The Massachusetts cranberry industry currently faces challenges caused by overproduction and competition. Almost all Massachusetts cranberry bogs were created from former wetlands. Restoration of former bogs has the potential to expand stream and adjoining habitats, improve water quality, and provide climate resilience by removing water control structures and restoring hydrological connections. Chris Neill, Ecologist and Senior Scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, will present results from a detailed before-and-after study of a restoration project on the Coonamessett River and Childs River Bogs in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The lecture will take place at the Polly Hill Arboretum in West Tisbury, and is $5 for PHA members, $10 for non members.
The Annual Secret Garden Tour welcomes nearly 500 visitors for a self-guided journey through private residential gardens in Provincetown. Tickets include access to a free parking lot, admission to gardens, and admission to view the exhibitions in the Museum. We are incredibly grateful to the homeowners that help raise money for Provincetown Art Association and Museum by sharing their beautiful oases with us. $40 – purchase at https://paam.org/support/secret-garden-tour/
Your ticket for the Secret Garden Tour will be available to be picked up the day of the tour (it is a secret, after all!) at any of these three locations:
The first garden (to be announced the day of the tour)
The parking lots are first-come, first-served and have filled up in the past. If no spaces remain when you arrive, you can pick up your ticket from a volunteer and then go park your car elsewhere before beginning the tour (Parking in Provincetown). Street parking can be found by those with keen eyes or incredible luck.
PAAM staff and volunteers offer a “shuttle service” in their personal vehicles between the parking lot, PAAM, and the neighborhood where the gardens are located, but most places in Provincetown are within walking distance if that’s your preference. Please be prepared to wear a mask when inside the vehicle.
The Nantucket Garden Club’s much anticipated Annual event and fundraiser is scheduled to be held Wednesday, August 3, 2022, rain or shine, from 11 – 4. . ‘WELCOME TO UPPER MAIN STREET’ is the 66th annual house & garden tour. It will feature five magnificent Main Street homes and three lovely gardens, in addition to the historic Hadwen House.
There will be a complimentary tea held in the Hadwen House Garden 11 – 4, along with a boutique featuring an array of interesting items
Online advance ticket sales have started through Eventbrite. CLICK HERE to view the event and purchase tickets. $70 per ticket.
Lorraine Ballato presents Success with Hydrangeas at Highfield Hall & Gardens, 56 Highfield Drive in Falmouth, on July 8 from 4 – 5:30. No garden is complete without this queen of American shrubs. From 18-inch, container-sized, reblooming beauties to 8-foot explosions of multicolored zing, there is a hydrangeas for every garden. Through slides and discussion, you will learn all about hydrangeas, including the many recent introductions that have hit the market, their proper care and the hardy cultivars that perform well despite over-enthusiastic pruning and finicky weather. You will leave this talk never again to ask the question, “Why doesn’t my hydrangea bloom?”
As a professional horticulturist, Lorraine has been a guest on numerous gardening radio programs from Alaska to Connecticut. She speaks at regional symposiums, flower shows, to civic groups and garden clubs, creating talks that are both instructive and highly entertaining on a broad range of subjects tailored to each audience.
Highfield Garden Tour with Landscape Director George Chapman following the talk.
$10 Highfield Hall members, $20 non-members Register online today or call us at 508-495-1878 ext. 2
The Falmouth Garden Club is pleased to feature three stunning gardens in this year’s Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival. Each is owned and maintained by a member of the Falmouth Garden Club and is in its own way, a hidden gem which is rarely if ever on tour.
Garden #1 Seasonally Evolving Garden – Address to be announced Transformation of this Ballymeade blank-slate property began in 2014, with the goal of creating a garden that transitions with the seasons. Against a backdrop of conservation land and native species, you will find hardscaped stone paths, a patio deck and fountain, lattice trellises, various ornamental pieces and a flagpole to honor veteran owner and Marine. Trees include a ginkgo, weeping Norway spruce, Japanese Snowball, Steward and 18 different Japanese Maples. Shrubs include Hydrangeas, Rhodedendrons, Fothergilla, Inkberry, dogwoods, Japanese cedar and Japanese Holly, many varieties of boxwood, andromeda aeuonuymus. Shade plants include hostas, astilbe, ferns, and grasses. Open for tours: Friday, July 8 and Saturday, July 9.
