White Flower Farm, at 167 Litchfield Road in Litchfield, Connecticut will have over 100 varieties of tomato seedlings available, along with fertilizers, stakes, ties, containers, and a selection of herbs and vegetables to make this year’s garden the best ever, on Tomatomania weekend, May 21 – May 23, from 9 – 5 each day. Scott Daigre, noted tomato expert and author, will give straightforward advice about growing his favorite subject. For more information, log on to www.whiteflowerfarm.com.
Whether your thumbs are green or not, we trust that you’ll want to visit Bedford Common on May 15 for the 57th Annual First Parish Plant & Craft Fair. You’ll find specialty annuals, heritage perennials from members’ gardens, crafts, activities for kids, cook out lunch, bake sale, live music, annuals, herbs and vegetables from Massachusetts growers, and more.
The Fair features world-class Massachusetts-grown annuals and field-grown perennials, herbs and veggies along with a glorious selection of Heritage Perennials dug from our members’ gardens — in some cases by dividing plants that were originally purchased generations ago at First Parish sales. There will also be crafters (more than 50 vendors are expected to grace Bedford’s Town Common), a cookout lunch, outstanding bake sale and live music by the Yankee Doodle Dixieland Band.
To entertain the kids they’ll offer a professional face painter, a petting zoo sponsored by Bedford’s 4-H club, a games tent and a roving magician. Come early to snag the best plants and stay around to enjoy the music, activities and lunch! The Annual Plant & Craft Fair is a fundraiser for Bedford’s First Parish on the Common and its work in the community.
The fair is held Saturday, May 15, from 10 – 3 at First Parish on the Common, 75 The Great Road, Routes 4/225, in Bedford. Free. Telephone 781-275-7994 for more information, or email plantfair@uubedford.org.
The Brockton Garden Club will hold a Perennial Plant Sale on Saturday, May 15, from 8:30 am – 11:00 am at the Brockton Park Department headquarters, 45 Meadow Lane in Brockton (former site of the Campello Swimming Pool). See new plants, old favorites, perennials, shrubs, herbs, ground covers, grasses, house plants and more. The Scholarship Committee will have hardy geraniums for sale in a veriety of colors. Proceeds fund the Brockton Garden Club’s city-wide Civic Projects and Scholarship Fund. For more information and directions, log on to www.brocktongc.org.
Join USA Thanksgiving in Plymouth, Massachusetts, for the Edible South Shore’s Farmers Market on Sunday, November 22 from 11 am – 3 pm. There is no better way to cook your Thanksgiving dinner than by using locally grown fresh produce and foods. Vendors will offer fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, eggs, cut flowers and plants. Local food crafters (their word – ah, the evolution of the English language) will bring cheeses, gelato, yogurt, jams, sauces, honey, grain side dishes, breads, baked goodies and other handmade sundries, such as soaps and herbal infusions.
For directions and more information please call Diana Scolponeti at 508-224-4044 or email events@cmrevents.com.
Learn about planting and growing kitchen gardens from the Pilgrims to the present, and find out what past generations relied on to nourish and cure them. We will talk about heirloom varieties, their culture, and how to plant and harvest herbs and vegetables for the rest of the season. Admission is $35, and reservations are required. The event will take place at the Lyman Estate Greenhouses in Waltham, Massachusetts, and is run by Historic New England. For further information, contact Susanna Crampton, 185 Lyman Street, Waltham, MA 02452, 781-891-4882, scrampton@historicnewengland.org. You can get directions to the Lyman Estate on Historic New England’s website, www.HistoricNewEngland.org.
Visit the gardens of Heritage Museums & Gardens in the morning and experience one of the most enjoyable times of the day. The Horticulture staff invites members and friends to an informal gardening lecture. Bring questions and take part in the discussion. In the event of inclement weather, the program will be canceled. Meet at Ticket Office.
FREE with Museum Admission. For directions and more information, log on to www.heritagemuseumsandgardens.org.
Meet in the courtyard of the Henry Hornblower II Visitor Center to join a lovely walking tour of Plimoth Plantation’s 17th century herb boxes, hosted by staff
horticulturalist Lori Danek. Discover the culinary, medicinal and household uses of herbs in the 1620’s and discuss how to successfully grow these important plants in your own garden. Additionally, receive a 17th-century recipe, to try your hand at herbal cooking at home! These tours are FREE with museum admission and will happen rain or shine. For directions and more information, log on to www.plimoth.org.
Each Sunday morning in June the experts at Old Sturbridge Village will conduct a meeting on the grounds of this treasured site. On June 14, meet in the Herb Garden to hear about The Dangers of Herbs. On June 21, Fashion in Flowers will be discussed at the garden near the Towne House. June 28 brings Garden Pests and Problems at the Freeman Farmhouse kitchen garden. These programs are free with admission to Old Sturbridge Village. Old Sturbridge Village is a “must-see†destination to experience early New England life from 1790-1840. One of the country’s largest living history museums, OSV has a large staff of historians in costume, 59 historic buildings on 200 acres, three authentic water-powered mills and two covered bridges. Visitors can ride in a stagecoach, view antiques, heirloom gardens, meet the farm animals, and take part in hands-on crafts year-round. For more information and directions, log on to www.osv.org. Also, attention heirloom gardeners: head to the Museum Gift Shop to browse flats of perennial flowers and heirloom tomatoes — museum admission not required!
The Garden Club of Buzzards Bay is sponsoring a plant sale featuring club-grown annuals, perennials from members’ gardens, heirloom tomatoes, herbs, dahlias, unusual boxwood cultivars, groundcovers, succulents, and geraniums. The sale will take place at St. Mary’s Church Parish Center, 783 Dartmouth Street, South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, and more information may be obtained by calling 508-991-2271, or emailing GCBBplantsale@yahoo.com.
Spice up your life with an A to Z tour of spices that explore the history, folklore and medicinal benefits of common culinary spices. RN/herbalist Bonnie Kavanagh will guide you in the creation of a healthy spice blend to bring home, along with the knowledge to improve your health with every meal. Workshop will meet in the Carriage House of Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum, 101 Ferry Road, Bristol, Rhode Island. $20 members of Blithewold, $25 nonmembers. For more information call 401-253-2707, or log on to www.blithewold.org.
