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July 2010 - Field Trip!!!!
by Pat Hendrickson Returning from a recent trip to Colorado, I arrived home to an e-mail from a wonderful friend of mine who I just happen to work for on a part time basis. My friend lives outside of Berlin, Maryland and has a farm called Golden Quarters, which she has been diligently working to bring back to something close to its original state. She and I are always interested in visiting places that give us inspiration and ideas about where our work might lead us. This time, it is River Farm in Alexandria, Virginia, the Washington, D.C. headquarters for the American Horticultural Society. Located at the south end of Alexandria, right off of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, River Farm is 25 acres of meadows, quiet paths, and simple gardens. Although I was not there alone, I got the feeling that it was a well-hidden neighborhood treasure. Among the several, separate areas of the gardens, there is a beautiful rolling meadow, an orchard, an azalea garden, and a children’s garden, to name a few. The meadow was established in 2004, replacing a vast expanse of lawn with over 100,000 native plants that has become home to families of foxes and a way-station for hungry migrating birds. It took four years to make this conversion from lawn to habitat and, I’m sure, hundreds of volunteer hours. Walking paths trail throughout this wonderful haven overlooking the Potomac. I am visiting in late May, and imagine that mid-June will be amazing with a riot of blooms, butterflies, bugs and birds. I will definitely be visiting again soon. Wandering out of the meadow, I find a sweet little spot above the Franklinia Grove (trees named in honor of Benjamin Franklin) that isn’t marked on my map. It’s a simple little path in the shape of a spiral with a planter in the middle. So simple and artful; a little bench off to the side for resting, contemplating, meditation. Back on the map, I find the Green Garage, open on three sides to show the types of tools that make for a green gardener – a hand mower, a wood chipper/mulcher, a wheelbarrow, hand tools, etc. No fertilizer, no engine powered tools, no chemicals. The simple message that native plants are low maintenance, create habitat, and have year-round interest. While dreaming my way down an arbor path with standard Tardiva Hydrangeas, I hear the voices of two boys offering their moms some fish they’ve caught on the boat they’re sailing on. The boat is in the children’s garden; again, a simple setting with very imaginative play structures, some completely out in the open, some somewhat obscured by a cool weeping spruce; an alphabet garden teasing the children (and adults) into finding fun in finding plants. My stroll takes me through the Calm Garden and back to where I started at the White House gates and the Estate House. The most exciting part of my visit begins; by chance, I meet up with both the volunteer coordinator and the horticulturist of River Farm. This is my chance to ask my questions and see what I can do to help our Berlin farm move forward to what it deserves to be. Visit the River farm website: http://www.ahs.org/river_farm/   Posted - 07/01/10
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July 22, 2010 - Arts on the Docks
 Ocean City Fishing Center - Ocean City, MarylandJuly 24, 2010 - Chestertown Farmers’ & Artisans’ Market Fountain Park, Downtown Chestertown, Maryland August 4, 2010 - Watermelon Eating Contest Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Resort - 100 Heron Boulevard; Cambridge, Maryland September 2, 2010 - Farmers’ Market Downtown Cambridge, Maryland September 8, 2010 - Artists Garden Show Stevensville, Maryland September 10, 2010 - Second Friday Art Stroll Downtown Berlin, Maryland September 11, 2010 - Second Saturday Downtown Cambridge, Maryland September 11, 2010 - Crab Feast with the Dorchester Historical Society La Grange Plantation - 1003 Greenway Drive; Cambridge, Maryland September 11, 2010 - Fall Native Plant Sale Adkins Arboretum - Ridgely, MarylandSeptember 11, 2010 - Outlaw Days Tuckahoe Equestrian Center - Tuckahoe State Park - Ridgely, Maryland |
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