Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 7, 1994 TAG: 9404070302
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By KEVIN DANIELS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Then you might want to attend ``Victory Gardening Galore,'' a pair of sessions in Roanoke on Saturday led by Jim Wilson and Lucinda Mays, hosts of public television's ``The Victory Garden.''
At 9:30 a.m., Mays will discuss methods of attracting native butterflies, and Wilson will demonstrate how to landscape with wildflowers. At 1:30 p.m., Wilson will relate a variety of uses for herbs and Mays will describe ways to add color to Southern gardens. The sessions will be held in the Whitman Auditorium at Virginia Western Community College and are sponsored by Blue Ridge Public Television. A donation of $10 per session is requested.
Mays' program on attracting native butterflies should be of particular interest to Roanoke Valley residents. Because Virginia's growing season continues into the fall, Mays explained, gardeners can add plants that bloom throughout the summer and early autumn. The ideal plants have very high concentrations of nectar for butterflies to eat. One of the most popular of these plants is the butterfly bush, which Mays said is very easy to maintain.
While flowering plants may be the obvious choice to attract butterflies, Mays said that parsley is also a good selection because it acts as a host plant for the eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly, noted for its bright yellow wings and black stripes.
She explained that the female butterflies lay their eggs on the parsley plants, and the resulting caterpillars eat the parsley before forming cocoons and becoming butterflies.
``The parsley gets chewed up pretty good,'' Mays said, ``but you usually end up with about three or four generations of butterflies, so it's worth it. It's a great project for children.''
Wilson plans to discuss a variety of uses for herbs like parsley. He noted that the ``primitive plants'' are becoming more popular because people on salt-free diets are looking for other ways to season their foods. Another growing use for herbs is in craft projects, including potpourri and decorative wreaths.
Herbs are also a nice addition to flower gardens because they ``have more gray, silver and white foliage than any other class of plant. They look beautiful next to the vibrant greens of other plants.
``It's like a beautiful girl at a dance who will stand next to a plain Jane - you need a few plain ones to help the fancy ones stand out,'' he said.
Wilson is also looking forward to his session on landscaping with wildflowers, which will allow him to show gardeners how to take advantage of unused areas. He said that wildflowers have an advantage over lawns because they are easier to maintain and have environmental benefits:
``There's a plethora of animals that needs the very wildflowers that we've been exterminating with urban sprawl, and it's no sacrifice to put in beautiful wildflowers,'' Wilson said.
Both gardeners agree that homeowners should feel free to try new things. Or in Wilson's case, return to an old favorite - vegetable gardening.
``My wife and I haven't had one for some time because we live on a large farm and the deer eat everything,'' he said. ``I've put up some fences because I've missed having a vegetable garden.''
Mays plans to raise ``heirloom vegetables,'' which are grown from seeds saved from the previous growing season. She said that the practice of saving seeds has died out since people began buying their seeds from catalogs.
``There's some concern that these varieties will disappear,'' Mays said. ``Plus, it's a lot of fun to trade seeds with people - more fun than waiting for [the seeds] to come in the mail.''
Mays' concern for the fate of heirloom vegetables is consistent with the ideals of conservation and self-sufficiency behind the creation of ``The Victory Garden,'' which began televising in 1975 as a response to economically tight times.
``The timing of the show seemed perfect,'' said Russell Morash, creator and executive producer of the series. ``The nation was battling back from the oil boycott, and self-sufficiency was both practical and fashionable, even if it meant digging up the front yard to plant tomatoes.''
The focus of the show has changed in recent years, spotlighting a broader range of gardening trends, including innovative landscaping, that never would have been envisioned during the show's early years.
Jim Wilson and Lucinda Mays, hosts of ``The Victory Garden,'' at Virginia Western Community College on Saturday, 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. $10. 344-0991, (800) 221-0991.
by CNB