The Mill Creek Towne Garden Club is pleased to offer FREE native trees and shrubs provided to us by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
We are giving away 25 native Pawpaw trees and 25 native Winterberry Holly Shrubs starting at 1PM and ending at 5PM on Tuesday, March 30th. First come, first serve. The plants will be available for contactless pick up at 7825 Rydal Terrace, Derwood, MD 20855 (Off Briardale). Please limit your selection to four plants per household. The trees and shrubs come bareroot – they need to be planted as soon as possible and you will need to provide deer protection unless they are inside a fenced area that the deer do not frequent. Please bring damp newspaper to wrap the roots up until they are ready for planting.
These plants are free to the public but we do welcome donations to the Club to help us continue to beautify our neighborhood and provide quality programming. To donate please visit https://www.mctgardenclub.org/donations/ and consider joining the Mill Creek Towne Garden Club!
Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)
A shrub or small tree that tolerates shade, pawpaw produces a fruit that is readily eaten by wildlife and humans. It has a height 15 to 30 feet, a spread of 15 to 30 feet, and prefers full sun to part shade and moist fertile soils. Often spreads by root suckers to form colonies or thickets.
Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)
A shrub growing 3 to 12 feet with a spread of 3 to 12 feet. Full sun to part shade. Deciduous and dioecious. Attracts birds. Winterberry will tolerate wet swampy sites. Red berries remain on female plants into the winter.
It’s March and it is cold but we can look forward to spring weather coming soon! It’s time to start thinking of warm weather and start planning for the spring! Here are some garden tips, educational opportunities, and videos for March. There are some online events, check out U.S. Botanic Garden, Master Gardeners of Montgomery County, and Maryland Gardens. A lot of gardening events are announced on Facebook and we share them on our Facebook page as well as on our mctgardenclub.org website. Some upcoming online events include MC Master Gardeners’ Grow It Eat It 2021 Online Speakers Series, Sandy Spring Museum Garden Club’s Spring Ephemerals Virtual Discussion, and a Susan Bell, Master Gardener “Adding WOW to Small Garden Spaces” Online Event hosted by the Mill Creek Towne Garden Club on Tuesday, March 23rd.
Start reading those plant catalogs!
Mark beds outside where new plants are to go.
Finalize catalog seed orders.
Order/Buy those seeds!
Collect supplies for starting seeds.
Sharpen and replace tools as needed.
Start shopping for spring bulbs.
Paint a few terra cotta pots in spring colors.
Go on a virtual garden tour to see what plants are thriving in other’s area home gardens.
Susan Bell, Master Gardener “Adding WOW to Small Garden Spaces” Online Event Tuesday, March 23, 2021 7:00 pm ET
Join us on Tuesday, Mar. 23, 2021 7pm ET with our Guest Speaker Susan Bell, Master Gardener and learn how to “Add WOW to Small Garden Spaces”!
About Our Guest Speaker, Susan Bell
Susan Bell created Hilltop Gardens in 2002. Her formal education was through George Washington University, Montgomery College, and is ongoing with the Maryland University Montgomery County Extension’s Master Gardener program.
Since 2009 Susan has been sharing her professional expertise as a speaker for Maryland University’s Montgomery County Extension. She develops design talks using her original photographs for the annual Spring Conference, for master gardener training and also speaks at garden clubs, libraries, and civic associations.
Susan joined the Fallsgrove Community Garden in 2009 and serves on the garden board. She promotes ‘no-till’ gardening to protect the natural soil web of micro-organisms. The method dramatically reduced weeding and promotes top dressing the planting beds for fertility with organic ground covers.
The Hilltop Gardens team uses safe, effective and sustainable garden maintenance practices to keep your garden healthy. Plants are carefully selected for each site and exposure, properly installed and cared for.
Learn about Mill Creek Towne Garden Club’s new plants that were planted and will be coming up in the spring and see before and after photos of our entrances! We thank our neighbors for their donations to make these updates possible!
There are many resources for recipes to make from your garden crops including seed companies, local farms, and online recipe cookbook catalogs. If you grow vegetables, these are very useful resources as the recipes feature the very plant you are growing. Here are few links to recipes you can make from your garden crops
We are so thankful for our local farms each and every day. During this challenging time, consider supporting your local farms, whether they farm produce, flowers, animals, or specialty. Our food supply is safe and secure, and many farms are continuing to offer delivery or curbside pickup. #LocalIsTheNewNormal#BuyLocal
“During shelter-in-place, farmers’ markets remain open as an essential service, providing a vital source of fresh fruits and vegetables and food staples for our communities in a spacious, open-air setting. But our community and our farmers’ markets could be jeopardized if we don’t each do our part to stay safe during this public healthy crisis.
In good times, farmers’ markets have been places to gather and converse, however, now is the time to follow public health and safety advisories and resist the urge to linger and socialize. We all have a critical role to play in preventing the spread of COVID-19.”
