A Publication of the Howard County Master Gardeners

June 2015

From Georgia’s Desk

News from College Park: An an-

nouncement of the appointment of Dr. Craig A.

Beyrouty as Dean of the College of Agriculture

and Natural Resources, effective November 1.

It is noteworthy since although we in the Coun-

ties don’t generally see the Dean, a change of

personnel can mean changes in administrative,

organizational and even philosophical proce-

dures, strategies, issues. For example, Dean

Wei, our current Dean, has been a strong sup-

porter of the MG program, and has always

greeted us at Advanced Training Day. So, we’ll

look and listen as November and the years

ahead bring possible changes.

The onset of spring and summer

means a busy schedule of all our MG programs

and I know that the special activities as Days of

Taste, and Our Environment in Our Hands add

to the already full schedule of programs. Plan-

ning has begun for the Howard County Fair and

the 2016 MG training.

Take some time to enjoy the garden, try

some new plants and techniques and of course,

vacation. Enjoy!

Georgia Eacker

Master Gardener Coordinator

410-313-1913

geacker@umd.edu

The University of Maryland Extension programs are open to any person and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation,

and gender identity or expression.

Educating People to Help Themselves

HOWARD COUNTY ∙ 3300 NORTH RIDGE ROAD, ∙SUITE 240, ELLICOTT CITY, MD 21043

HOWARD COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS ∙ (410) 313-2707 ∙ FAX (410) 313-2712

www.mastergardener.umd.edu/local/howard/index.cfm

LOOSELEAF

June 2015 Looseleaf 2 Howard County Master Gardeners

June 2015 Looseleaf 1 From Georgia’s Desk 3 Mt. Pleasant 4 Conservation Stewardship 6 School Yard Habitat 8 Continuing Education

Suzette Holiday, MG, Editor webbrats@hotmail.com

Mark Your Calendar!

Master Gardener Demonstration Day

Miller Library

Saturday, June 20t(weather permitting)

10:00 - 12:30 p.m.

Prepare for a successful gardening season by joining us for

mini presentations and informal discussions on Vegetable

Gardening, Pruning, Herbs, Rain Gardens, Native Plants,

Composting, and Pollinators. Led by University of MD Ex-

tension Howard County Master Gardeners.

Posies in a Pot (or Small Space Gardening)

Miller Library

Thursday, June 11

7:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Brighten an outdoor space with a pot of blooming flow-

ers. Pat Greenwald with share information on suitable con-

tainers, types of soil and nutrients, best plants, and colorful

uses of container gardens.

For details and additional events, check the MG Calendar on

our Web page.

Submit items for the July 2015 Looseleaf by Thursday, June 25 to Suzette Holiday at webbrats@hotmail.com. Submit items for the Howard County Master Gardener Calendar to Janine Grossman at janinegrossman@gmail.com or Roy Heath at therents2001@yahoo.com.

June 2015 Looseleaf 3 Howard County Master Gardeners

Doings at the Howard County Conservancy at Mt. Pleasant

May weather was typical for Maryland, sometimes freezing and sometimes very hot. The

garden has been almost completely planted with a wide variety of vegetables and herbs. The peas

and beans are climbing the new supports and the remaining plants are responding vigorously to the

warm weather. We have begun to harvest greens and have taken a small amount to the Food Bank.

We would be happy to take any excess produce which you would like to donate. Work days continue

every Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on the very hot days; or 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. for those

who can’t come until later. Come join us when you are able.

We have also had school and family groups stop be each week as part of their field trips to the

Conservancy, using the Historical Garden as part of their learning experience.

The Conservancy is open every day from 9:00 a.m. until at least 3:00 p.m. with occasional

evening programs. Check the website www.hcconservancy.org for Saturday and evening programs

at Mt. Pleasant and the new Belmont site. Come out to Mt. Pleasant to hike the trails and see what is

in bloom.

BY JOANN RUSSO, MG jrusso1104@comcast.net

The garden at the Conservancy. Photograph: Paul DiCrispino

June 2015 Looseleaf 4 Howard County Master Gardeners

Middle Patuxent Environmental Area

2015 Conservation Stewardship Project

Twelve Spring ephemeral lovers, twenty-four differ-

ent flowering plants and one tree frog made for a

wonderful morning at the MPEA on April 28. The

Virginia bluebells were indeed in bloom as were the

many others. Happily the garlic mustard in areas

where we have this event each April is decreasing but

sadly, Vinca, Euonymus, and Bush honeysuckle were

found in places they had not occurred the previous

year.

Louisa Thompson, our wonderful guest speaker, de-

veloped the Howard County Master Gardener Native

Plant program about 15 years ago. We were treated

to great information about ephemeral plants and pol-

linators, and also the various soil types we encoun-

tered (Manor, Gladstone, and Codorus) that were

identified using core sampling.

BY AYLENE GARD, MG

Rosemarie Meservey and Sarah Causey bagging garlic mustard.

Louisa Thompson describing soil profiles.

Sue Buswell “bunching” garlic mustard.

June 2015 Looseleaf 5 Howard County Master Gardeners

Middle Patuxent Environmental Area

2015 Conservation Stewardship Project

On June 23 we will meet at the South Wind Circle Trailhead. Dr. Vanessa Beauchamp, Assistant Professor of Biology

at Towson University and a third-time guest, will update us about the status of Wavyleaf basketgrass, a relative

newcomer and very challenging invasive species. Prepare to be a citizen-scientist by mapping its current distribution

using a cell phone app and GPS (bring yours) from the www.towson.edu/wavyleaf web site. “Techie” teens are espe-

cially welcome.The remaining time will be spent dealing with our nemesis Japanese barberry.

