Gardeners! Do you have an indoor plant, flower arrangement, outdoor garden, or landscaping photo that you would like to share? Here’s the place to impress, inspire, laugh, and share ideas about your indoor or outdoor adventures.
Email your photo with a first name, city, and a short description of why you are submitting it. We will try to post it as soon as possible. eMail Jill Baedke: heartofvamg@gmail.com.
| **2025** | |
 | 2025 MARCH – Hyacinths and Lavender are a sure sign of Spring for me! – Dianne – Farmville |
 | 2025 MARCH – My flowering almond trees are flowering! And throwing suckers. I managed to pull out 14 little ones for the HOVMGA Plant sale. Emily – Farmville |
 | 2025 FEBRUARY – Found these in my yard! Daffodils are a sure sign of spring! Barbara – Buckingham |
 | 2025 FEBRUARY – February ice, sleet, snow and the Hellebore is still blooming! Jill – Mechanicsville https://bit.ly/HOVMGA_Hellebore2 |
 | 2025 FEBRUARY – I’m so tickled with this seven month old Key Lime cutting. It has already flowered and has small fruit. Will the fruit mature, most likely not given the size of the cutting. For experimentation, I am going to stake it and keep a close eye on it to follow its progress. Propagation and experimentation are two of my fav things about being a MG. Kendall – Farmville |
 | 2025 FEBRUARY – Yippee! My Hellebores are going to blossom for the first time. Stay tuned for the grand “blooming”! Dianne – Farmville |
 | 2025 JANUARY – Christmas Rose (Hellebore) that is going strong in January’s freezing weather! I’m officially a fan. Kendall – Farmville https://bit.ly/HOVMGA_ChristmasRose |
 | 2025 JANUARY – My first! I have tried growing Moth orchids (Phalaenopsis) before …. no success until this year! What a happy surprise – 7 blooming “little ones”! Now I am hooked!! Jill – Mechanicsville https://bit.ly/HOVMGA_MothOrchids |
| **2024** | |
 | 2024 – DECEMBER – Indoor gardening in December? You bet! these Micro Dwarf Tomatoes are the best! Kendall – Farmville https://bit.ly/HOVMGAContainerGardening |
 | 2024 NOVEMBER – My Nativity display needed a touch of green – and *pop* – these small Bromeliads were perfect! I found them at a local grocery store. Interesting fact: they do not rebloom, but send out tiny “pups” / small buds to start a whole new plant. Read more here: https://bit.ly/HOVMGA_Bromeliad |
 | 2024 NOVEMBER – Cleaning out my garden and found this “volunteer” pepper! What a fun surprise! Elsie – Farmville |
 | 2024 NOVEMBER – We’ve had some crazy weather – but I never expected my Japanese Camellia to bloom this early. Last Year it was late December! Read more about this “winter delight” at VTech’s site: https://bit.ly/HOVMGAJapaneseCamellia |
 | 2024 OCTOBER – Here is a random bouquet of fall flowers: Sedum, Sage, Basil, and last year’s mums! Have you tried putting your fall mums in a corner of your garden for another year of blooms? Check out this site – remember your Zone. Here in Virginia we are Planting Zone 5a to 8a. https://bit.ly/MGWinteringMums. Jill – Hanover |
 | 2024 SEPTEMBER – Our “Volunteer” Garden: marble Tomatoes (a.k.a “squirrel tomatoes”), vining Littlebel, Sorghum, birdseed Sunflowers … should just plant the birdseed bag! Great results! Jill – Mechanicsville |
 | 2024 SEPTEMBER – Garden Delicious! Nothing can top fresh veggies from your own garden! Elsie – Farmville |
 | 2024 SEPTEMBER – *Critter* Garden Spider (Back-and-Yellow Argiope, Zipper Spider.) They have a zig-zag thread in their web to warn animals to not disturb their home. If disturbed, their bite is harmless, but may feel like a bee sting. Jill – Prospect |
 | 2024 SEPTEMBER – My one and only Teddy Bear Sunflower! This plant is a short, bushy plant (4 to 5 feet) with fluffy, golden-yellow blooms that appear from mid-summer to the first frost in autumn. Beautiful! Kendall – Farmville |
 | 2024 SEPTEMBER – Sweet Autumn Clematis – I have been pulling “viney” plants off of other plants, bushes, and my fences all summer. (Reminded me of the kudsu “look” at times!) This last week they bloomed! I was thinking moonflower but was surprised! It is a Clematis “Ground Virginsbower” – Category II Invasive plant. I agree! Jill – Prospect |
 | 2024 AUGUST – Indoor Coffee Tree – It does flower and fruit! The small pot helps to keep the plant to a manageable size. Jackie – Dillwyn |
 | 2024 AUGUST – Pitcher Plant – Sarracenia. This carnivorous plant attracts its insect prey with secretions on the lip of the pitcher-shape leaves. The leaf color and scent are also a draw to its funnel tube. There is no motion in the tubes, just a slippery slope, where bugs get stuck and are ingested. It likes to sit in water and needs to come in during the winter. So unusual! Jill – Prospect |
