Garden mums (Chrysanthemum x morifolium) are known for their vibrant blooms and resilience and are a popular choice for adding color to gardens and landscapes in the fall. They are one of the best perennial plants for late summer and fall bloom. They are important in many Virginia landscapes, flowering during September and October when few other plants are in bloom. They bloom over a long period, exist in a very wide range of flower forms and colors, and require a minimum of care.

Container gardening allows you to have and enjoy many ornamental and food-supplying plants that, for whatever reason, you do not want to grow in ground beds. You can use container-grown plants in entryways, patios, decks, rooftops, gardens, indoors, or anywhere you have a need to add a living component to enhance the appeal of an area. Each planted container will have its own personality; you can create container scenes. They can range from dramatic to subtle, and from grand to petite. Plants and containers offer limitless combinations of size, color, form, and texture that can give your inside and outside environments a more aesthetically pleasing appearance.

La jardinería en macetas le permite tener y disfrutar de muchas plantas ornamentales y cuando no puede cultivarlas directamente en la tierra. Puede utilizar plantas cultivadas en macetas en entradas, patios, terrazas, azoteas, jardines, interiores o en cualquier lugar donde necesite añadir un componente vivo para mejorar el atractivo de una zona. Cada maceta plantada tendrá su propia personalidad; puede crear un paisaje en cada maceta. Pueden ser impresionantes o sutiles, grandes o pequeñas. Las plantas y las macetas ofrecen combinaciones ilimitadas de tamaño, color, forma y textura que pueden dar a su entorno interior y exterior un aspecto más agradable desde el punto de vista estético.

A rain garden is a landscaped area specially designed to collect rainfall and storm-water runoff. The plants and soil in the rain garden clean pollutants from the water as it seeps into the ground and evaporates back into the atmosphere. For a rain garden to work, plants must be selected, installed, and maintained properly.

The area where an organism lives and meets its basic needs for food, water, cover, and space to survive is called its habitat. Each species of wildlife has different habitat requirements.

The value of an attractive landscape to a home’s perceived value has often been stated at 15 percent. Is this figure reliable, and what landscape features do contribute to the value of a home? How does a landscape contractor convince his/her client to spend a significant portion of a home’s construction budget on landscaping, and is this a wise investment? How can a homeowner feel justified by spending thousands of dollars to landscape a newly constructed house? Or, will thousands of dollars worth of landscaping, significantly increase the “curb appeal” of a home for sale? To answer these questions, researchers conducted a seven-state survey of attendees at consumer home and garden shows to determine consumer perspective on how plant size, type, and design sophistication in a landscape affect the perceived value of a home (Behe et al., 2005).

This publication offers suggestions for creating spring gardens with a patriotic red, white, and blue color scheme using bulbs such as tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and grape hyacinths. It covers bulb selection, planting techniques, site preparation, container gardening, and maintenance tips to ensure vibrant displays. Design strategies for simultaneous blooming and layering are included.

This publication provides guidelines for creating patriotic-themed gardens along entrance corridors and public spaces to celebrate America’s Semiquincentennial. It offers design options for small signs, large signs, and extensive corridor plantings, emphasizing red, white, and blue color schemes. The resource includes curated plant lists featuring annuals, perennials, shrubs, and small trees suitable for Virginia’s diverse climates, with many native species recommended. Practical advice on soil preparation, watering, mulching, and planting techniques ensures successful establishment and maintenance.

This publication offers suggestions for creating spring gardens with a patriotic red, white, and blue color scheme using bulbs such as tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and grape hyacinths. It covers bulb selection, planting techniques, site preparation, container gardening, and maintenance tips to ensure vibrant displays. Design strategies for simultaneous blooming and layering are included.

This publication promotes the use of native plants in red, white, and blue garden designs. It explains the ecological benefits of natives, including their adaptation to local soils and climate, low maintenance needs, and role in supporting wildlife such as pollinators and birds. The guide provides practical advice on site assessment, soil preparation, and care, along with extensive tables listing native trees, shrubs, vines, perennials, and ornamental grasses suitable for Virginia gardens. These selections enhance biodiversity, celebrate America’s natural heritage, and offer aesthetic appeal while reducing reliance on irrigation and fertilizers.

