Boston Flora

Tag: Wild Flower

  • Saturday, October 24, 9:30 am – 12 noon – Assessing Tree Health and Structure

    Dave Ropes, Consulting Arborist, Tree Specialists, Inc., will give a class at Garden in the Woods in Framingham in collaboration with the New England Wild Flower Society and the Arnold Arboretum on Saturday, October 24, from 9:30 am – 12 noon.  Proper tree care requires assessment of the entire tree system from roots to shoots. Learn how to properly assess a tree’s health and structure with techniques used by professional arborists. Learn which types of structural defects compromise the integrity of the tree and require attention, and which are merely aesthetic concerns. Study and evaluate tree foliage, twig growth, and the presence of pathogens and diseases. A classroom session will cover tree physiology and site conditions that relate to tree health, followed by a field session to look at a variety of trees at Garden in the Woods. Appropriate for landscape professionals as well as property owners who want to know how to decide what can be done and when to call a professional arborist.
    Fee: $30 for Arnold Arboretum or NEWFS members, $36 nonmembers.  To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

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  • Saturday, October 17, 10 am – 1:30 pm – Fall in the Bog

    A thick, floating mass of sphagnum moss, oxygen-poor water, and plants adapted to very low nutrient conditions characterize quaking bogs. The Philbrick-Cricenti Quaking Bog, one of the best examples of these unique peatlands, offers a chance to explore a trail about a mile in length, while staying high and dry atop a boardwalk. A host of bog plants are to be discovered as you transition from a red maple-sphagnum swamp, through a black spruce-larch swamp, to the Tundra Garden Loop where you find vegetation similar to that in more northern areas where boreal forest meets the open Arctic tundra. The walk will be led by Roland “Boot” Boutwell, and is sponsored by the New England Wild Flower Society. Bring a bag lunch, water, and a hand lens if you have one.  Cost for NEWFS members is $28, $32 for nonmembers.  Limit 10 participants.  To register, and for directions, log on to www.newfs.org, or call 508-877-7630.

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  • Tuesday, October 13, 6:30 – 8:30 pm – Covering Up With Native Vines

    Join the Trustees of Reservations and the New England Wild Flower Society at Long Hill, in Beverly, Massachusetts, on Tuesday, October 13, from 6:30 – 8:30 pm, for this fascinating workshop with Laura Eisner.  Too often the vertical space in the garden is overlooked and underutilized.  Why not expand your garden palette and use colorful vines to fill these spaces?  This class will explore some of the hardy vines available in the trade, including many native species that attract wildlife and provide texture to the landscape.  Information on growing techniques, types of trellises to use, and sources for vines will be provided, as will handouts.  Below is a picture of a Louisiana native wisteria.  Pre-registration required.  Phone 978-921-1944, or email needucation@ttor.org.  Log on to www.thetrustees.org for directions.

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  • Thursday, October 8, 3:30 – 5:30 pm – Seed Safari

    The New England Wild Flower Society is sponsoring a family program entitled Seed Safari – Study and Collect Seeds, on Thursday, October 8, from 3:30 – 5:30 at the Garden in the Woods in Framingham.  Seeds explode like grenades, shoot like cannons, stick like glue, float like feathers, all in an effort to disperse themselves.  Bonnie Drexler shows how to collect seeds from around the Garden and study them, using all of your senses as well as powerful stereo-microscopes.  Make a seed display to take home and plant some pots of wildflower, shrub, and tree seeds to sprout in the spring.  $12 for members of NEWFS, $14 for non-members.  Pre-registration is necessary.  You may phone 508-877-7630, ext. 3303, or email registrar@newenglandWILD.org.  For additional information log on to www.newfs.org.

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  • Saturday, October 10, 10 am – 2 pm – Double Drumlin with Fire

    Join the New England Wild Flower Society on a hike botanizing two different communities formed by two dramatic glacial features:  a double drumlin and a kettlehole, owned by The Trustees of Reservations. We visit Weir Hill Reservation with Frances Clark and walk through 80 acres of field and woodland under fire management.  Oaks, hickories, blueberries, grasses, and sedges, with a variety of fall wildflowers of various colors highlight the mosaic formed by different burning regimes.  Descending from these dry slopes, we enter a wet meadow and visit the Ward Reservation to investigate the classic kettlehole bog, one of the best examples in eastern Massachusetts.   The colors should be spectacular, with many end-of-season fruits and flowers.   This botany hike emphasizes the different ecologies of these very different sites. Walking is on a wide but steep path over the drumlin, moist in the meadow, and easy along the board walk through the bog.  Bring Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, Peterson’s Fern Guide, and a hand lens, as well as water and lunch.  Limit 15 participants, fee is $32 for NEWFS or Trustees of Reservations members, $36 for non members.  To register, log on to http://www.newfs.org, or call 508-877-7630.