 | 2024 AUGUST – Water Bottles in my Garden! I saved my plastic milk jugs and cut off the bottoms, leaving on the cap. Then I filled each with water through the bottom. (Really fast with a hose). Now twist the cap to allow a small drip. I taped a stick to hold them erect by each plant. This worked really well when I knew I was going to be away and needed an addition way to water my garden. Use in containers? Ice cubes? Yes, not perfect, but having fun playing! Jill – Prospect |
 | 2024 JULY – *Critter* Snake ( in Hydrangia): Surprise! Be aware that Black/Brown/ Garter/ Rat snakes can hide in your bushes! They are usually harmless unless threatened. They keep the mice from our garden & house! Kendall – Farmville |
 | 2024 JULY – Japanese Kerria! (Bachelor’s Button, Easter Rose) I bought this at the plant sale last year. This is the first springtime bloom. It likes the shade or its flowers will fade. Resistent to deer and drought! Karen – Farmville |
 | 2024 JULY – **Critter** Caterpillar in my dill! (black swallowtail caterpillar (Papilio polyxenes). This is a popular host plant for many caterpillars – then butterflies! Plant some parsley and dill to attract those pollinators! Virginia – Farmville |
 | 2024 JULY – Key Lime (citrus aurantifolia) – the lime turn yellow when fully ripe and is smaller than the Persian Lime which is what is typically sold in grocery stores. It takes a few (a lot) to make a Key Lime pie, but oh-so worth it! Kendall – Farmville |
 | 2024 MAY – Canna Lillies – This bulb plant canna bulbs can be left in the ground over winter up to Zone 8. They are pretty reliable as a perennial and will come back in the spring! How beautiful they are! Annemarie – Farmville |
 | 2024 MAY – Two years ago, I was cleaning under my hydrangea & found branches that had rooted in the ground! I planted them in the Spring and I now have 3 more blooming hydrangea next to the “mama”. It is called “Ground Layering”. Many shrubs do this naturally – or you can push a drooping branch under the dirt, hold it down with a paper clip (?), and then check for roots ! Jill – Prospect |
 | 2024 MAY – Native Yucca Blooming in my yard! It is an evergreen, native perennial shrub that is found throughout Virginia. Virginia – Farmville |
 | 2024 JUNE – *Critter* Praying Mantis on my Steeds Holly. Kendall – Farmville |
 | 2024 JUNE – Gladiolas from my garden! Annemarie – Farmville |
 | 2024 JUNE – *Critter* Butterfly on my Butterfly Weed: This is a photo of a zebra swallowtail butterfly on some of our own butterfly weed (asclepias tuberosa). Other butterflies and pollinators return to the butterfly weed even in years when I see no Monarchs. Virginia – Farmville |
 | 2024 MAY – Native Cactus “Prickly Pear” blooming in my yard! Virginia – Farmville |
 | 2024 APRIL – The blossoms on our apple tree are beautiful! Here’s to a great crop of apples this year! Greg – Farmville |
 | 2024 APRIL – What a gift from previous owners this little flower bed is! My bluebells are really giving a show this year. Dianne – Farmville |
 | 2024 APRIL – Here is a picture of my Phlox – a perennial that improves each year – at least for me! It has very low maintenance and is hardy in our Zone 7. The drawback is the short blooming season … but when she blooms, she blooms so, so pretty! Kendall – Farmville |
 | 2024 MARCH – I am so excited about my Carolina Jasmine- blooming now! I loved the one growing in the Bayscape Garden at the Virginia Cooperative Extension office in Farmville. Now a few years later Voila! (Click on the Bayscape Garden button in the side bar to find out more about “Bayscaping”.) Annemarie – Farmville |
 | 2024 MARCH – A SIGN OF SPRING! Bluebells make me smile. Joyce – Farmville |
 | 2024 MARCH – When the store has garden soil on sale and you have saved up some aged horse manure and grass clippings, what do you do? It’s time to fill that new little raised bed! Now it is ready to plant special flowers for the Heart of Virginia Master Gardeners plant sale – May 4! (Check out Events in the menu above for more details.) Dianne – Burkeville |
 | 2024 MARCH – The weather in Hanover still hovers above freezing during the night – yet these beautiful Hellebore (also known as the “Christmas Rose” and “Lenten Rose”) continue to bloom. Right above them is my Camellia Japonica tree with beautiful red flowers. Is spring coming? Jill – Hanover |
 | 2024 FEBRUARY– These Summer Snowflakes (Leucojum Aestivum) are blooming in my garden right now! February! They are similar to Snowdrops but taller, with daffodil-like foliage. This is an old fashioned spring blooming bulb and special to me because I remember them in my grandmother’s garden many, many years ago! Wonderful childhood memory. Nan in Farmville |
