Gardner's Gardens

06/16/2018

A friend of mine is selling their native plant nursery and farm. They have done a good job and I will miss this place. I hope someone with the same dedication will take it over. If you or someone you know is interested in this opportunity, let me know and I can provide information.

10/23/2017

Gardner's Gardens will be going through some major changes. I will be starting a full time position soon, so my time with this business adventure will necessarily be less. I will miss helping out others with their gardening, but I am looking forward to the environmental and outdoor work I will be doing. I am still available for questions, presentations, workshops and maybe even occasional jobs, so feel free to contact me should you need assistance with anything. I have spoken with Patrick Dodson of Humblebee, another small, local garden and landscape company. Like me, he believes in creating living landscapes that thrive based on being healthy instead of sprayed, so I am happy to pass on work to him as well.
Thank you all for your support and I look forward to hearing about your gardens. Please post pictures, questions and anything else relevant whenever you feel like it.

09/19/2017

There are some more worthy events coming up soon:

The State Fair of Virginia always has a large selection of horticulture, gardening and related displays, including many small scale for home gardeners.
http://www.statefairva.org/

The Eastern Shore of Virginia Birding Festival is Oct 7.
http://www.esvabirdingfestival.com/

Richmond Folk Festival (not garden related but still fun!) is Oct 13-15,
http://www.richmondfolkfestival.org/

The same weekend is a program on Monarchs at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens.
http://www.lewisginter.org/event/meet-monarchs/

Fall hiking and apple orchard visits are in season, as well, with all the colors and flavors that come with it.

My son and I will be going to all of these, making for a busy and exciting time! Anyone wants to join us, let me know. We know some fun apple and hiking places.

Based in Cape Charles, Virginia, the Eastern Shore Birding and Wildlife Festival is the perfect opportunity to experience the peak of fall bird migration.

09/07/2017

If you are looking to get some new plants, fall is the time for planting and here is a good place to look at a large variety of possibilities.
http://www.lewisginter.org/event/fall-plant-sale/

The Fall Plant Sale is one of Central Virginia's largest & most-anticipated. Dozens of vendors & knowledgeable Garden volunteers on hand to help you.

08/27/2017

The Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello is coming up soon! This is an event that I have enjoyed for several years now, and it is always full of fascinating and useful information, as well as a free seed swap, garden tours and the biggest tomato tasting I have seen. There are easily over 30 varieties of tomatoes made available by Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (a highly recommended local Virginia seed and plant catalog).
Anyone interested in joining me? I am happy to meet up with you should you be interested in getting together to explore what is available. The Festival is Saturday, September 9.
http://www.heritageharvestfestival.com/

08/19/2017

Living landscapes are such fun, always something interesting to see. This was in my driveway this morning.

08/12/2017

Had fun taking a walk with the dogs and my son yesterday. I even managed to do some foraging and found dinner! A tasty chicken of the woods mushroom and a paw paw fruit. I fried the mushroom and then added it into some cooked tomatoes and basil I had made the day before. Always fun to produce my own meals.

08/10/2017

I picked a few tomatoes today: green zebra, Cherokee purple, yellow mortgage lifter, red mortgage lifter, Sungold and a few others. Not a bad selection for one day. Also some purple basil and rattlesnake pole beans. This is from a garden I helped set up, the owner was ready to give up because it was not productive last year!

08/09/2017

We just erected this trellis for the luffa sponges to grow up. This person likes to use whatever he has, so here we go. Took only a week for the vines to reach the top.

08/09/2017

A friend is helping me with with some ideas to promote what I am trying to do with this business. So we came up with a slogan: Sowing living landscapes! My son said sowing is specifically planting seeds, which it is (he is on it almost too much sometimes!), and it should be"Planting living landscapes." I am thinking in more of a metaphorical sense, in terms of planting the seeds of a more vibrant, sustainable and full of life yard. In other words it is not likely for me to recommend boxwoods, Korean azalea cultivars or similar, as they serve little purpose for birds and bees, but instead maybe Clethra or Myrica, Rudbeckia, Echinacea and a host of others. Their color, scents, habitat value, ability to attract butterflies and other pollinators as well as other benefits would create more life to see, up close and right in your own yard! And the benefits to a veggie garden and edible landscaping just add to the value!
Any one want to provide thoughts on this?

08/08/2017

Tonight's dinner, fresh from the garden: Sungold and Matt's wild Cherry tomatoes, garlic chives, red shiso, holy and Italian basil with (not from the garden) noodles, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Wonderful simple summer meal, served on one of my own hand thrown ceramic plates.

08/07/2017

Here is a garden I have been helping with. A path to a bench under the tree was a priority, and this is what we came up with. I need to remember before pictures as well, but it was quite overgrown with grass and some other unwanted plants. No sod removal and very little weeding to get to this result. We are working on a fire pit and circle next.
We also made the stepping stones together, so a very personal touch!