President’s Letter - December 2025

MCMG President Linda Barrett

By MG Linda Barrett

The Master Gardener volunteer season is just about over for 2025. Thank you to all the Master Gardeners and Interns for your amazing work this past year. The depth and breadth of your knowledge is astounding. The compassion and care I saw demonstrated when working with children in garden activities truly touched my heart. And teamwork is clearly the MG super power when planning, preparing, and presenting an activity or event. For all that you do – thank you!

I'd also like to personally thank MG Meipo Martin for leading EIGHT "Knife Sharpening" classes on her own time, for a bunch of our MGs and interns.

A few reminders:

1. Please work on entering your volunteer hours into VMS now – please don't wait until the end of the year.
2. Please plan to attend the MG Potluck Holiday Party and Awards on Thursday, December 4. Please bring an entree, salad, appetizer, or desert. We will also have a canned/boxed food drive, a seed swap, and a gift exchange. Lunch begins at noon in The Heritage at the Fairgrounds.
3. Interns – please complete the Intern Survey (sent by email on November 19) by December 5.

Best wishes for a Happy Holiday and relaxing New Year!

Sincerely,
Linda

MCMG Holiday Party and Awards

A 2023 centerpiece.
Photo: MG Len Friedman

By MG Carol Kosary

It's that time again! You are invited to the annual Montgomery County Master Gardener's Holiday Party. The party will take place on Thursday, December 4 starting at noon at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds – The Heritage in Gaithersburg.

 

Sign up here to bring your favorite dish whether it be a salad, an appetizer, a main dish, or a dessert. Please try to bring enough for eight to 10 people. Whatever you bring, please label it and, if it is gluten free, vegetarian, vegan, or contains nuts, please include that on your label. Drinks will be provided.

MG awards for Outstanding Service and Lifetime Achievement will be presented at this event. For those who are interested, we will also be doing a Holiday Gift Exchange. Limit your gift to the $10-25 range. In addition, for the first time, we will be holding a Seed Exchange. Finally, we will also be holding a food drive for the Manna Food Center.

The 2024 gift exchange table.
Photo: MG Len Friedman

This is an opportunity to volunteer for set-up or clean-up duty. This is a great way – and probably your last opportunity – to earn volunteer hours for 2025! We will set up on Thursday morning (December 4) beginning around 10 am. Clean-up will start when the party ends.

 

And of course, feel free to bring guests.

Swap Seeds at the Holiday Party

Photo: Deejriley, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

By MG Anne Ruth

This year, the Master Gardeners will be hosting a seed swap at the annual Holiday Party on December 4. Don’t miss out on this new fun way to celebrate the season. The only things required to participate in the swap are some seeds and a desire to share them with your fellow MGs while getting new seeds for yourself. Come join the fun and get into the holiday spirit by giving and receiving!

If you want to participate in the seed swap, please arrive by noon to get your seeds entered. Here’s how the seed swap will work. When you arrive at the party, place your seed packet(s) in the appropriate box at the seed swap table. The boxes will be labeled as follows: Tomatoes; Other Vegetables/Fruits; Herbs; Native Ornamental Plants; and Non-Native Ornamental Plants. At some point during the party, participants will be allowed to take seed packets brought by other participants. When the time comes to choose your seeds, you may take up to the number of seed packets that you brought to the swap.

To prepare for the seed swap, please follow some general guidelines:

• You may bring seeds that you have saved/collected or purchased, and you either have too many of them or no longer want them.

• Please do your best to bring seeds that are viable. In general, seeds should be less than three years old; however, you should also use your experience, knowledge, and judgment. Many commercial seed companies offer helpful longevity charts; here is one such example.

• Bring as many seed packets as you would like. You are encouraged to bring a few packets of different types of seeds rather than many of the same type.

• Each seed packet should contain a reasonable number of seeds. A pinch of seeds is sufficient.

• Please do not bring seeds from the following types of plants:

• Invasive plants.

• Patented plants.

