TOP AREA GARDENING EVENTS

Classes, Events, and Plant Shows/Sales

• June 19–25

Pollinator Week

Pollinator Week is an annual celebration in support of pollinator health. It is a time to raise awareness for pollinators and spread the word about what we can do to protect them. See more at https://pollinator.org.

• Wednesday, June 27, 6:30–8pm

Virtual Documentary Screening:

Freedom Freedom Growers

Join the Visionary Organizing Lab to celebrate the premiere of their first short documentary. Feedom Freedom Growers tells the story of how Myrtle Thompson-Curtis and Wayne Curtis grew a garden on Detroit’s East Side and gave birth to a transformative community from which a new food system is emerging. Join them after the film for a discussion and Q&A with Myrtle Thompson-Curtis, Monique Renee, and Ebony Williams of Feedom Freedom Growers, moderated by Visionary Organizing Lab. Free. Register at www.eventbrite.com/ e/visionary-organizing-lab-presentsfeedom-freedom-growers-adocumentary-tickets-636673887737.

• Thursday, June 22, 3:00pm

USDA People’s Garden Webinar: Pollinator Month

Experts from the USDA and beyond will share planting tips and resources that benefit community gardens, along with on-the-ground stories of gardens making a difference by growing fresh, nutritious food for their communities. Register at www.usda.gov/peoples-garden/webinars.

• Friday, June 23, 6:30–8:30pm

Foodie Fridays: Cultivating Traditions Montgomery Parks Community Garden Program hosts Foodie Fridays, a monthly speaker series from June through October. The series features farmers, educators, community organizers, food lovers, and changemakers. Presentations highlight why food matters and the many ways the food system affects residents of Montgomery County. The first event will be at the Josiah Henson

Museum Visitor Center, with a panel of three growers discussing how and why history, ancestral and traditional knowledge, and culturally important foods influence their farming practices. The panelists are Tanya Doka-Spandhla (Passion to Seed Gardening), Tony Cohen (Button Farm), and Nia Nyamweya (Beauty Blooms Farm). Tickets are $10. See https://montgomeryparks. org/events/foodie-fridays-cultivatingtraditions/.

• Saturday, June 24, 1–4pm

Under the Arbor—Tussie Mussies: A Bouquet with a Message

The Philadelphia Unit will demonstrate the making of tussie mussies and the meanings and symbolisms of the herbs in them. Attendees will take home a tussie mussie. No registration—just drop by. Held at the National Herb Garden in the U.S National Arboretum, Washington, DC. Details at the USNA Herb Society of America, www.herbsociety. org/news-events/hsa-event-calendar.

• Tuesday, June 27, 9am–12pm Community Tree Care: Anacostia Skate Park Pavilion

Join Casey Trees teams and Friends of Anacostia Park for a fun day of service at the Skate Park Pavilion. They will be mulching newly planted trees (planted by their volunteers last year) around the park. Other organizations will conduct various clean-up and service activities around the area. Weeding, mulching, and watering these vulnerable trees will give them a leg up in becoming an important part of the area’s growing tree canopy. Register in advance at https://caseytrees.org/events/list/.

• Tuesday, June 27, 7:00pm

Ecological Gardening with Climate Change Resilience

This presentation by Bethany Bradley explores how planting natives can help to reduce invasions and build ecological resilience to climate change. Bradley is a professor of viogeography and invasion ecology in the Department of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA. Her research has a strong focus on terrestrial plant invasions, with a goal of understanding how invasive plant distributions, abundance, and impact vary spatially. Free Zoom meeting hosted by the Maryland Native Plant Society. Register: http://www.mdflora.org/event5304003.

• June 28–July 26

Introduction to Fern ID

This course covers the identification, evolutionary history, and ecology of ferns and lycophytes. Lectures by instructor Kit Sheffield focus on understanding the life and reproductive methods of these ancient plants, local fern families and their characteristics, and their uses by humans and animals. Field trips will focus on identification of ferns using a variety of resources. Class night and time: Wednesdays, 6–8pm for lectures online via Zoom. Field trip dates: Saturday, July 8 (9am–12pm), National Arboretum, DC; Saturday, July 22 (8:30–11:30am), Riverbend Park, VA. Fee: Members $260, nonmembers $310. Registration closes June 25, https://natureforward.org/program/ nhfs/.

