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LOOSELEAF | SEPTEMBER 2019

A Publication of the University of Maryland Extension Howard County Master Gardeners

3300 NORTH RIDGE ROAD, SUITE 240 | ELLICOTT CITY, MD 21043 410)313-2707 | FAX (410)313-2712

http://www.extension.umd.edu/mg/locations/howard-county-master-gardeners

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FROM GEORGIA'S DESK ...

Please be sure to put this event on your calendar: MG luncheon and annual meeting, Thursday,

September 26, 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, at the Howard County Conservancy. Coordinators, please

share a short summary of your 2019 program and a view of the 2020 plan. Lunch and networking

will be from noon until 2:00 pm. For those who haven't been to the Conservancy, please plan to

walk around to see the site.

On Thursday, October 17, 6:30 - 8:00 pm, I am requesting that all Program/Activity

Coordinators meet at UME to discuss program plans for 2020, including ideas and suggestions

for changes. This meeting is a new idea and I hope we will have a good response. This will be a

good opportunity to assess our program!

For information: The 2020 MG training will begin with an orientation on Wednesday, January 22.

Classes will begin January 27, and end March 30.

Lastly, the organization, Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake, has asked for MG help regarding

plants, especially native plants used in rain gardens. Maintenance is a major problem in these

installations and clients need help identifying plants. Interfaith Partners has submitted a grant

application to the Chesapeake Bay Trust and requested MG support of the project. Response

from the CBT will not be provided until February. However, if this opportunity is of interest to you,

please let me know.

Fall is for planting, so plan your garden now!

— Georgia Eacker, MG Coordinator, WSA Liaison, 410-313-1913, geacker@umd.edu

INSIDE —

2 Conservation Stewardship (MPEA)

2 September Calendar

3 Mt Pleasant Gardens Update

3 Unusual Caterpillar

4 Latin for Gardeners: Great Blue Lobelia

6 Malabar “Spinach”

7 Backyard Birds: Baltimore Oriole

8 Book Review: Garden Revolution

LooseLeaf • September 2019 • page 2

It’s All on the MG Electronic Calendar:

Meetings, Events, Volunteer Options!

Go to the Howard County page of the Maryland MG website. Our calendar is in the upper right-hand column under the link to LooseLeaf. Click here to go directly to the MG Calendar. Look there for dates, times,

locations and contact information for MG activities in Howard County. Just click on a specific listing for details. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are work days at The Enchanted Garden (demonstration garden).

Thursdays are work days at Whipps.

SEPTEMBER ACTIVITIES

9 Bay-Wise meeting at UME 20 LooseLeaf Story Deadline for October! 24 Conservation Stewardship at MPEA 26 MG Luncheon & Annual Meeting at HC Conservancy, Mt Pleasant

LooseLeaf • September 2019 • page 3

UNUSUAL CATERPILLAR SPOTTED IN ENCHANTED GARDEN

Visitors to the Miller Library’s Enchanted Garden often ask questions about the plants we have growing. Now they are asking about a very colorful caterpillar.

The Cecropia moth (Hyalophora cecropia) is often found east of the Mississippi River from Canada to Florida. It is North America’s largest native moth, actually a giant silk moth, and one has been feeding on our red osier dogwood near the entrance to the garden.

During the final stages from larvae to caterpillar it turns bright green with touches of orange, yellow and blue. That’s how we spotted it! Squirrels are major predators at this point. The next stage is a large brown cocoon. The moth emerges in about two weeks, then lives another 2 weeks. The wing span of H. cecropia is typically 5” to 7” which makes the moth hard to miss!

The Enchanted Garden includes an amazing array of vegetables, native shrubs and trees, and flowering plants. It truly is an educational extension of the library. Our latest attraction has caught the attention of many visitors, including several who recently attended a Saturday morning compost demonstration. Drop by to catch a glimpse of our Cecropia moth.

— Ann Hackeling, MG 2013

DEMONSTRATION GARDEN AT THE HOWARD COUNTY CONSERVANCY, MT PLEASANT

Now that it is September, we hope that the heat will abate and we will resume working from 9 to 11am every Friday. August has been a very productive month—the week we dug potatoes we contributed 125 pounds of produce to the Howard County Food Bank.