Open for advance order curbside pickup & delivery until April 10th.
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The Full Market Season Opens April 17th, 2021.
For the winter season through April 10th you can still get your market groove on with online ordering from all your favorite farmers and vendors using our curbside pickup or doorstep delivery to 20855, 20850, 20878 & 20880 on Saturday for doorstep delivery and/ or curbside pickup at the front yard of Neighborhood Church, 16501 Redland Rd, 20855. Pickup happens from 9am until 11am through April 10th. Get started here: MilkLadyMarkets.org/preorder
Flowers and Groundcovers
Hardy spring bulbs begin to emerge (crocus, snowdrops, daffodils, and tulips).
Fertilize summer flowering bulbs.
Deadhead pansies and bulbs.
Plant Pansies.
Plant and prune roses.
Transplant seedlings into individual 3″ – 4″ pots when crowded. Fertilize transplants with 1/2 strength houseplant fertilizer (every 2 weeks).
Cut some branches (forsythia, quince, bittersweet, redbud, willow) for forcing indoors.
Pinch out growing tips of leggy seedlings.
Leave seedheads on Black-eyed Susans, Echinacea, Goldenrod, Sunflowers, and Thistles for the birds to enjoy over the winter.
Several species of insects are waking up from their winter dormancy inside homes. The earliest ones are multicolored Asian lady beetle, marmorated stink bug, cluster flies, and boxelder bugs. No chemical controls are recommended. They are harmless and can be swept up, vacuumed, scooped into a container of soapy water, or released outdoors. https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/march-tips-tasks
Check indoors for termites and winter ants.
Give your house plants a quarter turn every few weeks.
Repot larger plants that are going outside for the summer.
Remove old leaves, damaged stems.
Put up birdhouses.
Put suet out for birds.
Keep bird feeders clean and filled.
Switch your deer deterrent spray.
Caulk and seal your outside walls to prevent insects and wildlife from coming indoors.
This year’s Guide lists over 70 MoCo Made food and beverage producers and farmers, with products ranging from honey to craft beverages to artisanal meats and more.
Plant Clinics are held at several sites in the county on a weekly basis and at special events such as garden festivals and the county fair. Regularly scheduled Plant Clinics are located at public libraries and farmers’ markets throughout the county as well as at the Audubon Naturalist Society in Chevy Chase. There are also clinics three days per week at Brookside Gardens. The busiest season is April through September, but some clinics are open year-round. Bring your plant samples and questions to one of these locations in Montgomery County, MD (see link below to find a location near you):
CSAs can take many forms, but essentially they are community supported farms in which members contribute to farming projects, usually by way of membership fees, in exchange for fresh, local produce. The concept came to the United States from Europe in the 1980s. They are a great way to take advantage of fresh, locally grown fruit, vegetables, herbs, and more while supporting nearby farms. Each one is different, some offer pickup locations in urban areas, some offer only farm-based pickups.
There are multiple CSAs located around the County offering a wide variety of products. CSAs begin taking sign-ups for spring and summer seasons in the early part of the year, and they tend to fill up FAST! Know of another CSA not on our list? Let us know! Montgomery Countryside Alliance also maintains a list:
This workshop will walk you through the steps to take a soil sample before the class. During the workshop on March 13, soil test results, and how to address issues will be discussed. Soil test materials are included and will be mailed to you.
Register by January 29 and send soil samples to the lab by February 5 to have your results included in the class.
Those first flowers in the spring are a balm to the winter-weary soul! Guests will have a look at some common early spring flowers both native and non-native. This virtual discussion will include supporting early pollinators and how to create and maintain an early spring blooming tapestry.
Horticulturalist, Carol Allen, leads this informative and entertaining program. She has more than thirty years of experience in the horticultural industry with special interests in landscape design and native plants. She has led a wide range of horticultural discussions at area colleges and enjoys helping people understand how to care for their plants.
Registration is required. You will receive a link to the virtual meeting with your registration confirmation email. You must be opted in to receive SSM emails to receive the confirmation.
A “rose by any other name may smell as sweet,” but there are a bewildering number of types and species to choose from. During this virtual discussion, guests will learn about some of the most common types of roses and their attributes. Rose care and pruning will also be covered.
Horticulturalist, Carol Allen, leads this informative and entertaining program. She has more than thirty years of experience in the horticultural industry with special interests in landscape design and native plants. She has led a wide range of horticultural discussions at area colleges and enjoys helping people understand how to care for their plants.
Registration is required. You will receive a link to the virtual meeting with your registration confirmation email. You must be opted in to receive SSM emails to receive the confirmation.
The Tidal Basin is well known for its cherry blossoms. The virtual National Cherry Blossom Festival is March 20-April 11, 2021. There are other, less crowded places to see cherry blossoms as well and since being outdoors is a sensible way to be socially distant, perhaps you would like a little garden travel.
