Garden Notes

The Eastern Shore Permaculture Institute is Rebuilding Community One Potluck At a Time

November 12, 2022 by Spy Desk 2 Comments

In a fractured post-pandemic world, monthly ‘permaculture potlucks’ hosted by the Eastern Shore Permaculture Institute (ESPI) have struck a chord with local communities. The potlucks have grown quickly from humble beginnings – a handful of participants in spring 2021 — to more than 50 attendees per month in the fall of 2022. These special events bring together people from different walks of life to share food, learn new skills, and build relationships, with a focus on sustainable land use.

“In a world where our sense of community and belonging has been depleted by a global pandemic on one side and the age of smart phones and hiding behind social media on the other, these potlucks present a unique opportunity to socialize, learn new things, network, and build a community of sustainability-minded folks here on the upper Eastern Shore,” explains Justinian Dispenza, Director of ESPI.

The potlucks are attended by a diverse crowd, including local farmers, artists, professors, college students, musicians, small business owners, homesteaders, nonprofit representatives, politicians, and curious families and community members. Over the past year, the events have been hosted at many different farms, homes, and gardens across Kent County.

“As a young farmer committed to producing food sustainably, the ESPI potlucks have been an invaluable resource,” says Sarah Starman, co-owner of Tavern Creek Farm. “Through these events, I’ve gotten advice from other growers, built relationships, and even met new customers. It really makes you feel like you’re part of a community, and enables you to make more of a positive impact.”

The final Permaculture Potluck of 2022 will be held on Saturday, November 19th, and is open to the public. It will take place at ESPI’s Permaculture Demonstration Property in Galena, MD, from 5pm – 9pm. Activities include a site tour; free pizzas cooked on an outdoor, wood-fired cobb oven; a potluck (attendees will bring drinks or dishes to share); fire spinning lessons; and music around a campfire. Other interesting features of the Permaculture Demonstration Property include a mobile solar dehydrator, a succulent greenhouse, mushroom logs, a demonstration wildflower meadow, a community garden, composting systems, and more.

“These events have been great for connecting the local community together, while learning from each other about ways that we can all be better stewards of our local lands and waterways,” says Zack Kelleher, the Sassafras Riverkeeper with ShoreRivers. “In order to clean up our local environment, it takes a diverse coalition of passionate people fighting every day, and we’re so fortunate to have ESPI in our community to provide an avenue for all of us to get together.

For the address of the potluck or to get on the email list for future ESPI events, reach out to Justinian at espigrow@gmail.com.

Harvest Highlights: A National Garden Club Standard Flower Show

September 7, 2022 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

On Saturday, September 24, 2022 from 1:00-5:00 pm, the Queen Anne’s County Garden Club (QACGC) will be hosting the District I Flower Show “Harvest Highlights,” a National Garden Clubs Standard Flower show to be held at the Chesapeake College, Health Professions and Athletics Center (HPAC) at 1000 College Circle Wye mills, MD. The show is FREE and open to the public. For further information email cmacglashan@gmail.com or phone 410-556-6241

District I members from the 10 Federated garden clubs on Maryland’s Eastern Shore (including QACGC), as well as members from garden clubs throughout the region, will exhibit and compete their “best” creative flower designs, prized horticulture examples, and botanical arts creations. All entries will be submitted in accordance with the guidelines of the National Garden Clubs Flower Show Handbook and the “schedule,” written by Terry Holman, established specific to the fall theme of Harvest Highlights. Carolyn Macglashan, General Chairperson for the flower show, along with Sue Hansen, President of QACGC, say they are excited to showcase the talents of District I in the prime and easily accessible location of Chesapeake College. They feel sure this innovative flower show will be fun and inspiring to members and visitors alike!

In keeping with the Harvest Highlights theme, there are special “growing challenges” by members in District I that include competing “darling” dahlias and “gorgeous” gourds. The show will also feature a section of “farm stand vegetables.’

