DC Branch ISSUE VI VOLUME XXVIII 2015 IN THIS ISSUE: PGMS DC BRANCH NEWS & MEETINGS... 3-4 UPCOMING GREEN INDUSTRY EVENTS... 5 NEXT MEETING INFO AND DIRECTIONS... 8 PHOTOS... 9 T H E M I S S I O N O F T H E P G M S D C B R A N C H I S T O F O S T E R I N T E G R I T Y A N D E X C E L L E N C E I N G R O U N D S M A N A G E M E N T B Y P R O M O T I N G P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T T H R O U G H E D U C A T I O N P R O G R A M S, N E TW O R K I N G, C O M M U N I T Y S E R V I C E, A N D F E L L OW S H I P. http://pgms.org/branchdc PRESIDENT S MESSAGE Jeff Schneider, Vicki DiBella and Jonathan Cavalier treated the DC Branch to an up close and personal tour of the Smithsonian greenhouses. Timing was great and the greenhouses were full of summer annuals and tropical plants waiting to go out to Smithsonian properties and public gardens, over 100,000 of them, natives, cultivars and rare plants too! We also got to see some beautiful orchids, many of them in full bloom and looking spectacular! Our sponsor for the evening was Shawn Siefers and The Care of Trees, thank you! The main event of the May meeting was the awarding of the $500.00 DC Branch Education Scholarship to the very deserving Meg Smolinski, who, in a great it s a small world moment, is also an alumnus of the Smithsonian greenhouses, having worked there in the recent past. Meg was accompanied by her friend Jorge Silva. Meg was awarded the 2015 Phil Lee Memorial Scholarship and we were blessed to have Cynthia Martin, (Phil Lee s daughter) with us to make the presentation of her Dad s namesake scholarship to Meg. Phil Lee was one of the most charming and generous people I have ever met and Cynthia is true to her father, with a sparkling personality and a generous donation of $500.00 to continue the Phil Lee Memorial Scholarship into to 2016. NEXT MEETING INFORMATION Date: Thursday, June 4, 2015 from 6:00-9:00 PM Location: George Washington s Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens Host: Dean Norton Sponsors: Bartlett Springfield Office and Alpine Services RSVP MANDATORY. Please RSVP to Amanda Laudwein at 301-590-2840, 301-398-8870 (cell) or laudwein@umd.edu More Information, Map, and Directions on Page 9
PRESIDENT S MESSAGE, CONTINUED President: Eric Wenger Complete Plant Health Care, Inc. Eric@HealthyPlant.com Vice President: Christopher Erb Complete Plant Health Care, Inc. Chriserb88@gmail.com Treasurer: Doug McDaniel Grounds Management & Landscaping, Inc. Groundsmanagementdmd@gmail.com Secretary: Joshua Nadler Bartlett Tree Experts John.D.Nadler@gmail.com Chair: Adam Newhart City of Gaithersburg ANewhart@gaithersburgmd.gov At Large: Amanda Lee Laudwein University of Maryland Extension Laudwein@umd.edu Ken Ingram University of Maryland kingram@umd.edu Marie Rojas Borders and Butterflies, Inc. hortlady@aol.com Term Expires 2017 Mark Scafide City of Gaithersburg mscafide@gaithersburgmd.gov Congratulations to Meg Smolinski and a heartfelt Thank you to Cynthia Martin! Thanks to Kip Cortelyou for another great meal, Doug McDaniel for providing the beverages and Joe Proskine for an outstanding raffle. The next DC Branch Meeting: Thursday June 4, 2015 6pm-9pm George Washington s Estate at Mt. Vernon RSVP for this meeting IS MANDATORY! George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway Mount Vernon, Virginia 22309 Host: Dean Norton Sponsor: Stewart Bunn, Bartlett Tree Experts (VA) and Grove and Judy Teates, Alpine Services Program: Tour of Mt. Vernon Other Important Upcoming Events: July 16, 2015 Summer Field Day at American University (details to follow) booths available From John Burns, National President of PGMS: The National Association of Landscape Professionals (formerly PLANET) has asked about our participation in the Renewal and Remembrance event this year. Please let me (Eric Wenger) know if you would like to participate in this event. National PGMS - Aug. 3-5, 2015 Summer Education Conference Sacramento, CA Green Star Awards -You are invited to enter the 43rd annual maintenance awards program sponsored by the Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS). The annual Professional Grounds Management Awards Program brings national recognition to grounds maintained with a high degree of excellence. The program complements other national landscape award programs that recognize outstanding landscape design and construction. The deadline for entries is 5 p.m. on July 31, 2015, so submit yours TODAY! http://pgms.org/green-star-awards/ I look forward to seeing you all under a full moon at Mt. Vernon Shawn Siefers The Care of Trees ssiefers@thecareoftrees.com Term Expires 2017 Newletter Editors: Michael Gildea Chevy Chase Club mikeg@chevychaseclub.org Katie McDavid Woodmont Country Club kmcdavid@woodmontcc.com PGMS DC Branch www.pgms.org/branchdc/index.htm IPM Net http://ipmnet.umd.edu Green Industry Seminar www.greenindustryseminar.org Virginia Cooperative Extension www.ext.vt.edu/ University of Maryland Extension http://extension.umd.edu DC Cooperative Extension www.udc.edu/cooperative_extension/coop/ext.htm
UPCOMING PGMS-DC BRANCH MEETINGS AND EVENTS JUNE 4, 2015 Mount Vernon Program: Tour of Estate and Gardens Mt Vernon, VA Sponsor: Bartlett Springfield Office and Alpine Services JULY 16, 2015 Summer Field Day Trade Show and Seminar American University Washington, DC AUGUST 6, 2015 Waverly Farms Program: TBD Adamstown, MD Sponsor: Needed Page 3
