Hello Friends, Neighbors, Fellow Gardeners,
Happy Independence Day! Here are some garden tips, educational opportunities, and videos for July. Some upcoming events/resources include Natives at Noon: Lunch & Learn Webinar Series, Montgomery County, MD Farm Tour & Harvest Sale, Montgomery Parks – Events: Agricultural History Farm Park: Hiking Histories, Brookside Gardens: Edible Flowers for Flavor and Health, Capturing The Essence of Herbs, Pop-Up Exploration Cart – Insects, Butterflies of Brookside (Year Round): Butterflies of Brookside (Outdoors), The Butterfly Experience, Cultivars: Untangling the Complicated World of Cultivated Native Plants, Seneca Creek State Park July Programs; Montgomery College: Lifelong Learning Home and Garden Classes – Summer 2026, Fall 2026 Environmental Horticulture classes, Maryland Native Plant Society Conference, and more! A lot of gardening events are announced on Facebook as well as on our website. These events will be hosted as online or in-person events.
Planning Tips
- The heat of the summer is here. Time to start doing chores during early morning or evening. Take a break during the hottest parts of the day.
- Start or update your garden journals.
- Check your local garden center for mid-summer bargains.
- Peruse fall bulb catalogs.
- Plan who is going to water plants during your vacation.
- Plan where fall bulbs to go.
- Plan landscape design projects.
- Design new beds and gardens.
- Clean, sharpen, and store your garden tools.
- Repair your shed and repair/paint your fences.
- Check out gardening books from your local library to read.
- Pick up new gardening books and magazines for inspiration.
- Volunteer at a local public or historic garden.
- Plan for 2026 with these Free resources: Landscaping with Native Plants by the Maryland Native Plant Society, Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas by the National Park Service, Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia Reading Room. Visit our Online Gardening Resources page for more helpful online resources.
- Buy a good gardening book or magazine subscription for a gift for your favorite gardener.
- Have a question about gardening? Check the University of Maryland Extension’s New Maryland Grows blog for garden tips.
Join Mill Creek Towne Garden Club!
- Are you interested in gardening? Perhaps you’re a beginner, looking to learn more, or an experienced gardener interested in sharing your experiences and learning from others?
- Are you interested in making your home and community a more beautiful place to live?
- Are you interested in getting more involved in your community and getting to know your neighbors better?
Visit Our MCT Garden Club Website for Gardening Resources
- Local Gardening Resources: Looking for a Master Gardener as a guest speaker, need gardening advice, or want to learn about resources in or near Mill Creek Towne? Visit our Resources page for details.
- MCTGC Blog: Check our monthly blog for garden tips and local/online garden-related events.
- Gardening Books: Looking for a gift for your favorite gardener? Visit our Gardening Books Resources page for holiday gift ideas.
- Local Gardens: Visit our Local Gardens page to learn about local gardens in our area.
- Montgomery County Farmers’ Markets: Support our local farmers. Check this page to learn about local farmers markets in our area or join a CSA and get fresh local produce year-round!
- Online Gardening Resources: Looking for gardening apps or online resources to help with your gardening? Check out our Online Gardening Resources page for some apps for your smartphone and online gardening resources focused on the DMV area.
- Recipes: Looking for a recipe for your home-grown veggies and fruit? Check our Recipes page for ideas.
Maryland Grows Blog
In weekly posts on MD HGIC’s blog, learn about pollinator conservation, growing native plants and food, and how to solve plant pest and disease problems.
MD HGIC Video Tips
Our Extension experts are sharing one-minute video tips to help you in the garden this summer. We’re talking about pest management in the vegetable garden, tree and lawn diseases, native plants, mowing lawns, and more!
For more information, please visit:
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What can Master Gardeners do for you?
- Help you select and care for annual and perennial plants, shrubs and trees.
- Determine if you need to test your soil.
- Provide you with information on lawn care.
- Identify weeds, beneficial and noxious insects, and plant diseases and remedies.
- Teach you how to use pesticides, mulch and compost.
- Guide you in pruning trees and shrubs.
- Provide you with options for managing wildlife.
- Provide you with gardening resources.
- Help you submit a plant sample for diagnosis
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):
https://extension.umd.edu/mg/locations/plant-clinics
UMD Home and Garden Information Center: Ask a Master Gardener
Do you have a gardening question? Our Certified Professional Horticulturists, faculty, and Master Gardener Volunteers are ready to answer – year-round!
