Dawn Szelc LDG Secretary I wanted to give a special "shout out" to our Hospitality Chair, Julie Hawley. She deftly, behind the scenes, provides all the refreshments for each meeting of the Landscapes Designers Group. She does a wonderful job of providing some lovely refreshments and making everyone feel welcome. At the most recent meeting, she arrived to set everything up and stayed through the introductory remarks, then cleaned up and had to get back home to continue her homework as she is still a GWU Landscape Design student at this time. Thank you Julie for your dedication!
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Dawn Szelc LDG Secretary On October 20, 2015 the LDG and a number of guests were treated to an evening tour of residential designs which highlighted the landscape lighting of Olson Weaver Lighting Design & Install. The first house was the Everett residence in Chevy Chase, owned by the landscape designer Kathryn Everett. Kathryn had taken a backyard composed of just lawn and converted it into a cozy set of garden rooms with a European feel. Within a set of adjoined circular shapes she used multiple hardscape materials that included brick, bluestone, loose rocks, and a koi pond and fountain. The space was also framed with Degroot’s Spire Arborvitae. The areas to the sides of the circles had framed beds with perennials and herbs. As the sun set, the lighting came alive with lights on the wall behind the fountain and encircling the pond. Karen Olson explained that pendant lights hung in the rose covered archways which lead from one garden room to another. The second property that we visited was the Camper residence. Kathryn Everett created the landscape design for this property as well. The home is one of the oldest in Chevy Chase. The property included a sunken garden and fountain designed by Rose Greely, the first licensed female landscape architect in Washington. The lighting highlighted the facade of the house and the large cherry tree on the right side of the front yard. We walked around the side of the house through the backyard where there was a dry creek bed to catch the rain runoff, as well as capture points from the home’s downspouts that channeled rain water into the creek bed. We then walked to the sunken garden where the fountain, as well as small and large trees were highlighted by landscape lights. The next property was the Strachan residence, this time just over the border into Washington D.C. This was a smaller backyard project but with big impact. Lynn Church was the designer for this property and created a small patio and seating area with a beautiful urn that Olson Weaver had up-lighted from the hardscape patio. The evergreens along the side and back fence were also lit from below, creating rhythm and displaying the texture of the trees. Plants used in the design included Itea “Henry’s Garnett”, Mahonia, Viburnum dividii, and Taxus baccata “Repandens”. The fourth property was the Doyle residence owned by Brendan Doyle and well-known sculptor Larry Kirkland. Our tour began at the front of the house which was nicely planted with small trees and shrubs. Olson Weaver had installed brushed stainless steel “L” shaped path lights along the paths that leads from the front door to the rear yard. Along the way a narrow spotlight highlighted the St Francis of Assisi statue. The back patio was nicely situated next to their breakfast room, and Brendan described that he used the theory of the “Golden Triangle” to lay out the space. Along the fence there the crape myrtles were lit from below creating a lovely glow. Walking further into the yard revealed a dramatically lit stand of bamboo. A side discussion with Elizabeth from Yankee Clippers revealed that it is entirely possible to have bamboo without it invasively spreading. Continuous maintenance pruning can keep it under control. We were also invited into the house to view the art collected by the couple, and the amazing working studio where Larry explained his current work for the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. The final stop on the tour was the Lanphier residence. This was a new home, 3 years old, and the owner explained that the previous house had exploded mysteriously. It was a very contemporary design that required an equally contemporary landscape designed by Brendan Doyle. Brendan described it as his tribute to Dan Kiley. There was a stone parquet walk around the front of the house which faced Rock Creek Park. The stones had been painstakingly laid atop individual concrete bases and smaller rock filled the spaces. Brendan had extensively researched plants that would be deer resistant since the deer could easily cross the street to the front yard from the park. Planted within the stone walk was white creeping mazus ground cover and white lobelia. White Natchez crape myrtle, White Vitex or Chaste tree, hellebores, and various grasses were also used along the path and included lighting features. Many of the large trees on the property were original including a beautiful Red Virginia cedar and a 200 year old Mulberry tree near the road. Thanks to all the designers, Kathryn Everett, Lynne Church, and Brendan Doyle, for being available at each property to discuss their work and also to LDG members Karen Olson and Tony Weaver for providing five wonderful examples of Olson Weaver lighting installations. http://www.olsonweaver.com