Our total Food Bank contributions so far this year is 650 pounds of potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, squash, and a variety of greens. Fall crops have been planted and we shall see how they perform in what has been the hottest year so far.

Come visit us any Friday morning and see what’s growing! MGs digging potatoes: Monica May, Susan Bishop, Michelle Bryden, with

JoAnn Russo in the background.

—Jo Ann Russo,

MG 1997

— Photos: Paul

DiCrispino, MG 2014

LooseLeaf • September 2019 • page 4

LATIN FOR GARDENERS

September’s Native Maryland Plant

Lobelia siphilitica L. (lo-BEE-lee-ah sif-il-IT-ih-kah)

Common Name: Great Blue Lobelia

LooseLeaf • September 2019 • page 5

Most gardeners I know are familiar with Lobelia cardinalis, the red Cardinal flower that Ruby-throated

hummingbirds use as a late summer, early fall food source. Lobelia siphilitica, another late summer blooming plant is its blue counterpart. These species share a similar flower structure, long bloom period and habitat, but what they don’t share are pollinators. I have yet to see hummingbirds nectaring on Lobelia siphilitica although its lavender-blue, short tubular flowers are a favorite of butterflies, bees and our local hummingbird moths. I wondered, why?

After doing some research, I learned that although hummingbirds are more attracted to bright colors, specifically red, flower structure and what’s on the menu matter too. The longer, narrower tubular flowers of L. cardinalis, too narrow for a bee to enter but perfect for a hummingbird bill, are higher in nectar production than the shorter corolla tube on L. siphilitica. Not surprisingly, hummingbirds need more nectar than bees to sustain themselves, they consume 1½ to 3 times their weight in food every

LooseLeaf • September 2019 • page 6

day! Lobelia siphilitica’s blue flower is very attractive to bees who actually see red as black(*). This plant also grows in colonies so bees can forage easily from plant to plant gathering plenty of nectar. In my garden I’ll keep trying to spot a hummingbird sneaking a drink on my Great Blue Lobelia, but either way, I’ll enjoy watching the bees and the hummingbird moths that drink from them every day.

(*) Bees are trichromatic, like humans; i.e. they have three photoreceptors which determine the color combinations they see. Whereas humans see combinations of red, blue and green, bees base their colors on ultraviolet light, blue and green. They have no receptors for red, so it appears as black—the absence of color.

— Alison Milligan, MG 2013 Master Gardener • Master Naturalist • Watershed Steward

Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP)

MALABAR SPINACH (NOT) IS VINING IN THE ENCHANTED GARDEN

It’s Latin name is Basella alba and although it looks like spinach, and has “spinach” in its common name, it’s not spinach. The species is in the family Basellaceae. It’s native to tropical Asia, including India and Sri Lanka. Malabar spinach grows during the heat of the summer when cool-weather spinach would not.

We like it in the Enchanted Garden because the deep green leaves and red stems are very showy climbing up the fence by the shed. The younger leaves can be used in salads or sautéed in butter with onions. They have a peppery, citrus flavor. Larger leaves can become a bit slimy when cooked. Leaves should be picked regularly to encourage new growth.

Flowers, which are pale pink and white at first, develop into deep purple berries as they mature. There is little or no flavor to the berries but they can be used as a natural food colorant. At the end of the summer the vines will die back but the plant will self-seed, so we will look for sprouts after the soil warms in the spring.

We’ve had lots of positive comments about this plant, and one garden visitor shared that he has grown it for several years. We’ve already decided we want to grow more next season!

—Ann Hackeling, MG 2013

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“Little Darling” watermelon

growing in the Enchanted

Garden at Miller Library. At

least 8 watermelon have

been donated to the Howard

County Food Bank, with more

likely as the vine has

grown—and produced fruit—

beyond its garden perimeter.

LooseLeaf • September 2019 • page 7

BACKYARD BIRDS: OUR STATE BIRD — GO O’S

When I moved to America, I was amazed by the brilliant plumage of birds. Cardinals, blue birds, hummingbirds all have stunning colors but the best of all, for me, is the Baltimore Oriole which visits Maryland from May to October. Luckily this bird can be regularly seen in open forests, parks, and the suburbs with large shade trees. I see them most often in large sycamore trees next to rivers where males sit at the end of branches to whistle a rich song. If you want to see one too, it is worth learning their song, so you know when to scan branches. Similar to a robin’s song, there is usually no consistent pattern to the song, only to the rich tone, although Thoreau heard “Eat it, Potter, Eat it.”

https://www.xeno-canto.org/456252

Orioles are known for their amazing nests, a woven hanging sock. The nests are more visible after the leaves have fallen. If you are lucky enough to find one, take note of the location as orioles are usually loyal to the same nesting tree and will return the following May.

