Boston Flora

Tag: Seeds

  • Northeast Regional Seed Club

    Join the Northeast Regional Seed Club with Cape Ann Gardens using the link HERE and be a part of the local seed movement! You’ll receive 6 months of seeds (up to five packets every two months) featuring regionally grown flowers, herbs, vegetables, and fruits adapted for the northeastern U.S. $85 cost.

    Your membership will provide critical start-up funds to support grower contributions to the 2025 list of offerings and seed contracts for the 2026 catalog. Your support is invaluable for developing this network of small-scale seed producers and launching a seed company rooted in ethical, regional seed stewardship.

    Each seed variety has been grown and tested by experienced seed savers committed to ethical, regionally focused seed production. Our club members play a crucial role in this process—not just as recipients of seeds, but as active participants in the ongoing adaptation of plants to the Northeast’s evolving climate. This initiative strengthens a regional seed network, sustains small-scale producers, and advances a future where seed sovereignty is the norm, not the exception.

  • Tuesday, March 26, 3:00 pm – 4:15 pm Eastern – Sourcing Native Plants and Seeds: A Homeowner’s Guide, Online

    Once you’ve decided what to plant, in what form and where do you obtain those plants? This can be a challenge, as the nursery and seed industry has not kept up with the altered requirements of  the burgeoning native plant movement. In this NDAL online presentation on March 26 at 3 pm Eastern, Ian Caton will draw on his extensive experience as both a garden designer and plant grower to provide guidance on sourcing often hard to find native plants and seeds, determining the best plant size for your application, the use of horticultural cultivars, when and how to obtain plants grown from local seed sources, and how to determine the likely survivability of the plants you are purchasing. He will also show how seeds, both purchased and collected, can help to overcome nursery industry shortfalls, and provide an inexpensive supplement to live plant installation.    $42. Register at www.ndal.org

  • Slow Food USA and Seed Savers Exchange Partnership

    Slow Food USA’s 2024 Plant a Seed campaign will explore eight different roots and grains, and a partnership with Seed Savers Exchange and its ADAPT program will give gardeners the opportunity to build community and test out new seed varieties. This announcement came on December 5, on World Soil Day, an annual awareness day commemorated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Through educating the world about soil health, World Soil Day , this initiative emphasizes the vital connection between soil, human and planetary health.

    In 2024, Seed Savers Exchange, a nonprofit dedicated to gardeners growing heirloom seeds, will bring Slow Food USA growers into its ADAPT program, allowing Slow Food USA’s garden-loving network to engage in this community science initiative. Sorghum and carrots are among the 10 experiments Seed Savers Exchange has planned for 2024, to intersect with next year’s Plant a Seed campaign, and interested participants can sign up here until January 26, 2024. Participants of this program will trial varieties from the seed bank in their own gardens and send feedback on their performance. This information will help highlight the adaptability of these seeds in different environments and will guide the selection process for new introductions into the Seed Savers Exchange catalog.

  • Sunday, November 19, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm – Your Story in Seeds

    Hudson Valley-based artist-miniaturist Sergey Jivetin will once again bring his seed stories project to Garden in the Woods on November 19 at 11. Sergey will hand-engrave seeds with illustrations based on narratives about plants and their deep connection with farmers, seed savers, naturalists and enthusiast gardeners who nurture and preserve them. If you would like to share your personal story of such a relationship between plants and people, bring a relevant seed and Sergey will illustrate your individual story into it. 

    There will be a limited number of customized seed engravings created for people who would like to bring sentimental seeds and share a relevant story. For this first-come, first-serve program, you must sign up in advance for your 45-minute time slot. $26 for NPT members, $30 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/your-stories-seeds/

  • Thursday, November 9, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm Eastern – Seeds of Resilience: The Cultural Dimension of Plant Biodiversity, Online

    Explore stories from the Indigenous Land and Seed Sovereignty movement, which embodies the vision of sustainable relational agriculture and shares the depth of the cultural dimension of plant biodiversity in North America.

    Mohawk Seedkeeper Rowen White will share insight into the collective vision of intercultural healing that emerges when we center Indigenous leadership, ecological knowledge, cultural memory, and sovereignty of living in relationship with the inheritance of land, seeds, and other non-human kin. She’ll share her personal experience at the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance to paint an uplifting picture of cultural and climate sanity for the regenerative land stewardship movement in these times of great transformation.

    This lecture on November 9 at 6 pm, online, is part of NYBG’s celebration of Native American Heritage Month. $35 for NYBG members, $39 for nonmembers. Register HERE

  • Wednesday, October 4, 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm Eastern – Seeds, Nuts, and Berries, Online

    Fall is a great time to take a closer look at all the ways plants ensure their next generation successfully develops and thrives. The Massachusetts Audubon Society will explore the inner workings of seeds, nuts, berries, drupes, and more as we review how native plants prepare for winter and the subsequent spring in this online program on October 4 at 7:30 pm Eastern.

