Page 4 - MNLGA Free State Spring 2024_WEB SPREADS
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PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
                                                                                                                                   Contents

                                             This winter has provided a chance to learn more about the MNLGA Board
                                             President’s role in serving our association and I am pleased to take on this                                                               9  THIS BUSINESS OF OURS   Mike Hemming
                                             opportunity. Both Vanessa Finney and John Murphy (now Director-at-Large)
                                                                                                                                                                                             Mild Winter Leads to Promising Spring
                                             have been generous with their time meeting and communicating about
                                             the role.                                                                                                                                 14  IT’S TIME FOR SHARING   Jerry Faulring
                                                                                                                                                                                             The Soil Food Web
                                             The board has been busy with discussions about the invasive plant bill
                                             under consideration by the Maryland General Assembly. I’ve also been                                                                      22  MEMBER EVENT   Lauren Bottcher
                                             involved with discussions about this as a member of Maryland’s Invasive                                                                         Chesapeake Green Recap
                                             Plant Advisory Committee (IPAC). Several members of the MNLGA with                                                                        28  GROWING WITH EDUCATION   Ginny Rosenkranz
                                             interest in or potentially impacted by the bill have weighed in with valuable         page 9                        page 28                     Native Perennials Not Dear to Deer: Part 2
                                             feedback. This helps us in turn pass along suggested alterations through
                                             our lobbyist, Lindsay Thompson, to those working. We’ve also been                                                                         34  MNLGA ANNUAL MEETING   Kelly Finney
        LESLIE HUNTER CARIO                  discussing some ideas to share with the University of Maryland as they work
        Chesapeake Horticultural Services                                                                                                                                              36  MNLGA MEMBERS DOING BUSINESS AT MANTS
                                             to fill open faculty and extension positions that interact with Maryland’s
                                             green industry. Stay tuned for updates on these positions later this year.                                                                      Kelly Finney
                                             We look forward to working with the new hires, and wish John Lea-Cox and               page 68                                            38  GREEN GROWER
                                             Karen Rane well in their retirement!                                                                                                            Teamwork Driving Success at Babikow Greenhouses

                                             In addition to well-organized and timely support from Vanessa, the MNLGA                                                                  42  MANTS MEANS BUSINESS   Kelly Finney
                                             staff team, and members of the board and board committees, something
                                             else that strengthens our association is our membership. All of us surely                                                                 54 FEATURED MEMBER   Carol Kinsley
                                             benefit from involvement with the association through professional                                                                              Delmarva Native Plants
                                             development, networking, industry updates/representation, and benefit                                                                     64 TOTAL PLANT MANAGEMENT   Stanton Gill
                                             programs. Each of us also has something to offer by supporting one                     page 22                                                  Staying Profitable by Adopting New Technology and
                                             another and volunteering in ways that will benefit others with our industry                                                                     Biological Control
                                             knowledge, which are both areas that I look forward to exploring more and                                                                 66  AMERICANHORT
                                             hearing your ideas. In the meantime, please encourage membership in the
                                                                                                                                                                                             News from the Hill
                                             MNLGA with those who you think would benefit or could help others.
                                                                                                                                                                                       68  CULTIVATING COMMUNICATION   Wendy Brister
                                             The annual Chesapeake Green Symposium held in February was a good
                                                                                                                                                                                             #cottagecore – The Hashtag You Didn’t Know Your
                                             way, as always, to learn from others, share ideas, network, and for those                                                                       Garden Needed!
                                             presenting to share their knowledge with others. There is much more to                                                                     DEPARTMENTS
                                             look forward to this season - a Social Media and PR workshop at Ladew
                                                                                                                                                                                          4   President’s Message
                                             Gardens, a Biocontrol Seminar, and a Technology Field Day at Ruppert                                                                         6   Director’s Message
                                                                                                                                    page 54                   page 64
                                             Nurseries, Inc., so please come out and see what the excitement is                                                                           8   Association Officers
                                             all about! A                                                                                                                                 8   Directory of Advertisers
                                                                                                                                                                                         27   CPH
                                             Leslie Hunter Cario                                                                                                                        60   Annual MNLGA Sponsors
                                             President Maryland Nursery Landscape and Greenhouse Association (MNLGA)                                                                     62   Maryland Green Industry Calendar of Events
                                                                                                                                                                                         74   New Members
                                             lesliecario@cheshort.com                                                               ON THE COVER:                                        78   Press Release
                                             www.chesapeakehort.com                                                                 Larura Hagman of Waverley Farm helped roll out there new Ready    79   MNLGA Mission Statement
                                                                                                                                    Hedge at MANTS.
                                                                                                                                                                                        80   Membership Benefits Program
                                                                                                                                   Executive Director: Vanessa A. Finney                 81   MNLGA Chairs and Committees
                                                                                                                                   Quercus Management Staff: E. Kelly Finney, Lauren Bottcher and    81   MNLGA Board of Directors
                                                                                                                                   Michelle Paris Hahn
                                                                                                                                   Phone: 410-823-8684 | Fax: 410-296-8288 | E-mail: office@mnlga.org   Design: Gregory J. Cannizzaro Graphic Design (contact information page 41)
                                                                                                                                   Web: mnlga.org | Free State e-mail: freestate@mnlga.org  © 2024 Maryland Nursery, Landscape and Greenhouse Association, Inc.

        4   SPRING 2024 • Free State News                                                                                                                                                                                Membership Matters • SPRING 2024   5
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