Tips – Preserving your gardening hand tools

 

What You’ll Need

• 10″ Terra Cotta Pot (weve used an aluminum tub)
• Clean Sand
• Mineral Oil

Begin with  a simple terra cotta pot. The aluminum one I used is about 14 inches in diameter.

Paint it a pretty color if you’re feeling fancy.

Next, working in a large bowl or bucket, mix together enough sand to fill your pot with some mineral oil. You want to use enough oil so that your sand is fairly evenly coated. It should stick together but still have a “crumbly-ish” texture. Place your favourite hand tools down into the sand when you’re done with them.  Each time  they’ll get a little sharper (kind of like when you use sand paper to sharpen kitchen scissors) and they’ll be coated in just enough oil to keep them rust free! It’s magic.

“Contessa” says….. it’s easy – peezy!!

Gardening Today on Wellington/Preston

Bed creation – complete clean out – all new perennials. It is a new beginning. The ground cover up front is called Blue Blanket/Creeping Mazus. It loves full sun. So imagine that the front section of this bed will become a very full look with sweet little bluish/purple blossoms. Two Salvia and one Speedwell are the background. And in the center we are encouraging a very small transplanted Peony. We have planted Morning Glory seeds in the bed and will encourage them to climb up our new metal trellis. On the far left we have planted a larger perennial called Gaura Lindheimeri (Rose Jane) a native hybrid. Slender stems with white/pinkish blooms. Very whimsical. Maturity of 24” to 30”. We like the balance Rose Jane will provide on this side of the bed, across from a very mature white Azalea bush. And on the right-center is a Lithadora “Grace Ward” with Azure blue flowers. Lastly we added four Lobelia (Riviera Rose), all full sun and spaced around to give the bed a nice full balance. Now for everything to grow and fill in. Fresh garden soil about one inch thick has been added to this cleared bed. And because the squirrels “love” to dig up new plantings, we use a product called Blood Meal to deter them from digging up bed. It works. They will not come round to dig up or bury their nuts. They do not like it’s aroma. It is non-toxic, but it does keep them away. New shredded hardwood bark mulch will be our final addition to this bed. It’s taking shape and our homeowner seems very pleased. Watering daily for the first week with new plantings is essential.

A beautiful day so far…..

”contessa”

AJUGA – also known as Bugleweed/Ground Pine

A lovely creeper that moves around quickly and crowds itself so that it becomes a great “filler-inner.”  We happen to really like it. I found a patch just this morning while out and about. So I photographed it so that you could see how tightly it grows. If you want to cover spots where grass just won’t “take”  this ground cover will not disappoint. We love the green/purple contrast. It’s normally sold in flats of 20 but you can purchase singles. There are three color variations. Dark Plum/purple, green/purple and a variegated green/cream. Frankly,  mixed together, they make a very pretty and very interesting pattern. Growing mostly close and tight to lthe ground, except for the blooming flowers that peek up……this plant is so durable you can walk on it. It has a wooded area look, and fits in nicely if your property is near a wooded and shady area.

Seedlings……ready for planting today

 

Baby Zinnia’s going to be planted today. They are ready……!!

Virginia Native Plants, Webinar Series

Good Morning Fellow Gardeners

Arlington County Government Announces……

2021 Spring and Fall Landscaping with Virginia Natives

Webinar Series

Have you heard that using native plants in your yard helps improve the environment for you, your community and Virginia’s wildlife, but you are not sure where to start? This entire series of Webinars is $10 and a huge value. Just have your personal calendar ready and schedule your time…..

Plant Virginia Natives partners are collaborating to offer a series of 12 webinars – 6 this spring and 6 this fall.

The webinars will guide you through the why and how to turn your home garden into a beautiful retreat for your family and a native habitat for birds and other wildlife.

Details and registration here.

• Common Invasive Plants in Virginia:
• Tuesday, April 20, 6:30 – 8:00 pm
• The Right Plant in the Right Place:
• Tuesday, May 4, 6:30 – 8:00 pm

We plan to participate and we invite you to do the same.

