The 100th Anniversary of Maymont’s Japanese Garden is being celebrated this year. Also being celebrated in 2012 is the 100th Anniversary of Washington D. C.’s cherry blossom festival. Cherry trees herald in spring no matter where they are planted. In Japan the cherry blossoms are celebrated with picnics and parties (Hanami) amongst the falling blossoms. Timing is everything and at Maymont, and elsewhere, the cherry trees bloomed weeks ago as this past warm winter rolled into a very warm early spring.

Usually we are wrapped in sweaters and coats with scarves and mittens as we scurry about with holiday preparations and celebrations. This year, despite a few chilly nights, the warm weather has lingered. This weather pattern has initiated the opening of many flower buds in gardens throughout the area, creating quite a unique holiday landscape scene. There is nothing we, as gardeners, can do to stop the action but we can enjoy the beauty of each blossom and consider it a gift.

This past week Maymont’s horticulture volunteers gathered to transplant the recently arrived pansy plugs into flats. Over the next 6 weeks these plants will be nurtured and grown to a size suitable for planting in the gardens. As garden beds are filled with spring-flowering bulbs they are then over-planted with pansies and violas.

In the first segment of the August edition of Virginia Home Grown, Richard talks with Program Director Susan Edwards and Mike Likins, both of the Virginia Cooperative Extension for Chesterfield County, about the Grass Roots Lawn Care program. Susan and Mike share ideas on weed control, soil testing, and selecting the right grass to match the growing conditions around your home.