Please join us to celebrate our 50th Anniversary Celebration! We have rescheduled this event to Tuesday, April 24th. Please note there is a NEW LOCATION and New Topic: Regionally Adapted Plants for Montgomery County, MD Gardens! We will have a special guest speaker, Kathy Jentz, Washington Gardener Magazine Publisher and Editor. Refreshments and cake will be served. Kathy Jentz will be bringing a limited supply of FREE copies of the Washington Gardener Magazine! We hope you can join us.
Topic: Regionally Adapted Plants for Montgomery County, MD Gardens Date: Tuesday, April 24, 2018 Time: 7:30pm – 9:00pm NEW Location:Mill Creek Parish United Methodist Fellowship Hall 7101 Horizon Ct
Derwood, MD 20855 Speaker: Kathy Jentz, Editor, Washington Gardener Magazine
Hostesses: MCT Garden Club members
Cost: FREE, Donations gratefully appreciated!
See our Donations page for online and offline payment options:
NOTE: If Montgomery County Schools are closed due to inclement weather, the Garden Club meeting will be cancelled.
Regionally-Adapted Plants for Montgomery County, MD Gardens
Plants that have proven themselves in Montgomery County, MD. Low-maintenance gardening is the goal of many of us in our busy lives and the key is planting the right plants got our local climate. We’ll talk about some native plants, of course, but mostly we’ll explore the tried-and-true plants that can take clay soil, deer, and/or periods of drought. Season-by-season, we’ll share our favorite plants that excel in our local gardens.
Kathy Jentz Bio
Kathy Jentz is editor and publisher of Washington Gardener Magazine. A life-long gardener, Kathy believes that growing plants should be stress-free and enjoyable. Her philosophy is inspiration over perspiration.
Kathy’s work has been featured in numerous Washington, DC-area publications and she appears on regular gardening guest spots on television and radio programs in Washington, DC.
She is also the Green Media columnist for the Mid-Atlantic Grower newspaper, where she does a great deal of hand-holding and coaxing to get independent garden centers, plant breeders, and other horticultural businesses to join the social media revolution and maximize their online brands.
It’s getting warmer and almost time for Spring! Here are some garden tips, educational opportunities, and events for March. Events include Nature Matters Lecture Series: Edible Landscaping, St. Patrick’s Day Green and Growing Scavenger Hunt, How Does Your Garden Grow Day, Arbor Day Video Contest, Montgomery Parks Speaker Series, Nature Matters Lecture Series: African Penguin Conservation, MCT Garden Club’s Brookside Garden Guided Group Tour, Earth Day Festival, and more! Mark your calendars and save the date for our 50th Anniversary Mill Creek Town Garden Club Celebration on Tuesday, March 20, 2018 @ 7:30pm with special guest speaker Kathy Jentz, who will help us get our gardens ready for Spring!
Planning:
Mark beds outside where new plants are to go.
Build a raised bed for vegetables. Add lots of manure and compost.
Read a good gardening book or magazine.
Select and order fruit plants
Decide on new tree/shrub locations.
If you want a street tree, pick one under 20-30 feet if you have overhead power lines.
Plan landscape design projects.
Order/buy those seeds!
Collect supplies for starting seeds.
When planning your wildlife-friendly backyard don’t forget to include native trees and shrubs that produce fall and winter persistent fruits.
Have a question about gardening? Check the University of Maryland Extension’s New Maryland Grows blog for garden tips.
Support our local farmers! Visit a local farmers’ market near you. Download Montgomery County’s Office of Agriculture Farmer’s Market Flyer to find a farmer’s market near you.
Flowers and Groundcovers:
Hardy spring bulbs begin to emerge (crocus, snowdrops, daffodils, tulips).
Plant pansies.
Transplant seedlings into individual 3″-4″ pots when crowded.
Pinch out growing tips of leggy seedlings.
Cut your daffodils for indoor bouquets. Do not combine with other flowers since they give off a toxic substance that may kill your other blooms prematurely.
Wash and refill the bird bath or set out a shallow bowl of water in icy weather.
Vacuum up any ladybugs that come in the house.
Don’t put your birdbath away. Birds need fresh water for drinking and bathing throughout the fall season. Clean frequently and keep filled with fresh water.
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 Nature Matters Lecture Series: Edible Landscaping, St. Patrick’s Day Green and Growing Scavenger Hunt, How Does Your Garden Grow Day, Arbor Day Video Contest, Montgomery Parks Speaker Series, Nature Matters Lecture Series: African Penguin Conservation, MCT Garden Club’s Brookside Garden Guided Group Tour, Earth Day Festival, Mill Creek Garden Club’s 50th Anniversary Celebration featuring guest speaker Kathy Jentz, who will give a presentation on “Getting Your Garden Ready for Spring” on Tuesday, March 20th at 7:30pm, and more!