Garden #2 Award-Winning, 360-Degree Gardens – Address to be announced This third-generation property features award-winning English-inspired front, side and back gardens, each with their own unique flavor and focus. The front yard’s boxwood-bordered cottage garden has been featured in several garden magazines and overflows with roses, astilbes, feverfew, and primrose. The side garden is home to a boat-house-turned-tiny-guest-cottage that is surrounded by woodland gardens, meandering paths and a cozy firepit and features hostas, ferns, smoke bush, heuchera, oakleaf and climbing hydrangea. The backyard kitchen garden provides beauty and bounty in the form of flowers, vegetables, fruits and herbs. And to help with all this gardening is a honeybee hive – these busy ladies live just beyond the kitchen garden. For more, follow designer on Instagram at @gardenonthecape. Open for tours: Friday, July 8 and Saturday, July 9.
Garden #3 Private Niche Designed for Entertaining and Wildlife – Address to be announced Tucked away off a main road, you would never know the house, which dates back to at least 1930, and its surrounding gardens were there. Designed with entertaining in mind, the property boasts a large fountain in front and hardscaping by Billy Bourne, with outdoor lighting and a firepit out back. The current owners, who purchased the property three years ago, have been busy updating older plant stock with newer varietals and building shaded beds suited to their passion for reading and enjoying the wildlife that wanders by throughout the year. Plantings include a host of sedums, astilbe, rhodedendrons, along with climbing clematis and ivy. Open for tours: Friday, July 8 and Saturday, July 9.
A collaboration of gardeners, educators, designers and business leaders, the Nantucket Garden Festival highlights the unique and beautiful garden ecosystems on Nantucket and focuses on the importance of sustainability, conservation and gardening ethics for the long-term health of the island. 2022 marks the 13th anniversary of the Festival! Join us for a celebration of gardening through a host of educational workshops, exquisite garden tours, family activities and parties. View the schedule of events here: www.NantucketGardenFestival.org.
The Keynote Presenter will be Kelly Norris, one of the leading horticulturists of his generation. An award winning author and plantsman, Kelly’s work in gardens has been featured in The New York Times, Better Homes and Gardens, Martha Stewart Living, Fine Gardening, Garden Design and in numerous television, radio and digital media appearances. His passion for planting at the intersections of horticulture and ecology has culminated in a new book New Naturalism: Designing and Planting a Resilient, Ecologically Vibrant Home Garden from Cool Springs Press. Kelly also presents plants for Cottage Farms Direct on QVC and lectures widely to consumer and industry audiences. He is the former director of horticulture and education at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, where for 8 years he directed efforts in design, curation, programming, garden and facility management after serving as the owner’s representative to nearly $20 million in capital projects.
Other presenters include Meredith Hanson, a watercolor and acrylic artist, Hafsa Lewis, owner/founder of Hafsa and Co., a local floral design studio that “uses flowers to help businesses stand out”, Austin Eischeid, and independent garden design consultant based in Chicago, Chris Roddick, Head Arborist and Foreman of Grounds at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and Rebecca McMackin, Director of Horticulture at Brooklyn Bridge Park.
The Festival raises operating and scholarship funds for Nantucket Lighthouse School, and supports its horticulture curriculum. Nantucket Lighthouse School’s educational garden and greenhouse provides students with a living laboratory and a deeper connection to the natural world. With weekly horticulture classes, a program advised by long-time friend and Festival supporter, Russell Morash, students spend time in the garden and greenhouse planting, weeding, watering, observing and tending to their plants and beds.
The Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival is an annual celebration of the region’s blue, pink, and white signature flowers and everything gardens on Cape Cod! This ten day festival’s main attractions are the daily tours of private gardens, each designed and maintained by the individual homeowners and carrying a unique charm. You are sure to enjoy such eclectic spaces, not to mention the good feeling of supporting a variety of local nonprofits. Gardens are only one part of the festival. Enjoy workshops and lectures presented by leading international horticulturalists, discover promotions at participating nurseries and home centers, take a class to learn proper hydrangea pruning techniques, or even watch a painting demonstration by renowned Cape Cod artists both in-studio and in the gardens themselves.
