September 21, 2023

Cheryl Monroe – The Blended Garden: In Praise of Multihorticulturalism

Are you feeling guilty and confused about the current hype surrounding native only planting? Are you overwhelmed by terms like invasive, aggressive, exotic, indigenous, alien and sustainable? Are you worried about the environmental impact of your garden? Learn the science and dispel the myths behind the Native vs. Exotic Plant Debate and the best way to make a garden that you, the pollinators, and Mother Earth will adore.

 

Cheryl Monroe is a self-taught gardener for 20 plus years, now a graduated Master Gardener specializing in clematis and garden design.  She grows over a hundred clematis.  Cheryl is opinionated, but her opinions are always formed using actual real research from actual real universities, research and data.  She will tweak plant growing advice based on her own gardening experience on a little over an acre in suburbia in Massachusetts.  Check her out at www.gardenintheburrow.com

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October 26, 2023

James Frantzreb – Creating a Meadow: The Natick Town Forest Meadow Project

In 2018, the Natick Conservation Commission set a goal to restore an overgrown area of the Town Forest that had once been a neighborhood recreational field.  James will share the project’s background, invasives mitigation, plans and progress toward transforming this 2-acre site into an open vista of diverse native grasses and forbs that will offer a welcome contrast to the surrounding forest while providing food, nectar and habitat for insects, birds and small mammals.

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November 9, 2023
Trevor Smith – Garden Design
Trevor Smith is Weston Nurseries’ Design and Education Manager. His passion for the natural world inspires his commitment to ecological principles and practices and he is devoted to creating beautiful landscapes as an oasis to reconnect with the natural world. Trevor specializes in green storm water infrastructure, such as permeable pavers and rain gardens, as well as in landscapes designed to maximize Earth’s systems while balancing them with the needs and desires of her human inhabitants.

December 21, 2023
Gretel Anspach– Seed Saving
Gretel will speak about the reasons for saving your own seeds and teach us some of the basic techniques for ensuring genetic purity. They will discuss home garden plants from which seeds can be easily saved and stored for future use. Gretel established and maintains a 20,000 square foot food production garden that has provided fresh produce to the Marlboro and Maynard Food Pantries for the last ten years. Their primary interest and focus is always in the science behind horticulture.

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January 18, 2024 (Zoom Presentation)

Tovah Martin – Easiest Houseplants Ever with Style

No matter what your home environment offers, Tovah has you covered with recommendations for plants that will become copacetic roommates. This lecture will leave you filled with hope, and an adoption list. The goal is to find botanical companions that will make your life ultra-beautiful. Want to adopt a houseplant? Tovah offers options that will fit your lifestyle with flair.

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February 22, 2024

Deborah Trickett – 10 Most Popular Container Plants (and Why You Shouldn’t Use Them)

Deborah Trickett, owner of The Captured Garden, will reveal alternatives to the top ten most popular plants on the list.  This presentation is about discovering the attributes that make them so popular and then seeing if there are other, less well-known plants that can their place.

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March 21, 2024 

Jen Kettell - Small Plants Big Bang!

Spring is an ideal time to transplant woody plants, and this class will introduce you to new and old favorites that make the most of small spaces.  In the excitement to create a beautiful outdoor living space, many gardeners overplant (in number or size). Learn about the long-term consequences of overplanting, and how to avoid it by introducing the smaller gems of the plant world into your garden. Design your next garden bed with some unique native groundcovers, dwarf conifers, and more!

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April 18, 2024

Charlie Nardozzi – Spring Flowering Bulbs

Charlie Nardozzi is a regional Emmy® award winning garden writer, speaker, radio, and television personality. He has worked for more than 30 years bringing expert gardening information to home gardeners through radio, television, talks, tours, on-line, and the printed page.

In this presentation he will discuss a wide variety of common and unusual bulbs and how to plant, care for and protect them in the garden so they come back each year.

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May 9, 2024

DIY Program

Members share their expertise on a topic of interest. The topic and format will be determined with input from members.

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June 2, 2024, Doors open at 10:00 a.m. 

NGC Annual Plant Sale

This annual highlight of Natick’s spring season held at the Natick Community-Senior Center is widely advertised and always draws a crowd. Members’ and friends’ donations of potted plants generate funds for club activities, programs and three scholarships to graduating high school students pursuing their vision of an improved environment.

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June 8, 2024 

Year-End Recognition Celebration

Annual celebration and installation of new officers and committee chairs. Details TBD!