Boston Flora

Tag: Wellfleet

  • Tuesday, September 22 – Wednesday, September 23 – Native Plants for Cape Cod Life

    Join Grow Native Massachusetts this September in Wellfleet for Native Plants for Cape Cod Life. It’s a celebration of local plants that make Cape Cod sing. At 3 events over 2 days you can expand your knowledge of native plants and the pollinators and birds that depend on them, bring home native plants from local, independent growers, and see firsthand how to design, plant, and maintain them in your home garden. Come to 1 event or all 3!

    Native plants function as a critical building block for our ecosystems, providing food, shelter, and host plant services for nearly all of our native insects, including the abundance of caterpillars needed to sustain local bird populations. These native species are also perfectly adapted to our landscape conditions, thriving in the dry, sandy soils we all know well on the Cape. When you embrace them in your garden, you can do more for the environment by doing less (watering, mowing, fertilizing, etc.)! Join us to explore the beauty and benefits of native plants, and why it is so critical to add them back into our Cape Cod landscapes.

    At this market, we will be joined by Butterfly Effect Farm, Hilltop Natives, and Tree Talk Natives, all small businesses who specialize in sustainably-grown native plants. They start much of their stock from seed (often local ecotype), and curate their inventory with an eye toward species of particular value to pollinators, caterpillars, and other threatened wildlife. All of them are passionate advocates for native plants and creating habitat in our gardens. We will also be joined by Association to Preserve Cape Cod, who will also have plants to sell, and Pollinator Pathway Cape Cod.

    Cape Cod is part of an ecoregion we call the pine barrens, a name that belies the rich, thriving natural communities that give this place its distinctive beauty. Understanding the conditions that shape the barrens and the plants that flourish here is key to creating ecologically vibrant gardens that thrive with minimal care, and enhance and protect the surrounding environment. Join Alex Kent of Kent Land Design to learn how he puts this understanding into practice on a tour of a Wellfleet home garden that he designed, installed, and maintains.

    September 22, 7pm – Why Native Plants? with Erin Camire of APCC at the Wellfleet Public Library. September 23, 8 am – noon – Native Plant Pop-Up Market at the Wellfleet Farmers Market. September 23, 2 pm, Garden Tour. For more information visit https://grownativemass.org/

  • Monday, June 15, 7:00 pm – The Gardener’s Mindset

    Stephen Orr has written about gardening for most of his decades-long career, and now, in The Gardener’s Mindset, he helps readers to understand not just how to garden but how to think about it. Inspired by the great tradition of twentieth-century garden essay collections by writers such as Vita Sackville-West, Elizabeth Lawrence, and Henry Mitchell, Orr delves into his personal gardening journey, culling from the various gardens he and his husband created over the past decades. He remembers his first garden on a New York City rooftop, where he followed beginner’s instinct to rearrange endlessly pots of old roses, herbs, perennials, and even trees. Later in Iowa, the challenge of anything interesting in his shade-filled backyard led Orr to discover the beautiful patterns and colors of leafy lungworts and epimediums. And he shares how his current garden in Cape Cod is a work in progress and serves as his trial-and-error lab, where he is learning how to cultivate plants that can stay resilient in the face of dry sandy soil, dramatic coastal storms, and climate change. Alongside gorgeous photographs and easy projects that range from cultivating a color scheme to building a wildlife habitat, The Gardener’s Mindset will delight anyone interested in the analog pleasures

    The author talk on June 15 will take place at the Wellfleet Public Library, 55 West Main Street. Free, but seating is limited so please plan accordingly, For more information call 508-349-0310.

  • Natural Resource Nitrogen Sensitive Area Grant Awards

    Governor Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll announced $825,000 in grants to @townofbarnstable, @townofbrewsterma, @townofchatham, #DennisMA, #Falmouth, #Mashpee, #Wellfleet and @yarmouthmass to protect and improve water quality. Nitrogen can cause serious problems in the water, such as algae blooms, and this funding will help eight Cape Cod communities address nitrogen pollution. At a time where Federal aid to environmentally damaged areas is disappearing, the State is stepping up.

  • Saturday & Sunday, September 11 & 12, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm – Field School: Bees and Other Pollinators

    Early fall is a magnificent time to explore outer Cape Cod; empty beaches, agreeable weather and an abundance of pollinating insects.

    Raise your awareness about the vital role bees and other insects play in our environment. Animals pollinate about 75% of all the food, fiber, beverages, and medicine used by humans, and insects, especially bees, are the primary pollinators. Emphasis of this course will be on the natural history, biology, and identification of pollinators including the often unnoticed but hard-working native bees. Learn about their habitat requirements and conservation issues.

    This two-day course on September 11 and 12 from 8 – 4 will include an online evening lecture and time in the field spent searching for the diverse assortment of pollinators found on Cape Cod, including Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary and the surrounding natural communities.

    Please be prepared for spending time outside in sunny, open environments and off-trail in search of insects. We recommend wearing light-colored clothing and pack long pants and close-toed shoes for time in the brushy habitats. Bring plenty of drinking water and sunscreen, and possibly even a wide -brimmed hat. Binoculars, a 10X or 20X magnifyling glass (or jeweler’s loupe), and backpack in which to carry items is also recommended. Pack a brown bag lunch for each day, light daytime snacks will be provided. Like bees, we need sustenance!

    * Please note: the hours listed on the schedule may vary from the sample schedule in the field school brochure and are subject to change based on tides, staff, optimal wildlife sightings, and other variables. A detailed schedule will be prepared and sent to registrants in advance.

    Due to COVID protocols, participants will need to provide their own transportation to field trip locations around the Cape.

    This course is one of serveral Cape Cod Field Schools offered. Visit www.massaudubon.org/wellfleetbay/fieldschools.

    Instructions and Directions:

    Advance registration is required and is accepted on-line, over the phone, or through the mail. Payment in full is due upon registration. Upon registration you will receive a confirmation letter, then 2-3 weeks in advance of your course you will receive an email with detailed information related to the class.

    Due to COVID protocols, participants will need to provide their own transportation to field trip locations around the Cape.

    $325 for Mass Audubon members, $350 for nonmembers.

    Cancellation received less than 30 days before starting date may result in forfeit of entire course fee. If we can fill your spot with another registration then your balance is returned, less the $50 nonrefundable administration fee. The sanctuary reserves the right to cancel any course with a full refund to registrants.

    For a complete listing of Field School courses visit http://www.massaudubon.org/wellfleetbay/fieldschools Registration is required. Register now with our secure payment portal.

    For more information, contact:

    Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary P.O. Box 236, State Highway Rte. 6 South Wellfleet, MA 02663 wellfleet@massaudubon.org