Boston Flora

Tag: Mal Condon

  • Friday, July 11 – Sunday, July 20 – 11th Annual Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival

    The Cape Cod Hydrangea Society (CCHS), in conjunction with the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce and Heritage Museums and Gardens, announce that the 11th Annual Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival takes place from Friday, July 11 to Sunday, July 20. In addition, the Fest Kickoff Party is happening on Thursday, July 10, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Hyannis Country Garden in Hyannis.

    Heritage Gardens in Sandwich is a major stop on the tour, including both its Display Garden and the North American Hydrangea Test Garden. These lovely gardens are maintained by CCHS members, as directed by Mal Condon, “The Hydrangea Guy”, Curator of the Hydrangea Gardens at Heritage, and CCHS member and past-president. Hydrangea U also takes place at Heritage Gardens on Friday, July 11th.

    A total of ten CCHS member gardens are open during the Festival, with varying dates and times according to homeowner preferences. Starting on Tuesday, July 15, the Bowkers’ garden in E. Sandwich is open, as well as JoAnn Piscillo’s in Brewster. On Wednesday, July 16, C.L. Fornari’s garden in Sandwich is open, and Mal Condon is appearing at the Piscillo garden at both 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.; and again at the Michaelson’s Woods Hole garden, on Friday, July 18, at both 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. All ten CCHS member garden locations can be found in the CCHS Hydrangea Fest brochure, or by visiting www.capecodhydrangeasociety.org.

    CCHS docents are available to answer questions at each CCHS garden location. In addition, local artists are painting in some gardens while visitors tour the grounds.

    Local non-profit organizations based in many Cape Cod towns benefit from all garden tour proceeds. Several participating nurseries and home centers also offer promotions during the Fest, particularly Hyannis Country Garden. An overall event schedule is now available at www.capecodchamber.org, with addresses of all participating gardens posted on this site.

    Private garden tours are $5 per person per garden, and all gardens are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., on specified days, rain or shine. This year a souvenir Hydrangea Fest ‘Passport’ can be found at any CCHS garden, and attendees can get it stamped at most participating gardens.

  • Thursday, June 12, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Installing Drip Hydration

    Join expert gardener and Heritage Museums & Gardens’ Curator of Hydrangeas Mal Condon on June 12 to learn why his “LEGOs for Gardeners” system is essential for keeping our hydrangeas happy during our often too dry summers – and how you can install drip irrigation in your home garden. Successful irrigation for hydrangeas (and all the other woody ornamentals in your garden) is all about surface irrigation via low-flow drip emitters to gradually apply water to the base of the plant on a defined schedule. The installation techniques demonstrated during this program are well within the capabilities of most gardeners, and DIY-ers will love it! During this small group workshop, you’ll see exactly how it’s done, be introduced to the needed tools and supplies, and learn where to obtain them. Even if you’re not interested in doing the installation work yourself, you’ll become knowledgeable enough to better interact with your chosen irrigation contractor.

    There will be plenty of ongoing time for questions and discussion and following the program, you’ll receive a PDF file via email containing presentation content for your reference. Advance registration is required, and we expect this popular program to sell out.

    This program will take place rain or shine. In good weather, it will take place partly outdoors. In the event of inclement weather, the program will be held fully indoors inside the Heald Center at the J.K. Lilly III Automobile Gallery. In either weather situation, we will meet and conclude our session indoors.

    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: $30 Members, $40 Non-Members. Register at www.heritagemuseumsandgardens.org

  • Thursday, August 1, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Making More Plants Workshop: Division, Propagation, and Seeding

    This small-group Heritage Museums & Gardens workshop session is geared toward home gardeners who wish to learn practical how-to techniques for making more plants using several techniques, including division, propagation, and seeding. Mal Condon, Heritage’s Curator of Hydrangeas, will lead this program and while hydrangeas will be the main focus of this demonstration, these practices can be applied to many other woody ornamentals you would plant on Cape Cod. During this hands-on experience, participants will prepare and “strike” their own cuttings and take them home to nurture and develop into well-rooted plants. Plenty of time will be allotted for questions and discussion and, in addition to cuttings and rooting mix you’ll take home, following the program you’ll also receive a PDF file including presentation content via email for your reference. Advance registration is required.

    Please note: this program will take place rain or shine. In good weather, it will take place outdoors in the gardens. In the event of inclement weather, the program will be held indoors inside the Heald Center at the J.K. Lilly III Automobile Gallery.