Dawn Szelc LDG Secretary Have you visited a small garden that took your breath away? This was the reaction for many when the LDG recently visited the Smithsonian’s Mary Livingston Ripley Garden. We met with Janet Draper who has worked as the horticulturist of the garden for 18 years. She talked about not acting as a designer, but her feel for plant placement and extensive knowledge of plants was evident everywhere. The area where the garden is located was planned as a parking lot, however Mary Ripley was influential in creating the garden as well as having a parking area that is mostly hidden to those in the garden. Mary was the wife of the then Secretary of the Smithsonian, Sydney Dillon Ripley, and was involved in the Smithsonian Institution’s Women’s Committee. The committee hired Hugh Newell Jacobsen to design the space, and though Jacobsen was known to be very modern in his design aesthetic, the garden is full of sweeping curves and cozy spaces. The American Elms that had been planted all along the National Mall and in this space had to be retained first and foremost. The garden walls and beds were designed around these large specimens. Janet has two volunteers that help her and there are 17 total staff members who handle all the Smithsonian gardens. Many of the plants they put in each year are annuals and tropicals, so that there is wonderful color during the height of the tourist season. Some of these are moved back to the greenhouse in Suitland, MD, but many are just replanted each year. Janet chooses a color scheme and requests plants accordingly in the fall. They have a buyer who makes the purchases from various sources. For fertilizer she uses anything that is organic and for soil amendments she uses compost and pine fines whenever possible. In the fall she plants bulbs, pansies, and winter crops like kale, and cabbages. In the spring once the tulips are done blooming, she begins ripping them out and putting in the summer plants. During the summer most of the work involves maintenance of what is already growing. The fountain is turned off from November through March and she must find a way to make it look nice even when dry – sometimes trying out different seasonal decorations or blue glass to look like water. During the winter they are in charge of snow removal which mostly must be done by hand shoveling. The garden does have an irrigation system. It is scheduled to run at night for certain time periods, but since it was on when we were there, something appeared to be amiss. Janet mentioned that she needs to find a replacement woody for the Corylus avelana that was in the front garden because it was dying. She requested help from LDG members to suggest an alternative. She also has problems with the Arnold’s Promise Witch hazel that has a new fungus and was not thriving. Again LDG members might be able to provide some suggestions for her. We toured all the various beds, with Janet talking extensively about the many interesting plants in each one. Some highlights were Naranjillo or Solanun quitoense from Ecuador. It is a plant with many thorns everywhere, even on the leaves, and produces an orange fruit. She likes to use this plant as a teaching moment for showing unique plants to visitors. Purple leaf cotton was another interesting plant with white cotton bolls showing on the dark purple plant, as well as Tassel flower, unique begonias, and Spider lily. Janet showed the group the large flowers from the Dutchman’s pipe vine and explained the life cycle of the fly that enters the flower and helps to pollinate it. A big LDG thank you to Janet, whose extensive knowledge and experience in the garden made this tour a delightful experience. The view at the back side of the garden was as satisfying as the front of the garden!
by Dawn Szelc of Clear Blue Landscapes On July 25 the Landscapes Designer’s Group was treated to a tour of the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. Our tour guide was Park Ranger John Molineaux. John explained that the ponds were all manmade by Walter Shaw, a Civil War veteran. Walter purchased the property from in-laws and who had established the ponds for the sale of ice. He would travel back to Vermont and bring back the water lilies that he loved. He would plant them in the ponds. He began planting Asian lotus flowers, which also interested him. The water lilies and lotus flowers eventually became the focus of the Park and his daughter, Helen, helped him manage Shaw Gardens. There are now many invasives in the park that are constantly being removed such as porcelain berry and purple loosestrife. Also yellow flag Iris from Asia. There are multiple ponds that host lotus plants where the plants grow up from roots as well as reseeding from pods. In the fall and winter there is a lot of leaf litter. It is cut back to make the ponds look better during the growing season. Volunteers help clear the leaf litter and old stems. Apparently, all parts of the plant can be eaten – stems, leaves, and pods and some discussion of how to cook them went on among LDG members. Someone also told me that she had eaten sautéed lotus pods at a restaurant in DC. There are many native plants growing in the area as well – New York Ironweed, Common button bush, and white Hibiscus or Marsh Mallow used to make the first marshmallows which were used as a cough remedy. Touch-me-not or jewel weed can be used as a remedy for bee stings, and there were also Cattails and Pickerelweed. John explained that the green cattails can be boiled and then has a texture like crab. He was not sure whether they tasted like crab however! There are separate ponds for growing the hardy water lilies. The light pink cultivar there is called “Walter Shaw” and the hot pink cultivar is called “Opal”. The ponds also host a number of animals including muskrat and snakehead fish. Both are problematic species and the park rangers will catch them when they can and kill them. When questioned about some of the other plants that were growing John pointed out some wild rice as well as water hemlock which looks very much like Queen Anne’s lace. He pointed out that the water hemlock had red joints in the stem areas and so were identifiable from the less toxic plant. In Googling the plant I found that water hemlock is the most poisonous plant in North America!
