Lecture Series
MAY LECTURE
Creating Memorable Gardens
with Allan Summers
Date: Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: Vollmer Center at the Cylburn Arboretum
Cost: The lecture is free to members, $10 for non-members.
Members Only Livestream: Members who wish to attend virtually, may do so by registering, using the “member registration” link. The lecture will be recorded. The recording will be available for one week following the lecture only to members who have registered.
And join us before the lecture for the 2024 Tool Drive benefitting the Farm Alliance of Baltimore! Light refreshments will be available outside before the event. It will be a meet and mingle opportunity for Hort members and FAB farmers. Read more below.
Allan Summers is a principal in RAS Landscape Architects of Media, PA. He has a passion for horticulture and fine art and over 30 years’ experience providing planning and design services through all phases of landscape architecture from conception through final construction. His interests are reflected in a wide variety of projects. Some of the work with which Allan has been involved will be familiar to many of you: RAS developed the site master plan and initial concepts for the entry and arrival sequence, parking, buildings, and the meadow garden at Delaware Botanic Gardens. They developed the Master Plan to guide the first phase of Chanticleer’s transition from private estate to public garden and developed the plans for the planted public parking area, visitor restrooms and circulation, and an arbor overlook at the ponds. They received the Trumbauer Award for providing the planning and expertise to oversee the full-scale historic restoration of the gardens at Nemours.
Special Thanks to Leigh Barnes for sponsoring our May lecture!
Join Us for the 2024 Annual Tool Drive!
When: Tuesday, May 14, 2024 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
Where: Vollmer Center at Cylburn Arboretum
SPRING IS HERE! Now is the time to clean out our sheds and garages of unused and duplicate tools and supplies. And, for those who are down-sizing or moving, here’s a wonderful opportunity to deploy your unwanted tools and supplies. Please bring donations of new or gently used garden tools and plants (labeled, if possible) to the Vollmer Center before the evening’s lecture. Light refreshments will be available outside. It will be a meet and mingle opportunity for Hort members and FAB farmers.
THE FARM ALLIANCE OF BALTIMORE (FAB) will be the beneficiary of this year’s Tool Drive. Launched in 2011, The Farm Alliance of Baltimore is a membership organization of over 40 urban farmers, gardeners, and beginner farmers in Baltimore City. Our membership grows food, flowers and honey for neighbors using sustainable practices. By providing technical assistance, marketing and training opportunities, as well as essential resources like soil testing, cover crop seed, and seedlings, FAB is playing a crucial role in empowering local farmers and strengthening the community’s access to fresh, healthy food. To learn more about member farms and their work, visit farmalliancebaltimore.org .
The Wish List:
Hand tools such as trowels, harvesting knives, pruners, shovels, rakes, hoes, broadforks, cultivators, seeders, adult-size gloves, hats, wheelbarrows. Supplies such as (NEW) garden or drip hoses, rain gauges, trash bags, yard waste bags, twine, trellises, stakes, row cover, hardware cloth or chicken wire, netting and weed barrier (tarps).
PLEASE DO NOT DONATE: broken items, used hoses, nursery pots, chemicals, fertilizers, soil amendments, tomato cages, rotted/warped wood or stakes, soft garden rakes.
MANY THANKS!! YOUR DONATION (INCLUDING CASH) CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE TO THESE FARMS!
Not a member of HSM yet? Not a problem!
Previous Lectures
Choice Conifers of the Mid-Atlantic Landscape
with Joseph Meny
Conifers perform many functions in the garden. There is a huge variety well suited to our gardens in the Delaware, Maryland and Washington area. Joe Meny will discuss the considerations one should make before selecting a particular conifer for the landscape setting. He will then introduce us to varieties that showcase unique characteristics, illustrating how conifers can be both focal points and the backbone of the garden.
Joe Meny has been at the U. S. National Arboretum since 2007 and is now the horticulturist in the Conifer and Maple Collections. He is tasked with maintaining the aesthetic and cultural requirements of plants in the garden while directing the future development of these collections through new acquisitions and germplasm.
