Events

Planning for the path forward for the Chapter

Including native plants in your garden is an important way to provide food and habitat for pollinators.  You can expand your native plantings inexpensively by growing them yourself from seed.  In this workshop, we’ll discuss the germination requirements for different species and get you fully prepared for next season. You will be able to take home a plastic milk jug planter filled with a native seed selection to stratify over the winter and germinate in the spring. Proper after care of young seedlings will also be shared. Bring a one-gallon plastic milk jug if you have one.

Your instructor will be Jim Sirch, a trained Naturalist and President of the Connecticut Horticultural Society.  He recently retired from the Yale Peabody Museum. Jim is a UConn Master Gardener and board member of his local land trust and the Mountain Laurel chapter of Wild Ones. As a naturalist, he brings a deep understanding of geology, plants and wildlife and how they interact within a particular ecosystem. Jim is passionate about helping others decrease their lawn and re-wild their yard. He co-founded a native plant seed library at his local public library. Jim also authors a nature blog called Beyond Your Back Door at www.beyondyourbackdoor.com.

The program will be held in the Farmhouse.  Registration is required since space is limited.

In this special collaboration, Robin Wall Kimmerer, author, botanist, and founder of Plant Baby Plant, joins youth leader and Nurture Natives founder Esther Bonney for an intergenerational conversation about belonging, reciprocity, and native plant action. 

Together, they will explore questions such as:

How do we create opportunities for young people to have a voice and feel empowered, even when they are not homeowners or decision makers?What kinds of relationships and mentorships help people stay engaged in native plant work over decades?Why do stories, shared practices, and community invitations matter just as much as plant lists?

Robin and Esther will reflect on what invites people into this work, what keeps them here, and what elders and youth have to teach each other.

Winter is the best season for native seed starting so we are sharing seeds to encourage the planting of seed-grown native species that strengthen local ecosystems and create climate-resilient landscapes. Bring native plant seeds to swap for different species to diversify your habitat plantings.  It is not necessary to bring seeds to take seeds, but for those not contributing seeds, we may limit the number of packets you can take.   There will be informational displays and demonstrations of winter seed sowing in milk jugs or pots.  Experienced native gardeners can help you select species that are suited to your growing conditions.  

This event is free and open to all.  Registration is not required.  If you are bringing seeds to share, we encourage you to come early to put them out.  In case of bad weather or hazardous driving conditions, cancellation will be posted to Dudley Farm and Mountain Laurel chapter websites by 12 PM the day prior (January 23rd).  

Unless you have large amounts of bulk seed, we prefer you prepackage your seeds, particularly small and tiny seeds.  Please see our seed sharing guidelines for how to package and label different seeds.  

DIRECTIONS:  Dudley Farm, 2351 Durham Rd, Guilford, is on the northbound (east) side of Rte 77 (Durham Rd) just north of the junction with Rte 80.  Our event will be held on the main floor of the Munger Barn, #17 on the Farm Map. 

All members are welcome at chapter Board business meetings. Email chapter in advance to receive Zoom link if you wish to attend.

Our upcoming webinar with Basil Camu explores practical, evidence based ways to heal suburban and urban landscapes by working with trees, soil, and natural systems, drawing on real world practices from Leaf & Limb and community centered models for restoring life where we live, work, and play.!  

Master Arborists will do a brief discussion on tree health, followed by a moderated question and answer session. 

Chris Teter is a Board Certified Master Arborist providing education for tree longevity including advice on ornamental and structural pruning, tree recommendations, and native plant education. He is an Arborist with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Dan Dalton is a Board Certified Master Arborist with 40 years of experience and a professor of horticulture who lectures on tree-related topics throughout the Northeast. He is a Senior Arborist at Northeast Horticultural Services. He offers advice on organic lawn care, tree disease treatment, and reminds you to look up!

All members are welcome at chapter Board business meetings. Email chapter in advance to receive Zoom link if you wish to attend.

Dr. Doug Tallamy is an entomologist, conservationist, and professor at the University of Delaware, whose work has transformed our understanding of the relationship between native plants and wildlife. His research and books, including Bringing Nature Home and Nature’s Best Hope, have inspired millions to see their own yards as part of the solution to the biodiversity crisis. Driven by the belief that everyone can play a role, Doug co-founded Homegrown National Park to encourage people to plant natives in the spaces they care for. His vision is simple: when we all take part, we create the connected habitats that life depends on.

Our parks, preserves, and remaining wildlands – no matter how grand in scale – are too small and separated from one another to sustain the native trees, plants, insects, and animals on which our ecosystems depend. We can fix this problem by practicing conservation outside of wildlands, where we live, work, shop, farm, and ranch. Thus, the concept for Homegrown National Park: a national challenge to create diverse ecosystems in our yards, communities, farms, and surrounding lands by reducing lawn, planting native, and removing invasives. If many people make small changes, we can restore healthy ecological networks and weather the changes ahead.

