Sunday, September 1, 2024

September 2024 Newsletter of the Sandy Spring Museum Garden Club

Garden Club News

The Extraordinary Lives of Honey Bees

How they make babies, honey, wax, fill our dinner plates, and are the smartest insect.

Sunday September 8, 2024, 2-4pm

Learn...

· Why honey bees are irreplaceable (how they are unlike any other insect or pollinator)

· How a colony of 10's of thousands of honey bees behaves as a single animal

· How honey bees make honey (very labor intensive!) and where honey gets its flavor.

· How honey bees make more honey bees (bizarre and always deadly)

· What is killing the bees, and how you can help them

· Loads of fascinating bee facts you can take home to impress your friends... including "No male honey bee has a father, only a grandfather." And you will be able to effortlessly identify the gender of any honey bee you see on flowers in your garden!

Our speaker, Phil Frank, is a science journalist, writer, TV producer, and director of non-fiction films. His programs have been seen on CNN, Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, Science Channel, A&E, Travel Channel, Headline News, History Channel, TLC, NY Times website, Washington Post website, and international channels. While producing a National Geographic program about mass animal die-offs, Phil became fascinated by honey bees. In 2014, he started his first hive and now has 15 hives on his deck, and one glass walled hive in his kitchen where he studies busy bees year round. Phil developed and runs websites for the Maryland State Beekeepers Association and Maryland’s Montgomery County Beekeepers Association. He designs beekeeping curricula and teaches honey bee biology for beekeepers. After years of study, he earned a Master Beekeeper certification from Eastern Apicultural Society.

Phil recently coauthored and published 'Hive Tour' a photo-rich book showing the extraordinary lives of honey bees.

There will be time for a Q & A.

Light refreshments will be served.

The Garden Club plant sale table will be available.

Admission to this event is free for Museum Members (use promo code memberssm).

There is a $10 fee for nonmembers.

Please register at www.Sandy Spring Museum.org

or call 301-774-0022

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Upcoming Events

Managing Stormwater Runoff and Increasing Biodiversity in the Home Landscape with RainScapes

Sunday November 10, 2024

2pm – 4pm

Come and learn about how to evaluate your home landscape for stormwater runoff opportunities and what kinds of solutions have worked in Montgomery County! The focus will be on showing predominantly native RainScapes gardens that are managing stormwater and providing beautiful biodiversity benefits too.

Bio: Ann English, PLA, ASLA, LEED® AP BD+C, CBLP 1 &2( D+I) has a life-long love of plants and nature. Her design work has been in the private, non-profit, governmental as well as the academic sectors. Her focus is designing with plants that perform well in the environments in which they are planted, with emphasis on stormwater management. She has degrees in American History/ Architectural History (BA, Penn) Regional Planning (MRP, Penn State) and Landscape Architecture (MLA, UGA) and is the manager of the Montgomery County RainScapes Program of the Department of Environmental Protection and has been gardening since she first planted tulips and zinnias with her father at age 5.

Light refreshments will be served.

Hosted by the Sandy Spring Museum Garden Club, a plant sale will be held concurrently

Free admission with registration at www.SandySpringMuseum.org

Or call 301-774-0022

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Summer Wildlife in Our Gardens

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Montgomery County Fair

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The Sandy Spring Museum Garden Club is an activity group of the Sandy Spring Museum. Our activities can be found on the Garden Club webpage: https://www.sandyspringmuseum.org/programs-and-events/garden-club/.

Thursday, August 1, 2024

August 2024 Newsletter of the Sandy Spring Museum Garden Club

Garden Club News

Christmas in July

In preparation for our December Greens Sale, our elves made itty bitty bows and medium sized bows, hurricane bases and wreath forms. Look for more fun projects at our Spooky Workshop on October 20th.

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Looking Ahead

The Extraordinary Lives of Honey Bees

How they make babies, honey, wax, fill our dinner plates, and are the smartest insect.

Sunday September 8, 2024, 2-4pm

Learn about:

· Why honey bees are irreplaceable (how they are unlike any other insect or pollinator)

· How a colony of 10's of thousands of honey bees behaves as a single animal

· How honey bees make honey (very labor intensive!) and where honey gets its flavor.