    Interested in learning more? This program is one part of a 4-session online Neighborhood Naturalists Series. By registering for the series, you get access to all 4 sessions for the price of 3. You do not need to register for other sessions, or the full series, to enjoy this one. Mass Audubon members $25, nonmembers $30. To register, and for more information on the dates and times of the other sessions, visit https://www.massaudubon.org/programs/mass-audubon-education/89086-seeds-nuts-berries

    You will receive the Microsoft Teams Link to log in to this online program in your confirmation. An email reminder will also be sent to you 24 hours before program start. Tia Pinney, Education Coordinator and Senior Naturalist for Metro West, will instruct.

  • Through Monday, May 30 – Seeds for Tomorrow: Woody Plants of the Arnold Arboretum, Drawings by Laura Fantini, Online

    Emily Dickinson wrote memorably that “Hope is the thing with feathers.” In The Arnold Arboretum’s current art exhibition, artist Laura Fantini illustrates “hope” in each seed she discovers, draws, and records. Her “hope” is not of feathers, though their effervescence and somewhat fragile appearance might be applied to a seed. Her “hope” is for the future of our world—a simple, yet thoroughly necessary application of the word. Each of her drawings includes the word “hope” in its title, each bears her plea to hope for each plant to endure and thrive through the life of its seed.

    Seeds for Fantini are the messengers of life, as indeed they truly are. Their DNA promises a continuation of a species, a thread that the earth can hold onto, and a promise for tomorrow. Fantini’s affinity for art and fascination with nature have been with her since she was very young in Italy. She notes that though Italy has a strong agricultural heritage and respect for nature and biodiversity, documenting seeds remains the domain of scientists and botanists. It has been in North America where she found a much more accessible climate for public involvement. Each seed that Fantini draws is given her full attention. She respects and gives it endless study and consideration as she envisions the final composition. With her first visit to the Arboretum in 2016 and through the development of this project, she found an aligned sense of spirit and true affiliation. Her artistry combines an eye for the precise physicality of these small beginnings of plants with a reverence for the world of nature. Hope for each seed includes her aspiration that all may appreciate and nourish seeds, as we marvel at their intricate beauty, meticulously rendered in her pieces.

    To view the exhibition online visit https://arboretum.harvard.edu/art_shows/seeds-for-tomorrow-woody-plants-of-the-arnold-arboretum/

    European Bladdernut – Staphylea pinnata, copyright Laura Fantini

  • Thursdays, October 7, 21, & November 4, 10:30 am – 1:30 pm – Seed Conservation

    Seed banking, or ex situ conservation, is an effective method of conserving our rare and endangered flora for future generations. Join Michael Piantedosi at Garden in the Woods in Framingham on Thursdays, October 7, 21, and November 4 at 10:30 am as we explore the process of procuring, cleaning, and accessioning seeds in a seed bank. We will focus on this process in three parts: seed collection (part 1), seed cleaning and processing (part 2), and seed storage for indefinite freezing at 0°F (part 3). This course is suitable for professional conservationists as well as those interested in peeking behind the curtain at Native Plant Trust’s regional seed bank. $ 162 for Native Plant Trust members, $198 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/seed-conservation/

  • Tuesday, February 2, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Seeds: Wild versus Commercial, Online

    We all know the importance of planting and promoting native plants, but what are the differences between wild seeds and those you can purchase from a commercial vendor? While seed farming is needed to meet the demand from restoration practitioners and homeowners, the end product can differ considerably from local, wild material. Join Native Plant Trust’s Research Botanist, Jessa Finch, for this interactive online session to explore the impact of seed sourcing and cultivation techniques on commercial seed and to equip yourself with the information you need to be an informed purchaser of native seeds. The webinar will take place February 2 from 1 – 2, and is $12 for NPT members, $15 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/seeds-wild-versus-commercial/

  • Sunday, March 22, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Seed Bombing – POSTPONED

    Get ready for spring with seed bombs at Castle Hill on the Crane Estate in Ipswich on March 22 from 1 – 3.

    Together we’ll learn about flowers and seeds, then create handmade seed bombs full of native wildflower seeds or herb seeds to take home. Give them as gifts or use them in your own yard to create springtime plant explosions! 

    All materials included. Children must be accompanied by an adult (1 adult per 2 children please). This activity is appropriate for all ages, but is recommended for ages 5-10.  Member child: $15, nonmember child $25, adults free with children. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Register at www.thetrustees.org or call 978-356-4351 x 4052