See below to ask a master gardener a question on the UMD Extension website:
Buy Fresh Produce and Support Farms at County Farmers Markets
The 9th season of the Derwood Farmers Market is here! Come enjoy fresh produce, live music, friends & food trucks.
16501 Redland Rd, Rockville, MD 20855
SATURDAYS, 9AM – 1PM
May 2 to October 10, 2026
Visit the Derwood Farmers Market on Saturdays and enjoy the amazing flavors our food and beverage vendors are bringing to the table! Whether you’re planning your market brunch, stocking up on fresh-baked treats, or cooling off with a smoothie, there’s something delicious waiting for you. Our market participates in nutrition assistance programs including eWIC & matching dollars for SNAP. The Derwood Market also collects food scraps for composting through a partnership with the Department of Environmental Protection.
Ready to plan your first taste adventure? See the full list of vendors here:
www.milkladymarkets.org/derwood-market
We can’t wait to see you! Let’s celebrate fresh flavors, good company, and our amazing community together.
Maryland’s Best Native Plant Program
The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) in partnership with University of Maryland Extension, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Maryland Native Plant Society is proud to introduce the MDA’s Maryland’s Best Native Plant Program.
This program aims to bring education, awareness, and recognition to consumers and producers about the importance of native plants by:
- creating a Commercial Maryland Native Plant List to help nurseries and consumers choose the most attractive and best plants for the environment
- recognizing retailers, wholesalers, and growers who are selling native plants via a tiered (bronze, silver, gold), voluntary certification program, and helping consumers know where to buy native plants
- providing marketing materials- including a MD Native Plant logo- to help consumers identify what’s native to Maryland
Check out the revised list of Mid-Atlantic native plants for pollinators and beneficial insects, from the Xerces Society.
Flowers and Groundcovers
- Don’t fertilize plants that slow down in heat, but keep them watered.
- Fertilize lightly plants that are blooming heavily.
- Cut back spent stalks of daylilies.
- Divide and cut back bearded iris.
- Prune Wisteria.
- Stake and tie-up any tall-growing perennials such as phlox or delphiniums.
- Annuals are now hitting their peak. Keep them well-watered and add a little liquid fertilizer every few weeks to keep them going through September.
- Gather roses to enjoy indoors and be sure to make the cut just above a five-leaf unit.
- Replace cool-season annuals with heat-loving ones.
- Put out slug traps around your vulnerable hostas.
- Feed your roses and new plantings with slow-release fertilizer sparingly.
- Tie-up clematis and other fast-growing climbing vines.
- Hose off aphids, white flies, or spider mites on your roses or other perennials.
- Deadhead spent blooms on your annuals and perennials to encourage re-flowering.
- Pinch back mums, salvias, and other late-season bloomers to encourage bushy, not leggy growth.
- Check pots and containers daily for water needs.
- Look for evidence of pest or fungal disease throughout your garden.
- Check for black spot on your roses – remove and discard any affected leaves in the trash, never back into your garden or in your compost – apply fungicide with Neem oil every two weeks during the growing season.
- Inspect for powdery mildew. If seen, prune back perennials to create needed circulation. Discard properly (i.e., not in your compost bin).
- Rake up weeds and their seedlings, especially look for fast-growing vines such as honeysuckle, autumn clematis, bittersweet, wild grape, Virginia creeper, and poison ivy.
- Pests to watch for: Aphids, spidermites, whiteflies, snails, slugs, deer, voles
- Diseases to watch for: Blackspot on roses; powdery mildew, rust, bacterials diseases
- See UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips for more details.
- For a list of native plant resources, visit: https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/native-plant-resources
5 Million Trees Initiative
Maryland’s goal is to plant and maintain 5 million native trees by 2031. There are various ways you can get involved – plant trees and register them — or volunteer! A number of tree-planting assistance programs are available at the municipal, county, and state levels.
THIS is the SUPERPOWER of YOUR KEYSTONE NATIVE PLANTS.
- No exotic plant could ever achieve this.
- Want butterflies? Feed the caterpillars with keystone plants!
- Exotic plants will never support as many different species of caterpillars as the Keystone Natives can.
- Find your keystone native plants here by zip code.
If your zip code doesn’t give you enough information try zip codes of the nearest larger town or city. LINK: https://www.nwf.org/NativePlantFinder/
Trees and Shrubs
- Water slowly and deeply if summer is very dry.
- Take cuttings from azaleas, boxwoods, and camellias to start new plants.
