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Diggin' It on State Circle

By Kymberly Taylor
Photos by Tony Lewis, Jr

When the going gets tough, the tough get digging, believes Maryland First Lady Katie O’Malley. She deals with daily turmoil by checking her butter lettuce in her kitchen garden every summer evening. (The tender undersides are susceptible to slugs). “It’s my therapy, I walk the dogs here and check on everything’s progress,” she says. “I’m in here whenever I can be and I’m not in my car.” Thanks to two rain barrels that help with irrigation and the right balance of sun and shade, this tiny edible Eden, which is approximately 350 square feet, is thriving. Why not stroll along State Circle and take a look? You’ll see, in a half-moon shaped plot just off of the kitchen, squash flowers blossoming, tomatoes ripening on the vine, parsnip tops sprouting in neat rows, and cinnamon basil overtaking the sunny southern midsection, (unless Chefs Cathy Ferguson or Medford Canby have snipped it for supper.) Additional plants include swiss chard, collard greens, bush beans, cabbage, peppers, turnips, and herbs. There are six more rain barrels around the mansion and a compost heap. Life may get even greener, says Mrs. O’Malley. “We hope to get solar panels if we can get approval from the Historic Commission.”

The new garden, planted April 25 with the help of local school children and master gardeners, is timely for a number of reasons. For the first time since sons Will and Jack were born, Mrs. O’Malley can return to the same simple rituals that sustained her in Baltimore. Every day, after dealing with everything from heroine addicts to car accidents as Assistant State’s Attorney Prosecutor, she came home to play with daughters Tara and Grace, ages four and five.“I would put their bikinis on and my over-alls and we would get to it…we always had something blooming,” she says. It was there, in her backyard in Baltimore City, that she planted her first garden and found a place to repose. “I tried to go for the English Garden look and grew poppies, lilies, iris, and annuals, such as zinnias.” Now, since she’s moved to Annapolis, her commute to the First District Court of Baltimore City Maryland, where she is an Associate Judge, is even longer. However, the garden is all the more appreciated. Usually, when the Governor returns home, she takes his hand, looks for Will and Jack, and heads outside. “Martin comes home and we let the dogs out and the kids come running and we’re all here,” she says.

Don’t be surprised if you catch Mrs. O’Malley picking a radish and then sprinting into the kitchen to chop it up and eat it raw. She is, literally, eating her own words. Mrs. O’Malley hopes to inspire Marylanders and Annapolitans, in particular, to plant and harvest their own gardens in her “Grow It, Eat It” program launched in April with the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension and Master Gardener Program. The idea builds on a an educational initiative by Michelle O’Bama, who, with her children, planted a “Victory Garden” on the White House South Lawn last spring to encourage sustainable gardening and to connect children with primary food sources. Comparisons are being made between the trend to plant modern backyard edible gardens and Victory Gardens planted by Americans during tough times in World War II. In 1943, the government “called” all Americans to plant Victory Gardens to indirectly aid the war—gardens helped families supplement their daily rations and more canned goods could be shipped to troops around the world. Also, they became emblems of courage during economic and political upheaval. Mrs. O’Malley has much of this in mind: “We are in a difficult war right now, families are suffering, and we’re in a recession. There are personal losses and unemployment. A garden can be a way to lighten the load,” she says.

Today’s healthy and economical trend to plant homey vegetable patches differs significantly from the highly organized war effort in 1942 that yielded approximately eight million tons of vegetables, according to Marion Margery Scranton, Commander War Services, Pennsylvania State Council of Defense. If your lettuce wilted, you might have been in big trouble. Supervisors were on the prowl and appointed to do the following: “…they helped stake out gardens after plowing and gave friendly advice throughout the summer, occasionally prodding lazy gardeners and in the fall reporting on any neglected plots.” Apparently, higher-ups were concerned that, as the gardens grew and certain foods were no longer rationed, people would get the “peace jitters” and become complacent about their gardening.

Thanks to a few helping hands, including staff, groundskeepers, volunteer master gardeners, Will and Jack, Mrs. O’Malley do not have to worry about wilting lettuce or, for that matter, complacency. She does not think of her garden as a chore but a natural extension of family life. “This is part of the house to me,” she says.

When you watch your own vegetables grow, observes Mrs. O’Malley, you know exactly when to eat them. She looks forward to broccoli, her favorite vegetable, and spinach, which Will and Jack will not eat. The Governor loves parsnips. An especially tasty herb is stevia. “When you chop this up very fine, it tastes just like sugar,” she says.

She cheerfully admits that she is by no stretch of the imagination an expert gardener. And, she insists that you don’t need to be one either. If you’re a beginner, start with a modest plot so you will not be overwhelmed. “This stuff is really not hard. You take a little money; you buy some seeds and small plants and put them in a small garden.” Get the kids involved, if you can, she says. These days, Grace and Tara, even though both are vegetarians, are not interested in a Victory Garden or, for that matter, any other kind of garden. “They’re teenagers, they’re thinking about boys,” she says.

If you have an unfortunate tendency to kill plants rather than nurture them or are perfectly competent but just don’t have time to get out your rototiller, she provides sound advice. “Don’t try. You should not be gardening. Just go the farmer’s market and you’ll find all you need.”

Oven Roasted Parsnips

Wash, peel, and slice parsnips in ¼ inch slices, as you would a carrot.

Coat with oil, salt, and pepper.

Toss lightly. Roast in 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until tender.


Local farmers who sell their produce at markets like the idea of more gardens because people will learn how good something home-grown tastes and may visit their markets to get more of a good thing. Also, they believe people will buy more plants, seeds, and soil. Farmer Jeff Kreit of Zahradka, a farm in Middle River that grows everything from flowers to bi-colored corn, says gardens are places for families to get together and is not worried about business slowing down. He notes it is difficult to grow vegetables in large quantities. “Most homeowners plant but don’t get the yield, “ he says. “Heirloom tomatoes are tricky and for corn, you need room.” Severna Park resident Carol Gorden, who teaches water aerobics, loves to grow flowers but will leave the vegetables to the pros. “I need time for myself and for recreation. I don’t think I have time for squash. “

Tags: First Lady Katie O'Malley local farming

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