March Garden Tips
Hello Friends, Neighbors, Fellow Gardeners,
Happy Spring! It’s time to get started on your garden plans for Spring! Here are some garden tips, educational opportunities, and videos for March. Some upcoming events/resources include our Make a Spectacle in the Garden! March MCT Garden Club Community Event, RainScapes Portal Now Open; Rebates Up to $7,500 for Residents and $20,000 for Businesses Available to Prevent Stormwater Runoff, Birdwatching 101 – In Person, Flora and Fauna Program, Meadowside Nature Center Events, Muddy Branch Alliance Native Plant Sale, “OUR EARTH” Book Discussion Club – IN PERSON – Connie Morella Library, Birding Events, Sugaring Off 🍁🥞, Seneca Creek State Park March Programs, 55+ Nature Book Club – Book Discussion, Implementing Climate Resilient Living Shorelines in Maryland, Montgomery College Lifelong Learning Home and Garden Classes – Spring 2025, Let’s Talk Gardens, 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
- Mark beds outside where new plants are to go.
- Design new beds and gardens.
- Clean, sharpen, store, and replace your garden tools as needed.
- 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
Tuesday, March 25 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Mill Creek Parish United Methodist
7101 Horizon Terrace
Derwood, MD 20855
Join us for a special presentation on how to “Make a Spectacle in the Garden”, by guest speaker, Marie Rojas, Master Gardener on Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at 7pm.
- FREE
- Light Refreshments provided
Learn about the best natives, newest nativars, and guilt-free non-natives for our region that will add spice and interest to your garden. Marie will also touch on basic plant healthcare to help you grow a garden that will thrive without a lot of ongoing maintenance from you.
Marie Rojas has been providing Integrated Pest Management services for homeowners, nursery growers and property managers through her company, Borders and Butterflies, for nearly 30 years. She serves on several green industry boards, including the Professional Grounds Management Society D.C. Branch, the Environmental Program Advisory Committee for Montgomery County Public Schools, and the University of Maryland Montgomery County Extension Advisory Committee. Marie has been a Montgomery County Master Gardener since 1994. She also keeps bees and heritage chickens with her husband on their historic 92-acre farm in the Agricultural Reserve of Montgomery County.
RSVP: info@mctgardenclub.org
Please do NOT attend this event if you are or have been experiencing symptoms of illness.
THIS EVENT IS FREE, BUT DONATIONS ARE ALWAYS APPRECIATED!
Donations pay for landscaping, repair and maintenance of the Mill Creek Towne Entrances, and our garden-related programs at our community meetings.
NOTE: If Montgomery County Schools are closed due to inclement weather, the Garden Club meeting will be cancelled.
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.
Foxglove Beardtongue
This native plant produces spikes of white flowers in late spring. Shiny brown capsules are formed by July and remain through the fall. Fall foliage is a beautiful red, and overwintering basal foliage is semi-evergreen. Flowers are visited primarily by small to large bees, and are particularly popular with bumble bees. Occasionally visited by hummingbirds.
Flowers and Groundcovers
- Hardy spring bulbs begin to emerge (crocus, snowdrops, daffodils, tulips).
- Avoid walking on and compacting wet soil in the garden.
- Mulch beds with a light hand.
- Cut your Daffodils for indoor bouquets, but do not combine Daffodils with other flowers in one vase. They give off a toxic substance that may kill your other blooms off prematurely.
- Buy or check on 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.
- Deadhead pansies.
- Plant Pansies.
- Plant and prune roses.
- Lightly fertilize bulbs when green starts to show.
- Transplant seedlings into 3″-4″ pots when crowded. Fertilize transplants with 1/2 strength houseplant fertilizer (every 2 weeks).
- Start seeds for: impatiens, petunias, Mallow, Dwarf Zinnias, Cosmos, Celosia, Tall Marigolds, and Tall Zinnias.
- 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.
- Check that all vines are securely tied against winter’s cold winds.
- Rake up weeds and their seedlings.
- After hard frost, sow seeds of spring-blooming hardy annuals and perennials, then mark beds!
- Walk your garden – look for early signs of fungal diseases.
- 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: Damping off of seedlings
- 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/
Look for galls on cedars and junipers to help reduce rust diseases. Handpick and destroy cedar galls by April 1, before the spore-producing tendrils are formed. Cedar galls are most conspicuous and easy to see in wet weather when the orange spore tendrils are extruded. After the orange tendrils are produced, it is too late to prevent spore dispersal.
Trees and Shrubs
- Plant a Tree for Arbor Day. Arbor Day is on the first Wednesday in April in Maryland.
- Prune non-flowering and shrubs before new growth.
- Prune broken, dead, diseased, or damaged branches.
- Begin pruning of summer flowering shrubs.
- Prune summer bloomers such as Hydrangeas, Rose of Sharon, Crepe Myrtles, and Butterfly Bushes.
- Rejuvenate holly bushes and boxwood with a hard pruning.
- Cut a few branches of flowering shrubs to force into bloom inside.
