Northern Neck Master Gardeners

Northern Neck Master Gardeners Virginia Master Gardeners bring the resources of Virginia's Land-Grant Universities to the people of Virginia.

Mission: To be the Virginia Cooperative Extension volunteer organization extending horticultural outreach across the Commonwealth. Virginia Extension Master Gardeners are volunteer educators who work within their communities to encourage and promote environmentally sound horticulture practices through sustainable landscape management education and training. As an educational program of Virginia Co

operative Extension, Virginia Master Gardeners bring the resources of Virginia’s land-grant universities, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, to the people of the Commonwealth. Virginia Cooperative Extension is a partnership of Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and local governments, and is an equal opportunity employer. For the full non-discrimination statement, please visit ext.vt.edu/accessibility.

🦅 Look who stopped by!This beautiful osprey found the perfect lookout in a nearby tree.While we often think about planti...
08/17/2026

🦅 Look who stopped by!

This beautiful osprey found the perfect lookout in a nearby tree.

While we often think about planting flowers and shrubs to attract wildlife, ospreys remind us that creating habitat goes well beyond individual plants. These remarkable raptors are fish specialists, so they’re most often found near healthy lakes, rivers, ponds and other waterways where fish are plentiful. They also appreciate tall trees, snags and other elevated perches that give them a clear view of the water.

A wildlife-friendly landscape is really part of a much bigger picture. Protecting water quality, reducing unnecessary pesticide use, preserving mature trees and snags when it’s safe to do so, and supporting diverse native plant communities all help create healthier ecosystems—from pollinators and songbirds all the way up the food chain to predators like this osprey.

Sometimes the best sign of a healthy garden isn’t what’s growing in it—it’s what shows up because of the habitat around it.

Plants with History: RosemaryToday’s stop in our Colonial Apothecary Garden is a plant most of us still recognize immedi...
08/12/2026

Plants with History: Rosemary

Today’s stop in our Colonial Apothecary Garden is a plant most of us still recognize immediately—rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus, formerly Rosmarinus officinalis).

Rosemary may bring to mind roasted vegetables and savory dishes, but in earlier households its uses extended well beyond the kitchen.

Rosemary was valued for its strong fragrance and was used in hair and tooth washes, perfumes and scented waters. It was also a strewing herb—fresh or dried herbs scattered on floors to release their fragrance when walked upon.

Historical herb references even note its importance in preparations such as Eau de Cologne, where rosemary joined other aromatic plants to create the familiar scented water.

Like many plants in the apothecary herb garden, rosemary was used far more than food. Plants provided ingredients for cooking, medicine, personal care and keeping the home.

Plants with History explores how plants were understood and used in earlier times. Historical uses are shared for educational purposes and are not medical recommendations.

# NorthernNeckMasterGardeners

08/11/2026

Riparian Buffers: Liatris

A beautiful shoreline can also be a working shoreline.

Liatris, or blazing star, is a native perennial that can be a great addition to a riparian buffer. Its flowers provide nectar for butterflies, bees, and other pollinators, while its roots help hold soil and increase the diversity of vegetation along the shoreline.

And those tall purple flower spikes? They prove that plants doing important environmental work can look pretty good doing it. 💜

When choosing plants for a buffer, remember to match the plant to the conditions—especially sunlight, soil moisture, and how frequently the site floods.

🌱 Right plant. Right place. Healthier shoreline.

Garden Knowledge: Anthracnose on BlackberriesNot every gardening lesson comes from success.Our blackberry planting at th...
08/10/2026

Garden Knowledge: Anthracnose on Blackberries

Not every gardening lesson comes from success.

Our blackberry planting at the Northern Neck Farm Museum demonstration garden has developed anthracnose, a fungal disease that can weaken canes, reduce fruit production, and eventually kill the planting. Unfortunately, these bushes will need to be removed, destroyed, and replaced in a new location.

How to recognize anthracnose:

🍃 Small purple to gray spots on young canes that enlarge into sunken lesions with purple margins.
🍃 Leaves may develop small tan or gray spots with darker borders.
🍃 Canes can crack, die back, and produce fewer berries.
🍃 Severe infections weaken the entire planting over several seasons.

What should home gardeners do?

✔️ Prune out infected canes and destroy them—don’t compost heavily infected material.
✔️ Improve air circulation by proper spacing and annual pruning.
✔️ Avoid overhead irrigation whenever possible to reduce leaf wetness.
✔️ Remove old floricanes after harvest.
✔️ If the disease becomes severe, remove the planting and establish new blackberries in a different location using healthy, disease-free plants.

