Monthly Archives: May 2017

June Garden Tips

Hello Friends, Neighbors, Fellow Gardeners,

It’s summer and this June there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy the outdoors!  Here are some garden tips, educational opportunities, and events for June. Events include Brookside Garden’s Wings of Fancy, Sandy Spring Museum’s Strawberry Festival, Brookside Garden’s Twilight Concert Series, lots of events at the Agricultural History Farm Park, Field & Fiddle 2017, Heritage Days, and more!

Planning:

  • Check out plants going on sale.
  • Peruse fall bulb catalogs.
  • Order spring-flowering bulbs to arrive for planting this fall.
  • Plan who is going to water plants during your vacation.
  • Plan where fall bulbs will go.
  • Take photos and update your garden  journal.
  • Inspect your garden hose for leaks and tighten all connections.
  • As the heat and humidity move in, take it easy by working in the morning or early evening to avoid intense sun and humidity. Leave the big projects for this fall. For now, concentrate on maintaining the beds you’ve already established and nurturing your new plantings.
  • Support our local farmers! Visit a local farmers’ market near you. Download Montgomery County’s Office of Agriculture Farmer’s Market Flyer to find a farmer’s market near you. Or visit the main Montgomery County Farmers Market website.
  • Go on a local house or garden tour to see what plants are thriving in other’s area home gardens: http://www.visitmaryland.org/list/gardens-Maryland

Flowers and Groundcovers:

  • Deadhead spent flowers to encourage reblooming.
  • Remove spent lilac and rhododendron blossoms.
  • Direct-sow annual flower seeds.
  • Water transplants deeply when dry.
  • Pinch buds of fall-blooming plants (asters, mums, Joe-Pye weed).
  • Prune azaleas directly after blooming.
  • Fertilize your azaleas and rhododendrons and monitor them closely for any lacebug damage.
  • Take cuttings from azaleas and roses to start new plants.
  • Spray roses with Neem oil every two weeks.
  • Start a sunflower patch with help from a few kids.
  • Stake tall plants.
  • Tie-up climbing roses and other wandering vines.
  • Try a few new tropical plants on your patio.
  • Check on your container plants daily and keep them well-watered.

    Blue False Indigo-Baptisia australis
    Baptisia australis
  • Baptisia is a native plant and is deer-resistant. Not only does it have beautiful flowers, but handsome foliage and interesting seedpods in the fall. | HGIC
  • Cut a few flowers to enjoy at your workplace.
  • Fill in bare spots in the garden with annuals.
  • Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) is a nice companion plant to ferns and is an excellent nectar plant for butterflies, hummingbirds and bees. | HGIC
  • Heliopsis
    Heliopsis helianthoides

    Heliopsis helianthoides is a native perennial which does best in full sun. It blooms from June to August. You can cut the stems back by 1/3 to 1/2 in early June to reduce the height. Remove spent flowers to prolong blooming. | HGIC

  • Aphids are common plant feeding insects Low aphid numbers usually do not result in plant damage. However, large aphid populations can cause wilting, yellowing, and curling of leaves. |  Aphids on Ornamental Plants, HGIC
  • Pests to watch for: aphids, 4-lined plant bug, lace bug, spidermites, slugs, snails, whiteflies
  • Diseases to watch for:  Blackspot on roses; powdery mildew, rust, bacterial diseases.
  • See UMD’s HGIC’s June Flower tips for more details.

Trees and Shrubs:

  • Transplanting azaleas still is possible.
  • Take soft wood cuttings of plants to propagate.
  • Directly after blooming, prune flowering shrubs and vines.
  • Water newly planted trees and shrubs weekly or as needed.
  • Contact a certified arborist to have your trees’ health inspected.
  • Shape your evergreens and hedges.

    Yellowood (Cladrastis kentukea)
    Yellowwood
  • Yellowwood (Cladrastis kentukea) is medium-sized, deciduous tree with fragrant, white flowers in the spring. It also has nice fall color. | HGIC
  • Prune long shoots on shrubs to keep plant neat looking.
  • Prune flowering shrubs as their flowers fade. Last chance to do so for fall-blooming camellias.

    Galls
    Galls on Maple leaf
  • If you must mulch: Remove old mulch and then add 2″ to 3″ shredded pine or pine needles, keeping 3″ away from trunk.
  • Galls may disfigure twigs and foliage, but they do not seriously affect the health of trees and shrubs. Chemical control is usually not recommended. | (photo credit HGIC, UMD)
  • Soil test established trees that have not been performing well.
  • Keep mowers and trimmers away from trunks!
  • wintercreeper
    Wintercreeper

    Two new additions to the Maryland Department of Agriculture invasive plant list: Euonymus fortunei (wintercreeper), Lonicera maackii (Amur honeysuckle). See https://tinyurl.com/j3lhokr for details.