    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: $30 Members, $40 Non-Members Register at https://heritagemuseumsandgardens.org/mecevents/making-more-plants/?occurrence=2024-08-01

  • Friday, July 7, 8:30 am – 12:30 pm – Hydrangea University 2023

    Heritage Museums & Gardens and the Cape Cod Hydrangea Society CCHS are pleased to again partner and present the eighth edition of our annual Hydrangea University – the premier opening event of the annual Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival. During this symposium-style event, expert guest speakers will inspire and entertain while increasing participants’ knowledge of hydrangeas. This year’s speakers include:

    • Mal Condon, Curator of Hydrangeas, Heritage Museums & Gardens
    • Ryan McEnaney, Marketing and Communications Manager, Bailey Innovations
    • David Roberts, Director of Plant Breeding, Bailey Innovations
    • Andi Ross, Garden Speaker

    Admission to all of Heritage Museums & Gardens will also be included with registration, and each participant will receive a goodie bag and a hydrangea plant to take home. After the program, participants will have the opportunity to tour the Cape Cod Hydrangea Society Display Garden and the North American Hydrangea Test Garden. Advance registration is required, as space is limited. Register at www.heritagemuseumandgardens.org

  • Friday, June 18, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm – Hydrangea Propagation, Online

    Mal Condon, Heritage Museums & Garden’s Curator of Hydrangeas, will share the details of plant propagation techniques developed specifically for the home garden. Propagation is a pleasurable pursuit and a most enjoyable way of making more plants – for your own garden and to share with gardener friends. While hydrangeas will be the main focus of this demonstration, these practices can be applied to many other woody ornamental plants. Participants will be introduced to the needed components and shown step-by-step instructions to prepare and “strike” their own cuttings at home. Details on “next step” nurturing to transition your rooted cuttings into well-rooted plants will also be presented.

    The live webinar on June 18 from 10:30 – noon will include time for questions, as well as a PDF of the slides for your reference. All program registrants will receive a link to the video recording, available for 48 hours after the event. Advance registration is required. Don’t miss this important “how-to” workshop – register today! $17 for Heritage Gardens members, $27 for nonmembers. Visit www.heritagemuseumsandgardens.org.

  • Friday, November 6, 10:30 am – 12:00 noon – Virtual Hydrangea Success Series: Winterizing Webinar

    Hydrangea macrophylla plants are the least cold-hardy of hydrangea species and bud hardiness is especially sensitive to harsh Cape Cod winters. In this Heritage Museums and Gardens online webinar on Friday, November 6 from 10:30 – noon, Heritage Hydrangea Curator, Mal Condon, will discuss the best techniques he has developed for protecting hydrangeas from the ravages of winter and will provide information on the necessary materials and their sources. The live webinar will feature a detailed slide presentation, and a chance for questions and answers with Mal. All program webinar registrants will receive a PDF of the slide presentation, via email, after the presentation. Advance registration is required and registration for this program ends at 6 am on Thursday, November 5.

    A lifelong gardener, Mal has been collecting, propagating, and growing hydrangeas for more than 40 years. He and his wife Mary Kay owned and operated Hydrangea Farm Nursery on Nantucket Island for many years. Early in 2014 they relocated to Yarmouth Port on Cape Cod and have been busy establishing a significant garden in their new location. Mal is known as “the hydrangea whisperer” at Heritage, and is committed to ongoing maintenance of all existing hydrangea plantings as well as to the continuing expansion of Heritage’s hydrangea gardens.

    Click here to register

    Fee:  $17 Heritage Members, $27 Non-Members

    FREE Benefit Package Program Passes may be used for this program. Add your discount code during check-out, or contact the Development Department at membership@heritagemuseums.org or call us at 508-888-3300 x119 or x159.

    Please note, if you are unable to join us for this live webinar, this program will be recorded and made available through our website later this season. Interested viewers will be able to “rent” this recorded webinar, for a fee, to watch on-demand.

  • Saturday, April 25, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Hydrangea Pruning Success Online

    Saturday, April 25, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Hydrangea Pruning Success Online

    Culturally, of the several important issues for the home gardener to understand and practice, pruning is quite possibly the most critical and the least well understood. It also remains the most frequently questioned topic in my many lectures on hydrangeas.

    The Massachusetts Horticultural Society shared the details of ‘Pruning Best Practices’ for many years, always trying to include the new understandings we continue to acquire over time. Over the past 2 years we’ve begun to more completely explore and explain ‘The Seasonal Step Approach’ to pruning – covering all species relative to practice and time of the year. Results have been excellent and we will urge you to adopt this approach as well.

