Boston Flora

Category: Cape Cod & Islands

  • Tuesday, September 22 – Wednesday, September 23 – Native Plants for Cape Cod Life

    Join Grow Native Massachusetts this September in Wellfleet for Native Plants for Cape Cod Life. It’s a celebration of local plants that make Cape Cod sing. At 3 events over 2 days you can expand your knowledge of native plants and the pollinators and birds that depend on them, bring home native plants from local, independent growers, and see firsthand how to design, plant, and maintain them in your home garden. Come to 1 event or all 3!

    Native plants function as a critical building block for our ecosystems, providing food, shelter, and host plant services for nearly all of our native insects, including the abundance of caterpillars needed to sustain local bird populations. These native species are also perfectly adapted to our landscape conditions, thriving in the dry, sandy soils we all know well on the Cape. When you embrace them in your garden, you can do more for the environment by doing less (watering, mowing, fertilizing, etc.)! Join us to explore the beauty and benefits of native plants, and why it is so critical to add them back into our Cape Cod landscapes.

    At this market, we will be joined by Butterfly Effect Farm, Hilltop Natives, and Tree Talk Natives, all small businesses who specialize in sustainably-grown native plants. They start much of their stock from seed (often local ecotype), and curate their inventory with an eye toward species of particular value to pollinators, caterpillars, and other threatened wildlife. All of them are passionate advocates for native plants and creating habitat in our gardens. We will also be joined by Association to Preserve Cape Cod, who will also have plants to sell, and Pollinator Pathway Cape Cod.

    Cape Cod is part of an ecoregion we call the pine barrens, a name that belies the rich, thriving natural communities that give this place its distinctive beauty. Understanding the conditions that shape the barrens and the plants that flourish here is key to creating ecologically vibrant gardens that thrive with minimal care, and enhance and protect the surrounding environment. Join Alex Kent of Kent Land Design to learn how he puts this understanding into practice on a tour of a Wellfleet home garden that he designed, installed, and maintains.

    September 22, 7pm – Why Native Plants? with Erin Camire of APCC at the Wellfleet Public Library. September 23, 8 am – noon – Native Plant Pop-Up Market at the Wellfleet Farmers Market. September 23, 2 pm, Garden Tour. For more information visit https://grownativemass.org/

  • Saturday, August 22, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Wampanoag Heritage Day

    Join Heritage Museums & Gardens on Augusty 22 for the sixth annual Wampanoag Heritage Day, a fun-filled celebration of Wampanoag culture at Heritage featuring a variety of activities from 10 am-2 pm, including:

    11:30 am-12:15 pm: Watch a performance by the Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers of eastern social songs and dances (with audience participation encouraged!)
    Craft a corn husk doll to take home
    Explore the wetu, a reproduction of a historic dwelling, the mush8n, a reproduction dug-out canoe, and the Three Sisters demonstration garden, all created in collaboration with local Wampanoag partners
    View and learn about historic Wampanoag artifacts found on the land that is now Heritage Museums & Gardens
    Visit a native artisan to shop for handcrafted contemporary wampum jewelry

    All activities are free with museum admission or membership.

    The Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers are a group of musicians, educators, and artisan from the tribal communities of Mashpee on Cape Cod, Aquinnah on Martha’s Vineyard, and Herring Pond in Bourne. Their performances of eastern social songs and dances have both educated and entertained audiences of all ages in museums, schools, and various multicultural events. They dress in traditional clothing and their songs are accompanied by a water drum and handcrafted rattles. They encourage audience participation and prefer to dance with the people instead of for the people.

    In addition to their performances at Heritage, they have appeared at Jacob’s Pillow, the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, The Peabody Essex Museum, Cambridge Arts Council, The Mary Baker Library, Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, Mashpee Powwow, Aptucxet Trading Post Museum, Stonehill College, Brown University, and more. They have toured throughout New England and as far away as Bermuda, Hawaii and the United Kingdom. For three years they have participated in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, heading up the First Light Float and delivering the televised land acknowledgement.

    For more information visit www.heritagemuseumandgardens.org

  • Tuesday, August 25, 5:00 pm – 2026 Orleans Conservation Trust Annual Meeting

    Join Orleans Conservation Trust on August 25 at 5 pm at the Orleans Yacht Club, 39 Cove Road in Orleans for our 2026 Annual Meeting. Doors open at 4:30 pm. Enjoy refreshments and the gorgeous view over Town Cove as we celebrate OCT’s work to protect and restore land for people and wildlife. Attendees will learn about the Trust’s projects, highlights of 2026 and what’s to come in the new year. OCT members are encouraged to vote on the Slate of Trustees, including five renewing members and two incoming Trustees. Free with cash bar.

    The meeting’s keynote presentation will be by guest speaker Nick Nelson. A fluvial geomorphologist and regional director with Inter-Fluve, Nick will present on “Opportunities to Transform Ecosystem Health on Cape Cod.” His talk will cover topics such as restoration of degraded wetlands and waterways throughout Cape Cod and active work on OCT’s Namequoit Bog eco-restoration project in South Orleans.

  • Thursday, August 27, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm – Provincetown Conservation Trust 2026 Annual Meeting & “Green” Party

    At this year’s Provincetown Conservation Trust Annual Meeting we welcome Andrew Gottlieb, President of the Association for the Preservation of Cape Cod as our keynote speaker. He will present on the critical campaign his organization is undertaking to help preserve and protect the last 14% of developable land on Cape Cod. He will be introduced by friend, former State Senator, and Cape Air owner Dan Wolfe. The event takes place August 27 at the Harbor Hotel.

