Boston Flora

Tag: Planting & Maintaining the Eco-friendly Habitat Garden

  • Saturday, July 29, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Trip to Turkey Hill Brook Farm: Naturescaping for Habitat

    Turkey Hill Brook Farm in Spencer, Massachusetts is a small farm nursery in the Worcester Hills that has been landscaped for horses, wildlife habitat and organic small-scale food production since 2004. With a variety of different habitats (open meadow, woods, pond and stream) planted with eastern natives, as well as cultivated gardens and lawns, the farm attracts many wild birds, beneficial insects and pollinators who bring life to the landscape. Enjoy a two-hour tour of this peaceful farm, organized through Tower Hill Botanic Garden, and feel free to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy in the gardens afterwards. The site is hilly, so wear good walking shoes.

    Meet at Turkey Hill Brook Farm, 88 Wire Village Rd, Spencer MA. Pre-registration required.  $25 for Tower Hill members, $35 for nonmembers.  Register at https://towerhillbg.thankyou4caring.org/pages/event-registration-form—trip-to-turkey-hill-brook-farm-naturescaping-for-habitat

    Your guide will be Ellen Sousa, proprietor of Turkey Hill Farm and an author, garden coach and designer who works with homeowners, landowners and non-profit organizations to design and manage landscapes that support local biodiversity and organic food production. She is the author of the book The Green Garden: A New England Guide to Planning, Planting & Maintaining the Eco-friendly Habitat Garden.

  • Thursday, June 1, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Pollinator-Friendly Gardens and Landscapes

    Bees and other beneficial insects are all the buzz these days – and for good reason. Pollinator populations are crashing both locally and worldwide, yet these small forms of wildlife are vital to food production, pest control, and environmental stability. With just a few changes in your property management, you can help support and maintain a diversity of pollinator and beneficial insect species in your backyard or farm. On Thursday, June 1 at 7 pm, learn to identify the good – and bad – bugs flying around your gardens, and at the same time welcome a whole new dimension to your enjoyment of gardening and nature. The lecture will be held at the Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley.

    Ellen Sousa is an author, garden coach and designer from Turkey Hill Brook Farm, a habitat farm and native plant nursery in Spencer, MA. Since 2007, Ellen has worked with homeowners, landowners and non-profit organizations to design and manage landscapes that support food production and local biodiversity. She is the author of the book The Green Garden: A New England Guide to Planning, Planting & Maintaining the Eco-friendly Habitat Garden.

    Mass Hort Members: $12; General Admission: $20. Sign up online at www.masshort.org.

  • Saturday, July 23, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Wildlife Haven at Turkey Hill Brook Farm

    Turkey Hill Brook Farm is a small “habitat” farm in the Worcester Hills (88 Wire Village Road in Spencer) that has been landscaped for wildlife and sustainability since 2004. Invasive plants have been strictly controlled, conventional exotic landscaping plants have gradually been replaced with site-appropriate natives, and local native plant communities have been encouraged to make a return.

    The farm features several very different habitats (open meadow, woods, pond and stream), each supporting a diversity of adapted plants along with their co-evolved wildlife species. Other areas used for horses, chickens, food production, recreation, and a small native plant nursery are managed with as few outside inputs as possible, with an emphasis on function, aesthetics, and wildlife support. Enjoy an Ecological Landscape Alliance two-hour tour of this peaceful farm on Saturday, July 23 beginning at 10 am, and feel free to bring a picnic to eat lunch afterwards. The site is hilly, so wear good walking shoes.

    Ellen W. Sousa owns Turkey Hill Brook Farm, a native plant nursery and habitat farm in Spencer, Massachusetts and is the author of The Green Garden: A New England Guide to Planning, Planting & Maintaining the Eco-friendly Habitat Garden. She provides coaching and design services to clients to guide them in the design and construction of landscapes that support pollinators and biodiversity. Ms. Sousa is also an overseer and instructor for New England Wild Flower Society. $23 for ELA members, $33 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/wildlife-haven-at-turkey-hill-brook-farm/#sthash.vnH3tmEn.dpuf