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Garden Plot: How to squirrel-proof your vegetable garden

By Mike McGrath

The orchid show must go on (the rose show too)

It’s official: The government shutdown has forced the National Capital Orchid Society to move its annual orchid show and sale. Held at the National Arboretum for the past 50 years, the event will now be held at Behnkes Nursery in Beltsville. The show, still featuring thousands of non-sequestered orchids on display and for sale and epiphytic experts on hand to answer orchid-oriented questions, runs Friday through Monday.

Find more details and the show schedule here.

And the 75th Annual Potomac Rose Society Rose Show also opens Friday and continues Saturday at Merrifield Garden Center’s Fair Oaks location in Fairfax, Va. Both events are free.

Find more details and show program here .

Keep evil squirrels at bay with wire, water, and

A gift for the birds and other holiday garden tips

By Mike McGrath
Wrens and other birds who don't mind the cold Cheryl in Northwest D.C. writes: “A wren has built its nest in a corner of my porch. I don’t mind it being there; I even put something down to catch the droppings. But I’m concerned that there isn’t much shelter in the chosen area, and that as it gets colder the bird will not be able to keep itself warm enough. What can or should I do to help the bird get through the winter?”
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