Master Gardeners Frederick County Maryland

Master Gardeners Frederick County Maryland Volunteer horticultural educators representing the University of Maryland Extension by educating res We encourage you to share your comments and ideas.

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appropriate authorities. We are volunteer representatives of the University of Maryland Extension (UME). Our goal is to extend the services, programs and expertise of the UME to the general public. We base our knowledge on our own experience as gardeners, as well as classroom and hands-on training provided by the UME and University of Maryland horticultural educators.

🐦🍂 Gardening for Birds: Autumn Is for More Than Clean-UpAs summer winds down, autumn migration is getting underway. Bird...
09/08/2026

🐦🍂 Gardening for Birds: Autumn Is for More Than Clean-Up

As summer winds down, autumn migration is getting underway. Birds are heading south, and many will stop along the way to refuel, find shelter, and rest. Your garden can be an important part of that journey.

Instead of thinking about fall as the season to “clean up” the garden, think about how you can leave a little habitat behind. 🌿

Here are a few things you can do this fall to support birds:

🌻 Leave seed heads standing. Coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, sunflowers, grasses, and other plants provide food for migrating and overwintering birds.

🐛 Leave the leaves. Leaf litter provides habitat for insects and other invertebrates—an important food source for birds, especially when they are feeding nestlings next spring.

🌳 Delay pruning. Leave seed-producing plants, berries, and woody stems in place through winter whenever possible. Those “messy” areas can provide both food and shelter.

💧 Keep water available. A clean birdbath or shallow water source can provide a valuable stop for birds during migration. Keep it fresh and clean.

🌿 Plant for the future. Fall is an excellent time to plant native trees, shrubs, and perennials. Think about plants that provide berries, seeds, insects, and cover throughout the year.

And perhaps most importantly, don't feel like you need to make your garden perfectly tidy. What looks messy to us can be a thriving habitat to a bird.

This autumn, leave a little wildness in your garden—and give migrating birds a place to stop, refuel, and continue their journey. 🐦🍁

It's KITCHEN GARDEN MONDAY!! Sweet Thai basil is truly a culinary treat. This annual herb is a staple in Asian cuisines ...
09/07/2026

It's KITCHEN GARDEN MONDAY!! Sweet Thai basil is truly a culinary treat. This annual herb is a staple in Asian cuisines of all kinds, the flavor is often described as a combination of basil and anise (licorice). Known to hold it's flavor and texture much better than common Italian varieties, it is an excellent addition to stir fries, curries, soups and noodle bowls. We recommend starting indoors 8-10 weeks before last frost and transplanting to a spot that gets full sun. Don't forget to let a few blooms go to save your own seed for next season!

It's FEATURE FRIDAY!! "Most cultivated strawberries inherit their sweet flavor from parent plant Wild Strawberry, a love...
09/04/2026

It's FEATURE FRIDAY!! "Most cultivated strawberries inherit their sweet flavor from parent plant Wild Strawberry, a lovely, cool-season ground cover, native to much of North America.* Though its showy flowers reliably bloom each spring, fruit development depends on environmental conditions. When it does fruit, be prepared to compete with wildlife for the chance to consume it.

*It is native to DC, present throughout MD and PA, and common throughout DE and VA..."

Keep reading: Fragaria virginiana (Wild Strawberry) https://share.google/ONyzkpMoHzd55COxl

🌱 One Plant Can Become Many! 🌱September is a great time to grow your garden by moving around some of your spring bloomin...
09/03/2026

🌱 One Plant Can Become Many! 🌱

September is a great time to grow your garden by moving around some of your spring blooming perennials. By dividing and transplanting established plants, you can fill new beds without spending a penny on new plants!

🌸 So when should you divide? How do you handle bulbs, tubers, rhizomes, and roots?

Learn more about dividing perennials from the University of Maryland Extension: https://extension.umd.edu/resource/perennials – University of Maryland Extension

See more from Marrita in the FNP https://www.fredericknewspost.com/

🌳 Science Wednesday: The Forest Is Changing—And Pawpaw Is Part of the (under)StoryAs we enter September, the forests aro...
09/02/2026

🌳 Science Wednesday: The Forest Is Changing—And Pawpaw Is Part of the (under)Story

As we enter September, the forests around us are beginning their transition toward autumn. Beneath the canopy, however, another change has been taking place for years—one that you may not notice unless you know what to look for.

Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is becoming increasingly common in the understory of Maryland’s forests. And one of the reasons is surprisingly connected to deer. 🦌🌳

🦌 Deer Are Shaping the Forest

White-tailed deer are highly selective browsers. They feed heavily on many tree seedlings and young plants, making it difficult for some species to regenerate. Pawpaw, however, is largely avoided by deer because compounds in its leaves and bark make it unpalatable.

That gives pawpaw an advantage.

University of Maryland Extension notes that pawpaw has become one of the most common saplings in many National Park Service parks in our region. As deer browsing alters which young trees survive, the composition of the forest understory—and potentially the forest canopy of the future—can change as well.

And pawpaw isn't just benefiting from the change. It also supports wildlife. Its leaves are the exclusive food source for zebra swallowtail caterpillars, creating an important connection between this changing forest and the insects that depend on it. 🦋

🌳 What Will Maryland's Forests Look Like Tomorrow?

Forest ecosystems are constantly changing, but the pace and direction of those changes can be influenced by human activity, wildlife populations, invasive species, climate, and land-use patterns.

Pawpaw gives us an interesting window into that process.
So the next time you're walking through a Maryland forest, look down into the understory. The young trees growing there today may tell us something about what our forests could look like decades from now.

And if you happen to spot a pawpaw tree heavy with its distinctive fruit this time of year, you've found one of the most interesting participants in that story. 🍈

Upcoming seminar on September 12th at the University Of Maryland Extension Office. Detail and sign up: https://www.facebook.com/share/1C6DYBoi2Y/

👉 Learn more from University of Maryland Extension:Native Trees of Maryland: Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) https://extension.umd.edu/resource/native-trees-maryland-pawpaw-asimina-triloba/

PawPaws and Zebra SwalllowTail Butterfly https://vnps.org/paw-paws-and-the-zebra-swallowtail-butterfly/

PawPaws Small tree, Big Impact https://www.nps.gov/articles/pawpaw.htm

Join Master Gardener Meg Rice (Meg Rice ) for a seed saving seminar at the Brunswick Branch library on September 20th at...
09/02/2026

Join Master Gardener Meg Rice (Meg Rice ) for a seed saving seminar at the Brunswick Branch library on September 20th at 2PM. 🍂

Hello September! What happened to the summer? Here are some early fall gardening tips to get you outside enjoying (somew...
09/02/2026

Hello September! What happened to the summer?
Here are some early fall gardening tips to get you outside enjoying (somewhat) cooler weather!

For an accessible version and more detailed lists with links visit the Monthly Garden Tips section in our bio.

https://extension.umd.edu/resource/september-gardening-tips-and-tasks/

Repost from UMD HGIC

Happy September 1st! 🌼 September’s Pollinator Powerhouse: Mexican Zinnia 🐝🦋As summer flowers begin to fade, Mexican zin...
09/01/2026

Happy September 1st!

🌼 September’s Pollinator Powerhouse: Mexican Zinnia 🐝🦋

As summer flowers begin to fade, Mexican zinnia can keep the pollinator buffet going well through late summer and early autumn—often until frost.

The bright orange flowers of Tithonia rotundifolia are especially valuable at a time when bees, butterflies, and other pollinators are still actively feeding and building energy reserves for the weeks ahead. The tall (4-6 ft tall), branching plants can produce a succession of blooms, making them a colorful late-season addition to a pollinator garden.

🌻 A September tip: Don’t be too quick to clean up your garden. Keeping late-blooming plants like Mexican zinnia flowering provides important nectar and pollen when fewer floral resources may be available.

And there’s another benefit: the seeds are enjoyed by birds, adding another layer of wildlife value to the garden.

🌱 Looking for a late-season burst of color that does more than look pretty? Mexican zinnia is worth a spot in the garden!

Tithonia rotundifolia https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/tithonia-rotundifolia/

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