Sharing landscapes with deer can result in costly damage to plantings. Join Native Plant Trust online on June 12 at 1 pm to learn about deer behavior and natural preventative measures to safeguard your garden. We will also review a selection of “deer tolerant” plants and point out those considered “deer candy.” Cheryl Salatino is the instructor and the fee is $30 for NPT members, $36 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/deer-tolerant-landscapes/
The second of Innisfree Garden’s 2022 Roots of Inspiration webinar series will take place February 23 with Brad Roeller.
Innisfree trustee Brad Roeller believes that by learning about the environmental and biological factors which influence deer and their food choices, homeowners and professionals can implement informed strategies for deer-proofing their landscapes. Drawing on over forty years of gardening in deer country and his findings in the Deer Browse Garden he created at the Cary Institute funded by a ten-year grant from Cornell, Brad will share hard-won lessons on how to deter deer from browsing ornamental plants. Over the course of his career, Brad has evaluated hundreds of popular herbaceous and woody ornamentals. He will share those plants showing any inherent resistance to deer plus his top picks from the plethora of products, gadgets, and methods intended to discourage deer from foraging in landscape plantings. This talk will also examine how historic and current land use trends impact deer densities and look at the ramifications of high deer populations.
Retired but actively involved in planning for and managing the Innisfree landscape, Brad Roeller offers a wealth of ideas and expertise to gardeners at every level. Over the past forty years, he has held top horticultural positions at the Cary Institute of Ecosystems Studies, the New York Botanical Garden, and a storied private estate, has published widely, and has been teaching at NYBG and other major institutions. Reflecting his own interests, his research has focused on ecologically-driven and sustainable landscape practices, gardening in areas with high deer populations, and landscape plants for Northern gardens.
Free for Innisfree members, $15 for nonmembers. Register HERE.
Many New England gardeners find shade a challenge to make appealing. It seems color, diversity and interest are lacking in those spaces. We’ll take a look at how the mood, plants, conditions, and a few design principles can act as our guide to stimulate new ideas. This September 30 Tower Hill program from 6:30 – 7:30 will be held virtually. Once you register you will receive a zoom link in the confirmation. This webinar will also be RECORDED and available for 2 months to all registrants. $7 for Tower Hill members, $10 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org
Instructor Cheryl Salatino is the principal designer and owner of Dancing Shadows Garden Design, a residential landscape design and services firm. She has been designing gardens across Massachusetts since 2002. Cheryl is a Certified Landscape Designer and a Massachusetts Certified Horticulturist (MCH). She received her certificate in landscape design from the Radcliffe Seminars Landscape Design Program of Harvard University. She was awarded the status of Massachusetts Certified Horticulturist by the Massachusetts Nursery & Landscape Association (MNLA) as evidence of achieving the industry’s highest standards in nursery and landscape professionalism. Cheryl has also earned an Advanced Certificate in Horticulture and Design as part of the New England Wildflower Society’s Native Plant Studies Program.
Wildlife comebacks in the last half century are to be celebrated. But, there have been unintended negative consequences. Deer populations, in particular, have risen to unprecedented levels in many areas, causing all kinds of problems. This Athol Bird & Nature Club presentation on Wednesday, October 14, beginning at 7 pm at the Millers River Environmental Center, 100 Main Street, Athol, will explore the deer overabundance issue and its many challenges. We no longer manage wildlife, but rather, “socioecological systems.†Tom Rawinski Botanist US Forest Service Durham Field Office will speak. Free.
Join the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and the Perennial Plant Association at their annual symposium, this year’s topic will be “Perennial Inspirations and Concepts.†The symposium is open to all levels of gardeners and professionals. This year’s symposium includes six presentations led by some of the perennial industry’s best focusing on plant selection, native perennials and container plantings.
Featured Presentations:
Native Perennials and Nativars for the Pocket Prairie Garden
Jennifer Brennan of Chalet Nursery and Garden Shop, Wilmette, IL
Jennifer Brennan will highlight the native plants and also native plant cultivars that can be used in various sites including shade, full sun, and half & half shade/sun. Many of these selections are quite useful for nectar and pollen for hummingbirds, butterflies and bees.
The New American Garden: Modeling the Regional Landscape: An Anarchist Primer
Donald Pell of Donald Pell Gardens, Phoenixville, PA
Donald Pell calls his gardens impressionistic models of regional landscapes. Understanding specific plants and how they may integrate into any given landscape is the key to programming these gardens. He will look at how cool and warm season plants are accessed for performance to stabilize soils and create desirable compositions. Donald will discuss the role of ephemeral plants to build desirable seed banks while a garden is evolving and look at the role of aggressive and invasive plants. He will discuss the successes and failures of projects as well as what inspires these gardens. This is a presentation to inspire you to tear out that front lawn and boring boxwood hedges and to create a dynamic and experiential landscape.
Tropical Flair
Jason Reeves of the University of Tennessee Gardens, Jackson, TN
Tropicals work beautifully with perennials, and make a big impact in any garden. The bold foliage stands out whether in large landscape displays or everyday back yard gardens and containers. Get a refresher on tried and true varieties as well as some hot new selections that will make any perennial purist think twice.
Successful Gardening in Deer Country
Ruth Rogers Clausen of Easton, MD
Keeping your beautiful garden safe from deer is as simple as choosing the right plants. Ruth will discuss plants that do not require us to fence the deer out or the gardener in.