Special Thanks to Pinehurst Landscape Company for sponsoring our April lecture!
March 2024: Understanding Your Soil with Neith Little
Understanding Your Soil
with Neith Little
Date: Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Time: 7:30 pm,
Location: Vollmer Center at the Cylburn Arboretum
So much of the health of our gardens depends on what is happening underground. Gain a better understanding of basic soil principles and how we can use that information to improve our garden soils. Unearth the science beneath your feet and cultivate a garden that flourishes from the ground up.
Neith Little has been the urban agriculture Extension Educator for Baltimore City since 2016. She has worked as an agricultural Extension Educator for Dakota County, Minnesota and as Assistant Grower at Hampshire College Farm. Neith earned an M.S. from Cornell University in Soil and Crop Sciences and a B.A. from College of the Atlantic in Human Ecology.
Special thanks go out to our March Lecture sponsor Babikow Wholesale Nursery.
Feb 2024: The Diversity, Ecology, and Propagation of Native Plants (Take 2) with Stan Kollar
The Diversity, Ecology, and Propagation of Native Plants, Take 2 featuring Stan Kollar
Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Time: 7:00 pm
Format: This lecture will be a Zoom webinar. The program begins promptly at 7:00. The virtual doors will open at 6:55. This event will be recorded, and the recording will be available to registered participants for one week after the lecture.
Cost: The lecture is free to members, $10 for non-members.
Join Stan Kollar as he returns to make the presentation meant for our April meeting last year. Explore the rich history and current challenges faced by the flora of eastern North America with Stan Kollar. From woodlands to successional fields, and unique habitats like bogs and serpentine barrens, we’ll delve into the fascinating world of diverse plant species, their ecology and their critical role in today’s environment. Discover the intriguing stories of many unique species that have either vanished or are in serious decline, prompting us to reflect on the importance of their preservation. Stan will encourage us to contribute to the conservation effort by transforming our gardens and properties into habitats and refugia. We can preserve these species until we, as a society, prioritize and invest more in the conservation of these vital plant species.
Stan Kollar, with a passion for plants and ecology since his days at UC Santa Barbara in 1972, brings a wealth of knowledge to our session. In 1985, he and his wife Sharon founded Kollar Nursery, specializing in the cultivation of native plants indigenous to eastern North America. Serving as a Professor of Biology and Earth Science at Harford County Community College from 1976 to 2017, Stan’s professional journey spans landscape design, wetland restoration, water quality improvement, forest conservation, renewable energy, and the restoration of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in the Chesapeake Bay. Having explored every state in the U.S. and 13 other countries, Stan is both a seasoned traveler and an accomplished photographer.
Dec 2023: Planting for the future: Right Tree Right Place with Robert Shaut
Planting for the Future, Right Tree, Right Place with Robert Shaut
Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2023
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: Vollmer Center, Cylburn Arboretum
Cost: The lecture is free to members, $10 for non-members.
Registration: Registration is not required for the in person lecture. Members who wish to attend virtually must register, using the button below. The lecture will be recorded. The recording will be available for one week following the lecture only to those who have registered.
As gardeners, our mantra is “Right plant, right place.” For trees, this becomes even more important. Species selection is becoming more and more imperative for gardeners, horticulturists, arborists, and landscape designers. With more pronounced droughts and precipitation events and unpredictable weather, selecting species for future climates is our responsibility.
Learn how to cultivate biodiversity and adaptive species that can sustain the volatility of the future. Trees have a critical role in combating heat islands and air pollution and in stormwater mitigation, particularly in underserved communities.
Robert Shaut is Director of Tree Operations at Casey Tree, which plants more than 6,000 trees a year in Washington DC, and maintains thousands more. Robert holds a degree in horticulture from Longwood Gardens, a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Clemson University, and studied at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, UK.
Special thanks go out to our December Lecture sponsor Alpine Tree Professional Tree Care.
