Saying YES! A Very Capital Garden Tour

Thea here.  Early one Sunday morning this past spring, the phone rang. It was my neighbor, Xiaobing.  She wanted to know if I would like to go on a White House Garden tour that morning as her guest.  The tickets were not available to the public; she'd gotten them at work. She had one extra ticket and thought of me!  Yes! Yes! Yes!

The invite was last minute so I didn't have a moment to waste. I jumped out of bed and got dressed, plopped on my garden hat and waited by the door for a ride.  It was a glorious day for a garden tour and I didn't want to be late.

Even though I'm local, I hadn't yet had an opportunity to visit the White House or the grounds. I am like so many tourists that gaze from afar, through the fences and security gates, hoping for a glimpse of something.  We managed to get parking and walked over to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and joined the long yet organized line, waving our tickets through various checkpoints.

After we cleared Security we entered the last gate and I found myself on the driveway leading up to a very lovely mansion with manicured lawns and gardens.  I have to admit, I got a bit choked up.  I couldn't believe I was really at our White House!

As we made our way up the drive, we were serenaded by a military band. There were several displays explaining all the different trees that have been planted on the lawn, many representing different presidencies.

 
  When we reached the base of the portico, I could only look up.

 A discreet staircase that winds up the side is draped with thick, old trunks of wisteria vine.

The mansion is connected by a long, windowed corridor to the Oval Office.  The famous Rose Garden runs along the corridor and must offer our President a wonderful view on his way to work most of the year.  Roses weren't in bloom yet, showy spring bulbs were the stars of the gardens.

 There were tables and chairs tucked within the gardens. I could picture many a meeting of the minds in such a lovely garden.

  On the steps leading to the executive offices is the podium used for those Rose Garden press conferences.  I was in awe, really, being so close to everything most of us only catch a glimpse of on television.

My perception of the Oval Office is that it appeared much smaller than I expected. I loved that the Obamas placed the children's swing set so that our President could watch his children play from his office.

As we continued down the path, you get such a different perspective of the immediate property surrounding the White House. There are many old and cherished trees.

 On the lower lawn area there is a grand, formal fountain surrounded by bright red tulips.

We continued along the path and came upon the newest White House feature - the Vegetable Garden. Tucked into a small copse of trees are bee skeps (hives). Given it was such a warm and sunny day, there was quite a  hum of activity.

 Right beyond that is the First Lady Michelle Obama inspired Vegetable and Herb garden.  It's beautifully designed and high yield. Everything produced in this lovely garden is used in the White House Kitchen, including the honey that is harvested from the bee skeps.  Frankly, this is my dream garden!

We circled back, asking the very helpful guides questions and taking more pictures.  I really didn't want to leave.  Huge kudos to the National Park Service, who maintain the property, trees and gardens, Security teams and the tour volunteers.  There's a lot of legacy and history here, with many trees planted, in honor of the first families who have cherished living in the White House.

You never know when a wonderful and rare opportunity to tour a garden will happen, but if it does, say YES!  My next dream tour is of the interior of the White House. Can't wait.

  p.s. This is the First Family's view from the portico.

all photographs by Thea McGinnis

This Has to STOP!

Yesterday, I was informed by some helpful person that there's only 50 more days until fall!  Stop it!  I just want to enjoy my summer, here and now!  I've barely gotten over spring.  Don't get me wrong. I love fall.  In the fall.  Until then, it's all about my summer garden, the beach, visiting friends, feeling the warmth of the day on my skin. How about you - What have you been up to? Relax, Enjoy. Breathe.  You still have 72,000 minutes of summer to enjoy.

SMILE! Photographing Your Garden

Thea McGinnis here. I find photographing my gardens a challenge - I’ll get a great shot and the background is distracting or an eyesore.   Or I just can’t get the close ups like I see them.  Or the angle is just wrong.  How about you?  I reached out to my writer/gardener friend, Judy Janowski, who almost every day, photographs what’s blooming in her lovely garden. Let’s pick her brain...

Judy, your garden photography is lovely.  I know you live in upstate New York and have a Zone 5 garden.  Tell us about your garden.  This 1/2 acre plot, which I have named "Rainbow's End", started out as a blank slate.  Over the past 30 years it has morphed into a vegetable garden with many flower gardens.  Many flower gardens started out as a rectangle but as more and more flowers were given to me, the rectangles became half circles.

Wow!

One of the joys of gardening is growing a garden filled with plants given to me.  Special to walk around remembering who gave me what. I have learned to ask about the plant's characteristics as I have been given too many invasive plants.  Good reminder. I remember the first time I shared from my garden - it was golden rod but I thought it was phlox.  Oops! I heard about it for two seasons after!

What kind of camera do you use? I was given an Olympus D-560 when someone upgraded. 

Are you a professional photographer? No.  Point and click is all I can decipher. 