Like many fungal diseases, prevention is much easier than cure. Good sanitation and proper cultural practices are your best defense.

Sometimes the best lesson a demonstration garden can provide isn’t what went right—it’s what to watch for before a problem spreads..

Based on Virginia Cooperative Extension recommendations for blackberry disease management - if you can concerns about your berries or other plantings, reach out to our help desk. Contact information is available in our bio.

NorthernNeckMasterGardeners

08/08/2026

Come See Us at the Stratford Hall Wine & Oyster Festival!

We’re excited to be returning as a vendor at the Stratford Hall Wine & Oyster Festival!

As in years past, Northern Neck Master Gardeners will be there to answer your gardening, plant, and shoreline questions. Bring us your questions—or just stop by and talk plants with us!

One of our favorite parts of the festival is the chance to visit with our community, share research-based gardening information, enjoy the music, and, of course, sample some of what the festival has to offer.

📅 September 19 & 20
📍 Stratford Hall

Look for the Northern Neck Master Gardeners / Virginia Cooperative Extension tent and come say hello. We’d love to see you!

08/06/2026

Demonstration Garden Spotlight: Stratford Hall Vegetable Garden

The Northern Neck Master Gardeners help maintain the vegetable garden and surrounding ornamental beds at historic Stratford Hall. While the garden demonstrates vegetable production and sound gardening practices, it also has another purpose—serving our community.

Last week, Master Gardeners joined Stratford Hall staff to harvest an incredible 591 pounds of potatoes, all of which were donated to Healthy Harvest Food Bank in Warsaw.

Demonstration gardens aren’t just places to learn—they’re places where education, stewardship, and service come together. Every harvest helps show what can be grown in our region while providing fresh, nutritious food to our neighbors.

That’s one more reason we love these gardens: they cultivate both plants and community.

Plants with History - colonial apothecary: Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium)Known historically as “Fetherfew,” feverfew wa...
08/05/2026

Plants with History - colonial apothecary: Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium)

Known historically as “Fetherfew,” feverfew was a familiar plant in European herb gardens and later colonial apothecary gardens.

In The Herball, John Gerard recommended dried feverfew made into powder and taken with honey or sweet wine. According to the medical thinking of his time, it would purge “melancholy and phlegm” and benefit those who were “giddy in the head.”

These words reflect the humoral theory of medicine, in which illness was attributed to imbalances among bodily fluids or “humors.” They should not be interpreted as modern medical guidance.

From historic remedy to cheerful garden plant, feverfew reminds us how dramatically our understanding of medicine has changed over time.

This post explores historical plant uses and is not intended as medical advice.

08/04/2026

Riparian Buffers: The Power of Native Grasses

When people think of a shoreline buffer, they often picture trees. But native grasses are some of the hardest-working plants in the landscape.

Species like purple lovegrass and switchgrass, including cultivars such as ‘Northwind’ and ‘Shenandoah‘, develop extensive root systems that:

*Slow stormwater runoff
* Hold soil in place and reduce erosion
* Filter sediment and pollutants before they reach our rivers and the Chesapeake Bay
* Provide food and shelter for birds, butterflies, and other wildlife

By combining native grasses with shrubs and trees, a riparian buffer becomes a living system that protects both your shoreline and our local waterways.

Interested in creating or improving a shoreline buffer? The Northern Neck Master Gardeners’ Shoreline Evaluation Program (SEP) offers on-site evaluations. Learn more at nnmg.org/sep or contact the Lancaster Extension Office at (804) 462-5780.

ChesapeakeBay

08/03/2026

Keys to Attracting Birds to Your Yard: Water

Food may bring birds to your yard—but water keeps them coming back.

A simple birdbath provides drinking water and a place to bathe, helping birds keep their feathers clean and in top condition. During Virginia’s hot summers, fresh water can be even more valuable than food. In winter, a heated birdbath offers one of the few reliable sources of unfrozen water.

As these photos show, a birdbath can attract an amazing variety of visitors—from everyday robins to bluebirds, wild turkeys, and many other species.

To keep birds healthy:
💧 Replace the water every 2–3 days (daily during hot weather).
🧽 Scrub the basin regularly with a 10% bleach solution or a vinegar solution, rinse thoroughly, and refill with fresh water.
🍂 Remove leaves, algae, and droppings to help prevent the spread of diseases such as salmonellosis and conjunctivitis.

A clean birdbath is one of the easiest ways to make your landscape more welcoming to wildlife.

What birds visit your birdbath?

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7154 Northumberland Highway
Heathsville, VA
22473

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