Boston Flora

Tag: Turkey Hill Brook Farm

  • Saturday, August 4, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Pollinator-Friendly Gardens and Landscapes

    Bees and other pollinators are all the buzz these days. Pollinator populations are crashing locally and worldwide, but these tiny forms of wildlife are vital to food production, pest management, and environmental stability. Even in a small backyard, you can help support pollinators through careful plant choices and a basic knowledge of the varied habitat needs of native bees and other beneficial insects. In this Tower Hill Botanic Garden class with Ellen Sousa on August 4 from 10 – noon, you’ll learn to identify some of 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 the natural world. We’ll also spend some time exploring the gardens looking for pollinators in their garden habitats.

    Ellen Sousa is a garden coach, designer and author from Turkey Hill Brook Farm in Spencer MA, a small native plant nursery and habitat farm. Since 2007, Ellen has worked with homeowners, landowners and non-profit organizations to design and manage landscapes that support 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. Tower Hill member price $20, non-members $30. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

    Image result for Ellen Sousa Green 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

  • Saturday, August 17, 10:30 am – 1:30 pm – Turkey Hill Brook Farm

    On Saturday, August 17, visit this four-acre central Massachusetts horse farm, Turkey Hill Brook Farm, landscaped as a sanctuary for farm animals, people, and wildlife. Homeowners Ellen and Robert Sousa have rehabbed their farm’s landscaping using sustainable gardening methods, removing invasive plants, and encouraging native plants to grow as food and housing for birds, pollinators, amphibians and other wildlife. The bird and butterfly borders and pond side gardens should be in full bloom. Please wear comfortable shoes – some terrain is hilly. The farm is located in Spencer, Massachusetts, and the program, sponsored by the New England Wild Flower Society, costs $24 for NEWFS members and $28 for nonmembers. Register at www.newfs.org.

    http://www.thbfarm.com/uploads/Sneaks-peeking-out-of-barn-.jpg

  • Thursday, April 12, 10:00 am – The Green Garden: Earth-Friendly Gardening in New England

    Ellen Sousa, whose book, The Green Garden, offers a step-by-step way to make your garden more ecologically friendly, will speak at Elm Bank on Thursday, April 12, at 10:00 a.m. She will offer an illustrated talk on earth-friendly gardening in New England.

    Ellen enjoys a reputation as a renowned garden coach, working with homeowners who want to make their gardens more natural and welcoming to a variety of inhabitants. Many of those techniques are explained in her book, The Green Garden: a New England Guide to Planning, Planting and Maintaining the Eco-Friendly Habitat Garden, which was reviewed in the January Leaflet. Her ideas are put into practice at her central Massachusetts property, Turkey Hill Brook Farm, where she works with her husband, Robert.

    Ellen sets a high but reasonable threshold for her gardens; namely, that they must be sustainable for enjoyment by future generations. They should be beneficial in that they attract the animals and insects that were indigenous to our area before European settlement. Her goal is to gradually reverse the missteps made over a period of centuries. She acknowledges that doing so takes hard work, but that it can be done in small, manageable steps.

    But the results are both tangible and rewarding: Turkey Hill Brook Farm won the 2011 New England Wildflower Society’s Katherine T. Taylor Award for Private Gardens. The farm is also a certified Monarch Waystation.

    Everyone is welcome to attend the talk. There is no fee and light refreshments will be served. Copies of The Green Garden will be for sale. While no reservation is required, Librarian Maureen Horn says it would be helpful to have an idea of how many people to expect. You can call or email her at 617-933-4912 or MHorn@Masshort.org.

  • Tuesday, November 17, 10 am – 12 noon – Pollinator-Friendly Landscaping

    As New England’s landscape becomes increasingly developed, backyards are becoming a “final frontier” in providing essential habitat for at-risk pollinator species that play an integral role in the health of our environment. On Tuesday, November 17, beginning at 10 am, Garden Coach and Habitat Naturalist Ellen Sousa will explain how to help sustain and restore pollinator populations in your own back yard, regardless of its size or location. Learn to choose the best plants to help feed and shelter pollinators, and some best practices for encouraging biodiversity in your backyard.

    Ellen Sousa is a writer, educator and garden coach living in Massachusetts’ Worcester Hills on Turkey Hill Brook Farm, a small farm registered with the NWF as a Certified Wildlife Habitat. She has a certificate in Native Plant Horticulture & Design from New England Wild Flower Society, a BA in English from Clark University, and is certified as a Master Habitat Naturalist from Windstar Wildlife Institute. She writes regularly about habitat gardening for magazines such as Massachusetts Wildlife, BackHome, Mother Earth News and Birds & Blooms Extra. Visit her web site and New England habitat landscaping blog at THBFarm.com. The lecture will be held at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Massachusetts on Tuesday, November 17, from 10 am – noon.  Fee is $15 for Tower Hill members, $18 for non-members.  To register, log on to www.towerhillbg.org.

    http://www.greendiary.com/images/pollination.jpg