Boston Flora

Tag: Ferns

  • Sunday, August 18, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Ponkapoag Marsh

    In a boggy corner of the Blue Hills is a lovely diversity of ferns.  It is the site where Massachusetts Fern was discovered, and an excellent location for netted chain fern.  On Sunday, August 18, from 1 – 4, discover two different wood fern hybrids as well, and see how they compare with their parent species.  The New England Wild Flower Society sponsored walk will be led by Don Lubin and Ray Abair, and the fee is $28 for NEWFS members, $35 for nonmembers.  Register at www.newfs.org.  Wear long pants and bring insect repellent and a hand lens.

    http://www.ecoterralandscape.com/images/netted-chain-fern.jpg

  • Saturday, August 3, 10:00 am – 2:30 pm – Discovering Native Ferns

    Learn to identify and distinguish between the 21 or so of the most common ferns of New England.  Through lecture, slides, drawings, and microscopic examination of fresh material, become familiar with around 95% of the ferns you will see in the woods.  End this New England Wild Flower Society tour with a walk through Garden in the Woods in Framingham with Don Lubin and Ray Abair.  The class will take place Saturday, August 3, from 10 – 2:30, and the fee is $60 for NEWFS members, $72 for nonmembers.  Bring lunch and a hand lens.  Register at www.newfs.org.

    http://www.biologyreference.com/photos/pteridophytes-3859.jpg

  • Saturday, July 27, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Pteridophytes in Vermont

    The New England Wild Flower Society and the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vermont co-sponsor a program on Saturday, July 27, from 10 – 2, on Pteridophytes in Vermont.  The Montshire Museum, which abuts the Connecticut River, has extensive grounds with a limey geology that enhances plant biodiversity.  You will visit the extensive variety of ferns, club-mosses, and horsetails, and will hear how to identify each of them.  Class will begin with indoor instruction using slides of drawings and photographs.  Wear long pants and bring bug spray, a hand lens, and lunch.  Instructors are Don Lubin and Ray Abair, identified as “fern enthusiasts.”  $46 for NEWFS members, $56 for non members.  Visit www.newfs.org for complete information.

    http://www.theplantlist.org/img/photo/p-01.jpg

  • Tuesday, February 21, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Fabulous Ferns!

    The Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture will sponsor a great day of sketching on Tuesday, February 21, from 10 – 4, at the greenhouses at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden. Go on a fern foray with Elizabeth Farnsworth, illustrator and co-author of the Peterson Field Guide to the Ferns of Northeastern North America. Using the diverse fern collections of the Ferguson Greenhouses, explore fern anatomy, architecture, life cycle, ecology, and microscopic characteristics. See the features to look for when identifying ferns in the wild. There will be plenty of time for sketching ferns and their diagnostic characters, plus question-and-answer time about these amazing plants.  Bring your lunch along with sketchbook and pencils or pens (whichever is your preferred medium for sketching), and colored pencils for recording various anatomical structures.  Snow date will be Wednesday, February 22.  WCFH members $75, non-members $95.  Register on line at www.wellesley.edu/WCFH.

  • Wednesday, August 3, 7:00 am – 8:30 pm – Native Ferns of New England

    Learn about the life cycle of ferns and their evolutionary history, spanning 400 million years, from noted fern expert, collector and educator Don Lubin. From among New England’s 68 native species, we will examine twenty of those most commonly found. This survey will include detailed photographs, techniques for field identification, and a look at the adaptive niche that each species occupies. Don Lubin has been teaching about ferns for over a decade and he grows 44 species in his small yard in Allston. He has collected more than 50 herbarium specimens and has identified previously unrecorded taxa at several locales in Massachusetts.  Location : Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, visit  http://www.grownativemass.org/programs/eveningswithexperts.

  • Saturday, June 4, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Patriot Daylily Society Sale

    The Patriot Daylily Society Sale features a wide selection of colorful daylilies from members’ gardens, freshly dug and ready to plant in your garden. There will be many modest-priced daylily classics (many not available in garden centers) as well as more recent introductions. Members will be on hand to give instructions on daylily planting and care. Members will also bring a nice selection of perennial companion plants including hostas, phlox, Shasta daisies, monarda, and ferns. The sale is a fundraiser for the non-profit Patriot Daylily Society, which welcomes all New Englanders interested in daylilies. The sale location is at the Waltham Field Station of the University of Massachusetts, 240 Beaver Street in Waltham, on Saturday, June 4, from 9:30 – 3:30, and will be held rain or shine! Below is ‘Leebea Orange Crush.’

  • Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary 2011 Winter Lecture Series

    Winter lectures at the Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary are given each Saturday at 1:30 pm at the Sanctuary at 30 Peck Road in Wales, Massachusetts.  Directions can be found at www.norcrossws.org.  These one-hour free talks are designed to capture your attention and pique your interest in the natural world.  Reservations are required as space is limited and printed materials are provided to each person.  Please call 413-267-4859 or email ohop@norcrossws.org for reservations and information.

