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Anne Arundel County Master Gardener News | |
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December Meeting: Master Gardener 2022 Holiday Party
Don't miss this year's Holiday Party!
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Come one, come all but definitely COME! This year's party will be a completely new experience and whether you are a new-ish MG or a veteran, you won't want to miss it. Not only is it a wonderfully relaxed evening of reconnecting with other MG's, but it is a chance to admire and maybe win a unique raffle prize. If you haven't RSVP'd, please do so ASAP to either Cindy Wells, cwells5953@cs.com, or Janet Clauson, janet.clauson301@gmail.com.
If you are feeling really generous and/or creative, why not concoct a raffle prize yourself? Prizes can be purchased items or they can be hand-made but by contributing to the Holiday Raffle, you help raise money for our organization and send some lucky MG winner home with a treasure. No fancy dress required, antlers always welcome!
Our potluck dinner is thanks to you and your fellow MG's. Food assignments this year are:
A-C - Appetizer
D-K - Salad or Vegetable dish
L-U - Main dish
V-Z - Dessert
Dishes should serve about 6-8 people. We won't have electricity but Sternos are OK. If you bring a vegetarian or gluten-free option, it would help to label it.
Thank you all and we look forward to seeing you Thursday, December 15th, at 7pm at the Trinity United Methodist Church in Annapolis.
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Tawes Garden's New Self-Guided Tour
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Beginning in November 2022, Tawes Garden offers visitors a way to learn all about the various areas of interest within the garden. A new, self-guided tour allows visitors to use their mobile phone and QR codes on informational placards throughout the garden to learn about the history of Tawes as well as extended descriptions of the various geographical areas and features of the garden. Visitors will learn how Tawes Garden began as a cinder parking lot which hosted occasional traveling carnivals. QR codes on informational signs make it easy to delve into about a dozen areas of interest within the garden. The tour is an easy way for adults and familes with children to learn about, for example, the "knees" of the Bald Cypress in the Stream Environment area of Tawes. One highlighted area of particular note to AA County Master Gardeners is the Plant Mural which has been an MG project for many years. Over the past two years, with the help of grants from Unity Gardens, the Plant Mural has undergone a transformation from a showcase garden of labor-intensive annual plantings to one that features diverse native perennials that feed, host and protect native pollinators.
If you are in the area of the DNR Building on Taylor Avenue, stop into Tawes and spend a lovely half hour touring this hidden gem of Annapolis. The garden has paved paths, is free and is open year-round.
MG's will wind up a busy year at Tawes in early December.
Co-chairs Kathy Devine and Cindy Wells want to thank the dozens of MG's who helped us this year. We accomplished a great deal and none of it would have happened without your help.
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Master Gardener Project Reports
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The 2022 Apprentice Garden season has closed for the season. By mid- November all planting areas were cleared of vegetable debris and crimson clover cover crop planted. Some very late season tomatoes, peppers and gherkins were harvested in the last weeks. Kinder Farm Park turned off the water November 1 and the community garden season is officially over. The Co-chairs will continue to do monthly garden checks throughout the winter and early spring, and informal planning has already begun for next season.
The Apprentice Garden is a hands-on, organic teaching garden hosted at the community gardens at Kinder Farm Park in Millersville. Eight families with children join our season-long program, from the first of April through September. Each family is assigned an 8’ by 42” plot where they can grow vegetable seeds and sets selected by their family. In addition, they shared in the care and harvest of common
areas planted and maintained by the Master Gardeners.
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The Apprentice Garden thrived with its a new look in 2022. The new layout of the planting areas and pathways worked very well. The center and corners of the garden were dedicated to common planting: the Mediterranean herb garden, strawberry corner, flowers for pollinators, and potatoes and summer vegetables: tomatoes, peppers, basil, beans and tiny gherkins. The plots along the side fences were the family spaces. The wider pathways between the center shared gardens and the family spaces allowed for easier people and equipment/hose access.
In January, we begin planning for the 2023 season. We expect that half of the families will return for a second year, and we hope to include a number of families from our waitlist. In 2023, we will emphasize to the participants that Apprentice Garden is for families and children, and that the children should attend with their parents. There is a strong interest among adults to participate in a program such as Apprentice Garden. Some come with vegetable gardening experience, and many helped in their parents’ gardens and want to reengage in gardening and share the experience with their children.
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We will continue planning the season in February and open the garden in mid March - preparing the planting areas, planting early crops and potatoes, and direct-sowing spring crops.
You are most welcome to join us next year. Master Gardener volunteers, you are welcome to bring your children and grandchildren.