- Plant or transplant trees or shrubs, including berries, roses, and evergreens.
- Check that newly planted trees, shrubs, and perennials have not been heaved out of the ground due to freezing and thawing cycles.
- Water slowly and deeply if weather is very dry and ground is not frozen.
- Prune out Fireblight damage Malus and Pyrus when very cold.
- 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: Eastern tent caterpillar, deer, and voles.
- Diseases to watch for: Fireblight, Phomopsis on new growth of juniper, Cytospora canker on Spruce.
- For more tips, see UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips for more details.
Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) is a relatively small flowering tree that is popular in Maryland home landscapes. Although it is a native species, it is susceptible to several diseases, pests, and abiotic (nonliving) problems that can reduce the quality of flowering and overall growth. Selecting disease-resistant cultivars such as Cornus florida ‘Cherokee Brave’ and ‘Jean’s Appalachian Snow’ and using good growing practices will reduce the chances of these problems.
Herbs, Veggies, and Fruit
- Plant cool-season crops (potatoes, lettuce, peas, turnips, radish, cabbage, mustard greens, onion sets, carrots, root crops, and cole crops, including spinach and kale.
- Turn under cover crop when soil has warmed enough and is not too wet.
- Divide perennials and herbs.
- Fertilize new growth.
- 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.
- Start seedlings indoors under grow lights. Some good choices to start early are peppers, artichokes, onions, beets, turnips, cabbage, kale, and leeks.
- Sow greens indoors or outdoors in a cold frame.
- Start seeds for: tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers inside.
- 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.
- Put up trellises and teepees for peas, climbing beans, etc.
- Build a raised bed for vegetables. Add lots of manure and compost.
- Cover garlic plants with straw or leaf mulch.
- Prune out Fireblight damage on apples and pears when very cold.
- Spread ashes from wood fires on your vegetable beds.
- Avoid walking on frozen planting 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 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.
- Trim ornamental grasses such as liriope, mondo, and pampas.
- 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.
- Begin to pot up rooted cuttings. Fertilize with 1/2 strength houseplant fertilizer every other watering.
- 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
If you have suddenly seen a fox in the yard near your home, there is a good reason for this. It is denning season. Between the end of January thru early April, a mother fox will give birth to between 4 and 5 kits (a baby fox is called a kit). A coyote will often find a fox den, dig out the babies, and kill them. A mother fox knows this and will frequently choose a den site close to people, away from where coyotes generally go.
A fox will often den under a porch, shed, garage, barn, or side of a hill, trying to keep her little family safe.
Please offer them a short-term rental because this is not a permanent situation. If you are lucky enough to see how beautiful an adult fox is, or witness the kits playing (at a distance of course), you will be glad you did! It is not uncommon for Red Foxes to change dens several times during the season, so you may not see them for long.
Kits are slow to develop and will not leave the den until they are about a month old. Foxes do not live in a den year-round, only when a mother has babies. During the summer as the kits grow older, you will see less and less of them, and by September everyone will have packed up and moved on.
Please do not call a service to “relocate them”, they will often be killed. If you see a fox during the day, it does not mean she is rabid. A mother fox works tirelessly to feed her kits and will often be out during daylight hours foraging for food.
Foxes are omnivores, generally feeding on berries, grasses, and small rodents. They are solitary and prefer to be left alone. They do not want to hunt and eat your children, mate with your dog, or kill your cat. A fox just wants a place to raise her family safely, please allow her to do that.
Indoor/Outdoor Insect and Wildlife Tips
- Set out traps for mice, moles, and voles.
- Check indoors for termites and winter ants.
- Caulk and seal your home to prevent wildlife from coming indoors.
- 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:
HGIC GARDEN TIPS & TASKS
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.
Birdwatching 101 – In Person
Saturday, March 08
1:00pm – 2:00pm
Olney Library
3500 Olney Laytonsville Rd
Olney, MD 20832
Join us as a representative of Montgomery Bird Club talks about the art of birdwatching.
Montgomery Bird Club is a chapter of the Maryland Ornithological Society (MOS). The mission of MOS is to foster interaction and exchange of information among people interested in wild birds and the natural world, in order to encourage the enjoyment, study, and conservation of birds which benefits us all.
(Photos by Emily Huang)
This program is generously sponsored by the Friends of the Library, Montgomery County.
Registration not required but seating is limited.
Flora and Fauna Program
| Flora and Fauna Program Starting Wednesday, March 12 through May 21 | 6 to 9 pm | $30 per class or $120 for 5 classes Online Learning Series Have you ever wanted to learn the names of the birds that visit your backyard, the wildflowers along the trail, or even which animal left that footprint in the mud? Montgomery Parks is pleased to offer a new online learning series for adults that teaches you to recognize the most common species of Montgomery County. Led by our expert Parks staff, you’ll practice identification skills, learn the best ways to see wildlife, and be empowered to practice conservation in your own neighborhood. Montgomery County is a biodiverse place with so many interesting plants and animals, and we can’t wait to share them with you! |
Meadowside Nature Center Events
St. Patrick’s Day Quest for the Gold: Friday, March 12 | 5 to 6 pm | All Ages | $7 | Meadowside Nature Center
W.A.N.D.E.R. – Fire Building Skills: Saturday, March 15 | 10 am to 12 pm | Ages 18+ | $20 | Meadowside Nature Center
Etch and Sip Wine Night: Friday, March 21 | 5 to 6:30 pm | Ages 21+ | $20 | Meadowside Nature Center
Events are subject to change due to inclement weather or other factors. Check MontgomeryParks.org for day-of-event program status.