Garden tours are $5 per person per garden. You can pay cash at each garden on the day of the garden tour. Each garden is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and only on the days specified. All garden tours are rain or shine and nonrefundable.
Thousands of world-famous rhododendrons in over 100 varieties offer an explosion of spectacular blooms throughout Heritage Museums & Gardens, 67 Grove Street, Sandwich. Photograph yourself surrounded by walls of flowers, immerse yourself in the story of Heritage’s fascinating rhododendron legacy on a self-guided walking tour, learn proper plant care and pruning techniques at our hands-on Garden Discovery Cart, and take home one of these signature plants from the special plant sale. There’s even a fun activity guide highlighting these amazing plants designed just for kids and families. General admission tickets are date-specific. Tickets are valid for entry anytime between 10 am-4:30 pm.
Along with our Rhododendron-themed activities, visitors are welcome to enjoy the entire grounds including our indoor and outdoor exhibits.
Tickets include admission to:
The gardens (All gardens including the Treasured Trash exhibit)
Hidden Hollow
The Special Exhibitions Gallery, featuring the Creating Cape Cod exhibit
The J.K. Lilly III Automobile Gallery, featuring the From Carriage to Classic: How Automobiles Transformed America with highlights from the Creating Cape Cod exhibit
The American Art & Carousel Gallery, featuring Heritage Highlights exhibit
Wampanoag Wetu & Garden
Lilly’s Café
The Shop at Heritage
Tickets can be pre-purchased online or on the day of at the ticket window. Heritage members free, nonmembers $21 ($11 Youth)
Of all the hydrangea species, H. macrophyllas are the best suited to container growing. This method is the surest way to obtain reliable blooming – even on Cape Cod!
The blooming beauty of the H. macrophylla is especially appreciated when located nearby – like on your deck, patio, or porch. In groups, you can move them around to achieve varied flower displays and can adjust for changing sun and or shade conditions as the growing season progresses. Given reliable care, this species can remain in the same pot for several years. Many cultivars even prefer being “root constrained,” often flowering better than when planted in the ground.
Best of all, container growing provides an effective “mobility factor” – a comparatively easy and efficient way to move and protect these cold-sensitive plants from winter. Curator of Hydrangeas, Mal Condon, and guest expert, Linda Coven (owner of Strictly Hydrangeas) are particularly fond of this growing method and have developed superior ways to enhance the growth and protection attributes through the “Pot-N-Pot” and “Bag-N-Pot” growing techniques that they will share in detail. In the hands-on portion of this workshop, participants will get to create their own container arrangement with provided materials, including a grow bag, hydrangea, companion plants, and soil mix all provided in the class. NOTE: participants should bring their own decorative pots in which to plant.
In addition to creating a container planting to take home, this May 13 Heritage Museums & Gardens in-person workshop includes time for questions and a hand-out of information for your reference. Advance registration is required and spots are extremely limited. Don’t miss this important “how-to” workshop – register today!
Please note: this program will take place outdoors, and involves hands-on garden work – be sure to dress accordingly (in layers) and bring two pairs of gloves. In the event of severe inclement weather, this course will be rescheduled to the following day, Saturday, May 14, from 10 am-noon.
Program fees fund Heritage’s mission to inspire people of all ages to explore, discover, and learn together. Thank you for your support. Program Registration Fee: $68 Members, $75 Non-Members Register HERE. Registration for this class will open at 6:45 am on April 27.
Salt marshes are one of the most productive ecosystems on the planet, and these beautiful landscapes also protect our shorelines, provide habitat, and help preserve water quality. But salt marshes depend on their ability to migrate with rising sea levels. Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and the Elizabeth Islands have nearly 1,800 acres of marsh that sea level rise threatens to outpace, the second annual State of the Coast report finds. Some marshes may have a chance to migrate landward and survive where the absence of built barriers and natural topography allow. In this webinar sponsored by The Trustees of Reservations on February 23 at noon, we discuss options for restoring salt marsh, and models for managed retreat to protect these natural systems, which, if healthy, can serve as natural buffers to storm surge and sea level rise. Free, but registration required at www.thetrustees.org
Speakers include Liz Durkee, Martha’s Vineyard Commission Climate Change Planner, Cynthia Dittbrenner, Director of Coast and Natural Resources at The Trustees, and Russell Hopping, Lead Coastal Ecologist.