• Thursday, June 29, 6–8pm

June Flower Potluck

Bring flowers (foraged or store-bought, a mix or all the same) plus a vessel for them. Flower Potluck includes a brief skill share on flower arranging. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Held at the Doubles DC Patio, 118 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, DC. Reserve a spot and make a donation to Black trans mutual aid at the door via Venmo. See https://www. eventbrite.com/e/june-flower-potlucktickets-655098716897?aff=erelexpmlt.

• Wednesday, July 5, 7:00pm

Garden Safely

Gardening can bring aches and pains— but it doesn’t have to. Learn proper movement, stretches, and exercises to keep a gardening body happy and functional. Held at Arlington Central Library, 1015 N. Quincy Street, Arlington, VA. Free, no registration required. Sponsored by Friends of Urban Agriculture and Master Gardeners. Details at https://arlingtonurbanag.org/gardentalks-2023/.

• Saturday, July 8, 9:30–11:30am Art in the Garden

At this colored pencil sketching workshop in the garden, participants will explore summer flora, incorporating brilliant hues using hatching, crosshatching, and subtraction techniques. Afterward, impress friends with unique creations. All materials will be provided. Held at Tudor Place, Georgetown, Washington, DC. Fee: Members: $45.00; Nonmembers: $55.00. Register at https://tudorplace.org/event/art-in-thegarden/.

•Saturday, July 8, 1:30–3:30pm

Creating Living Wall Art (On-Site Workshop)

Join Young Choe, Kusamono artist, as she shares beautiful living wall art. Learn how to make your own in a 5" by 6" frame that you can take home and grow. Choe will highlight tips and techniques for creating, designing, and caring for your living wall art. Enjoy your mounted livingscape, created from provided materials, on your wall or standing on your favorite table. Held at the U.S. Botanic Garden. Fee: $45 for USBG Friends; $60 nonmembers. Register at https://www.usbg.gov/.

• Thursday, July 27 (full day), and Friday, July 28 (half day)

Regional Garden-based Learning Summit

City Blossoms is partnering with the U.S. Botanic Garden, OSSE, and several other organizations in the mid-Atlantic to plan the Regional Garden-based Learning Summit, a free summit in Washington, DC (in-person only). Due to limited capacity, potential attendees must apply to be considered. See more details at https://cityblossoms.org/ summit.

• Sunday, July 30, 2–3pm

Garden Photo Show Opening

Washington Gardener invites you to the opening reception of our 2023 garden photo show at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, VA. The reception is open to the public and free to attend. You may also come by and view the photos any time during the normal Visitor Center hours through August 30.

Looking Ahead

• Wednesday: August 9, 6:30–8:00pm

Groundcover Revolution Online Talk Hosted by Politics & Prose bookstore. Reducing the lawn is among the biggest trends in homeownership, with an endless stream of homeowners looking for an eco-friendly alternative to a traditional turfgrass lawn. In the last few years alone, more than 23 million American adults converted parts of their lawns to a natural landscape, and now they’re looking to do even more. Kathy Jentz, author of Groundcover Revolution, will provide all the answers you need (and some you didn’t even know you needed!).Register at https://www.politics-prose.com/classes.

•Thursday, August 10, 6:30–8pm

Washington Gardener Magazine

Garden Book Club Summer Meeting

For our next Garden Book Club selection, we will discuss A Way to Garden: A Hands-On Primer for Every Season by Margaret Roach. (2019 updated edition). You can order it new or used at our Amazon link: https://amzn.to/3qbBku3 or at our Bookshop store: https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9781604698770.

The Summer 2023 club meeting will be held via Zoom. To join us, register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIqf-GgrDouHNazm_heaAAxP2EDXkZ7EDg.

The Washington Gardener Magazine’s Garden Book Club meets quarterly via Zoom and is free and open to all.

Event Listing Updates

See updated event listings on the Washington Gardener discussion list. Join by emailing WashingtonGardenersubscribe@googlegroups.com.

How to Submit Events

To submit an event for this listing, email washingtongardenermagazine@gmail. com with “Event” in the subject line. Our next deadline is July 5 for the July 2023 issue, for events taking place after July 15. o

By Kathy Jentz

“Inspire. Connect. Grow.”

The National Garden Bureau is a nonprofit organization that exists to educate, inspire, and motivate people to increase the use of garden seed, plants, and products in homes, gardens, and workplaces by being the marketing arm of the gardening industry. Our members are experts in the field of horticulture and our information comes directly from these sources. Find