- Thin out small trees and cut off any suckering branches growing from the bottom root ball.
- Hold off on planting new trees and shrubs until the summer heat has passed.
- Prune foundation shrubs and trees to be no closer than 1 foot from the house.
- Contact a certified arborist to have your trees’ health inspected.
- Shape your evergreens and hedges.
- Directly after blooming, prune flowering shrubs and vines.
- Prune boxwoods.
- Get a soil test.
- Prune long shoots on shrubs to keep plant neat looking.
- If you must mulch: Remove old mulch, then add 2″ – 3″ shredded pine or pine needles, keeping 3″ away from trunk.
- Remove Ivy, Pachysandra, and other vine-like groundcover from underneath shrubs.
- Clean your gutters.
- Do not fertilize newly planted or transplanted plants the first year.
- Check often and water newly planted trees if they don’t pass the finger test (stick your finger deep into soil – dry? Water!)
- Fertilize trees, shrubs, and evergreens.
- Prune broken, dead, diseased, or damaged branches.
- Keep an eye out for bark damage from rabbits or deer.
- Check for vole problems and set out traps.
- Spray broadleaf evergreens with anti-desiccant to prevent dehydration.
- Use fallen leaves for mulch or compost.
- Weed – especially look for fast-growing vines such as honeysuckle, autumn clematis, bittersweet, wild grape, Virginia creeper, and poison ivy. Remove Ivy, Pachysandra, and other vine-like groundcover from under shrubs.
- Mulch or compost healthy leaves.
- Continue to remove fallen, diseased leaves.
- Put diseased leaves, pesticide-laden grass clippings and weed seeds in your trash — not your compost pile.
- Turn your compost pile weekly and don’t let it dry out. Work compost into your planting beds.
- Apply scale and dormant oil treatment before dormancy breaks to decrease pest infestations.
- Remove dead and dying trees.
- Pests to watch for: Adelgids, aphids, azalea lacebug, caterpillars, deer, gypsy moths, Japanese beetles, leafminers, sawfly, scale, spidermites, voles, and webworms.
- Diseases to watch for: Apple scab, Cedar-apple, hawthorn or quince rust, Verticillium wilt, Oak leaf blister.
- For more tips, see UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips for more details.
Herbs, Veggies, and Fruit
- Plant heat-tolerant vegetables (Malabar spinach, Swiss chard).
- Remove finished plants.
- Cut off bottom, yellowed foliage on tomato plants.
- Pick blueberries at a local pick-your-own farm or visit a local farmer’s market.
- Pinch back any straying strawberry runners.
- Harvest regularly from your vegetable garden to prevent rot and waste.
- Harvest onions when the tops die back.
- Sow seeds of fall crops such as broccoli, turnips, cauliflower, etc. in late July.
- New fruit plants – keep watered their first spring, summer, and fall.
- Hand-pick cabbage worms from cabbage and brocolli.
- Cover berry bushes and fruit trees with bird netting.
- Gently clean up the garden, add 1 inch of compost.
- Start herbs from seed or cuttings.
- Divide perennials and herbs.
- Put up trellises and teepees for peas and beans to climb on.
- Till and add organic matter to annual/vegetable beds.
- Pick peas often to encourage the plants to produce more.
- Spread ashes from wood fires on your vegetable beds.
- Store your fertilizer and seeds in a rodent-proof container.
- Apply dormant oil spray to fruit trees.
- Pests to watch for: Asparagus beetle, aphids, birds, cabbage worms, corn borer, corn earworm, cutworms, rabbits, deer, and tomato hornworm.
- Diseases to watch for: Apple scab, Cedar-apple rust. fungal, bacterial, and viral diseases.
- Here are some more UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips.
Lawns
- Water established lawns deeply but infrequently!
- Mow in the early evening and cut off no more than one-third of the grass height at a time. Leave clippings on the ground to improve water clarity.
- Mow grass at 3 inches and leave the clippings on the lawn.
- Mow zoysia grass at 2″.
- Fertilize turf only if week. Apply 1 lb. N/1000 sq. ft.
- Calibrate your spreader before fertilizing!
- Control wild onions in warm season turf with broadleaf weed control.
- To control crabgrass, apply pre-emergent herbicide to lawn (when forsythia blooms drop).
- Do soil preparation – add lime, compost, etc. as needed.
- Clean yard of leaves and other debris.
- Mulch bare areas.
- Check and tune-up power equipment (mowers and trimmers).
- Apply grub control to your lawn.
