It's almost time for the Maryland State Fair which opens Thursday, August 24th. We can't wait to get some ice cream!

Our newsletter this month includes the Maryland State Fair signup, employment opportunities, new continuing education opportunities, new HGIC resources, and more!

We have Agent Associate / Master Gardener Coordinator positions open in Charles County and Baltimore City. Apply today or share with others who may be interested!

We still have spaces for Master Gardeners to sign up as garden docents at the State Fair this year! The Maryland State Fairgrounds is located at 2200 York Road in Lutherville-Timonium, MD. Maryland MGs will be serving as garden docents and staffing a tent next to the UME Master Gardener Learning Garden, a collaboration between Baltimore City and Baltimore County MGs. This volunteer opportunity is open to all MGs in all County/City programs in Maryland! An orientation will be provided before the start of the fair.

Volunteers can sign up for up to 2 shifts (only 1 shift can be a weekend). Please sign up by August 13. 

Please view the signup for all open slots, but we could really use more help on:

• Monday, Sept 4th from 2:00-6:00 PM
• Saturday, Sept 9th from 2:00-6:00 PM

To learn more about the UME Master Gardener Learning Garden, see the article by Maryland Grows Blog.

Note: We need to mail the parking passes out to each volunteer, and we will not have enough to send extras. Please only sign up for a shift if you are committed to volunteering during that shift.

Docents will greet and share new gardening ideas with the public!

The Learning Garden is home to plants of all shapes and sizes to interest all of our State Fair visitors

Join University of Maryland Extension Food Gardening Specialist Jon Traunfeld for a seed-saving workshop in the University of Maryland Extension Master Gardener Learning Garden at the State Fairgrounds! There will be flowers and veggies available in the garden to practice what you learn. All materials will be provided. Please bring a water bottle and lunch for yourself. We will be spending some extra time after the training to harvest and save seeds from the garden to hand out at next year's State Fair!

If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate, please contact Stephanie Pully at pully@umd.edu or (410) 531-1754 on or before September 13, 2023.

Kokedama Workshop

Friday, October 13, 2023 | 11:00 AM - 1:000 pm

Baltimore County Extension Office

Kokedama is a ball of soil covered with moss on which an ornamental plant grows. The idea has its origins in Japan where Kokedama are very popular. Kokedama is a style of Japanese bonsai, where a plant's root system is simply wrapped in moss and bound with string, transforming it into a sculptural art form. Loosely translated, ‘koke’ means moss, and ‘dama’ means ball. The original Japanese form of Kokedama had miniature sculptured bonsai trees displayed on handmade pottery or pieces of driftwood.

Young Choe is a kusamono artist who studied traditional art in her native Korea before moving to the United States and earning her BS in horticulture from the University of Maryland. While volunteering at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum, she brought her artistic talent together with her knowledge of horticulture to create kusamono. As her interest developed, Young traveled to Japan to study the unique art form with the master kusamono artist, Keiko Yamane, a former student of Saburo Kato. She worked for many years with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) including the U.S. National Arboretum. Young is considered a leader in the field and enjoys conducting workshops and lectures nationally as well as internationally.



If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this event, please contact Stephanie Pully at pully@umd.edu or (410) 531-1754 on or before September 29, 2023.

Did you miss any of our continuing education webinars last year?

Check out the recordings below! You can always see both upcoming continuing education opportunities and recorded webinars on the State MG Continuing Education webpage.

Community College of Baltimore County

The fall semester begins August 28^th and ends December 15^th. There are scholarships available for some fall classes.

The Basic Horticulture Technician Certificate, a fully funded Certificate, is available again for Fall 2023. BHTC more information 

Interested people can email Winny Tan in the CCBC Sustainable Horticulture office: wtan@ccbcmd.edu  with questions or for help with registration. Her office number is 443-840-3787. 

Montgomery College

The Environmental Horticulture and Sustainable Agribusiness (HORT) program at Montgomery College offers a variety of horticulture courses that will benefit just about anyone -- the professional landscaper, avid gardener, or anyone who loves plants and the environment! Classes begin August 28 and will be offered in variety of formats, face-to-face, online or hybrid. Hybrid classes will have the lecture portion online, with selected labs as in-person field trips. 

• Students can take any of these classes for credit or audit.  
• Scholarships are available to HORT majors.  
• Students who work in the industry are eligible to pay the in-county tuition rate.  
• Senior registration starts on August 24 - Maryland residents who are 60 years of age or older at the time of registration pay only fees.  



For further information about the program/courses see the flyer or contact:  

Steve Dubik – steve.dubik@montgomerycollege.edu  

Golden Summer: Tomatoes and Tomatillos

By Erica Smith, Montgomery County Master Gardener

Moths in the Landscape

By Miri Talabac,  Horticulturist, University of Maryland Extension Home & Garden Information Center

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.