Additionally, educational exhibits being showcased include “Breaking the Plastic Habit,” a Patriotic Programs exhibit highlighting the work of federated garden clubs in supporting Wreaths Across America and the Blue Star and Gold Star Memorial Highway Marker Program, and an educational exhibit about Loving Good Bugs (that don’t bug us) display. There will also be the life-size Harvest Goddess, an impressive figure artistically designed with plant material from top to bottom! Flower show entries are judged by a panel of National Garden Clubs accredited judges who will judging Saturday morning prior to the opening of the flower show to the public.

The Harvest Highlights flower show can be a destination for the day with plenty of exhibits to see, feature programs, and demonstrations each hour from 1:00pm to 4:00 pm. Learn to arrange a beautiful bouquet of supermarket flowers with District I Director, Jeanne Bernard, make a design with succulents in a pumpkin with Faye Phillips, and learn fall garden cleanup tips with Ken Morgan of Robin’s Nest. And, for the first time there will be a Marketplace with food trucks and a variety of vendors selling their goods.

Special thanks go out to our sponsors for their support: Shore United Bank, Unity Church Hill Nursery, Bartlett Tree Experts, and Mr. & Mrs. Bruce J Valliant. Also, thank you to the many patrons and district members for their donations.

Maryland Grazing School and Advanced Grazing Workshop

September 2, 2022 by University of Maryland Extension Leave a Comment

University of Maryland Extension and partners are excited to be bringing back both the Maryland Grazing School and Advanced Grazing Workshop this fall and invite grazers and livestock owners to attend one of these upcoming events!

The Maryland Grazing School will be held over two days on September 29-30, 2022 at Rocklands Farm in Poolesville, MD from 8 AM to 5 PM each day. Designed with producer interests in mind, this 2-day grazing school will offer a more in-depth education on pasture and grazing management. The course features multiple hands-on exercises to provide participants with opportunities to work with grazing tools and fencing materials. Topics covered will include forage selection, pasture assessment, grazing management, pasture allocation, fencing and watering options, extending the grazing season, and more! Enrollment is limited to 30 people to keep the group small and allow for more interaction and networking opportunities. For full details and registration information, please visit https://go.umd.edu/grazingschool.

The Advanced Grazing Workshop feat. Ranching for Profit will be held over two days on October 20-21, 2022 at the Western Maryland Research and Education Center in Keedysville, MD from 9 AM to 5 PM each day. This advanced grazing workshop is designed for producers looking to transform their operation into a profitable business with less work and stress. Workshop attendees will dive deeper into the principles behind farm economics and increasing farm profitability, giving them the tools and insights they need to improve their business. The workshop will be taught by Dave Pratt, one of the experts on the Ranching for Profit team and will feature a small group approach with team and class discussions, case studies, videos, and application to participants’ own situation. For full details and registration information, please visit https://go.umd.edu/rfpworkshop.

These events are brought to you by University of Maryland Extension, the Maryland-Delaware Forage Council, Maryland Grazers Network, NE SARE, and American Farmland Trust. Thank you to our event partners!

If you have questions or need assistance please contact your local county Extension office or Amanda Grev at agrev@umd.edu or 301-432-2767 x339. If you need reasonable accommodation to participate in any event or activity please contact us at least 2 weeks prior to the event. Hope to see you there!

The University of Maryland Extension programs are open to any person and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation, and gender identity or expression.

The Maryland Food Ventures Workshop for Home Cooks and On-Farm Home Processors Goes Virtual

August 30, 2022 by University of Maryland Extension Leave a Comment

If you’ve considered turning your farm’s tomatoes or fruit into a canned product, or turning your grandmother’s favorite bread recipe into a small business idea, University of Maryland Extension has a newly updated virtual workshop developed to teach the intricacies of starting a food business under Maryland’s on-farm home processing license and cottage foods.

