TIPS…..lets’s share ideas….

 

Hello Gardening Friends:

I have offered this helpful post twice prior, but this is a project hat you can do indoors. Tomorrow is going to be gorgeous but cool. This project is a good indoor activity for a chilly fall day.

BTW……Starting today…..I will begin posting some helpful reminders of projects I work on and perhaps they will inspire you to do the same,  After all…. a gardener is perpetually thinking about the next season so keep your mind focused and satisfy your own indoor boredom with your gardening project ideas. Time savers, and cost saving measures. It can’t hurt and it gives you a head start on things you want to accomplish for your new gardening season – 2023. Believe it or not it will come faster than you think.  Such a happy thought……

Check in with me a couple days a week going forward, as I will post my ideas/tips  for gardening. Feel free to call or txt me if you have ideas you’d like to share. And with your permission, I can post them here. I often get in conversations with my gardening folk and comparing notes is so fun. Love to hear from you.  Txt 703-548-1882.
Thank You!

“Contessa

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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 truly magic.  Enjoy!

Oh “Morning Glory”

My Morning Glory climber was one (1) seed. I had a packet but dropped them and only could retrieve one. It’s climbed my trellis in spit of my snafu.

I  Just kept winding it around the stems on the trellis. So cute and every morning it’s the first thing I look at. To see how many blooms I have. Today it’s about seven (7). Next year I’ll be more careful with these tiny seeds. It’s sweet, cheerful and forgiving. I Love it. This   Morning  Glory makes my day.  Lovely……

UK, The Garden Museum….sharing

THE GARDEN MUSEUM New Talk! Darryl Moore: Gardening in a Changing World Faced with the challenges of the climate crisis and increasing biodiversity loss, we are at a crucial crossroads in our engagement with the rest of the natural world. In an event to mark the launch of Darryl Moore’s new book Gardening in a Changing World, he will be part of a conversation with Nigel Dunnett and Arit Anderson, discussing our past and present relationships with plants, and how we need to rethink our attitudes to them. This challenging and important conversation will be essential for anyone interested in making plants and gardens part of the solution to the current and future challenges we face, in a rapidly changing world. Tues 11 October, 7pm £15 Standard, £10 Friends, £5 Young Fronds / Students £5 Livestream Book now Gravetye Manor: A Week in the Wild Garden By Caroline Cathcart, Horticultural Trainee As part of her Horticultural Traineeship at the Garden Museum, Caroline has the opportunity to work with experienced gardeners across the UK. This traineeship has been generously funded by The National Gardens Scheme and the Museum’s Friends Group in Leicestershire and Rutland. Her first placement recently took her to Gravetye Manor in Sussex, the former home of William Robinson: “The reputation of the place precedes itself, but nothing could have prepared me for the beauty that assaulted my senses when I stepped out of Gravetye Manor into the garden. I found myself flanked on all sides by flowers, spilling out of the mixed borders onto the paths in a voluptuous swell, their vigour unchecked by the lingering drought.Burgeoning with more flowers than I could count, the borders give a stunning impact, but their most precious treasures were not discoverable at first glance. It was only upon close inspection, while I waited nervously to meet Tom Coward, the head gardener, that they offered themselves up to me. First, the dahlias; the most beautiful was Dahlia merckii, a delicate little thing with tiny lilac flowers held on tall, wiry stems. This diminutive species found its opposite in the giant ‘Emory Paul’, with its ruffled deep pink flowers as big as my head. I was lucky to arrive just as it had unfurled to its most perfect bloom – the following day it had begun to wither…” Keep reading