”Contessa”

Gardening Today….a continuation at Preston/Martha Custis (revised)

A new day and a continuation of our project on Preston/Martha Custis.  Continuing to plant ground cover, lay ten bags of mulch today and prep the patio pavers with a mixture of baking soda/vinegar/Dawn detergent mixture to remove the weeds. It’s a homemade remedy that not only kills the weeds, but it also lightens the color and cleans the pavers/bricks. It’s an inexpensive “miracle worker” for a gardener. And it works on cement as well,  and is totally non-toxic.

Looking forward to pretty much finishing up this client today. But we will be “Shepherding” this property for the next month, as our homeowner is in NY until early May.

4:37 pm – Monday Afternoon  

Well today we did not finish the mulch as we ran out and we will accomplish this towards the end of the week along with cleaning the patio pavers.  Not quite there yet, but we are getting close. Four hours and 30 minutes today  A good day all and all.

Tomorrow……,moving to Mount Eagle Place to start our next  project.

 

Attention Natives…..buy native plants

• Want to beautify your yard? Then it’s time to go native! Choose from a great selection of plants that are accustomed to local climate and wildlife including sun or shade, and even deer resistant plants. Order here. Orders must be placed by April 13. Pick-up plants Sat., April 24 from 1-4 p.m. at Kenmore Middle School. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no plants will be available for purchase on the pick-up day.  You will be contacted before the 24th to schedule a pick-up time between 1-4 p.m.Orders not picked up will not be refunded

Gardening Today on Martha Custis

Exciting… a new client. She wants to learn. We are going to transplant an Azalea today, remove a brick border, cut back last years growth, trim existing bushes, level her beds and cultivate existing growth by abating the soil. Lots of things to transplant so the beds will be more evenly distributed. Finally we will mulch her beds and talk about a few new plantings. It should be fun. Her enthusiasm has been encouraging. She even recruited permissions from her next door neighbor to pitch in on the project. Both are new homeowners and now that they are both working at home, they want to spruce up their places, so that they can sit on their front stoops and “take in” spring. It should be fun because they are very open to learning. We arrive at 11 and will add some photos to this post later today. Fun…..fun!!

 

Hello Gardeners – pretty windy day

We think it’s here. Spring is so beautiful here in our community. Things are popping up by the moment. We are not gardening today because of the wind, but tomorrow we will be, and we are booked for Monday and Tuesday next week already. Sunday looks like rain, but if it isn’t pouring very hard, we may do some bed cleanup gardening for a three-year sustaining client

The wind is “a blowen” and seedlings are flying all over the place. Your beds are going to receive weed infestation, so while it’s still early in the season you can get out there are try to keep ahead of them. Now is a super time to edge the beds, pull weeds, divide and replant, and it’s not too late to cut back Loriape. It has plenty of time yet to fill in nicely, so don’t worry. Go for it. It will come back so nice and fresh and taller and full. Trust us.

We visited four current sites this morning. Hosta are just poking up and Hydrangea have lovely buds right now. Buy fresh garden soil and give your established plants a boost. They will love you putting some new soil around them. It’s a good thing.

Our biggest word of caution is to not put new plantings in the ground just yet. Post Easter is best, or even better is closer to Mother’s Day. 

The nurseries will be filled with things to purchase. Pansies are great, Primroses, Hellebores and some  herbs. Hold on tight just a few more weeks. You will be glad you did. For now, tend your garden as it is.  There is plenty to do. Enjoy the preparation work. It is so satisfying.

Birds and Blooms, April/May

Just Arrived…….

This  publication is a useful reference guide to help you identify birds, it provides useful gardening tips, and it’s a one evening read. But what it really does is get you excited about spring, with its wonderful, all color photography.  It’s a great resource for identifying plants and it’s a super bird identifier as well. This particular issue has articles on Mealworms, new plants for 2021, gardening for a greener earth, amphibian I.d., which birds are just beginning to show up in your garden spaces, food/water/shelter for birds, and debunked garden myths.

The Garden Contessa recommends this magazine if you like learning new things about birds and plants  It’s a mini crash course on both topics, and it’s simple but informative.

We love it when it arrives. It means we have an evening ahead of relaxing reading that brings new knowledge, beauty and simplicity into our mind.