Sunday, December 2, 2012
AHS will have its annual tree display event Dec. 3-21.
The American Horticultural Society will have its annual holiday season tree display from Dec. 3 to 21, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The trees will be on display at River Farm at 7931 East Boulevard Drive. Viveka Neveln, communications manager and associate editor, said the tree display is a tradition for the organization and provides a holiday environment for visitors. "This has been a long-standing tradition for the American Horticultural Society at River Farm to give our visitors a festive welcome to the state house," Neveln said in a recent email. Neveln said years ago, the annual event was a celebration of horticultural contributions to the holidays with live trees but because live trees can be fire hazards, AHS opted …
Monday, October 22, 2012
Artist creates oil paintings of flowers, landscapes, fruits, vegetables and more, now on exhibit at River Farm.
Patricia Miller Uchello never had a moment when she realized that she wanted to be an artist. There was never a question. Ever since the tender age of six, she has been passionate about the world of art: making it, observing it, and constantly striving to improve her technical skills. In fact, she says that she has always been in love with art and color for as long as she has been breathing. Raised in New Orleans, Uchello says her representational style is the result of studying fine art her entire life. After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Tulane University, she continued her studies at the Pratt Institute, where she received a Masters of Fine Arts. From there, her career blossomed. Uchello has lived in Northern Virginia for…
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Compost is black gold for your garden.
It is the perfect time of year to talk about composting. Leaves have begun to fall, and gardeners are cleaning up and cutting back spent flowers and other plant material in the garden. Composting this material is the ultimate step in sustainable gardening — returning nature’s bounty to our garden soil. I have been an enthusiastic composter for the past 10 years and have watched as my gardens thrive and my carbon footprint shrinks. Compost is produced when organic matter such as garden, lawn and other organic waste is broken down by bacteria and fungi. Compost incorporated into your garden soil can reduce erosion and water runoff. Plant roots penetrate compost-rich soil more easily and hold the soil in place. Water then flows down into the …
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
The American Horticultural Society aims to connect people and plants.
One Mount Vernon-area organization is trying to win a grant award through the Chase Community Giving program. The program was established in 2009 as a way to help support local charities that use less than $10 million in annual operating expenses. This year, Chase customers and employees nominated each 501(c)(3) public charity participating in the voting round back in June and July. The American Horticultural Society, which is headquartered at River Farm in the Mount Vernon area, is one nominee. According to the Chase program, the AHS’s mission is to open the eyes of all Americans to the vital connection between people and plants, to inspire all Americans to become responsible caretakers of the earth, to celebrate America's diversity …
Friday, August 24, 2012
Plein air artists find plenty of sunshine and shadow.
Skies were cloudy when a group of artists gathered to paint plein air at River Farm on Tuesday. The painters were out to capture beautiful landscaped vistas and panoramic views of River Farm’s 25 acres along the Potomac River. The first challenge for artists was to pick a good spot. Twenty minutes after greeting each other and scattering, some artists were still searching for just the right spot. The next challenge was setting up easels on uneven ground, for wide lawns slope steeply from the mansion down to the river. Judy Heiser set up her easel beside the gravel path leading to the mansion to finish a picture of the mansion and the garden around it. Plein artists must carry all their equipment. Artist Katie Woods said, “I try to pack as …
Friday, August 17, 2012
Tomato variety names included ‘Mr. Stripey’ and ‘Early Girl.’
Monday, August 13, 2012
Gala will be Sept. 22 at River Farm.
The American Horticultural Society will hold its 19th annual gala, “Garden Delights: An Evening by the River,” on Saturday, Sept. 22 at the society’s headquarters at River Farm. The event begins at 6 p.m. This year’s honorary chair is Kurt Bluemel, a renowned plantsman, nurseryman and designer who has championed the use of ornamental grasses and herbaceous perennials in the American landscape. His 40-year-old landscape design company, Kurt Bluemel, Inc., works with Fortune 500 companies, zoos, theme parks and businesses across the United States and overseas. Trained in Germany and Switzerland, Bluemel is past president of the Perennial Plant Association and lectures to gardening groups and organizations around the world. The evening will …
Friday, June 29, 2012
Show runs through Sept. 25.
The paintings of a group of local watercolor artists will be on display at the American Horticultural Society’s headquarters at River Farm throughout the summer. The paintings are by members of the group Salon 8. The show runs through Sept. 25 and includes a collection of paintings of magnolia blossoms and pods, each interpreted by one of the eight watercolorists. Also on display are landscapes and floral paintings inspired by the beauty of nature and the play of light on plant forms. There also will be several paintings of views of River Farm itself. All of the artists share a passion for the natural world and a love of trying to capture it through the challenging medium of watercolor. All artists are members of Potomac Valley …
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Take a shot at this week's trivia question.
Welcome to yet another round of Patch's trivia game! Here are the rules: we ask a question pertaining to the Mount Vernon District, and the first person to answer correctly in the comments section below wins a Patchy prize! Here's the question: What type of tree is the oldest tree standing on River Farm today? Submit your answer in the comments section below. If you have a trivia question you'd like to submit for a future column, please email mountvernon@patch.com.
Angela Anderson
10:52 am on Tuesday, September 25, 2012
I guess I am the friend with the ppile in the driveway. I find that adding sand to compost which has been sived of stones and large pieces of material works well for almost every planting application in our clay soil. I use straight compost only for top dressing. more ›