We all had one delightful day at Marjorie Merriweather Post’s Hillwood Estates! The gardens were lovely and we were so glad that the garden tour was in the morning as it did get a bit warm. We then enjoyed a delicious “tea” with all those yummy tea sandwiches and petit fours. It was such an informative tour of her mansion following lunch.
Hope you are finding ways to stay cool and enjoying these last days of summer in August! As we approach the end of summer, enjoy the summer crops and flowers and preserve some for the winter months. Don’t forget to support our local farmers by visiting our local farmer’s markets and local farms! Make sure you have your gardens taken care of when you plan your summer trips. 🌞🌼 Here are some garden tips, educational opportunities, and videos for August. 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 as well as on our website. Some upcoming events include Ask a Master Gardener at Twinbrook Library, National Farmers Market Week (August 6-12), Montgomery County Ag Fair, Foodie Fridays: Saving Seeds & Stories, Montgomery College’s Fall 2023 Garden Classes, American Horticultural Society’s Great American Gardeners Webinar Series, and more! These events will be hosted as online or live events.
Planning Tips
It’s harvest time and also a good time to start taking stock of what worked well for you this season and what didn’t.
Check out garden centers for end-of-summer bargains.
Take photos and update your garden journal.
Start shopping for spring bulbs.
Inspect your garden hose for leaks an tighten all connections.
As the heat and humidity move in, take it easy by working in the morning or early evening to avoid intense sun and humidity. Leave the big projects for this fall. For now, just concentrate on maintaining the beds you’ve already established and nurturing new plantings.
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.
In a Flash: How You Can Help Fireflies
Dr. Anahí Espindola from the University of Maryland Entomology Department offers ways you can support these special insects that light up the summer nights to the delight of children and adults alike. Read her post
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):
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:
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 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:
Cut petunia stems back by two thirds and fertilize.
Start seeds of pansies, calendula, flowering cabbage, kale, and other fall annuals.
Start collecting plant seeds for next year and for trading.
As the days get cooler, plant hardy mums.
Renew your container plantings, which may be looking a bit ragged at this point. Pinch back overgrown plants. Pull out any spent ones and pop in some substitute annuals or mums. Keep them well-watered and add a little liquid fertilizer every few weeks to keep them going through early autumn.
Don’t fertilize plants that slow down in the heat, but keep them watered.
Fertilize lightly plants that are blooming heavily.
Divide Hostas and Daylilies.
Divide and cut back Bearded Iris and Peonies.
Fill in bare spots in the garden with annuals.
Check your container plants and keep them well-watered.
Deadhead spent flowers to encourage reblooming.
Cut a few flowers to enjoy in your workplace or home.
Water transplants deeply when dry.
Pinch out tips of leggy plants.
Stake tall plants.
Spray roses with Neem oil every two weeks.
Feed your roses and new plantings with slow-release fertilizer sparingly.
Check for black spots on your roses – remove and discard any affected leaves in the trash, never back into your garden or in your compost – apply fungicide with Neem oil every two weeks during the growing season.
Tie up clematis and other fast-growing climbing vines.
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.
Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is a serious threat to Maryland ash trees. It has killed many millions of ash trees across the Mid-West and Eastern U.S.
The presence of the emerald ash borer typically goes undetected until trees show symptoms of being infested, usually, the upper third of a tree will thin and then die back. This is usually followed by a large number of shoots or branches arising below the dead portions of the trunk.
Other symptoms of infestation include small D-shaped exit holes in the bark where adults have emerged, vertical splits in the bark, and distinct serpentine-shaped tunnels beneath the bark in the cambium, where larvae effectively stop food and water movement in the tree, starving it to death.
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.
Prune potted bougainvillea or hanging baskets that will overwinter inside.
Bring Christmas cactus and poinsettias indoors if you took them out for the summer in preparation for holiday blooming. Fertilize them and put them where they will get just 10 hours of bright light per day.
Repot and fertilize houseplants when new growth begins.
Change water in cuttings started last fall and add 2-3 pieces of fish tank charcoal.
Do not over water house plants.
Check on your container plants daily and keep them well-watered.
Rotate houseplants to promote even growth.
Remove old leaves, damaged stems.
Pinch out growing tips of leggy cuttings and plants that are overwintering.
Clean the leaves of your indoor houseplants to prevent dust and film build-up.
Pests to watch for: aphids, spider mites, mealybug, scale, and whitefly.
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:
Struggling with your garden? Do you have plant questions?
The Master Gardeners from Montgomery County Cooperative Extension will offer their highly popular plant clinics. Bring your ailing plants or any other gardening questions for expert advice. See below for upcoming in-person events schedule and details:
The Montgomery County Ag Fair will open August 11, 2023! The fair has activities for all ages and includes special events for children, the military, and seniors. Be sure to visit the Montgomery County Master Gardener Demonstration Garden. Master Gardeners will be there to answer your gardening questions!
11410 Old Georgetown Road North Bethesda, MD 20852
Fee $10, includes light refreshments, drinks, and a ticket to Josiah Henson Museum
Every seed tells a story. With each seed planted, the genetic story of the plant is passed onto the next generation, just as the stories, memories, and feelings associated with specific foods are passed down among our families. Learn from Niraj Ray, founder of Cultivate the City, about how to save seeds as well as the value of saving seeds from culturally important and hard-to-find crops.
Orchids are more popular than ever, and are readily available at mass markets, florists, and garden centers. Explore how to be successful with orchid selection in the home environment. Learn how to purchase, care, handle, repot, and rebloom your orchid. The instructor will use live plants to demonstrate best practices. You are encouraged to bring your own orchid plants for questions. View Catalog Description & Prerequisites
Course
CRN
Credits
Days
Time
Start – End Dates
Campus
Location
Instructors
LLI022
24269
0.300
T
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm
10/24/23 – 10/24/23
WD&CE Virtual-Remote
DL
Janet S. Johnson
GARDEN DESIGN – LLI 519
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 own home. View Catalog Description & Prerequisites
Course
CRN
Credits
Days
Time
Start – End Dates
Campus
Location
Instructors
LLI519
24268
0.800
T
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
11/07/23 – 11/28/23
Rockville
MK 101
Janet S. Johnson
Let’s Talk Gardens
Thursdays 12 to 1 p.m.
Smithsonian Gardens
“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.
