Boston Flora

Tag: NEWFS

  • Saturday, February 3, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Make Life Easier with Living Mulch

    How many people were drawn to gardening by a love of mulch? Not many, and yet our landscapes are full of it. Thick layers of red mulch and volcano mulching under trees is commonplace—but there is a better way. Canada mayflower, foamflower, and beech fern are just a few alternatives that can take the place of traditional wood mulch in the garden. Come to Garden in the Woods on Saturday, February 3 from 1- 3 for a class with Dan Jaffee on Living Mulch. $26 for NEWFS members, $32 for nonmembers. Image from gobotany! Register at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/make-life-easier-with-living-mulch

  • Saturday, January 20, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Native Lawn Alternatives

    “Lawns are a soul-crushing timesuck…,” reads the headline of a recent article on washingtonpost.com. According to NASA, more surface area in the U.S. is covered by lawn than by any other single irrigated crop. Lawns are resource-heavy, requiring irrigation, fertilizer, and pesticides to thrive in our climate. Learn some of the best, environmentally friendly lawn alternatives for urban gardens.

    This class is part of the Urban Gardening Series, a set of classes designed to help city dwellers grow healthy, sustainable, and beautiful urban gardens. Led by New England Wild Flower Society in partnership with the Cambridge Conservation Commission, these free classes take place at the Cambridge Public Library (449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA). Native Lawn Alternatives will be held Saturday, January 20 beginning at 1:00 pm. Free admission.

  • Saturday, January 13, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Winter Botany

    Investigate the taxonomic characteristics of deciduous, evergreen, and some herbaceous plants in winter. Students will learn to use a dichotomous key and then identify a large inventory of twig and plant specimens. After lunch, the class will head into the Garden in the Woods. Bring a bag lunch, a hand lens, and a copy of Fruit Key and Twig Key to Trees and Shrubs by William M. Harlow. Take home plant specimens. This one session New England Wild Flower Society class will take place Saturday, January 13 from 9:30 – 3:30, and is taught by Dr. William E. Kuriger. $80 for NEWFS and Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions members, $96 for nonmembers. Register online at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/winter-botany

  • Wednesdays, January 10 – February 7, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Residential Landscape Design

    This multisession New England Wild Flower Society course, appropriate for beginners, tackles the different aspects of the landscape design process. Workshop sessions will focus on design methods using site analysis techniques and schematic design tools. You will consult with the instructor and work on a project of your own choosing. Discussions about plants and habitats will be interspersed with lectures on design principles, including criteria for making plant choices and determining placement in the landscape. Classes are held at Garden in the Woods on Wednesdays, January 10, 17, 24, 31, and February 7 from 6-9, and are led by Cheryl Salatino of Dancing Shadows Garden Design. $215 for NEWFS members, $254 for nonmembers. Register online at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/residential-landscape-design-3

  • Monday, November 13, 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Groundcovers: Ecological Solutions in Place of Mulch Webinar

    The ecological garden is a richly layered plant community. At the base of the plant layer we find the herbaceous groundcovers plants that help to reduce garden maintenance. Growing in popularity, groundcover plants add beauty from leaf shapes, textures, and colors. As a bonus, they add valuable ecosystem services not offered by mulch alone – including the challenging areas such as the base of trees. Unlike the monotony of mulch, groundcovers offer seasonal interest in both flowers and foliage and many can also provide fruit for humans or wildlife.

    In this webinar, Dan Jaffe will guide us through the process of transforming large areas of mulch into lush groundcover plantings. Dan will discuss native plant options and will provide an overview of plant spacing and techniques for getting the groundcover layer established. Dan Jaffe is the propagator and stock bed grower at New England Wild Flower Society (NEWFS) in Framingham, Massachusetts. He earned a degree in botany from the University of Maine and an advanced certificate in Native Plant Horticulture and Design from NEWFS. After interning at Garden in the Woods, Mr. Jaffe worked for a year as Plant Sales Coordinator at the Garden. Image of tiarella from www.thbfarm.com

    Free for ELA members, $10 for nonmembers. Sign up at http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/groundcovers-ecological-solutions-in-place-of-mulch/

  • Wednesday, November 8, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Choosing Native Trees for Your Landscape Webinar

    Planting a tree on your property is a lifetime commitment. Choose wisely and you—and the tree—will be happy for decades. Choose poorly and you both may be miserable. Learn how to identify the best native trees for your landscape and gain some practical tips for selecting healthy trees at the nursery. This New England Wild Flower Society live webinar on Wednesday, November 8 from 6:30 – 7:30 pm will be taught by Mark Richardson, and is $10 for NEWFS members, $13 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/live-webinar-choosing-native-trees-for-your-landscape

  • Saturday, November 4, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Bare Trees and Naked Shrubs

    No leaves? No problem! We will use a combination of branching patterns, bud and bark characteristics, habitat, persistent fruits, galls, and marcescent leaves to help identify woody plants in winter. We’ll head out onto conservation lands in Lexington and Winchester, MA, where we’ll take a close look at 18-20 common trees and shrubs. The New England Wild Flower Society program, co-sponsored with the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions, will conclude indoors with a twig quiz and a hot beverage. Bring lunch and a hand lens if you have one. Boot Boutwell is your instructor, and the locations will be Whipple Hill in Lexington and Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester. $38 for sponsor members, $46 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/bare-trees-and-naked-shrubs

  • Tuesday, October 24, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Designing a Garden for All Seasons: Autumn Edition

    How do you create an all-season garden that both captivates people and provides for wildlife year-round? On Tuesday, October 24 at Garden in the Woods, Anna Fialkoff will discuss designs and plant palettes for your garden that focus on structure and seasonal themes, with special attention to fall gardens. Afterward, you will walk through the Garden to see how the Society’s horticulture team tackles the autumn season. The New England Wild Flower Society session will begin at 10 am and is $62 for NEWFS members, $73 for nonmembers. Register online at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/designing-a-garden-for-all-seasons-autumn-edition

  • Monday, October 23, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Betulaceae Family

    Several interesting woody trees and shrub species form the Betulaceae family, which includes birches and their relatives, alders, hazelnuts, and hornbeams. Their wind-pollinated flowers, although inconspicuous, are very interesting, as is their method of seed dispersal. This New England Wild Flower Society course with Carol Govan provides an overview of what to look for when studying plant families. We will examine similarities and differences among genera and individual species, then head outdoors to explore members of this family in the Garden. The class will be held on Monday, October 23 from 10 – 2 at Garden in the Woods in Framingham. $53 for NEWFS members, $64 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/betulaceae-family

  • Sunday, October 22, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Warren Manning: A Force of Nature

    Join Jane Roy Brown on Sunday, October 22 at 2:00 pm at Garden in the Woods for a presentation about Warren Manning (1860­–1938), an innovative landscape architect and planner whose work is the subject of a new book, Warren H. Manning, Landscape Architect and Environmental Planner that Brown co-edited. Manning had a national practice based in north suburban Boston, and for a time employed Will Curtis, who designed Garden in the Woods. The book will be available for purchase after the lecture. $8 for NEWFS members, $10 for nonmembers. Register online at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/warren-manning-a-force-of-nature