For new homeowners and experienced gardeners alike, growing a habitat garden for the first time can feel overwhelming. Fortunately there are a wide array of educational opportunities to learn the fundamentals of native gardening right here in Maryland.
To start, I recommend joining a chapter of Wild Ones, which is a garden club for those focused on growing native plants. Wild Ones members have a wealth of knowledge, and I’ve personally learned a lot from them. They host talks, plant demonstration gardens and run garden tours. Here in Laurel, we’re positioned between three chapters: Greater Baltimore, Chesapeake Bay and Capital Area. Personally, I’ve found the Greater Baltimore chapter to fit Laurel’s geography best, but I visit the other chapters’ events, too. I’m hoping one day we can form our own chapter here. You can find out more at wildones.org.
Most states have a native plant society, and I see them as the keepers of the flame of knowledge. They organize the botanical and ecological experts in their state to share new findings, engage with the public and voice the importance of native plants in the halls of power. The Maryland Native Plant Society is our state’s organization. I always learn something new at the society’s free monthly webinars, which cover a wide range of scientific and practical topics. You can learn more at mdflora.org.
Speaking of native plant webinars, there are almost too many to count, let alone attend. Public gardens, universities, local governments, houses of worship and other interest groups all host webinars on native gardening. Most of these webinars are free, though you may need to sign up in advance. (Many organizations will post recordings up on YouTube afterward, too.) In the webinars I’ve joined, I’ve heard presentations by some of the biggest names in gardening and ecology, as well as local project leaders sharing their successes and challenges. If you need a starting point, the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia’s YouTube channel has a great library of videos about groups of native plants and how to use them in the garden.
If you’re looking for a more hands-on educational program, there are several options. Homeowners can easily participate in the Bay-Wise program sponsored by University of Maryland Extension (UME). The free program offers a scoring sheet with good practices that homeowners can use to protect the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Master Gardeners can help homeowners use this scoring sheet and answer questions they may have. Once you have earned enough points on the scoring sheet, Master Gardener volunteers from your county will come out and certify your yard as Bay-Wise and present you with a yard sign. I really enjoyed going through the process myself and think it’s one of the best starting points for homeowners thinking about land stewardship for the first time.
If you can’t stop after becoming Bay-Wise, you could become a Master Gardener yourself. The program is an extensive, multidisciplinary course to train Marylanders in horticulture, landscape design and maintenance, plant and earth science, and, increasingly, native plants. It takes approximately two years to earn certification, so it’s a big commitment. (As gardeners, though, we know anything worth doing takes a little bit of time.) Master Gardeners are UME’s community-engagement vanguard, spreading sound gardening knowledge in their communities. To learn more, visit the UME Master Gardener Program page at tinyurl.com/kw57eamz.
If you’re a professional gardener or landscaper, you can pursue a certification as a Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP). Administered by the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council, the CBLP course of study helps professionals understand the intersection of land use, storm water management, and wildlife ecology. I took the first level of the course last year, and I learned a huge amount about how water percolates into the ground, as well as the problems caused when it doesn’t. The way communities can effectively handle storm water are called best management practices. The two-day course is designed for busy professionals and includes one day in the classroom and one day at a site using various stormwater management practices such as rain gardens, bioretentions and treatment trains (sequential practices to handle high volumes of storm water). The program has extremely experienced instructors and staff who can answer questions about stormwater management at both municipal and residential levels. You can learn more about the program and access their directory of certified professionals at cblpro.org.
I hope some of these options inspire you to grow your own gardening knowledge. You can even start by chatting with your neighbor down the street who seems to know a little more than you do. In my experience, if you want to learn something, a gardener will help you however they can.