  • Pests to watch for:  adelgids, aphids, azalea lacebug, bagworms, borers, caterpillars, gypsy moths, Japanese beetles, leafminers, scale, sawfly, spidermites, and webworms.
  • Diseases to watch for: powdery mildew
  • See HGIC’s June Trees and Shrubs Tips for more details.

Herbs, Veggies, and Fruit:

  • Remove finished plants.
  • Plant/seed warm season plants.
  • Plant tender transplants: tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, okra, sweet potato.
  • Sow beets, beans, cucumbers, pumpkins, and squash for fall harvest.
  • New fruit plants – keep watered their first spring, summer, and fall.
  • Harvest herbs to use in salads and summer dishes.
  • Harvest strawberry beds daily.
  • Clean up fallen fruit and berries.
  • Cover berry bushes and fruit trees with bird netting.
  • Dig up garlic when the tops turn brown. Let dry in the sun, then store.
  • Sow heat-tolerant greens like Swiss Chard and mustard greens in part-shade.
  • This is the perfect time to apply grub control.
  • Watch for insect and disease problems throughout your garden.
  • Pests to watch for: asparagus beetle, aphids, cabbage worms, corn earworm, cutworms, and tomato hornworm
  • Diseases to watch for: Fungal, bacterial, viral diseases
  • Here are some more fruit and vegetable gardening tips for June from UMD’s HGIC.

Lawns:

  • Sharpen your lawnmower blade.
  • Mow in the early evening and cut off no more than one-third of the grass height at one time. Leave clippings on the ground to provide nutrients.UME_Turf_Fertilizer_Recommendations
  • If you have a zoysiagrass lawn, after the spring green-up, starting in June, is the primary time to fertilize if needed. The UMD Extension recommendations for turfgrass fertilization, consistent with the 2011 Maryland fertilizer law, are here: Turfgrass Maintenance Calendars for Maryland Lawns | UMD
  • Crabgrass has germinated. It is now too late to apply a pre-emergent herbicide. Small patches of crabgrass can be controlled during the growing season by pulling it out by hand or applying a post-emergent herbicide as a spot treatment.” | Crabgrass, HGIC
  • Apply pre-emergent weed control such as corn gluten.
  • Turn your compost pile weekly and don’t let it dry out. Work compost into your planting beds.
  • Diseases to watch for: brown patch, and red thread
  • Pests to watch for: Grubs
  • See HGIC’s June Lawn Tips for more details.

Indoors/Houseplants:

Indoor/Outdoor Insect and Wildlife Tips:

  • Change the water of your birdbath daily and throw a Mosquito Dunk (or bits) into any standing water.
  • Make hummingbird food by boiling two cups of sugar in four cups of water.
  • Be vigilant for mosquito breeding spots—any standing water from a bottle cap to blocked gutters and clean them up immediately.
  • Put out slug traps around your vulnerable edibles and hostas.Tick_season-guide
  • A fact sheet on ticks from the Extension of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln: https://grobigred.com/2017/05/18/its-the-season-for-ticks-how-do-you-prevent-them-from-finding-you/
  • See HGIC’s June Insect Tips for more details.
  • Watch for: carpenter ants, flies, stink bugs, termites, rabbits, raccoons, groundhogs, deer, moles, snakes, squirrels, and voles.
  • For more information on wildlife management and attracting wildlife see HGIC’s June Wildlife tips.

Source: University of Maryland’s Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) and the Washington Gardener.

Please Support the Mill Creek Towne Garden Club

Hello Friends, Neighbors,

Please support the Mill Creek Towne Garden Club! Your donations will help us continue to provide garden-related programs to the community and pay for maintaining and landscaping the Mill Creek Towne main entrances. donate-today-button

https://www.mctgardenclub.org/donations/

We accept donations throughout the year. Thanks to all of you that have recently donated as well as those of you who have supported us in the past years! Thanks for your continued support of the Mill Creek Towne Garden Club and our community programs!

Mill Creek Towne Garden Club – Derwood, Maryland
https://www.mctgardenclub.org | info@mctgardenclub.org | Like us on Facebook

June

See below for upcoming local events in June.

Spring_Summer_Fests_2016_ParksInterior_800x300

Montgomery Parks Special Events & Festivals

More events are being added regularly. Please check back often!