• Hybrid or cross-pollinated plants, unless otherwise marked/saved with

 specific techniques to prevent unwanted cross-pollination.

Photo: MG Janet Young

Please make sure that your seeds are placed in sealed envelopes. These envelopes can be as simple or as fancy as you would like. The envelopes should be labeled with the following information:

• Name (and variety, if applicable) of the plant and the year that the seed was collected or commercially processed.

• Optional: Any additional information that you think would be helpful. This might include: 

• Germination information. For example, does the seed require stratification?  If so, for how long? How long does it take for the seed to germinate?

• Growing requirements for the mature plant, such as sun/shade and soil moisture needs.

• The plant’s botanical name.

• Little growing tips, or fun facts about the seed/plant.

• You may also include your name if you would like, but do not have to do so.

If you need some inspiration, the UMD Home and Garden Information Center has a helpful tutorial on making your own seed packets. 

Enjoy selecting your seeds to bring to the swap while cleaning out your seed boxes and dreaming of next year’s garden. If you have any questions, please contact MGs Terri Valenti or Anne Ruth (see VMS for email addresses).

End-of-Year Call for Photos

Photos: Derwood fall color by MG Susan Kirby; Scotland's Inveraray Castle by MG Ann Claxton;
Camel decorating in India by MG Wendy Bell

By MG Len Friedman

It’s time to start submitting your photos for the 2025 MCMG Photo Show. Photos can include any MG activities or events, your home garden, and gardens you’ve visited in the area, as well as U.S. or international travel photos. You can include pets, wildlife, and anything of particular interest. You can view last year’s show for ideas. 

Email your photos taken this year to MG Len Friedman (see VMS for email address) as .jpg attachments. Pick your best images of each type since I often get more than 500 to select from! Please include where the photo was taken, anything of note in the photo, the names of any MGs (left to right), and who took the photo; it’s helpful if you put this information in the filename. Try to send images that are 1MB or greater in size so the resolution will be sufficient to allow editing if needed. Submissions must be made no later than December 31, 2025. 

MGs Support Waters Landing Community Event

Photo: UMD Extension

By MG Intern Tracy Katoski

The Waters Landing Community Association invited Montgomery County Master Gardeners to participate in their Community Expo on Saturday, October 11. MGs Linda Davis and Geri Drymalski, along with MG Intern Tracy Katoski, staffed the event at Waters Landing Elementary School.

Since this was the first opportunity for MGs to be involved, we weren’t sure how it would go. It was a beautiful early fall day, with warm sunshine and a slight cool breeze. The doors opened at 11 am, and a large crowd arrived. Over the course of three hours, 58 visitors stopped by the MG table.

Linda brought seed packets to give away, which were very popular. Many questions arose, especially from children, about the Spotted Lanternfly. Geri shared helpful information, including advice to start looking for egg clusters now. She showed pictures of what the clusters look like and where to find them.

Since October is Fire Safety Month, we also brought a detailed visual aid on fire-resistant landscaping and plants, created by MG Intern Janice Ruggles for the 100th anniversary of the Kensington Volunteer Fire Department. We displayed examples of different landscaping materials. Many visitors found these interesting and took the fire safety brochures available.

Visitors to the MG table were enthusiastic and interested in what we had to offer. Three visitors expressed strong interest in joining the Master Gardener program. It was truly a wonderful experience. A big thank you to Linda and Geri for sharing their knowledge and expertise.

I hope the Montgomery County Master Gardeners will have another chance to attend this event next year. If we do, we should definitely bring more seed packets — the children loved them! 

Speakers Bureau Ramping Up for 2026

Incoming Speakers Bureau
Chair Joel Patton

By MG Joel Patton

The Montgomery County Master Gardener Speakers Bureau continues to support our mission of educating residents about safe, effective, and sustainable horticultural practices that build healthy gardens, landscapes, and communities. This past year has seen a change in leadership, with MCMG Coordinator Steve Dubik and MG Joel Patton guiding our experienced and dedicated speakers, schedulers, and staff through new initiatives intended to increase engagement throughout the county. In 2025, we piloted a children’s program with a small group of dedicated speakers, and in 2026, expect to see the launch of an updated website and marketing campaign designed to increase target audience size, expand outreach to new organizations, and explore the development of new topics.