So, you never really played around with cameras or photographing flowers? This camera just fell from the sky into your gifted hands?  Prior to this camera, my only camera was a graduation gift from 1971!  The Olympus D-560 takes much better photos.  I am not a trained photographer.  The Olympus was an unexpected gift which has brought much enjoyment.

What’s the best time to photograph your garden? I take photos most anytime.  I like to go out when dew is heavy or after a shower.  Hostas and Lady's Mantle are especially pretty covered with drops.  The best time to photograph squash blossoms, which I affectionately call my "pots of gold" here at Rainbow's End, is early morning when the bees come to work.  Love to listen to their symphony.  All is right with the world at that time of the day.  

 I tend to go out around 11:00 when the sun comes around to take pics of the hibiscus stamen's shadow. 

Again, as the sun is setting, the accidental picture of the shadow of the rose bush on the garage siding reminds me of old fashioned wallpaper.  Consider taking the shadow of a tree's skeleton on the snow.  Photos taken facing the sunset shining through petals is enchanting. 

What about photographing vistas and landscapes?  To photograph vistas and landscapes, out comes the ladder!  Really.  It's one way to avoid distracting backgrounds.  I never would have thought of that!!

 Do you use any special effects? I especially like using the sky as a backdrop for sunflowers.  Take into consideration the color wheel.  Using the sky for a backdrop for sunflowers is an easy photo.

Using the sky for other flowers means squatting low and isn't necessarily comfortable.  Photos at dusk will automatically impose a dark background making the flower more pronounced. 

So - no special effects - do you use a flash?  The camera seems to calculate flash or no flash automatically. 

Do you edit on your camera as you go,  or after you download them to your computer?

I purposely edit as I go as this particular model only takes 24 photos.  I take shots then download to take more most days.

How close do you get for a close up shot - do you adjust the camera or take it right up to the petals?  I've learned if I'm too close the photo will be fuzzy.  This camera will pick up colors that the naked eye cannot detect.  The clematis looks dark purple but a photograph will show there's more than one color purple in its petals.

Judy, thank you so much for sharing your beautiful photographs and for all your great garden photography tips and suggestions. I can’t wait to try them out. Happy gardening!

Judy Janowski is a gardener, poet, author, artist and blogger. She lives in upstate New York. Visit her blog at http://lifeisagardenparty.blogspot.com to see more of her garden photography. Her latest book is Life Is a Garden Party Volume II.

(All photographs by Judy Janowski)

What's Our Mission?

Teamwork matters. Jo Sellers, National Capital Area Garden Clubs, Inc. President (2015-17) and her board at the June 20 NCAGC Leadership Conference held at the National Arboretum.  l. to r. Shirley Nicolai, Joyce Skoglund, Robin Hammer, Lydia Barbour, Danielle Barbazon, Audrie Whitney, Cherie Lejeune, Anne Bucher, Poss Tarpley, Jo Sellers, David Healy, Paula Knepper 

What’s Our Mission?

Welcome to National Capital Area Garden Clubs Blog.  We are here to talk about our Clubs. And gardening. And landscape design. And floral design. And environment. And conservation. And civic responsibilities.  And how our clubs all work both independently and together in our commitment to the mission of our organization within our communities.  The National Capital Area Garden Clubs, Inc. mission is:

(1)  to coordinate the interests and activities of garden clubs, plant, horticulture, and speciality societies within in the Metropolitan Area of the District of Columbia, in accordance with the Certificate of Incorporation in 1958 and

(2)  to provide education, resources and national networking opportunities for its members to promote the love of gardening, floral design, and the civic and environmental responsibility, in accordance with the Mission Statement of the National Garden Clubs, Inc.

When you go back to look at the mission statement of your particular garden club, you will see that it reflects NCAGC’s mission and the mission of Central Atlantic Region. And National Garden Club, Inc.'s mission. And that’s important because every activity we do - work in community parks and gardens, local schools and senior centers, community beautification programs, plant sales, program speakers, flower shows, attending symposiums, floral design education events - they reflect back to your club’s mission and NCAGC’s mission.  

Good Resources - Digital

What I like about this website www.dcgardens.com is that it's a one stop site with listings and information about national, state and local gardens in Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia and Maryland, plus links to plant societies, garden clubs and garden-related events.  This website is a great resource for locals, out of town visitors, guests or those who have recently relocated to the National Capital Area (welcome!)  This informative site  is the brain storm of
Susan Harris, top voice for the D.C. area at Garden Rants (www.gardenrants.com )

District I Tours Fallingwater

District I sponsored a bus trip to southwestern Pennsylvania to visit Fallingwater, the weekend house that Frank Lloyd Wright designed for the owners of Kaufman's Department Store in nearby Pittsburgh.

Photo by David Healy

For more photos, go here.

"Oldies But Goodies" Celebrates 60 Years

On their 60th anniversary, the Gardeners of the Junior League of Washington presented a small standard flower show entitled "Oldies But Goodies."  

Estelle Noone's "Light My Fire"

For more photos, go here.