As we rounded the back side of the park our guide, John, explained that the dying trees were probably Ash trees that had succumbed to the Emerald Ash Borer. They were waiting for all the trees to die so that the borer would no longer be present, before they replaced the trees. He also talked about the tidal marshland there that was being drained to control malaria in the time when Helen Shaw had taken over the park, around 1912. She was concerned about the wetlands so petitioned Congress to make the area a National Park, which did occur. Near the back of the park there was also a pond with the giant Amazonia or Victoria water lilies which bloom mainly at night. Victoria amazonica is native to the shallow waters of the Amazon River basin. The large pads are quite delicate but can apparently hold a large amount of weight if it is distributed across the leaf pad using something like a sheet of plywood. The underside of the leaves have many spikes. Since these are not hardy in our climate, they must be replanted each year. There is an interesting video on Youtube that talks about how it blooms and is pollinated https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPR8kxTyG9Q The tour ended with a trip through the gift shop and a small display of some of the history of the property. by Dawn Szelc of Clear Blue Landscapes - from the June tour of Hillwood Estates We were met by Brian Bart one of the horticulturists working at Hillwood. Brian explained that Hillwood had 25 acres of property and the mansion was built in the mid 1920’s. Marjorie Merriweather Post purchased the property in 1955. A landscape firm did a Master Plan for Marjorie at that time. Marjorie decided to create “rooms” both in the landscape and in the house. She added the Pavilion which was the movie theater in the interior of the home. In the garden many different spaces were created. The French parterre is a formal garden with intricate plantings of Morris dwarf boxwood. The garden was recently redone. A template was made of the parterre design and the boxwoods were trimmed using lasers to get the lines and angles correct. The stone in the boxwood beds is chipped Seneca stone. The ivy surrounding the area is grown on fences. Two fountains flank each end with a rill connecting them with the sculpture of Diana at one end. From there we moved toward the Lunar Lawn which had been a bit trampled with an evening event the night before. Brian spoke about the azaleas on the property – over 5000 in number but 100 varieties. He showed us a bed that had been redone with a new horse chestnut tree, astilbe, and variegated dogwood (Cornus alba). When asked about lighting on the grounds Brian said that there was not much other than the east and west millennium spheres that we were standing near. They hoped to improve that as well as redo all the deteriorating walkways in the near future. As we made our way to the Rose Garden, Brian pointed out that many of the woodland plants have found their way to the formal gardens. May apples were growing along the path. Marjorie had the original garden upgraded with the help of Perry Wheeler whose signature brick loops are seen at the four corners. Her ashes are interred here at the base of the pink granite monument. We took the Friendship Walk to the Four Seasons Overlook. This was given to Marjorie by her friends. Along the way Brian pointed out the Snowball viburnum planted there. The Four Seasons Overlook was also designed by Perry Wheeler with the 4 statues of the seasons at each side. We then walked into the wooded area to see the tulip poplar that had fallen in the derecho. They lost a total of 25 trees in the storm. It was decided to leave the large fallen base and plant into it. On the way to the Putting Green Brian pointed out a Loropetalum with is related to the witch-hazel. It blooms in late April or early May with a purple bloom that looks very much like a witch-hazel. The Putting Green is covered in bent grass which was very walkable and Brian turned on the large fan nearby which is used to keep the grass in good shape in hot humid weather. We moved onto the Japanese-style garden which was designed by Shogo Myaida and restored recently by Zen Associates. We walked throughout the garden’s meandering path and waterfalls and pools. It is a very picturesque area and the children there were enjoying the water as well. We walked to the Lunar Lawn as Brian decided he needed to pull a large weed from the bed. We all chuckled at that knowing how we too had many times just had to pull that weed right then! He described that the Cleome that was planted was actually a sterile version and he hoped that was actually true. He directed us to the back porch so that we could see the view of the Washington Monument from there. There are a number of American Elms planted near the house. One was a mature American Elm that needs application of fungicide every two years to keep it healthy. Princeton elms, a cultivar of American elm resistant to Dutch elm disease, have recently been planted.