Meet the group at 9:00 a.m. at the South Wind Circle trailhead (Route 29 to Route 108W towards Clarksville OR

Route 32 to Route 108E. Turn onto Trotter Road to South Wind Circle (about 1 mile). Enter the circle and proceed to

trailhead on left (opposite Misty Top Path). For more information contact Aylene Gard (410) 992-9889 or Jeff

Claffy jclaffy@howardcountymd.gov

Signs of Spring abound in the Patuxent woods. Above, emerging fiddleheads. At right, a toad lily in bloom. Photographs: Aylene Gard

June 2015 Looseleaf 6 Howard County Master Gardeners

Look how beautiful the new section of our

pollinator garden is growing! The lovely

purple haze is an inter-planting of Lyre-

leafed Sage, Salvia lyrata, and Hairy

Beardtongue, Penstemon hirsutus. The

white in the foreground is the lovely native

Chickweed, Cerastium arvense and Plan-

tain-leafed pussytoes, Antennaria

plantaginifolia. The second photo shows

what the garden looked like last September

when the baby plants were put in, funded

by the Governor’s September 11 Day of

Service and Remembrance Project. We’re

looking forward to watching the mood of

the garden change as different plants

emerge from spring to summer. It is a

pleasure to watch the butterflies and other

pollinators attracted to the new garden.

Thanks to the many hours put in by Master Gardeners and other volunteers, we have kept the weeds at bay and are plan-

ning the next stages of landscaping.

The goal of the School Yard Habitat (SYH), located in front of the National Wildlife Visitor Center, is to teach landown-

ers how to landscape to attract wildlife, enhance ecosystem function in landscapes, and protect local waterways and the

Chesapeake Bay. Each day we get many visitors to the SYH and one of the joys of working there is the opportunity to

interact with the public while we do our gardening.

The Patuxent Research Refuge (PRR), established in 1936 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, is the only national wildlife

refuge established to support wildlife research. Besides gardening we have many additional volunteer opportunities to

support wildlife research. Come visit, come join us. This National treasure is in our own backyard.

Sunday, June 14 - Patuxent Research Refuge Volunteer Orientation. Contact Diana Ogilvie, diana_ogilivie@fws.gov to register. Monday, June 15, noon – School Yard Habitat Team Meeting, PRR Visitor Center, 10901 Scarlet Tanager Loop, Laurel, MD 20708. Monday, June 15, 1 pm – Introduction for those new to working at the School Yard Habitat Tuesdays, June 2, June 9, June 16, June 23, June 30, 9 am to noon – Weeding workdays. If you not have attended a PRR Orientation you will be asked to sign a volunteer release form before working in the garden. For more information about the SYH, please contact Ann Coren, anncoren@hotmail.com

Spring Brings New Success to the School Yard Habitat: Patuxent Research Refuge

Visitor Center entrance. Photograph: Phyllis Yigdall

SUBMITTED BY ANN COREN, MG anncoren@hotmail.com

June 2015 Looseleaf 7 Howard County Master Gardeners

Above left: Lyre-leafed Sage, Salvia lyrata, and Hairy Beardtongue, Penstemon hirsutus. Above: Newly planted section of SYH Pollinator Garden, September 2014. At left: Spring boom. Photographs: Ann Coren

June 2015 Looseleaf 8 Howard County Master Gardeners

Continuing Education Speakers and Topics for 2015

Our first of two Continuing Education tours will be on Tuesday, June 9 at The Green Farmacy Gar-

den located in Fulton, Maryland. Here 300 native and non-native species of plants used traditionally or re-

searched for medicinal purposes are grown. Master Gardeners and guests will be given a two hour tour of

the teaching garden with a guest appearance by retired USDA botanist, Jim Duke, PhD. The plants collected

over sixty years are highlighted in Jim’s book, The Green Pharmacy.

Due to limited parking, please RSVP to Joanna Cumbie, rladywalking@msn.com. She will provide

further details. If a large number of people plan to attend, we may have to meet at nearby Reservoir High

School parking lot and carpool to the property at 8210 Murphy Rd. (less than 1 mile from the high school).

For questions, contact Karin DeLaitsch, kdlaitsch@gmail.com.

2015 Continuing Education Speakers

Tuesday, June 9 Tour the Green Farmacy Garden, Fulton, MD – see a collection of 300 plant species used/

researched for medicinal purposes. 9:30 a.m.

Tuesday, July 14 Tour Brisco Daylily Garden, Ellicott City, MD – see 1100 daylily cultivars during peak

bloom; impulse buying allowed: 9:30 a.m.

Tuesday, August 11 Gardens of Lakes Como and Maggiore, Italy , speaker Judy Petersen, MG. 9:30 a.m.

—11:00 a.m., Extension Office

Tuesday, September 8 Native Plant Nursery at the County Corrections Facility, speaker Lori Lilly, Man-

ager, 9:30 a.m.—1:00 a.m., Extension Office

Tuesday, October 13 A Retrospect Look at What Sets the Bay-Wise Home Tour Landscapes Apart? speak-

er TBD (The Bay-Wise Committee). 9:30 a.m. —11:00 a.m., Extension Office

Tuesday, November 10 Tree topic TBD, speaker Wanda MacLachlan, UME Area Educator – Residential

Landscape Management: 9:30 a.m. —11:00 a.m. Extension office