- Sharpen your lawnmower blade.
- Check and tune-up power equipment (mowers and trimmers).
- Turn your compost pile.
- Diseases to watch for: brown patch, and red thread
- Pests to watch for: Grubs
- See UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips for more details.
Indoors/Houseplants
- Re-pot the houseplants you’ve moved outdoors for the summer.
- Re-pot root-bound houseplants and start fertilizing them when new growth begins.
- Re-pot larger plants that are going outside for the summer.
- Mist indoor plants and set up pebble trays to increase humidity.
- Deadhead flowering plants.
- Scan houseplants for insect activity.
- Maintain moisture in pots, but do not overwater!
- Give your houseplants a quarter turn every few weeks.
- Keep all houseplants out of drafts and away from heat vents.
- Keep succulents and cacti on the dry side.
- Check on your container plants daily and keep them well-watered.
- Remove old leaves, damaged stems.
- Dust your houseplants with a slightly damp cloth to prevent dust and film build-up.
- Pests to watch for: aphids, spider mites, mealybug, scale, stinkbugs, and whitefly.
- See UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips for more information.
Read and follow label instructions on all pesticides and herbicides.
Start the year off by minimizing your #risk to #pesticides and always #ReadTheLabel! Learn more here: http://npic.orst.edu/health/readlabel.html
Questions about your label? Call us! 800-858-7378 M-F 8am-12pm PST
Indoor/Outdoor Insect and Wildlife Tips
- Check for any stagnant water mosquito breeding grounds, especially your gutters. Dump out any water that sits stagnant for more than three days.
- Add Mosquito Dunks to any standing water in your yard such as birdbaths, downspouts, plant saucers, and gutters.
- Look for slug trails in the early morning and put out slug bait as needed.
- If you find slug damage, set out beer traps or Sluggo pellets.
- Hand-pick Japanese Beetles or shake them off over a bucket of dishwater. Early morning is a good time to catch them, while they are still drowsy.
- This is the perfect time to apply grub control.
- Keep cutworms off newly planted edible seedlings by surrounding the seedlings with a collar cut from a plastic bottle or cardboard tube.
- Ticks are very active now.
- Caulk and seal your outside walls to prevent insect entry into your home.
- Check indoors for termites and ants.
- Put up birdhouses.
- Put suet out for birds.
- Keep bird feeders clean and filled and provide a source of water.
- Wash out birdbaths daily with diluted bleach solution.
- Switch your deer deterrent spray. Re-apply after heavy rains.
- Set out traps for mice, moles, and voles.
- Watch for: eggs, larvae, carpenter ants, flies, stink bugs, termites, rabbits, raccoons, groundhogs, deer, mice, moles, snakes, squirrels, and voles.
- For more information, see UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips.
Source: University of Maryland’s Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) and the Washington Gardener.
See more tips from HGIC:
Natives at Noon: Lunch & Learn Webinar Series
| Hello! I’m your host, Lisa Kuder, from UMD Extension. Join us on the first Wednesday of each month from noon to 1 as we delve into various topics related to native plants. Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned professional, this series provides an opportunity to expand your knowledge and engage with experts in the field. Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists, these sessions are an excellent way to earn Continuing Education Units. Although the presentations are free of charge, registration is required to attend. Don’t miss this chance to enhance your understanding of native plants while enjoying your lunch. Register to attend one or more of the live only sessions: |
| July 1st—From Wasteland to Wonder: Easy Ways We Can Help Heal Earth in the Sub/Urban Landscape Aug 5th—Timing is Everything: The Phenology of Native Plants in a Changing World | Sept 2nd—Saving Ash for Future Forest Oct 7th—Sacred Grounds: Moving from Behavior to Action by Growing Joy Nov 4th—Creating Food Forests |
July 1st—From Wasteland to Wonder: Easy Ways We Can Help Heal Earth in the Sub/Urban Landscape
Wednesday, July 1
12pm – 1pm EST
Basil Camu, Treecologist & Wizard of Things, will discuss how the way we currently manage the suburban and urban landscape is creating a wasteland and harming the well-being of Earth. Fortunately, we have an alternative path: we can work with natural systems instead of working against them. During the presentation we will begin by examining how the systems of photosynthesis and soil formation work and how they affect water, carbon, and all other life on land. We will also discuss how we are damaging these systems. The remainder of this presentation are practices we can implement that help heal Earth based on firsthand expertise developed at Leaf & Limb.
