Demonstration Garden
Sustainability
Do not take baths, take showers. You will save about half the amount of water that you would if you were taking a bath.
Living in Harmony with Nature
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Meet the Wiggly Hungry Worm
Ready for some hands on fun learning experience!
Date: Saturday, June 8th
Time: 12:00pm–1:00pm -
Healthy and Lush Gardens Begin Here!
Help your gardens thrive in the summer months!
Date: Saturday, June 8th
Time: Noon – 1pm
Location: Broadlands Nature Center -
Bring Monarchs Home
Raise and Release Monarch Butterflies Program
Date: Sunday, June 16 Time:10:00 a.m.
Address: Broadlands Community Center 43008 Waxpool Rd, Broadlands Available space: 25/All ages (free) -
“The Bug Man” Brings Mother Nature’s Miracles
“The Bug Man” Brings Mother Nature’s Miracles
Date:Saturday, July 13th
Time: Noon- 1:30 P.M.
Location: Broadlands Nature Center -
Annual Sunscreen Safety Guide
Some 65 sunscreens advertised for babies and kids contain oxybenzone, a synthetic chemical that absorbs the sun’s rays but also readily penetrates the skin. It can disrupt the body’s natural hormones.
Seasonal, Healthy & Practical Diet
What’s for Dinner?
“The explosive growth in market share for organic produce in recent years testifies to a simple fact that pesticide companies and the farmers who use their products just can’t seem to grasp: people don’t like to eat food contaminated by pesticides,” said EWG president Ken Cook. “Our shopper’s guide to pesticides in produce gives consumers easy, affordable ways to eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables while avoiding most of the bug killers, fungicides and other chemicals in produce and other foods.”
Nutty and Sweet Beet Salad
Beets are an excellent source of hearth-healthy folate and a very good source of the antioxidants manganese and vitamin C as well as heart-healthy potassium. Beets are a good source of digestive-supportive dietary fiber, free radical scavenging copper, bone-healthy magnesium, and energy-producing iron and phosphorus.
Best Time to Buy From Farmers Market
Buy Direct from the Farmer!
Shop the LVHMA Ashburn and Brambleton Markets. Buy fresh local fruit, vegetables, and more…
Meet Your Native Plants
American Beauties
Native plant experts and wildlife experts have teamed up to create four gardens guaranteed to bring life to your landscape by providing food and habitat for a variety of desirable critters.
Time to Plant Virginia Native Bulbs
Planting in this area starts in mid to late October for most bulbs. Planting after the first hard frost (late October or early November) is best for tulips. Bulbs are not shipped after early December, so plan accordingly. There are some exceptions to fall planting – Colchicum is best planted by early fall before it blooms. Planting Depth and Width – Use the general three times rule when planting most dormant bulbs Plant about 3 times the height of the bulb (measured from the soil surface down to the tip of the bulb). Space bulbs at least three times their width apart. Actual planting depth can vary from about2 times to 4 times the height of the bulb – bulbs…
Getting to Know Paw Paw
Pawpaw season will arrive soon in the Eastern US. So just what is a pawpaw, other than something many of us sang about as children? And what the heck does one taste like? It’s actually an interesting story… The Common Pawpaw is the northernmost New World representative of a chiefly tropical family, which includes the popular tropical fruits Annona, Custard-apple, Sugar-apple, and Soursop. It produces the largest edible fruit indigenous to North America. The plant has large oblong leaves and many observers think it looks like a tropical plant, although it is native to over 25 states in the eastern U.S. It’s generally found in patches in well-drained, deep, fertile bottom-land and hilly upland habitat. The wild…
Beard Tongue
Penstemon albidus Nutt. White penstemon.
A stout, erect, 8-12 in. perennial with broad, rough leaves and a densely flowered spike of large, tubular blossoms. Flowers are white, sometimes with a pale pinkish or bluish tube.
Toxic Free & Eco-Friendly Home Resources
Chem-Free Home Cleaning
One other questions comes to mind is that what’s in the cleaning products?
Chemical Free Laundry
Just because you want to be energy efficient and stay away from toxic chemicals doesn’t mean your wardrobe has to suffer.
Toxic Free Lawn Care Guide
Homeowners Guide to Chemical Free Lawn Source: Organiclawncare101.com Add organic matter to your lawn to build the soil — or spread an inch of compost in the fall, and water it in. Get after weed problems early. It's easier (and less time consuming) to control a few young weeds than it is to wage war on many large, seed-producing monsters. Increasing the organic matter in your lawn by as little as 5% will quadruple the soil's ability to hold water. Use an organic, slow-release fertilizer to feed your lawn and the soil. These materials break down slowly, feeding your grass over a longer period of time. Spread crocus throughout your lawn to add an early…
Radon Guide
For Your Family's Health – Learn About How You Can Make Your Home RADON Safe! Radon Myths MYTH: Scientists are not sure that radon really is a problem. FACT: Although some scientists dispute the precise number of deaths due to radon, all the major health organizations (like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Lung Association and the American Medical Association) agree with estimates that radon causes thousands of preventable lung cancer deaths every year. This is especially true among smokers, since the risk to smokers is much greater than to non-smokers. MYTH: Radon testing is difficult, time-consuming and expensive. FACT: Radon testing is easy. You can test your home yourself or hire a qualified…
All About Home Insulation
What's new with insulation? Spray foam, traditional rolls, blown in, etc. What are 3 things I should know about new products/techniques I should know about? Homes are often built with multiple types of insulation: Outside the walls and under the slab, closed cell extruded polystyrene (XPS) rigid foam board is commonplace. Also, insulated concrete forms (ICFs), aerated autoclave concrete blocks, Air-krete, Hebel block, and Durisol have become popular over the last 20 years. For the exterior walls, we often find fiberglass batts, cotton or wool batts, blown in cellulose, rock wool, vermiculite, straw or straw clay, rigid foam and structural insulated panels (SIPs). In the attic, open cell spray polyurethane foam stops air infiltration well, as do SIPs. Finally, don't forget…
Eco-Friendly Fundraising
Schools can go green too. Many eco-friendly options are available to do fundraising.
Let’s Increase Property Values
The actions we take on our own properties can have a significant effect on the various species that share this habitat with us.
Compost – The Black Gold
What Is Compost? Compost is one of the most valuable resources for beautifying your landscape, and it is virtually free. The leaves you rake, the grass you mow, and the branches you trim are some of the ingredients you can use to make compost. Finished compost is dark and has a pleasant smell. It is produced when organic matter, such as garden, lawn, and kitchen waste, is broken down by bacteria and fungi. Use it throughout your landscape – till it into gardens and flower beds, add it to the soil when renovating your lawn, Or sieve it and use it in potting soil. Benefits of Composting Compost improves the structure of soil. With the…