UPCOMING PGMS-DC BRANCH MEETINGS AND EVENTS, CONTINUED SEPTEMBER 3, 2015 TBD OCTOBER 1, 2015 City of Gaithersburg, MD Program: Visit new park Gaithersburg, MD Sponsor: Needed NOVEMBER 5, 2015 Virginia Theological Seminary Program: TBD Alexandria, Virginia Sponsor: Needed Page 4
UPCOMING GREEN INDUSTRY EVENTS GREEN INUDSTRY FIELD DAY Thursday, July 16, 2015 American University, Washington, DC For information: http://greenindustryseminar.org/ PGMS SUMMER EDUCATION SEMINAR August 3-5, 2015 University of California Davis, Sacramento, California For information, visit: http://pgms.org/upcoming-events/seminar-and-site-visit-series/ PGMS SCHOOL OF GROUNDS MANAGEMENT October 21-24, 2015 Louisville, Kentucky For information, visit: http://pgms.org/ NATIONAL ZOO LOOKING FOR BAMBOO GROVES Bill Clements, the commissary manager at the National Zoo for the animal collection, is looking for bamboo for the pandas and elephants. They prefer to find an acre or so of bamboo where they can send a crew out every few days to harvest a truck load. They will cut their own bamboo. If you know of any bamboo areas in which the National Zoo can harvest from, please contact Bill at 202-633-4098 or clementsw@si.edu Page 5
THANK YOU SPONSORS! Educational & Employee Training Opportunities LANDSCAPING CLASSES AT MONTGOMERY COLLEGE Do you-- Want to learn about designing gardens & landscapes with digital tools? Want to incorporate more native plants in your business or home landscape? Want to learn the newest techniques for plant propagation like hydroponics and tissue culture? Want to learn how to identify and select the best trees, shrubs, and ground covers for good results? If any of these want to s is on your list for 2015, the Montgomery College Landscape Technology program is offering great classes to help you meet your goals and 3 class locations to make learning more convenient! Classes are offered at the Germantown & Takoma Park Campuses and at the Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood. For further information contact: Steve Dubik, 240-567-7803 steve.dubik@montgomerycollege.edu Express Certification Your FAST track to legal pesticide application. Online Training at your convenience! Take the exams in as little as two or three months. Approved for Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. (See website for details http://expresscert.net) Contact: David Jefferson 301-775-0512 expresscert@comcast.net Page 6
SPONSORS Thank you sponsors (those listed here and throughout the newsletter!) Flower Bulb displays for retail Garden Centers featuring: The Biltmore Estate horticultural collection, pre-packaged and loose display boxes, crates of tropical and holiday items Flower Bulbs for your Garden Designs and Greenhouse Operations Tulips Crocus Elephant Ears Daffodils Fritillaria Dahlias Hyacinth Cannas Lilies Alliums Callas bare-root perennials Netherland Bulb Co is one of the largest exporters of Dutch flower bulbs. Still family owned and operated on both sides of the ocean offering the highest quality bulbs at the most competitive prices. Your area representative is listed below: Don Tyson, Landscape Accounts Email: dtyson@netherlandbulb.com Phone 610-737-0381 Fax 610-252-9970 Netherland Bulb Co., Inc Have something you want to announce to fellow PGMS DC Branch members? Have a special remembrance of one of our past meetings? How about a special picture? We d love to share through our monthly newsletter for you! Contact our Editor, Michael Gildea (mikeg@chevychaseclub.org)
NEXT PGMS-DC BRANCH MEETING Location: Mount Vernon 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway Mount Vernon, VA 22309 WANT TO SAVE GAS? Or just like the company of a carpool? Contact Amanda Laudwein a week before the meeting to make arrangements: laudwein@umd.edu, 301-590-2840 or 240-398-8870 Program: Tour of Estate and Gardens Host: Dean Norton Sponsor: Stewart Bunn, Bartlett Tree Experts and Grove and Judy Teates, Alpine Services RSVP MANDATORY: Please RSVP to Amanda Laudwein at 301-590-2840, 240-398-8870 (cell), or laudwein@umd.edu Directions Note: * Older GPS devices may not have the address in their database. You may consider using the address for the U.S. Post Office (3500 Mt Vernon Memorial Hwy) situated across from the estate. Public Transportation Options: Take Metrorail s Yellow Line to Huntington Station. Exit at the lower level of the station (Huntington Avenue) to catch a Fairfax Connector bus to Mount Vernon. Board the Fairfax Connector Bus #101, the Fort Hunt Line, for a 20 minute trip to Mount Vernon s entrance gate. Page 8
PHOTOS Left: Marie Rojas (far left) and Cynthia Martin (far right, Phil Lee s daughter) presented Meg Smolinski the 2015 Phil Lee Memorial Scholarship. Meg was accompanied by her friend, Jorge Silva Right: Barbara Faust, the head of Smithsonian Gardens, and Jonathan Kavalier, Supervisory Horticulturist for the Smithsonian, giving a tour of the greenhouse facility Left: Jeff Schneider was our May meeting host Page 9
PHOTOS Above: The Care of Trees (represented by Tony Faoro in the black shirt) was our May meeting sponsor Thank you to The Care of Trees for sponsoring May s meeting! Our Business is People And Their Love for Trees The Care of Trees 8000 Queenair Drive Gaithersburg, MD 20879 Tel: 301.444.9041 Fax: 301.444.9049 Web: www.thecareoftrees.com Page 10
DC Branch, Inc. http://www.pgms.org/branchdc The mission of the PGMS D.C. Branch is to foster integrity and excellence in grounds management by promoting professional development through education programs, networking, community service, and fellowship. Professional Grounds Management Society DC Branch News 1708 Grandads Lane Silver Spring, MD