Topic: The Safety and Science of Tree Care
Time: 7:30pm – 8:30pm
Location: Mill Creek Parish United Methodist
Fellowship Hall
7101 Horizon Terrace
Derwood, MD 20855
Speakers: Tim Zastrow and Riley Smith, certified arborists
Cost: FREE, Donations gratefully appreciated!
Trees, trees, trees! Learn how to maintain beautiful, healthy trees, and shrubs. Please join us for Bartlett Tree Services’ presentation by Tim Zastrow and Riley Smith, certified arborists, on the safety and science of tree care. Refreshments will be provided.
Tim Zastrow is a Commercial Arborist Representative serving the Washington, D.C. area.
Growing up in suburban Maryland, Tim first learned to appreciate trees and the world around him from his maternal grandfather who was an avid gardener and amateur naturalist in Syracuse, New York. When Tim was seven, his grandfather gave the family a Butternut seedling from a tree that he had started from a seedling in the 1930s. The young tree was planted with love and lots of compost on his family’s property in Colesville, Maryland. Tim then watched it grow to maturity. While pursing a degree in Entomology at the University of Maryland, he started working in the field of arboriculture in 1985 for TreeMasters. In 2001, Bartlett acquired this company and Tim got the chance to combine his skill and experience with Bartlett’s advanced technical resources and robust safety and training programs. He is a Board Certified Master Arborist, a Maryland Licensed Tree Expert, a Certified Tree Risk Assessor, a Certified Tree Safety Professional, and a member of the American Society of Consulting Arborists. Tim gets great pleasure every day helping people enjoy and care for their trees.
Riley Smith, Arborist Representative works out of Bartlett Tree Service’s Gaithersburg, MD office.
Riley Smith was born in Washington, D.C. and was raised in the surrounding suburbs. His love for the outdoors was stoked at an early age during numerous outings with his family camping, back country hiking and during adventurous canoe trips navigating many of Maryland’s waterways. He spent three years of his childhood living overseas in Japan. While there his adventures didn’t stop. His family continued their exploration and climbed Mt. Fuji, reaching the 12,389 ft. summit. This collection of life experiences led him to attend the University of Tennessee where he obtained a BS in Forestry Wildlife and Fisheries Science. There he gained a deeper understanding of the natural world around him. Upon graduation he took a position with Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources as a watershed forester and rose to the ranks of Forestry Coordinator for the Chesapeake Bay. To broaden his knowledge of trees in the urban environment he decided to branch out into the arboricultural world. Today, Riley is a Certified Arborist Representative. He is a licensed tree expert, ISA Certified Arborist, Qualified Tree Risk Assessor, and Plant Health Care Specialist. He is proud of his achievements and is ready to utilize his knowledge of the urban forest ecosystem to his friends, clients, and coworkers.
NOTE: If Montgomery County Schools are closed due to inclement weather, the Garden Club meeting will be cancelled.
March brings us the promise of gardening and warm(er), sunny days and the beginning of spring! Here are some garden tips, educational opportunities, and events for March. Events include Parks Speaker Series: Ed McMahon/The Case for Open Space, Orchid Festival, Show & Sale at Brookside Gardens, Nature Matters: Spiders!, Backyard Composting, our MCT Garden Club Meeting Program: Jump On The Butterfly Bandwagon, and more!
Planning:
Select and order fruit and vegetable plants.
Decide on new tree/shrub locations.
Decide where your plants from seed are going in your garden.
Clean and sharpen your garden tools.
Paint a few terra cotta pots in spring-like colors.
Repair your shed and repair/paint your fences.
Clean out your greenhouse and wash those windows.
Take your children to the park this week. You will thank yourself when they grow up. A positive study about nature, kids, and mental health from NPR : “Greener Childhood Associated With Happier Adulthood” http://ow.ly/ZddK30nZjA7.
Another article, in the latest issue of BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine, renowned British horticulturalist Monty Don — who has spoken about his struggles with depression — shares how gardening has been beneficial for his mental and physical health.
Support our local farmers! Visit a local farmers’ market near you. Download Montgomery County’s Office of Agriculture 2019 Farmers Market Flyer to find a farmer’s market near you.
Flowers and Groundcovers:
Gently clean up the garden.
Cut perennials and over-wintering ornamental grasses to 2 inches above ground.
Lightly fertilize bulbs when green starts to show.
Transplant seedlings into individual 3″-4″ pots when crowded. Fertilize transplants with 1/2 strength houseplant fertilizer (every 2 weeks).
Start seeds for: Mallow, Dwarf Zinnias, Cosmos, Celosia, Tall Marigolds, Tall Zinnias, and check daily for moisture.
Collect large plastic soda bottles to use as cloches (A cloche is a clear, bell-shaped cover used to protect tender plants from frost.)
Check any tropical or summer-blooming bulbs, corms, tubers, and bare root plants in storage for rot or dessication.
After hard frost, sow seeds of spring-blooming hardy annuals and perennials and then mark beds!
For more information on wildlife management and attracting wildlife see HGIC’s March Wildlife Tips.
Source: University of Maryland’s Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) and the Washington Gardener.
Please Support the Mill Creek Towne Garden Club
Hello Friends, Neighbors,
Please support the Mill Creek Towne Garden Club! Your donations will help us continue to provide garden-related programs to the community and pay for maintaining and landscaping the Mill Creek Towne main entrances.
We accept donations throughout the year. Thanks to all of you that have recently donated as well as those of you who have supported us in the past years! Thanks for your continued support of the Mill Creek Towne Garden Club and our community programs!
Save the dates for these upcoming events! Events include Parks Speaker Series: Ed McMahon/The Case for Open Space, Orchid Festival, Show & Sale at Brookside Gardens, Nature Matters: Spiders!, Backyard Composting, our MCT Garden Club Meeting Program: Jump On The Butterfly Bandwagon, and more!
Montgomery County MD Food and Beverage Guide
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:
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):
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
During this evening presentation of Nature Matters, enjoy a glass of wine or a cold beer and meet others who share similar interests in science and nature.
Spiders are amazing predators with a bad rap. Maryland Department of Natural Resources education and outreach specialist, Kerry Wixted, explains why we should all love spiders! From spiders that “sing” and dance to those that rob others: the world of spiders is rich in natural interactions.
Photo: K. Wixted
Mill Creek Parish United Methodist
7101 Horizon Ter, Derwood, Maryland 20855
Please join us for a Native By Design, LLC presentation by Lauren Hubbard, Derwood resident and Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional, on “Jump On The Butterfly Bandwagon – Easy steps to help you create a beautiful butterfly garden”. Refreshments will be provided.
Speaker: Lauren Hubbard, Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional, Native By Design, LLC
Hostesses: MCT Garden Club members
About Native by Design, LLC:
Native by Design, LLC, founded by Dr. Lauren Hubbard, provides landscape design, consultation and project management with a focus on sustainable approaches that will provide beauty, support the ecosystem and reduce your long term maintenance needs.
Come visit the Montgomery County Agricultural History Farm Park and learn about all things edible at the University of Maryland Grow It Eat It Spring Event!