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Gardening News |
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washingtonpost.com - Green Scene by Joel Lerner
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Gardeners cultivate questions about effects of severe heat on plants
This summer has been a challenging one for keeping plants growing. Record-breaking temperatures in July and August have created heat stress for plants. According to the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration, the May-to-July period was the warmest on record for the Northeast and Southeast and the ninth-warmest for the Central region. This period produced record heat for the Washington area -- and a bumper crop of questions from area gardeners.
  
 Washington - Hyperthermia - National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration - Health - Temperature
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Green Scene: A Japanese garden's natural serenity
The objective of a Japanese garden is to establish a space that creates a mood of serenity and symbolism inspired by nature, designed in a very controlled fashion. Typically this includes the use of rocks, gravel, water, statuary, bridges, wood and some plants that appear to be hundreds of years old. In a traditional Japanese garden, elements are representational of nature in human proportions.
Garden - Japanese garden - Home - Nature - Japan
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Amid the heat wave, gardeners still have questions
Even though the heat has been record-breaking, you are still working in your gardens and have lots of questions. It's time to address some of them.
Heat wave - Business - Wounds and Injuries - Heat Related - Health
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Green Scene: Landscaping can make potential buyers feel right at home
If you are trying to sell your home, you can rise above the competition by designing curb appeal into your property.
Curb appeal - Real estate - Business and Economy - United States - Home improvement
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Green Scene: Gardening is a natural attraction for children
Gardeners and kids have a lot in common. The most conspicuous similarities being that both like to pluck flowers, pick fruits and berries, study insects and, not least, get wet and dirty. It's a natural match, and adults can nurture young people's interest in horticulture by inviting them to help weed, water, plant biennials, divide irises, deadhead flowers and learn what various plants look like -- especially poison ivy.
Garden - Flower - Plant - Home - Horticulture
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Green Scene: Rain gardens help conserve water in summer droughts
Usually by this time of year in the Washington area, we have had about 20 inches of precipitation. As of this writing, we are within a couple of inches of the average at Dulles International and Baltimore-Washington International Marshall airports, but Reagan National is more than six inches below normal. We have seen worse than this, but precipitation this year has been fickle, in the form of winter rain and snow -- followed by significantly below-average rainfall in April, May and June.
Precipitation - Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport - Washington Dulles International Airport - Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport - United States
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Whether to attract (hummingbirds) or repel (mosquitoes), products deliver
A few times each year, I like to review products that I hope will be useful to home gardeners. After a tryout, I find some promising products to be disappointments, and those I allow to die on the vine. Only the winners make it into print.
Mosquito - Home - Insect repellent - United States - West Nile virus
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Beware of late blight, and report damage
More than in most years, there is acute concern associated with pest control in the Washington area. On May 7, late blight was detected in a greenhouse in St. Mary's County. Measures have been taken by the grower to eradicate the disease, but plant scientists don't know whether it will spread or whether this outbreak is related to last year's.
Phytophthora infestans - Agriculture - Potato - Plant - Disease
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The temperamental rose offers rewards in color, fragrance and luxuriance
In 1986, the rose, official flower of the District of Columbia, became the national flower of the United States as well. It's also the official blossom of Georgia, Iowa, New York and North Dakota -- making it most popular choice for a state flower. But this popularity is somewhat curious, as gardeners know roses are fraught with disease and insect problems.
North Dakota - United States - Rose - New York - Georgia
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