This publication provides guidelines for creating patriotic-themed gardens along entrance corridors and public spaces to celebrate America’s Semiquincentennial. It offers design options for small signs, large signs, and extensive corridor plantings, emphasizing red, white, and blue color schemes. The resource includes curated plant lists featuring annuals, perennials, shrubs, and small trees suitable for Virginia’s diverse climates, with many native species recommended. Practical advice on soil preparation, watering, mulching, and planting techniques ensures successful establishment and maintenance.

Selecting appropriate planting dates is a critical component of successful vegetable gardening. Vegetables vary widely in their preferred growing conditions and tolerance to temperature extremes, both cold and hot. Understanding the local frost-free period aids in selecting appropriate planting dates. This publication uses U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zones for guidance in selecting planting dates for spring- and fall-planted vegetables for the home garden in Virginia.

El objetivo de la jardinería intensiva es cosechar la mayor cantidad posible de productos en un espacio limitado. Las huertas más tradicionales constan de largas hileras de hortalizas muy separadas entre sí. Gran parte de la superficie de la huerta está ocupada por el espacio entre las hileras. Una huerta intensiva minimiza el espacio desperdiciado. La práctica de la huerta intensiva no es solo para los que tienen un espacio limitado en el jardín; más bien, una huerta intensiva concentra sus esfuerzos de trabajo para crear un entorno ideal para las plantas, lo que brinda mejores rendimientos.

If you don’t have space for a vegetable garden or if your present site is too small, consider raising fresh, nutritious, homegrown vegetables in containers. A window sill, patio, balcony, or doorstep can provide sufficient space for a productive container garden. Problems with soil-borne diseases, nematodes, or poor soil can also be overcome by switching to container gardening.

Home gardeners often use more pesticides per square foot in their gardens than farmers do in the fields, thinking that if a little is good, more will be better. This is a serious mistake and a serious misuse of pesticides. This publication will take the reader through different ways to manage home gardens using integrated pest management strategies, including using cultural and biological control methods for pests. It provides the reader with proven ways to manage pests responsibly by using the least amount of naturally derived or man-made pesticides possible.

There are many tree species that can be successfully grown in Virginia, but are rarely seen in our landscapes. Although not ordinarily recommended or readily available, these trees may be useful to carry out a specific landscape theme, to substitute for an exotic type which is not locally adapted, or may be prized for unusual form, flowers, fruits, bark, or foliage.

Landscaping is an integral part of our culture and plays an essential role in the quality of our environment, affecting our economic well-being and our physical and psychological health. If we are to keep our communities strong and prosperous, we must take responsibility for our environment.

As a general rule, plant selection and production area in a home garden should be limited to what you can properly care for. It is better to have a small, welltended planting area rather than a large, neglected one. Small fruits offer certain advantages over fruit trees for home culture because small fruits require less space for the amount of fruit produced, and they bear fruit one or two years after planting. Success with small-fruit planting will depend on the attention given to all phases of production, including crop and variety selection, site selection, soil management, fertilization, pruning, and pest management.

Landscape trees are valuable assets to your property and for your community. Keeping your trees attractive, healthy, and safe requires careful attention to their planting and care throughout their lives. While many people have a green thumb, there are situations that arise where the expertise of an arborist is needed to address complex or potentially hazardous tree care needs. The purpose of this publication is to inform homeowners, property managers, municipal planners, and others about the tree care services provided by an arborist and the steps that should be taken to hire a qualified arborist.

The design and management of a landscape can have a notable impact on household energy consumption. Throughout the history of civilization, people have altered their dwellings and landscapes to make them more comfortable and energy efficient.

This factsheet attempts to clarify some of the information surrounding organic and synthetic pesticides. Knowing their similarities and differences will prepare you to choose the best management solution for your pest problem.

Creating and maintaining community and school gardens has been identified as an effective strategy to increase healthy food awareness and consumption. Unfortunately, fresh fruits and vegetables have been linked to hundreds of outbreaks of foodborne illness in the U.S. since 1990. This document outlines the recommended agricultural practices for food safety in gardens.

Native to the Southern United States, the Sabal minor or Dwarf Palmetto is a smaller and much shorter cousin to the familiar Sabal palmetto that lines the streets and palisades of cities in the Deep South, where the fronds were once cut to make ladies’ hand fans. Part of the Dwarf Palmetto’s native range includes the extreme southeastern portion of Virginia. As a result, S. minor is one of the most cold-hardy palms that can be grown in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

This publication features small, medium, and large flowering shrubs (five of each category) with photos. All photos are by the author. There are at least eight shrubs from each category noted in a table (without photos) at the end of this publication. All shrubs — featured or in the table — are landscape worthy and are especially suited to landscapes in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic States.

