Hello Friends, Neighbors, Fellow Gardeners,

April showers bring May flowers! Here are some gardening tips, educational opportunities, and events to prepare for Spring in April. April is Earth Month as Rockville celebrates the 46th Earth Day, on Friday, April 22; it’s just one event in a month full of free activities promoting environmental sustainability. Events for April include the History in the Parks Night Hikes on the Underground Railroad trail, the Agricultural History Farm Park’s 20th Annual Gas & Steam Engine Show, Green Matters Symposium at Brookside Garden, Earth Day events, and more!  Don’t miss our meeting on Tuesday, April 26th, starting at 7:30 pm with Master Gardener Les Rucker, who will provide tips on shade perennials!

Planning:

• Take an inventory of pots and containers; clean or replenish potted soil
• Set aside a few hours each weekend for attending garden shows and tours. | DC Gardens
• Spring colors are erupting in the great gardens around Maryland. Make plans to see them in full bloom: http://www.visitmaryland.org/list/gardens-maryland

Flowers and Groundcovers:

• Transplant seedlings into individual 3″–4″ pots when crowded. Water when dry to the touch.
• Pinch out growing tips of leggy transplants.
• Transplant spring flowering bulbs after flowering.
• Begin hardening off hardier transplants. Sow seeds outdoors of hardier annuals.
• Dividing Herbaceous Perennials (HG99) | University of Maryland Extension
  Dividing an herbaceous perennial is an easy way to produce more plants.
• Butterfly weed, California poppies, gaillardia, cleome, bachelor’s buttons, strawflowers, chamomile, alyssum, nigella, and annual phlox can be directly sown into the garden at this time.
  • Gardening | Shade Gardening | Perennials for Shade Gardening
    Perennials that grow well in shade. | Birds and Blooms
• Diseases to watch for: Botrytis on peonies, Volutella blight on pachysandra.
• See UMD’s HGIC’s April Flower tips for more details.

Trees and Shrubs:

• Plant a tree for Arbor Day (April 29) or Earth Day (April is Earth Month)!
  • Rockville’s Earth Month Activities
  • Earth Day Festival at Brookside Gardens
  • Earth Day Celebration at Brookside Nature Center, Wheaton Regional Park
  • Montgomery Park’s Earth Month Events
• Plant trees, shrubs, perennials; this is a good time to plant evergreens.
• Transplant small trees and shrubs.
• Prune 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.
• Keep mowers and trimmers away from trunks!
• Prune winter damage on evergreens when new growth begins.
• Planting bed around your tree might be killing it
  
  Planting flowers under trees might cause problems for the tree.
  Chicago Tribune | March 2016
• Diseases to watch for: Antrancnose, Exobasidium gall on azaleas, Phytophthora, top dieback and root rot on azaleas.
• Pest to watch for: Gypsy moths late in month. Scale, sawfly, spidermites, leafminers, and caterpillars.
• See HGIC’s April Trees and Shrubs Tips for more details.

Lawns:

• Mow high to reduce weeds and stress: Fescue and bluegrass: 3″–3 ½”
• Reseed bare spots or overseed (through early April).
• Control wild onions in warm season with broadleaf weed control.
• April Soil, Compost, Fertilizer, and Mulch Tips | University of Maryland Extension

  It is a good idea to test your soil now. For more tips, see April Soil, Compost, Fertilizer, and Mulch Tips.
• See HGIC’s April Lawn Tips for more details.

Indoors/Houseplants:

• Repot and fertilize houseplants when new growth begins.
• Remove old leaves, damaged stems.
• Pests to watch for: Spidermites, mealybug, scale, aphids
• See HGIC’s April Houseplants Tips for more tips.
  

Indoor/Outdoor Insect and Wildlife Tips:

• Watch for fleas,  ants , boxelder bugs,  and stink bugs.
• See HGIC’s April Insect Tips for more details.
• Many bird species are scouting for nesting sites. Put up birdhouses.
• Watch for Eastern box turtles and various species of snakes that are coming out of hibernation and may visit your yard.
• Set out traps for mice, moles, and voles.
• Integrated Pest Management | University of Maryland Extension
  Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a common sense approach to managing problems in your landscape.
• For more information on wildlife management and attracting wildlife see HGIC’s April Wildlife tips.

