An Educational News Source for Chestertown Maryland
Prunus serotina
The Talbot County Garden Club announces its winter lecture series featuring three world renown experts in the fields of landscape design and climate.
Author, photographer and lecturer Ken Duse; landscape architect Eric Groft; and the founder and president of C-Change, Kathleen Biggins.
All events will be held via Zoom and begin at 11 a.m. They are free and open to the public.
Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Speaker – Ken Druse, author, photographer and lecturer
Program- The New Shade Garden: strategies for sustainable landscapes in the age of climate change.
Register through the TCGC website talbotcountygc.org; by typing this link into your browser bit.ly/3npP3GH; or via email at talbotcountygc@gmail.com
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Speaker – Eric Groft, principal with Oehme, van Sweeden Landscape Architecture, Fellow of American Society of Landscape Architects
Program – The New American Garden Style
Registration information will be released prior to the event.
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
Speaker – A member of C-Change
Program – The C-Change Primer, an accessible overview of the science behind climate change with an assessment of the potential risks ahead.
Registration information will be released prior to the event
Questions about the programs should be directed to talbotcountygc@gmail.com
About the Talbot County Garden Club
The Talbot County Garden Club was established in 1917 to enrich the natural beauty of the environment by sharing knowledge of gardening, fostering the art of flower arranging, maintaining civic projects, supporting projects that benefit Talbot County and encouraging the conservation of natural resources. Noteworthy projects include maintaining the grounds of the Talbot Historical Society, Talbot Courthouse, Talbot Library, the fountain and children’s gardens at Idlewild Park and numerous other gardens and activities. There are currently a total of 109 active, associate and honorary members.
Photo courtesy of Ken Druse
Ken Druse is a celebrated lecturer, an award-winning writer, photographer and author of 19 garden books. The New York Times called him “the guru of natural gardening.”
The Garden Club of America presented Ken with the Sarah Chapman Francis medal for lifetime achievement in garden communication. In 2013, the Smithsonian Institute announced the acquisition of the “Ken Druse Collection of Garden Photography” comprising 50,000 transparencies.
Ken hosted a radio program and podcast for ten years, 300 episodes of which are archived at www.kendruse.com. He is currently a monthly guest on Margret Roach’s radio show and podcast, AWaytoGarden.com.
Ken’s 20th book, The Scentual Garden: Exploring the World of Botanical Fragrance, is the subject of his talk. He lives and gardens in the northwest corner of New Jersey.
Photo courtesy of Eric Groft
Eric Groft is a principal with Oehme, van Sweden Landscape Architecture (OvS) based in Washington, DC and a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects.
He brings a passion for horticulture to his landscape designs, including environmental restoration and shoreline stabilization. Eric has designed gardens throughout Talbot County, including waterfront residences on the Tred Avon, a historic farmhouse in Easton, and three modern weekend retreats in Sherwood.
Photo courtesy of Kathleen Biggins
Kathleen Biggins is the founder and president of C-Change Conversations, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting productive, non-partisan discussions about the science and effects of climate change.
The organization, comprised of volunteers who span the political spectrum, sponsors the C-Change Conversations Lecture Series. Kathleen also developed the C-Change Primer with input from Climate Central and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.
Team members have presented the Primer to nearly 10,000 people in 29 states, and it is widely hailed as an intelligent, dispassionate introduction to and illumination of climate change. The Primer has been endorsed by business, political and social leaders and enthusiastically received by many conservative audiences across the country. Learn more at www.c-changeconversations.org
After almost an entire year of quarantining, it is a great time to pause and reflect on last year’s gardening success and failures. Here are some simple easy tips to help get your mind and garden ready for the upcoming growing season.
Bagworm (Photo credit: Rachel J. Rhodes)–Remove and destroy bagworm bags from affected trees especially if seen on evergreens.
Indoor Plant and Insect Tips
Each year, the Garden Club of the Eastern Shore (GCES) awards a merit-based scholarship of up to $5,000.00 to a graduating senior who attends high school in Talbot County and expects to major in horticulture, landscape architecture or design, botany, environmental science, agriculture or a related field. Scholarship applications are available from guidance counselors in all Talbot County high schools and may also be obtained by calling Dorothy Whitcomb at 443-385-0486.
