Daily Archives: December 21, 2024


Thursday, January 9, 1:00 pm Eastern – Winter Sowing Workshop, Online

Did you know that you can sow seeds outdoors, in containers, in the dead of winter, and they’ll germinate with more ease and success than they will in a flat on your windowsill? Many of us didn’t.

Elaine Williamson Conway School ’11, our resident Master Gardener, is here to change that. She’s been using the Winter Sowing technique for many years, and swears by it, for the following reasons:

  • Simple, low-tech, low-cost process
  • Low maintenance
  • Avoids common indoor sowing pitfalls such as legginess and damping off
  • Seeds germinate at optimal times for growth
  • It’s fun!

Elaine leads a Winter Sowing Workshop for our students as part of Conway’s curriculum. This year she’s offered to lend her expertise to anyone in our community who wants to try it!

If you’d like to learn how to successfully winter sow your seeds, please join us for an upcoming Online Winter Sowing Workshop on Thursday, January 9, 2025 at 1pm EST. Attendance is free and registration is required. We’ll send registrants a confirmation email with a list of materials to collect if you’d like to follow along with Elaine’s demonstration. We’ll finish with a short Q&A session where participants can ask specific questions about the process.

If you’re unable to attend, we will record the workshop and share the recording online for folks to watch. Register at https://csld.edu/2024/12/winter-sowing/


Saturday, January 4, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm – Global Change at the Arnold Arboretum

A warming climate and increasing environmental pathogens pose an existential threat to the Arnold Arboretum’s collection of some 16,000 woody plants, trees and shrubs that are able to survive in our climate. This one hour walk on January 4 at 11 am will highlight the impact of climate change and increasing pathogens on key species in the Arboretum’s collection, describe some of the research initiatives underway to mitigate the effects of global warming and new pathogens, and identify the challenges and opportunities we face in improving our urban canopy. This tour covers slightly over 1 mile in distance over terrain of asphalt, crushed granite, and mulch. Please be sure to dress for the weather and wear comfortable, closed toe footwear you don’t mind getting dirty.Meet at the Hunnewell Visitor Center. Register at www.arboretum.harvard.edu

Fagus sylvatica ‘tortuosa’ 2420-A