President’s letter – July 2025

By MG Linda Barrett

Hi everyone, 

While recent weather may have contributed to some soggy gardens, Master Gardeners have been keeping busy with a variety of activities. In case you’ve missed any monthly MG meetings, keep in mind that we record the meeting announcements and speakers. These recordings can be accessed using the Monthly Meetings and Events page on the MCMG website. 

During the month of May, 50 first graders visited the Derwood Demonstration Garden. After dividing the students into groups, Garden Educators read them a story, led garden tours, and provided lessons on soil and beans. The children loved “Ms. Pam” (MG Pam Hosimer, University of Maryland Extension Snap-Ed coordinator and MG co-chair of the Garden Educators) and all the Garden Educators. One little girl said, “I love the garden.”

We had a wonderful Spring Potluck Picnic at Derwood on Thursday, June 5. The food was outstanding, and it was great to sit and chat with friends. We distributed five, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years of service pins at the picnic. If you missed picking up your pin, check the Ballard Room at Derwood for your pin. If you’ve asked Steve for a new MG badge, those are also available in the Ballard Room on the bookshelf.

We held our first planning meeting on June 12 for a 2026 Spring Gardening event. Educational activities will focus on the Derwood Demo Garden and also feature information tables on a variety of garden topics. Planning will continue over the summer and details should be available in the fall.

Our new intern class started on Monday, June 2. Classes are in person on Mondays and online on Wednesdays from 9 am-3 pm. The Intern Job Fair was held on Monday, June 23 from 1:50-2:50 pm. Committees created informational displays and interns signed up for activities that they might be interested in to fulfill their volunteer service requirement. 

Looking ahead, we have four large-scale volunteer opportunities coming up soon:

• The Montgomery County Agricultural Fair is August 8-16. MGs and interns will sign up for three-hour shifts at the fair.

• Garden Discovery Day will be held on Saturday, September 27 at the Fairgrounds. Children of all ages are invited to engage in garden related classes. Lots of MGs and interns will be needed to help with logistics, teaching classes, and assisting with classes. 

• Harvest Festival is Saturday, October 4 and we will have garden tours, Tussie Mussies, and several information tables set up.

• Close Encounters with Agriculture will be held four days a week throughout the month of October. MGs and interns will be needed for logistics, teaching classes, shepherding kids, etc.

I truly appreciate everyone's commitment to the MCMG mission and hope that you will volunteer for some of the upcoming activities. I look forward to seeing you soon!

Linda

2025 Interns Tour Derwood Demo Garden

 By MG Dave Ottalini

MCMG Intern Class of 2025
Photo: MG Linda Barrett

The 2025 class of Master Gardener Interns got a close-up tour of the Derwood Demonstration Garden during their class on Wednesday, June 11. This was the first time we’ve been able to provide such a tour, with the class moving to a daytime hybrid in-person/Zoom format. Led by Demo Garden co-directors MGs Mary Jo Eagan and Wendy Thomas and a number of other current MGs, the class was broken down into smaller groups and taken through all the areas of the garden, including the shade garden, vegetables, trees and shrubs, composting, therapeutic horticulture, herb and aromatic garden, kitchen garden, children’s garden, water garden (the frogs were croaking beautifully for everyone!) and the butterfly garden. As a bonus, the interns got to taste fresh blueberries and snap peas!

Photos: MG Dave Ottalini

MGs Host Learning Events for Scouts

By MG Alison Edwards

MG Hank Keegan

Montgomery County Master Gardeners were instrumental in providing educational support to local Scouting programs in May 2025. MG Hank Keegan, who has been involved in Scouting for many years as Cub Master, Scout Master, and Merit Badge Counselor for Gardening and Plant Science, took on a leading role in two events, one for a Cub Scout den and one for Boy Scouts.  

Cub Scout Event

Photo: Anna-Maria Travis

In early May, a group of six Kindergarten-aged Cub Scouts, each accompanied by a parent, visited the Derwood Demonstration Garden as part of their scouting activities. Hank engaged the young scouts in learning about where food comes from, how plants grow, and the basics of gardening. The scouts toured the garden and historic barn, and they also planted seeds in self-watering flower pots they had previously crafted. The visit fulfilled multiple Cub Scout educational requirements, including visiting a garden, learning about different gardening methods, discussing the basic skills needed for gardening, and planting some seeds. MCMG received an effusive note of thanks from the Cub Master for Hank’s assistance in providing the kids a memorable experience.