This program is free but registration is required.  

Join Joey Santore, creator of Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t, for a candid Wild Ones National Webinar examining how inherited garden aesthetics shape native plant landscapes. Drawing on field experience and real ecology, Joey challenges tidy design norms and explores why dense, irregular plant communities are often the most resilient and ecologically sound.

Foundation gardens became popular about a century ago, but times have changed. Let’s re-imagine this planting area, a place residents see every day. We'll examine the design challenges posed by the foundation areas around homes and other buildings and review native plants that fit into that highly visible setting. In addition, we'll consider the surprising, hidden benefits of updated foundation gardens.

Kathy Connolly is a landscape designer who specializes in naturalized designs, low-impact landscape techniques, and native plants. In addition to her design projects, she gives talks, tours, and workshops. She has received several awards for her communications efforts on landscapes, plants, and land care. Kathy has a master’s degree from the Conway Graduate Program in Sustainable Landscape Planning and Design.  Kathy has  completed the Advanced Master Gardener Program and is an Accredited Organic Land Care Professional.

This program is free and open to the public, but registration is required.  

You must REGISTER to receive the Zoom link.

Click READ MORE for Kathy's website.  

Adding native plants to your yard supports pollinators and other wildlife and starting from seed is an economical way to diversify your garden.  While many native seeds need to experience weeks to months of winter conditions before germinating,  a subset of native seeds do not require any special pretreatment to sprout this spring, including such favorites as buttonbush, shrubby St. John's-wort, bee balms, mountain mints and native bluestem grasses.  Bring planting containers like 1-gallon milk jugs or pots that are approximately 4 -6 inches wide and deep.  Seeds, potting medium and labels will be provided.  Participants will take home multiple pots of seeds with instructions for aftercare and planting into the garden.  

Instructor: Lydia Pan, Wild Ones Mountain Laurel Chapter.

This program is free and open to the public, but registration is required.  Offered in partnership with the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center.  

All members are welcome at chapter Board business meetings. Email chapter in advance to receive Zoom link if you wish to attend.

For the love of trees!  

Arboretum tours and educational programs for the whole family.

Tree seedling giveaway (while supplies last).  

Free and open to the public (no registration required).

Wild Ones will be there!

This session is for member Q&A about native plants, habitat gardening, and issues you have encountered with specific garden projects.   Novice and veteran native gardeners are welcome.  While not required, you may submit questions in advance to [email protected].  A short discussion of seasonal topics will be moderated by Gail Reynolds, assisted by Lydia Pan and Jim Sirch, who will then do their best to answer all your questions – and if they can’t, perhaps another attendee can!  This program is for members only. 

The mission of this event is to provide community members the education and resources to live more sustainably.  The Mountain Laurel Chapter will have an educational table to help connect people and native plants for a healthier planet and encourage landscaping with   native plants to support biodiversity.

This is a family-friendly event that gets a lot of traffic!   We will have an interactive activity at our table to promote interest and engagement,

VOLUNTEERS  ARE NEEDED.  Contact Lydia [email protected] if interested in helping.

Join award-winning author, photographer, and educator Rick Darke for What Is Wild and Why It Matters, a free national webinar on Tuesday, April 28th at 10 am CT. Discover how inviting a bit of authentic wildness can create a vibrant landscape that sustains you and local biodiversity. This national event is presented in collaboration between Wild Ones and Homegrown National Park.

The town of Weston and the Lachat Town Farm are hosting an Earth Day  event called Eco Fest.

This is a family friendly event with live music, food trucks, farm animals and environmental organizations and businesses display information and products.

Wild Ones, Aspetuck Land Trust, Fairfield Audobon and others will be there.

No registration or fee, just stop by.

All members are welcome at chapter Board business meetings. Email chapter in advance to receive Zoom link if you wish to attend.

Mountain Laurel was the first Wild Ones chapter in New England, chartered in May 2006.  Join us to celebrate and reflect upon what has changed (and what has not) over the past two decades.  At the “READ MORE” link, you can find an article by chapter co-founder Kathy Dame, discussing the connections between the late Professor William Niering's S.A.L.T. (Smaller American Lawns Today) initiative and the founding of the Mountain Laurel Chapter.  If you have stories, photos or other memorabilia from the chapter’s early days, we invite you to share them.  After some informal networking and light refreshments, we’ll enjoy viewing “The Extraordinary Caterpillar,” a new film that showcases the dazzling world of nature’s tiny superheroes.  Please RSVP if you plan to attend.

