Please join Rock Creek Conservancy, Montgomery Parks, and the Mill Creek Towne Garden Club for our 2022 EXTREME CLEANUP of Mill Creek Stream! This annual event is a watershed-wide cleanup movement with the goal of total trash removal throughout Rock Creek, its tributaries, and surrounding neighborhoods and parklands. We hope you’ll join us!
Montgomery Parks requires all volunteers to be fully vaccinated against covid-19 in order to participate in events. Please adhere to this requirement by confirming your vaccination status when completing this registration. Volunteers ages 5 and up who are fully vaccinated may volunteer for this event.
Please visit this CDC page, which discusses the considerations for gatherings and notes the additional safety when taking place outdoors.
Activity: Volunteers will participate in a socially-distant trash cleanup as part of Extreme Cleanup.
This cleanup will be done individually or with members of the same “bubble.” Grab a trash bag and your mask (if needed), wear some boots or sturdy shoes, and help us pick up trash in Mill Creek Stream, or pick up litter around the creek. Please follow all CDC and county guidelines regarding social distancing and public health precautions.
Complete your cleanup anytime during Friday, April 22nd through Sunday, April 24th.
What to Wear: Please dress appropriately for the work and weather. We recommend wearing long sleeves and sturdy boots or sneakers.
What to Bring: Please bring a water bottle, face mask (if needed), and your own gloves if you can. We will provide trash bags.
Please do NOT attend this event if you are or have been experiencing symptoms of illness.
Happy New Year! Here are some garden tips, educational opportunities, and videos for January. This includes some events from U.S. Botanic Garden, Master Gardeners of Montgomery County, and Maryland Gardens. A lot of gardening events are announced on Facebook and we share them on our Facebook page as well as on our mctgardenclub.org website. Some upcoming events include GreenScapes Symposium, 2022 Montgomery County Master Gardener Virtual Spring Conference, University of Maryland Extension Woodland & Wildlife Wednesdays, and Spring Online Garden/Landscape Classes at Montgomery College. Stay tuned for our upcoming Mill Creek Garden Club events including our garden educational programs, Mill Creek Spring Cleanup in April, and garden tours which will be announced in our upcoming monthly garden tips, on our Facebook and NextDoor pages, and on our website! These events will be hosted as online or live events.
Take photos and update your garden journal.
Buy seeds and order plants from the new garden catalogs.
Start collecting plant seeds for planting and trading.
Sharpen and replace tools as needed.
Clean out pots; store non-frost proof containers in garage or basement.
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):
Master Gardeners receive training from the University of Maryland Extension and then educate residents about safe, effective, and sustainable horticultural practices that build healthy gardens, landscapes, and communities. Spring 2022 Basic Training starts soon. Find all the details here:
See our December list with 10 recently published books. This cumulative list for 2021 has more than 120 titles and serves as a great resource for holiday gift ideas. Visit our Gardening Books Resources page for gardening ideas.
Online Gardening Resources
Here are some online gardening resources focused on the MD/DC area:
There are many resources for recipes to make from your garden crops including seed companies, local farms, and online recipe cookbook catalogs. If you grow vegetables, these are very useful resources as the recipes feature the very plant you are growing. Here are few links to recipes you can make from your garden crops
Local Farms
We are so thankful for our local farms each and every day. During this challenging time, consider supporting your local farms, whether they farm produce, flowers, animals, or specialty. Our food supply is safe and secure, and many farms are continuing to offer delivery or curbside pickup. #LocalIsTheNewNormal#BuyLocal
The 2022 MoCo Food & Beverage Guide is here! The 4th edition of the Guide from the Montgomery County Food Council is out – delicious baked goods, prepared foods, condiments and more. The craft beverage list grows each year and find two dozen local and amazing farms:
Lilacs are among the most carefree spring-flowering, multi-stemmed, deciduous shrubs (or small trees), well-loved for their toughness, reliability, and fragrance.
There are about 30 different species of lilac. Lilacs do best in full sun.
Set out your live potted evergreens from holiday decorating in a protected outdoor space to harden them off in advance of planting them.
Use leftover holiday greens and cut-up tree branches to mulch beds and create windbreaks.
Prune maples, dogwoods, birch, elm, walnut, and yellowwood to prevent “bleeding”.
Check that newly planted trees, shrubs, and perennials have not been heaved out of the ground due to freezing and thawing cycles.
Take hardwood cuttings from willow and dogwood to propagate them.
Cut a few branches of flowering shrubs to force into bloom inside.
Root prune trees and shrubs to be transplanted next year.
Remove bagworm bags.
Gently brush snow from evergreen shrubs.
Prune out Fireblight damage Malus and Pyrus when very cold.
Mulch or compost healthy leaves.
