Garden in the Woods Closed for the Season
Garden in the Woods is closed for the winter. (Members with our Winter Walking benefit, please check back for 2024-2025 Winter Walking hours.) Thank you for a spectacular season, and join us again when we reopen in April 2025!
The Garden Shop will be open for holiday shopping in November and December, Thursday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Photo: Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), Dan Jaffe Wilder © Native Plant Trust
Members: Don't Miss Night of Illumination 2024!
Thursday, October 24, 6:00-9:00 p.m. - Night of Illumination - Our annual fall event exclusively for members features the nocturnal transformation of Garden in the Woods with 1,000 luminaria and other enchanting displays lighting up the dramatic woodland terrain. Personal level members will be able to buy tickets up to the guest limit specified by your membership. Reserve now and get details here!
Photo: Night of Illumination 2023, Jane Roy Brown © Native Plant Trust
Brown Ash Champion to Receive Regional Impact Award
Dr. John Daigle, a tribal member of the Penobscot Indian Nation, professor of Forest Recreation Management, and a program leader for the Parks, Recreation, and Tourism program at the University of Maine, will accept Native Plant Trust’s 2024 Regional Impact Award at the Boston Public Library on Saturday, November 16, and follow with a talk about brown (aka black) ash (Fraxinus nigra). The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required (register and get details here). The award recognizes individuals or organizations for regionally significant leadership and achievement in conservation, horticulture, or education. Daigle is a leader in the Ash Protection Collaboration Across Wabanakik, whose mission is to center, protect, and restore the sacred relationship between Wabanaki peoples and ash ecosystems. In Wabanaki culture, brown ash, an important basket-making material, appears in the creation story.
Photo: John Daigle, courtesy John Daigle
Making Headlines
CEO Tim Johnson talked about native seeds on the podcast awaytogarden.com. Tim has also appeared on Gardenista, "Cultivating Place," WHMP radio, Growing Greener, and CNN. MetroWest Daily News covered our annual intern presentations in a photo essay. Director of Conservation Michael Piantedosi took WBUR-FM into the woods to report on our 40-year field research on a rare orchid; the story also ran on NPR's "Here and Now." Michael also spoke with the Rutland (VT) Herald and the Boston Globe about New Hampshire's rare plants and coauthored a Public Garden Magazine story on our Conserving Plant Diversity in New England report. Senior Research Botanist Arthur Haines parsed hawthorn conservation in The Atlantic. Director of Horticulture Uli Lorimer is the Boston Globe's new "Ask the Gardener" columnist and has appeared in recent stories in Fine Gardening, American Gardener (July/August), The WildStory podcast, the Washington Post, and Martha Stewart's blog, among others.
Photo: CEO Tim Johnson (R) with radio host Brian Adams, WHMP, Northampton, MA, Jane Roy Brown © Native Plant Trust
Uli Lorimer Is the Globe's New "Ask the Gardener" Expert
Director of Horticulture Uli Lorimer is the new “Ask the Gardener” columnist for The Boston Globe! Following long-time columnist Carol Stocker and more recently, R. Wayne Mezitt, Uli will explore garden-related topics and answer questions submitted by Globe readers in a biweekly column, while remaining full time at Native Plant Trust. Read Uli's premier column here.
Photo: Director of Horticulture Uli Lorimer shows off the Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica) "lawn" at Garden in the Woods, © WBUR-FM
Check Out Our Fall/Winter Classes!
Our classes and field studies for fall 2024 and winter 2025 are now posted on our website, which means you can start signing up now. Look for Art & Nature courses to round out your favorites in plant science as well as designing and gardening with native plants. Don't worry, our late summer/early fall classes are still available too--but register soon before they fill up!
Photo: Learning about plants in the field, Erin Hammes © Native Plant Trust