LooseLeaf October 2018 Page

LOOSELEAF

A publication of the University of Maryland Extension

Howard County Master Gardeners.

3300 NORTH RIDGE ROAD, SUITE 240 ELLICOTT CITY, MD 21043

(410)313-2707 FAX (410)313-2712

http://www.extension.umd.edu/mg/locations/howard-county-master-gardener October 2018

INSIDE 2—Demo Garden at the

Conservancy

2—Gardening in Deer

Country

3—Annual Meeting Summary

4—MGs and Monarchs

Around the County

5—Calendar and Continuing

Ed

6—Mien Ruys Garden

7-BAMBOO – A Self-

Renewing Resource

8—Amelia Skillington Garden

8—Conservation

Stewardship Project

9—Book Review

10—Latin for Gardeners

Looseleaf is a very helpful and appreciated opportunity for me to

share information and ideas about what I do in regard to my position! So, just as an example, this week I've been reviewing the MG training evaluation materials and sorting ideas that may be incorporated in the 2019 training. By the way, I would welcome help by someone who is willing to be the hospitality coordinator. The treats are indeed a highlight of the training. Please consider volunteering to coordinate our training class food schedule. This is a project that can be done at home and our folks are good about bringing treats! Let me know if you’re interested. I recently attended a diversity workshop sponsored by the Horizon Foundation. The content focused on the history of events pertaining to changes/outcomes relevant to diversity issues in the U.S. It was informative and certainly helped me to understand the background and reasons for racial/ethnic occurrences in our country. It did not offer ideas on strategies for improving our UME efforts, however, which continues to be a challenge. Then, ironically, a new staff member of the UMCP Office of Compliance met with each of us to share information about our programs. There are changes being created in our data documentation: training for staff, faculty and volunteers is also being planned. By the way, Carolyn Kulp provided me with our recent contact data. Our total contacts this year, 4,943, including 2,519 adults and 2,231 youth. That’s commendable Please continue recording your contacts. It is important in evaluating our educational effort. Note: Joanna Cumbie and Karin DeLaitsch are retiring from their positions as Continuing Education Coordinators. Many thanks for their dedication and great results. Please consider taking on this task. It is vital to the MG program. We can have one or two coordinators, and know that I am glad to help since I set up continuing ed programs for the Watershed Stewards, Naturalists, MGs and general public! I hope to see you at the Agriculture and Natural Resources Open House on Sat., Oct. 6, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Central MD Research and Education Center (CMREC) on Folly Quarter Road. Georgia Georgia Eacker MG Coordinator

Program Update from Georgia —

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Frustrated by deer eating your landscape? Come to Glenwood Library on Mon-day, October 22 at 7:00 pm to learn gardening tips for discouraging browsing deer.

Kent Phillips, MG 2009, will be presenting

“Gardening in Deer Country,” with topics in-cluding fencing for vegetable gardens and se-lecting plants -- native and non-native -- that are less desirable to deer.

As we get into fall we will continue to have regular Friday work days from 9 - 11 am through the end of the month. So far this year we have contributed about 400 pounds of produce to the Howard County Food Bank! It has been a good year for peppers and a very poor year for tomatoes due to the excessive rain. We will have a plant sale and demonstration about spicebush butterflies at the Conservancy's Fall festival on Sunday, October 7th. We could still use more native plants for the plant sale. Check the website www.hcconservancy.org for fur-ther information about activities that day.

Jo Ann Russo, MG 1997, jrusso1104@comcast.net

Glenwood Library Presentation:

Gardening in Deer Country

Demonstration Garden at the Howard County Conservancy, Mt. Pleasant

To remain certified, you’ll need to submit your volun-teer and continuing education hours soon! Try your best to get hours in by the end of November (or very early in December). The University of Maryland Ex-tension will close the system that tracks hours by mid-December. So, don’t be left out: record your hours as soon as you can.

MGs are required to spend 20 hours supporting How-ard County residents with their gardening and lawn care activities at one of our recognized programs (such as youth education, composting, Bay-wise, plant clinics, Grow It Eat It, etc), or presenting gar-dening topics at a library or community center. There are many ways to earn volunteer hours while helping Howard County residents.