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

April

See below for upcoming local events in April. Don’t miss our meeting on Tuesday, April 26th, starting at 7:30 pm with Master Gardener Les Rucker provide tips on shade perennials!

MCT Garden Club April Meeting Topic: Shade Perennials

Hi Fellow Gardeners and Neighbors!
In April, the Mill Creek Towne Garden Club will have Master Gardener Les Rucker provide tips on shade perennials.  Below are the details.

• Date: Tuesday, April 26, 2016 @ 7:30 pm
• Topic: Shade Perennials
• Speaker: Les Rucker, Master Gardener
• Location: C. Peterson’s house (for details, please RSVP by Monday, April 25th)
• Hostesses: Carol Hyland

Dear MCT Friends, Neighbors,

We need your help!  Please help support the Mill Creek Towne Garden Club by participating in our Spring Flower Power Fundraiser. For every purchase made on this website , Flower Power Fundraising will give 50% back to Mill Creek Towne Garden Club. Flower Power offers top-quality flower bulbs with an absolutely exciting Spring product line-up, which includes Mixed Coneflowers, Stargazer lilies, and many others. All orders ship directly to your home and come with a 100% money-back guarantee. The deadline for orders is Friday, April 15, 2016.

Funds will help defray the costs for landscaping/maintenance of Mill Creek Towne’s main entrances and garden-related educational programs for the Derwood community!

Thank you for all your help and contributions!

Mill Creek Towne Garden Club 

www.mctgardenclub.org

Flower Power Page link:

http://www.flowerpowerfundraising.com/campaign?campaign_id=22502

Montgomery Parks Special Events & Festivals

Be “Park Kind” and Celebrate April Earth Month with Montgomery Parks!

Help celebrate our parks and park users during Earth Month by being #ParkKind!

Share stories with Montgomery Parks about how you are #ParkKind on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (use the hashtag #ParkKind) and look out for our #ParkKind bridgade on trails, at dog parks and at events during the month of April!

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

 

Orchids in Focus February 27 – April 17, 2016

US Botanical Garden, Washington, DC

Conservatory Garden Court and East Gallery Orchids in Focus, in partnership with Smithsonian Gardens, highlights the world’s largest plant family and the USBG’s most extensive plant collection. Found on every continent except Antarctica, orchids amaze with their diversity of forms and colors. Come see for yourself why these exotic beauties have inspired artists and photographers for centuries. Immerse yourself in a floral paradise of orchids from the forest canopy down to the ground, and focus your own camera on these unique and beautiful plants. Learn more » – See more at: https://www.usbg.gov/exhibits#sthash.DrlBIZSz.dpuf

Spring Events 2016 – Visit Montgomery County – Conference and Visitors Bureau

• Spring is approaching! ?Save the date for these upcoming Spring events! Events include activities at Butler’s Orchards, Sugarloaf Crafts Festival (Montgomery County Fairgrounds, Gaithersburg, MD, April 15-17), Paws in the Parks on Sunday, April 24 at Bohrer Park at Summit Hall Farm, Montgomery County GreenFest to celebrate Earth Day on Saturday, April 30th, and more!

 

History in the Parks Season Opening Celebrations: Special Night Hikes on the Underground Railroad Experience Trail

Friday, April 1

5:00 pm & 7:30 pm | Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park $5 | Appropriate for ages 10 and up Register at ActiveMONTGOMERY.org Journey back to the 1800s during this special night hike and meet persons of the past.5:00pm Registration | 7:30pm Registration

Green Matters Symposium 2016: A Garden Gateway

Join us for the 2016 Green Matters Symposium: A Garden Gateway! Brookside Gardens will host this annual educational event on Friday, April 8 from 8:30AM-4:00PM. From thorough planning to hardscape materials, native plants, and local artistry, the Symposium will inspire and offer practical suggestions on how landscape projects can be designed and constructed in an environmentally beneficial way. Speakers include:

• Lori Arguelles, Executive Director of the Alice Ferguson Foundation
• Gennadyi Gurman, Head of Interpretation at the Queens Botanical Garden
• Mary Pat Matheson, The Anna and Hays Mershon President & Chief Executive Officer at the Atlanta Botanical Garden
• Stephanie Oberle, Director of Brookside Gardens
• Thomas Ranier, Landscape Architect & Author of “Planting in a Post-Wild World”

