Native Plant Month is in full swing in Southern Maryland!

The first week of May brought so many new and exciting ways to celebrate native plants across our region.

Leonardtown First Friday

On May 1, we were on hand to celebrate the relaunch of the Leonardtown Butterfly Trail.

Through collaboration with other members of the Butterfly Trail committee, there’s now a new Butterfly Trail brochure featuring 15 stops along the trail, plus information on native plants and butterflies. And we were proud to launch the new “Welcome to Our Pollinator Garden” signs for gardens in Leonardtown to show their support of pollinators and native plants.

For more information, check out the articles in the Baynet:

Leonardtown’s Butterfly Trail Turns First Friday Into Interactive Family Adventure – The BayNet

Five Southern Maryland Counties Support Native Plant Month – The BayNet

Leonardtown Library Front Yard Garden Brochure

Next up was the debut of the Leonardtown Library Front Yard Garden brochure and Scavenger Hunt on May 5, both created by Keillee Clark, Troop 560, for her Eagle Scout project. Keillee interviewed members of the Front Yard team to create content for the brochure, and she visited the gardens to take photos for the brochure and the scavenger hunt.

Keillee’s mom explained that “She worked with Master Gardeners, the public, Scouts, and other adults to finish it. It is currently on display at the front desk at the library, but it will also be on display at her brother’s completed Eagle project (which will be revealed at a later date).

Keillee would like to personally thank her aunt and uncle, Nik Haven, Amy Henderson, Liz Curtz, her mentor Mary Oesterling Mayonado, Victoria Rutherford, Prescy White, and of course her dad, Michael Clark.”

Keillee’s creations provide a way for library patrons of all ages to enjoy the gardens through self-guided tours. When visiting the library, grab your brochure and scavenger hunt, take a tour, and return your completed scavenger hunt for a small prize. Thank you, Keillee, for providing these exceptional materials to help visitors enjoy the gardens.

Rock Swap and Smile

A new “Rock Swap and Smile” sign was added to encourage visitors of the garden to share painted rocks. The sign, created by Conner White of Cub Scout Pack 1785, encourages visitors to “Take a rock, leave a rock, spread some joy around the block!” Thank you Conner for your creativity!

We are working with the library to offer rock painting programs to help the rock swap grow.

Right Plant, Right Place

Also on May 5, members Sue Williams and Robin Madel presented their “Right Plant, Right Place” presentation to a group of 15 at the Anne Arundel County Public Library in Deale. The small group made for lots of interaction between attendees and presenters.

Reviews of the presentation were wildly positive:

• “Very helpful info!”
• “Everything was great. ROBIN AND SUE was outstanding. I learned alot from them today.”
• “Excellent presentation! I consider myself an experienced gardener and I found the information very valuable.”

Don’t miss the opportunity to hear the presentation for yourself during our Garden Chat on May 19. Registration information is available here.

Native Plant and Seed Swap

Fast forward to our plant swap on May 9, which attracted 70 participants who enjoyed the camaraderie and conversation among tables boasting a huge selection plants. From Asclepias syriaca seeds to Zizia aurea plants, there was something for everyone.

Watching families touring the garden and hearing the joy as children checked off items on their scavenger hunt was the best way to end the first week of Native Plant Month!

What’s next?

This week chapter members will be quite busy. Our activities this week include:

• planting native plugs in the Front Yard Garden,
• giving a guided tour of the Front Yard to the Friends of the Garvey Center,
• starting to transplant our native seedlings that were sown in March,
• packaging seeds with the CSM Seedbox for NatureFest,
• attending a local Scouting America meeting to present opportunities for the scouts to do eagle projects and perform community service hours in our local native gardens and at our events,
• preparing for our May Garden chat, and
• ending the week assisting at the wildly popular Front Yard Garden “Tots in the Front Yard” program, on Saturday, May 16, 10 am – 12 noon. Click here for more info.

Don’t forget to Mark your calendars for NatureFest, our biggest event of the year.

Finally, don’t forget to check out the newly updated Bona Terra Plant Grant offerings. On May 9, they announced “New seedlings are ready!! Get your applications in and schedule a pick up at the nursery whenever works for you or get them brought to the DC pick up location.”