The Maryland Food Ventures workshop (formerly known as Food For Profit) is currently offered in a virtual format (in-person dates forthcoming), and is free for a limited time only (till Mid-September 2022). The newly designed course was created in conjunction with the Maryland Department of Health, and provides foundational information for farmers (small farms and ranchers, specialty crop producers and value-added producers) under the On-Farm Home Processing License, and home cooks and bakers interested in selling their homemade products to the public, under the Cottage Food Business. The self-paced workshop will help both groups determine if their homemade jam, or other value-added product, will make a sustainable business idea.

“There’s some important things that have been updated in terms of Maryland regulations,” said Dr. Shauna Henley, senior agent in the Family and Consumer Sciences program, and current lead on the U.S. Department of Agriculture – National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) grant to re-examine, optimize, and improve the current modules for both online and in-person classes. “In October of 2019, cottage foods were allowed to be sold in certain retail establishments, and this October (2022), the cap on sales for cottage foods is rising to $50,000 from $25,000 per year. These are significant changes for these small businesses, although not for on-farm home processing.”

In addition to the increase in the yearly cap on sales for cottage foods, the U.S. will also include sesame as the ninth major food allergen that will need to be declared, like tree nuts (e.g. almonds) or the other eight major food allergens. “This program gives us the platform to reiterate the regulations, as well as bring awareness to the new food allergen,” Henley said.

Collaborating with Shannon Dill, principal agriculture and food systems agent (Talbot county), and Neith Little, agriculture and food systems agent (Baltimore City), to create the new curriculum, the program not only highlights state regulations, but also tackles the business development side of starting a cottage food or on-farm home processing business from your home or farm kitchen.

“It’s intended to be a beginning platform to introduce people to all of these moving pieces,” said Henley. “We really want people to think of the risks as it applies to food safety, costs, business planning, and labeling – even that can be more than people expect.”

While starting an on-farm or cottage food business comes with challenges and risks, the Maryland Food Ventures workshop provides an introduction designed to help people develop their idea into a sustainable business plan. The workshop also addresses those who have been running an on-farm or cottage food business and are ready to take the next step.

“You have to be invested if it’s something you want to pursue,” Henley said. “An on-farm or cottage food business can give you a taste of whether your idea can be successful on a larger scale in the future.”

The free introductory period to access the workshops only lasts for a limited time, after which, the course registration is $15. Learn more and register at https://umeagfs.teachable.com/p/maryland-food-ventures-cottage-onfarm. For more food safety resources from farm-to-table visit https://extension.umd.edu/resource/food-safety-farm-table-resources-marylanders.

Register now for “The Woods in Your Backyard” Online Course

August 1, 2022 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

Registration is now open for the fall 2022 session of “The Woods in Your Backyard” online course. Our self-directed, non-credit course runs 10 weeks from September 6 to November 15, 2022. The online format lets you access the content when it’s convenient for you, without worrying about attending evening classes or weekend workshops.

The course will help landowners convert lawn to natural areas and enhance stewardship of existing natural areas. The course provides strategies to landowners of small parcels of land (1-10 acres) that improve the stewardship of their property for personal enjoyment and environmental quality. It uses a hands-on learning approach to help participants develop and implement a plan for their property. Activities include how to map habitat areas, understand basic ecological principles about woodland and wildlife, choose and implement a few habitat management projects, and how to set a timetable and record your progress. Online discussion groups will allow participants to interact with others taking the course. A certificate of completion is awarded when all assignments are completed.

The course costs $95.00 per person, which includes the 108-page “Woods in Your Backyard” guide, workbook, and a tree identification guide. The course is limited to 25 participants, so sign up now! Registration closes September 6, 2022 or when filled. Registration is through Eventbrite; go to https://WIYB_Fall_2022.eventbrite.com.

For more information, go to https://go.umd.edu/the_course or contact course coordinator Andrew Kling, University of Maryland Extension, akling1@umd.edu, 301-432-2767, extension 307.

Summer is for Learning…about Worms!