· How honey bees make more honey bees (bizarre and always deadly)

· What is killing the bees, and how you can help them

Phil recently coauthored and published 'Hive Tour' a photo-rich book showing the extraordinary bees.

Light refreshments will be served.

The Garden Club plant sale table will be available.

Admission to this event is free for Museum Members. There is a $10 fee for nonmembers.

Please register at www.SandySpringMuseum.org or call 301-774-0022

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Eat your weeds!

Common purslane, Portulaca oleracea, is a highly variable, weedy plant in the purslane family (Portulacaceae) with a wide distribution. Although it is likely native to North Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent, it had reached North America by pre-Columbian times and was in Europe by the late 16th century. It is now naturalized in most parts of the world, both tropical and temperate – equally at home in flower beds, cultivated fields, and roadsides or other disturbed or waste places. It has been grown for more than 4,000 years as a food and medicinal plant and is still cultivated in many places today.

Common purslane is a low-growing plant with succulent leaves.

It is considered quite nutritious because it is unusually high in omega-3 fatty acids (found mostly in fish and flax seeds) and contains significant amounts of vitamins A and C, as well as calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium and antioxidants. It also contains high amounts of oxalates (just as spinach does) so should not be consumed excessively by those susceptible to forming kidney stones. It is sometimes used as fodder and is fed to poultry to reduce egg cholesterol and was also used traditionally as an ointment for burns. Some other common names include garden purslane, little hogweed, pusley, and wild portulaca. It’s called pourpier in France and verdolaga in Mexico.
Purslane is a fast-growing herbaceous annual with succulent leaves and stems. Even the oblong cotyledons (seed leaves) are succulent. The multiple smooth, reddish stems originating from a single taproot are mostly prostrate, forming a mat covering up to 3 feet in diameter. Depending on the amount of moisture available, the plant may be quite low-growing or more erect up to 16″ tall.

https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/common-purslane-portulaca-oleracea/

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Goldfinch eyeing the zinnias for a tasty treat

* The flower in the August photo above is a Brugmansia arborea or Angel's Trumpet

Sunday, June 30, 2024

July 2024 Newsletter of the Sandy Spring Museum Garden Club

Garden Club News

The SSM Garden Club Greens Sale

Every year in December the Garden Club holds a fundraiser to fund our many activities at the Museum, support facility improvements and maintain the lovely courtyard and entrance gardens. The gardens provide a backdrop for weddings, concerts, games, and garden parties.

There are many steps to preparation for the Greens Sale:

Inventory evaluation and purchase of needed items
Christmas in July - Our first "workshop". A fun gathering of members and friends who enjoy a few hours in which we prepare the foundations, make bows and decorate natural items for our final products.
Spooky Workshop - Another fun-filled event to finish our preparations.
Orders - Products for the sale are advertised to the SSM membership and volunteers call the recipients of past orders.
Greens Cutting - Several dates in November when small groups of members go to various homes in the area to cut the greens - white pine, cryptomeria, boxwood, umbrella pine, holly, arborvitae and chamaecyparis.
Preparing the Greens - All those cut branches need to be cut into usable sizes and put into containers of water outside the building.
Greens Workshops - Two weeks in November/December filled with daily workshops led by skilled members, each workshop making a specific item. New and experienced members are encouraged to help.
Greens Sale - The final products are available for pickup.
Clean Up - Containers need to be emptied and washed, supplies organized.

We hope all members will come to support and enjoy many of these activities in the months to come. The final products are amazing!

Garden Pics

Mockingbird enjoying a blueberry

3 Fox Pond Garden in Potomac

Flag day arrangement made at Friends

Nursing Care and Assisted Living

Gardens surround the Big Shoe at Clark's Elioak Farm, Ellicott City

Other July Happenings

July 6, 10-2 Annual Daylily Sale and Exhibition

Meadowlark Botanical Garden

https://www.novaparks.com/parks/meadowlark-botanical-gardens/events

July 19-21 Lotus and Water Lily Festival

Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens

https://www.nps.gov/keaq/index.htm

July 27-28 Annual Farm Tour and Harvest Sale in Montgomery County

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/agservices/farm-to-table/farm-tour.html

Friday, May 31, 2024

June 2024 Newsletter of the Sandy Spring Museum Garden Club

Thank you to our Garden Tour Committee and wonderful volunteers.