Our tour then took us to the enormous cutting garden which is still used today to create the beautiful floral arrangements on display in the Visitor Center and the house. Finally Brian directed us to the Adirondack Building which has been turned into a museum display area and held a wonderful collection of Mrs. Post's dresses she had worn throughout the years. by Laura Beatty of the Virginia Native Plant Society The March meeting was held at the McLean Community Center, attendance approximately 20. We first heard from Caroline Hayes from the Plant NOVA Natives campaign. The group has published a regional guide to native plants for northern Virginia. The mission of the group is to educate the public about the value and beauty of natives and at the same time to educate and encourage the nursery business and local growers to plant and promote native plants. For more information go to the website at www.plantnovanatives.org. Speaker Laura Beatty began her career as a Virginia gardener who became interested in native plants after attending a Lahr Symposium years ago. She has lectured at the George Washington University on plants native to the northern Virginia and Potomac gorge region. Washington, D.C. sits astride the Potomac gorge, one of the most diverse communities of Piedmont native plants on the entire east coast. Area habitats include wetlands and eastern deciduous forest. Of the 156 species of trees 60 percent are pollinated by the wind, a more primitive reproductive method than by insects. Pollinating insects see in UV and thus see different colors than what we see—often more bold, directing them to the pollinatable center of a flower. Beetles were the original pollinators. Ms. Beatty presented a series of slides that started with spring natives and went through summer and fall bloomers. Along with each photo of flowers, trees, or shrubs she discussed the insects and birds that are fed by the plants. A flowering sequence sheet of native plants of Northern Virginia was handed out and is attached at the end of this article. Early Spring Some of the ephemerals we can see locally in the spring are Dutchman’s breeches, cutleaf toothwort, dogtooth lily, and spring beauties. The list of pollinators that Laura discussed included butterflies, bees, wasps, beetles (up to 30,000 species), and flies (flower flies). Bloodroot is one of the first to emerge to attract flies and digger bees. Seventy percent of native bees live in the ground, 30 percent live in cavities such as wood. For that reason we should leave dead wood on the ground. Bluebells appear in mid-April. Golden ragwort makes a good groundcover. Amelanchier and redbuds are edible. Coral honeysuckle generally blooms around April 15 at the same time hummingbirds appear. Pinxterbloom azaleas are good for moths in the evening because the plants reflect moonlight. Aquilegia (Columbine) loves rock gardens, Corylis americana, American hazelnut, has tiny blossoms. Many plants have a redundant growth system; that is, excess foliage is built in, so that 30 percent of the leaves can be eaten without harming the plant. Flower constancy (planting a number of the same species of plant) is important for bumblebees. Late Spring In Baptisia australis the pollen has the opposite electrical charge from the hairs on the legs of bees so the pollen attracts to the insect for easy pollination. Fringetree females are extremely fragrant which attracts nighttime pollinators. Wild bleeding hearts bloom all summer. Zizzia aurea blooms on May 1 and looks like a yellow version of Queen Anne’s lace. Native persimmons with male and female flowers should be eaten only after several frosts. Mapleleaf viburnum attracts small carpenter bees. Itea virginiana is good for covering banks and is liked by several kinds of bees. Tulip poplars are in the magnolia family, good for swallowtail butterflies, and produce seeds loved by cardinals. Elderberry is also good for swallowtails. Butterfly weed is the favorite of butterflies although they also love New York ironweed. Common milkweed is too aggressive for gardens; use swamp milkweed instead. Leave these standing in the winter—the pollinators are living in the stems. Summer In June Monarda fistulosa (wild Bergamot), Heliopsis helianthoides (Ox-eye sunflower) and Veronicastrum virginicum (Culver’s root) come up together and look good together. Rudbeckia fulgida (orange coneflower) along with Vernonia (New York ironweed) appears in July. August brings buttonbush beloved of butterflies and bumblebees. Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) blooms in August or September along with Blue Lobelia and Black-eyed Susans. Ms. Beatty explained that all plants have natural toxins and the insects must evolve with the plant in order to be able to eat it, which is why native plants are so crucial to our ecology. Fall In the fall, early goldenrods extend the reproductive season for many insects. Boltonia is a September bloom along with Yellow crownbeard (Verbesina occidentalis) is prolific, a haven for bumblebees at 6 feet tall. Obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana, bees sleep on it), New England asters (Symphyotrichum novae angliae), and Bluestem goldenrod (Solidago acesia) round out the display. The native witchhazel (Hamamelis virginicus) closes out the season in October with its yellow leaves and blooms. Ms. Beatty described rock garden construction conducive to native plant growth. To construct one dig out all soil in the designated area, add large rocks, and fill in between with layers of sand and some compost and plant between rocks. The improved drainage helps the natives thrive. Insects were also covered, specifically, bees, yellow jackets and wasps. It is a useful exercise to watch bees. Sweat bees, the littlest ones, travel no more than 200 yards from their birth areas. There are solitary bees with an insignificant sting who live in the ground and swarm only briefly when reproducing. Of the two large bees, the carpenter bee is larger than the bumblebee and has a “shiny hiney”. Yellow jackets have a role in the garden but these ground-dwellers are the ones that bother people. Wasps are community bugs and build large papery nests. They are good pollinators. To learn more check out the Xerxes Society devoted to the study of insects. Ms. Beatty also refers us to the www.audubonva.org website. Respectfully submitted, Susanna Membrino, Co-Secretary LDG Flowering Sequence of Select Native Plants in Northern Virginia provided by Laura Beatty
by Shirley Street on Rain Garden Design and Installation On February 26, 15+ Landscape Designers Group members and guests met at Metropolitan Methodist Church in DC for a presentation on the design and installation of rain gardens. Our guest speaker, Shirley Street, certified as an arborist and in natural resources, is also a Master of Landscape Architecture. Over a career of 34 years with the City of Falls Church she contributed to the design and installation of parks, urban streetscapes, and a variety of stormwater management practices, notably rain gardens. Though engineering is an important part of the design of rain gardens, her talk emphasized the role of the landscape designer in creating a multi-seasonal amenity for both aesthetic enjoyment and ecosystem support. Shirley graciously provided several slides and plant recommendations from her presentation. Slides and pictures are available for download at the bottom of the article. Working with Your Client and Assessing the Site: Flooding, soil erosion, solving water quality problems and gaining BMP (Best Management Practices) credits are common reasons a client may ask you to design a rain garden. In addition, recent interest in keeping stormwater on site and making use of rain water in the garden have contributed to clients’ desire for rain gardens. Initial factors to consider in assessing your client’s site for a rain garden include the slope of the drainage area, the type and perocity of the soil, and the availability of space. Specific conditions for siting a rain garden are that it be at least 10 feet away from a building, a slope of between 1 and 5 percent, location close to drainage to handle overflow in the event of a very heavy rain, at least 2 feet above the high water table, not in a floodplain, and not in standing water, far enough from trees to avoid damage to roots [a local rule of thumb is to be at least 20 feet away from the trunks of trees] , in stable soils, and not over septic systems. Shirley had the following recommendations for conducting the site assessment: 1) that you visit the site in a rain storm to understand the water flows; 2) that you note the plants on the site and their condition; and 3) that you estimate the perocity of the soil by digging a hole, filling it with water and observing how quickly the water is absorbed into the native soil. [Different jurisdictions have different requirements for depth of the hole and how quickly the water is absorbed, so be sure to check with local stormwater agencies.] Calculating the Size and Designing the Rain Garden: Sizing the rain garden is a technical task that involves measuring the size of the impervious surface draining into the rain garden (e.g. a roof or a parking lot), as well as the size of the total drainage area (e.g. sheet flow area across a lawn), calculating the volume of water flowing from these sources in a 1 inch rain, and then sizing the rain garden to hold that volume of water. [Again, different jurisdictions may have different requirements for the number of inches of rain to be captured and the sizing, so be sure to check your local agency.] The diagram below shows the basic design of a rain garden, with a 12 inch stone base, 6 inches of pea gravel, a soil medium of from 24 to 36” depending on the volume of water, 2-3” of mulch or compost, and 6” for ponding. The soil medium is a mixture of sand, compost and top soil [the percentage of each varies by jurisdiction], and Shirley recommends that you request certified soil to ensure that your specifications are met. She also recommends an underflow pipe in the bottom stone layer to carry excess water away and standup pipes to check for any clogging of the drainage pipes. Filter fabric, once commonly used as a base, is no