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):
UMD Extension is offering an online non-credit course called The Woods in Your Backyard, March 7 – May 21, 2018. Cost is $85. The course is about creating and maintaining natural areas around your home. The course work is spread out over the entire 10 1/2 week period and comprises orientation + 5 instructional modules with activities, assignments, and course materials. Click below for more details and a link to the course outline.
Have a girl’s night out with the creative nature center staff! We’ll create a great natural craft while enjoying conversation, wine, cheese, and chocolate at the nature center. In March we will weave spring baskets, ready to collect your memories of the new year!
Sunday, March 11
Black Hill Nature Center | 2p – 3p
Some eggs have a hard shell, some are soft and squishy. Eggs come in all shapes and sizes and are laid by all sorts of animals. We’ll learn about some of our local egg-layers, meet some egg-laying animals, and go on a hike to see if we can find any eggs.
Mill Creek Towne Garden Club 50th Anniversary Community Event-“Getting Your Garden Ready for Spring”
Save the date, and don’t miss our special 50th Anniversary celebration on Tuesday, March 20th! We will have a special guest speaker, Kathy Jentz, who will present “Getting Your Garden Ready for Spring”. Refreshments and cake will be served. We hope you can join us. Below are the meeting details.
Date: Tuesday, March 20, 2018 Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: Mill Creek Towne Elementary School All Purpose Room 17700 Park Mill Dr.
Derwood, MD 20855 Speaker: Kathy Jentz
Topic: Getting Your Garden Ready for Spring
Hostess: MCT Garden Club members
Cost: FREE, Donations gratefully appreciated!
NOTE: If Montgomery County Schools are closed due to inclement weather, the Garden Club meeting will be cancelled.
Kathy Jentz Bio
Kathy Jentz is editor and publisher of Washington Gardener Magazine. A life-long gardener, Kathy believes that growing plants should be stress-free and enjoyable. Her philosophy is inspiration over perspiration.
Kathy’s work has been featured in numerous Washington, DC-area publications and she appears on regular gardening guest spots on television and radio programs in Washington, DC.
She is also the Green Media columnist for the Mid-Atlantic Grower newspaper, where she does a great deal of hand-holding and coaxing to get independent garden centers, plant breeders, and other horticultural businesses to join the social media revolution and maximize their online brands.
Montgomery County Planning Department Auditorium
8787 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Join us for the Montgomery Parks Speaker Series, which will cover a diverse range of parks topics including planning and design for urban parks, park advocacy, public-private partnerships, and more! RSVP for lunch – space is limited.
Could an old bridge be turned into a park? That’s what community activist Scott Kratz wants to achieve. He’s been working with Washington DC government and Building Bridges Across the River, a Ward 8-based non-profit, to transform an old freeway bridge into a park above the Anacostia River.
Ariel Trahan is the Director of River Restoration Programs through the Anacostia Watershed Society, and oversees youth and adult education programs. As a native Michigander who is no stranger to lakes and rivers, Ariel wants to ensure everyone has access to clean water.
Montgomery County Planning Department Auditorium
8787 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Join us for the Montgomery Parks Speaker Series, which will cover a diverse range of parks topics including planning and design for urban parks, park advocacy, public-private partnerships, and more! RSVP for lunch – space is limited.
Beth Shogren is the Executive Director of Green Minneapolis.
Stacie West is the current director of Parks Projects with the NoMa Bid. West leads the foundation’s efforts to acquire sites, design parks and build a network of public spaces for the rapidly growing DC neighborhood.
As the current President of the NoMaBid, Robin-Eve Jasper has furthered the foundation’s plan to continue business improvement and park development.
Brookside Gardens Visitors Center 1800 Glenallan Ave. Wheaton, MD 20902
Join us for a horticulturally-oriented, guided adult group tour of Brookside Gardens, where we will enjoy the splendors of spring flowers! Tours are led by well-trained volunteer guides and last approximately one hour. We encourage questions from participants.
Registration required.
Deadline for registration is Monday, April 2, 2018.
Registration is available online and offline. Please visit our registration page for online and offline payment options for registration (see link below).
For questions, please send an email to: info@mctgardenclub.org or call 240-912-5508.
Friends of Black Hill Nature Center Native Plant Sale
Thursday, April 26 – Sunday, April 29
Black Hill Nature Center
Many of the plants on sale have been cultivated locally and most are important food and shelter sources for Maryland butterflies, birds, and an array of other wildlife. All proceeds go to support nature programming at Black Hill Visitors Center.