Hello Friends, Neighbors, Fellow Gardeners,

Seasons Greetings!  Here are some garden tips, educational opportunities, and events for December. Events include Brookside Gardens’ Gardens of Lights, Holiday Open House & Pop-Up Shops, Holiday workshops, and more!

Planning

• Clean out pots; store non-frost proof containers in shed, garage, or basement.
• Clean, sharpen, and store your garden tools.
• Turn off outdoor water valve and store hoses.
• Clean your gutters.
• Start collecting plant seeds for next year and for trading.
• Give some inspirational garden books and garden magazine subscriptions as holiday gifts to your friends and family.
• Here are some gift ideas for the holidays: Gifts for Gardeners 2020-Cool Garden Gadgets
• Have a question about gardening? Check the University of Maryland Extension’s New Maryland Grows blog for garden tips.

• Support our local parks and gardens. Visit a garden or park for their winter festivities!
• Support Our Local Farmers – Join a CSA and have fresh local produce delivered to you!
• Visit a local farmers’ market.

Flowers and Groundcovers

• Sow wildflower seeds, such as California Poppies, for next spring.
• Collect dried flowers and grasses for indoor vase.
• Pests to watch for: Aphids, Deer, 4-lined plant bug, slugs.
• Diseases to watch for:  Powdery mildew, rust, bacterial diseases.
• See UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips for more details.

Trees and Shrubs

• Trees and shrubs can be planted until ground freezes.
• Stake newly planted large trees or shrubs to protect them from winter winds.
• Don’t panic over leaf/needle drop on established evergreen shrubs and rhododendrons. It is normal at this time of year for them to shed a third of them.
• Plant evergreens for winter interest.
• Prune maples, dogwoods, birch, elm, and walnut—if needed.
• Prune evergreens to get in shape for winter.
• Moderately prune evergreens, especially hollies, for indoor decorating.
• For care of holiday plants and tress see HGIC publications.
• Water your cut Christmas tree daily.
• Remove fallen diseased leaves.
• Mulch or compost healthy leaves.
• Keep an eye out for bark damage from rabbits and deer.
• Put diseased leaves, pesticide-laden grass clippings and weed seeds out for recycling rather than the compost pile.
• No more fertilizing for the year.
• Spray with dormant oil to decrease pest infestations.
• Remove Ivy, Pachysandra, and other vine-like groundcover from under shrubs.
• Remove dead and dying trees.
• Pests to watch for:  bagworms, caterpillars, Gypsy moths, Japanese beetles, scale, sawfly, spidermites,  leafminers, Voles, and webworms.
• Diseases to watch for:  Fireblight, Anthracnose,  Powdery mildew, Exobasidium gall on azaleas, Phytophthora, top dieback and root rot on azaleas.
• For more tips, see UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips for more details.

Herbs, Veggies, and Fruit

• You can still have your vegetable garden and soils tested.
• Cover carrots and other root crops with straw to extend the harvest season.
• Plant garlic for harvest next spring.
• Remove finished plants.
• Prune stone fruit trees like cherries, plums, and peaches.
• Apply dormant oil spray to fruit trees.
• Pests to watch for: Corn borer, corn earworm, asparagus beetles, Japanese beetles, tomato hornworm, squash vine borer, rabbits, deer
• Diseases to watch for: Fungal, bacterial, Powdery mildew, viral diseases.
• Here are some more UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips.

Lawns

• Top 5 Ways We Can Support Soil | UMD HGIC

1. Reduce food waste
2. Eat a diverse diet
3. Compost
4. Read labels on lawn and garden products
5. Perform soil tests

• Avoid walking on frozen grass to avoid damaging the crowns.
• Turn your compost pile.
• The annual soil science calendars from the Natural Resources Conservation Service are both educational and beautifully done. The one for 2018 as well as those for previous years are available as free PDFs here: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/edu/?cid=nrcseprd1250008
• 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

• 15 Popular Houseplants You Should Grow | Gardening Channel
• 7 Reasons To Get a Christmas Cactus Instead Of — Or In Addition To — A Christmas Tree
• Pot up Paper Whites and Amaryllis for holiday blooming.
• For readying Christmas cactus and poinsettia for holiday blooming, fertilize them and put them where they’ll get 10 hours of bright light per day.
• Rotate houseplants to promote even growth.
• Do not place live wreaths or greenery between your door and glass storm door, especially if the doorway is facing south. This placement will “cook” the arrangement on a sunny day.
• Remove old leaves, damaged stems.
• Pinch out growing tips of leggy cuttings and plants that are overwintering.
• Clean the leaves of your indoor houseplants to prevent dust and film build-up.
• Reduce fertilizing of your indoor plants (except cyclamen).
• Set up a humidifier for indoor plants or at least place them in pebble trays.
• Maintain moisture in pots wintering indoors, but do not over water!
• Keep all houseplants out of drafts and away from heat vents.
• Pests to watch for:  aphids, spider mites, mealybug, scale, whitefly
• See UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips for more information.
  

Indoor/Outdoor Insect and Wildlife Tips

• Clean and refill bird feeders.
• Switch your deer deterrent spray.
• Check for vole problems and set out traps.
  
• Remove and destroy gypsy moth egg masses.
• Caulk and seal your outside walls to prevent wildlife from coming indoors.
• Watch for: carpenter ants, flies, mosquitos, 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.

