On Friday, March 22, Ruth Rogers Clausen will give a talk titled “Delaware Botanic Gardens: From a Humble Beginning to an Amazing Reality”. The Delaware Botanic Gardens at Pepper Creek located in Dagsboro, DE is still a work in progress; it will open its doors to the public in September 2019. The mission of the Gardens is to create an inspirational, educational, and sustainable public garden in Delaware for the benefit and enjoyment of all.  The Delaware Botanic Gardens will celebrate the coastal plain with a sustainable garden located on 37 acres. It includes a 25-acre flat uplands plateau highlighted by an innovative meadow designed by Piet Oudolf, a 12.5-acre sloped woodlands with freshwater wetlands, and 1,000 feet of waterfront with tidal wetlands on Pepper Creek. The goal is to inspire visitors to preserve Delmarva’s native landscape.

Ruth Rogers Clausen was trained in horticulture in the UK and has now been in the industry for more than 60 years. She has written several gardening books and lectures widely. Some of Ruth’s books include Perennials for American Gardens (1989), Dreamscaping (2003), 50 Beautiful Deer-Resistant Plants (2011) and Essential Perennials (2015). Ruth was the Horticulture Editor for Country Living Gardener for more than 7 years. Currently she writes the “Plantings” column for Country Gardens magazine.  In 2017 she received the Garden Media Award from the Perennial Plant Association. She is a member of the Corporation for the New York Botanical Garden and is on the Board of Directors for Delaware Botanic Gardens @ Pepper Creek in southern Delaware.

This talk is part of the 20^th Annual Kent Horticulture Lecture Series organized by the University of Maryland Extension in Kent County. The program will be held at 10:00am at the Kent County Public Library, 408 High Street, Chestertown, MD 21620. This event is free of charge. For more information, please contact Sabine Harvey, 410-778-1661 or sharvey1@umd.edu

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

On Friday, March 15, Kate Livie will give a talk titled “Splendor in the Grass: the Chesapeake Bay’s Native Aquatic Grasses”.

Kate Livie is a professional Chesapeake educator, writer and historian. An Eastern Shore native, Livie is passionate about the Chesapeake Bay’s culture and landscape. Livie has written extensively about the regional travel, history and foodways for publications from Wooden Boat to Baltimore Magazine to the Bay Journal. Her 2015 book, Chesapeake Oysters: The Bay’s Foundation and Future, won the Maryland Historical Society’s Marion Brewington prize for Maritime History.

Formerly the director of education and associate curator at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, Livie is currently the head creative and founder of Alosa Communications. Livie is also adjunct faculty at Chestertown’s Washington College, where she teaches courses about the Bay’s environment, economy and culture with the Center for Environment and Society.

This talk is part of the 20^th Annual Kent Horticulture Lecture Series. The program will be held at 10:00am at the Kent County Public Library, 408 High Street, Chestertown, MD 21620. This event is free of charge. For more information, please contact Sabine Harvey, 410-778-1661 or sharvey1@umd.edu

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

With the first day of spring less than three weeks away, it’s time to think about warmer days and supporting local farmers and producers at your local farmers’ market. The Centreville Farmers’ Market is accepting inquiries from Maryland farmers/producers for the 2019 farmers’ market season.

The market will be returning to the Centreville Plaza, 611 – 631 Railroad Ave. next to Queen Anne’s County High School. This location has served as the market’s home away from home during the town’s infrastructure project. Hosted by Centreville Plaza in partnership with Acme Markets, the Centreville Farmers’ Market will open Wednesday, May 1 from 2 to 6 p.m. and will continue through Wednesday, October 23.

Vendor openings include farmers/producers for vegetables, fruits, organic vegetables and fruits, artisan breads, cheese, mushrooms, gluten-free baked goods and specialty items. The market will host a farmer/producer vendor event on Wednesday, March 20, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. to sign up vendors and address questions and inquiries. The ​event is free and open to farmers and producers who are interested in selling at the market this year. RSVP by Monday, March 18 by calling (410) 758-1180, ext. 17 or emailing mainstreet@townofcentreville.org.

These lovely sunflowers were grown at Sand Hill Farm in Greensboro, one of the farmers who sell at the Centreville Farmers’ Market.

