Daily Archives: February 18, 2017

Wednesday, March 1, 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Club Mosses

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Club mosses and fir mosses are two very recognizable plant families in the New England flora. Ranging from sea-level to the summits of our highest mountains, these families include many well-known as well as regionally rare species and some difficult problem groups. This New England Wild Flower Society lecture and key guiding session by Arthur Haines at Garden in the Woods in Framingham on Wednesday, March 1 from 1 – 5 will present the relatively new generic scheme and terminology needed to understand the morphology of the group. $54 for NEWFS members, $64 for nonmembers. Register online at www.newfs.org.  Image from www.capecodwoodlandgarden.com.

Wednesday, March 1, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – The Art and Science of Growing Native Plants from Seed

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Grow Native Massachusetts presents a free talk by Randi Eckel, Founder of Toadshade Wildflower Farm, on Wednesday, March 1 from 7 – 8:30 at the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway in Cambridge, entitled The Art and Science of Growing Native Plants from Seed.

As we incorporate more native plants into our landscapes, there are so many good reasons to use plants propagated from seed. But wild plants have evolved with a dizzying array of mechanisms, including chemical-induced dormancy and mandatory cold stratification, to ensure that their seeds disperse, persevere, and germinate at just the right time under natural conditions. These mechanisms are not in place to frustrate would-be plant propagators, but must be understood by gardeners to successfully grow native plants from seed.

Come for a far-reaching discussion of the issues surrounding seed collection, procurement, and propagation, with information that will encourage the novice and challenge the professional alike. Randi Eckel has been studying native plant seed propagation and plant-insect interactions for over thirty years.  Toadshade Wildflower Farm supplies both seeds and plants of species native to eastern North America.