Hello Friends, Neighbors, Fellow Gardeners,
Happy Earth Month! Here are some garden tips, educational opportunities, and videos for April. Some upcoming events/resources include our Mill Creek Extreme Cleanup Community Earth Day Event, MCT Garden Club Plant & Yard Sale, RainScapes Portal Now Open; Rebates Up to $7,500 for Residents and $20,000 for Businesses Available to Prevent Stormwater Runoff, Bird Feeder: Earth Day Craft, Seneca Creek Watershed Tree Giveaway Announcement!, Montgomery Parks Earth Month Events, Montgomery Parks Native Plant Sales, Birding Events, Brookside Garden Events: In-Person and Virtual Programs, Seneca Creek State Park April Programs, Montgomery College Lifelong Learning Home and Garden Classes – Spring 2025, Adaptive Recreation – Gardening 101, 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
- Design new beds and gardens.
- Take an inventory of pots and containers; clean or replenish potted soil.
- Repair your shed and repair/paint your fences.
- Attend a local garden club meeting or plant exchange.
- Start or update your garden journals.
- Pick up new gardening books and magazines for inspiration.
- Volunteer at a local public or historic garden.
- Plan for 2025 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.
Make a Spectacle in the Garden! March MCT Garden Club Community Event Recap
We enjoyed the “Make a Spectacle in the Garden” presentation by Marie Rojas, Master Gardener. View video below with some pictures and gardening resources.
See link below for her gardening resources handout.
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:
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
- After spring bulbs bloom, let leaves turn yellow and die before trimming.
- Walk your garden – look for early signs of fungal diseases.
- Mulch beds with a light hand.
- Plant Pansies.
- Deadhead pansies.
- Plant and prune roses.
- Lightly fertilize bulbs when green starts to show.
- Transplant seedlings into 3″-4″ pots when crowded. Water when dry to the touch.
- Pinch out growing tips of leggy transplants.
- Transplant spring flowering bulbs after flowering.
- Do not set out seedlings or tender annuals until after Mother’s Day (traditional last frost-free date for entire areas).
- Make compost tea and use on seedlings.
- Begin hardening off hardier transplants. Sow seeds outdoors of hardier annuals.
- Start seeds for: impatiens, petunias, Mallow, Dwarf Zinnias, Cosmos, Celosia, Tall Marigolds, and Tall Zinnias.
- Buy or check your stored summer bulbs (such as dahlias and caladiums). Pot them and start to water if you want to give them an early start on the season.
- If you started seeds last month, thin them and start the hardening-off process.
- Divide Perennials.
- Cut back and clear out the last of your perennial beds.
- Edge garden beds.
- Check that all vines are securely tied against winter’s cold winds.
- Rake up weeds and their seedlings.
- Gently clean up the garden.
- Weed by hand to avoid disturbing new forming roots. Especially look for fast-growing vines such as honeysuckle, autumn clematis, bittersweet, wild grape, Virginia creeper, and poison ivy.
- Pests to watch for: Aphids, slugs, snails, deer, voles.
- Diseases to watch for: Botrytis on peonies, Volutella blight on pachysandra
- 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
- Plant a Tree for Arbor Day or Earth Day. Arbor Day is on the first Wednesday in April in Maryland. Earth Day is April 22.
- Prune non-flowering and shrubs before new growth.
- Water shrubs and trees deeply during any dry spells.
- Prune flowering shrubs, such as forsythia, lilacs, and azaleas, when they finish blooming.
- Do not fertilize newly planted or transplanted plants the first year.
- Soil test established trees that have not been performing well.
- Soil preparation: add lime, compost, etc. as needed.
- Keep mowers and trimmers away from trunks!
- Prune winter damage on evergreens when new growth begins.
- Prune broken, dead, diseased, or damaged branches.
- Prune summer bloomers such as Hydrangeas, Rose of Sharon, Crepe Myrtles, and Butterfly Bushes.
- Plant or transplant trees, shrubs, perennials including berries, roses, and evergreens.
- Keep an eye out for bark damage from rabbits or deer.
- Check often and water newly planted trees if they don’t pass the finger test (stick your finger deep into soil – dry? Water!)
