Penn State Extension Master Gardeners of Chester County

08/06/2026

Save the Date! 📆
We loved all of the visitors we had for our spring plant sale so much, that we can't wait until next spring to see you again. So we aren't waiting. September 26th we are hosting a fall plant sale! Fall is a great time to plant and to set your garden up for success in the spring!
September 26th
East Bradford Township Building
676 Copeland School Road, West Chester, PA 19380

08/06/2026

We are excited to celebrate National Farmer's Market Week with everyone tomorrow at the Kennett Square Farmer's Market - see you there!

Kinda chic to buy food directly from your local farmers, bakers + makers 💛

Whether you’ve been shopping the KSQ Farmers Market for years or you just found us, come celebrate National Farmers Market Week with us this Friday! There will be lots of good stuff to make your own local salads (and more) at home 🙌

⏰ Every Friday 3-6pm
📍 600 S Broad St PA
🅿️ Free + easy parking on site

08/03/2026

07/02/2026

• As mentioned in a Penn State Extension article by Margaret C. Brittingham, Ph.D., while “more than 330 species of hummingbirds live in North and South America … only the ruby-throated hummingbird is found east of the Mississippi River.”*

“Each fall,” writes Margaret, the ruby-throated hummingbird “migrates from the eastern United States to Mexico and Central America. The birds fly nonstop 600 miles across the Gulf of Mexico during migration. They return in the spring and move northward, following the blooming of early-season flowering plants, such as azaleas, rhododendrons, and columbine. They arrive in Alabama by late March; Washington, D.C., by mid-April; Pennsylvania by mid-April to early May; and further north in New England by May. They stay in the Northeast until September, when they migrate back to Central America.”*

In the Penn State article cited below, Margaret details what you can do to attract ruby-throated hummingbirds to your yard, by providing cover, food, and water.* Regarding food sources, the plant pictured here, Lonicera sempervirens (a.k.a., Trumpet Honeysuckle) is one that Margaret lists as attractive to hummingbirds.* As Margaret writes, “[h]ummingbirds are specially adapted for eating nectar from flowers. They have long beaks and long tongues for consuming the nectar.” However, “[h]ummingbirds lack a well-developed sense of smell and are drawn to flow- ers by their color instead of their scent. Preferred hummingbird flowers are red, orange, and pink, but the birds eat nectar from flowers of most colors. At least 19 species of native plants in the northeastern United States are pollinated primarily by hummingbirds. These include spotted touch-me-not, trumpet vine, cardinal flower, fly honeysuckle, trumpet honeysuckle, fire pink, columbine, and wild bergamot.”*

To learn more about how to attract hummingbirds to your yard, check out the Penn State Extension article cited below!

Source:
* “Attracting Hummingbirds,” Margaret C. Brittingham, Ph.D. (Former Professor of Wildlife Resources), Penn State Extension (updated April 2, 2024) (https://extension.psu.edu/attracting-hummingbirds).

Photo taken at Longwood Gardens (Aug. 21, 2021).

07/01/2026

Pictured here is Verbascum thapsus (a.k.a., Common Mullein), a species that has been spotted across the entire United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.* According to USFS, “[c]ommon mullein was likely introduced to the eastern United States more than 230 years ago. Before the Revolutionary War, common mullein seeds were brought and cultivated by early settlers for the easy collection of fish. It is likely other initial introductions occurred as well, and given the many uses of common mullein, it was likely transported and cultivated by US settlers and tribes.”*

Common mullein is an herbaceous biennial. In the first year of growth, after it germinates, common mullein produces a rosette of felt-like leaves (it’s common name, “mullein,” is possibly etymologically linked to the latin word, “mollis,” "a likely reference to [the species'] hairy velvety leaves").** In the second year, after a period of vernalization (exposure to cold temperatures, the plant produces its tall flower stalk.** *

While common mullein is an invasive species, its impact on a landscape is often limited by the fact that its seeds require open ground to germinate and, being intolerant of shade, can be outcompeted by other plants.* Once a previously disturbed area has become reestablished with vegetation, common mullein may go “dormant” in the seed bank, waiting for the soil to be disturbed again.*

Sources:
* Gucker, Corey L. 2008. Verbascum thapsus. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/forb/vertha/all.html (accessed June 30, 2026).

** “Verbascum thapsus,” North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, NC State Extension (accessed June 30, 2026) (https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/verbascum-thapsus/)

*** "Common Mullein, Verbascum thapsus," author: Susan Mahr, reviewers: Bruce Spangenberg and Allen Pyle (Horticulture Outreach Specialists), University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension (revised June 9, 2025) (https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/common-mullein-verbascum-thapsus/).

06/26/2026

It’s !

Did you know that has its own Center for Pollinator Research? “Comprise[d of] a dynamic group of more than 40 independent faculty, including researchers, educators, extension specialists and outreach coordinators, spanning multiple departments and colleges,” the Center for Pollinator Research is dedicated to research “that advances the health of managed and wild pollinator populations and promotes the conservation of their ecosystems.”*

For example, check out the Center for Pollinator Research brochure, cited below, intended to help you identify pollinating insects in PA!**

Sources:

* “About Us,” The Center for Pollinator Research, Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences (accessed June 25, 2026) ( https://pollinators.psu.edu/about).

** “Identifying And Observing Pollinating Insects in Pennsylvania / Identifying & Observing Bees in Pennsylvania” Produced by: Shelby K. Kilpatrick, June 2020. Photos: Nick Sloff (PSU Dept. of Entomology), USGS Bee Inventory & Monitoring Lab & pngimg. , Center for Pollinator Research, Penn State University (accessed June 25, 2026) (https://pollinators.psu.edu/assets/uploads/documents/Identifying-and-Observing-Pollinating-Insects-in-PA.pdf).