News & Press Releases

Carlyle House to Host Garden Workshops

Fairfax, VA (April 26, 2010) – Join specialists from Mount Vernon and Bartlett Tree Experts for two, hands-on workshops at Carlyle House Historic Site in Old Town Alexandria. Carlyle House is a house museum that interprets 18^th Century life in Alexandria. While the garden helps in the museum’s mission, it also is an urban garden with all the problems found in modern gardens. These workshops will address some of the common issues that urban gardeners face, whether your house was built in 1753 or 2003.

On Thursday, May 13^th from 10 a.m. to noon, join Jeremy Hager of Bartlett Tree Experts as he discusses the components of successful soil and analyzing the state of our urban and suburban soils. The Carlyle House gardens suffer from soil compaction, poor drainage and watering issues. Learn how to identify these issues and fix them. In addition, Jeremy will discuss selecting proper nursery stock and proper planting techniques.

Older gardens are home to shrubs that might be in need of a good pruning. On Thursday, May 27^th from 10 a.m. to noon, join Dean Norton, Director of Horticulture at Mount Vernon, in a hands-on pruning workshop. Learn how to restore, reshape and improve the overall health and look of older or storm-damaged shrubs.

Admission is $20 for each workshop; register for both workshops and save $5. Call 703-549-2997 to register.  Make checks payable to Carlyle House Garden Guild or pay by credit card. Space is limited. Proceeds from this workshop series will benefit the Carlyle House Garden Guild.