This year, our team of over 20 knowledgeable speakers provided more than 60 presentations to garden clubs, libraries, and scouting organizations on a range of topics, including Integrated Pest Management practices, native plants, composting, stormwater management, and Bay-Wise best practices. Needless to say, none of this would be possible without MGs who have committed their time and effort to make the Speakers Bureau a success. If any MG is interested in becoming a speaker or has an idea for a topic, they should contact Steve (sdubik@umd.edu) or Joel (see VMS for his email address).

President’s Letter - November 2025

By MG Linda Barrett

I'd like to start with a huge thank you to all the Master Gardeners and Interns who volunteered with Harvest Festival and/or Close Encounters with Agriculture. I received overwhelmingly positive comments about both events. Harvest Festival is always a fall favorite, with children's garden-related games, a tussie mussie workshop, tours of the demonstration garden, as well as plant clinic and other committee tables. This year Close Encounters with Agriculture was updated to make it leaner and provide a couple more minutes per station. Our Master Gardeners and Interns matched the 4th graders’ energy and excitement, as they shared Environmental, Nutrition, and Agricultural lessons.

I'd also like to thank MG Joel Patton for becoming the chairperson of the Speaker's Bureau and MG Dara Ballow-Giffen for becoming the Community Events chairperson. We look forward to their organizational skills and leadership.

 

I look forward to seeing many of you at our November membership meeting on November 6. It has been wonderful to get together in person during 2025. In December, we will come together to celebrate our individual and collective accomplishments at the Holiday Party and Awards Ceremony.

 

Last chance for nominations! Remember to send me your nominations for the Outstanding Service Award (open to any MG) and the Lifetime Achievement Award (open to MGs with 15 or more years of experience). Last month’s article describes how to find eligible people and view examples of past award writeups. Email me your nominations by November 1.

 

As always, I'm filled with much gratitude for all that you do in support of the Montgomery County Master Gardeners program!

 

Linda 

Little Free Seed Library Installed in Derwood

Photo: MG Dave Ottalini

By MG Dave Ottalini

The Little Free Library at the Agricultural History Farm Park - near the Derwood Demonstration Garden - now sports a Little Free Seed Library (LFSL)! Thanks to MCMG Coordinator Steve Dubik, we were finally able to get the appropriate approvals for installation from Montgomery Parks. It was installed by Dave Ottalini on September 24. 

Thanks to our Demo Garden leaders for agreeing to keep an eye on the LFSL and adding a few seed packets as necessary. If you’re going up to Derwood, take a look. The motto, modeled after that of  the Little Free Library, is "Take a Seed Packet, Share a Seed Packet." We plan to register the LFSL with the Seed Library Network (detailed in the October UME State MG Newsletter).

By the way - the Little Free Library folks sell the perfect “box” for LFSLs as well. They are built to provide dog treats, but work perfectly for seeds and are easy to install.

Kensington Volunteer Fire Department Centennial Celebration

MG Interns Janice Ruggles and Pela Soto, MG Chris Ceder

Photo: J. Pothress

By MG Intern Pela Soto

Montgomery County Master Gardeners were invited to a community event celebrating 100 years of service by the Kensington Volunteer Fire Department (KVFD) on Saturday, October 4. To fit in with the theme, KVFD asked MGs to present information on fire resistant landscaping and plants.

Several MGs jumped in and helped to create an evidence-based resource to share, but MG Intern Janice Ruggles deserves special credit. Janice created a comprehensive visual aid using published materials from several sources, including Firewise Maryland and the National Fire Protection Association. We also had examples of different types of landscaping materials and their relative fire safety, as well as examples of plants that are fire resistant (there are no fireproof plants!) and those with higher contents of oils or resins, which are recommended to be farther away from a home. Rubber mulch and pine needles have the highest combined combustible characteristics, according to a study that evaluated flame height, rate of spread, and temperature. 