Joe Bear was determined to turn a one acre plot on town community fields from mugwort to a pollinator meadow.  He had been birding in the area for 20 years and noticed the rapid decline of bird species. He is over four years into the conversion and we will get to hear how he did it, and see the life he has brought back to a neglected area.

The meadow won an award last year for most bird species seen. Link to article here

https://goodmorningwilton.com/connecticut-birding-community-gardens-challenge-wilton-allens-meadow/

Member Ellen Rockett is welcoming members to see her beautiful property and discuss the issues and successes of her transitioning her property to native plants. 

Don't miss this opportunity to get inspired, to ask questions and learn from someone who has been doing this work for years.

All members are welcome at chapter Board business meetings. Email chapter in advance to receive Zoom link if you wish to attend.

Stefan Martin, Conservation Manager of CT Audubon, will lead us on a tour of this incredible restoration effort of 36 acres of invasives being transformed into a wildlife oasis. Larry Weaner is consulting on management practice of such a large parcel restoration.

Until roughly 2016, the section was a thicket of weeds and invasive shrubs and vines, including barberry, porcelain berry, bittersweet, and multiflora rose. They have installed over 3,000 native trees, shrubs and plants. Four acres are converting to meadows.

Dont miss this opportunity to learn from Stefan.

This should be an informative walk and talk on how to use the plants in our yards to boost our health and to feed us as humans have done for millenia. 

 Amelia South, owner,  NO-BS Herbalist, will lead us on a Foraging Walk looking for both edible and medicinal plants.  She has over 15 years of experience identifying and using the plants on our property for overall health.

 Depending on what she finds, she will show us how to make something to eat and taste, and/or make medicine following the walk. 

This CT Horticultural Society Speaker Event was made possible through the generosity of the Lois and Herb Isaacson Endowed Lecture fund and the Mountain Laurel Chapter of Wild Ones.

What is Ecological Horticulture? What distinguishes it from mainstream horticulture? Why is genetic diversity important?  Ecological Horticulture takes a different approach from traditional gardening by focusing on nature-friendly principles. This talk will dive into key ideas and challenge common gardening practices. For example: Why is genetic diversity essential? Can I use cultivated versions of native plants? How should climate change influence my gardening choices? These questions and more will guide a discussion on creating and caring for gardens in harmony with the environment.

Uli Lorimer serves as the Director of Horticulture for the Native Plant Trust, a leading non-profit dedicated to preserving the native flora of the Northeastern United States. In this role, he oversees the acclaimed Garden in the Woods in Framingham and Nasami Farm in Western Massachusetts, which focuses on native plant propagation and research. Uli’s impressive career includes positions at the National Arboretum, Wave Hill, and as the Curator of Native Plants at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. A lifelong enthusiast of plants and biodiversity, Uli continues to study the region’s ecosystems, collect seeds from the wild, and introduce new plants to collections.

He is also a prolific author and speaker, well-known to audiences across the horticultural community. His publications include Tough Natives for Tough Places and A Native Plant Reader. His latest work, The Northeast Native Plant Primer, reflects his deep commitment to native plants and their ecological value. With a science-based approach and a passion for biodiversity, Uli offers invaluable insights into selecting plants that maximize the ecological impact of our gardens while celebrating the beauty of native flora.

This event is free for CT Horticultural Society and Wild Ones Mountain Laurel Chapter members, $10 for non-members.  CT Hort members and the general public should register at  CT Hort Events:  Digging Deeper.  Mountain Laurel Chapter members SAVE THE DATE – you will receive the Zoom link for free on or around June 1.   DO NOT REGISTER at the CT Hort website or you will have to pay the non-member fee!

All members are welcome at chapter Board business meetings. Email chapter in advance to receive Zoom link if you wish to attend.

All members are welcome at chapter Board business meetings. Email chapter in advance to receive Zoom link if you wish to attend.

All members are welcome at chapter Board business meetings. Email chapter in advance to receive Zoom link if you wish to attend.

Details coming soon! 

SAVE THE DATE - DAY 1 of our annual plant sale pre-order pickup and walk-in sale.   (Dates are not yet confirmed and subject to change.)

SAVE THE DATE - DAY 2 of our annual plant sale pre-order pickup and walk-in sale.   (Dates not yet confirmed and  subject to change.)

All members are welcome at chapter Board business meetings. Email chapter in advance to receive Zoom link if you wish to attend.

Details coming soon! 

All members are welcome at chapter Board business meetings. Email chapter in advance to receive Zoom link if you wish to attend.

Details coming soon! 

All members are welcome at chapter Board business meetings. Email chapter in advance to receive Zoom link if you wish to attend.