You are also required to complete 10 hours of contin-uing education. The monthly sessions on the second Tuesday are easy ways to complete this learning.

Interns: You completed the education requirement during class last winter! But, be sure to report your 40 hours of volunteering by the end of November.

Questions? Send a note to Georgia Eacker, geacker@umd.edu.

Each year we have a MG Recognition event in January. I will confirm this date as soon as the location is reserved, but please mark your cal-endar now! We'll celebrate the Classes of 2018, 2016 (three year) and 2014 (five year). We will also recognize MGs who have been active for 10, 15, 20 and 25 years! And we will acknowledge all of the Howard County MGs who have volunteered 100+ hours during the year. It's a festive time and I look forward to seeing everyone – our honorees and all MGs! Stay tuned for details. Georgia Eacker, geacker@umd.edu

Remember to Record Your Hours!

Save the Date! Sunday, Jan. 13, 2019

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Thanks to Karin DeLaitsch and Joanna Cumbie for coordinating all of the Continuing Ed sessions this year, and especially for the scavenger hunt prior to the MG annual meeting. Despite the off-and-on rain, everyone had a good time looking around the grounds at the Howard County Conservancy. Master Gardeners are quite active in many locations at the Conservancy. Georgia opened the meeting, attended by 52 MGs, by encouraging us to think about the future, and how we can improve the MG program in Howard County. She noted that we should submit our volunteer and continuing ed hours by the end of Nov, and not later than early Dec, if we want to remain certified MGs. Clare Openshaw talked about our plant clinics, including the successes at Glenwood library. Popular topics this year have centered on tomatoes and those pesky deer. She also noted that Conservation Stewardship is sched-uled to continue through November (4th Tue of each month). Check the MG electronic calendar for dates, hours and location. Sue Stevens reported that Bay-wise has been very active, including increased consultation re-quests after the floods in May. The Compost team has been active and Chair Kathryn Foat added several locations with special events. The scheduled demonstrations at Miller continue to be popular. Erica Jones stepped up to become the new Chair of the GIEI committee. Georgia thanked Michelle Wright for coordinating our table at the County Fair, and all of the MG who volunteered their time at the table. Kathy Hartley, webmaster, urged the committee chairs to review their content on the MG website. She is ready to post any updates or corrections that they want to submit. Barbara Langridge will handle interviews and Elaine Kielman will coordinate class materials for the 2019 intern class. Georgia noted that she needs a volunteer to coordinate food for class. JoAnn Russo mentioned animal issues with the demo garden at the Conservancy, and will welcome plant donations for the plant sale during the Fall Festival. LooseLeaf, our monthly electronic newsletter, is almost at the three-year mark! Thanks go to all of the contribu-tors! Rake & Take continues to be a popular program. The Youth Education team led by Janice Winter is busy with the Monarch Buddies program, which supplies caterpillars and milkweed to every elementary school. Caroline Feil is coordinating with Ann Vieth on the speakers’ bureau catalog and scheduling. The demo garden at Alpha Ridge Landfill has been updated by Dick Hammerschlag and his team. Joe DiGiovanni has gathered and packaged milkweed seeds for HC schools. During the Q&A, people asked about a timeline for new name badges (with new logo) and the annual training day on campus. Questions came up about status of online training. There was a question about an updated MG Di-rectory and its distribution. It was noted that the 2019 International MG Conference will be held in Philadelphia June 17 to 21.

Master Gardener Annual Meeting Summary

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Joe DiGiovanni, MG Class of 2010, is an experienced pruner and he volunteers often at the Patuxent Wildlife Re-search Refuge. He puts his pruning skills to work in the North Tract, and he maintains several pollinator gardens near the Visitor Contact Station. One garden is quite large with a variety of butterfly friendly plants (photo nearby). He recently observed and took photos as a monarch caterpillar transformed into its chrysalis stage.

He also shared a photo of a dragonfly resting on a plant ID sign and a swallowtail enjoying the garden.