While feeding their young, orioles are insectivores, eating spiders and even the hairiest of caterpillars. After fledging, the family switches to a more fruit-based diet and become easier to attract to yards. By September, Orioles are preparing for their return migration to Central America, and again eat high-calorie snacks such as fall webworms. Part of the blackbird family, their strong beak allows orioles to unzip the web tent and reach in for caterpillars. Fall caterpillars do little long-term damage to trees that are preparing to lose their leaves anyway, so when possible leave these bird snacks.

Although still common, the future for orioles in Maryland is uncertain. Their population has been decreasing by 1-2% a year since the 1980s. The loss of shade nesting trees, particularly the American elm, has been one factor. However, development of their wintering territory where they live in open woodlands is probably the greatest current threat. Along with hummingbirds and wood thrushes, orioles winter in shade coffee plantations which are being cut down to grow cheaper open-field sun coffee. Purchasing shade grown coffee is probably the most important way to help orioles.

How to attract Baltimore orioles: Orioles are well known as fruit lovers and can be attracted to backyard feeders in summer with orange halves and other fruit. They are more likely to visit if you have a mix of some larger deciduous trees with fruit bearing trees and shrubs such as black cherry, crabapples and raspberries. They don’t usually eat light-colored fruits such as yellow cherries. Orioles will also feed at trumpet vines for nectar as well as other large flowers.

— Clare Walker, MG 2015

The tightly woven nest (often

including plastic strips) is

found at the tips of branches.

Jeff Bryant CC BY-NC 2.0

Baltimore orioles enjoy snacking

on fall webworms. Kelly Cogan

Azar CC BY-ND 2.0

Female orioles have more

muted colors. Félix Uribe CC

BY-SA 2.0

LooseLeaf • September 2019 • page 8

BOOK REVIEW — GARDEN REVOLUTION (Larry Weaner, Thomas Christopher, 2016)

This is an important book. The subtitle, “How our landscapes can be a source of environmental change,” is the key to understanding the value of what’s written here—how we garden to change the environment using principles of sustainable landscaping. The authors nod their heads to Rachel Carson as they espouse what they call “ecological gardening.” They refer to this as using age-old laws of nature to inform a new way to garden.

An ecologically driven garden is one that has minimal intervention and uses indigenous vegetation as its main ingredient. The landscape is transformed from one that consumes and pollutes the environment into a more flexible and sustainable one, facilitating biodiversity, cleaning stormwater, and giving homes to native wildlife. Give up micromanaging your yard and let nature dictate the inherent processes. I found this to be enlightening and offering a sense of freedom from garden “musts.” Check out pages 16-18 and be astonished.

The authors parse their work into three sections: the learning process, design, and in the field. The pages are accompanied by brilliant photographs of land-scapes that are examples of the beauty of working with

and not against the environ-ment. The book’s end matter includes resources for garden ecologists (with a bow to Doug Tallamy), sources and suggested readings, and a comprehensive index.

I especially liked the detailed instructions for creating new, native landscapes. First, trace the history of your property, examining its ecology, thinking about what and how to preserve natural elements. Think through criteria for plant selection. Take advantage of native ecology, facilitating the inherent synergy among plants. Know your soil. Include ideas for transition zones and aesthetics of the whole. Use grasses, shrubs,

herbaceous plants native to the landscape, trees, wildflowers, sedges. Practice natural recruitment of plants first, before resorting to purchase of the same.

And learn to practice patience. Ask yourself what might happen if you do nothing? Observe over time the progress of your landscape. This book will be an often turned-to staple in my Master Garden bookcase.

— Pattee Fletcher, MG 2014

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PHOTOS OF MG ACTIVITIES AT THE HOWARD COUNTY FAIR, AUGUST 2019 From left—MG Rosemary Noble educating guests, HoCo MG display, MG Paul Kojzar takes first place