- Check for vole problems and set out traps.
- Spray broadleaf evergreens with anti-desiccant to prevent dehydration.
- Use fallen leaves for mulch or compost.
- 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 dormant oil treatment to ornamentals and fruit trees before dormancy breaks.
- Remove dead and dying trees.
- Pests to watch for: Gypsy moths, Scale, sawfly, spidermites, leafminers, caterpillar, deer, and voles.
- Diseases to watch for: Anthracnose, 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
- Turn under cover crop when soil has warmed enough and is not too wet.
- Divide perennials and herbs.
- Fertilize new growth.
- Build a raised bed for vegetables. Add lots of manure and compost.
- Fertilize established asparagus, tree and bramble fruits and strawberries.
- Prune grapevines.
- Prune fruit trees as their buds are swelling. Check for dead and diseased wood to prune out.
- Keep all transplants watered deeply for 2-3 weeks.
- Harden off cool season transplants. Plant asparagus.
- Sow seeds of: carrots, endive, sunflowers, lettuce.
- Direct-sow early, cool-season crops as soon as ground soil can be worked. Good choices are peas, lettuces, mustards, onion sets, kale, and cabbages.
- Sow beans and corn directly outdoors.
- Thin seedlings.
- Put up trellises and teepees for peas, climbing beans, etc.
- Build a raised bed for vegetables. Add lots of manure and compost.
- Start carrots, turnips, and parsnips in well-draining beds or deep containers.
- Keep cutworms off newly planted edible seedlings by surrounding the seedlings with a collar cut from a plastic bottle or cardboard tube.
- Pick peas often to encourage the plant to produce more.
- Ensure new seedlings do not dry out by installing a drip-irrigation system.
- Start herbs from seed or cuttings.
- Put row covers over vulnerable crops – remove cover to allow for pollinating once they set flowers.
- Thin lettuce seedlings and plant more seeds in new rows. (You can eat the seedling greens you pull.)
- Spread ashes from wood fires on your vegetable beds.
- Clean out your cold frame or build a new one.
- Vent cold frames on sunny days.
- Remove finished plants.
- Cover strawberry beds with straw or pine needles.
- Thin seedlings.
- Apply dormant oil spray to fruit trees.
- Pests to watch for: Rabbits, deer, woodchucks, and birds.
- Diseases to watch for: Dampling off of seedlings, Fireblight of pears and apples.
- Here are some more UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips.
Lawns
- Cut perennials and over-wintering ornamental grasses such as liriope, mondo, and pampas to 2 inches above ground.
- Test soil if you haven’t already.
- Dethatch if necessary and plug aerate BEFORE applying weed control.
- To control crabgrass, apply pre-emergent herbicide to lawn (when forsythia blooms drop).
- Start lawn seeding.
- Clean yard of leaves and other debris.
- Spread new gravel on paths.
- Mulch bare areas.
- Get your lawnmower serviced.
- Keep newly seeded lawns well watered.
- Apply fertilizer and lime to turfgrass based on soil tests and UME recommendations.
- Sharpen your lawnmower blade.
- Check and tune-up power equipment (mowers and trimmers).
- Clean yard of all leaves and other debris.
- 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
- Repot larger plants that are going outside for the summer.
- Repot root-bound houseplants and start fertilizing them.
- Buy and indoor plant to liven up your office space. Try an orchid or African violet.
- Check indoors for termites and ants.
- Scan houseplants for insect activity.
- Start/keep fertilizing your indoor plants.
- Pinch back leggy plants.
- Maintain moisture in pots, but do not overwater!
- Start new indoor plants from cuttings – try an easy one such as violets.
- Clean the leaves of your indoor houseplants to prevent dust and film build-up.
- 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.
- 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.
- Pests to watch for: aphids, spider mites, mealybug, scale, 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
- Ticks are very active now.
- Set out traps for mice, moles, and voles.
- Put up birdhouses.
- Put suet out for birds.
- Keep bird feeders clean and filled and provide a source of water.
- Provide nesting materials (try dryer lint) for birds as well as houses for the start of their family season.
- Wash out birdbaths weekly with diluted bleach solution.
- Switch your deer deterrent spray.
