Boston Flora

Tag: Heather McCargo

  • Saturday, December 3, 7:00 pm – Wild Seed Project: Grassroots Seed Propagation of New England Native Plants

    The New England Botanical Club will hold its December meeting on December 3 at 7 pm at Haller Lecture Hall at Harvard University, Geological Museum, 24 Oxford Street in Cambridge. Heather McCargo, Founder and Former Executive Director, The Wild Seed Project in North Yarmouth, Maine, will speak on the Wild Seed Project: Grassroots Seed Propagation of New England Native Plants. Native plants are beautiful, important for our local ecosystems, and do not need the high nutrient and water inputs of commonly cultivated plants. In this presentation, Heather covers the many reasons we all should care about our region’s native flora and the importance of bringing these native plants back into our gardens and developed landscapes. She also discusses current native plant trends and issues in the nursery trade (including cloning and the loss of genetic diversity), and explains how we all can support our native flora by planting seed-grown native plants. The meeting is free and open to the public.

    The goal of Wild Seed Project is to build awareness of the vital importance of native plants and to provide people with the tools to restore biodiversity in their own communities. The organization equips community members, public officials and municipalities, and land-holding individuals and organizations – from farmers to land trusts – with the skills and resources they need to collectively repopulate landscapes with native plants that expand wildlife habitat, support biodiversity, and build climate resilience.

    Zizia aptera

  • Wednesday, August 10, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm – Why Native Plants Matter: Beauty, Biodiversity, and Resilience

    The Polly Hill Arboretum in West Tisbury is sponsoring the Annual David H. Smith Memorial Lecture on August 10 at 5:30 pm at the Arboretum.

    Heather McCargo, founder of Wild Seed Project, will share the many reasons we should bring native flora back into our developed landscapes. Native plants are excellent additions to our gardens; they are beautiful, they are important for our regions’ ecosystem functioning, and they do not need the high inputs of water and nutrients of commonly cultivated plants. Heather will provide insight into what is happening in the nursery trade with native plants, including loss of genetic diversity and cloning, and how we can all promote our native flora by planting seed-grown native plants. $5 for PHA members, $10 for nonmembers.

    Registration is required. Sign up here: bit.ly/Heather-McCargo-Lecture

  • Sunday, July 10, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm – Harvey Butler Rhododendron Sanctuary

    Explore a five-acre stand of great laurel (Rhododendron maximum), the largest and northernmost stand known in the region, owned by Native Plant Trust. We will discover a multitude of other native plant gems on the rest of the 30-acre property, from yellow blue-bead lily (Clintonia borealis) to painted trillium (Trillium undulatum), hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), and northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis). The Native Plant Trust tour will be held July 10 from 10 – 12:30 at the Harvey Butler Rhododendron Sanctuary in Springvale, Maine, and is led by Heather McCargo. $38 for NPT members, $45 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/harvey-butler-rhododendron-sanctuary/ The Sanctuary is about an hour and 45 minutes from Boston up Route 95.

  • Friday, January 22, 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm – Grassroot Seed Propagation of Native Plants

    Growing native plants from seed is a different way to interact with our native flora and an inexpensive way to produce a lot of plants. The seeds of wild plants have a very different set of needs than those of garden and vegetable species. Timing is crucial and fall and winter are ideal times to sow the seeds of many species.

    In this Ecological Landscape Alliance webinar on January 22 from noon – 1, Heather will describe the reproductive life cycle of many different types of native plants and explain how we can change our landscape practices to help support wild plant reproduction and survival. Then she will describe simple outdoor seed sowing methods that anyone can use to grow their own seedlings. Be part of a grassroots movement to sow native seeds and increase the amount of native plants in the landscape with an abundance of genetically diverse seedlings. Free for ELA members, $10 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/grassroot-seed-propagation-of-native-plants/

    Heather McCargo is the founder and executive director of Wild Seed Project, a Maine based 501(c)3 nonprofit that works to increase the use of seed grown native plants in all landscape settings. Wild Seed Project publishes an annual magazine Wild Seed, sells seeds of locally grown wild type native plants, and educates the public so that a wide range of people can participate in increasing native plant populations.

  • Thursday, November 7, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm – ELA Season’s End Summit 2019


    The Ecological Landscape Alliance will hold it’s 2019 Season’s End Summit on November 7 from 8:30 – 4:30 at the Community Harvest Project Barn, 37 Wheeler Road in North Grafton. The topic is Taking Landscapes to the Next Level: Stepping Back and Thinking Big. Tickets are $139 and may be purchased at https://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/conference-ela-seasons-end-summit-2019/

    Regenerative landscapes consider the ecology of a site, draw upon the wisdom of natural systems, and enhance the surrounding environment for the benefit of humans and all other life in the ecosystem.

    With guidance from natural systems, designers can create thriving landscapes that protect our waters and soil, conserve resources, and provide healthy habitat. The resulting landscapes can be resilient, whole, and beautiful.

    As we reflect on the past landscape season and look for inspiration for our next designs, ELA’s Season’s End Summit invites you to take a fresh look at some design fundamentals that may surprise you – and inspire your next designs. Talks include Designing with Plant Communities: The Synergy of Plants in Partnership with Dan Jaffe, Thinking Ahead: Master Plans That Matter with Toby Wolf, Plant Partners: Reliable and Rewarding Plants for Challenging Sites with Heather McCargo, and Sculpting Plant Communities: Designing with Elegant and Edible Elements with Karen Bussolini.

    copyright Thomas Berger