The GCES Scholarship is entirely merit based. Outstanding academic achievement along with volunteer or work experience, which shows a strong work ethic and a commitment to excellence, will be considered when evaluating applications.
GCES President Kathy Gibson says: “The Garden Club of the Eastern Shore has awarded 18 scholarships to Talbot County students since 1999. The club is committed to supporting motivated students who have shown an interest in pursuing studies in ecology, horticulture, landscape design or related fields. Previous recipients have become successful teachers, landscape architects, designers, and environmental researchers, both here on the Eastern Shore and around the country.”
The GCES is focused on promoting environmentally sound landscape practices and providing educational programs for the community that explore conservation practices and environmental issues. In addition to awarding its scholarship for the past 17 years, the GCES spearheaded the restoration of Easton’s Thompson Park and continues to maintain it. The club also contributes to various community services projects in Talbot County.
For information about GCES programs or to make a contribution to the scholarship fund, please call Dorothy Whitcomb at 443-385-0486.
University of Maryland Extension (UME) educators Jeanette Jeffrey, Dave Myers and Kayla Griffith developed a new virtual morning program for farmers and farm families, called Good Morning Farmer!, featuring speakers from the Extension agricultural community.
The new weekly program encourages farmers and those who work in the agricultural industry, to come together virtually every week for one hour, beginning on Dec. 2 at 8 a.m., to discuss topics like farm stress reduction, agricultural law, financial management, and much more.
“Good Morning Farmer! is an opportunity for fellowship and candid discussions about topics that matter to farmers, their families, and businesses,” said Jeanette Jeffrey, nutrition and health educator, and co-organizer of the program.
With the pandemic and associated stay-at-home orders, stress on the farm communities has been compounded, said Jesse Ketterman, financial educator with UME. “Farmers are isolated to begin with due to the nature of their work, and now they’re even more isolated. Programs like Good Morning, Farmer! help them make connections and interact within their community,” he said.
The program occurs weekly, with a different featured speaker during each session. Topics vary throughout the duration of the morning meetings, which continue through March 31, 2021, and include machinery breakdowns, injury and pain management, nutrition, and financial planning. The first session, beginning at 8 a.m. on Dec. 2, 2020 features Paul Goeringer, Extension specialist speaking on Agricultural Law and Farm Policy.
For more information and to register for this free program, go to https://go.umd.edu/GoodMorningFarmer.
The Adkins Arboretum is centrally located on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, 25 miles east of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge at 12610 Eveland Road, near Ridgely, MD. For more information and their public programs please go here.
The University of Maryland Extension is offering the wildlife Management Online Course for Spring 2021, available online only, beginning Feb. 1, 2021 through May 15, 2021. Registration for this online course opens Nov. 1, 2020 and can be accessed at https://2021wildlifecourse.eventbrite.com.
This non-credit course does not offer formal in-person classes and has no prerequisites. Participants will work from the comfort of their own homes, using their own land, a friend’s, or public lands. Instruction includes ecological concepts such as predator-prey relationships, biodiversity, hazards and diseases, habitat assessment, managing forests for wildlife, and more. Ultimately, the course provides tools to develop the framework for a wildlife management plan.
“Fox” by jans canon is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
The course fee is $150, and includes a copy of Wildlife and Timber from Private Lands: A Landowner’s Guide to Planning and Common Native Trees of Virginia Tree Identification Guide. Participants will receive a flash drive of the text and appendices at the end of the course. A certificate of completion is awarded when all requirements are completed.
Sample lessons are available at https://extension.umd.edu/wildlife-course, including an opportunity to try identifying animal tracks. The site also provides detailed course information and frequently asked questions.
For more information, contact Nancy Stewart, University of Maryland Extension, Wye Research and Education Center, P.O. Box 169, Queenstown, MD, 21658; phone 410-827-8056, ext. 107; or email nstewar1@umd.edu. Check for details on our website today and mark the November 1 for open enrollment on your calendar.
Happy Mystery Monday on this Halloween week! Today’s mystery is just starting to show its color despite most plants going dormant for the winter. This forest floor denizen has purple spots on its leaves and is bright purple underneath. What is it?
We had a great response to last week’s mystery! The mystery fruit was the native persimmon (Diospyros virginiana), one of the last fruits to ripen in our region. Right now, the fruits are very astringent, but come November and frosty weather, these fruits will be pleasantly orange and very sweet!
