The Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello is a family-friendly, educational event that brings together a regional community of organic and sustainable gardening proponents, heirloom plant preservationists and seed savers. This year’s event will be held on Montalto, the “high mountain” that rises 400 feet above Thomas Jefferson’s gardens at Monticello and will offer food tastings, a seed swap, workshops, demonstrations and other hands-on-activities. We are happy to announce that two of our contributing editors — Barbara Pleasant and William Woys Weaver — will be sharing their gardening expertise at the festival.

The activities begin at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello in Charlottesville, Va., on Friday, September 11 with a full day of workshops on Saturday, September 12.

Learn more:

• Festival Announcement 
• Event Schedule
• Directions 

 

Looking to beef up your gardening library? Lucky for you, there are heaps of great resources out there. Here are a few of our favorites:

• The Garden Primer by Barbara Damrosch (Workman Publishing Co., 1988; available for sale at Mother Earth Shopping)
• Heirloom Vegetable Gardening by William Woys Weaver (now on CD-ROM; available for sale at Mother Earth Shopping)
• The Complete Compost Gardening Guide by Barbara Pleasant and (Storey, 2008; available for sale at Mother Earth Shopping)

But we want to know which gardening books you think are best for beginners? If someone has never had the opportunity to grow a garden, what books would you recommend they read? And what about helpful websites? Please post your responses in the comments section below.

 

 

Thinking of planting some trees and shrubs this fall but can’t afford the prices at your local nurseries? Consider ordering trees by mail. You can get smaller plants than garden centers usually offer, at smaller prices. Often smaller plants will handle the shock of transplanting better than larger specimens, so you may not even be getting much benefit if you pay more for larger trees. Musser Forests is one mail-order company with a wide selection and a nicely organized website. Or if you have room to plant lots of trees, check with your state forestry or wildlife department — they often have great deals on bareroot seedlings of species they recommend for your area, offered in packs of 25 or so. You can read more about using trees and shrubs to attract wildlife in Create Wildlife Habitat and Grow a Living Fence.