Save the dates for these upcoming Summer events!   Events include Brookside Garden’s Wings of Fancy, Sandy Spring Museum’s Strawberry Festival, Brookside Garden’s Summer Twilight Concert Series, Hometown Habitat: Lecture and Screening at Brookside Gardens,  lots of events at the Agricultural History Farm Park, Field & Fiddle 2017, Heritage Days, and more!

Volunteers Needed: Wings of Fancy Butterfly Exhibitbutterfly-wof-right

Brookside Gardens hosts an incredible live butterfly exhibit each year in our Conservatory, April through September. North American, South American and Asian Butterfly species are featured in this dynamic exhibit and we are seeking volunteer Ticket Takers and Flight Attendants to help support our staff with running the show.

Click here for more information and to sign up!

Wings of Fancy

Wednesday, April 26 to Sunday, September 17 | 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. daily
Brookside Gardens South Conservatory, Wheaton
$8 ages 13+; $5 ages 3-12; Free ages 0-2blue_butterfly

The seasonal display features hundreds of live butterflies from all over the world. Families, students, nature lovers, and everyone in between can get an up close experience of these brilliant butterflies from North America, Costa Rica, Africa and Asia as they soar among colorful flowers. Visitors can learn about their amazing metamorphosis, the important role butterflies play in having healthy ecosystems, and how to ensure these beautiful insects thrive in our own gardens.

More Info

Sandy Spring Museum Strawberry FestivalSandy Spring Museum Strawberry Festival

Saturday, June 3, 2017
10am-5:00pm

Sandy Spring Museum
17901 Bentley Rd
Sandy Spring, Maryland 20860

The Sandy Spring Museum Strawberry Festival features live music, pony rides, a climbing wall, beer and wine garden, food truck rally raffels games for the kids and so much more. Come support your community museum this Saturday, June 3rd 10-5. #SSMStrawFest Info at http://www.SandySpringMuseum.org/Strawberry-Festival/

Summer Twilight Concert Series

Tuesdays in June | 6:30 pm – 8 pmbrookside_gardens_summer-concert-series_2017
Brookside Gardens, Wheaton
FREE

Join us on the lawn at Brookside Gardens each Tuesday evening in June for a series of musical performances set in the beauty of the Gardens! Bring your friends and family, and don’t forget your chairs or blankets (allowed in the Gardens on concert evenings ONLY). Food trucks will also be available.

June 6: Ocho de Bastos-Latin Rock
June 13: U-Liners-Americana and Bluegrass
June 20: Sandra Dean Band-Classic Rock
June 27: Karen Gray Quintet-Jazz and Swing

This is a rain or shine event.

Brookside Gardens

Hiking Through History

Wednesday, June 7, 2017
9:00pm to 11:00pm

 

Agricultural History Farm Park
18400 Muncaster Road
Derwood, MD  20855

 

Each hike will feature a different theme and showcase an aspect of the landscape of the Agricultural History Farm Park. Join historians, archaeologists, master gardeners, farmers, and naturalists to discover all the different facets of the 500- acre park. Hikes are for all ages and will involve easy to moderate terrain. Please wear sturdy, closed toed shoes or hiking boots, dress comfortably, and anticipate occasional mud puddles! Please call up to two weeks ahead for specific hike themes. Contact Lisa Berray, Manager of Interpretation and Visitor Services with questions at 301-467-8273.

Intended for ages All Ages

Fee: $5

Register                                    

http://www.montgomeryparks.org/events/hiking-through-history/

Peerless and Rockville Launch Speaker Series

Celebrating Glenview Mansion’s Formal Gardens and Grounds

Thursday, June 8, 2017speakers-series-298x300
7:00pm

Glenview Mansion
603 Edmonston Drive
Rockville, MD 20851

Speaker: Rob Orndorff, horticulturist, City of Rockville

Peerless Rockville and Rockville’s Glenview Mansion have partnered to sponsor a speakers’ series, set to kickoff June 8 with a talk by City of Rockville Horticulturist Rob Orndorff on the mansion’s formal gardens and grounds.

Six events are planned in total, one every two months into 2018. They begin at 7 p.m. at Glenview Mansion, 603 Edmonston Drive, and are free to attend. Light refreshments will be served.

Following topics include:

  • Aug. 10: “Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald: Revealing Her Life as a Visual Artist.” Roberta Mandrekes, secretary, Fitzgerald Literary Festival.
  • Oct. 12: “The Evolution: From Farms to Community.” John Carter, AIA, architect and planner.
  • Dec. 14: “Rockville: Portrait of a City.” Eileen McGuckain, Rockville historian.
  • Feb. 8, 2018: Film Screening of Community Cornerstone’s “African American Communities in Montgomery County, MD.” Film produced by Heritage Montgomery.
  • April 12, 2018: “Learn the Three B’s: Bee, Beneficials and Blooms.” Marie Rojas, owner of Borders & Butterflies.

