Daily Archives: May 2, 2021

Wednesdays, May 5 – 26, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Massachusetts Master Gardener Association’s Home Gardening Webinar Series

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Whether you’re looking for a refresher course or are brand new to gardening, this four-lecture series is sure to up your self-confidence as you plan for that all-important first shopping trip to the garden center.

ONLINE CLASSES are 1-1/2 hrs. each and include How-To presentations and plenty of time for live Q&A:

  • Vegetable Gardening: Planning, preparing and planting a vegetable garden is easier if you start early, think ahead, and always keep in mind the goal of having warm-from-the-sun tomatoes, peppers, and other favorites. We’ll talk about what is involved in growing healthy vegetables and how to start and/or maintain your very own vegetable garden.
  • Perennial Gardening: Perennials are the backbone of the garden. We will explore perennials for sun and shade and look at the importance of natives in the garden. With a little knowhow you will be able to keep your perennial garden in bloom from early spring to late autumn. 
  • Landscaping Basics: Do you have the feeling that you should be planning your property, rather than just mowing it or buying whatever is in bloom? Now is the time to get started! Learn about your plants’ basic needs and how you can easily meet them for years of happy botanical companionship in your garden. 
  • Container Gardening: Whether you choose to plant vegetables, ornamentals or even houseplants, container gardening is an adventure all to itself. Let your creative juices flow and come ready to learn! The presentation is packed with information and tricks of the trade for both beginners and advanced gardeners. The talk includes a PowerPoint presentation with plenty of pictures, followed by a “how to” demonstration. 

INSTRUCTORS are senior Master Gardeners who are experts in their topics:

  • Gretel Anspach – A Master Gardener since 1998, Gretel is a retired engineer with a passion for both the art and the science of gardening. A sought-after MMGA Speakers Bureau presenter, her repertoire includes a wide range of practical topics. She is also the volunteer manager of a food pantry garden in Marlborough. 
  • Kathi Gariepy – A Lifetime Master Gardener since 2000 with over 10,000 MMGA volunteer hours under her belt, Kathi is a founding member of the MMGA Speakers Bureau and has presented to hundreds of organizations. Her talks are known for their eye-popping photographs. 
  • Jodi Frank – A Master Gardener since 2012, Jodi is a lifelong in-ground gardener and container designer/gardener with many wonderful memories of working in the garden with both her grandfather and father. Also known as “Dr. Frank,” Jodi holds a PhD in Kinesiology from UCONN. Her understanding of the natural world combines her love of nature and knowledge of how the body moves within it. 

COST: The cost of the four-lecture Home Garden Webinar Series ‒ Spring is $60, payable by credit/debit card or PayPal. Classes are not available individually. Registration closes Friday, April 30, 2021. Refunds not available after April 30, 2021 or for individual classes.

FAQ: answers to frequently asked questions. Click HERE to register.

Tuesdays, May 4 – May 25, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm, Online, and Sunday, June 6, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm, Live – Foundations of Vegetable Gardening

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The Tower Hill Botanic Garden immersive Foundations of Vegetable Gardening will give you all the needed information to get your vegetable garden off to a good start this spring. Four virtual workshop sessions will provide information for planning and preparing garden beds, sowing seeds, transplanting seedlings, and raising healthy vegetable plants. The fifth session will be a guided visit to the Tower Hill vegetable garden. The goal of this multi-week workshop is the help you have a successful vegetable garden this year!

Session I. May 4, Planning the Garden
A. Choosing a site and selecting crops.
B. Rotation, succession sowing and inter-planting.
C. Design options: beds, rows, blocks.
D. Garden Calendar: When to sow and transplant. Days to maturity

Session II. May 11, Groundwork
A. Bed preparation
B. Fertilizer, lime and compost
C. Crop spacing and support

Session III. May 18, Planting
A. Sowing and transplanting
B. Row covers
C. Irrigation
D. Mulch

Session IV. May 25, Culture
A. Summer crop maintenance
B. Nutrition
C. Insect and disease control

Session V. June 6, A Visit to the Tower Hill Vegetable Garden
A. An opportunity to see a vegetable garden in progress
B. Follow-up questions and in-person discussion

Christie Higginbottom has worked as a costumed interpreter at Old Sturbridge Village since 1981. From 1984 to 2004 she coordinated the historic horticulture program researching, planning and planting the re-created kitchen and flower gardens at the museum’s historic households. She also supervised the Village’s Herb Garden collection, a garden exhibiting over 300 varieties of historic herbs. From 2004 to 2006 she researched and developed a series of self-guided walking trails interpreting people and the environment in the early 1800s. She researched and designed the 2007-2009 exhibit “Taking Root: Gardening in Pots in the early 1800s.” Now retired from full-time work at OSV, she continues to work in costume part-time and to present garden programs for the Village.

Tower Hill members – $150, nonmembers – $175. Register at www.towerhillbg.org

Wednesday, May 5, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – A Collector’s Guide to Hostas, Online

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With more than 7,000 named varieties, there is a hosta to suit every taste and garden. With photos from award-winning gardens and Joan’s collection of 300 cultivars, The Massachusetts Horticultural Society will show you how to design a beautiful garden based on the interplays of color, texture and placement of incredible hostas and companion plants. This virtual class takes place May 5th at 7 pm, and is $18 for Mass Hort membes, $25 for the general public. Register at www.masshort.org.
Joan Butler has been an enthusiastic gardener and plant collector for over 35 years, and believes gardens should invite you to linger in the world outside your door. The gardens on her half-acre suburban property have been included on several garden tours and feature exciting plant combinations, dramatic horticultural specimens, and extensive collections of native plants, hosta and epimedium. Joan has a deep and fundamental interest in the natural world. She holds a BA in Geology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a Certificate in Landscape Management from UMass Extension Green School. She is a Master Gardener, a horticulturist at Weston Nurseries, and is a past Chairman of the Massachusetts Landscape Design Council. She is a member of the Garden Consultants Council, the New England Hosta Society and is an accredited Flower Show Judge. Joan has presented programs at flower shows in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and at numerous garden clubs, horticultural societies and professional organizations.