Loudoun on Earth

Our young magnolia tree recently developed a seed pod and has produced the red berries containing magnolia seeds.  This is a recently planted tree (last week of September; the berries appeared about four weeks after planting.  I do not intend to harvest the seeds this year considering the tree has not adapted to its current micro-climate.  And, the berries are an autumnal food source for birds.  For more on magnolia virginiana: link .

As part of our planning for rebuilding our home habitat, we are preparing for the emplacement of a raised bed vegetable garden.  Our plans have been intentionally sequential and in accordance with rebuilding the habitat following the construction of a new house: we first focused on 'green infrastructure': rejuvenating the compacted soil, extraction of invasive plants, emplacement of native plants, and selection of pollinator-friendly plants to accompany bee and butterfly houses. Now that we have re-attracted pollinators and extracted all invasive plants, we have turned to rebuilding the compacted soil and allocating space to a raised bed vegetable garden.  Our intent is to use the garden for fresh produce, as well as canning and dehydrating.  I love beet chips, so that will be on the dehydrating agenda.  The space we have chosen is in between an exterior stairwell extending from our basement and a covered porch/deck.  Currently, there is lawn there tha...

This is an essay about native plant landscape planning and design.  Indeed, this is really a book topic that is summarized into a blog post.  Though the post may be expanded upon at some point, these are the key steps I experienced in revamping a landscape into a native plant landscape in Loudoun County. Step One:  Soil .  I felt my highest priority was and is to repair the soil.  This project began a little less than one year ago when I revitalized my composting program after relocating to Loudoun County.  Composting is the bedrock of an organic garden.  While I have composted for years, which of course reduces household waste and allows for great soil-building, it was urgent when I occupied my current space: the soil was compacted and lacking in nutrients-it was in desperate need of a layer of organic compost.  Some thoughts on compost here ;  bottom line: just start composting your organic food scraps.  Now.  You can compost mo...