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Finding All Things Beautiful – Beth Chatto

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Every gardener has their own style, their own way of embracing and enjoying this earth of ours.  From soil manipulation to color combinations, each gardener defines beauty in their own way.  Many garden designers or landscape gardeners have impacted the thought processes of those of us who love getting our hands dirty and then stepping back to admire our personal vision of beauty in our gardens.  Beth Chatto is one who has inspired my garden journey and still does. The Society of Garden Design chose Beth Chatto as this years recipient of The John Brookes Lifetime Acheivement Award for 2014. Who is Beth Chatto???

When I think of gardens to visit in England, the first one that pops into my mind are The Beth Chatto Gardens, cultivated out of property that used to be the Chatto fruit farm.  It is from this property that Beth Chatto has cultivated a series of gardens specific to certain conditions all exhibiting surreal beauty.   Born in 1923 in Essex, Beth had parents who instilled in her the love of gardening.  From this exposure she went on to share her love of gardening by becoming heavily involved in the Flower Club movement.  This movement allowed her to become a much requested lecturer and provider of some unusual plants.  These rare, unusual plants intrigued the The Flower Club members and they began to inquire about purchasing them from her. The mail order plant business and nursery was started in 1967 and from there it has only been a rewarding experience leading up to this prestigious award. The Beth Chatto Gardens were influenced not just from her love of gardening but also by her husbands research in plants, plant families and how they grew.  Her desire to paint this picture of beauty on ground that was wild and imperfect, shows us all how we can create our own pictures of beauty, whether we have perfect soil and conditions or not. Two of my favorite books, that I referenced when I seriously became enamored with gardening and finding all things beautiful are The Green Tapestry – Choosing and Grouping The Best Perennial Plants for Your Garden and Drought Resistant Planting – Beth Chatto’s Gravel Garden.   I am honored to have these on my personal garden book shelves…..and never tire of reflecting back on them from time to time. Her words within these pages continue to excite and bring me joy in the discovery of  the possibilities of what can grown here on my American soil.

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Beth Chatto has won ten Gold Medals at the Chelsea Flower Show, has published several books, toured America in 1983,  received the Lifetime Acheivement Award by The Garden Writers Guild, celebrated fifty years of The Beth Chatto Gardens being existence (and going strong) and now this wonderful award.  How awesome is that???  While Mrs. Chatto was not able to receive this award personally, her grandaughter Julia Boulton accepted  it on her behalf. How wonderful it must be for Beth Chatto to have cultivated not only a garden that is open to the public to inspire and educate , but to have also planted the seed of continuity in her grand daughter and staff, to continue her mission of creating gardens that share the beauty that surrounds us.

Thank you Beth Chatto for your sharing your knowledge and inspiration in your lectures, your books and in The Beth Chatto Gardens.  I hope to visit one day and enjoy your version of the beauty that surrounds us.  To find out more about Beth Chatto follow this link www.bethchatto.co.uk/ – the pictures alone will have you planning a visit at any time of the year.

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Seed Swap Deux….or Two More Days to go…Washington Gardener Seed Swap Part 2

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I must say, I was quite speechless at the wonderful people I encountered last Saturday.  The Washington Gardener Magazine Seed Swap was held at Behnke’s Nursery in Beltsville, Md. and I just had to be there.  Behnke’s is one of the garden centers that most in the DMV know is a leader in finding all things beautiful. What a beautiful day it turned out to be, traffic behaved, there was no snow, it was the 10th National Seed Swap Day and there was a Seed Swap where gardeners, eager to swap seeds and dream of Spring came together on familiar ground.

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The seed swap had two guest speakers that were quite enthusiastic about their topics.  Paul Blundell, Owner, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange spoke about the importance of saving seed.  The emphasis Paul placed on how saving seed  has brought us heirloom seeds rang true to many in the room. He defined heirloom seeds as seeds that had been saved from at least 50 years ago, prior to 1940 and are non-hybrid varieties.  If you are serious about growing a few varieties of plants – veggies and flowers – check out www.SouthernExposure.com.  I promise you will not be disappointed and the things you find out about in their colorful and informative catalog will simply astound you.

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Carol Allen,Certified Professional Horticulturalist was our second speaker of the day. A familiar face to most of us from her talks at Behnke’s on all things garden, her discussion did not disappoint.  Carol shared tips on seed sowing success when starting seeds inside.  Explaining how important it is to pay attention to what the seed packet says helped beginning gardeners learn that putting seedlings out too early can spell disaster.  One of my personal takeaway nuggets was that there are some seeds that require cool/warm/cool/warm conditions in order to germinate.  Ladies, we know what this is similar to, right???

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Throughout the program, Kathy Jentz raffled off wonderful prizes from well known vendors such as Behnke’s, Corona Tools and Gardeners Workshop – to name a few.  While a few of us wore our creative name tags, the finalists were chosen and won fantastic tools from Corona.

Attendees had the opportunity to share what was happening in their communities that they wanted to share.  We heard from the Beltsville Garden Club about the Duckworth School Plant Sale at Highpoint High School on April 11th and May 9th.  We heard about the Silver Spring Garden Club Plant Sale at the Historic Silver Spring Train Station on May 9th – I am a member of this fine organization and let me tell you, we have some awesome plants ….and raffles. If you come out early, you can certainly shop both plant sales.

