Sandy Spring Museum Garden Club
General Meeting and Program – February 8
Bring
back the butterflies! Join the Garden Club 3-5pm (note time change due
to the Winter Farmer’s Market open from 10-2pm at the museum) for an in-depth presentation
on Creating Monarch Waystations from renowned naturalist and
conservation specialist, Denise Gibbs. Learn about the state of various
species of butterflies and the basics of butterfly gardening. To get
a jump on the spring, we will launch our own conservation project by
propagating the native milkweeds that are essential to the monarch life
cycle.
Connecting People and Monarchs
Resources Guide for Parks, Nature Centers & Nature Preserves
Compiled by Denise Gibbs, Monarch Conservation Specialist, Monarch Watch, d.gibbs@monarchwatch.org
in cooperation with Monarch Joint Venture and National Recreation & Park Association
Where to purchase milkweed plants
Monarch Watch’s Milkweed Market http://monarchwatch.org/milkweed/market/
(pesticide-free plugs, species native to your ecoregion)
Other milkweed vendors
http://monarchwatch.org/milkweed/market/index.php?function=search&table_name=vendors
State by state: contact your local arboretum and local native plant society for info on native plant sales.
Free milkweed plants for schools and nonprofits
Monarch Watch http://monarchwatch.org/bring-back-the-monarchs/milkweed/free-milkweeds
Where to purchase milkweed seeds
The Xerces Society’s Project Milkweed “Find Sources of Native Milkweed in Your State, Milkweed Seed Finder”
http://www.xerces.org/milkweed/
Monarch Watch’s Monarch Waystation Seed Kit: http://monarchwatch.org/waystations/seed_kit.html
For Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions: Ernst Conservation Seeds http://www.ernstseed.com/
Collecting milkweed seeds
Nicole Hamilton of the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy shows you how to remove seeds from the milkweed
seedpod in this YouTube video-- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7LV1tDHK1c
Monarch Joint Venture; hand collecting and mechanical harvesting
http://monarchjointventure.org/news-events/news/milkweed-seed-harvesting-and-prairie-restoration
Maryland Native Plant Society’s guidelines for responsible collecting of native plant seeds
http://www.mdflora.org/Resources/Publications/GardenersGuidelines/gguidelines02.pdf
Native Plant Society of Texas, collecting milkweed seeds, with photos showing perfect time for harvesting
seedpods at http://npsot.org/wp/story/2014/5885/
Creative ideas for sowing or broadcasting seeds
Seed balls http://organicgardening.about.com/od/organicgardening101/ht/How-To-Make-Seed-Balls.htm
Save the dates: April 12 Courtyard Gardening Social and Plant Swap May 16 Garden Tour June 6 Strawberry Festival Visit our Facebook page: Sandy Spring Museum Garden Club
Everyone seemed to really “be Inspired” by the 2015 Sandy Spring Museum Garden Tour. All of the gardens were simply spectacular. We are very grateful to the garden owners that welcomed us. The Ex Libris Ensemble was a delightful treat as we enjoyed our delicious box lunches. It was a wonderful to view the Plein Air Artist’s impressions of the gardens while we partook of wine and hors d’oeuvres at the “Wine in the Garden.” Even the weather cooperated until the very end.
