This week's Native Plant of the Week is a plant that many of you have probably seen in someone's yard (or maybe your own!) - Thuja occidentalis, American Arborvitae. Arborvitae have a narrow to broad, pyramidal habit, and the fragrant foliage has a nice, soft texture. It has lustrous dark green foliage in summer and can turn a yellowish-green to brownish-green in winter. The straight species reaches 50-75' high, with a spread of 35-50'. It does well in full sun, but can handle some afternoon shade, which makes this evergreen pretty versatile. Tolerates clay soil (great for our neck of the woods), air pollution and black walnuts. All-in-all, a terrific urban evergreen tree - resilient and durable. This tree also provides winter coverage and food for songbirds and small mammals.

Arborvitae has a plethora of uses - hedges, foundation planting, groupings; it can even be used as a specimen. It can be pruned and shaped easily.  Culti...

Desperately seeking an evergreen shrub. Must be short (3-5' tall) and attractive. Reliable and tolerant of DC summers. Looks good all year long.

At times, looking for a particular shrub for your garden can sound like a personal ad! Luckily, we've found a perfect match with this week's Native Plant of the Week - Ilex glabra, Inkberry. Inkberry is an evergreen shrub, 5-8' in height (species), slow growing and can be planted in full sun to part-shade in average to wet soils. Inkberries are hollies, so they are dioecious (separate male and female plants). A male plant is needed for the the female to produce the fruits. The small, black fruits are produced September - March and are consumed by song birds and small mammals. For a tidy appearance, prune annually in early spring, just before new growth ...

Interested in attracting birds to your yard? Why not plant our native plant of the week, Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Redcedar. This evergreen is the ultimate bird magnet - Cedar Waxwings, Brown Thrashers, Northern Flicker, Evening Grosbeak, Bluebirds are just a few of the birds that utilize this tree for its habitat and food source. The dense green branches provide thick cover and a safe nesting area; the shredded bark provide great nesting material. And those berries! The berries are consumed by over 50 species of birds! An all-you-can-eat buffet for our feathered friends!

But enough about the birds, lets get into some technical details. Eastern Re...

On the morning of January 1^st, the squawks and calls of the neighborhood birds served as notification that a Barred Owl (Strix varia) had come to roost in my neighbor’s hemlock. Seeing this large raptor was a wonderful way to begin the new year! Can you spot her peeking from behind the ivy leaves in the picture? 

Having seen both male and female Barred owls in my neighborhood, I know that the female is larger than the male. This massive bird is a female. Her feathers have serrated edges that ensure her flight is silent so that she can surprise her prey. She is silent until late winter when she will begin calling to her mate. I rely on other birds to act as my sentries and notify me as to the owl’s whereabouts.

Listen to nature’s sounds, learn their meanings and enjoy the wonders you’ll find. And clip that ivy before it climbs your trees!

Welcome back and a Happy New Year to all!

Between yesterday and today temps, it really feels like winter, so I thought this week's plant, Gaultheria procumbens - Wintergreen was appropriate choice. Wintergreen is a low, evergreen shrub with red edible berries. It forms a creeping mound about 6-12" in height, and spreads 2-3' wide. Flowers form between May-August and the blooms are white to pink in color, and the red berries set in July and last until April. While Wintergreen is evergreen, the aromatic foliage can turn reddish as the weather cools in Fall. Wintergreen likes part-shade to full shade and prefers moist soil. Need a native, evergreen groundcover for a shady situation? Wintergreen fits the bill! Plus it provides food for songbirds and wildlife during those tough winter months. 

We at John Shorb Landscaping, wish you a Happy Holiday and bright New Year.  We will be closed between Christmas and New Years, so we'll see you in 2012!

Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveller, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home!  ~Charles Dickens

The holidays are definitely upon us! Christmas is a mere two days away and I'm sure there are folks who have last minute shopping to do. If you are in downtown DC, check out the Downtown Holiday Market near the Verizon Center. Today is the last day (it is open until 8pm tonight), so be sure to check out all the goods (jewelry, artwork, clothing, etc) from local artisans. 

Have some out of town guests in town already? Hop on the metro, or drive downtown (if you dare) to do some free holiday sightseeing! Take them for a walk around the Capitol Grounds to see the Capitol Christmas Tree! Too chilly? Head indoors to Union Station and check out the Union Station Holiday Train Sho...

When the sun goes down, the fun begins at the National Zoo with its Zoo Lights exhibit. This exhibit provides holiday fun for the entire family and admission is free! Besides enjoying the illuminated "animals", there are train rides, an iceless skating rink, live concerts nightly and much more. After all that fun, Zoolights provides three great ways to give back during this holiday season - so you can feel very merry about your visit to the zoo! Check the website for further details on donating coats, old cell phones and old holiday light strands.

