HORThappenings

Leesburg Flower and Garden Festival

By Dorvall Bedford

The 2022 Flower and Garden Festival, which the town of Leesburg, Virginia, calls its “annual rite of spring,” occurred on April 23 and 24. Vendors lined the streets of the town’s historic district selling plants, crafts, furniture, and other goods. Beginning at 10 a.m. on both days, it did not take long until the entire district was heavily crowded. By noon, it was so packed that it was difficult to go from one side of town to the other. There were plenty of interesting vendors from around the region. Some of these included Northern Virginia Wholesale Growers, the National Capital Dahlia Society, and Holly Heider Chapple Flowers. While people filled the streets, browsing the many vendors, there were also musical performances from cover artists such as Gary Smallwood, Levi Stephens, and Geno Marriott & The Spirit of Jazz. Barbara Melera of Harvesting History, who has been attending major flowerrelated events across the East Coast for about 17 years, said this year’s festival in Leesburg went spectacularly well for her. “It’s probably the best festival we’ve ever had,” she said. According to Melera, the crowd was a little heavier this year than before. She said this was probably due to several reasons: People are tired of being cooped up at home, they love the festival, and they want to support the vendors. “It’s a marvelous community and it’s a marvelous tradition,” Melera said. This year’s Flower and Garden Festival at Leesburg was a huge event showcasing how extremely popular the tradition is with the local community.

Takoma Garlic Fest

By Jamie Oberg

The Takoma Horticultural Club hosted their fourth annual Garlic Festival at the Takoma Park Farmers Market in Takoma Park, MD, on July 24. “Fresh garlic, garlic from nearby, is always better,” said Tony Sarmiento. The Garlic Fest also provided a taste of fresh garlic’s power. Chef Sorángel Rodríguez made garlic-based sauces, chimichurri and peach, served on small pieces of bread. There were garlic-heavy recipes available to anyone interested. “It was a great opportunity to connect with amazing people from our community while learning how to grow your own garlic,” she said. The Garlic Fest, as it has nearly every year since 2018, made growing garlic more accessible and more fun. Attendants could take pictures with a garlic bulb photo stand-in after tasting Rodríguez’s recipes. Those who had never grown garlic before could pick up garlic basics while the more experienced could pick the brains of the even more experienced. Regardless of skill level, there was something for everyone. Attendees walked away prepared to grow garlic for the first time, amend their growing mistakes, buy garlic fresh, or just appreciate the growth of garlic a little more.

The event was largely a way for people to learn more about growing and buying garlic. Kathy Jentz and several members of the Takoma Horticultural Club staffed the Garlic Fest booth, providing passersby with the best tips and tricks for growing garlic. There was a stack of handouts explaining all the information needed to grow garlic, but some gardeners had more-specific questions. One grower wondered why her garlic plants seemed to melt this year (too much humidity), while another asked why his crop was always so small (choice of cloves). Giving advice alongside the guest gardeners was Sarmiento (above), who has been dubbed the “Garlic Guru” by the Washington Post for his expertise. Sarmiento hoped that the festival exposed attendants to more information about their garlic. “Most people don’t know where garlic comes from,” he said. China produces and exports around 80% of the global market’s garlic. This is where grocery stores in the United States get the majority of their garlic. “That means it’s been in a container ship for a long time and it’s not as fresh,” Sarmiento said. “If you’re eating garlic to take advantage of the health properties, then you’re eating it raw. The fresher the garlic, the more powerful the medicinal effect is.”

MoCo Farm Tour

By Jamie Oberg

A barn full of calves overlooks lines of fruit trees that sit atop a field of flowers. At the forefront, a charming creamery. Rock Hill Orchard and Woodbourne Creamery is a deceptively large farm in Mount Airy, Maryland, that offered tours during Montgomery County Office of Agriculture’s Annual Farm Tour and Harvest Sale. At the farm’s entrance is Woodbourne Creamery. The small shop offers a variety of goods, including dairy products, baked goods, produce, honey, and an assortment of sauces. It is the only “cow-to-cone” creamery in Montgomery County, as well as the only dairy farm that sells milk directly to the public. Having tried the malted milk ball ice cream, I strongly recommend trying their grass-fed, Guernsey cow milk products. The non-dairy products were just as good, with the raspberry sorbet being some of the best I’ve ever had. Beyond the creamery, the rest of the

farm is tiered, meaning every hill you drive over reveals a new opportunity. At the crest, John Fendrick, who owns the farm with his wife, gave a walk-through explanation of where and how their cows are kept. A group of five siblings stared in awe as a robotic arm conducted a fully automated milking. “Farmer John” also showcased where the milk gets pasteurized and bottled, making the entire journey of their milk entirely transparent. Right outside was a field of grazing calves, an impressively large apiary, and, most notably, a nursery. A handful of calves lay in the sun, each in their own area. They were friendly and calm, enjoying the kids’ hands that poked through the fences to pet them. The orchard’s website explains that handling the calves leads them to grow into especially docile cows. Below that, stacked one on top of the other, were the fields. For my trip, peaches and berries were available for picking. The 30-acre orchard included lanes of peach trees with couples searching for the best picks, as well as roped-off apple trees enticing me to visit again when they’re ripe. Below the berries, cut-your-own flowers were also available. The flowers, which decorate the land behind the creamery, included a large variety of annuals and perennials, as well as lavender and sunflowers. Rock Hill also offers pumpkins, rhubarb, cherries, blueberries, various vegetables, and cut-your-own herbs depending on the time of year. To top it all off, the farm was filled with unintended photo opportunities created by the beautiful scenery within the medley of engaging activities. Whether you’re looking for a date idea, an educational field trip, or just a sweet treat, Rock Hill Orchard offers it all. o

Dorvall Bedford is a journalism major at the University of Maryland, College Park, and was an intern during the spring 2022 semester with Washington Gardener. He is a native of Frederick, MD.

Jamie Amadea Oberg is a rising senior at the University of Maryland (UMD) and an intern this summer session with Washington Gardener. Visit DCGardens.com for Photos of the 16 Major Local Public Gardens in the Washington, DC Region shown in each month of the year.

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