Perennials in Pots: Creative Combinations for Jaw-Dropping Containers
Deborah Trickett, MCH MCLP of Westwood, MA
The container gardening craze, which began over ten years ago, shows no sign of slowing down. More than ever these perfectly sized “gardens†are the answer for time-pressed gardeners, down-sizing gardeners, city-dwelling gardeners, aging gardeners and more. The good news is the container gardens of yesterday (think geranium and vinca) have evolved. Today’s containers showcase many types of plants, including perennials. Join Deborah Trickett, principal and owner of The Captured Garden, and learn how to use perennials to transform your containers from “blah†to “aahâ€. She will share fundamentals of container gardening, “out of the box†design tips, as well as some of her favorite tried and true perennial performers.
Are They Better or Just New??
Paul Westervelt of Saunders Brothers, Inc. Piney River, VA
With so many new perennials released every year, it can be difficult to distinguish legitimately better cultivars from those that are simply marketable. Through production trials, garden visits, vendor visits, and conversations with other growers, Paul works to select the true winners for our region.
Register at http://goo.gl/EDWmtn
$99 Early Bird, $109 after September 2
The New England Botanical Club will present Tom Rawinski, Botanist, USDA Forest Service, Durham, New Hampshire, on Friday, October 4. Tom will speak on Deer, Forests, and People: Understanding and Managing Socioecological Systems, beginning at 6:45 pm at Harvard University, Cambridge, in the Haller Lecture Hall (Room 102), Geological Museum, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge (door to the right of the Harvard Museum of Natural History entrance.) For information on the New England botanical Club, visit www.rhodora.org. Picture below from www.animalliberationfront.com.
With the recent confirmation of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a Pennsylvania deer, the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) is reminding hunters of the ban on importing intact deer carcasses from CWD-positive jurisdictions such as Pennsylvania and New York, into Massachusetts.
To prevent the possibility of this disease entering Massachusetts, regulations were adopted making it illegal for anyone to import, process or possess whole carcasses or parts of deer, elk, or moose (from the wild or from captive herds) from states and Canadian provinces where CWD has been found. The only exceptions to the regulations are meat that is deboned, cleaned skull caps, hides without the head, or a finished taxidermy mount. Also, it is illegal to import live deer of any species into Massachusetts for any purpose. This ban includes animals used in deer farming practices and those used seasonally for petting zoos or holiday displays.
To date, CWD has been found in wild or captive deer or elk in 23 states and provinces: Alberta, Canada; Colorado; Iowa; Illinois; Kansas; Maryland; Michigan; Minnesota; Missouri; Montana; Nebraska; New Mexico; North Dakota; Oklahoma; Pennsylvania; Saskatchewan, Canada; South Dakota; Texas; Utah; Virginia; West Virginia; Wisconsin; and Wyoming.
CWD is a contagious neurological disease fatal to deer, moose, elk, and other members of the cervid (deer) family. CWD attacks the brains of infected animals, resulting in their becoming emaciated, exhibiting abnormal behavior, and eventually dying.
A CWD monitoring and testing program for wild cervids has been conducted in Massachusetts by MassWildlife since 2002. Currently, MassWildlife is only testing deer or moose displaying symptoms of disease. CWD has not been found in Massachusetts deer or moose.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The World Health Organization, there is no evidence that CWD can be transmitted to humans. Hunters have been taking and eating deer, elk and moose from the infected areas of Colorado and Wyoming for more than 30 years.
For more information about CWD and FAQs, visit http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/wildlife/diseases/cwd_info.htm.
Six private Stockbridge gardens, as well as several houses, will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 10 for the 20th Annual Hidden Treasures of the Berkshires tour.
Advance ticket purchase, $35, is recommended, by check and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the Lenox Garden Club, Box 552, Lenox, Mass., 01240. Box lunches cost $20 and must be pre-ordered. Tickets will also be available at Mary Stuart Collections, 69 Church Street, Lenox, Campo de ‘Fiori, 1815 N. Main Street, Sheffield, and Hammertown Barn, 325 Stockbridge Road, Great Barrington. Tickets, if available on the day of the tour, will be $40 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Congregational Church. Information: (413) 298-3089 and lenoxgardenclub.net.
Wildlife biologist Stephen Destefano’s newest book, Coyote at the Kitchen Door, and the work of photographer Amy Stein both address the blurred boundary between human life and wildlife in modern society.
Bears, deer, fox, coyote and birds are increasingly encroaching upon areas considered to be ‘ours’. On Saturday, January 23, beginning at 2 pm, they’ll discuss how they approach this intersection, each from his/her own perspective. Booksigning to follow. Cost: Free with museum admission. For more information, email: hmnhpr@oeb.harvard.edu, or log on to http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/press-room/domesticated.html.
This event is presented by and held at the Harvard Museum of Natural History in conjunction with a new exhibition, opening January 22, 2010, of striking, large-scale color photographs by New York-based visual artist Amy Stein. Domesticated: Modern Dioramas of our New Natural History, explores the tenuous relationship between humans and animals as human civilization increasingly encroaches upon nature. The exhibit will be on display at the Harvard Museum of Natural History through April 18, 2010.
Explore one of the Cape’s largest and most spectacular barrier beach ecosystems, Sandy Neck Beach in Barnstable, with an emphasis on identifying common plants and many species of wildlife that live here. The hike, led by C. Diane Boretos, will take you through heather-covered secondary dunes, along the 4,000 year-old Great Barnstable Marsh, and into a mature maritime forest. As you investigate the fall flora, you’ll look for track and sign of fox, osprey, deer, coyote, and northern diamondback terrapin. This program is sponsored by the New England Wild Flower Society, and is limited to 15 participants. Cost is $32 for members of NEWFS, $36 for nonmembers. To register, log on to www.newfs.org, or call 508-877-7639.