July 22, 2022 by Chestertown Garden Club Leave a Comment

Photo by Lilly Willis

Worms! They’re wiggly, they have no eyes and they help a garden grow. That’s just the start of what local kindergarteners learned during their hands-on Summer Cub Club experience on Tuesday, July 11, at Henry Highland Garnet Elementary School.

Summer School at Garnet runs four days a week for three weeks, offering school readiness experiences for Pre-K, Kindergarten and First Graders.

This year’s curriculum, Children Study our World, has a theme of Vegetables and Gardening that proved irresistible to the Chestertown Garden Club. They offered to lead three 40-minute garden activities for 13 Kindergartners each Tuesday.

At each session two garden club members work with Kindergarten teacher Taylor Johnson and instructional aide Lilly Willis.

On the first Tuesday, Garden Club members Penny Block and Susan Flanigan facilitated “Hello, Earthworms!”, introducing the youngsters to live earthworms and how they contribute to garden soil.

“We read aloud from a book about earthworms,” said

Flanigan, “then the kids looked for worms in a tray of soil to observe their behavior”. After the classroom activity, everyone went outside to the school’s raised bed garden where they helped release the worms into the beds and watch them burrow into the soil, then used a rain wand to water their already planted vegetables.

“To illustrate a fun fact,” added Block, “we had the students measure out 10 feet, the length of the longest recorded earthworm!”

Lessons over, each student took home a coloring book about soils and a special snack: an edible “earthworms in a cup” concocted from chocolate pudding, crushed cookie crumbs and gummy worms.

Week two, Tuesday, Jul 19, will feature “Magical Herbs”. Kids will hear about different kinds of herbs, learn how to transplant them, plant some herb seeds, and take home a plant.

Week three, Tuesday, July 26, “Grow your own Pizza”, is sure to be a favorite. The kids will harvest tomatoes, oregano, and basil for pizza toppings, make tortilla mini-pizzas to eat, and bring home a small bag of cherry tomatoes and a recipe card to make more mini-pizzas at home with an adult helper.

Summer school Cub Club is organized by Community Coordinator, Flo Terrill, and Judy Center Coordinator, Beth DeShepper.

It is sponsored by the Kent County Judy Center Partnership, an organization that helps link families with young children to community services and partners with them to increase school readiness.

The Chestertown Garden Club has an ongoing interest in youth gardening and promotion of attractive surroundings in the community. They took the lead in realizing the Good Seeds Garden, a native landscape that now surrounds Garnet School with natural beauty and a teaching environment.

Adkins Arboretum Announces Fall Native Plant Sale—Online!

July 20, 2022 by Adkins Arboretum Leave a Comment

Blue mistflower (Eupatorium coelestinum) adds color to the landscape in summer and fall and is attractive to many species of butterflies. Photo by Kellen McCluskey.

Prepare for fall in the garden! Adkins Arboretum, offering the Chesapeake gardener the best selection of landscape-ready native plants for more than two decades, announces its Fall Native Plant Sale. All proceeds benefit the Arboretum’s rich catalog of education programs that teach about the Delmarva’s native plants and their connection to a healthy Chesapeake Bay.

To ensure the best-quality plants, sales will be conducted entirely online. Orders will be accepted Thurs., July 21 through Thurs., Aug. 11 at adkinsarboretum.org and will be fulfilled via timed, scheduled pickup Sept. 9–10 and Sept. 13–17. There will be no in-person shopping at the Arboretum.

Fall is the best season for planting, and the Arboretum offers the Chesapeake region’s largest selection of ornamental native trees, shrubs, perennials, ferns and grasses for the fall landscape. Many native plants produce seeds, flowers and fruit in fall that attract migratory birds and butterflies. Brilliant orange butterfly weed and stunning red cardinal flower attract pollinators to the garden, while native asters add subtle shades of purple and blue. Redbud and dogwood dot the early-spring landscape with color, and shrubs such as chokeberry and beautyberry provide critical habitat for wildlife.

