Come and check out our amazing selection of plants and yard sale items including:
Plants and Seedlings
Potting Containers/Vases
Notecards
Kitchen play set for kids, toys
Assorted household items
and more!
Please help support the Mill Creek Towne Garden Club by participating in our Spring Plant & Yard Sale. Proceeds from sales and donations will help defray the costs for landscaping and maintenance of Mill Creek Towne’s main entrances and garden-related educational programs for the Derwood community! Thank you for all your help and contributions!
About the Mill Creek Towne Garden Club
Established in 1968, the objective of the Mill Creek Towne Garden Club is to stimulate and increase knowledge and interest in all facets of gardening among amateurs, establish an active community beautification program and to encourage civic beautification, and foster group activities for the benefit of the members and the community. The garden club also landscapes and maintains the Mill Creek Towne entrances and common areas.
On Groundhog Day 2024, Punxsutawney Phil woke up and did not see his shadow and predicted an early spring! Here are some garden tips, educational opportunities, and videos for February. A lot of gardening events are announced on Facebook as well as on our website. Some upcoming events/resources include Sustainable Landscaping Talk by Dr. Lauren Hubbard (Mill Creek Towne Garden Club member and master gardener!), Montgomery Park’s – Flora & Fauna Program, Montgomery College Spring 2024 Environmental Horticulture and Home and Garden Lifelong Learning classes, Montgomery Parks February Programs, Brookside Garden’s Greenscapes Event, American Horticultural Society’s Great American Gardeners Webinar Series, and more! These events will be hosted as online or live events.
Planning Tips
Select and order fruit plants. Decide on new tree/shrub locations.
Plan landscape design projects.
Decide where your plants from seed are going in your garden.
Gather seeds and carefully label them. Store in a dry location.
Order/buy those seeds!
Collect supplies for starting seeds.
Participate in a local seed swap.
Clean out your greenhouse and wash those windows.
Clean and tidy pots and seed trays to get a good start in February.
Paint a few terra cotta pots in spring-like colors.
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.
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.
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 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:
See our list with recently published books. This cumulative list for 2023 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:
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 2023 MoCo Food & Beverage Guide is here! The Guide from the Montgomery County Food Council is available online – delicious baked goods, prepared foods, condiments and more. The craft beverage list grows each year and find two dozen local and amazing farms:
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:
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.
Maintaining a visible root flare on trees is important for their overall health and pest management, noted Smithsonian Gardens arborist Jacob Hendee in a recent talk.
Download vegetable planting calendars from University of Maryland Extension, in English and Spanish. This page also has a link to a frost/freeze date calculator.
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. To prevent damage to your home and the environment, choose a deicer carefully.
How can you get an orchid plant to rebloom? In this video, horticulturist Miri Talabac and our state Master Gardener Program Coordinator Stephanie Pully talk about how to provide good care for one of the most common types of orchids, Phaleonopisis, and the conditions they need to initiate new flower spikes.
Learn about landscaping with native plants at this event with Dr. Lauren Hubbard, master gardener and Mill Creek Towne Garden Club member!
Join us for Open House Night | Job Fair on 2/22/24 We’re highlighting our guest Speaker, Lauren Hubbard. She is a professional Landscaper, owner of Native by Design LLC, and President of the Maryland Native Plant Society. She will be giving a talk on native plants from Maryland and their applications in sustainable landscaping.
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!
Meet at the Discovery Center and we’ll take a van to the Ten Mile Creek area of Black Hill Regional Park. We will hike the trails at the north end of the cove to see which waterfowl are visiting Little Seneca Lake. Dress for the weather and wear hiking shoes. Bring binoculars or borrow ours. FOBH $6
Montgomery College Horticultural Classes – Spring 2024
This is the schedule of horticultural classes offered at Montgomery College, Germantown Campus this spring semester. The courses are offered in several formats including online, hybrid (online but with face-to-face field trips) and all face-to-face. Students can take classes for credit or audit. Maryland residents 60 years and older may be eligible for a tuition waiver, such that they pay only fees.
