Gardens are at their most compelling when they hold more than plants—when they carry history, material presence, and the quiet authority of objects shaped by hand and weather. Design historian and passionate gardener Elizabeth Lay Little explores how a single obelisk can shift the mood of a border, why a cast iron urn reads differently than a concrete one, and how time-worn surfaces create depth a new object cannot imitate. Whether your garden leans cottage or formal, the right object can anchor a space, lend narrative, or simply offer a moment of stillness amid the green.
Little examines materials—wrought iron and cast iron, concrete and cast stone, rattan and wicker— to discuss what each brings in terms of durability, patina, and presence. She demystifies auction terminology and explains what phrases like “attributed to,” “in the school of,” and “after” reveal about authorship, value, and risk. She also details where to source objects, how to assess quality, and what gives a piece lasting character.
Drawing on her background in decorative arts scholarship, museum work, and design, Little shows how time-worn objects make gardens feel layered, personal, and lived in. October is the ideal time to begin: the right antique takes time to find, research, and place before the garden awakens again in spring.
The rivers and wetlands of Cape Cod support rare and unique fish and wildlife, give us clean drinking water, protect us from storms, and form the iconic landscapes we love. Yet, many of these unique habitats are damaged or under threat. The good news is that we know how to restore rivers and wetlands. Across the state, landowners, volunteers, non-profits, communities, and agencies are coming together to help rivers and wetlands heal. Join the Orleans Conservation Trust and MA Division of Ecological Restoration Director Beth Lambert to learn about river and wetland restoration in Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, and here in Orleans. You will leave feeling hopeful and inspired, knowing that local action can lead to real benefits for people and nature.
Beth Lambert is the Director of the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration (DER), part of the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game. She oversees a 30-person agency whose mission is to restore and protect rivers, wetlands, and watersheds for the benefit of people and the environment. DER staff work in partnership with communities, landowners, non-profit organizations, and state and federal agencies on projects that restore habitat and help people and nature adapt to climate change. Beth has nearly 30 years of experience with river and wetland restoration in Oregon, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.
This Orleans Conservation Trust lecture will take place at the Orleans Yacht Club, 39 Cove Road, Orleans on September 24. Doors open at 6:00pm, and the lecture starts at 6:30pm.
While summer in New England is technically over, it’s still too soon to take out the air conditioner because you know “there’s gonna be another wicked hot day.” It’s shorts and hoody weather, and even though your tan is fading, you’re really not ready to get into your annual lumberjack costume quite yet. Harvest Fest is a celebration of all things fall and the coastal village Rockport provides the perfect scenic backdrop for this event. Spend a weekend by the ocean in a quintessential New England setting enjoying incredible seafood, pastries, deserts, baking competitions and stores that are all open and embracing the season. Full information and schedule may be found at https://addisonchoate.com/blog/2026-rockport-ma-harvest-fest-full-schedule-details/
Join Save the Trees on October 7 for a event filled with celebration, food, and tree tarot card readings, at Southline Boston. We’ll also be honoring our founding board member, Charlie Lord. $75. Sign up at https://treeboston.org/events/event/branchingout2026/
For the first time, the New England Rose Society is excited to introduce a Digital Photography Contest.
The contest features 10 categories, from classic rose portraits and garden scenes to macro photography, creative interpretations, and even blooms with critters. Entries are due September 25, and the winning photographs will be printed and awarded at Founders Day.
The contest is open to all NERS members, as well as non-members who have purchased a Founders Day ticket.
The winners will be announced at Founder’s Day and will be sharing photos from participants. For complete information visit https://www.newenglandrosesociety.org/
Every aspect of a garden – every root, soil microbe, flower, pollinator, and season – is bound up in a web of relationships that by itself cannot survive. Nuwu Pahsats, “The People’s Garden” at Springs Preserve in Las Vegas, is built on that same principle: mutually flourishing relationships between plants and pollinators, between people and the living earth, between speakers of an endangered indigenous language and their interpreters, and between a coalition of tribal communities, NGOs, government agencies, Master Gardeners and nurseries learning to grow native plants together. In this talk, Ian Ford-Terry tells the story of how patient, genuine collaboration with the Las Vegas Paiute Language Group turned a well-intentioned “ethnobotanical garden” concept into a revitalized cultural landmark, traditional ecological knowledge and language repository, and culturally responsive seed bank and nursery — and what that slow, intentional work of relationship-building can teach any gardener cultivating community alongside their plants.
Ian Ford-Terry serves as the Archaeologist & Tribal Liaison for the Springs Preserve, where he applies his interdisciplinary expertise in horticulture, ethnobotany, and archaeology. His work focuses on leveraging Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to inform modern land and plant conservation practices, particularly in arid ecosystems like Southern Nevada. At Springs Preserve, Ford-Terry evaluated and determined the plant selections for Nuwu Pahsats Garden, the Ethnobotanical Garden of the Nuwuvi, by consulting with the Southern Paiute people and integrating ethnographic and archaeobotanical data. He also established the Nuwu Pahsats Speaker Series, featuring Indigenous Knowledge Keepers discussing heirloom seeds, food sovereignty, and traditional farming practices.