As always, Arboretum members receive a generous discount on plants that varies according to membership level. To join, renew your membership or give an Arboretum membership as a gift, visit adkinsarboretum.org or contact Kellen McCluskey at kmccluskey@adkinsarboretum.org.

For more information on plants, purchasing or pickup procedures, visit adkinsarboretum.org, send email to nativeplants@adkinsarboretum.org or call 410-634-2847, ext. 0.

Adkins Arboretum is a 400-acre native garden and preserve at the headwaters of the Tuckahoe Creek in Caroline County. For more information, visit adkinsarboretum.org.

Adkins Arboretum Offers Cyanotype Workshop July 16

July 8, 2022 by Adkins Arboretum Leave a Comment

A technique from early days of photography, cyanotype uses the sun to develop a natural emulsion into a vivid blue image that can be further toned and manipulated. Join Adkins Arboretum artist-in-residence Liz Donadio to learn about the Arboretum’s varieties of native plant species and to make your own prints at a cyanotype workshop on Sat., July 16.

Participants will use botanical specimens from around the grounds to make unique images that represent the variety of plant life cultivated at the Arboretum. The workshop runs from noon to 3 p.m. and is $45 for Arboretum members, $60 for non-members. Advance registration is required at adkinsarboretum.org.

Donadio is a Baltimore-based photographer who has been working at the Arboretum since 2018 to create a visual study of the ecology and landscape, over time and throughout changing seasons. Using alternative and camera-less photographic processes, combined with digital techniques, she creates multi-faceted images that are unpredictable and mysterious, much like the natural world itself.

Adkins Arboretum Completes Sustainable Facilities Improvements

July 7, 2022 by Adkins Arboretum Leave a Comment

The Rural Maryland Council’s Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Assistance Fund (MAERDAF), the Pinkard family and the France-Merrick Foundation have supported significant improvements at Adkins Arboretum.

For the Love of Trees and a Sustainable Future is a three-prong Adkins initiative to increase the overall energy efficiency of its Visitor’s Center and to leverage these improvements into opportunities to engage and educate the community. Last fall, a $40,000 MAERDAF award helped fund the installation of a mini-split ductless heat pump system that will provide cutting-edge and high-efficiency heating and cooling. As the Arboretum works toward incorporating regenerative systems into its facilities, this project will ensure a sustainable future for both the nonprofit and the community it engages and supports.

The new system provides superior comfort, lower energy costs, zero emissions and ultra-quiet operation. Because this type of system can be installed in both commercial and residential settings, it also provides opportunities to educate staff and visitors about energy efficiency and the link to preserving natural resources.

A high-efficiency, zero-emissions mini-split heating and cooling system is the first in a three-part series of improvements designed to increase sustainability at Adkins Arboretum. The new system was funded with support from the Rural Maryland Council’s Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Assistance Fund, the Pinkard family and the France-Merrick Foundation.

Installation of the mini-split system is the first step toward creating a decarbonized and more sustainable Arboretum. To ensure the new system operates at maximum potential, the Arboretum seeks to improve the Visitor’s Center envelope—the separation of its interior and exterior spaces—by replacing the building’s exterior doors with ADA-compliant doors. The project will eliminate the substantial gaps in the current doors, provide barrier-free access to the Visitor’s Center and improve the building’s seal.

The project’s final goal is to develop a sustainable energy system by installing solar panels. This initiative will generate electricity to power the mini-split system and other Visitor’s Center operations. Signage will inform members and visitors about these multiple and interrelated benefits, as well as the benefits of nature and its link to overall well-being.

Located near Tuckahoe State Park in the heart of Caroline County, the Arboretum strives to inspire environmental stewardship, provide respite and healing and celebrate natural and cultural diversity through the joy and wonder of the natural world. For more information, visit adkinsarboretum.org.