    We will have our popular silent auction featuring fantastic items donated from local businesses, complimentary food, wine and beer donated from local businesses. REGISTER TODAY. Genevieve Martin will receive the Trust’s inaugural Conservation Hero Award.

    The Provincetown Conservation Trust is a private, non-profit (501c3) organization, founded in 1980, dedicated to preserving the woods, wetlands, heathlands, dunes and forests of Provincetown, home to a great variety of native flora and fauna, some of it not found anywhere else. These natural habitats are an important Greenway, key links in the wildlife corridors of Cape Cod, and vital to the ecological health of the United States Eastern Seaboard. Our uplands provide habitats not found in the Cape Cod National Seashore.

  • Thursday, August 6, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Understanding Microclimates & Soils in the Garden

    Grow Native Massachusetts will host Marie Chieppo and Trevor Smith of CFS Regenerative Designs Group on August 6 at 10 am in Sagamore Beach (exact location provided with registration.) Grow Native members $45, nonmembers $55. This in-person workshop will explore a landscape replete with native plants across a variety of microclimates on site- from dry, sunny areas to more sheltered, moisture-rich spaces. We’ll talk deep roots, seasonal timing, ecological value, and work with actual soil samples to show how to work with what you have to create a glorious garden. Link for registration may be found at https://grownativemass.org/Our-Programs/calendar

  • Saturday, August 1, 9:00 am – 11:00 am – Garden Chair Building

    In this Polly Hill Arboretum August 1 workshop, participants will learn to build the iconic Wave Hill Chair, designed in 1918 by Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld. Dan Benarcik will provide step-by-step instruction to attendees, who will leave with their own lovely garden chair. No previous experience is necessary, and lumber will be supplied. Attendees need to bring their own cordless drill.

    Dan Benarcik has had one foot in the greenhouse and the other in the wood shop his entire life. Dan is a gardener, designer, woodworker, and ambassador for Chanticleer garden outside Philadelphia.

    Pre-registration required. PHA Members: $350; Non-Members: $375. Click here to register.

  • Wednesday, August 5, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm – 2026 Nantucket House Tour: Promenade on the Point

    The 70th Annual House And Garden Tour, “PROMENADE ON THE POINT” will be held on August 5, 2026 from 11-4. The House and Garden Tour is the Nantucket Garden Club’s sole fundraiser, and its impact reaches far beyond a single summer day. Proceeds directly benefit organizations and programs on the island, such as Civic Improvements; Grants for Beautification, Conservation, and Environmental Education; and scholarships for local students. Every ticket sold helps preserve the natural and cultural heritage of Nantucket for generations to come. This year’s tour features homes and gardens on Brant Point. Check-in for the tour will be located at the Brant Point Coast Guard Station, 10 Easton Street. Shuttle buses will operate continuously from 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM between Town and the Brant Point Coast Guard Station. $100. Purchase tickets in advance online HERE.


    This annual event features a curated selection of historic and contemporary homes and gardens across rotating neighborhoods. You will enjoy:

    • Self‑guided tours through 5–6 private estates and gardens
    • Exquisite floral arrangements throughout the interiors
    • Complimentary tea and cookies hosted in one of the gardens
    • Boutique

    Painting by G. S. Hill

  • Wednesday, July 23, 5:30 pm – The Woody Plant Collections of Arboretum Wespelaar

    In this Polly Hill Arboretum presentation by Dr. Koen Camelbeke on July 23, attendees will learn all about the Arboretum Wespelaar in Belgium, which holds a specialized collection of trees and shrubs from around the world. The Arboretum welcomes any woody species; giant and prostrate dwarfs, the common and the rare, the beautiful and the less glorious, and, especially, all those that are threatened in the wild.

    Dr. Koen Camelbeke is known for his contributions to horticulture and dendrology. He has been executive director of Arboretum Wespelaar since 2002.

    Members: $10; Non-Members: $20. Register at https://www.pollyhillarboretum.org/event/camelbeke/ This is the 2026 Lisina & Frank W. Hoch Memorial Lecture

  • Wednesday, July 8, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm – Tick Talk

    On Wednesday, July 8 at 5:30 pm, discover how to prevent tick exposure and learn effective strategies to stay safe outdoors. In this talk, Polly Hill Arboeretum Horticulturalist Jack Morgan will guide you through essential tick prevention techniques, including the best clothing and repellents to use, safe tick removal methods, and ways to protect yourself from tick-borne illnesses. He will be joined by Patrick Roden-Reynolds, a public health biologist for the Inter-Island Public Health Excellence Collaborative and Director of the Martha’s Vineyard Tick Program.

    Pre-registration required. PHA Members: $10; Non-Members: $20. Click here to register.

  • Wednesday, July 22, 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm, Thursday, July 23, 10:00 am – 7:30 pm, & Friday, July 24, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm – Oceans Around Us

    The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, Inc Southeastern District presents Oceans Around Us, an NGC Standard Flower Show, at Heritage Museums & Gardens, 65 Grove Street in Sandwich. Free with Museum admission. This is the Southeastern District’s 45 Annual Standard Flower Show. For a copy of the schedule, click HERE