Want to fill meadow, woodland, or wildflower areas with beautiful native plants? The Polly Hill Arboretum on Martha’s Vineyard is now offering MV native plants sold as plugs. Landscape plugs, grown in narrow sleeves, are an economical way to add more native plants to your home landscape. Small, but strong due to their 5″ root depth, they will establish quickly in your garden. Native plants provide important food and habitat for local fauna and pollinators, and increase the ecological health of your neighborhood. Plugs will be available during limited ordering windows in spring and fall. Check the Plant Sale section of the Arboretum website for more information beginning June 9, and to place your order. They will pack your plugs in mulch and deliver them to a pickup area, ready for planting right away.
Randall’s Island is known for sports and outdoor music as well as a place for health and social institutions. However, most New Yorkers are unaware that the island is also home to many acres of wetlands, woodlands, meadows, and ornamental gardens that create beauty and sanctuary in a landscape surrounded by the bustle of New York City. Landscape and garden designer Veronica Tyson-Strait will share the Randall’s Island that she knows: an oasis for birds, butterflies, and anyone seeking refuge. She will also share strategies to enhance biodiversity in your own garden. This program on September 21 at 5:30 pm is co-sponsored by the Polly Hill Arboretum and by the Dukes Soil Conservation District and The Nature Conservancy. In person, in an open air building. $5 PHA members, $10 nonmembers – space is limited.
An Invasive Plant Mitigation Workshop will take place on August 9 at the Polly Hill Arboretum in West Tisbury, co sponsored by the Arboretum and by The Nature Conservancy.
Join Grounds Manager Ian Jochems to learn strategies for invasive plant and weed management at PHA that you can use in your own garden. We will cover trees, shrubs, vines, and herbaceous plants such as black locust, autumn olive, bittersweet, and garlic mustard. Attendees will be able to try out the different methods of management and each participant will leave with a management tool gift. $20 for PHA members, $35 for nonmembers.
The Polly Hill Arboretum in West Tisbury will host its annual Lisina & Frank W. Hoch Memorial Lecture on July 20 at 5:30 pm. Like most public gardens across the U.S., the global pandemic drastically altered how the Columbus Botanical Garden relates to its diverse community. Adriana Quiñones, Executive Director of Columbus Botanical Garden, will share how one public garden made it through the turmoil to actually build a new garden when the world was shut down, and explore how a public garden responds to the needs of its community.
The Massachusetts cranberry industry currently faces challenges caused by overproduction and competition. Almost all Massachusetts cranberry bogs were created from former wetlands. Restoration of former bogs has the potential to expand stream and adjoining habitats, improve water quality, and provide climate resilience by removing water control structures and restoring hydrological connections. Chris Neill, Ecologist and Senior Scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, will present results from a detailed before-and-after study of a restoration project on the Coonamessett River and Childs River Bogs in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The lecture will take place at the Polly Hill Arboretum in West Tisbury, and is $5 for PHA members, $10 for non members.
The lifespan of a tree planted in a typical US municipality is less than 15 years! Over the past 30 years, a ramped-up effort to plant street trees across the country has brought about a renewed effort towards the right tree, right place. The founder of Arbor Day, Joy Morton, set out to plan and plant for a more verdant, beautiful world. Polly Hill Arboretum Executive Director Tim Boland will share his story and describe how towns on-island can plan and plant in the face of climate change.
This April 28 presentation at 5 pm Eastern time is virtual. A Zoom link will be provided after registering. $10; FREE for PHA members. Proceeds benefit Polly Hill Arboretum. Register here: https://bit.ly/Street-Trees-Webinar
Learn how to confidently identify trees native to Martha’s Vineyard by their bark, twigs, needles, and fruit. Join Polly Hill Arboretum Grounds Manager and Arborist Ian Jochems for a hands-on introductory Winter Tree ID workshop on February 19 from 10 – 12. We will start in the classroom, then head into the field to look at live specimens in PHA’s native woodland behind the main campus.
Attendees are encouraged to dress for the weather and bring gloves and a hat for the outside portion. All other supplies will be provided by the Arboretum. Space is limited and registration is required. $20 for Polly Hill members, $35 for nonmembres. Register here:
To help prevent the spread of Covid-19, we respectfully require that you bring proof of vaccination and wear a mask for the indoor portion of the class.
Chris Roddick, certified arborist and Foreman of Grounds at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, became a lifelong learner of everything arboreal after a Scott Arboretum workshop given by a “weird old plant guy,” renowned plantsman Michael Dirr. Pulling from his 30 plus years of experience in arboriculture — shopping at nurseries, planting, pruning, and caring for veteran trees — Chris will share what he has learned by looking in-depth at a dozen tree species and discussing his successes and failures, while telling a few stories along the way. This Zoom presentation will take place June 16 at 5:30, and is sponsored by The Polly Hill Arboretum, Bartlett Tree Experts and the Dukes Conservation District. $10; FREE for PHA members. Proceeds benefit Polly Hill Arboretum and help make it possible for us to hold future affordable and free educational programs for our community. Thank you for your support! Register here: bit.ly/Chris-Roddick-Webinar
Need a little help with your garden beds? Join Polly Hill Arboretum Grounds Manager/Arborist Ian Jochems to learn how we maintain our garden beds at different times of the year. Ian will demonstrate how we cut bed edges, different weeding strategies, and how we make and use a variety of mulches. We will also cover some basic tool uses and plant maintenance. There will be a chance to try out tools and ask questions.
This class will be held in person on June 15 at 1 pm at the Arboretum, 795 State Road in West Tisbury. Class sizes are limited to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, and allow for social distancing. Registration is required. $15 for PHA members, $30 for nonmembers.
Join Tim Boland and the Ecological Landscape Alliance online on February 3 at 12:30 to understand the great diversity of oaks found throughout North America and locally in New England. Tim will paint a picture of the genus Quercus, including its fascinating evolutionary history and challenges posed by climate change.
He will illuminate the deep connection oaks have to humanity across the world, and explain why they are widely considered to be the ecological glue that holds plant communities together. Familiarity with oaks is vital for anyone looking to garden for biodiversity. Tim will show us how to identify most of the twelve species native to New England and offer guidance on species selection, installation, and maintenance for establishing oak trees in our managed landscapes. Free for ELA members, $10 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/webinar-the-american-oaks-diversity-ecology-and-identification/
Tim Boland has been the Executive Director at The Polly Hill Arboretum on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard since 2004. He previously held positions as Curator at Polly Hill Arboretum and The Morton Arboretum. Tim is a plantsman with varied interests which include oaks, magnolias and the genus Stewartia. His work at the Arboretum includes developing a modern working flora of Martha’s Vineyard and the adjacent Islands. Tim also travels widely to collect seed for the Arboretum’s collections with nearly a dozen trips around North America over the last decade focused on native Stewartia and endangered oaks. The goal of these trips is to develop a scientific collection of woody plants as well as to introduce new plants into American horticulture. Tim’s initial work with oaks began in 1995 when he traveled to Oaxaca, Mexico to study oak diversity as part of his graduate studies at Michigan State University (MSU). In 2018, Tim was appointed to the board of the International Oak Society where he is chair of the oak research and conservation committee. Tim has a Bachelor of Science and in Ornamental Horticulture from MSU and his Masters of Science in Plant Systematics from The Botany and Plant Pathology Department at MSU.