A Discourse on Spaces Inspired by our Sowing Roots project which explored the gardening cultures brought to the UK by Londoners of Caribbean heritage, we have invited horticulturist, writer and artist Edward Adonteng to curate this series of talks, A Discourse on Spaces. What is the importance of space to humanity? How do the spaces that we inhabit define us? What happens to these spaces when different worlds collide? In London, intersections and cultural exchange place the city in an ever-evolving state of hybridity. No two streets are quite the same. This reflective series, influenced by the contributions of the Sowing Roots exhibition, will explore gentrification, immortality, conflict, heritage, sustainability and the movement amongst peoples through a plethora of stories, conversations and perspectives. Explore the programme How to Grow the Flowers: Seed Sowing Ahead of their book launch on 27 September, organic flower growers Wolves Lane Flower Company share an exclusive extract from How to Grow the Flowers: A sustainable approach to enjoying flowers through the seasons. Here are Marianne and Camila’s seed sowing tips to set yourself up for growing successful cut flowers: “A brown speck burgeoning into a fully fledged plant in one short season is miraculous, and the rush of success addictive. Once you’ve mastered a few easy varieties and been able to cut armfuls of sweet peas or calendula, it’s easy to be totally seduced by the seed catalogues and order everything like a kid let loose in a sweet shop. Growing from seed is a thrifty way of filling your plot but not if you buy more seeds than you have room for or time to nurture. Be selective and remember, there will be future seasons to try new, alluring varieties…” Keep reading Plant of the Week: Viola hederacea By Matt Collins, Head Gardener A key feature of the planting within the museum courtyard is the creation of pocket plant communities: three or more species that in partnership form distinct zones within the overall scheme. It’s a rather brilliant ploy by designer Dan Pearson, establishing zoning within such a contained little garden, so that you walk a series of overlapping yet contrasting spaces when circling the central planting. In one area, a loose grouping of poet’s laurel (Danne racemosa), velvety Persicaria virginianaand dark Asarum europaeum; towards the gardener’s shed, canna lily, Geranium ‘White Ness’ and the autumn fern, Dryopteris erythrosora. Invariably, the underplants (here, asarum and geranium) are abundant and spreading by habit, and are encouraged to drift freely below the taller species, knitting plants together. But of all the courtyard underplants, probably my favourite is the Australian violet, Viola hederacea. It’s the plant I get asked most often to identify (until our giant dahlia flowers in December), and the one I’m frequently, politely, asked to lift a little section of, “just quickly, while nobody’s looking?”. Planted in swathes, to commune with the thornless bramble shrubs (Rubus lineatus), perennial actaea and disporum, and spilling out over the walkways, its near perpetual flowers are a subtle, welcome presence until capped by the cold: tiny scented blooms like purple ink on a sugar cube. Explore our gardens Benton Iris ‘Strathmore’ This peachy iris variety bred by Cedric Morris at Benton End was named after The Queen Mother’s home Strathmore. Images: Dry garden by Olivier Filippi, image (c) Olivier Filippi; Gravetye Manor photo by Caroline Cathcart; Wolves Lane Flower Company seed sowing (c) Aloha Bonser-Shaw; Viola Hederacea (c) Matt Collins, Iris ‘Strathmore (c) Claire Dawson

Garden Museum 5 Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7LB gardenmuseum.org.uk

Valley Drive – back bordering property ….a continuation

The outside of the courtyard is complete……

Now to get inside the courtyard and trim. Also included will be the tall Boxwoods. Towards the bottom I’m taking off three inches. This will allow for tidying in and under when PFX comes to trim them. Otherwise all the cut debris lays there, dries out and blows all over the patio. Makes for a very untidy patio and very messy garden beds. And once the bushes inside have been trimmed back,  then I’ll finalize tidying the planted beds.  Added we’re all new Perennyals this year.

I stopped the deep edge at the end because our owner thinks the neighbor might think he’s encroaching. I’ll convince him otherwise. That neighbor never uses his patio and frankly I’m guessing he will never even go out there and see it. 

It’s looking pretty fresh we think. And we raised the bed slightly by creating this deep edging, all that soil was tossed up into the mounded bed. It gives such a professional appearance. So far we have five (5) hours on this outside border phase

Please do stay tuned to our accomplishing the trimming and tidying inside this lovely courtyard. This is a really nice property and every day it’s looking better. We are very pleased so far.

“Contessa” says……it’s a good thing.

Birds and Blooms – June/July/August/September

Birds and Blooms Magazine is an awesome way to learn about birds, houseplants, gardening, bushes, trees, climates, crawly creatures and plant identification. We have offered the opportunity prior for you to read this simple but very informative publication. It’s a great evening read. No TV and you learn so much. Let us know if you woukd like to view them. We can drop them by your location for a weeks lend. Then we can pick them up and pass them to the next location. Birds and Blooms is so worth your time. 

In the September issue we discovered an article about grasses. And we have a current client who wanted grasses as a backdrop to their newly established garden, which we actually planted. We visited the nursery and we selected six Pink Buhly Grass plants at about $75, and planted them last Friday. As you can see in the photo below they are lush and full and very attractive as a filler.

Please contact us to reserve your week of reading at:

ContessasHome@gmail,com or at 703-548-1882

“Contessa” says….., it’s all good!

A Simple/Smart Gardening Tip from Contessa

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 and mineral oil to fill your pot. You’ll 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!!

Repotting Houseplants

Today we repotted houseplants. This  allows their roots to grow well…, in new and larger containers. We cannot let a plant die. It’s never happened once. We love having our house plants outdoors all summer, but it’s equally lovely and rewarding to bring them indoors.  We can always find a spot for them.

Once you remove them from the older and smaller pot, gentlybstretch they’re roots out just a little bit and shake off their old soil as much as you can. We recommend you discard the old soil and plant them in a fresh potting soil medium. Keep the top of the plant even with the top of their new container. This  might mean using more soil than you did when you first planted them. We do not recommend you plant them lower in the pot, just to save soil. They won’t grow to their potential if you skimp on new soil. It’s a process of allowing them to stretch out and grow more.  The process is so rewarding and We have never been disappointed by using this technique. Give it a shot. We think you will be pleased at your success. Enjoy! 

”Contessa” says…., it’s a good thing.

The Garden Contessa

Contessa Says:  It’s Time To plan for Gardening!!!

