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Fooling Mother Nature: Forcing Flower Bulbs for Indoor Bloom

Have you ever wondered if it is possible to enjoy the beauty of bulbs in the middle of winter? The answer is definitely yes!

Small black butterfly perched on an echinacea bloom

For the Birds, Butterflies & Hummingbirds: Creating Inviting Habitats

This publication examines habitat requirements and garden planning for birds, hummingbirds and butterflies.

Plant with rain water dripping around it and off leaves

Rain Garden Plants

This publication provides information on rain garden plant selection, installation, maintenance, and resources.

News

White flowers on the branch of a tree

Native Plants for Virginia Gardens

Native plants are important aesthetic and environmental additions to your garden. For a guide to the native plants in your area, visit Plant Virginia Natives (a partnership of Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) and other agencies).

Troubleshooting Landscape Problems

Do you have a specific disease or pest problem in your garden? Do you need help planning a new bed or deciding where to locate a tree? We can help.

potted plant with densely packed seedlings

Recent Annual, Perennial, and Bulb Publications

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  • Introduction to Cold-Hardy Tropicals for Virginia Landscapes
  • Container and Raised-Bed Gardening
  • Jardinería en macetas y camas elevadas (Container and Raised Bed Gardening) 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.
  • Rain Garden Plants 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.
  • Backyard Wildlife Habitats 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 Effect of Landscape Plants on Perceived Home Value 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).
  • Patriotic Gardens: How to Plant a Red, White and Blue Garden
  • America's Anniversary Garden: A Statewide Corridor and Entrance Enhancement Program

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