longer recommended as it tends to clog over time and block the absorption of water. Construction of the Rain Garden: During construction be sure that heavy equipment is kept out of the rain garden so that the soil is not compacted and that the edges of the rain garden are stabilized so that they do not erode into the basin. Plants and Planting the Rain Garden: Rain gardens mimic the natural order of the upland forest floor and of riparian areas, so plants suitable to those ecosystems as well as to location in the piedmont or the coastal plain are appropriate. Before planting, fill the rain garden with water –this is your last chance to evenly grade the soil. Plant to the ponding level and immediately after, stabilize the slopes with compost. If rain water enters the rain garden from a downspout or another concentrated source, the inflow area should be “armoured” with sedges and grasses that can absorb more water than perennials. Woody shrubs also absorb more water than perennials and are useful along edges and in general make the rain garden easier to maintain. In designing, make the rain garden a part of the larger landscape so that it creates a more natural look than would a rain garden by itself. Remember, that the edges of the rain garden and the areas adjacent to it need plants suitable for drier soils. Some recommended plants include: blue wood sedge, Pennsylvania sedge, culver’s root, Echinacea, oxeye sunflower, and golden groundsel, and Virginia sweetspire. Avoid butterfly bush (budlea), fertilizers, and do not plant trees directly in the rain garden. Additional plant recommendations are shown in the attached photos. [Other sources such as North Creek Nursery, have lists of rain garden plants suitable for various conditions.] Maintenance: Prepare a maintenance plan for the client, including instructions to weed, compost as needed, and to water the rain garden in the first two years or until the plants are established. Check the rain garden after the first rain event of more than ½ inch, checking for erosion, the inflow and outflow, breeches along the edges and loss of plants; and over time to replace plants as needed. Thank you Shirley Street! The presentation was very informative, people asked many questions, and the discussion continued after the meeting ended. We extend a big thank you to Shirley for sharing her technical and artistic expertise in the design and construction of rain gardens. Mary Rollefson, Acting LDG Secretary To Download and view the presentation, click below:
At the home of Julie Friedman in Rockville Submitted by Susanna Membrino, posted by Anne Underwood The first LDG meeting of 2015 took place in Rockville at the home of Julie Friedman. After some snacks including some wonderful homemade stuffed grape leaves, the group of twenty or so members heard two presentations on weed and pest control. Mark Emmell, president of Greensmiths, Inc. spoke on controlling weeds in residential gardens. Defining a weed as “a plant that occupies space in the garden where it is not welcome,” Mark noted that weeds grow faster and more easily than chosen plants, that they are mostly distributed by wind and birds and that they can steal water, sunlight and nutrients from more desirable plants. Mark’s weed mantra is “Don’t let weeds flower and seed.” Weeds spread several ways, including by rhizomes, tubers, bulbs, stolons, creeping roots and seeds. Efforts to control them take many forms, some helpful some not. A light mulching, for example, controls some weed growth but hyper-mulching is detrimental to cultivated plants. Weed control fabrics are not very effective under mulch, but very effective under stone. Plastic sheeting is ineffective on slopes but can “solar cook” weeds. For chemical controls timing vis a vis weather and plant stages is critical. Pre-emergent granular and post-emergent liquid herbicides are very cost-effective but should not be used near water. Vinegar applied during hot weather is very effective as are boiling water and propane torches. Corn gluten is not terribly effective. Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Round Up, will kill plant roots but do not let it touch your skin. Spray poison ivy in the fall when it is sending sugar to the roots. Compost weeds separately from leaves and grass. Mark named 5 most common weeds and their mitigation methods: 1. Yellow and Purple Nutsedge—Sedgehammer and Solitaire; Wild Bermuda grass—digging to 4” minimum or spraying 2-3 times in July; 2. Japanese stilt grass—hand weed and apply pre-emergent (Snapshot) under mulch; 3. Bamboo—dig out and install concrete or metal barriers 2’ deep and 6” above ground or cut just below node and fill cups with glysophate; 4. Poison ivy—dig out or spray in fall. 5. For turf Mark recommends mowing to 3.5 to 4”, maintaining soil pH at 6.5 to 7, fertilizing and overseeding at the proper time. UDC will now do soil testing. Mark’s Number 1 weeding tip? “When weeding, the best way to assure you are removing a weed vs. a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it’s a valuable plant.” Steve Castrogiovanni of Mead Tree and Turf then spoke on Integrated