Register at ActiveMONTGOMERY.org (Course #14881). Fees: $85 before March 1st; $99 from March 1st onward. Friday, April 8, 2016 8:30am-4:00pm Fee: $85 before March 1st, $99 from March 1st onward Register online at ActiveMONTGOMERY.org (COURSE #14881) or call 301-962-1451

Learn more about the conference and speakers at www.BrooksideGreen.org

Guided Cabin Tours and “Celebrating African Rhythms through Dance & Song”

Sunday, April 9

Oakley Cabin African American Museum & Park, 3610 Brookeville Road, Olney, MD 20832
12:00 pm – 4:00 pm | FREE

Join us at Oakley Cabin for an African dance workshop, tours of the 19th century cabin, crafts and games for children. Explore an archaeology dig with Montgomery Parks archaeologists.

More information about all our historic ongoing and special events is online at HistoryInTheParks.org along with information about Group Tours and School Fieldtrips offered throughout the year.

20th Annual Gas & Steam Engine Show

Saturday, April 9 and Sunday, April 10

10am-3pm Free. Montgomery Parks and Friends of The Agricultural History Farm Park invite you to the 20th annual Gas & Steam Engine Show. See gas engines, tractors, antique cars, trucks and steam tractors. The event will feature live country music, hay wagon rides, kiddie tractor pull, crafts and much more! Rain or Shine event! Free parking and plenty of food vendors so you can stay all day!

More Info

Brookside Gardens Garden Gateway Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

Friday, April 22

9-10:45am: Volunteer planting project
Call 301-962-1429 to get more information and volunteer.

11am: Ribbon-cutting, remarks and light refreshments

Come see all the beautiful (and environmentally friendly) changes at Brookside Gardens, and help us celebrate the work completed on this major project. There’s a redesigned main entrance, new Aquatic Overlook, new South Terrace just outside the Visitor Center, lovely new features like the Ginkgo Canopy and Fern Gate, a new parking garden, and much more.

Free and open to the public.

Meet at the Visitors Center Entrance:
Brookside Gardens
1800 Glenallan Avenue
Wheaton, MD 20902
301-962-1400

 More info…

Earth Day Festival

Sunday, April 24

Noon – 4:00 p.m. | Brookside Gardens & Brookside Nature Center
FREE | All Ages

Celebrate Earth Day at one of Montgomery County’s most sustainable and treasured gardens.  At Brookside Gardens and Brookside Nature Center you will discover how small changes in your everyday habits can make a big impact on improving our environment and our local community. Enjoy family-friendly activities, “green” craft fair, food vendors and live music.

More info…

Wings of Fancy

Wednesday, April 27 – Sunday, September 25

10 a.m.-4:00 p.m. | Brookside Gardens

$8 ages 13 and up | $5 ages 3-12 | Free ages 0-2

Brookside Gardens is happy to announce the return of its premier Wings of Fancy Live Butterfly and Caterpillar Exhibit. 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.

Grow Anywhere Gardening Expo, Saturday, April 30th, 10 AM – 2 PM, Silver Spring Civic Building, Veterans Plaza.

Coming April 30 to Silver Spring: the Grow Anywhere Gardening Expo, 10 AM – 2 PM, Silver Spring Civic Building, Veterans Plaza.

The Urban Gardening initiative of the Montgomery County Master Gardeners invites you to our free demonstrations and hands-on activities, including take-home projects. Join us and learn all about container gardens, making self-watering containers (just for kids!), growing herbs, vegetables and microgreens, vertical gardening, creating water gardens for small spaces, sustainable garden design, and healthy houseplants.

2nd Annual Montgomery County GreenFest to Take Place April 30 in Takoma Park

May

Grow It Eat It Open House, May 1, 9:30am-4:00pm at Derwood, MD.

There will be many gardening classes and activities for adults and children.

Adult classes: https://extension.umd.edu/events/sun-2016-05-01-1200-grow-it-eat-it-spring-open-house

Click here for the full children’s programs flyer: https://extension.umd.edu/…/grow_it_eat_it/childrens%20prog….

The following programs are $12 each:
Discover Bugs, grades 2-3, http://discoverbugs2016.eventbrite.com,
Discover Gardening, grades 2-3, http://discovergardening2016.eventbrite.com,
Discover Flowers, grades 4-5, http://discoverflowers2016.eventbrite.com,
Discover Trees, grades 6-8, http://discovertrees2016.eventbrite.com .