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| People wait to talk with Master Gardeners at White Oak Day. |
White Oak Day once again proved why it’s one of the most anticipated MCMG community events of the year. Despite the heat, Master Gardener and HarvestShare volunteers, along with local residents, came together on June 6 with enthusiasm, curiosity, and a shared love of gardening and community connection.
The event included a seedling giveaway, a container gardening station, and tours of the White Oak Youth Garden. One attendee summed up the mood of the day perfectly, saying, I’m so excited to get these plants! That excitement echoed throughout the day.
Plant Giveaways
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| MGs Linda Weiss, Eniko Csikos, Terese Bouey, Alison Edwards, and Tom Mulczynski prepare to give away plants. |
This year’s event saw remarkable engagement. The seedling giveaway was bustling from start to finish, with a near‑constant line of eager residents. At the registration table, HarvestShare volunteers Ling Yu and Blair Zucker welcomed 180 households representing 678 family members. Over 85% of participating families lived in the Silver Spring area, underscoring the event’s deep roots in the community. MGs Linda Weiss, Terese Bouey, Eniko Csikos, Alison Edwards, and Tom Mulczynski spent meaningful time with residents selecting plants suited to their needs.
In total, we estimate that about 461 plants found new homes—far more than expected, especially since no seedlings were solicited from MGs this year. As one volunteer joked, “They just seem to find Cat.” Plants given out were predominantly tomatoes, peppers, and basil at the seedling giveaway tent; basil from the container gardening station; and marigolds from the Youth Garden. Even the Recreation Center staff got in on the excitement, happily adopting 19 tomato plants that might otherwise have been composted.
A Welcoming, Educational Space
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| MGs Robin Ritterhoff and Pat Lynch at the container gardening table. |
The container gardening table, staffed by MGs Robin Ritterhoff and Pat Lynch—two Master Gardeners with deep expertise—saw steady traffic throughout the day. Many visitors were already familiar with container gardening, but they appreciated the variety of plants and containers on display and left feeling newly inspired.
Youth Garden: Growing the Next Generation
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| MG Mary Lou Johnson talks with a young visitor. |
The Youth Garden enjoyed higher than usual turnout, with MGs Kara Singh, Mary Lou Johnson, and Rosemary McCabe leading tours and hands‑on planting activities. Children were delighted to pot up marigolds to take home—a small but powerful way to spark a lifelong interest in gardening.
The garden also welcomed special guests, including a young spring session gardener, Mexlie, who proudly returned to show her mother the space. At the same moment, volunteers were joined by County Executive candidate Will Jawando, who toured the garden, learned about the program, and expressed a strong interest in addressing food insecurity. Maryland State Delegate Lorig Charkoudian visited as well.
Gratitude for a Dedicated Volunteer Team
We would like to emphasize one message: gratitude. Gratitude for the hard work, the preparation, the expertise, and the heart that each volunteer brought to the day; gratitude for the community members who showed up eager to learn and grow; and gratitude for a day that, despite the heat, felt “perfect.”
We thank all of the volunteers for sharing their expertise with the community. This was a team effort rooted in service, learning, and joy. With the HarvestMobile unloaded and another successful White Oak Day behind us, the planning—and dreaming—for next year has already begun.