Pest Management (IPM). IPM depends critically on monitoring garden plants to be sure they do not surpass agreed-upon thresholds of pest infestations. Damage begins to show at 5 to 8% infestation. A question was raised about boxwood damage. Steve says that one of the common problems with boxwoods is the use of irrigation sprays that hit the plant directly creating soil moisture problems causing macrophoma blight or volutella which leads to orange or yellow leaves. Another problem is the Mosquito Squad, which kills all insects, harmful or not, which soon leads to an explosion in the aphid population. Other ways for treating mosquitoes are avoiding over-irrigation, clearing gutters and drains of standing water, and treating birdbaths and drains with mosquito dunks. The rule of thumb is to go with the least toxic chemicals first. Releasing beneficial organisms such as ladybugs is not practical since there is no way to keep them within the garden. A cultural issue is always to plant a plant in the right place. It also helps to prune out the dead sections of plants. Start with low toxicity, use narrow spectrum treatments for the problem at hand, and use narrow spectrum sprays. You may not get control with the first application. Rotate chemicals to avoid resistance. Use more toxic options only as a last resort. Mike then listed some of the treatments he uses. Horticultural oil is good and he recommends Pure Spray. Still, it loses its potency when the temperature goes above 85 degrees F. Horticultural soaps are also very useful. The firm uses horticultural soaps on crapemyrtle plants for aphids. They also use BT, a bacterium; PHC which contains microrhyzomes; Biopak Plus, and Acelepryn which is very expensive and good on Japanese beetles. Mead uses compost tea extensively as part of its program. Mike emphasized that IPM requires that you communicate with clients and educate them. One of the drawbacks of using IPM is that the work is front-loaded, that is, the first part of the process of returning plants to health is very costly, requiring a large initial investment of time and effort. Once the pests are under control, periodic monitoring is key but requires less expenditure of resources. Staff training is also key. The presentations elicited many good questions and discussion. A BIG THANK YOU to our speakers, Mark and Mike, and to Julie Friedman for hosting us. Mary Rollefson closed the meeting with some announcements:
The next LDG meeting will be in DC on February 26 on the design of rain gardens and selection of rain garden plants. Details about the meeting will be forthcoming on the LDG listserv. LDG is looking for a co-secretary to help Dawn starting in May or June. On Saturday, February 7, GW is holding a symposium on promoting your business on social media and could use a volunteer to represent LDG and recruit new members. A representative from Houzz will be there. Submitted by Dawn Szelc, LDG Secretary Kudos to the Landscape Designer’s Group Program Committee for the most recent meeting. We were treated to an after-hours tour of the Mount Vernon grounds and gardens with the Director of Horticulture, Dean Norton. Dean has worked at Mount Vernon for 45 years and is a wealth of knowledge about the history, workings, and horticulture of Mount Vernon. We met Dean in front of the Mount Vernon Inn and drove through the property in a large van with a couple additional vehicles trailing behind. Right near the Inn was the main visitor entrance which is a large gate called the Texas Gate. The gate was installed in 1899 with donations from Texas school children. Where the gate is located now was the end of the trolley line, and the original station is now part of the Mount Vernon Inn. It was popular for people to travel there on the trolley to buy eggs and fresh produce which were sold in the area. We then passed the original firehouse. Mount Vernon had been visited by Henry Ford in 1923, and he was impressed with the property except he felt that they did not have appropriate fire suppression. He supplied a fire engine which was upgraded in 1936 and was used for many years even up until the point that Dean started working there – 1969. Our first stop was at the West Gate which was the original entrance. From the gate you have a view to the mansion house which is a mile away. The drive to the house was not direct but wove into the forest and out to clearings showing glimpses of the house as visitors approached. Dean described how Washington wanted to only use living hedges, grown from hawthorn, blackberry, and other prickly shrubs, to separate areas or keep out livestock. He would also use fallen timbers but did not wish to cut live trees. The current forest is 100-120 years old, so not from Washington’s time. From numerous large storms trees have been lost – many in the 1920s. They are currently battling the deer who eat all the new saplings or acorns and so there is little regeneration of the forest. Dean also stated that many of the fields which Washington used were also protected by ditches which were dug by his slaves. Dean then drove us towards the mansion while explaining