Celebrate Native Plants

Garden in the Woods will reopen in April 2024. (Members, see details about Winter Walking here.) Meanwhile, we're making some exciting changes at the Garden: The Administration, Philanthropy, and Conservation teams have relocated to new offices at 321 Commonwealth Road, Suite 204, Wayland, MA 01778 (see box on right for new phone numbers). Public Programs and Horticulture staff will remain at the Garden. The move provides the opportunity to reconfigure features at the Garden to meet the needs of visitors, plant shoppers, and our programs by:

• Demolishing the administration building and moving all the utilities
• Moving retail plant storage to that space and the stock bed area
• Reconfiguring parts of the parking lot
• Constructing a larger, fireproof conservation seed vault, with a small laboratory for seed processing
• Rewiring the education, horticulture, and shop buildings for wifi and a new phone system

Photo: Withe-rod viburnum (Viburnum nudum), Uli Lorimer © Native Plant Trust

As of November 7, you will be able to reach our Administrative, Philanthropy, and Conservation staff at the new HQ (321 Commonwealth Road, Suite 204, Wayland, MA 01778) and at Nasami Farm by:

• Calling them directly, using the numbers listed in the Contact Us section of our website.
• Calling the new HQ switchboard, 774-519-5555, and being transferred by Caitlin Hume or by following the recorded prompts.

Garden in the Woods will join the new system after new internet cabling is installed. For now, you may reach people at the Garden by:

• Calling them directly, using the numbers listed in the Contact Us section of our website.
• Calling the current switchboard number, 508-877-7630, and following the recorded prompts.

To reach the Public Programs department directly, call 774-301-8451. The Garden Shops at Garden in the Woods and Nasami Farm are closed for the season, but you may contact the shop at 774-301-8465 for gift cards, books, advance plant orders, and information.

Photo: Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) buds, © Bruce Patterson

Threatened by climate change and fraying habitat, our native orchids need your help now. The Seed Ark is our regional initiative to collect and bank the genetic material of all New England’s rare and endangered plants, including orchids. We’re just $128,000 away from the target of $1 million to fully endow the Seed Ark. Please help close this gap by making a gift before 2024: An anonymous donor is matching—dollar-for-dollar—all gifts for the Seed Ark Endowment Fund received from now through #GivingTuesday (November 28) and until midnight on December 31. Please donate now.

Photo: Orange fringed bog-orchid (Platanthera ciliaris), Leslie Duthie © Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary

Enrich your fallow season with a new experience, class, or field study led by our expert instructors, hands-on or online. Learn how to prune, manage your soils, or improve your nature photography. Tour the inner sanctums of New England's prestigious herbaria, or bone up on winter botany. See the entire slate of active and armchair options here.

And all of our classes are 20 percent off for Native Plant Trust members. Not a member? Join now

Photo: Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), Uli Lorimer © Native Plant Trust

A membership to Native Plant Trust is one of the greenest gift options you'll find this season. Our memberships are renewable, last all year, and support our work to save native plants. Members receive discounts on plants, classes, admission to Garden in the Woods, and access to special events. Browse the options for individual membership here: https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/support/member-benefits/

Photo: Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), © William Cullina

Executive Director Debbi Edelstein will retire at the end of this year after 14 years of distinguished leadership. This, like most retirements, evokes a range of reactions, from appreciation for all she has done for the organization to regret at losing a multi-talented and determined colleague. We are searching for a new executive director who can build on the momentum and deliver the impact described in the organization's vision statement developed under Debbi's leadership.—Bill Huyett, Chair, Board of Trustees

Read Bill's full announcement and Debbi's farewell here. Our executive director job description is posted here.

Photo: Executive Director Debbi Edelstein, © Native Plant Trust