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gardens / lawn care
Planting and maintaining a garden on your property is an excellent way to make your property even more beautiful and provide many ecosystem services and benefits.
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The newsletters from the town website provide many resourceful articles on how to maintain your garden in an effective and environmentally-friendly manner. These articles can be found under the "Sustainable Living" column and are courtesy of the Village's Environmental Committee.
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Below are lists of tips and tricks to maintain and care for your garden and lawn.
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You can also visit here to read a guide on how to create a sustainable garden that helps wildlife!
7 Tips for Fighting Weeds:
1.Set your lawn mower blades higher
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2. Learn to tolerate some weeds
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3. Keep up with routine lawn care
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4. Weed by hand
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5. Use mulch or ground cover for beds
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6. Use a vinegar spray
7. Use an organic lawn care company
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Read more July 2019 Newsletter
Where to Buy Native Plants:
•Nature by Design in Alexandria, VA has a large selection of native plants and offers curbside pick-up
•Izel Native Plants sells a variety of plants through a mail-order solution
•The Audubon, our neighbor on Brierly Road, has resources to begin planting our yards with native plants
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•Here is a list of native plants
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Read more May/June 2020 Newsletter
Getting Rid of Poison Ivy:
1. Stop the use of the Roundup weedkiller.
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2. Pull up the plant using a shovel or a spade to loosen the roots.
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3. If the ivy is small and controlled, a 4-parts water 1-part white vinegar might be an effective solution.
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4.Wearing gloves and protective clothing, use garden clippers to cut all ivy vines around the base of a tree. Do not pull the vines above; that damages the bark.
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To download the pdf, click on the icon!
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Read more September 2019 Newsletter
Get Rid of Mosquitoes!:
Besides planting native species, try to resist using pesticides and herbicides in our yards. The County has laws limiting use of pesticides. Mosquito yard sprays are popular, but they kill all insects in the yard, not just mosquitoes.
Get rid of mosquitoes by...
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Removing the water where they breed
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Clean out gutters
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Trap mosquito larvae by putting a straw in a bucket of water and adding “mosquito dunk” (a small disc sold at garden centers that targets only mosquitos)
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Keep yard toys, equipment and birdbaths free of standing water
Learn more here on how to get rid of mosquitoes
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Read more July 2020 Newsletter
Garden Consultation:
Expert garden consultation for native plants is available via the Audubon Naturalist Society's Master Gardener, Jenny Brown. She is available for one-on-one, on-site garden consultations. After her visit, you’ll receive a map of your yard and garden, and and written report that includes:
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Defining sunny, shady, dry and wet areas
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Identifying your existing plants and recommending additions
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Next steps to improve habitat or start a food garden
Order your consultation at here
Rain Gardens:
Rain gardens (also known as bioretention areas) are used to treat and manage stormwater and helps reduce pollution. Rain gardens can also be aesthetically pleasing to the eye and make a great wildlife-friendly area! Read more about them here. ​
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Stuck on building your own? Consult the Rain Garden App.
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You can also visit here for more tips on how to install a rain garden.
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As an added bonus, Montgomery County offers incentives to install one!
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Here is another resource from the Department of Environmental Protection.
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