where the original road was believed to have been. We eventually ended up in front of the circular drive to the mansion. Here he also talked about the bees that are kept on the property. Last winter all the bees were lost, due to the weather and not Colony Collapse, so they work to get their Queens from local suppliers with the idea that they will do better overall in keeping the hive alive due to any circumstances. Our next stop was the Pioneer Farmer site with the octagonal barn - left photo below. This is a recreation of the barn designed by Washington. There was one picture of his original building which shows that the original design was a 16 sided barn - right photo below. Washington used a seven year crop rotation system growing wheat, corn, rye, as well as keeping sheep. He started with tobacco, but that crop was tied to England’s system for payment so he ended up in debt. As he transitioned to wheat he needed the barn for threshing and also had his own grist mill which was fully automated. He sold much of the wheat to the West Indies for cash. The wheat was laid in a specific pattern in the barn, and the horses walked around and helped to winnow the grains from the hay and chaff. The grains fell through the slats in the floor to the lower floor. This was his own design. Washington would experiment with new farming techniques to try to improve sustainability. He and Jefferson were wealthy enough to risk the expense and shared information. The results were handed off to other farmers. One of his experiments was to find a mix of compost which was the best for crop growth. He tried out a number of different types to discover what worked the best. Near the barn is an example slave cabin which Dean described as better than most southern slaves had. There was a small garden as most had to grow additional food to sustain themselves beyond some basic supplies which Washington provided, such as a small amount of salt fish. We then got back into the van and drove up towards the kitchen garden, passing Washington’s tomb and the slave burial ground. We also passed some of the Ha-Ha walls that were used on the property. We parked in front of the circular drive and walked to the kitchen garden. Here there were expanses of vegetables and espaliered fruit trees – apples and pears in the center and stone fruits along the brick walls. These were done in four layers instead of the usual two and were managed by Martha Washington. At one end of the garden was the “necessity” which was built in 1760. The brick wall helped to create a micro-climate within the garden to be able to extend the growing period. They also employed cold frames to help as well. They had one full time gardener and were able to feed 14-18 people. Many visitors who were traveling through the area would stop and stay at Mount Vernon on their trip, so they ended up feeding many people throughout the year.
The grass there was mowed by scything it, throwing out worm castings and then raking. There was also a very large boxwood near where we were standing. This was from a plant originally sent to Washington by Henry “White Horse Harry” Lee. He sent him 12 plants and this one is all that is left. It has sustained itself via layering so all the branches seen from the outside are the layered add-ons. The interior is open and one can stand in the middle. When questioned about his responsibilities at Mount Vernon, Dean said “everything green” on the property. His main focus is looking for historical accuracy. He stated that Washington was not often in residence but did most of his landscape designing in 1785-1786. Washington thought that the best gardeners were Scottish because they were good in both social graces and gardening – an important distinction at that time. by Lynn Koch (edited by Holly Radus) What a wonderful event the LDG Potluck was! John and Ellie Shorb hosted us in their beautiful and spacious home, and delicious pizzas were cooked in their pizza oven in a room off the kitchen. There was lots of laughter and conversation, and it was great catching up with fellow LDG members. I would like to express my personal thanks to the LDG Board for all their hard work this past year in making it a stellar 2014 for our membership. The programs were fun and interesting, and as always, I learned so much. I want to pass along a special thanks to Mary Rollefson, who dived right in to handling the position of President with grace and enthusiasm, despite a busy personal and professional life. Thanks, Mary, and to all of you on the Board who volunteered your time this year. - Lynn Koch Photos by Alex McCarty
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AuthorsLDG is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the exchange and enhancement of knowledge relevant to the landscape design profession. We are a group of professional designers in the metropolitan Washington, DC area. Membership is meant for students studying and professionals employed in landscape design or associated professions (i.e. arborists, installers, contractors, etc.). Archives
October 2023
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