Again, thank you to all the Master Gardener volunteers who participated in the work parties and at our Wednesday evening meetings, and especially to our steady volunteers: Kathy Albers, Wendy Boardman, Kathy Enderle, Lourdes Hergenroeder, and Kristin Silva, and again to the Co-chair, Deb Fritz – source of inspiration and excellent ideas.
Co-chaired by Janet Clauson and Deb Fritz,
Janet: janetclauson301@gmail.com and 410.987.2027
Deb: debfritzdesign@gmail.com and 410.279.1077
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Composting and Native Gardens | |
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The autumn months have been quite busy for the members of the Compost & Native Gardens Project. A months long effort to replace our 20 year old storage shed has been realized. Chris DeSimone, Dennis Krizek, Mike Landymore, Ray Palasik and Bill Wittelsberger each had an integral roll in acquiring materials, excavating and preparing the site as well as assembling the newly purchased shed at the QWP Compost Site. Lisa Schick generously donated pavers for the foundation and steps. Along with these MGs, I’d also like to thank the EAB and Rachel Carey for recognizing the need and approving this much appreciated purchase. Our EAB liaison Deb Fritz worked tirelessly to made this happen.
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In addition to a new shed, the project received 25 different species of native plants from the Re-pollinate Anne Arundel (BeeLab) project. We had two planting sessions and were able to get all in the ground by early October. We look forward to seeing an influx of pollinators next year. | |
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Our last work session and compost demonstration for the public was November 5th. To prepare the compost site and gardens for winter, leaves were raked and added to all of the compost bins, hoses were drained and stored and water barrels emptied. The project will resume in late March/Early April with a site cleanup.
Pam Dennison, Project Chair
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Ann Sawyer with tech support from Jane Shivnan presented “Fall Maintenance for Wildlife” at the November 8 th meeting. The presentation highlighted the work which that the presentation committee has been doing. Our next combined November and December meeting will be virtually on December 7 th from 1:00-3:00. Any interested master gardeners who would like to contribute to the group can contact Ginny Klocko (bgklocko@verizon.net) or Kim Morrow (kabmorrow1@gmail.com) for the zoom link and more information. | |
South County Senior Center | |
We had our last official work day at the South County Senior Center gardens in mid-October. We collected seeds from native flowers but left most of the dead and dying stalks and seed heads for the winter as habitat for birds. We weeded late season weeds, a lot of which were oriental bittersweet sprouts. We also set out signs with QR codes for plants we wanted to highlight on our website. Using the photos we have been taking throughout the summer and fall, we will be working to populate the website with new information over the winter. | |
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The five-acre Helen Avalynne Tawes Garden, located at the Department of Natural Resources building at 540 Taylor Avenue in Annapolis, was named for a former Maryland First Lady whosehusband was Governor from 1959-1967. Prior to construction of the office building in the early1970’s, the garden site was a flat cinder lot, used for parking and traveling carnivals. Beginning in 1975, the garden developers dug ponds, built streams and formed a “mountain” of large native boulders to change the topography to represent the state’s various geographic areas – a Western Maryland forest, a Streamside Environment and an Eastern Shore peninsula.
Today, the Tawes Garden is an urban oasis in Annapolis, offering meandering paths through its gardens, woodlands and waterways. The three geographic areas feature distinctly different plants and trees, many native to Maryland, which offer color and interest throughout the seasons. It is a quiet and beautiful place, open to the public year-round.
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The goal of the Master Gardener project at Tawes is to promote sustainable and environmentally healthy gardening practices while educating the public about the advantages of planting native Maryland and pollinator-friendly plants. One of our key areas of interest is the identification and removal of invasive species. In recent years, Master Gardeners have received generous grants from Unity Gardens to transition the Plant Mural, one of the most beautiful and popular features of the garden, from a garden dedicated to labor-intensive annuals to one that is a showcase for native perennials, providing food and shelter for a host of pollinators.
Master Gardener volunteers meet weekly from April through November. Hours are flexible and we work under the direction of the
Tawes Horticulturist. Activities are season-specific, and include pruning, planting beds and containers, mulching, raking, weeding and removing invasives. We also have occasional field trips to local gardens and brown bag lecture/lunches. Tawes Garden is centrally located. We welcome all new and current Master Gardeners for a day or a season.
Cindy Wells and Kathy Devine, co-chairs
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Virtual Winter Plant Painting Project
Live Zoom Event
December 10, 2022
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Fee: $8.00
REGISTER ONLINE
GreenScapes Symposium
Live Zoom Event
February 17, 2023
9:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Fee: $45.00
REGISTER ONLINE
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