On behalf of the SSM Garden Club 2024 Garden Tour, we would like to extend our appreciation to all our volunteers for the Garden Tour. You were all a ray of sunshine on an otherwise gloomy and rainy day.

Despite the weather, we had a good turnout. Our guests enjoyed admiring the gardens and historical homes. Our volunteers provided a gracious greeting, garden information and identified design concepts that dealt with water abatement.

A huge Thank You to our garden owners who prepped their gardens for a visit from close to 100 guests and volunteers, provided tables and chairs and cover from the rain and made themselves available to answer questions, identify plants and share the history of their garden.

Garden Club News

The honored recipient of the 2024 Mary Rice Award, Pat Ebner, presented at the Museum's annual meeting in May.

In May, several members visited two beautiful azalea gardens

Looking Ahead...Christmas in July
July 21, 1-4 pm

We invite all members to don their elf hats and join the festivities in the Museum basement. We will be preparing forms and containers and crafting bows for the 2024 Greens Sale. Come make new friends, chat with old friends and enjoy the delicious snacks.

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

May 2024 Newsletter of the Sandy Spring Museum Garden Club

May 18, 2024 10-4

Buy your tickets NOW HERE by May 1 to have them mailed to you. Orders received after this date can be picked up at the Museum before Friday the 17th or on Saturday the 18th before 10 am.

Details of the Gardens

Garden One

Four years ago, the owners moved from an ecologically diverse Houston, Texas to their current location. She had gardens in Texas and was accustomed to an area with several micro-climates and a variety of plant and animal species. The new, larger suburban yard had the usual foundation plantings and arborvitae, but none of the animals, including lizards and butterflies. Homesick for the rich variety of flora and fauna, she decided to create a wildlife oasis/corridor using Maryland Piedmont native plants. She created a design plan and started on a journey of research, discovery and transition. Four years of trial and error and meticulous record keeping have transformed the once typical suburban lot into an exquisite example of native Piedmont plantings. More than 100 varieties of labeled specimens grace the garden, which now attract pollinators, salamanders, birds, and mammals of all sizes. Although she is a Piedmont native plant purist, she also has organic vegetable and herb gardens and one non-native plant (can you spot it?). Entering the small front yard, you are greeted by a Never Forget Garden, a volunteer project that was occasioned by the national Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to ensure the millions of America’s war dead are forever honored and remembered. Bee balm, Joe Pye, redbud, false indigo and blue flag iris fill out the crescent moon design. More native perennials and woody shrubs flank the front of the house. Edging the fence line are dogwood, Virginia sweetspire, blue star, golden alexander and more. The back of the yard has been designed as a natural meadow with a variety of native grasses, perennials, and small trees. Two raised vegetable beds and a series of hexagon-shaped herb gardens are at home in the side yard. A recirculating water feature emulates a natural spring. An amazing highlight is a beautifully designed set of four rain gardens with a simulated dry riverbed connecting them. In the past, runoff from the slope and the neighbor’s gutters led to a standing pool of water next to the house. Now, the rain gardens and permeable sidewalk have transformed this area into a practical and pleasing solution. Any gardener with a small, ordinary yard and desire to create an environmentally friendly and native garden will find this stellar garden inspirational.

Garden Two

The historic home has been around since 1837. Like many old country homes, the grounds and gardens were as important as the main house. There are four original structures including the main house, caretaker’s house, spring house and smokehouse. The stone barn ruins were re-configured as an enclosed garden including a meditation garden. A variety of pollinator plants invite multitudes of butterflies in the summer. The carriage house and the ice house pool were rebuilt in the spirit of the original structures and a small greenhouse was added. The main house sits atop a slope with views of 27 acres and is home to several champion trees. The bordering woodlands offer trails for restorative nature walks. Ten acres of meadow filled with wildflowers and grasses provide shelter and food for wildlife. The spring house still provides water that feeds several ponds and leads to the Patuxent River. Over the last ten years the owners have created an appealing, cottage-like effect using less formal design and planting more deer and disease resistant varieties. Visitors will delight in leisurely wandering this peaceful and pastoral property.