Betty Rice, MG 2002, and Robin Hessey, MG 2000, were hosting a compost demonstration at The Enchanted Gar-den at Miller library when a woman arrived with a mesh container. She had 6 or 8 monarchs and asked if she could release them in the garden because there are so many plants for pollinators. Of course Betty and Robin encouraged the release! The garden is a designated Monarch Waystation, and many monarchs has been sighted recently.

Anastasia MacDonald, MG 2012, discov-ered that monarch caterpillars were all over the butterfly weed plants on the plaza at the Commons in Clarksville. Without looking very hard she counted 30 and a chrysalis! They have many different pollinators on the native plantings and were thrilled with the discovery. They thoughtfully planted and the monarchs found them!

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2018 Continuing Education Speaker Series

Click here to view the electronic calendar with Howard County MG activities and volunteer opportunities. Please note the Continuing Education sessions on the second Tuesday of each month. When you’re viewing the calendar, just scroll over an event of interest for additional information such as contacts, locations and times.

Volunteer opportunities include several AAMG plant clinic sessions and compost demonstrations. Check the calendar for dates and locations. Remember: you may want to join MGs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at The Enchanted Garden (Miller Library), on Thursdays at Whipps Cemetery Garden or on Fridays at the vegetable garden at HC Conservancy.

October Dates

1 Bay-wise meeting at UME

7 Fall Festival at HC Conservancy

9 Continuing Education at UME

22 Gardening with Deer at Glenwood

23 Conservation Stewardship at MPEA

Check the MG Electronic Calendar Our monthly calendar is on the HC MG page of the UME website. Look for the link on the right-hand side of the page. Click here for the MG calendar. That’s also where you’ll find the LooseLeaf Archives. The calendar is a handy way to check on Continuing Education times and topics as well as upcoming volunteer opportunities. Once you find an item of interest, click on it for contact info and other details.

What’s Going On? Check the MG Calendar

MGs, Watershed Stewards, Master Naturalists and their guests are welcome to attend.

All sessions will be held on Tuesdays at the UME office. Check the MG electronic calendar for updates.

October 9

9:30 - 11:00 am

Gardening and Climate Change / Climate

Change and Its Implications

Sylvia Huestis, MG and Carolyn Cradler, MG

A warming climate is bringing about shorter, warmer winters, hotter summers, changes in precipitation and more severe weather. This talk will include some of the ways in which gardeners can not only cope with these changes but also work to reduce the causes of climate change.

November 13

9:30 - 11:00 am

Winter Containers

Linda Branagan, MG

Linda will be sharing some ideas to keep the gar-dening spirit alive through the fall and winter months.

The Continuing Education coordinators are looking to pass the baton to MGs with fresh ideas for speakers.

The role involves meeting with Georgia at the end of the calendar year, brainstorming 7 speaker ideas for

the next calendar year, reaching out to speakers in January, and introducing speakers prior to the talk. We

also arrive 20 minutes before the talk to set-up the room. Talks are normally the second Tuesday from

9:30am-11:00am in the months of February, March, April, May, September, October, and November. If in-

terested, please contact: Karin DeLaitsch kdlaitsch@gmail.com; or, Joanna Cumbie rladywalk-

ing@msn.com.

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In Howard County we garden for different goals. For food, for wildlife, for health, for ecology, for beauty and, hopefully, for pleas-ure. There are obstacles to our goals, like wildlife browsing too much, difficult soil, lack of water, too much water, etc. Other garden-ers have ideas to help with our challenges. This periodic column will look at gardens near and far to find solutions.

The first garden example is by Mien Ruys (pronounced Meen Rouse) located in The Netherlands about two hours from Amster-dam. Ruys was a garden designer from the 1920s to the 90s. Her garden, Mien Ruys Tui-len, is a series of 30 garden experiments. You can find out more about her through a YouTube documentary or take a virtual tour Here. Click on the underlined links to go to those pages.

Howard County gardeners’ challenge? Deer Pressure. The Lesson from Mien Ruys is to make garden rooms with hedges, paths and boundaries. The mixture of hedges and fenc-es will divide the areas to limit open browsing. She uses geometric forms of different materi-als including water, perennials, and shrubs, not relying on bloom for interest in the garden.

