Dear friends of The Green Farmacy Garden — What a difference a month makes!

By the end of April, nearly everything is GREEN. Pictured above in the foreground, the Hawthorn (Cretaegus laevigata) tree blooms in the High Blood Pressure Plot in Terrace B above the trellised Schisandra (Schisandra chinensis), while you can see the white tips of the Carolina Silverbell (Halesia carolina) blooming over the pond in the background to the image mid-right, behind the evergreen Juniper (Juniperus virginiana) in Terrace C’s Cystitis plot.

— We interrupt this Garden update to bring you two time-sensitive Support Opportunities!! —

Please Support CEI’s Inclusion in the County Budget

Over the past six years, the Howard County government has been one of the strongest supporters of CEI’s work, including helping us purchase The Green Farmacy Garden. We are deeply grateful for their ongoing support. The County Executive’s proposed FY 2026 budget includes sustained operating support for CEI as well as a one-time grant for additional support, both of which are essential during this period of rapidly diminishing grant support opportunities. We are asking our community to sign on to a letter of support that we will send to the County Council as a part of our budget testimony on May 12th.  Please click here to sign the letter!

Want to support us in style? We’re running a t-shirt campaign through May 11 with new block print designs by local artist Nikita Yogaraj. There’s also a Freetown Farm design you can check out here!

We’re grateful for your support, and your collaboration in our efforts to cultivate communities where people and nature thrive together!

— And now back to the Garden! —

Throughout the month, perennial plants have been emerging, many blooming immediately, including the native Carrion Flower (Smilax herbacea, pictured here in bud), Wild Yam (Dioscorea villosa), and Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) in the Garden and Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) in the woods, pictured below left to right, top to bottom:

The fauna are rousing too. We’ve had several close encounters with Red-Shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus), and a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) graced us with a recent visit, along with numerous migrating songbirds. Diverse pollinators have been busily working the Carolina Silverbell (Halesia carolina, top left below) and Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum odoratum, middle left below), while inchworms and caterpillars like the one pictured below top right are showing up all over. This one feeding on our native Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) may be a type of Spring Moth (Lomographa sp.), which is one of the several moths whose larvae it’s known to host. Also pictured below are (bottom right) the remains of a White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginiana) who died outside the Garden last month and Red Trillium (Trillium erectum, bottom left).

And because I’m ever-enamored of it, here’s the update on the Devil’s Walking Stick (Aralia spinosa): pleased to see the root sprouts (leaves with red tinge, pictured on the right below, at frame center) are leafing out and growing !! Eventually the dead limbs of the venerable trunk will fall or have to be removed, but for now it remains a stunning presence (below left).

May sees the big push to move the tropicals out into their seasonal spots in the terraces – join us for the Tropical Plant-Out on May 18 to pitch in and meet many of these special plants, and consider sticking around (or popping back after lunch in Maple Lawn) for May’s Foraging Walk. This month’s Herbal Medicine-Making workshop on Saturday focuses on medicinal applications of Wild Rose.

Looking ahead, we’re excited to host our Children’s Day Extravaganza on June 8 and hope you’ll bring your family to join us! As always, you can explore CEI’s core Programs and full event calendar on the website.

We look forward to sharing the Garden with you! -Veri for The Green Farmacy Garden team

All photos courtesy of Veri Tas. Banner image shows Halesia carolina blooms in April