Boston Flora

Tag: NEWFS

  • Thursday, December 9, 10:30 am – 12:00 noon – Energy-Wise Landscape Design

    Design your landscape so it saves energy and contributes to a healthier environment.  Instructor Sue Reed helps you discover tips to lower your home’s heating and cooling costs, minimize fuel used in landscape construction, maintenance and everyday living, and choose products and materials with lower embedded energy costs.  This lecture, Energy-Wise Landscape Design, will take place at Garden in the Woods, 180 Hemenway Road in Framingham, on Thursday, December 9, from 10:30 – 12 noon.

    Our landscapes are full of opportunities to reduce energy consumption–most of them involve little or no cost, and some will actually save money. Find out how to shrink your energy footprint while enhancing your property and adding value to your home. Sue Reed will sell and sign her widely acclaimed new book on the topic following the program. Pre-registration is necessary; contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303, or email registrar@newenglandwild.org.  $15 for NEWFS members, $18 for non-members.

  • Tuesday, November 30, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Wildflower Propagation

    Come to Garden in the Woods, 180 Hemenway Road in Framingham on Tuesday, November 30, from 10 – 2. Learn tips for raising wildflowers from seed, allowing access to an astonishing variety of species not often seen in garden centers or nurseries. Develop a deeper appreciation of plant physiology and evolution.

    Instructor Kate Pawling discusses seed physiology and ecology as well as the various techniques used to germinate and grow a wide variety of native species, including such challenging genera as Trillium.  Photo below is marsh marigold.

    Discuss seed and spore collection and storage. Clean and sow a variety of seed to take home and grow. All materials provided.  Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.$48 for NEWFS members, $58  for non-members. For additional information, log on to www.newenglandwild.org.

  • Saturday, December 4, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Identifying & Enjoying Herbaceous Plants in Late Fall

    When herbaceous plants have died back and look “disenchanted,” it is still possible to identify some of them by closely examining their dried leaves, stems, and persistent fruits and seeds.

    Join Frances Clark at Garden in the Woods, 180 Hemenway Road in Framingham on Saturday, December 4, from 10 – 1, for a classroom exploration to investigate 25-30 weeds and native herbaceous species growing in disturbed habitats, fields, and woodland edges. Examine specimens close at hand to learn identification features and intriguing seed-dispersal mechanisms.

    The cost of this class is $36 for NEWFS members, $42 for non-members. Pre-registration is necessary; contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303, or email registrar@newenglandwild.org.

  • Saturday, November 13, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Understanding Botanical and Horticultural Names

    In this workshop on plant nomenclature, taking place Saturday, November 13, from 1 – 4, students will have the opportunity to sort out the confusion associated with plant names.  You will discuss common names, binomial scientific names, and the history of nomenclature since Linnaeus.

    The current rules of nomenclature will be reviewed, and you’ll see why and how plant names sometimes change.

    This program takes place at the New England Wild Flower Society’s Garden in the Woods, 180 Hemenway Road in Framingham, is co-sponsored with the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, and costs $40 for NEWFS or Arboretum members and $48 for non-members.  To register, or for more information, log on to www.newfs.org, or call 617-384-5277.

  • Tuesday, October 19, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Fall in the Garden

    On Tuesday, October 19 from 10 – noon (rain date Wednesday, October 20, 10 – noon) get inspired by this hands-on opportunity to learn about all the various garden activities to do in the autumn. Get tips on planting, dividing, fall clean-up, pruning, and preparing for the winter months ahead. This combination garden walk and gardening workshop is set in a beautiful two-acre garden that includes a native plant woodland, a large vegetable garden and orchard, and diverse perennial beds. Robin Wilkerson leads this New England Wild Flower Society excursion, for a member fee of $24, non member fee of $29.  To register, and for directions, log on to www.newfs.org. Photo credit to allanbecker.gardenguru.squarespace.com.

  • Tuesday, October 5, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Native Bulbs for New England

    A large variety of North American species actually perform better if the whole plant is transplanted from a container in the spring rather than bare root in the fall. Laura Eisener highlights some of the beautiful native plants that grow from bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and tubers, including spring and summer blooming species. These hardy, long-lasting perennials make delightful additions to your sun or shade garden. The Tuesday, October 5 class  (from 7 – 9) is co sponsored by the New England Wild Flower Society and by Mass Audubon Drumlin Farm, and the fee to participate is $22 for members of either group, or $26 for non members. To register, log on to www.newfs.org.

  • 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, September 25, 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Fungi in the Field

    Can you distinguish a bolete from a gilled mushroom? And what technically is a mushroom anyway? Fall is fungi season in the Northeast, the best time to discover and identify what’s out in the field. Learn about the crucial and sometimes astonishing roles these fascinating life forms have in the ecosystem and some methods for identifying mushrooms and other fungi all around us. New England Wild Flower Society is the sponsor of this event at the Drumlin Farm Nature Center in Lincoln on Saturday, September 25 from 1 – 3:30, led by instructor Jef (that’s Jef with only one “f”) Taylor. To register, log on to www.newfs.org. $20 for NEWFS members, $24 for nonmembers.

  • Wednesday, September 22, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Autumn Splendor in Two Gardens

    Find inspiration with the New England Wild Flower Society on Wednesday, September 22, from 10 – 1, at Ellen McFarland’s four-season garden in Westwood, Massachusetts, beautifully designed by Gary L. Koller with a series of garden rooms surrounding the converted carriage house/ barn. Mature plantings of trees and shrubs provide a backdrop for the interplay of color and texture from masses of perennials. A landscaped swimming pool with cascading waterfall adds a soothing note midway through the garden. This garden combines the best in design, plantings, and hardscape, seasoned with works of art. Then travel to Dover where you are invited to “enter and forget from where you’ve come.” This is the intention of designer Kevin Doyle for his garden visitors. Set on a rocky rise in Dover, “Cairn Croft,” unfurls down a slope, infused with beauty, plant texture, and moments of surprise and fun. Explore a woodland path, pond, wetland, formal parterre and driveway courtyard enhanced by elements of sculpture and garden art. The fee is $32 if you are a member of NEWFS, and $38 if you are not a member. To register, and for more information, log on to www.newfs.org.  Painting below by Leif Nilsson.

  • Saturday, September 25, 9:30 am – 12:00 noon – Renovate and Replant: Native Substitutes for Common Landscape Invasives

    The New England Wild Flower Society and the Trustees of Reservations team up on Saturday, September 25, from 9:30 – noon, for an instructive class and walk at Long Hill in Beverly, Massachusetts. Our plant choices now extend beyond color and form. We seek plants that won’t escape into the natural community and, at the same time, provide valuable nourishment and habitat for birds, mammals, and insects. Learn about ecologically sound substitutes for invasives such as burning bush, Norway maple (below), and yellow flag iris. Following the lecture, Andrew Keys and the Trustees Horticultural Staff will lead a walk through the 6-acre Sedgwick Gardens, identifying native trees and shrubs thriving within the ornamental gardens and along the woodland edge.$22 for members of NEWFS or the Trustees, and $26 for non-members.  To register, log on to www.newfs.org.