National Public Gardens Day was created in 2009, with then partners Rain Bird, to drive local and national exposure to the importance of building vibrant, relevant gardens committed to community enrichment and environmental responsibility through community engagement, sustainable practices and conversation.

Beginning in 2019, the American Public Gardens Association is excited to announce National Public Gardens Week, May 13-19, 2019! Throughout the week, many of our nation’s public gardens will emphasize their importance and impact as community resources and catalysts for change and resilience by encouraging the general public to visit, engage, donate, and/or volunteer.  For more information, visit http://nationalpublicgardensweek.org or http://publicgardens.org

Get some hands-on experience scouting and identifying landscape diseases and weed problems on May 10 beginning at 4 pm. Join Randy Prostak, Extension Weed Specialist and Nick Brazee, Extension Plant Pathologist, for a walk through the landscape at Newton Cemetery & Arboretum, 791 Walnut Street in Newton, as they discuss and demonstrate how to put IPM practices to work efficiently and examine some of the most common pest and cultural problems of woody ornamentals. Dress for walking; workshop held rain or shine. Bring a clipboard, pencil and hand lens if possible. Preregistration required as space is limited; the cost is $50. Register at https://www.newcemcorp.org/news-events/landscape-pests-and-problems-walkabout

Of the several important issues for the home gardener to understand and practice, pruning is quite possibly the most critical and the least well understood. On May 16 at 7 pm at The Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley, Mal Condon will share some details of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s ‘Seasonal Step Approach to Pruning’ – focusing on specific new understandings we continue to explore and develop over time. Additionally, several cultural issues deserve extra attention at this most important time in our growing season – fertilizing, bloom color control, irrigation strategies. ‘Container Growing Techniques’ for our much loved Hydrangea macrophyllas deserves serious consideration as a method for insuring winter survival. Full details will be presented ‘on screen’ and ‘live’.

A lifelong gardener, Mal Condon has been collecting, propagating, and growing hydrangeas for more than 40 years. His initial home gardening pursuits developed over the years into a dedicated commercial operation. An engineer by education and profession, he is strongly committed to the continuing development of the genus – always searching for new and better plants, evaluating their landscape performance, and finding superior ways to produce and grow them.

His Hydrangea Farm Nursery on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts was a well-known specialty nursery featuring one of the largest hydrangea collections in the Northeast. In 2014, he relocated to Cape Cod, where he continues his passion establishing a significant new garden. Mal frequently shares his many hydrangea learnings with garden clubs, horticultural associations, and plant societies – in the USA and other hydrangea-centric locations world-wide.

He is currently the Curator of Hydrangeas at Heritage Museums & Gardens in Sandwich, MA and totally involved with the continuing expansion of the Garden’s significant collections, including the North American Hydrangea Test Garden and The Cape Cod Hydrangea Society’s Display Garden.

$20/ Mass Hort member; $30/general admission. Register at https://masshort.org/education-events/success-with-hydrangeas/