For those of us who love nature, gardening and the holidays, displaying beautiful wreaths on our doors and around our homes is a time-honored tradition at this time of year. If you’ve never attempted to make a wreath yourself, it’s…
The recent World Soil Day, observed each year on December 5, provided an opportunity to appreciate healthy soil and the need to sustain it as a living resource. For gardeners, it was a moment to recognize the role of the…
National Recycling Day, now known as America Recycles Day, started on November 15, 1997 as a part of the Keep America Beautiful initiative. It is typically a week of events organized to educate and motivate individuals on proper recycling, inspire…
Fallen leaves are a gift from Mother Nature and serve as a garden resource. Trees in general have many benefits (creating shade, sequestering carbon, filtering air pollution, giving food and shelter to wildlife, etc.) besides dropping leaves that are an…
Discover the Benefits of Fall Planting. As we head deeper into fall and the dark days of winter, many gardeners tidy up their gardens and retreat inside their homes. However, fall provides an abundance of opportunities to get a head…
In 2018 boxwood blight became a serious issue for many neighborhoods in Albemarle County and our surrounding areas. This included large plantings in the Farmington/Ednam neighborhoods as well as the Rugby Road area. Since then, our Horticultural Help Desk has…
Ailanthus altissima, or Tree of Heaven, is one of the most aggressive plant invaders in our area, ranked as “high” on the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s list of invasive species. Our friends at Blue Ridge PRISM recently issued…
The Healthy Virginia Lawns program is a partnership between the Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), designed to provide science- based lawn fertilization recommendations and other best management practices to homeowners. This video covers…
Many people consider fall to be the season of slowing down on gardening activities and focusing on garden cleanup and plans for next year. However, fall is actually full of possibilities in the gardening realm. Those experienced and novice gardeners…
National Honey Bee Day, August 15, was formerly known as the National Honey Bee Awareness Day. It started in 2009 as a day to recognize the contribution of honey bees to human life and to celebrate beekeepers throughout the nation….