If your conifers start shedding their needles or your spring bulb foliage starts peaking out of the ground, don’t worry. This is normal for our autumn cycle.
Remove Ivy, Pachysandra, and other vine-like ground cover from under shrubs.
Soil test established trees that have not been performing well.
Put diseased leaves, pesticide-laden grass clippings and weed seeds out for recycling rather than the compost pile.
Spray with dormant oil to decrease pest infestations.
Keep an eye out for bark damage from rabbits and deer.
Remove dead and dying trees.
Pests to watch for: Voles, Deer
Diseases to watch for: Phomopsis and Kabatina of Juniper, Diplodia tip blight of 2 & 3 needled pines.
Each winter, people apply tons of ice-melting materials to sidewalks, driveways, and steps, often without regard to proper application procedures or to what the deicing substance contains. Careless use of deicing products can damage both the home and the environment. https://extension.umd.edu/resource/melting-ice-safely
Lawns
Avoid walking on frozen grass to avoid damaging the crowns.
Shovel walks and driveway before applying ice melt or you’ll damage lawn.
Some alternatives to de-icing salts include sand, beet juice sugars, light gravel (grit), or non-clumping kitty litter. Using de-icing salts around driveways and sidewalks can harm your garden plants and turf.
Did you receive an amaryllis for the holidays? Keep it in a sunny window. After it is done flowering, the plant will produce leaves and with proper care can rebloom.
Questions about your label? Call us! 800-858-7378 M-F 8am-12pm PST
University of Maryland Extension Woodland & Wildlife Wednesdays
Wednesday, January 19th
12:00 PM – 2:00 PM EST
What can you do for the bees? Find out at our first session of the 2022 Woodland Wildlife Webinar Series at noon on January 19. Join us as we learn more about these amazing insects, the challenges they face and what we can do for bees! Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/…/2022-woodland-wildlife….
Indoor/Outdoor Insect and Wildlife Tips
Watch for insect and disease problems throughout your garden.
Check your plants at night with a flashlight for any night-feeding insects like slugs.
Look out for slug eggs grouped under sticks and stones. They are the size of BBs and pale in color.
Leave hummingbird feeders out until October 15th.
Put up birdhouses.
Put suet out for birds.
Keep bird feeders clean and filled.
Switch your deer deterrent spray.
Caulk and seal your outside walls to prevent insects and wildlife from coming indoors.
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:
Join us for a fascinating day of presentations highlighting design strategies that make it easier and more effective to integrate native plants into a variety of landscapes. For more information and to register online, visit www.brooksidegreen.org.
2022 Montgomery County Master Gardener Virtual Spring Conference
Saturday, February 19, 2022
9:00 AM – 2:00 PM EST
Sign up now for the 2022 Montgomery County Master Gardener Virtual Spring Conference, to be held on Saturday, February 19, 2022. Level Up! Tips and Tricks To Help Take Your Garden to the Next Level, presented via Zoom, features talks on native plants, vegetable gardening, flowering ornamentals, vertical gardening, beneficial insects and more!
American Landscape Institute & CCBC Scholarship Program Offers Debt-free College-level Classes for High School Students
The ALI is a unique “Earn and Learn” scholarship program for high school graduates to take college horticulture classes at CCBC while working for a landscape or nursery company. Students work 4 days per week for a landscape or nursery company and attend classes at CCBC every Friday. Students graduate debt-free with a Certificate in Landscape Installation, Maintenance, and Design. High school seniors or graduates can apply via ALI website. http://www.americanlandscapeinstitute.com/program-overview/
Let’s Talk Gardens
Thursdays 12 to 1 p.m.
Smithsonian Gardens
Let’s Talk Gardens has completed it’s 2021 programming. We encourage you to watch videos in our Let’s Talk Gardens Video Library until we return in January 2022.
Until then, Happy Gardening!”
“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. No matter your level of gardening knowledge, there’s always something new to learn!
Spring Online Garden/Landscape Classes at Montgomery College
Its Class time at Montgomery College. Janet Johnson will be teaching a great class on How to Grow and Bloom and Floral Arrangements for Home.
This class is offered online, so you can take this class from the comfort of your living room. We focus on your questions and your needs. Montgomery College classes are open to everyone-so lets learn together! See the Spring schedule for garden classes at MC (upcoming classes listed below). Come and join this really fun class! Hope to see you there.
What’s All the Buzz About Bees? Beekeeping Class
A beekeeping class is being offered through Montgomery College starting in January! “What’s All the Buzz About Bees?” is taught by Regional Apiary Inspector Gregg Gochnour. More info at
Classes being offered at Montgomery College (Germantown) in the Landscape Technology Program for the Spring term of 2022. Classes start the week of Jan. 24. Contact information at the bottom.