Montgomery County, MD
Farm Tour & Harvest Sale
Saturday, July 25 & Sunday, July 26, 2026, 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Explore agriculture in action during the 2026 Montgomery County Farm Tour. These stops offer educational experiences, demonstrations, guided tours, and opportunities to learn more about farming and local agriculture.
This annual event is held during the last full week of July—this year, July 25 and 26. A total of 26 farms are participating: 19 will be open both Saturday and Sunday, and 7 will be open on Saturday only. Hours vary by farm. Because this is a self-driving tour, you can visit one, several, or all 26 farms based on your own schedule and interests.
- Bluffing Goat Farm
- Button Farm Living History Center
- Calleva Farm & Store
- Comus Farm
- Deere Valley Farms
- Grateful Gardeners
- Honey Acres Farm
- King Barn Dairy Mooseum
- Charles Koiner Conservancy
- Madison Fields
- Red Wiggler Care Farm
- Grateful Gardeners
Montgomery Parks – Events
Hiking Histories
Tuesday, July 7, 2026 | 11 am to 2 pm | All Ages | $12 |
Agricultural History Farm Park
18400 Muncaster Road
Redland Maryland 20855
Come explore the Farm Park’s unique trails while uncovering its rich past with Hiking Histories! This 2–3 hour guided hike takes participants along the Farm Park’s 5.5 miles of trails, blending outdoor exploration with engaging historical insights. As we hike through meadows, woodlands and historic landscapes, you’ll learn about the people, places and events that shaped the area – bringing local history to life in a vivid and memorable way. Perfect for curious hikers and history enthusiasts alike, Hiking Histories offers a refreshing mix of exercise, discovery and a deeper understanding of the land beneath your feet.
We’ll meet in front of the big red barn on the historic side of the Farm Park – just follow the gravel road up toward the barn and park in the grassy lot marked “Visitor Parking.” Be sure to dress for the weather, wear sturdy footwear, and bring water.
Firefly Frenzy: Saturday, July 18, 2026 | 7:00PM – 8:30PM |Ages 10+ | $7.00
Campfire Cooking: Friday, July 24 | 4:30 to 6 pm | Ages 7+ | $15.00
W.A.N.D.E.R. – Useful Plants at MNC: W.A.N.D.E.R.- Useful Plants at MNC | Saturday, August 1, 2026 |10:00AM – 11:00AM | Ages 18+ | $7.00
Raptor Caretaker Chats | Saturday, August 1, 2026 |10:00AM – 11:00AM | Ages 0+ | FREE
Black Hill Bookworms: “The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times” | Wednesday, July 29, 2026 | 6:00PM – 7:30PM | Black Hill Discovery Center, Boyds, MD
Birding at Black Hill: Birding for Beginners | Saturday, August 1, 2026 | 9:00AM – 12:00PM | Black Hill Discovery Center, Boyds, MD
Open Daily | 9 am to 3 pm | All Ages | $15.99 for Ages 13+, $10.99 for Ages 3 to 12 (includes $1.99 service charge), FREE for ages 2 and Under | Brookside Gardens
Immerse yourself in a world of fluttering wings at Brookside Gardens! Now through September you and your loved ones can enjoy butterflies from around the world while learning the important roles these pollinators play in a variety of ecosystems and how to ensure these beautiful insects thrive in our own gardens.
Edible Flowers for Flavor and Health
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
10:30AM – 12:00PM
Fee: $50.00 / Registration required
Kathy Jentz, Author of The Urban Garden, Editor and Publisher of Washington Gardener Magazine
Location:
Brookside Gardens
1800 Glenallan Avenue
Wheaton, MD 20902
Discover the delicious world of edible flowers! Learn how common garden blooms and herbs can enhance recipes—from rose petal cocktails to calendula cream cheese—while offering health benefits and antioxidants. Explore over 20 varieties you may already grow, plus exotic options for next season. Dried flowers and herbs will be provided for participants to take home.
NOTE: This in person event will take place in the Visitor Center Adult Classroom, located at 1800 Glenallan Avenue, Wheaton, MD 20902.
Capturing The Essence of Herbs
Saturday, August 1, 2026
10:00AM – 1:00PM
Location:
Brookside Gardens
1800 Glenallan Avenue
Wheaton, MD 20902
Fee:$55.00
Susan Belsinger, herbalist and author
Learn how to harvest, dry, and preserve culinary herbs for maximum flavor. Susan will demonstrate practical recipes—from herbal pastes and butters to infused syrups, honey, and vinegars—using tips from her book Grow Your Own Herbs. Sample her creations and leave inspired, making and taking home your own herbal vinegar and herb-infused honey to enjoy at home.
