006 • Top 10 Small Trees and Large Shrubs • Azaleas • Figs, Berries, & Persimmons • Basic Pruning Principles MAY/JUNE 2006 • Using Native Plants in Your Landscape • Crabgrass • Peppers • Secret Sources for Free Plants JULY/AUGUST 2006 • Hydrangeas • Theme Gardens • Agave • Find Garden Space by Growing Up

JULY/AUGUST 2008 • Landscaping with Ornamental Grasses • Edible Grasses to Graze On • Slug and Snail Control • Sage Advice: Sun-loving Salvias SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2008 • Autumn Edibles — What to Plant Now • Beguiling Barrenworts (Epimediums) • Best Time to Plant Spring-blooming Bulbs • 14 Dry Shade Plants Too Good to Overlook

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006 • Shade Gardening • Hosta Care Guide • Fig-growing Tips and Recipes

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2008 • Outdoor Lighting Essentials • How to Prune Fruiting Trees, Shrubs, Vines • 5 Top Tips for Overwintering Tender Bulbs • Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006 • Horticultural Careers • Juniper Care Guide • Winter Squash Growing Tips and Recipes • Layer/Lasagna Gardening

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009 • Compost Happens: Nature’s Free Fertilizer • Managing Stormwater with a Rain Garden • Visiting Virginia’s State Arboretum • Grow Winter Hazel for Winter Color

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2007 • Indoor Gardening • Daphne Care Guide • Asparagus Growing Tips and Recipes • Houseplant Propagation

MARCH/APRIL 2009 UT! • 40+ Free and Low-cost Local D O Garden Tips SOL • Spring Edibles Planting UT! Guide O LD for a Fresh Start • Testing Your OSoil T! S Selection and Care OUTree • Redbud OLD Viewing Spots for Virginia Bluebells • SBest

MARCH/APRIL 2007 • Stormwater Management • Dogwood Selection & Care Guide • Early Spring Vegetable Growing Tips • Franciscan Monastery Bulb Gardens

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MAY/JUNE 2008 — ALMOST SOLD OUT! • Growing Great Tomatoes • Glamorous Gladiolus • Seed Starting Basics • Flavorful Fruiting Natives

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MAY/JUNE 2009 • Top Easy Summer Annuals for DC Heat • Salad Table Project • Grow and Enjoy Eggplant • How to Chuck a Woodchuck

FEBRUARY 2015

SUMMER 2009 • Grow Grapes in the Mid-Atlantic • Passionflowers • Mulching Basics • Growing Hops FALL 2009 • Apples • How To Save Tomato Seeds • Persimmons WINTER 2009 • Battling Garden Thugs • How to Start Seeds Indoors • Red Twig Dogwoods • Unusual Edibles to Grow in Our Region SPRING 2010 • Community Gardens • Building a Raised Bed • Dwarf Iris • Broccoli SUMMER 2010 • Fragrance Gardens • Watering Without Waste • Lavender • Potatoes FALL 2010 • Vines and Climbers • Battling Stink Bugs • Russian Sage • Garlic WINTER 2010 • Paths and Walkways • Edgeworthia • Kohlrabi SPRING 2011 • Cutting-Edge Gardens • Final Frost Dates and When to Plant • Bleeding Hearts • Onions SUMMER 2011 • Ornamental Edibles • Urban Foraging • Amsonia/Arkansas Blue Star • Growing Corn in the Mid-Atlantic FALL 2011 • Herb Gardens • Toad Lilies • Sweet Potatoes • Cool Weather Cover Crops WINTER 2011 - EARLY SPRING 2012 • Green Roofs and Walls • Heaths and Heathers • Radishes SPRING 2012 • Pollinator Gardens • Brunnera: Perennial of the Year • Growing Yacon SUMMER 2012 • Tropical Gardens • Captivating Canna • Icebox Watermelons SPRING 2013 • Great Garden Soil • All About Asters • Squash Vine Borer SUMMER/FALL 2013 • Miniature/Faerie Gardens • Beguiling Abelias • Growing Great Carrots WINTER/EARLY SPRING 2014 • Ferns for Mid-Atlantic • Chanticleer Gardens • Beet Growing Basics

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AN ANNUAL FORUM � A PERENNIAL MOVEMENT Washington’s 8th annual FREE all-day Urban gardening forum

Saturday February 28th, 2015 AT wilson SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL 3950 Chesapeake street, nw metro Stop: Tenleytown, red line Nearby metroBus: 31, 32, 36, 37 H2, H3, H4, M4, N2, N8� 9:00AM - 4:00PM

over 75 workshops FEATURING: �� HAnds-on sustainable growing techniques �� urban food production �� cooking demonstrations �� PLUS INFORMATION FAIR

Registration sTARTS January 15Th, 2015 VISIT WWW.ROOTINGDC.ORG OR CALL 202.601.9200 Building community, empowering citizens and sharing skills to grow a healthier, happier DC!

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FEBRUARY 2015

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