Chapters in Maryland

Learn all about winter sowing with Vinaya Frank including the how-to, different techniques, and strategies.

Join us for a talk from Jennifer Klug Vaccaro focused on how to remove invasive species and why this helps create healthy ecosystems.

In-person: RSVP here

Virtual participation: free registration link open now

Rachael Renzi from the C & O Canal will be speaking on "Rare and Threatened  Native  Plants".  Her PowerPoint presentation will show the beauty of these native plants.

12:30-1:00pm     Registration/Socializing/Seed Share*
1:00-2:00pm     Speaker
2:00-2:30pm     Socializing/Clean-up/Seed Share*

*Before/after the event there will be a table set up to share native plant seeds.  Please bring seeds or winter sowing containers (especially translucent plastic 1 gallon milk/water jugs) to share if you have them.  You are welcome to take seeds regardless of if you have any to share.

The Winter Speaker Series is open to the public.  All participants will be asked to register via Eventbrite.  

Join us for our bi-monthly Garden Chat with a presentation by Unity Gardens. The presentation will include a brief introduction to Unity Gardens (Pat Mitchell), some content about native plant selection geared towards members who are already native plant enthusiasts (Mary Yee), followed by some information on applying for either a Unity Gardens grant or a Chesapeake Bay Trust mini grant (Richard Hergenroeder). 

All Wild Ones members are welcome to attend and invite a guest!

About the Speakers:

Pat Mitchell, Past President of Unity Gardens, is a midwestern transplant, but a long time Annapolitan and Bay-Wise gardener. She  is a retired law librarian who enjoys  Master Gardener projects, crafts, reading, travel and  learning about our local ecology and sustainable agriculture.  Pat especially enjoys kayaking and boating on the Bay with her husband, Geoff.  She believes that the Unity Gardens mission of empowering communities to improve their environment with native plants is a positive force in the community.  Each individual really can make a difference by landscaping wisely and working together, and can achieve deep and visible results for our Chesapeake Bay environment.

Mary Yee, Board Member, is a long-time native plant enthusiast and has been an active advocate for the environment in Anne Arundel County since she moved here in 2003.  Originally from Washington, DC and most recently from Montgomery County, Mary has been a Master Gardener since 2011.  Some of her favorite projects have been with Ask A Master Gardener, Bay-Wise, and co-chairing the Bee Project for six years.  Mary currently volunteers with the Greenhouse Team of Providence of Maryland and has been a Unity Gardens grant recipient for her homeowner’s association.  When not in the garden, Mary also enjoys reading and long walks with her fur baby.

Richard Hergenroeder, Board Member, earned degrees in civil engineering from Drexel University and also graduated from John Hopkins University. Richard was a Professional Engineer with firms that served the environmental and energy sectors. He is a Fellow of the Society of American Military Engineers and served on boards of homeowners’ associations, a recycling association, and state, county, and borough commissions.  He has enjoyed assisting two dozen landscape conservation projects in Anne Arundel County. His current projects are a flower farm for his church and a living shoreline for his home.  He volunteers for Wheels of Hope (Crownsville) and his church (Pasadena). Richard is part of Unity Gardens because it provides incentive for homeowners’ associations and faith communities to create habitat for pollinators. Richard believes these grants have a multiplier effect among the many members of these communities. 

Native seed cleaning with horticulture management students