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Get a close-up view of the microbial life inside of plants and soil at a Cooperative Extension laboratory. Visit a colonial style garden to learn about flowers and herbs grown to make colorful dyes for fabric.
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VPM/VPMDiscover popular houseplant varieties and learn about their care. Visit a garden featuring unique herbs and discuss their uses beyond the kitchen. -
I am looking forward to consistently warmer weather so we can plant our heat-loving crops such as tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans, cucumbers and melons. However, what I am not excited about are the increased number of pests and diseases that come along with the warm weather.
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We all know the heat is coming; it’s only a few weeks away. Rather than react, I act now by taking a few simple steps to keep the landscape green, growing and resilient.
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Tim Wright/VPMExplore state and national champion trees at Richmond’s historic Maymont park. Tour Dragon Run on the Middle Peninsula to learn about bald cypress and the old growth forest network.
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PhotoJuthamat - stock.adobe.com/376424661Is your soil ready for your plants? This is a great question and most of us might just look at the soil to say yes — it looks loamy and has that black, rich color, or no — it looks like red Virginia clay to me! There is so much more to soil than meets the eye, and I want to introduce the best way to know more about what is in your dirt: the soil test.
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I garden with deer, where more than a dozen think my gardens are their personal restaurant to browse through. I have gardened with deer for many years, and through research backed by expensive trial and error on my part, I now only buy plants with specific traits.
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As gardeners, during the winter months we start missing our time in the garden. We spend so much time in our gardens during the warm season, that when we are forced to slow down due to frozen ground or uncomfortable cold, we can start feeling depressed and eager to get back to playing in the soil.
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A common question fellow gardeners ask me is about what my favorite plants are. While I have a few favorites, I really do like almost all plants so trying to choose just a few is difficult.
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I have always enjoyed going into my backyard and harvesting veggies for a meal, but I find it even more exciting during winter. I often continue growing into the winter by protecting my fall garden beds that get the most sunlight during winter.
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When I sit in my sunniest room, flipping through the various catalogs stacked at my feet, I know I need to be very careful with the plant choices I make. My years of experience have taught me that these choices will have an impact on my garden — and on my time — until the end of the season.
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Learn about community efforts to revitalize a popular Richmond park with Peggy Singlemann. Co-host Keith Nevison connects with a volunteer group focused on helping property owners identify and remove invasive plants that are threatening our Virginia natives. Plus revisit some popular stories from the last two decades as we continue to celebrate the 20th anniversary season of Virginia Home Grown. -
The warm weather of May brings so many opportunities to get outside in the garden, from herbs and vegetables to lawn care.
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The 20th season of Virginia Home Grown explores lawn care, propagating and houseplants.
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The unseasonably mild winter and hot spring temperatures have brought green to Virginia early than normal.
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As the warmest winter in over a century comes to an end the garden is looking very different than it usually does. Some plants are growing or blooming up to 2 weeks earlier than typical. Tasks normally reserved for March needed tending to in February but do not despair, there is still time to catch up.
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Pat McCafferty bids a personal farewell to viewers and reflects on his time as a Virginia Home Grown co-host.
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Next month, the United States Postal Service will be introducing ten new stamps that are sure to be a hit with plant lovers and outdoorsy people everywhere. The booklet features close-ups of orchid flowers and is the result of a lengthy process involving a slew of experts. It all started with an idea to showcase everyday Phalaenopsis hybrids but soon morphed into a pictorial catalog of exotic wild orchids.
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Once winter arrives in Virginia, plant lovers may need to work a little harder to find the botanical beauty that comes so naturally in the warm months. But with a little effort, we can bring that plant pizzazz back into our lives and homes—and one great way to do this is by making fabulous winter wreaths.
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Host Peggy Singlemann talks with Ryan Olsen, Horticulturist at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, about cacti and succulents.Co-host Pat McCafferty visits Chris Fields-Johnson in Scottsville to learn about the benefits of integrating livestock into forest pastures also known as silvopasture.
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As fall sets in, we welcome blustery winds, low ochre suns, and that timeless sweet-sour smell of decomposing leaves. Many of us invite traditions of warm spices and beverages, cozy sweaters, and trips to farms and orchards to select pumpkins and apples—some of our last big harvests of the season. Yet in many ways, fall is a time of saying goodbye—to our summer gardens, to the dog days of swimming, and to many of our migration and hibernation-destined animal friends