    This April 25 lecture from 10 – 12 will be digitally presented featuring detailed graphics relevant to all topics. Mal Condon strives to create a ‘class-room’ atmosphere encouraging active audience participation during the presentation portion of this event. For the balance of our time together – and if weather permits – we will move outside to do some hands-on pruning of nearby, on site hydrangeas.

    A handout – in pdf format, containing all material presented – will be emailed to each attendee after the event.

    A lifelong gardener, Mal Condon has been collecting, propagating, and growing hydrangeas for more than 40 years. An engineer by education and profession, he is strongly committed to the continuing development of the genus – always searching for new and better plants, evaluating their landscape performance, and finding superior ways to produce and grow them.

    His Hydrangea Farm Nursery on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts was a well-known specialty nursery featuring one of the largest hydrangea collections in the Northeast. In 2014, he relocated to Cape Cod, where he continues his passion establishing a significant new garden. Mal frequently shares his many hydrangea learnings with garden clubs, horticultural associations, and plant societies – in the USA and other hydrangea-centric locations world-wide. $35 for Mass Hort members, $50 for nonmembers. Register at www.masshort.org.

  • Saturday, October 26, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Hydrangea Success

    Hydrangeas continue to be a very popular woody ornamental genus. Widely grown along the New England coastline – and increasingly in more interior locations – they create something special in so many gardens. Mal Condon’s October 26 discussion at 2 pm at Tower Hill Botanic Garden will cover a broad range of best practices for growing hydrangea successfully in your gardens – from the technical perspective to the all-important ‘dirt under the fingernails’ Issues.

    Sponsored by the New England Hosta Society. Free with admission to the Garden.

    A lifelong gardener, Mal Condon has been collecting, propagating, and growing hydrangeas for more than 40 years. He and his wife Mary Kay operated Hydrangea Farm Nursery on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts for many years. It was a well-known specialty nursery featuring a touring garden containing one of the largest hydrangea collections in the Northeast. In February 2014 they moved to Yarmouth Port on Cape Cod, where they are continuing their passion establishing a significant new garden. Mal is Curator of Hydrangeas at Heritage Museums & Gardens in Sandwich, MA, a former President of The Cape Cod Hydrangea Society, and the ‘hydrangea whisperer’ for several major residential landscapes on the Cape.

  • Thursday, August 1, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm and 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm – Hydrangea Propagation

    Mal Condon, Heritage Museum and Garden’s Curator of Hydrangeas, will share the details of plant propagation techniques developed specifically for the home garden. The class will be held twice on August 1, one session from 10:30 – noon and from 1:30 – 3. Propagation is a pleasurable pursuit and a most enjoyable way of producing more plants. While hydrangeas will be the main focus of this demonstration, these practices can be applied to many other woody ornamental genera. During this hands-on experience, participants will prepare and “strike” their own cuttings and take them home to nurture and develop into well-rooted plants. Advance registration is recommended as space is limited and these programs often sell out! Fee:  $17 Members, $27 Non-Members. Register at www.heritagemuseumsandgardens.org.

  • Thursday, July 25, 11:00 am – Down to Earth Summer Conference

    The Down to Earth Summer Conference, an annual event and trade show sponsored by Plant Something Massachusetts, will take place at Sylvan Nursery, 259 Horseneck Road in Westport/Dartmouth, on July 25 beginning at 11 am. Register on or before July 12 and save $15 per registration, at www.MNLA.com/DtE19 

    Lunch (11 – 1) by Clambakes of Massachusetts.

    Sessions:

    • A Simple Recipe for Social Media Success by Susan Finn, Chief Connector, Rise Above Noise
    • Pest Resistant Bulbs by Brent Heath of Brent & Becky’s Barn
    • Hydrangeas Pest and Disease Control by Mal Condon, The Hydrangea Guy
    • Perennial Bed Maintenance for Pros by C.L. Fornari, The Garden Lady
    • Non-native Shrubs in the Urban Environment by Mandy Bayer, Assistant Professor, UMass Extension
    • Storm Water Management by Trevor Smith of LandEscapes
    • Solution Central by Chris Kennedy, MCH, Kennedy Country Gardens
    • Spotting the Spotted Lantern Fly (SLF) by Javier Marin, MDAR Forest Pest Outreach Coordinator
    • Designing with Bulbs “Potentials & Possibilities” by Brent Heath of Brent & Becky’s Barn
    • Hydrangeas Plant Selections by Mal Condon, The Hydrangea Guy