Gardening

Green Thumb

How to Become a Master Gardener. Post-pandemic, more people are gardening than ever. The Fairfax Master Gardeners can help every plant-lover become an expert. To become certified, master gardeners need 50 hours of training and 50 hours of volunteer service. Currently, more than 5,000 master gardeners work through Virginia’s county extension offices […]

by Staff

A Gardening Love Story

Our interview with gardener Lady Xa Tollemache of Helmingham Hall in Suffolk, UK. (Gary Summers, SMD Photography) For flower lovers, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s 76th annual Garden Symposium, “Digging the Garden: Horticulture, History & Archaeology,” takes place on April 27-30. The event is both in-person and online and will feature presentations by horticulturists (Daria McKelvey), […]

by Konstantin Rega

Plant Perfection

Brent Heath dishes on the magic of gardening with bulbs & shares planting tips for a dazzling spring (Photo by Tyler Darden) I’m not one for name-dropping, but several years ago I was nosing around in Amsterdam’s charming Tulip Museum and, at my husband’s insistence, I quietly mentioned to the museum’s director that […]

by Madeline Mayhood

Bradford Breakup

Is it time to end our romance with the darling of suburban landscapers? Time was, nearly every Southeast subdivision hopped on the Bradford pear train. Instantly popular, the trees were touted as disease-resistant, adaptable, and inexpensive. A 1964 New York Times article heralded it as a near perfect ornamental tree while developers […]

by Madeline Mayhood

Bugging Out

Artist David Rogers brings big bug sculptures to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. “I want people to learn, grow, and appreciate their surroundings,” says mostly self-taught artist David Rogers of his new exhibit, “David Rogers’ Big Bugs: The Pollinators” at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. Since the 90s, he has been exploring wooden sculptures […]

by Staff

Stormy Weather Iris Garden

One Lynchburg garden is preserving and sharing floral history. “No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth,” avid gardener Thomas Jefferson wrote in an 1811 letter to painter and politician Charles Willson Peale. Missouri-native turned Lynchburg-local Shana Gammon agrees. She started planting tall bearded irises nearly 20 […]

by Konstantin Rega

Secret Gardens

With a little digging, Virginia yields five unexpected gems. As garden visitors know, the state’s showstoppers, like Norfolk Botanical Garden, Lewis Ginter in Richmond, and the State Arboretum in Boyce deserve their place in the limelight. But look a little deeper. These lesser-known gardens are equally welcoming, each fascinating in its own […]

by Madeline Mayhood

Rethink Gardening

It’s Colonial Williamsburg’s 75th Annual Garden Symposium and we interview guest speaker and gardener P. Allen Smith. (Photo courtesy of P. Allen Smith) This year’s theme is inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s quote, “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” Now more than ever it is important that we, as gardeners, create healthy […]

by Konstantin Rega

Historic Garden Week

America’s largest open house all began with Monticello’s trees. By the mid-1920s, the trees at Monticello—including more than a dozen planted by Jefferson himself—were in decline, suffering from age and disease. As concern grew, the members of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation wondered: could the Garden Club of Virginia be of help? […]

by Madeline Mayhood

Early Bloomers

The thrill of spotting spring’s first fleeting flowers. virginia_final2 (Illustration by Andrea Cobb) Long Bloomers are easy to love: that blowsy hydrangea, the patch of black-eyed Susans, the marathon of dahlias that stretch into fall. But the gift of early-blooming spring ephemerals is evanescence, not endurance. “‘Ephemeral’ means ‘fleeting,’” says Elaine […]

by caroline kettlewell

Orchid Showoffs

The Orchid Show & Sale is on at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. From flowers worth thousands of dollars to your grocery store variety, orchids are not only beautiful but make excellent house plants. After all, they are one of the largest families of flowering plants with more than 100,000 hybrids and cultivars. […]

by Staff

For the Love of Trees

The Bonsai Exhibit at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden gets you thinking and relaxing. (Photography by Tim Snyder) At Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, a bonsai exhibition (ending February 25) showcases the work of Todd Stewart and Bob Chilton, two leading experts from Gardens Unlimited—a Ruther Glen nursery that specializes in the Japanese horticultural art of cultivating […]

by Konstantin Rega

Kiss Me Kate!

Oh, how we love the classic Christmas custom. (Illustration by Austin Anderson) Ah, mistletoe, a name that conjures up a Victorian Christmas scene of rooms strewn with greens and gentlemen stealing kisses from willing ladies who linger demurely under the fresh sprigs that hang above many a doorframe. But where did this […]

by Chiles T.A. Larson

A Gardener’s Guide to Holiday Greens

Simple ways to bring the festive bounty inside. (All photos by Adam Ewing) It happens every year. We get big, crafty ideas about homemade wreaths and fresh-cut garlands gracing mantels and winding up staircases, just like the pictures in decorating magazines. But when the pine boughs zag where they should zig, […]

by Madeline Mayhood

By Design

Before hiring a landscaping expert, it’s important to know who to look for. (Illustration by Jimmy Holder) If we learned one thing from the recent surge in home redesign and renovation, it was that professional help can make a world of difference. And now that we’re all enjoying our outdoor spaces again—heat and […]

by hubbard valerie

Going Native

Create a gorgeous, low-maintenance yard full of birds and butterflies by landscaping with local plants. Imagine opening your door to a yard of beautiful flower beds teeming with butterflies and birds. You still have a lawn, but it takes much less time to mow, and you don’t have to bother with bagging […]

by John Haddad

Thrills & Spills

Taking container gardens to new heights. Adam Ewing If you research container gardening, you’ll probably find this classic technique used by beginning and professional gardeners alike: Thriller, Filler, and Spiller. The thriller is the tallest element of the arrangement and helps define the silhouette and overall vibe. Fillers are the mounding varieties positioned […]

by Staff

Saving Seeds

The secret to a never-ending garden.

by Mindy Kinsey

Herb Of The Year

Recognizing the superstars of spice.

by Mindy Kinsey

Pages: 12

Events

September 27, 2024

Wine & Brine

Williamsburg Winery

October 1, 2024

Tuesday Night Trivia

Dave & Buster’s

October 4, 2024

Wine & Brine

Williamsburg Winery

The Haunting Virginia Photography of John Plashal

The history of a place isn’t just about what’s documented in books and on display in museums. Another world is often overlooked— throughout the urban and rural landscapes, in towns, cities, and neighborhoods. They’re the churches and homes, the town halls and schools, once epicenters of family and community life all over the Commonwealth, that […]

by Madeline Mayhood

Burger Roundup

According to locals, travelers, and our own taste buds, these joints are a must for burger lovers.

by Staff

Christmas in Central Virginia

Merry Christmas, Charlottesville! Merriment & Magic. If you like your holidays with a dash of razzmatazz, check out Charlottesville’s Christmas events. The Grand Illumination takes place at Ting Pavilion on the Downtown Mall on Dec. 6. The merriment commences just as evening falls and features vendors selling holiday crafts, tasty treats, and beverages, as well […]

by peggy sijswerda

Gardening

Green Thumb

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The Haunting Virginia Photography of John Plashal

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Christmas in Central Virginia

Gardening

Green Thumb

Current Issue

Events

Wine & Brine

Tuesday Night Trivia

Wine & Brine

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Most Popular

The Haunting Virginia Photography of John Plashal

Burger Roundup

Christmas in Central Virginia

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weekly newsletter: VL Today

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