For more information, visit www.rockvillemd.gov/glenview or www.peerlessrockville.org.

 

Speaker Series: Catherine Zimmerman—Hometown Habitat: Lecture and Screening

Brookside Gardens
1800 Glenallan Avenue
Wheaton, MD, US 20902
Phone: (301) 962-1404

FOBG Sponsored Program
(Also Sponsored by Maryland Native Plant Society)

Catherine Zimmerman, documentary filmmaker, author and landscape designer
Fee: FREE; registration required; Visitors Center Auditorium

Learn how and why native plants are critical to the survival and vitality of local eco-systems with author, landscape designer and documentary lmmaker Catherine Zimmerman. Talk will be followed by a screening of her latest documentary, Hometown Habitat, made in partnership with the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council and featuring Doug Tallamy, entomologist and author of Bringing Nature Home. Limited seating, reserve your spot today!

CLICK HERE to register for Course #30718

 

Each hike will feature a different theme and showcase an aspect of the landscape of the Agricultural History Farm Park. Join historians, archaeologists, master gardeners, farmers, and naturalists to discover all the different facets of the 500- acre park. Hikes are for all ages and will involve easy to moderate terrain. Please wear sturdy, closed toed shoes or hiking boots, dress comfortably, and anticipate occasional mud puddles! Please call up to two weeks ahead for specific hike themes. Contact Lisa Berray, Manager of Interpretation and Visitor Services with questions at 301-467-8273.

Intended for ages All Ages

Fee: $5

Register

http://www.montgomeryparks.org/events/hiking-through-history/

Pickin’ on the Porch

Fri. June 23, 2017
7:00pm to 9:00pm
Agricultural History Farm Park
18400 Muncaster Road
Derwood, MD  20855

Wind down from the work week with an evening of local acoustic, roots, and bluegrass music on the porch of the historic Farmhouse at the Agricultural History Farm Park! Event includes featured local music artists, open mic, and the opportunity to pull out your own acoustic instrument to play with other talented musicians under the stars. Pack a picnic, bring your family and friends, and enjoy a laid back evening in the country.

Intended for ages All Ages

Fee: $5

Register

http://www.montgomeryparks.org/events/pickin-on-the-porch/

Field & Fiddle fundraising festival to “Preserve the Reserve” is back and better than ever! This year enjoy Rocklands Wine (a portion of the proceeds benefitting MCA) & Waredaca Brew, and eats by 3rd Alarm BBQ & Cipolla Rossa Pizza with locally sourced ingredients! Back by popular demand are Justin Trawick & The Common Good, along with the Amazing Barry Louis Polisar of “Juno” fame, warmed up by Jokgu the Patriotic Chicken and her band The Flockstars! We’ll have incredible equestrian demonstrations, hay rides, “ask a farmer”, and much more! Included in your ticket price is a raffle ticket, non-alcoholic beverages* (*beer, wine, vendor food is extra), games, and the happy feeling of membership in MCA that helps preserve farmland and open space for all!

Contact: Montgomery Countryside Alliance
Phone: 301-461-9831
Email: info@mocoalliance.org
Cost: $10 – $25 based on age see registration link below for detail
Registration   https://www.eventbrite.com/e/field-fiddle-2017-tickets-32327860501

Heritage Day at the Agricultural History Farm Park

Saturday, June 24, 2017
Agricultural-History-Farm_park_2016_AV_160803_8033261Open at 11:00am

 

Agricultural History Farm Park
18400 Muncaster Road
Derwood, MD  20855
Phone: 301-650-4373

 

Tour the turn-of-the-20th century Magruder-Bussard farmstead. Old-fashioned farm demonstrations, hands-on activities for families, games for children.

HistoryintheParks.org

Heritage Days

Saturday – Sunday, June 24–25, 2017
12:00pm – 4:00pm

Multiple Locations throughout Montgomery County, MD.

Please join us to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Heritage Days Weekend! Heritage Days features 40 parks, museums, and historic sites throughout Montgomery County open with FREE admission. Activities for all ages include history exhibits & programs, walking tours, children’s games & crafts, live music, & FUN!heritage_montgomery_logo

This year, many sites are celebrating heritage food traditions with unique cooking demonstrations, presentations by acclaimed chefs, farm & garden displays, and food trucks.

Heritage Days 2017 Brochure/Guide