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July 2026 UME Master Gardener
State Office Announcements
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Thanks again to Montgomery County for hosting our summer Grow It Eat It meeting and giving us a wonderful tour of the Derwood demonstration garden!
Our newsletter this month includes the signup for the Maryland State Fair, the Maryland Native Plant Society annual conference, tomato festivals, and more!
| | | Volunteer at the Maryland State Fair! | | |
It's time again to sign-up as a volunteer docent at the UME Learning Garden for the Maryland State Fair!
Volunteers can sign up for up to 2 shifts (only 1 shift can be a weekend). Please sign up by August 9.
We need to mail the parking passes out to each volunteer, and we will not have enough to send extras. Please only sign up for a shift if you are committed to volunteering during that shift.
The Maryland State Fairgrounds is located at 2200 York Road in Lutherville-Timonium, MD. Maryland MGs will be serving as garden docents and staffing a tent next to the UME Master Gardener Learning Garden, a collaboration between Baltimore City and Baltimore County MGs. This volunteer opportunity is open to all MGs in all County/City programs in Maryland!
| | To learn more about the UME Master Gardener Learning Garden, see the article by Maryland Grows Blog. | | Searing for New Director of HGIC | | There's a second search for candidates to fill the position of Extension Specialist – Home and Community Food Production and Director of the Home and Garden Information Center. Please help us spread the word by sharing the link and flyer below! Best consideration date is September 15, 2026. | | Maryland Native Plant Society Conference | | Diverse Landscapes on Maryland's Piedmont and Western Shore | | |
Registration is now open! This conference will count towards continuing education hours.
Day 1 | Saturday, September 12
- Presentations by distinguished speakers
- Field trips and workshops, on or relatively near campus
- Poster session and reception
- Native plant sale (open 10 AM - 2 PM, public welcome)
- Evening presentation and dinner
Day 2 | Sunday, September 13
- Field trips across Maryland
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Saturday, August 2, 2026 | 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM | Carroll County Ag Center
706 Agriculture Center Drive, Westminster, MD 21157
- Learn how to grow heirloom tomatoes and collect and save their seeds
- Taste dozens of heirloom varieties
- Collect tomato recipes
- Meet Miss Tomato
- Guess how many tomatoes are in the jar and win a prize!
- See delicious tomato dishes on display
- learn how to control garden pests
| | Statewide Meetings and Continuing Education | | Using Harvested Rainwater for Edible Plants | | |
Friday, August 14, 12:00 – 1:30pm, Zoom
Rainwater harvesting can reduce stormwater runoff, conserve drinking water, and provide more water for irrigation. Learn from UME Senior Agent for Urban Agriculture Neith Little about her research in harvesting rainwater!
If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this event, please contact Stephanie Pully at pully@umd.edu or (301) 226-7616 before July 31, 2026.
| | Monthly Plant Clinic Updates | | |
Second Wednesday of the month, April-October, 12:00 – 1:00pm, Zoom
Join us for monthly updates from our UME experts on what questions or hot topics you might encounter at your upcoming Ask A Master Gardener Plant Clinics!
If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in any event or activity, please contact Stephanie Pully on or before 2 weeks prior to the webinar at pully@umd.edu or (301) 226-7616.
| | Catch Up on Continuing Education | | |
Did you miss any of our continuing education webinars last year?
Check out the recordings below! You can always see both upcoming continuing education opportunities and recorded webinars on the State MG Continuing Education webpage.
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Project GNBee
Join Dr. Jordan Kueneman from Cornell University to learn about Project GNBee (Ground-Nesting Bees)! Project GNBee works with community scientists to better understand where native bees nest across the landscape and which environmental and management conditions support their populations over time.
| | | Lunch & Learn: Natives at Noon | | |
Next topic: August 5th- Timing is Everything: The Phenology of Native Plants in a Changing World
Dan Buonaiuto, Assistant Professor in the department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture at UMD College Park, will present on shifts in phenology—the timing of seasonal life cycle events like leaf budburst or flowering—one of the most prominent biological indicators of climate change to date. However, the magnitude of phenological shifts varies substantially between species, regions, and even specific phases. As a result, the ecological effects of phenological shifts are difficult to predict. In this session, we'll start by unpacking the physiological underpinnings of phenological responses to environmental variability, and go on to investigate the ways that phenological shifts are already altering ecological interactions, from what's going on in your wildflower garden to what's going on in the forest carbon cycle.
| | The Biology of Wild Solitary Bees | | |
The Biology of the Wild Solitary Bees: Discover the fascinating world of wild solitary bees in this engaging 8-week webinar series (weekly, September 15 - November 3, 2026) designed for bee enthusiasts and anyone interested in pollinator conservation. Participants will explore the biology, ecology, and evolution of solitary bees through accessible, science-based presentations grounded in natural history and current research. Topics include bee diversity, life cycles, nesting behaviors, mating systems, foraging ecology, plant interactions, and the many environmental threats affecting bee populations in a changing world.
This series will deepen participants’ understanding and appreciation of wild solitary bees while providing practical knowledge to support pollinator stewardship and conservation efforts.
| | Vermont Composting Short Course | | Want to become a better composter? Join the UVM Extension's 2026 Vermont Composting Short Course, a six-week hybrid program that teaches participants how to transform food scraps and yard waste into nutrient-rich compost that improves garden and landscape soils. The course runs from Sept. 11 to Oct. 23 and includes online learning, weekly live Zoom sessions and in-person workshops at Vermont community composting sites. Participants will gain practical skills to produce compost that doesn’t attract wildlife. Registration is open through Sept. 4.; the fee is $50 for Vermonters, and $150 for participants who live outside Vermont | |
Bumble bees
In this month's episode, we’re talking all about one of our favorite pollinators Bumble Bees. We play some bee true false, learn about how they differ from other native bees.
| | | Home and Garden Information Center | | |
Stephanie Pully
UME Master Gardner State Coordinator
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Kaitlyn Baligush
Program Management Specialist
| | The University of Maryland Extension programs are open to any person and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation, and gender identity or expression. | | | | |