One of the most striking spaces was a gar-den called “The Wood.” It is an open circu-lar space planted with an Oxalis native to Europe surrounded by an oak forest with a path and a few benches around the edge. This garden could be recreated in Howard County woodland, with native Violet Wood Sorrel Oxalis violacea in the center of the circle. Simple, deer resistant and peaceful (see photo below).

Submit requests for topics to: thedunnhouse@gmail.com.

Barbara Dunn, MG Class of 2010.

Lessons from Other Gardens: Mien Ruys Garden

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Bamboo is a fast-growing, woody form of grass (the largest member of the grass family) with more than a thousand varieties found worldwide. Like other grasses, turf for example, bamboo grows from relatively shallow rhizomes and many varieties such as Phyllostachys bissetti grow well in our climate under a variety of lighting and temperature conditions and with minimal maintenance. Bamboo benefits the environment by releasing 30% more oxygen into the atmosphere and absorbing more CO2 compared to an equivalent stand of trees.

Bamboo has 3 growth phases. (Phase 1) In spring pointed hollow bamboo shoots called culms poke up from the hid-den rhizomes. When these young shoots are about a foot tall they are often harvested and cooked.1 (Phase 2) When not harvested, they grow straight up very fast, about 3 to 5 inches a day to their final height of about 30 feet in one growing season.

The mature green shoots with their short branches and leaves remain in this evergreen phase for 5 to 10 years and then lose their leaves and become dried brown “poles.” (Phase 3) Poles can be harvested and put to a wide variety of structural uses because of their strength and long life.2 Although the small branches that sprout from each node are typically removed from the poles and discarded, they can also be put to use, such as creating a mason bee nest.

When planted in rows, bamboo makes an attractive priva-cy hedge and living trespass barrier. Because of its dense rhizome root structure, bamboo is also an excellent plant for preventing soil erosion on hills and slopes. Bamboo suffers very few insect or disease problems and is rarely damaged by deer or other animals in our region.

1) Bamboo shoot recipe: click here.

2) Ideas on Pinterest: click here.

Bob Doyle, class of 2017, gobikebob@verizon.net

BAMBOO – A Self-Renewing Resource

Bamboo chimes in The Enchanted Garden, Miller library.

Youngsters “play” bamboo chimes.

Cut poles and make a bundle for a mason bee nest.

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CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROJECT

at the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area (MPEA)

4th Tuesday (Oct 23) • 9-11:30am • South Wind Circle Trailhead

No experience necessary • One-time volunteers welcome • Gloves and tools provided

Let's Plant! For the past three years, volunteers have worked diligently to clear out inva-sive Autumn Olive shrubs from a portion of forest understory between two legs of the South Wind Trail. Now there is enough cleared land to plant a mixture of native plants that belong in this forest. During this event, we will install and shelter a small variety of native trees and shrubs while discuss-ing and admiring the results of prior hard work by our dedicated volunteers!

We start at 9:00 am at the South Wind Circle trailhead. Take Route 29 to Route 108 west toward Clarksville, or Route 32 to Route 108 east. Turn onto Trotter Road, go about one mile to South Wind Circle. Enter the circle and proceed to trailhead opposite Misty Top Path.

The MPEA (Middle Patuxent Environmental Area) comprises a diversity of habitat types, including upland and bottomland hardwood forest, fields, wetlands, ponds and riparian habitats. MGs partner with Howard Co Recre-ation & Parks for the Conservation Stewardship Project from March to November (except July and August) on the fourth Tuesday of each month. — Clare Openshaw, MG 2012, helloclare@comcast.net