Garden Three

At the end of a long, tree-lined driveway, visitors will discover this home, circa 1856. Four years ago, the owners purchased the six acre historic property. The main house, loom house and smokehouse needed repair and restoration. The long- neglected grounds were a tangled mess of overgrown vines, invasives, brush and dead trees. A landscape designer, he began a renovation and ongoing metamorphosis to repair the notable structures and recover the natural habitat. Preserving the established, ancient hardwood trees was a prime concern. Mature gum, hickory, gingko as well as champion and nationally recognized specimens are only a few of the standing giants. After much clearing, grading, cultivating and transplanting, the patchwork of gardens began to fill out. Both native and ornamental plants were used to create the gardens and complement the historic structures. Many native woody shrubs, trees, perennials, and grasses provide year-round interest. Visitors are welcome to wander the pathed loops through the bordering woods The lower acre of the property is under development to become a natural meadow. There are peonies that date back to the 1800’s and a sapling tree cloned from the famous Eastern Shore Wye Oak. Under construction is a rainscape that uses runoff from an underground culvert to feed a rock-lined stream with two retention ponds. Visitors should keep an eye open for the gargoyle lurking in a tree stump niche.

Garden Four

Thirty years ago, the owners moved into a fixer upper that needed lots of TLC. The selling point was the quiet, woodsy neighborhood and the two acre lot that overlooked a picturesque pond. The new homestead was dubbed Pond’s Edge. Except for the large, mature trees, the landscape had minimal personality and no garden presence. Since then, they have been on a journey of experimentation and transformation. With an eye toward a self-sustaining landscape that would thrive for years with minimal maintenance, they began identifying the natural habitats and microclimates of the property. Many transplantings, modifications and innovative ideas have resulted in an ecosystem of multiple gardens. The front of the property is home to a tall tree garden with hellebores, coral bells, summer sweet and more. A stone drainage path curves down the slope of the garden. Further down the slope is the dog run and garden with a variety of grasses, perennials, woody shrubs and changing annuals. The lawn is in transition to a natural meadow. Several smaller gardens support deer resistant plantings. Various varieties of milkweed interplanted with butterfly bush, Joe Pye, beebalm, chokeberry and annuals provide food and shelter for many beneficial and pollinator insects. Rounding to the back of the property you will find more gardens. The grounds are a prime example of inventiveness, experimentation and an enthusiastic appreciation and understanding of the natural environment.

Locally grown plants, including heirloom tomatoes and herbs, will be available for purchase at garden four.

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PLEASE CONSIDER

BEING A

VOLUNTEER

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Our April Program

Gardening Intensely in Small Spaces, from Patios to Balconies to Rooftops, by Kathy Jentz

Kathy discussed the challenges of urban small gardening as described in her newest book. Some of the techniques she suggested include:

Create a focal point
Frame the view
Use mirrors and light
Repeat design elements
Joy in Repetition
Right plant, right place
Go vertical
Use plants as screening
Espalier

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Native Plants

WHY USE NATIVE PLANTS? Native or indigenous plants naturally occur in the region in which they evolved. They are adapted to local soil, rainfall and temperature conditions, and have developed natural defenses to many insects and diseases. Because of these traits, native plants will grow with minimal use of water, fertilizers, and pesticides. Wildlife species evolve with plants; therefore, they use native plant communities as their habitat. Using native plants helps preserve the balance and beauty of natural ecosystems.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

A list of native plants for the Maryland Piedmont Region is available https://www.nrc.gov/doc/ML1033/ML103360124.pdf

Start a New Habitat, Home Grown National Park answers the questions -"why grow native plants". It is filled with resources and videos by Doug Tallamy, renowned entomologist and ecologist.

"Research shows that using native plants is the best way to create a haven for pollinators like native bees and butterflies and even to attract beneficial insects that will help the rest of your garden. Why? Over millennia, native insects and native plants have co-evolved and reached an intricate balance. Many insects can only eat the plants they co-evolved with.

Native plants provide the abundance of seed, berries, and habitat required by our native bird species. Not only that, but by supporting robust native insect populations, native plants are indirectly responsible for providing the insect food that most baby song birds require."

https://extension.umd.edu/resource/why-include-native-plants-your-garden/

Sandy Spring is located in the Piedmont plateau of Maryland

This website has valuable information on native plants, tours to see native plants, Zoom monthly programs, plant sources and plant ID.

The University of Maryland Extension has a list of recommended native plants for Maryland.

At Plant Virginia Natives you will find a list of Northern Piedmont plants.