For example, eligible seniors would only pay $91.60 for HORT 105 – Introduction to Sustainable Landscaping or $137.40 for HORT 254 – Plant Materials II, HORT 258 Landscape Management or HORT 271 Plant Propagation. Senior registration starts January 17. Classes start the week of January 22.
Lifelong Learning Home and Garden Classes
Annuals and Perennials for Mid-Atlantic Landscape
The course will focus on the requirements needed to successfully incorporate perennials and annuals into the residential landscape of the Mid-Atlantic. We will discuss plant species, both native and non-native, to extend the seasonal interest in the garden. Discussion will include incorporating natives, pollinators, and plants suitable to resolve specific problems within the landscape. The course will review the topography, and soil structure, as well as sun and shade ratios to ensure success with annuals and perennials in the landscape. Also included will be discussions on biennials, self-sown species, and repeat blooming species, as well as perennial division and transplanting; the need to replace invasive species within the gardenscape and how to control invasive species; how to incorporate deer resistant plant species and protect the landscape from deer damage; and the USDA and county zones of hardiness and how to interpret the standardized product labeling requirements from suppliers of plant material. This course is designed for to address the needs professional landscapers or volunteer/amateur gardeners.
TWA Course: LLP152 5 Hours
$59 + $74 fee = $133; NMR add $120
Online: Structured Remote CRN#: 33954 2 Sessions
T 4/23-4/30 6:30-9 p.m.
Garden Design
Do you ever wish you could have a beautiful home garden? In this course, garden enthusiasts and homeowners will examine the basics of garden design. You will discuss current garden trends; and how to integrate the architecture of your home/buildings into the landscape for a cohesive overall design. You will focus on using plants and materials that are suitable for the Mid-Atlantic region to create a garden design suitable for your home or as a part of your employment.
TWA Course: LLI519 8 Hours
$59 + $79 fee = $138; NMR add $120
Rockville Campus CRN#: 33901 4 Sessions
T 2/20-3/19 6:30-8:30 p.m.
No class 3/12
Introduction to Organic Vegetable Gardening
Learn how to produce vegetables for the household while using sustainable gardening practices. Explore what, when, and how to plant vegetable crops that are well suited to Maryland. Discuss ways to organically control pest and diseases. Design a garden for your home or as a part of your employment.
TWA Course: LLP001 5 Hours
$40 + $72 fee = $112; NMR add $120
Online: Structured Remote CRN#: 33920 2 Sessions
R 2/29-3/7 6:30-9 p.m.
Woody Ornamentals for the MidAtlantic Region (NEW)
The course will discuss the options for trees and shrubs for use in the Mid-Atlantic residential landscape. We will discuss the need to eliminate the use of invasive species in our region, as well as options to replace these too common species within our landscape. The course covers both native species and selected non-native species, and the need to choose woody ornamentals as a long term investment. Emphasis will be placed on species native to the region better suited to the residential site. and how proper selection of species reduces the need for pruning and reduces the maintenance required. There will be a focus on how to create living low maintenance gardens that will endure. Additional content includes the need for soil and water testing prior to planting, as well as, how to access testing facilities as well as the Tree Montgomery program, the Rain Garden program, and the Street Tree programs within Montgomery County. This course is designed for professional landscapers and/or volunteer/home gardeners. TWA
Course: LLP153 5 Hours
$59 + $74 fee = $133; NMR add $120
Online: Structured Remote CRN#: 33955 2 Sessions
T 4/2-4/9 6:30-9 p.m.
Brookside Garden’s Greenscapes Event
Friday, February 16, 2024
9am – 4pm
Join Brookside Gardens for a day of virtual lectures on Friday, February 16, 2024, as industry experts share valuable lessons from the field of creating sustainable landscapes. Lectures will reimagine traditional gardens with native plants and offer the latest in ecologically focused management strategies.
Take advantage of the Early Bird fee of $50 that ends on Friday, January 12. All sessions will be recorded and made available online to registrants. For more information and to register online, visit https://mocoparks.org/3lWVVus.
“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.
We’re highlighting our guest Speaker, Lauren Hubbard. She is a professional Landscaper, owner of Native by Design LLC, and President of the Maryland Native Plant Society. She will be giving a talk on native plants from Maryland and their applications in sustainable landscaping.