- Set out traps for mice, moles, and voles.
- Remove and destroy gypsy moth egg masses.
- Watch for: eggs, larvae, overwintering stage of many species, 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:
RainScapes Portal Now Open; Rebates Up to $7,500 for Residents and $20,000 for Businesses Available to Prevent Stormwater Runoff
The Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is now accepting RainScapes Reward Rebate applications for residents and businesses who take measures to reduce stormwater runoff from individual properties. County residents and companies may be eligible for refunds of up to $7,500 for residential properties and $20,000 for businesses. A Rainscape is a landscape or design technique that helps reduce stormwater runoff from individual properties and that prevents pollutants, chemicals, oils and heavy metals from washing directly into the local waterways.
Bird Feeder: Earth Day Craft
Saturday, April 26
2:00pm – 3:00pm
Germantown Library
19840 Century Blvd
Germantown, MD 20874
Enjoy the fun of making your very own bird feeder and then taking it home where you can hang it up in a tree and watch as birds and wildlife enjoy your creation too!
Recommended for ages 3 and up.
Co-sponsored by Friends of the Library, Montgomery County.
Seneca Creek Watershed Tree Giveaway Announcement!
Friday, April 4
3:30pm – 5:00pm
Free Native Tree Give-Away: We’ll be distributing trees on Friday, April 4 starting at 3:30 pm from Seneca State Park and 14909 Spring Meadows Drive, Darnestown.
We reserved 50 seedlings of the following species: swamp white oak, baldcypress, black walnut, buttonbush, red chokeberry, American plum, red osier dogwood, and pawpaw and 25 seedlings of possumhaw.
Trees must be planted immediately and should be protected from deer. Each household may take up to 10 trees which will be on a first come basis.
If you’d like to volunteer to help contact Merikay at merikays@verizon.net.
Montgomery Parks – Events
Montgomery Parks Earth Month Events
Montgomery Parks invites you to these can’t miss programs!
Rachel Carson Conservation Park Walking Tour: Thursday, April 10 | 10 am to 12 pm | Ages 18+ | $30 | 22201 Zion Rd, Brookeville, MD 20833
Garden Day: Sunday, April 13 | 11 am to 3 pm | All Ages | FREE | Black Hill Discovery Center
Forest Bathing: Saturday, April 19 | 10 am to 12 pm | Ages 18+ | $10 | Locust Grove Nature Center
Plant Swap: Saturday, April 19 | 11 am to 12 pm | All Ages | FREE | Meadowside Nature Center
Montgomery Parks Native Plant Sales
Maydale Nature Classroom
(Online Only — Plant Pick-up)
1638 Maydale Dr.
Colesvilles, MD 20905
Sale begins April 7, Pick up by April 26
Brookside Gardens Plant Sale
South Terrace
1800 Glenallan Ave.
Wheaton, MD 20902
Sunday, April 27, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Black Hill Discovery Center
20926 Lake Ridge Dr.
Boyds, MD 20841
May 3 and 4, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
www.FriendsofBlackHillNature.org
Locust Grove Nature Center
Pope Farm Nursery
7400 Airpark Rd.
Gaithersburg, MD 20905
May 17 and 18, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
www.MoCoParks.org/LGPlantNative
Birding Events
FeederWatch Thursdays and Fridays
Every Thursday and Friday | 11 am to 12 pm | Ages 5+ | FREE
Locust Grove Nature Center
Fly into the excitement of Project FeederWatch at Locust Grove Nature Center! Help track bird species at our feeders and participate in a national community science project. Whether you’re a birding pro or just starting, your observations make a difference.
Morning Tweets and Tea-Community Science with Birds | Friday, April 4, 2025
9:00AM – 10:00AM
Locust Grove Nature Center
7777 Democracy Boulevard
Bethesda, Maryland 20817
Brookside Garden Events
In-Person Programs
DC Environmental Film Festival – Documentary Screening & Panel Discussion
Saturday, April 5 | 10:00am – 12:00pm
FREE: Walk-ins welcome
Location: Visitor Center Auditorium
Brookside Gardens is partnering with the DC Environmental Film Festival to present a free screening of the film “Family Tree” by Jennifer MacArthur. This new documentary highlights the stories of two Black families fighting to preserve their land while balancing economic potential with environmental protection. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion of experts exploring the conservation challenges of protecting our forests. The panel will also highlight regional initiatives to protect our urban tree canopy and engage diverse communities in the fight against climate change.