In addition to Janice, MG Chris Ceder and MG Intern Pela Soto staffed the event. Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers provided KVFD a $50 gift certificate for the MG table to give away in a raffle. Overall it was a successful event and we each learned something new about creating a more fire resistant landscape. The materials used will be stored in the Ballard Room at the Derwood Extension Office. If you think they could be useful at a future event, be sure to ask your event lead if you can include them.

President's Letter – October 2025

 

By MG Linda Barrett

Fall is one of my favorite times of year. Cooler temperatures and falling leaves are a welcome change from the sweltering heat and humidity of summer. It's fun to watch native plant seeds and stalks dry up and provide food and shelter for wildlife.

If you haven’t already, please consider volunteering with Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 4, or Close Encounters with Agriculture on weekdays throughout October. We really need your help! 

We’d love to have you share your time and talents in a leadership position. Six years ago, I took on a committee chair job in order to learn more about the Urban Gardening committee and how it fit into the MCMG organization. I've enjoyed working with some amazing MGs and interns and have learned so much. Please email me if you'd like to discuss a leadership opportunity.

The following leadership positions are open:

• Second Vice President

• Community Events co-chair

• Speakers Bureau scheduler

• MG Plant Swap organizer 

You can read about these positions on our website. If interested, contact Nominating Committee chair MG Dave Ottalini using his contact information in VMS. 

Thank you for all you do to support our MG mission!

Linda

17th Annual Fall Conference

By MG Alison Edwards

The 17th Annual Fall Conference will be held on Thursday, October 9, 2025 from 9 am to approximately 1 pm. MGs can earn up to 3.5 Continuing Education hours for attending the conference. Please sign into Zoom using your full name per University of Maryland policy. (See the October newsletter for the Zoom link.)

The agenda includes general MCMG membership announcements and presentation of the 2026 slate of MCMG board members, followed by three guest speakers. We will take 10-minute breaks between each speaker. Conference speakers’ presentations will be recorded and posted on the MCMG website as soon as possible, but only live participants will be able to pose questions in the Zoom chat. All MCMG members are encouraged to attend!

Our program will feature the following topics and speakers:

Eva Monheim
      Photo: courtesy of Eva Monheim      

Assisted Plant Migration Helps to Expand Our Native Plant Palette for Climate Change

Eva Monheim, Co-Principal of Verdant Earth Educators

How can we help plant species to move northward as temperatures rise? The disruption of our highways and other man-made structures inhibits plant movement, including buildings and heavily paved surfaces. In this talk, we look at the role humans play in helping to move plants as well as helping animals to move more freely to aid in seed dispersal.

Ben Gregory Photo: UMD Department of Entomology

Natural Mosquito Control

Ben Gregory, PhD Student, Megan Fritz Lab

Ben will talk about our local species of mosquitoes in Maryland and the disease risks they present, and how natural landscaping/ecologically-friendly urban planning can mitigate those risks.

Dr. Karin Burghardt Photo: UMD Department of Entomology

Selecting Trees for Resilience and Landscape Biodiversity
Dr. Karin Burghardt, UMD Assistant Professor

Municipalities and states are ramping up their tree-planting efforts to expand canopy cover and provide ecosystem services, such as shade, biodiversity support, and stormwater management. Achieving these goals requires not just planting trees, but ensuring they survive and thrive in often harsh urban environments. Because heat and pavement are unevenly distributed across cities, species selection and site-specific planning are critical. This talk presents strategies for building resilient, biodiverse urban forests through targeted species choices, with preliminary findings from a field study in Baltimore, MD, on the performance of native street trees. We will also discuss incorporating evidence-based cultural IPM principles into suburban plantings and gardens to decrease the risk of pest outbreaks in yards while increasing the ecosystem and biodiversity
services provided by those spaces.