 | 2024 FEBRUARY- The previous owners pruned the hydrangea bush at the wrong time and, since they blossom on old growth, I have waited almost 2 years for new blossoms. Too bad the deer also like them and have munched off most of the new buds. This lonely survivor still makes me happy. Dianne in Burkeville |
 | 2024 FEBRUARY– Here is a personal arrangement of mine – to close out the celebration of the “Year of the Dragon”. Barbara in Buckingham |
 | 2024 FEBRUARY– So you think your poinsettia and amaryllis are finished after Christmas? Here are two adorning the Valentine table. Trish in Green Bay |
 | 2024 FEBRUARY– Such vivid red colors – and this amaryllis – and our family – enjoy two holidays! Trish in Green Bay |
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Jill in Mechanicsville
 | 2023 DECEMBER – This 20+ year old cactus was in full bloom the week before Thanksgiving! It gets a lot of benign neglect! The plant spends the summer outside in the shade. It comes inside mid-October and usually has buds when it comes inside. I have never repotted it & rarely fertilize it. Elsie in Buckingham |
 | 2023 NOVEMBER: I’ve waited 3 years for this to blossom. Before the killing frost I put it in my basement. To my surprise, when I went in for the amaryllis, I was gifted by this beautiful bloom on my Angel trumpet! Dianne in Burkeville |
 | 2023 NOVEMBER: Look what I found blooming at the side of the house with beautiful flowers! My Camellia is around the corner so enjoyed by the neighborhood as they come down the street. Today, when putting up seasonal decorations – there were dozens of blooms all over the tree! AND it was 27º the last few night! Don’t forget to take a walk around your yard – you may be surprised at forgotten treasures! Jill in Hanover |
 | 2023 AUGUST – Update on the Marble Tomato seeds that still give me many seasons of surprises. The birds and the squirrels have been “planting” them all over. Here are two beauties growing by our front steps, nestled in the boxwood! Not everyone can pick tomatoes as they go in and out of the house! Casey in Hanover, VA. |
 | 2023 AUGUST – Last fall I clipped 12 ends from my Sweet Potato Vines and rooted them in water over the winter. Here they are for the third season – beautiful! Indoor and outdoor pop of color for all seasons. Christine in Hanover. |
 | 2023 JULY– I was pleased to find this black swallowtail butterfly caterpillar and 4 of his buddies on my dill plants. Elsie in Dillwyn |
 | 2023 JULY– Here is a bloom delighting my eye at the moment. It is a lily from South Africa (Blood Lily Haemanthus) a member of the same family as the Amaryllis and just as easy to grow. Jackie in Buckingham |
 | 2023 JULY- Clivia Miniata is an easy care houseplant. I bring it inside during the winter but keep it on my covered deck during the summer. It requires full shade, likes to dry out between waterings and rewards with this beautiful long lasting bloom. Trisha in Farmville |
 | 2023 JULY– Last fall I moved some bulbs from my front bed not knowing what they were. What a wonderful surprise to get these beautiful gladiolus! Because I think of them as an old fashioned flower I put them in my grandmother’s vase to enjoy inside. Dianne in Crewe |
  | 2023 JUNE – A friend gave me some marble-size VERY sweet cherry tomatoes and do the birds/squirrels, and family, love them! Thank you Kendall! This is the second year that I have 80+ “volunteer” plants all over my yard – under the mailbox, between bushes, and even by the curb! Casey in Hanover, VA |
  | 2023 MAY – HOVMGA Plant Sale! Last year I bought this Dusty Miller for $1 and planted it in front of my gnome! Beautiful! Mark your calendar for our 2023 HOVMGA Plant Sale! Check Events & Activities page for more information about our events. Jill in Farmville, VA |
 | 2023 APRIL- While the yard at my new-to-me house needs tons of love and work, the blossoms from my tulip popular tree were an amazing gift to find. Dianne in Rice VA |
 | 2023 MARCH: I like to walk around my yard and find “what’s poking up” or ready to go to sleep and make a quick arrangement. Some crazy combinations have resulted – but still make me smile! Here is the middle of March with high and low temperatures. Flip-flops or winter boots? Jill in Richmond, VA |
 | 2023 FEBRUARY – When my winter arrangement gift starts to droop, I walk around the yard and replace it with fresh ferns and berries. I add the next holiday ornament and have weeks more of enjoyment! Chris in Prospect, VA |
| eMail: heartofVAmg@gmail.com | Webmaster: C. Jill Baedke |