Seasonal P/T market manager and internship

In addition to new vendors, the market is seeking a seasonal part-time market manager to nurture and grow the market. The ideal candidate would be passionate about farmers’ markets and locally sourced fresh food and have a working knowledge of farmers markets or sales of fresh food items. Tasks include recruiting vendors, onsite management, and promoting the market.

Desirable skills include excellent communications skills, ability to work independently and as a collaborator, and strong computer, organizational and time management skills. The market will pay a cash stipend and provide a weekly shopping allowance at the market.

A summer communications internship for college communications, journalism or public relations student is also available for students interested in gaining valuable experience in event promotion, advertising and publicity.

For more information about Centreville Farmers’ Market opportunities or to RSVP to the farmer/producer event, call (410) 758-1180, ext. 17 or email mainstreet@townofcentreville.org.​

On Friday, March 8, Heather Cunningham will give a talk about “Amphibians & Reptiles of the Garden/ Home Landscape”. The talk is based on the recently published book The Maryland Amphibian & Reptile Atlas. The atlas was written after 5 years of observations and recordings by nearly a thousand citizen scientists. From 2010 until the end of 2014, these volunteers collected data about the frogs, salamanders, turtles, snakes and lizards that can be found in Maryland. All in all, the atlas describes the natural history of 89 species of amphibians and reptiles.

Heather Cunningham is an Associate Professor of Biology at Chesapeake College. She was the project coordinator of the Maryland Amphibian & Reptile Atlas and she is co-editor of the Atlas in which all the data from the project were gathered.

This talk is part of the 20^th Annual Kent Horticulture Lecture Series. The program will be held at 10:00am at the Kent County Public Library, 408 High Street, Chestertown, MD 21620. This event is free of charge. For more information, please contact Sabine Harvey, 410-778-1661 or sharvey1@umd.edu

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

The Oxford Garden Club proudly announces a program featuring Claudia West titled “Wild and Neat” on Thursday, March 14, 2019 at the Oxford Community Center of Oxford, MD at 2:00 pm. The program is free and open to the public.

Claudia will share how gardeners can bridge the gap between great garden design and ecology. Over time with industrialization and urban sprawl we have driven nature out of our neighborhoods and cities. We can bring nature back with garden landscapes that are robust, diverse and visually harmonious.

Claudia West has an extensive background in horticulture, ecology, and environmental restoration. She is a consultant for North Creek Nurseries and has also worked for landscape architects, Wolfgang Oehme, Carol Oppenheimer and Sylva Native Nursery.

She is co-author of Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West. Books can be purchased and signed by the author after the program.

Oxford Community Center:
200 Oxford Road, Oxford, MD 21654.
For additional information visit the Oxford Garden Club website at www.oxfordmdgc.org or email us at oxfordmdgc@gmail.com.

The Oxford Garden Club is a non profit 501(c)(3) organization and is a member of the Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland, Inc. and National Garden Clubs, Inc.

Niamh Shortt, Delmarva Program Manager of the Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture (CASA), will speak about CASA’s Future Harvest Program on Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at the Easton Public Library at 11:15am. The presentation is hosted by the Garden Club of the Eastern Shore, is open to the public, and admission is free.

Central to CASA’s Future Harvest mission is an immersive, year long training program (The Program) for beginner farmers or people who may be interested in farming. The Program curriculum includes hands-on training on some of the Chesapeake region’s leading sustainable farms to educate future farmers on the importance of sustainable agriculture. Key elements of sustainable agriculture are: efficient use of scientific achievements in farming, farm profits, enhancement of the quality of life of farmers and the people they serve, and sustaining natural resources for future generations.

In attempting to provide a summary of sustainable agriculture, the US Department of Agriculture notes that, “Some terms defy definition. ‘Sustainable agriculture’ has become one of them.” Ms. Shortt will provide insights into the developing understanding and practices of sustainable agriculture, as well as invite a new farmer who trained under the Future Harvest Program to speak of the year long training experience and the work of a beginner farmer.

The Program offers education in a variety of sustainable farming sciences and operations, including the farming of vegetables, fruit, cut flowers, herbs, and livestock. Beginner farmers in Maryland, as well as in other parts of the Chesapeake “foodshed” region (Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, DC, West Virginia) may apply for acceptance into The Program. Importantly to beginner farmers, tuition for The Program is free. More information can be found at www.futureharvestcasa.org.