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).