NOTE: This in person event will take place in the Visitor Center Adult Classroom, located at 1800 Glenallan Avenue, Wheaton, MD 20902.
Pop-Up Exploration Cart – Insects
Daily from Thursday, August 27 to Friday, August 28 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
FREE / All ages / No registration required
Location: Children’s Garden
Celebrate National Pollinator Week with us and learn more about pollinators, their importance, and the plants they love. Enrich your garden visit with a fun pollinator scavenger hunt. Just stop by the Exploration Cart next to the Children’s Garden any time between 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Butterflies of Brookside (Year Round): Butterflies of Brookside (Outdoors)
Saturday, August 29, 2026
10:00AM – 11:00AM
Location:
Brookside Gardens
1800 Glenallan Avenue
Wheaton, MD 20902
Fee: $7.00
Age Range: 8 – 14
In the heat of the summer, monarchs, swallowtails, and other butterflies are busy outdoors in the gardens. Stop at the “hot spots” along the trail to identify different butterfly species, snap a few photos, and record observations in the nature journal provided. Meet at the Visitor Center and dress for the weather. **Note: this is an outdoor program that does NOT include tickets to the indoor butterfly experience.
Cultivars: Untangling the Complicated World of Cultivated Native Plants
Monday, July 13th, 6:00pm – 7:30pm, Zoom
Join Sam Hoadley, Mt. Cuba Center’s Manager of Horticultural Research, for a deep dive into the controversial and complicated world of nativars. Get a crash course on what makes a cultivar a cultivar and learn about which cultivars may, or may not, be beneficial for wildlife and where and when cultivars may be most appropriate in the modern landscape.
If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this event, please contact Stephanie Pully at pully@umd.edu or (301) 226-7616
Seneca Creek State Park July Programs
Seneca Creek State Park
11950 Clopper Road
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Here’s a link to Seneca Creek State Park’s July Programs. Featured events for July include Pontoon Tours, Weekday Hikes, Mindfulness Hike, Miles for Maryland Challenge Hike, Take Me Fishing, and more! These events are provided by The Friends of Seneca Creek State Park.
About Friends Of Seneca Creek State Park (FOSCSP)
The only State Park entirely in Montgomery County, featuring Hiking, Disc Golf, Boating, Fishing, Peony Display Garden, Recycled Tire Playground, and Winter Lights display from Nov. 27th through December 31st. Entrance is free from November through March.
The Friends of Seneca Creek State Park collect dues and donations that are used to support the visitor experience in the park. We are a 501(c)(3) designated charity, so all donations, including dues, are tax deductible as allowed by law.
Montgomery College
Lifelong Learning Home and Garden Classes – Summer 2026
See Schedule of Summer Classes below:
| Course | Course Title | Start Date | End Date | Day(s) | Time | Location |
| LLP152 | Annuals and Perennials for Mid-Atlantic Landscape | 7/21 | 7/28 | T | 6:30-9 p.m. | RC |
| LLP043 | Easy Care Houseplants | 8/4 | 8/11 | T | 6:30-9 p.m. | SR |
| LLP273 | Garden Design | 7/16- | 8/6 | R | 6:30-9 p.m. | RC |
| LLI022 | Orchids: How To Grow and Bloom | 8/18 | 8/18 | T | 6:30-9:30 p.m. | SR |
Fall 2026 Environmental Horticulture
The courses described below are being offered by the Environmental Horticulture program at Montgomery College for the Fall term. In-county tuition rates are available for business/industry employees. Tuition waivers are available for senior citizens. For more information on the program of courses, contact steve.dubik@montgomerycollege.edu.
Maryland Native Plant Society Conference
Save the date! September 12 and 13, 2026
Diverse Landscapes on Maryland’s Piedmont and Western Shore
Day 1 at University of Maryland, College Park will feature guest speakers, local tours, native plant sale, and more.
Day 2 will have field trips throughout Maryland.
More information coming soon at mdflora.org/events
Let’s Talk Gardens
Thursdays 12 to 1 p.m.
Smithsonian Gardens
“Grow” your gardening know-how! Our free online gardening program, Let’s Talk Gardens, covers a wide range of topics presented by our own professional staff, as well as guest speakers.
And we encourage you to watch videos in our Let’s Talk Gardens Video Library.