Further encouraging collaboration in horticulture, Ford-Terry also founded and leads a broad-based Native Plant Propagation Coalition, consisting of Bureau of Land Management botanists, National Park Service nursery managers, Southern Nevada Water Authority restoration ecologists, University of Nevada Reno Extension Master Gardeners, THPOs, and local nursery managers. The Coalition focuses on sharing propagation protocols and plant material. Ford-Terry also directs the collection, cleaning, cataloging, and distribution of native and heirloom seeds. Ford-Terry’s community engagement includes securing funding from NFL Green to develop landscape and install irrigation at the Las Vegas Indian Center Healing Garden, where he co-designed a permaculture plan. Additionally, while working in a previous position at University of Nevada Reno Extension, he led an effort to train staff and Master Gardener volunteers on accessibility standards and ADA compliance. Ford-Terry holds an M.A. in Anthropology (Archaeology/Paleoethnobotany) from University of Nevada Las Vegas, with a focus on Agave-Human Symbiosis. He is the recipient of the American Horticultural Society’s 2026 Horticultural Innovation Award.
Located just a few short miles from the New Hampshire seacoast, Bedrock Gardens integrates unusual botanical specimens, unique sculptures, and interesting landscape design and features. Over the past forty years, this thirty-acre site transitioned from a historic farm to an oasis of horticulture, art, and inspiration, featuring stunning landscapes such as a Spiral Garden, Parterre Garden, and Rock Garden. Attendees at this American Horticultural Society live tour on September 25 will have the unique opportunity to tour Bedrock Gardens with its creator Jill Nooney and to hear her speak on her recent book detailing the garden’s history. The tour will focus on spectacular fall color, including the GrassAcre, filled with Switchgrass, Hakone Grass, and Little Blue Stem. Registrants can also purchase the book in advance at this link for signing.
Jill Nooney grew up in rural New Jersey. She attended Bennington College, Smith College School of Social Work, and the Radcliffe Seminars Program in Landscape Design. She has had a lifelong interest in plants, art, and healing the human spirit. She lives with her husband, Bob Munger, in an old farmhouse in New Hampshire. Together, over the span of forty years, they created Bedrock Gardens and, in 2023, they gifted the garden to the Friends of Bedrock Gardens to be enjoyed by all as a public garden.
Ready to rethink how you plan, design, and create your community garden?
Join The Urban Garden Project on Zoom on September 22 at 4 pm Eastern for an upcoming UGP Workshop featuring Aaron Michael of Earth Love Gardens for an engaging conversation about Planning, Designing, and Creating Your Community Garden.
Whether you’re starting a new garden, redesigning an existing space, or looking for ways to make your garden more functional and welcoming, this workshop will offer practical ideas and inspiration to help bring your vision to life.
What makes a great community garden? How do you design a space that works for your community? What should you consider when planning and creating your garden?
On September 23 at 7 pm Eastern on Zoom, Cricket Riley will share the inspiration behind the book Designing the Lush Dry Garden and discuss how personal experience, place, and climate shape the way we design and experience our landscapes. She will explore what it means to create gardens that are vibrant, resilient in the face of a changing climate, and expressive of individual values and aesthetics. The talk will highlight influences from the Ruth Bancroft Garden as well as practical design strategies and thoughtful plant choices that balance beauty with sustainability, offering attendees approachable ideas they can adapt to their own spaces. Cricket will also touch on how observation, experimentation, and seasonal change inform successful garden design over time. The American Horticultural Society presentation will conclude with an interactive Q&A, inviting audience members to ask questions and explore how the concepts, tools, and inspiration from the book can be applied to their own unique landscapes and gardening goals.
CRICKET RILEY is co-owner of Lush Dry Gardens, a landscape design firm specializing in low-water garden design, and worked at the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek, CA, from 2017 to 2025. During her tenure she held multiple roles, including founding and serving as Director of the Design Services department. She was the primary instructor for the Dry Garden Design Certificate Program, which she co-created with Alice Kitajima in 2020.
ALICE KITAJIMA’s deep connection to gardens and landscape design began early, inspired by her father, who immigrated to Los Angeles to design and install Japanese-style gardens. After completing her forestry and music studies at the University of California, Berkeley, she worked at botanical gardens and arboreta across the United States. As Program Director at the Ruth Bancroft Garden, she led the education department with a passion for helping people build meaningful, lasting connections with plants.
Over six weeks, we’ll follow the seed-saving process from the botany behind it to the community that keeps it growing:
September 28: The Botany of Seed Saving October 5: Harvesting and Cleaning Seeds—Dry Processing October 12: Harvesting and Cleaning Seeds—Wet Processing October 19: Seed Quality and Storage October 26: Growing and Saving Seed with Regional Experts November 2: Next Steps—Connecting to Community
Classes are live on Zoom on Monday evenings, with time for questions and conversation. Recordings will also be available to registered participants. This course is a Seed Savers Exchange offering, sponsored by the Organic Seed Alliance.