We also heard about  The Garden Coalition in District Heights, MD.  A young organization that will be enhancing our environmental footprint by planting pollinator plants in abundance throughout District Heights. I am excited about this project in District Heights, as Founder, I am trying to grow a garden community in Central Prince Georges County…..one gardener and one seedling at a time!  This informative session was  enjoyed and appreciated by all….now we just have to mark our calendars, shop those plant sales early and consider planting for pollinators!! The bees and butterflies need our help!!

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The seed swap was brief, but fierce. No seeds flying in the air, but a cordial group of sharing and caring seed people. All ages participated and friendships were cultivated as people asked if someone had Echinacea or Green Cotton seed.  Another person spoke up and they got together and shared their seed harvest. What an amazing afternoon it was!

If you missed last weeks National Seed Swap Saturday, you have a second chance.  This weekend there will be Seed Swap II – The Sequel at GreenSpring Gardens in Alexandria, Virginia. The guest speakers will be Elizabeth Olsen Certified Professional Horticulturalist and Pat Brodowski, Monticello’s Vegetable Gardener.  Wow…the excitement continues this weekend from 12:30 – 4:00…and if you haven’t been to Greenspring Gardens……well, you need to get out more. The program starts promptly at 12:30, but if you get there early, you can walk through the garden and imagine the beauty that will surround you when Spring and Summer finally get here!!

I have to say that the DMV Gardening Community is awesome……….#seedswapday !!!

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Seeds are a beautiful thing……..

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One of the most beautiful days of the frigid winter of 2015 is upon us. NATIONAL SEED SWAP DAY is finally here. I know, I know….a few of you might be preparing for some type of sporting event that is tomorrow I think…BUT  National Seed Swap Day is today January 31, 2015.

It is hard to believe that the first official seed swap day was in 2006.  It is a day where nationwide, avid gardeners gather to network, listen to speakers and of course swap seeds.  Sharing tales of what worked in the garden last season and what is HOT for gardeners this year, brings smiles and warm thoughts to all who attend.

Locally, the Annual Seed Swap, brought to the DMV by Washington Gardener Magazine will be held at Behnke’s Nursery, a wonderful place where the areas passionate plantspersons go, to …well, of course, find all things beautiful for the garden.  Swapping seeds is a wonderful way to get inspired, try something new and meet new people in a warm, garden centered environment.

So bring some seeds (or buy some seeds from Behnke’s), come ready with your tales of garden successes, failures and join in the fun.  There are a few spots, so come early to register at high noon. There is a fee of $20, unless you are a Washington Gardener subscriber, then it is a mere $15.  The event starts promptly at 12:30 and promises to be fun.  By the way there is a creative name tag contest……yes this year I REMEMBERED!

If you can’t make it today….next Saturday, February 7th the Seed Swap will be held at Greenspring Gardens Park in Alexandria, Virginia.  Worse case scenario, if you are having a Super Bowl event, make it a Super Seed Swap event and ask your guests to bring some seeds.  I am sure they will be impressed with your commitment to creating added value to your event!

HAPPY SEED SWAP DAY!

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The Beauty of Giving Back….

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This past weekend I was honored to have been asked and volunteered with The National Park Service, to assist in the management of 200 volunteers to clean up the gardens at the base of the Martin Luther King Memorial. This was not my first time – nor will it be my last time, enjoying whatever I can do to mingle with other like minded individuals who believe in GIVING BACK. It was a chilly start for a perfect Day of Service and the perfect day to get moving (as Our First Lady says) and to GET IT DONE!!! It was a morning when we were graced with the presence of Sally Jewell, Secretary of The Interior….what an honor that was!!!
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We broke up into teams of skilled or at least those who had some experience in gardening and those who did not. Ranger James and Ranger Jenn, gave instruction on what the tasks were going to be and with a big Thank You from Secretary Jewell, we ascended upon our assigned areas ready to make a difference. There is something about watching the generations, people from all walks of life, all ages and all races become associates and connect while doing good works. Sharing where they were from, what brought them there to the site that morning, what they knew of other celebrations for a Day of Service and how this was just “awesome”.  Talk about warming my insides and melting my heart as they asked for more pruners and were there any shovels? These young people came to WORK and give back. They were not worried about how much work had to be done, they wanted to know what HAD to be done, so they could do it. Some were worried that there was not enough mulch for our bed and wondered what would happen to it, as it had to be ready for the big day. Ranger James assured them that The Park Service would return to fine tune what they could prior to company coming.

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In my mind this was like cleaning house before company comes. It would be nice if we could have an ongoing volunteer gardening effort to help The National Park Service stay on top of not just this site, but all the sites that each of us enjoy and bring our friends and family to enjoy. As a docent for The Trust for The National Mall, welcoming visitors into our Front Yard, also known as The National Mall is what we do. Too be honest, I have more fun working with groups that want to keep our Front Yard Beautiful in addition to greeting and sharing my knowledge of The National Mall. It opens up a new level of conversation as well as tips on gardening….how beautiful is that???

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As a Native Washingtonian and lover of all things beautiful, Saturday morning was one of the most beautiful moments that actually spoke to Dr. King’s Dream. I wish we could always appreciate our differences, always be kind to one another and always find the beauty in each if us all the time. Giving back helps us find the beauty that surrounds us each and every day.  I will always find time to give back and always find time to make sure that Dr. Kings surroundings are kept up…….as company comes everyday!

Thank You Sally Jewell and The National Park Service for allowing us to give back and make a difference in our own Front Yard!!!

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