The Rural Maryland Council (RMC) brings together citizens, community-based organizations, federal, state, county and municipal government officials as well as representatives of the for-profit and nonprofit sectors to collectively address the needs of Rural Maryland communities. RMC provides a venue for members of agriculture and natural resource-based industries, health care facilities, educational institutions, economic and community development organizations, for-profit and nonprofit corporations and government agencies to cross traditional boundaries, share information and address in a more holistic way the special needs and opportunities in Rural Maryland.

Adkins Arboretum is a 400-acre native garden and preserve at the headwaters of the Tuckahoe Creek in Caroline County. For more information, visit adkinsarboretum.org or call 410-634-2847, ext. 0.

“Wake Up…We Need Everybody” on View at Adkins Arboretum

July 6, 2022 by Adkins Arboretum Leave a Comment

The piercing, orange-red eyes of a sharp-shinned hawk stare right into your own eyes in Anna Harding’s exhibit, Wake Up…We Need Everybody. In her exquisite drawings on view through Sept. 3 at the Adkins Arboretum Visitor’s Center, this Easton artist uses her skills as a botanical artist to portray some of the many plants and animals indigenous to Maryland whose existence is at risk due to human activity. There will be a reception to meet the artist on Sat., July 9 from 2 to 4 p.m.

The only human in this captivating show is asleep. In a poignant image titled “Wake Up!” this human figure, drawn in pale gray graphite, sleeps on a bed of roots that tangle down into a colorful, animated assembly of species that includes ten different plants, four birds, two dragonflies, one salamander, two fish, two beetles and three butterflies, all of them at-risk species.

Using ultra-sharp graphite and colored pencils, Harding draws with such astonishing detail and precision that her artworks immediately invite you to step in close for an intimate look. There are dragonflies with gossamer wings, a spirited brown-headed nuthatch perched on a tree trunk, an extinct Maryland darter fish with tiny, intricately patterned scales and the elegant blossoms of a northern pitcher plant hovering above its eccentric jug-like leaves etched with complex webs of dark red veins.

“Backyard Birds 1” is among the works of Easton artist Anna Harding now on view at Adkins Arboretum. Titled Wake Up…We Need Everybody, Harding’s exhibit of botanical art drawings focuses on plants, animals and insects put at risk by human activity.

Each of Harding’s drawings is alive with a sense of wonder. You can practically hear the raucous call of a boat-tailed grackle, and you’ll long to touch the luxuriant texture of a precious underwing moth’s gold and black wings. Again and again, the thought arises: what a loss it would be if these creatures no longer existed.

In her own gentle way, Harding is raising the alarm about the native plants and animals that the Maryland Department of Natural Resources has identified as threatened, endangered, extinct or extirpated (purposely destroyed).

As she planned for this show, Harding said, “I thought about how I can spark curiosity about the small things in our backyards and alert people to the conditions of our environment and the impact of human-induced climate and environmental conditions, and maybe inspire them to take some small action that could have a positive effect.”

Botanical art began as a method of plant identification and classification requiring an in-depth knowledge of botany and keen observational skills. While following its tradition of painstaking attention to scientific detail. Harding takes her drawings a step further, focusing on the personality of each plant or animal and hinting at its habits and ways of living.

Although she has been involved in art since her college days, Harding’s passion for botanical art began in 2013, when she started taking botanical art classes with Lee D’Zmura while simultaneously earning a certificate as a Maryland Master Naturalist. She went on to study botanical art with teachers in the U.S. and abroad and, as her skills matured, to teach at Adkins Arboretum.

“I was hooked on the connection between art and science,” Harding said. “It has been a fortuitous melding of my botanical artwork and my interest in the natural environment.

Harding says that the crux of her work is described in a favorite quote from the late poet Mary Oliver: “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.”

Wake Up…We Need Everybody is part of Adkins Arboretum’s ongoing exhibition series of work on natural themes by regional artists. It is on view through Sept. 3 at the Arboretum Visitor’s Center located at 12610 Eveland Road near Tuckahoe State Park in Ridgely. Contact the Arboretum at 410–634–2847, ext. 0 or info@adkinsarboretum.org for gallery hours.

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