    January 29 – Fabulous Ferns.  Ferns add color, texture and pizazz to your garden.  Do you have a place where nothing else grows?  Maybe a fern will fit there, too.  Fun and easy to grow, ferns are fabulous in the garden.  Leslie Duthie will lead the discussion.

    February 5 – Ecosystems on the Edge.  Some ecosystems do not function according to the “normal” rules of nature.  Today, Mike Tremblay looks at ecosystems that use chemicals like sulfur and methane as their primary source of energy such as sulfur vents, methane seeps and isolated caves.

    February 12 – Hit the Trail for Health.  Trail walking is a great way to get some fresh air, keep healthy, and get your bodies moving.  Where are your local trails, how did they get there, and who takes care of them?  Did you know there are exercise trails out there, too?  Every town has at least one trail to walk, and Stephanie Morin will introduce you to some great local trails for all ability levels.

    February 26 – Your Green Home. Help solve the earth’s rapidly changing environmental catastrophe through a change in buildiing materials and procedures.  Reed Coles, a local “green” builder and remodeler, will showcase materials and methods of sustainable building practices including passive and active solar and zero energy structures that define Energy Star and US Green Building Council’s LEED certified building codes.  He will also discuss harvesting equipment and green washing.

    March 5 – Small Native Trees for the Home Landscape.  Many native trees have great potential to enhance the enjoyment of your home landscape.  Some offer brilliant fall colors or interesting bark, some come to life with breathtaking spring flowers, some produce delicious fruit, and a few may encompass all these qualities.  This presentation by Vinny Normand showcases small to medium sized native trees that can be used in the home landscape.

    March 12 – Vernal Pools.  Jennifer Ohop presents a talk on the natural beauty and seasonal rhythm of this unique habitat.

  • Saturday, November 20, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm – Woodland Terrarium Workshop

    Create a mini-woodland garden gem to enjoy during the long winter months at this Berkshire Botanical Garden workshop on Saturday, November 20, from 11 – 1, with Elisabeth Cary. Participants will design and construct woodland terrariums using native woodland plants including moss, maiden hair spleenwort ferns (Asplenium trichomanes), downy rattlesnake orchid (Goodyera pubescens) and evergreen ground cover (Gaulteria procumbens or Mitchella repens). You will come away with an understanding of these native plants, their natural histories, life cycles and cultivation requirements. Although all these plants can be found in the woods, students will be using plant material that has been grown by a reliable nursery source. $50 for BBG members, $55 for non-members. Bring garden glove and hand pruners. Register at www.berkshirebotanical.org or call 413-298-3926.

    Elisabeth Cary is Director of Education at the Berkshire Botanical Garden and has been making terrarium for many years. She is a home gardener and specializes in woody plants, mixed border and vegetable gardening. She is a great lover of nature and when she isn’t in her garden she can be found in the surrounding woods.

  • Sunday, October 3, 12:00 noon – 3:30 pm – Ferns in the Fall

    When fading sunlight and perhaps a frost have shriveled the undergrowth and turned it brown, evergreen ferns and club-mosses stand out in dramatic contrast. On a Sunday, October 3 walk with New England Wild Flower Society’s Don Lubin and Raymond Abair through the Blue Hills Reservation, visit a dozen evergreen species and other pteridiphyte taxa, including polypody, Christmas and grape ferns, five wood ferns and maybe a spleenwort, four club-mosses and a horsetail. Travel about two miles on mostly flat trails with a few hills. A hand lens is suggested. $28 for NEWFS members, $32 for non-members. Meet at Blue Hills at noon. To register, log on to www.newfs.org.

  • Saturday, August 28, 10:00 a.m. – Fern Identification Workshop

    Field trips are a long standing tradition of the Connecticut Botanical Society.  They provide an opportunity to learn about plants and habitats from some the area’s most knowledgeable botanists, and an opportunity to share your own knowledge with others.  The trips also add to the bank of knowledge of New England flora.  On each field trip, a list is made of all plant species identified, and this list becomes part of the Society’s records.  The Connecticut Botanical Society encourages the gardening public to participate in this Fern Identification Workshop at 55 Harvest Lane in Glastonbury, Connecticut, led by Casper Ultee, Past President of CBS.  Although many ferns are readily identified, some are easily confused with similar species.  This workshop will focus on those and others that are less common.  You may bring your own problem specimens (fronds only, no complete plants, please).   This workshop is limited to ten participants, and pre-registration is required by contacting the leader in advance at 860-633-7557. For field trips, wear sturdy footwear and bring a lunch.  Sunscreen and insect repellant are also recommended.  For plant identification, you may wish to bring a field guide(s), a hand lens, and a small notebook.  Familiarity with plant taxonomy is helpful, but not required.    Free to CBS members.  Non-members must pay a $15 fee, which includes a one-year membership in CBS, and entitles you to join future trips this season at no additional cost.  For more information and directions, call Casper Ultee at the number above, or log on to www.ct-botanical-society.org.

    http://orgs.okstate.edu/botanical/Images/others/Side_Fern.png