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Due to inclement weather, this event is CANCELLED. See note from Montgomery County Public Schools.
Montgomery County Public Schools will have regular, on-time dismissal today, March 20, 2018. However, due to pending weather conditions, all after-school and evening activities are canceled.
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Celebrate the first day of Spring and our 50th Anniversary 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. Kathy Jentz will be bringing a limited supply of FREE copies of the Washington Gardener Magazine! We hope you can join us.
Date: Tuesday, March 20, 2018 Time: 7:30 pm – 9:00pm Location: Mill Creek Towne Elementary School All Purpose Room 17700 Park Mill Dr.
Derwood, MD 20855 Speaker: Kathy Jentz, Editor, Washington Gardener Magazine
Topic: Getting Your Garden Ready for Spring
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.
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 time to enjoy the winter scenes and get ready for Spring! Here are some garden tips, educational opportunities, and events for February. Events include Black History Month Celebrations, Maple Sugaring Days, Waterfowl Festival, Green Matter Symposium, 2018 Spring Conference, Arbor Day Video Contest, 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:
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).
Deadhead pansies.
crocus
Pull out ornamental cabbages and kale.
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 Portulaca the second week in February.
On the fourth week, start seeds for: Ageratum, China Aster, Cleome, Dwarf Marigolds, Salvia, Tall Snapdragons, and Verbana.
Do not step on frozen soil in flower beds or lawns.
In the dark of winter you may be wondering about grow lights. Here is a concise guide to grow lights — their types and how they differ from normal room lighting.
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 February 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!
More events are being added regularly. Please check back often!
Save the dates for these upcoming events! Events include Black History Month Celebrations, Maple Sugaring Days, Waterfowl Festival, Green Matter Symposium, 2018 Spring Conference, Arbor Day Video Contest, 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):
February 3 – February 24 | various times
Josiah Henson Park & Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park
A month full of events at local historic landmarks will highlight the stories, struggles and successes of African Americans on a local, state, national and international level. From free guided tours to documentary screenings happening at Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park and Josiah Henson Park, the events happening throughout February will close out Black History Month.
Silver Spring Civic Building
1 Veterans Place
Silver Spring, MD 20910
How can we design our landscapes in ways that prevent harm to existing ecosystems AND regenerate the environment? We live in an age when the most effective progress on protecting the environment will likely occur at the local level. Join a broad spectrum of actors from home gardeners to professionals in the horticulture and landscape architecture industries to learn how we can be proactive stewards of our own piece of the pie. This symposium helps shift the focus beyond sustainability strategies geared towards slowing environmental degradation by emphasizing solutions that heal our damaged urban landscapes.
University of Maryland Extension Montgomery County Office
Agricultural History Farm Park
18410 Muncaster Rd,
Derwood, MD 20855
The Montgomery County Master Gardener Spring Gardening Conference is scheduled for February 24, 2018. (Snow date is March 3, 2018). The daylong event offers multiple presentations, morning snacks, a delicious bag lunch, door prizes, networking with other gardeners, answers to your gardening questions, handouts, and reference materials. Participants can attend three of nine concurrent presentations, and a Lunch & Learn session, all taught by Master Gardeners.
To view the 2018 Spring Conference brochure, click here.
Montgomery Parks is pleased to invite your 3rd–5th grade students to participate in a video contest for a chance to host an Arbor Day Celebration at your school this April!
In a short video, tell us how “Trees are Superheroes”. Submissions will be posted to the Montgomery Parks’ YouTube Channel and the winning video will be displayed on Montgomery Parks’ social media channels and website. Submissions must be sent by March 30.
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.
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.
