Make Room for the Heirloom Say what you will about August, it’s been a good growing summer in Virginia. I adore heirloom tomatoes and more varieties are showing up at markets each year. Heirlooms were once grown commercially, back when the total focus was on taste, and hundreds of varieties were available. That changed…
Prepare Us the Terrace If you do get a stretch of reasonable weather, a great DIY project is installing a patio area using pavers. It could be a small project like laying an area for the grill, trash cans, or a bench in the yard, or it could be for a larger patio project…
Some Like it Hot, Me Not Yesterday it was June, today it’s August. For the life of me I don’t know why it always takes me by surprise, but every summer it arrives on my doorstep like a family of out of town visitors that I insisted drop in for a visit at a…
Iris my Case One of my earliest memories is walking in a wooded area behind my house and stumbling across a bearded iris in full bloom. My first reaction was stunned awe and delight at its beauty. My second was to jank the whole plant from the ground and drag it inside the kitchen…
Outside Me reading a self improvement article is similar to when I’m rooting through my sparse pantry at dinnertime. I start with great optimism, study each possibility carefully, then hit speed dial for DoorDash after mentally rejecting the amount of effort it takes to combine item A with items C, D and Z to…
Know your H2O If you’re looking for things to do in the next two months, why not plan an adventure on or around the James River? Whether you want to be in it, on it, or near it, Richmond has a wide variety of river-based activities to welcome in the summer. First stop,…
Getting the Blues After the last issue of IORVA we received a request for an article on how to attract bluebirds. Happy to oblige, but attracting bluebirds is like dating. You can do your best to attract someone, but it all comes down to luck and chemistry. Bluebirds, like lonely hearts, are complicated critters. …
Painting a Wall As much as I look forward to April’s arrival, it is a month of many moods. Warm one day, chance of frost the next, clear and beautiful, quickly followed by days of rain. If the weather puts your outside plans on hold, you can tackle a decorating project that will…
Bee Happy There is no shortage of things to do in Richmond as the weather warms up, and here are a few suggestions for the adventurous. Ever thought about raising honey bees? Siller Bee Farms is offering an all day class covering the basics of raising bees. Whether you have a general interest…
To Hellebore With the Rules Sometimes you have to break the rules a little bit. Generally, the end of fall signals a break in adding plants to your garden, and it’s a smart move if your ground freezes over the winter. Here in Richmond however, a cold spell long enough to freeze the ground…
