Framingham – New England Wild Flower Society's Education Department has announced its October 2011 classes, courses, and field trips. Unless otherwise noted, all programs will take place at Garden in the Woods.
Saturday, October 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., “Bark Basics: Know Your Trees” will be presented at Garden in the Woods. The traits most often used to describe tree species – leaves, buds, and twigs – are often not clearly visible or, in the case of leaves, absent more than half the year. This program is open to naturalists at all levels of experience.
Join Michael Wojtech for an exploration of bark, the tree characteristic that is always visible in every season. Learn how bark can be classified into ten different types, and how differences within each bark type can be used to identify trees. Discover why such a variety of bark characteristics exist – smooth, thick and broken, peeling. After an indoor presentation, head outdoors to practice identifying trees. Wojtech will be available to sign copies of his book, “Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast” described at www.knowyourtrees.com. The fee is $48 for members and $58 for nonmembers.
Sunday, Oct. 2, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., “How Native is Native?” will be presented. Join Debbi Edelstein, executive director, as she presents the Society's redefinition of “native” and how it relates to our gardens and the eco-regions of New England. Learn about the Society's plans to conserve and promote the region's native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes. After the talk, certificates will be awarded to the new graduates in the New England Wild Flower Society's Certificate Program in Native Plant Studies. Refreshments will follow. The program is free, but pre-registration is required.
Wednesday, Oct. 12, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., “Fall Full Moon Hike” will be presented. Gain a new perspective on Garden in the Woods with a moonlit walk with Dan Jaffe, the Garden's sole human full-time resident. Focus your senses on the diversity of smells, tastes, textures and sounds to be found along the pathways into the woods, around the pond, along the brook and back again. Experience the “muscle” of the musclewood tree, snack on a wintergreen snack while feeling the “fur” of the hairy sumac. Gain a unique nighttime appreciation of the plants and terrain on this night of the “Hunter's Moon.” The fee is $20 for members and $24 for nonmembers.
Saturday, October 15, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., “An Autumn Walk Through Forest and Bog” will be held at Grassy Pond Conservation Land in Acton. Grassy Pond Conservation Land is a 96-acre sanctuary that includes Grassy Pond, associated wetlands, a small meadow, two small streams and a forest of oak, hickory, white pine and hemlock.
Join instructor Roland “Boot” Boutwell to explore Grassy Pond, a kettle pond formed during the retreat of the glaciers. It exhibits bog characteristics (very wet/highly acidic) around the perimeter, with leatherleaf, highbush blueberry, red maple and tamarack moving in and shrinking the pond. Bring lunch, a favorite field guide and a hand lens if you have one. Pre-registration is necessary. The fee is $36 for members and $44 for nonmembers.
Sunday, Oct. 16, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., a program on “Wild Fruits” will be presented. Spring and summer flowers produce a bounty of wild, fall fruits for us to enjoy in this hands-on workshop on fruit form, function, and diversity. Study the significance of fruits in the flowering plant life cycle and then examine and dissect diverse fruit types, from capsules and follicles to pomes and drupes.
Instructor Judith Sumner will help you learn fruit terminology and practice constructing and using dichotomous keys to sort out the remarkable variety of fruits produced by flowering plants. Look at dispersal mechanisms, relating fruit and seed forms with strategies for seed dispersal. Participants are encouraged to bring fruit specimens from their own gardens for dissection and identification. Pre-registration is necessary. The fee is $72 for members and $87 for nonmembers.
Wednesday, Oct. 19, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., a program on “Discovering Leaves” will be presented. Leaves are the amazing power plants of the plant world. Beyond their photosynthetic functions, leaves are remarkably varied in their shapes, sizes, surfaces, and details, and both fascinating and beautiful to observe and study.
Instructor Carol Govan will help you learn more about leaves, see how gaining familiarity with leaf characteristics can assist your understanding of plants, and get tips on identifying broadleaved and coniferous trees. Bring your lunch and your favorite tree field guide if you have one. “Master Tree Finder” by May Theilgaard Watts will be used and there will be copies to share if you don's have your own. Pre-registration is necessary. The fee is $48 for members and $58 for nonmembers.
Fridays, Oct. 21, 28 and Nov. 4, 2011, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., “Horticultural Techniques” will be presented. Good horticultural practices form the backbone of any successful garden. Understanding how to apply the basics of plant care is the essential first step to becoming a horticulturist.
In this three-session course, New England Wild Flower Society's horticulture staff discusses how to properly select and plant native plant material and demonstrate choosing the right plant for the right place. Students practice proper techniques in transplanting woody and herbaceous plant material. Correct methods of preparing soil, mulching and watering are explained. Maintaining your plants correctly and using proper pruning techniques are addressed and demonstrated. The program will wrap up with winterizing gardens and then discuss how to prepare for the coming spring. Pre-registration is necessary. The fee is $212 for member and $254 for nonmembers.
Saturday, Oct. 22, from 1 to 3:30 p.m., “Fall Fruit and Foliage” will be presented in Acton. Mid-October is prime time for fall color and a perfect season to tour a 20-acre co-housing village where wildlife and native plantings are cherished by the residents. The rural site has 60 percent open space around 24 units, landscaped with wildflower meadows, organic lawns, and varied and beautiful shrubs.
Instructor Dori Smith, M.Ed. explains how you can landscape with native viburnums, winterberries, blueberries, chokeberries, bayberries and more – you can enjoy the vibrant colors, while local and migrant birds appreciate the berries. Learn how to use native canopy and understory trees such as red maple, hawthorn, smoke tree, tulip tree, American mountain ash, and Virginia fringe tree, all of which have lovely fall color and wildlife value. View a number of successful rain gardens which use downspout water. Enjoy refreshments in the solar-powered common house, while discussing the practicalities of sustainable landscape design and the basics of cohousing. Pre-registration is necessary. The fee is $27 for members and $31 for nonmembers.
Monday, Oct. 24, starting at 2 p.m. with tea and followed from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. with the program, A program on “Wild Food: Foraging for Edible Plants and Mushrooms” will be held at Wellesley College.
Join professional environmentalist and wild foods enthusiast Russ Cohen, author of “Wild Plants I Have Known…and Eaten,” for a lecture on foraging for wild plants, followed by a walk in the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens to see what might be available this season. Russ will also discuss guidelines for safe and environmentally responsible foraging. Pre-registration is necessary. The fee is $10 for members and $15 for nonmembers.
The Garden in the Woods is located at 180 Hemenway Rd. in Framingham. To register for any of the programs, call the registrar at 1-508-877-7630 ext. 3303. For more information on any program, call the registrar or visit www.newenglandwild.org/learn.
