Ted Schubel, News Director for B101.5 FM and host of Town Talk, dropped by Downtown Greens recently to interview our new Executive Director Janelle Kennedy about her vision for the the future of Downtown Greens. Watch the video here.

Late summer and early fall are the best time in Virginia for lovers of the giant puffball! Giant puffballs tend to be the mushroom that is most tempting to kick! If it didn’t want to be kicked, why does it look like a ball? If you see a giant puffball in the wild, wait before you kick! If the puffball is still white, it has not created its spores yet so kicking it will not help it reproduce (and won’t be as satisfying). If the puffball has turned brown go ahead and let that k

We have some unbeLEAFably good news! Downtown Greens has been selected as one of the Fredericksburg Food Co-op’s Carrot Coin community partners through October! Here’s how it works: Bring your reusable bag when you shop at the Co-op and you’ll receive a Carrot Coin at checkout. Then you get to choose which of three local nonprofits receives your coin—and Downtown Greens is one of them! So basically: Bring bag. Buy groceries. Get carrot coin. Put carrot coin in our bowl. We

The first time I entered the Downtown Greens headquarters building I was a guest at Laura Shephard’s Holiday party on Christmas Eve. I don’t remember the exact year, but I vividly remember the welcoming, friendly atmosphere filled with friends and strangers who shared a love of Gardening, the City of Fredericksburg, and the creative, caring personality that is Laura. As I begin my tenure as Downtown Greens’ Executive Director, I am dedicated to honoring the roots of the organ

The Downtown Greens Fall Native Plant sale was a great success! Now we will take our leftover large potted plants and start the Great Conversion-ing! This will look like a lot of weeding and planting native groundcover with herbaceous perennial forbs in our garden beds. Our focus moving forward with the Downtown Campus ornamental garden beds is the Dr. Doug Tallamy Homegrown National Park method of packing in diverse native keystone species and using (leaving) a couple orna

D. Janelle Kennedy, the new Executive Director of Downtown Greens is featured in the Free Lance-Star! Read the article here.

Wasps again?!?! Yes. Wasps again. Hear me out… In the past month or so you may have noticed a bunch of wasps flying around in circles low to the ground for seemingly no reason. If so, you have probably witnessed the scoliid (sko-LEE-ud) wasp! For gardeners in the know, the sight of these wasps brings a sense of joy, or at least grim satisfaction. They know the scoliid wasp is a predator of many of the pests that drive us insane including May bugs, June beetles, and the awfu

Invasive Plant Management Alert Microstegium vimineum/Japanese Stiltgrass is going to seed now! It is time to manage annual stilt grass if you don't want another season's worth of seed in the bank! It is thanks to Local Volunteer Superstar Henry Day that a new method of management is being implemented on our Belman Road Campus. It is best to throw away any plant material raked or pulled at this time (rather than compost or leave to decay like we have) but all last month Henry

As we welcome September, I find myself reflecting on the changing seasons and all that has grown at Downtown Greens this summer—not just in our gardens, but in our community. Summer has been filled with children learning, planting, harvesting, exploring nature, and discovering where their food comes from. Our gardens and greenspaces have continued to bring people together, providing opportunities to learn, connect, volunteer, and simply enjoy being outdoors. September is a se

The excitement in a Garden Sprouts class is contagious. Tiny hands gently brush aside the soil as a preschooler discovers the first green shoot pushing through the ground. What was once a seed has become something real—something they planted, watered, and cared for themselves. Moments like these are what Garden Sprouts is all about. Through our partnership with Fredericksburg City Schools, Downtown Greens provides 270 hours of hands-on garden education to preschool students i

This month has brought some much-needed rainstorms, but despite the rainfall, the vernal pools and puddles haven't lasted. They disappear almost as quickly as they form, draining back into an already too-low water table. Meanwhile, the Land Management team has been busy (and admittedly a bit distracted!) tending the conservation plant nursery. A few buckets filled with clay-rich soil have been sitting nearby, receiving little attention beyond their monthly Mosquito Dunk. To o

As August brings us closer to a new school year, there's so much happening at Downtown Greens, and I'm excited to share a few updates with you. Thank you for being part of this incredible community and for helping make our work possible. One of our biggest priorities has been the search for our next Executive Director. We've received some wonderful applications, and it's encouraging to see so many talented individuals interested in leading Downtown Greens into its next chapte

While many of our local slugs love to nibble on our baby garden plants, the Leopard Slug, ‘Limax maximus’ has its own diet. They are detritivores, eating decaying plant matter as well as other slugs, making them a gardener’s friend! While the European native Leopard Slug is considered an invasive species to the US, we can’t help but be fascinated by its amazing habits! Consider its mating habits, if you haven’t already. These slugs are not only hermaphroditic, with each pa