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Mill Creek Towne Entrance Walls Repairs Project

Hello Mill Creek Towne Neighbors,

Your help is greatly needed with a community problem. The original entrance walls that identify our community as Mill Creek Towne are in a state of deterioration. One entrance wall, consisting of a center wall and two side walls, is located at Roslyn Avenue and Redland Road and is on Montgomery County property. The other entrance wall, consisting of two side walls, is located at Miller Fall Road and Muncaster Mill Road and is on Maryland State property. Both the county and the state have been approached and have declined to provide the much needed repairs and maintenance, stating that this is the responsibility of the community.

These entrance walls are more than fifty years old and, for all of that time, The Mill Creek Towne Garden Club (MCTGC) has been the caretakers of the entrances. We provide annual care with plantings either by doing regular maintenance work ourselves or engaging the assistance of professional workers.

We need your help to repair the Mill Creek Towne Entrance walls! See details in this link below on how you can help.

Thank you for your support!!

Sincerely,

Mill Creek Towne Garden Club – Derwood, Maryland
https://www.mctgardenclub.org | mctgc@mctgardenclub.org 

 Like us on Facebook

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December

See below for upcoming local events in December.

Montgomery Parks Special Events & Festivals

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

Save the dates for these upcoming events!  Events include Brookside Gardens’ Gardens of Lights, Holiday Open House & Pop-Up Shops, Holiday workshops, and more!

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The third edition of the MoCo Made Food & Beverage Guide is available!

The Guide features more than 60 local producers and farmers offering local-made products. Find the online version here:

https://mocofoodcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/MOCO_Directory_2018_FNL-digital.pdf

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Master Gardener Plant Clinics

Varied Locations, dates, and times

Montgomery County Master Gardeners - Maryland

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

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Support Our Local Farmers – Join a CSA and have fresh local produce delivered to 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:

 http://www.mocoalliance.org/community-supported-agriculture.html

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Brookside Gardens’ Gardens of Lights

November 22-December 31, 2019
Brookside Gardens | 1800 Glenallan Avenue | Wheaton MD 20902
$25 per Car/Van (Non- Peak: Sunday-Thursday)
$30 per Car/Van (Peak: Friday-Saturday) and the holiday week of Friday, December 20 through Tuesday, December 31, 2019.

Step into a magical winter wonderland illuminated with more than one million dazzling colorful lights shaped into hand-crafted, original art forms of flowers, animals and other natural elements. Stroll from garden to garden enjoying twinkling tree forms, sparkling fountains, and whimsical winter scenes.

The exhibit is closed: November 25, 26, 27, and 28. December 24 & 25.

Garden-related Events for the Weekend: December 6-8, 2019

From Peggy Riccio |  Horticultural Society of Maryland

Even though it is December there is plenty happening in the area with regards to gardening, wreath making, open houses, and workshops. Check out the events for this weekend; the rest for the month are at pegplant.com.

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Parks Speaker Series: Aiming for Zero Waste: The Future of Recycling and Sustainability in Montgomery County

Adam Ortiz, Director, Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection

Monday, December 2 | 12 pm – 2 pm
Montgomery Regional Office Building
8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD, 20910
Free

At a time when jurisdictions across the nation are reconsidering aspects of their recycling programs, Montgomery County is continuing its commitment to increase recycling and reduce trash.  Adam Ortiz, Director of Montgomery County’s Department of Environmental Protection, will share insight into the current state of the county’s waste management and sustainability initiatives and how those compare to other jurisdictions in the nation.  Ortiz will detail the challenges, trends and innovations happening in this area and provide an update on the county’s “Aiming for Zero Waste Plan.”

Register by November 25 to reserve a complimentary boxed lunch.

MORE

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Holiday Open House & Pop-Up Shops

Sunday, December 8
2 PM – 5 PM

Tusculum Farm
4601 Damascus Rd
Laytonsville, Maryland 20882

Join us at our holiday open house, complete with fun shopping, sweet treats and an appearance by the jolly old elf himself — Santa Claus!

Featured shops and vendors include:

Kendra Scott
Lele Apothecary
Laura Hooper Calligraphy
Meg Biram Design
Wild Pollen (wreath workshop – $15, first-come, first-served)
BLTeas
Flowered
Harper Macaw
Cookie Decorating in The Hay Barn

While we love all furry friends, we ask that all pets stay at home for this event. Thank you.

For questions about this event, please contact us at 833-RED-BARN or at info@tusculumfarm.com

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Woodlawn Manor Yuletide Celebrations

Saturday, December 14 | Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park
Family Day: 5 pm – 6:30 pm
Woodlawn Manor Yuletide Celebration: 7:30 – 9 pm

Celebrate the Yuletide 19th-Century style with period entertainment, children’s crafts and light refreshments. Visit the historically decorated Manor house. We look forward to seeing you at this Olde Tyme celebration! The early session is perfect for families with young children while the late session is perfect adults that are interested in a deeper look into history.

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Winter Solstice Campfire

Friday, December 20, 2019
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM

Meadowside Nature Center, Montgomery Parks
5100 Meadowside Ln
Rockville, Maryland 20855

Light up the long winter nights! Join us for Winter Solstice Campfire at Meadowside Nature Center on Friday, December 20, at 6:30 pm.

Make lanterns then go for a nature walk. Then, enjoy winter tales and s’mores by the campfire.