Boy Scout Event

MCMG Coordinator Steve Dubik
speaks to Scouts
Photo: MG Hank Keegan

On May 17, a Boy Scout event was held at Derwood as part of the Gardening Merit Badge program under the legacy Grow It Eat It program. Eight scouts participated in a comprehensive day of learning, covering topics such as water gardening, beekeeping, nutrition, gardening safety, and composting. Hank led the event, with support from MG Maxine Glazer, who led the composting discussion, and MG Dave Ottalini, who talked about pollinators and distributed wildflower seeds. The group also heard from Montgomery College Professor Raymond Bosmans, who led the water gardening discussion. The scouts toured the Demonstration Garden and visited the UMD Extension Office, where they met MCMG Coordinator Steve Dubik.

Thanks to Hank and all of the folks involved in these events for expanding the scouts’ understanding of sustainable gardening practices and environmental stewardship.

White Oak Day 2025 Serves Community

By MG Alison Edwards

MG Kat Kahn accepts
County Council proclamation

Montgomery County Master Gardeners’ participation in White Oak Day 2025 contributed to another huge success, with MGs distributing over 900 vegetable, herb, and pollinator-friendly flower seedlings to local residents, dispensing gardening advice, giving tours of the White Oak Youth Garden, and piquing kids’ interest in gardening with a planting activity. This was the culmination of a large volunteer-powered effort begun months earlier by HarvestShare with significant support from MGs. During the event, MG Cat Kahn received a County Council proclamation recognizing HarvestShare’s contributions to the people of Montgomery County—a testament to the program’s impact.

Preparing the Ground

Each year, HarvestShare launches preparations for White Oak Day by recruiting MGs and other local volunteers to start seeds, with a focus on supporting food production. The volunteers transplant seedlings into larger pots as needed, harden them off, and prepare them for donation. Seedlings require 6 to 10 weeks of nurturing and are carefully timed to be ready for dropoff to HarvestShare by mid-May. At least 22 MGs participated in the seed starting aspect of the effort this year; more than 40 total individuals contributed plants, including extra starts from their personal gardens.  

MG's Valerie Button, Sue Kuklewicz, Mary Lou Johnson, 
Linda Weiss with sign recognizing seed donors
Photo: MG Cat Kahn

MG Linda Weiss sorts seedlings
Photo: MG Cat Kahn 

Some of these seedlings were distributed to county residents, community gardens, and HarvestShare food production gardens that donate surplus produce back to the community through HarvestShare. Plants that weren’t immediately distributed were housed in HarvestShare’s pop-up greenhouse, where they received daily care until the giveaway event. As they grew, managing them became a monumental task—imagine trying to contain an 18-inch tomato plant in a tiny pot! (This is why volunteers are asked to put seedlings in 4-inch pots.)

The MCMG event leads, MGs Cat Kahn, Sue Kuklewicz, and Emma Brennan, worked closely with the White Oak Recreation Center staff to plan logistics, including equipment, layout, and scheduling. They then recruited volunteers to help with setting up tents and tables, sorting and organizing hundreds of plants, and providing educational support to attendees. Cat notes that MG educators are easy to recruit as this is a highly rewarding—even if exhausting—event.

The Big Day

On June 7, 2025, White Oak Day came to life. Volunteers helped transport the seedlings to the Recreation Center site and organize them for easy selection. MGs then assisted county residents in selecting plants tailored to their gardening conditions, experience level, and culinary preferences. Some 178 families from 22 different zip codes received plants in the giveaway. Concurrently with the plant giveaway, children enjoyed a planting activity with volunteers, and visitors learned more about the youth-oriented activities at the White Oak Youth Garden. Some of the day's MG volunteers are pictured below.

L-R: Terese Bouey, Alan Black (local farmer and HS volunteer), Sally Swift, Sue Kuklewicz, Val Button, Mary Lou Johnson, Alison Edwards, Cat Kahn, Kara Singh, Emma Brennan, Linda Weiss, Enko Csikos, Ellen Mann

Photo: MG Linda Barrett 

Cat, Sue, and Emma expressed their heartfelt thanks to all of the MG volunteers who devoted time and energy to delivering a huge benefit to the community at White Oak Day.