Amelia Skillington Memorial Garden

Shrub Planting at the MPEA 2017

I am a Master Gardener and a Girl Scout leader. Two girls in my troop completed a Silver Award at Camp Ilchester. The Girl Scout camp is off Ilchester road in Ellicott City. The camp has several pollinator gardens but one small garden was in neglect. Amelia was a Junior Girl Scout when she passed away suddenly in 1997. The garden was created by her sister soon after her death. The area is behind the first building tucked in a corner. Initially, it was not planted with natives. When my scouts saw the garden and learned of Amelia’s story, they chose this area for their Silver Award. They involved Amelia’s mother in planning. She was so happy a Master Gardener was on the team! They have worked on the garden for 1 1/2 years and it’s now completed. They planted natives to attract pollinators, bees and butterflies, and a blueberry bush which bears fruit the birds can enjoy. They also installed a birdbath and original artwork to liven it up. They have asked me to maintain the garden as an ongoing project and I have agreed. In early spring I will be in touch with all of you. Will be look-ing for anyone splitting natives that enjoy full sun with early morning and after 3:30 pm shade. The garden will always need updating. New plants, replacing some that just weren’t happy and installation of mason bee houses. If anyone is interested in seeing the garden, has advice or would like to help out (next spring) let me know!! Thank you, Mary Ramsay, MG class of 2017, Mramsay02@yahoo.com

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Book Review Environment: Our Impact on the Earth.

National Geographic (2014)

If you are a student of nature and inclined towards ‘textbook’ style information, try this book. Its content includes the how-of and why-of little daily things be-coming, additively, major global issues. Along with a focus on what is leading to the destruction of our natural world is material on prevention, restoration, and maintenance of our critical resources. There are ten sections which include reflective essays, ques-tions for the reader, exercises to highlight the im-portant vocabulary and to elicit meaning, and experi-ential prompts to assist the reader in making the ma-terial read relevant to one’s life and environment.

The sections on freshwater, lessons to be learned from the redwood forests, high-tech trash and its im-pacts on the environment, the drying of the western states, and the melting of the glaciers are informed by ways to save energy starting home. Each section is led by essays from notable authors and scientists providing a framework for consideration of the is-sues. Reading these sections and making use of the prompts and questions at the end of each, made me painfully aware of the damage already done to our environment. These authors provide facts, causal links, and historic evidence, challenging our as-sumptions about 21st Century resources.

What happens when the flow of the Colorado River, supplying water to seven states and more that 30 million users, and irrigating more than 4 million acres of land begins to fail? Prominent research labs suggest that the American Southwest will descend into permanent dust bowl conditions by mid-century. What about the consequences of our throwaway culture creating toxic high-tech waste? Our aging and defective infrastructure raises concerns about the continued reliance on the national grid on which we depend too heavily for power.

This was a difficult book to read and only by rereading it in small doses was I able to digest the material. It’s not that the content went over my head, but that it affected me in intense and person-al ways. It made clear and fearsome the potential harm we can expect in our future. It is a worth-while read.

Pattee Fletcher, MG 2014, patteefletcher@yahoo.com

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October’s Native Maryland Plant

Aronia arbutifolia (L.) Pers

(ah-ROE-nee-ah ar-bew-tih-FOE-lee-ah)

Common Name: Red Chokeberry

Latin for Gardeners

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Aronia arbutifolia is an often-overlooked plant that has immense potential as an ornamental landscape shrub. Its

unfortunate common name, Chokeberry, refers to its bitter-tasting berries that are eaten by birds in late winter when

there is a scarcity of other options. The genus Aronia are multi-stemmed, deciduous shrubs that form rhizomes and

sucker non-aggressively. In Maryland, September and October storms can be fierce, bringing intense rain that sends

polluted stormwater runoff into our waterways; shrubs are the best defense against stormwater runoff in a residential

landscape. Aronia spp. offer environmental benefits all four seasons and are a terrific option to use to control runoff

and prevent erosion.

All these photos are of the cultivar 'Brilliantissima' planted in my front yard where it receives midday and afternoon

sun - and no additional watering. As you can see, Aronia arbutifolia is beneficial for birds, insects and for my enjoy-

ment! This cultivar is readily available and more compact than the straight species, making it easy to place in most

residential landscapes.

This cultivar typically grows 6’-8' tall and is most noted for its attractive, long-lasting, and glossy red berries and

fall foliage color. I have grown Aronia spp. for 4 years and am most impressed with its March blooming flowers

that are an excellent nectar source for early pollinators. When meeting with the public this is a plant I often rec-

ommend as a substitute for the exotic Euonymus alata (burning bush).

~ Alison Milligan – MG 2013

aligmilligan@gmail.com