Herbicides that are usually associated with contamination of straw/hay, turf clippings, manure, and composts are growth regulator herbicides or synthetic auxins, a group of herbicides that mimics plant hormones and regulates growth. These herbicides are labeled for control of broadleaf weeds in grass crops, such as pastures and corn; in turfgrass, including lawns, golf courses, parks, and highway turf; and in noncrop areas. Vegetable and fruit crops, as well as broadleaf ornamentals can inadvertently be injured by these chemicals through drift of spray droplets, volatilization, and spray tank contamination or by residues in straw, manure, turf clippings, or compost. Diagnosing the specific herbicide responsible for the plant damage can be difficult. This publication focuses on damage caused by herbicide residues.

This is a short video demonstrating how to properly plant a tree.

The annual Virginia Turfgrass Variety Recommendation List details the best performing turfgrass varieties as determined over time by replicated field trials conducted by turfgrass scientists at Virginia Tech and the University of Maryland.

Companion Planting is the art of growing two or more compatible plants in close proximity to attract beneficial insects, repel pests and generally improve the growth of some or all of the plants involved. This is best exemplified by the three plants - corn, pole beans, and squash, popularly known as “the Three Sisters”. When planted together, the Three Sisters work together to help one another thrive and survive. Among them, corn is referred to as “the supportive sister”, as it provides support to the bean plant that has a climbing habit. The bean plant itself is referred to as “the giving sister”, due to its ability as a legume to fix nitrogen that is helpful to all three plants. The last member, squash is referred to as “the protective sister” due to its ability to cover the soil and prevent soil moisture loss. In addition, the squash produces prickly vines that would keep pests such as rabbits away. Companion planting is used by farmers and gardeners in both industrialized and developing countries for many reasons. These include pest management, nitrogen fixation, providing support of one plant by another, enhancing nutrient uptake, and water conservation among other benefits. This may lead to increased crop productivity as well as enhancement of biodiversity.

A culinary staple used raw, cooked, sautéed or roasted—garlic is easier to grow than you might think. Virginia Cooperative Extension's Ed Olsen shares expert tips for cultivating this versatile ingredient.

Growing figs in marginal hardiness zones requires special care and technique. Virginia Cooperative Extension's Ed Olsen shares expert strategies for successfully cultivating these Mediterranean favorites in challenging climates.

Discover how foodscaping blends beauty with functionality as Ed Olsen and Master Gardener Phaedra Hise from Virginia Cooperative Extension share expert tips for incorporating edible plants into your landscape design, creating gardens that please both the eye and the palate.

Explore the many culinary and beverage uses of the versatile ginger plant in this conversation between Ed Olsen and Dr. Sanjun Gu of Virginia Cooperative Extension, who shares expert tips on how to cultivate this prized rhizome in your own backyard garden.

The Three Sisters growing technique maximizes your garden space by planting corn, beans and squash together. Ed Olsen and Extension Master Gardener Noel Talcott with Virginia Cooperative Extension demonstrate this traditional companion planting method for efficient gardening.

Drip irrigation is more efficient and better for your garden overall, delivering water directly to plant roots while conserving resources. Ed Olsen with Virginia Cooperative Extension shares essential tips for getting started with this water-saving gardening method.

Red hibiscus, sorrel or roselle—this vibrant plant goes by many names but serves as both a beautiful garden bloom and a staple ingredient in teas and traditional dishes worldwide. Ed Olsen with Virginia Cooperative Extension explores the science and stories behind this versatile garden favorite.

Plants use energy from light to power photosynthesis, a process that converts light into sugars, serving as their primary source of energy. In turn, this captured energy supports nearly all life on Earth. That makes light one of the most important factors in agriculture, gardening, and life. Despite its importance, light is often misunderstood, overlooked, or poorly managed. Whether you are a homeowner tending a few houseplants or a professional grower, learning how to measure and harness light can be a powerful tool in growing healthy, productive plants.

Garden planting may begin in the spring, but garden planning starts in the winter. Virginia Cooperative Extension's Ed Olsen, along with Hanover Extension Master Gardener Josh Cosby, shares expert advice on how to prepare for successful spring planting in this From the Ground Up segment.