Our newest JUNE/JULY/AUGUST   Gardening Announcement 

The Garden Contessa, former owner of Contessa’s Garden and Gift in DelRay is offering June, July and August  appointments. You can still clean up and give your beds a boost by abating with fresh soil and mulch. If you have not cut back your winter early spring plant growth, let us do our magic on your beds/bushes. Make your plans now, and let us help.

For COVID safety, we are always masked and gloved. Our spring season so far is robust and because of recent chill and rain we are really only now getting ready. Summer is coming quickly so it’s the perfect time to plant. If you’d like to arrange for your FREE, first time consultation appointment, please txt 703-548-1882. If you happen to see us out-and-about in our neighborhood, please feel free to introduce yourself. We love meeting new potential gardening contacts. References and photos of current projects are available. Gardening is our passion, so no project is to large or two small. We do it all. ContessasHome@gmail.com

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if you are a current gardening client from our previous  seasons, and many if you are with us three and four years now, we will be offering you priority appointments on spring services. If you know what you have in mind, jot down a few notes and when we contact you, we can discuss.

Last year we did a fair amount of instruction and consultation. We love to teach and share. If you like the process, and the work of taking care of your own yard, we encourage you to retain us for hands on instruction by the hour. One hour can often give you the confidence to execute. We will keep in touch to watch your progress and offer suggestions. If you simply want it to look great and you don’t really feel like you have the gift, or you just don’t really have the time, we are happy to help.

We do have ongoing upkeep and maintenance clients. These relationships are generally arranged for services for the entire spring/summer/fall and even into December. With our mild winters and global warming being a reality, gardening is very much a year long event, with the exception of January and February. Ask us for a site visit and a plan just for your garden…..year round. We will of course customize our service to meet your needs.

We have been gardening in Parkfairfax since 2005. We love our community and our mission is to help you with your garden, but it’s also about dedication to beautifying the neighborhood we all call home. We work closely with our wonderful and dedicated Parkfairfax gardening crews and all projects are discussed with them when we need permissions or advice. We work closely with our Parkfairfax Director of Operations at the yard. A plus for you as we are familiar with current landscaping and modification gardening guidelines, and in some cases services that you need can be handled by their team, by using the Buildium tool.  Thus can be a cost savings firc you. It’s a win-win!! We can offer some helpful tips/advice on posting tickets to be completed in the PFX “Buildium” platform.  It was created for residents and it is the best way to report your projects that need attention.

Fibally….Its already proving to be a wonderful and liberating season. We think plants coming up, are the encouragement we all need right now. “It’s about new beginnings!”  We all need plant beauty in our lives. We are so much looking forward to being outdoors and serving you well

“Contessa” says….. it’s all good

Merrifield Site Visit/Buying Trip

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I’m missing a photo of one large Rudy Red Rose Bush. It’s in our car “boot” but I think you cannot see it with the shade.

Anyway, it was a good trip, we took care of three (3) clients and will proceed to planting tomorrow. The plants have already been delivered to our clients. It is such a joy to visit this nursery. Plentiful supply and helpful staff. We kind of know the “lay of the land” at this point, so we are able to navigate without having to ask for assistance. It is a huge campus so go prepared to do some walking. Do dress comfortably and wear a hat to protect yourself from the sun.

In our latest PFX Newsletter Ad we included Nursery Site visits, by appointment, as part of our offerings. It’s so worth it to go, if you can book a time. We will pick you up, or meet you there. And we assist you with selection based on your sun and shade. One lovely benefit of going with us is the corporate discount we have established. For example, today we purchased a larger Pink Azalea Bush and our client received a $12 discount on a bush that retailed for $40. Welcome news

Now that the rain is behind us, we can all finally start planting in our gardens. We’ve all been waiting to be outdoors and kick off the warmer season. We do believe it’s finally here. Do remember to enjoy the planting process.

“Contessa” says….. it’s a good thing.

Orchid – 2nd Bloom this year

Three full blooms today – appropriate on Mother’s Day

……and they will bloom for about 5 or 6 weeks…

Look closely at the center of this photo. You will see a tiny “knob” on the stem. This is most likely the beginning of another new stem that will produce blooms. Our first bloom was (six) 6 flowers. So we are hopeful it will bloom once again.

We have it placed on a tall fern stand right near direct light…..but no sun. We water it thoroughly through from the top with the sprayer attachment at the sink. Tepid water, not cold. Let it drain right through. Several minutes. Turn from side to side making sure no water has settled in the bottom. Place on a towel on the counter. Let stand 20 minutes so all water drains off. Place your orchid back in its Cachepot.

Orchids can be pricey but most flower bouquets last about five days in water. Your Orchid blooms a long time and your reward is it will bloom again and again. Three blooming cycles are normal each year. Fertilize once a month with a pitcher of water and commercial fertilizer especially for orchids. Use the pour straight through method just the same as before

We love them and they are so beautiful.
ENJOY!