Muddy Branch Alliance Native Plant Sale
Sunday March 16 starting at 10 am
This is what you’ve been waiting for: the Muddy Branch Alliance’s native plant sale opens Sunday March 16 at 10 am! You’ll find over forty species, all hand-picked from among those most in-demand in your community.
Our plant sale preview opens Friday February 28! Where is it?? Follow us to find out. Or make things even easier by subscribing to updates: muddybranch.org/subscribe
Preview (and plant sale) made possible by the Muddy Branch Alliance; the Gaithersburg Parks, Arts and Recreation Corporation (GPARC); and YOU.
“OUR EARTH” Book Discussion Club – IN PERSON – Connie Morella Library
Saturday, March 22
3:30pm – 5:00pm
Connie Morella Library
7400 Arlington Rd
Bethesda, MD 20814
Age group: Teens, Older Adults, Adult
Event type: Lectures and Discussions Environment
Come, share your ideas and learn more about environmental topics in this space for thoughtful exchange, around fiction and non-fiction books.
Montgomery Parks – Events
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.
Birding at Black Hill- Birding for Beginners: Saturday, March 8 | 9 am to 12 pm | Ages 16+ | $12 | Black Hill Discovery Center
Black Hill Van Trips- Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge: Wednesday, February 26 | 10:30 am to 8 pm | Ages 18+ | $50 | Black Hill Discovery Center
Sugaring Off 🍁🥞
March 2, 2025
2:30pm at the Nature Center
Seneca Creek State Park
11950 Clopper Road
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
FREE!
Back in January, we tapped a sugar maple and a black walnut tree—now it’s time to see the magic happen! Stop by to watch the sap being boiled down into delicious syrup and learn about more than 30 different trees that can be tapped. Plus, enjoy a sweet maple treat while you’re here!
🔥 Photo: Boiling Sap from the 2018 Maple Syrup Festival at Cunningham Falls State Park, by Stephen Schatz via Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Seneca Creek State Park March Programs
Seneca Creek State Park
11950 Clopper Road
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Here’s a link to Seneca Creek State Park’s March Programs. Featured events for March include weekly hikes, Sugaring Off, Eagle Nest Watch Hike at Lake Frank, Try a New Trail System at Schaeffer Farms, and Birds of Gunner’s Lake. 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.
55+ Nature Book Club – Book Discussion
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
6:00PM – 7:30PM
Ages 55+ | FREE
Brookside Nature Center
1400 Glenallan Ave.
Wheaton, Maryland 20902
We will discuss Birdgirl: Looking to the Skies in Search of a Better Future by Mya-Rose Craig.
Implementing Climate Resilient Living Shorelines in Maryland
Wednesday, March 12 | 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Online
This webinar will cover the history of shoreline erosion control practices and how traditional techniques have evolved in recent years. What is a ‘living shoreline’? How can we enhance habitat, water quality, access, and prepare for climate impacts at the same time? We will cover the Shoreline Conservation Service and discuss which technical and financial assistance opportunities are currently available through the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
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.
Make a Spectacle in the Garden!
Join us for a special presentation on how to “Make a Spectacle in the Garden”, by guest speaker, Marie Rojas, Master Gardener on Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at 7pm.
- FREE
- Light Refreshments provided
Learn about the best natives, newest nativars, and guilt-free non-natives for our region that will add spice and interest to your garden. Marie will also touch on basic plant healthcare to help you grow a garden that will thrive without a lot of ongoing maintenance from you.
Marie Rojas has been providing Integrated Pest Management services for homeowners, nursery growers and property managers through her company, Borders and Butterflies, for nearly 30 years. She serves on several green industry boards, including the Professional Grounds Management Society D.C. Branch, the Environmental Program Advisory Committee for Montgomery County Public Schools, and the University of Maryland Montgomery County Extension Advisory Committee. Marie has been a Montgomery County Master Gardener since 1994. She also keeps bees and heritage chickens with her husband on their historic 92-acre farm in the Agricultural Reserve of Montgomery County.
RSVP: info@mctgardenclub.org
Please do NOT attend this event if you are or have been experiencing symptoms of illness.
THIS EVENT IS FREE, BUT DONATIONS ARE ALWAYS APPRECIATED!
Donations pay for landscaping, repair and maintenance of the Mill Creek Towne Entrances, and our garden-related programs at our community meetings.
NOTE: If Montgomery County Schools are closed due to inclement weather, the Garden Club meeting will be cancelled.