Panelists:
- Autumn Saxton-Ross, Ph.D., Chief Education & Equity Officer, National Recreation and Park Association
- Abraham Lopez, Programs Director, Defensores de la Cuenca
- Colter Burkes, Senior Urban Forester, Montgomery Parks
Rachel Carson Conservation Park Walking Tour
Thursday, April 10 / 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Fee: $30 / FOBG: $27
Tour Guide: Ryan Colliton, vegetation ecology & management unit leader, Montgomery Parks
Location: 22201 Zion Rd, Brookeville, MD
Enjoy the peak of spring ephemerals as you stroll through woodlands vibrantly leafing out. You’ll appreciate the rich biodiversity of native plant specimens including Virginia bluebells, wild geranium, rue anemone, mayapple, Solomon’s seal and ferns. Bring binoculars to see the wonderful variety of birds including warblers, hawks, woodpeckers, and thrushes!
The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue: A Story of Climate and Hope on One American Street
Speaker: Mike Tidwell, Executive Director of Chesapeake Climate Action Network
Wednesday, April 16 | 7-8:30pm
FREE; registration required
Location: Brookside Gardens Visitor Center Auditorium
Virtual Programs
Ecological Gardening: Supporting Native Habitats in The Home Landscape
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
7:00PM – 8:30PM
Brookside Gardens Virtual
Fee: $15.00
Instructor: Christopher Elenstar, Brookside Gardens staff
Whether you’re looking to create a new garden or blend in plants with your existing one, this lecture will help you develop a habitat that attracts and supports a range of wildlife year-round. Learn how to make informed plant selections based on their characteristics and how they uniquely sustain birds, butterflies, and pollinators. A deeper understanding of local ecosystems will inform design strategies for layering plant combinations and placement to create a functional and beautiful landscape. Plant lists provided.
Native Plant Solutions to Familiar Landscape Challenges
Instructor: Shannon Currey, Education and Outreach, Izel Native Plants
Thursday, April 24 / 7-8:30pm ET
Fee: $15 / FOBG: $12; registration required
Seneca Creek State Park April Programs
Seneca Creek State Park
11950 Clopper Road
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Here’s a link to Seneca Creek State Park’s April Programs. Featured events for April include weekly hikes, Quail Ridge Wildflower Hike, Eagle Nest Watch Hike at Lake Frank, Old Pond Wildflower Hike, Clopper Mill Trash Bash, Spring Bird Egg Hunt, Lakeshore Wildflower Hike, 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.
Adaptive Recreation – Gardening 101
Thursday, April 3, 2025 – Thursday, June 5, 2025
4:00PM – 5:00PM
Gardening has been proven to improve physical health, mental wellness, and cognitive ability! Join us for this 5-session series to learn how to grow native plants, herbs, or vegetables. This program is designed to support aspiring gardeners with disabilities. We will supply guidance and all materials, including accessible garden beds, worktables, and ergonomic garden tools. At the end of our program, you will have acquired the skills, and plants, to take home and continue your garden adventures. Participants will be asked to complete a Modification Intake Form upon registration to ensure appropriate support from Program Access. Registration required.
Location:
Black Hill Discovery Center
20926 Lake Ridge Drive
Boyds, Maryland 20841
Fee: $42.00
Montgomery College Lifelong Learning Home and Garden Classes – Spring 2025
See Schedule of Spring Classes below:
| CRN# | Class ID | Course | Course Name | Start Date | End Date | Days | Times | Location |
| 33853 | 18212 | LLP152 | Annuals and Perennials for Mid-Atlantic Landscape | 4/29/2025 | 5/6/2025 | Tue | 10:30 AM – 1:00 PM | R-MK-Mannakee Building |
| 34067 | 18215 | LLP153 | Woody Ornamentals for the Mid-Atlantic Region | 4/1/2025 | 4/8/2025 | Tue | 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM | A-DL-WD&CE Virtual-Remote |
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.