This week's Native Plant of the Week is Ilex opaca, American Holly. American holly is an evergreen tree native to the mid-Atlantic region. “Ilex” is the botanical name for all plants in the holly genus. “Opaca” is from latin “opacus” (opaque) presumably because of its dark, lustrous leaves. These plants are dioecious, which means that a plant is either male or female. A male plant (androecious) has flowers that produce pollen only, but no seed. A female plant (gynoecious) produces seeds, but no pollen.  It is the females that bare the red berries. Generally, we need 1 male nearby for every 10 females in order for cross pollination to occur. Without, the females would not bear fruit. Bees and wasps are the primary pollinators for the American holly.

The berries of the American holly are an important food source for many birds including wild turkeys, 3 types of woodpeckers, cedar waxwings, bluebirds and ro...

Get into that holiday spirit with a trip to Brookside Gardens and experience the Garden of Lights. Take a tour through the illuminated garden enjoying festive, imaginative light displays. The exhibit opened November 25 and runs through January 8, 2012. For further information on cost, directions, etc,  please click this link - Garden of Lights.

This week's native plant of the week is Ilex verticillata, Winterberry holly - which in my opinion could be the native plant of the winter season. This shrub provides not only beautiful red berries for our viewing pleasure, but sustenance for song birds and small mammals during the cold winter months.

First, some information about Winterberry holly:

• It is native to Eastern US
• It is a deciduous holly (loses its leaves)
• Berries remain and cover the branches
• Male and female plants are needed for berry production (1 male for 3-5 females)
• An easy plant to grow, has few disease and insect problems

Winterberry holly do well in full sun and tolerate some shade, does great in wet areas in the garden (another great rain garden shrub!) and there are many cultivars to choose from. This shrub provides year round interest - lustrous, thick, dark gr...

Washington D.C. has many great holiday events/exhibits, one of which is the US Botanic Garden's Season's Greenings exhibit. This delightful holiday exhibit showcases seasonal plantings, poinsettias, one of the largest indoor decorated christmas trees, Garden Railway (buildings created with plant material) and much more.The exhibit opened November 24 and runs through January 2, 2012. The conservatory is open daily, 10am-5pm, and admission is free of charge. In December, they have extended hours until 8pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays with live seasonal music. Bring the family and come enjoy these beautiful seasonal plantings and holiday displays!

Welcome to our weekly commentary, Native Plant of the Week! Each week, we'll feature a different native plant, tell you a bit about it, what it can do for you and why you should have it in your garden. We'll pick plants based upon their seaonality, their blooms and foliage, habit and overall benefits to the surrounding landscape. Since we're approaching winter, it's fitting that we talk about trees and shrubs that provide winter interest to a garden. This week's Native Plant of the Week, Cornus sericea, the Red Osier Dogwood.

Red Osier Dogwood provides year-round interest: bold red twigs in winter, white flowers in late spring, dark green leaves in summer and reddish purple leaves in autumn. You'll want to plant this shrub in spot where it can be viewed, somewhere in the garden where the color can pop (against a white fence would do the trick). Looks stunning when massed! The shrub can ...

Fall foliage is so fleeting. One minute the trees are full of leaves in a range of autumnal hues, the next minute the tree is bare. There are a few trees hanging onto their leaves (some oaks, crape myrtles), so check them out before all the lovely fall foliage is gone! Here are some of our top fall foliage (trees):

There are many more trees with incredible color - Dogwoods (Cornus florida) have deep burgundy/purple leaves, Black Gums (Nyssa sylvatica) have brilliant ruby red leaves and Sweetgums (Liquidambar styraciflua) have multi-color leaves- reds, oranges, yellows and purples. Which is your favorite?  Let us know in the comments!

Fall is definitely in the air - temps are lower, leaves are changing and days are getting shorter. So you may ask yourself - can I plant in Fall? What should be planted in the fall? The answer - Bulbs! Now's the time to plant your spring bulbs: daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and crocus. Daffodils are a great bulb choice for many reasons. Besides being nice pop of color in spring, daffodils are deer resistant (rodent resistent too),  they naturalize and come back year after year. And the array of colors to choose from is far from your basic yellow! Colors range from peach to yellow with orange tips to white.

Green Infrastructure and storm water management create a "living classroom".

This is an example of a government green infrastructure and storm water management project completed at the Ariel Rios Building.  The Ariel Rios Federal Building is located in the Federal Triangle in the Nation’s Capital, across 12th Street from the Old Post Office (i.e. the new building it was designed to replace).

BioRentention Cell to improve water quality discharge from parking lot.

This is an example of a biorentention cell project to improve water quality discharge from parking lot near the National Building Museum. The National Building Museum is a cultural institution devoted to the history and impact of the built environment. It tells stories of architecture, engineering, and design. John Shorb Landscaping has added to this rich collection of stories through its outdoor landscape project that enhances the family-friendly experience at the National Building Museum from visitors from around the world.