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  • Saturday, October 3, 9:30 – 12 noon – Autumn Beauties: Habitat Gardens in Acton

    Fall can be one of the most beautiful seasons in the garden. On Saturday, October 3, from 9:30 – noon, Dori Smith, landscape designer of Gardens for Life in Acton, leads this tour of several gardens designed primarily with native plants to please birds and butterflies, as well as her clients. Native shrubs such as fothergilla and cranberry viburnum glow with autumn color. Winterberries are ripening, and twigs of dogwood are turning crimson. Many of the fall flowers are still blooming. The designer shows you “before” photos of these landscapes, as well as photos taken in different seasons. She discusses the unique challenges, goals and methods of each project. Learn ways to use stone and water to enhance the effects of the plantings. You are welcome to tour the Acton Arboretum  before or after the garden tour. The tour is sponsored by The New England Wild Flower Society, and costs $25 if a NEWFS member, and $30 if a nonmember.  Limited to 20 participants.  To register, log on to www.newfs.org, or call 508-877-7630.

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  • Saturday, October 3, 10 – 2 – Ecology of a Barrier Beach

    Explore one of the Cape’s largest and most spectacular barrier beach ecosystems, Sandy Neck Beach in Barnstable, with an emphasis on identifying common plants and many species of wildlife that live here. The hike, led by C. Diane Boretos, will take you through heather-covered secondary dunes, along the 4,000 year-old Great Barnstable Marsh, and into a mature maritime forest. As you investigate the fall flora, you’ll look for track and sign of fox, osprey, deer, coyote, and northern diamondback terrapin. This program is sponsored by the New England Wild Flower Society, and is limited to 15 participants.  Cost is $32 for members of NEWFS, $36 for nonmembers.  To register, log on to www.newfs.org, or call 508-877-7639.

    Barrier Beach HDR-Pano by elventear.

  • Sunday, October 18, noon – 4 pm – Fall Family Festival

    The New England Wild Flower Society holds its Fall Family Festival at Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts, on Sunday, October 18, from noon to four.  Explore the changing season and enjoy special events, prior to the closing of the Garden for the season on October 31.  For more invormation, call 508-877-7630, ext. 3405, or log on to www.newfs.org.

  • Wednesday, October 7, 10 a.m. – 12 noon – Secret Garden in Sudbury

    Through a white picket fence, discover an enchanting series of spaces, each with a different theme and focus, on this garden tour sponsored by The New England Wild Flower Society on Wednesday, October 7, from 10 – noon.  Landscape architect Karen Sebastian describes the collaborative design process working with clients and contractors and then leads a tour through this recently completed project. The woodland-themed entry garden thrives under mature trees with shade tolerant shrubs and perennials.  The Secret Garden is a quiet shady retreat with a focus on foliage and texture, planted with a mix of native and non-natives, including ferns, viburnums, hydrangeas and boxwoods. The terrace garden is a hub of family activity with an out door kitchen and dining area. The wide joints between the irregular bluestone paving stones are planted with a variety of thymes, sagina, and sedums.  Stone seating walls surround a raised central bed planted with a Cornus kousa and the raised stone vegetable garden with a pergola.  The Children’s Play Area is a “woodland adventure trail” with a stepping stone path, swings, a slide, and even a tree house.  Fee is $20 for NEWFS members, $24 for non-members, and is limited to 20 participants.  For more information, log on to www.newfs.org, or call 508-877-7630.

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  • Sunday, October 4, 1:30 – 3:30 pm – Growing Green: Producing Natives with the Environment in Mind

    Join the New England Wild Flower Society on Sunday, October 4 from 1:30 – 3:30 at the Garden in the Woods in Framingham for a behind-the-scenes look at Nasami Farm, the New England Wild Flower Society’s native plant nursery in Whately, MA. How are they producing beautiful native plants for homeowners, land managers, garden designers and municipalities throughout New England while using sustainable propagation and production practices? Nursery Business Director Ron Wik shares the latest from Nasami, including everything from bio-degradable plant labels to a bicycle-powered plant cart for transporting trays of plants around the Farm. Find out how they share the land with a varietyof animal species including bluebirds, bobolinks, turtles, insects and more, all happy to enjoy the Nasami habitat. Ron is currently focused on increasing production efficiencies, expanding the selection of species of known provenance, improving the sustainability of production practices, and seeking out new and exciting plants to grow for the Society.  This program enhances The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s year long exploration of The Ethical Gardner, and you are encouraged to attend.  The program is free. For directions, log on to www.newfs.org, or call 508-877-7630.

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