Garden

Morgan Roof, Rachel Shirk and Matthew Shirk hold yellow squash that were grown in their grandmother's garden in Hagerstown. Brenda Shirk, the children's grandmother, said last year she planted yellow squash and green zucchini plants. This year, the plants came back voluntarily and the vegetables are a combination of both. Brenda Shirk lives on Liberty Street in Hagerstown.

The Washington County Master Gardeners will hold a free garden photography workshop from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 14, at the Washington County Agricultural Education Center, 7303 Sharpsburg Pike, south of Hagerstown. The class is free, but registration is required. To register, contact Diane Woodring at 301-791-1504 or dwoodrin@umd.edu.

The Herald-Mail runs photos of unusual items found in the garden. If you find something unusual in your garden, take a photo and send it in. You can drop it off at The Herald-Mail at 100 Summit Ave.; e-mail it to tonym@herald-mail.com ; or mail it to The Herald-Mail, Box 439, Hagerstown MD 21741.

In a few weeks they will return, flashes of emerald winging their way through our gardens. Adding grace notes to the beauty of our flowers, the hummingbirds will be back. Around April 15 each year, hummingbirds return from their winter digs. Weighing the same as a dime, they pack plenty of power in a small package. Their wings beat 90 times a second and their aerial acrobatics are second to none.  Our local hummingbird is the ruby-throated hummingbird. The males sport a jaunty red handkerchief of feathers they flash to attract females and warn off male aggressors.  Hey, baby.

In garden books, compost is often described as "black gold. " That's true, of course. Compost is money in the garden bank. But the real gardener's gold is hidden in the small corm of Crocus sativa - the saffron crocus. Saffron's six-petaled purple or white flowers make a perfect setting for the vermilion stigmas that leap from their centers. These stigmas are the world's costliest spice. No wonder saffron is a budget buster. It takes 60,000 to 75,000 (depending on your reference)

Melissa Shoemaker, 10, holds an odd-shaped, 2-pound potato she and her Pappy found in Pappy's garden on U.S. 40 East.

Keegan Everson, 4, planted a watermelon plant in his garden at his Pappy Martin's in Clear Spring. The watermelon is 34 inches in circumference and weighs 25 1/2 pounds. Keegan shared it with is daycare friends at Citi.

A “mountain” for children to scale, a pretend fossil dig and a large caterpillar they can crawl through are part of a whimsical play area that Gateway Garden Club envisions for Ambrose Park in Martinsburg. “This is sort of new territory for us,” said Sue Ann Palmer, who is chairing the club's committee for the children's garden project with Terri Michael. The garden is being geared toward those ages 2 to 12, and the club is hopeful that nearby Winchester Avenue and Rosemont elementary schools will be able to use it for educational purposes, such as outdoor science classes, Palmer said.  The club has been working closely with the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Parks & Recreation Board, which approved the project on about one-fifth of an acre of the park along Mall Drive, Palmer said.

The Women's Club will sponsor a house and garden tour Saturday, June 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eight houses will be on the tour, including some on Oak Hill Avenue and South Prospect Street in Hagerstown. Also included on the tour will be the Women's Club, the Brennecke home and a home in Sharpsburg. Lunch will be available at the club from 11 a.m.  to 2 p.m. The lunch will cost $7 on the day of the tour. The cost of tickets covering all the homes is $20, or individual homes can be viewed for $5. Tickets are available at the Women's Club, Lena's of Hagerstown, Wisteria Cove, Dollies Tea Room, Cake Walk, Carol and Co., Village Florists and Gifts, Fahrney's Hallmark, Roostervane Florist and the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The Washington County Master Gardeners will hold a free garden photography workshop from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 14, at the Washington County Agricultural Education Center, 7303 Sharpsburg Pike, south of Hagerstown. The class is free, but registration is required. To register, contact Diane Woodring at 301-791-1504 or dwoodrin@umd.edu.

As redbuds flash purple along our roadways and tulips blink red and yellow at our doorsteps, I am reminded that natural beauty is awe-inspiring and worth protecting.  Not just on Earth Day, but every day. Gardeners are some of the best environmentalists, choosing smart practices that help, not harm, our natural resources. Every choice you make as a gardener can tip the balance toward conservation. Healthy gardens grow healthy plants. So build healthy soil to keep your gardens productive and part of a vibrant ecosystem.

Not all alleys are created equal. In urban areas, many are narrow passageways merely allowing for deliveries behind businesses. But in small towns, they're often quiet paths leading to an unexpected oasis. Such is the case in Clear Spring, where, nestled not far from traffic on Cumberland Street, residents have created exotic green spaces filled this time of the year with the sweet scents of spring. Crocus and daffodils have sprouted from rich earth that has softened after a long, hard winter.

The Washington County Master Gardeners will hold a free garden photography workshop Tuesday, May 14, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Washington County Agricultural Education Center at 7303 Sharpsburg Pike in Boonsboro. Taught by Master Gardener Craig Camp, the class will explore lighting, exposure, composition, timing, preparation and other issues.  The class is free, but registration is required.  To register, call   301-791-1504 or send an email to dwoodrin@umd.edu.

It's here. It's here. It's finally here. Spring, glorious spring, has arrived and it's time to wake up our gardens. Start with some spring cleaning. Tidy up your flower gardens by removing stalks not cut back in the fall. Rake off clumps of leaves. And feed the soil in all of your beds with an inch or so of compost.    This is a perfect time to plant trees, shrubs and perennials. Cooler spring weather gives them a chance to grow good roots before the heat hits. How deep should your planting hole be?

The Franklin County Master Gardeners will offer a "Victory Garden" experience to participants at the Horticultural Gardens, across the street from the Franklin County Extension Office, 181 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg, for the summer growing season. The class meets from 9 to 11 a.m. Mondays, April 22 through Sept. 16. The Victory Garden is a season-long vegetable growing class in a shared, community garden setting at the Master Gardener Clubhouse at the Horticulture Center Gardens.

Hagerstown Police Department investigators are seeking the public's help in gathering information about two burglaries and an assault that occurred in March at the Washington Gardens apartment complex on Security Road, according to a police department news release. The crimes occurred March 5 just before 6:30 a.m., police said. A suspect is described as being a black male between 20 and 35 years old and having a slim or athletic build, police said. A substantial reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for the crimes, police said.

On their final day of spring break, students from Hancock Middle-Senior High School braved the cold Tuesday to join Good Shepherd Preschool students in planting a tree and a blue pinwheel garden at Widmeyer Park, releasing blue balloons into the air and distributing blue ribbons around town in memory of child-abuse victims. Hancock senior Tanner Faith, who lost a 5-week-old cousin, Bella Appel, to child abuse in 2010, said the issue of child abuse “strikes home” for him. “There is child abuse out there, and people need to realize how severe it is and what effects it has on families,” said Tanner, 17. “I was going to make sure I was here.” Tanner's brother, Skylar, 16, a sophomore at Hancock, said the tree that was planted signifies the “suffering” of families of child-abuse victims.