Connecticut Horticultural Society

Connecticut Daylily Society Spring Meeting
2026-03-21 12:30 - 15:30 (America/New_York) | Avon Senior Center, 635 West Avon Rd., Avon, CT, 06001
CONNECTICUT DAYLILY SOCIETY
Upcoming Spring Event
Saturday, March 21, 2026

Come celebrate with us! Rich Howard, CT Daylily Club past president and hybridizer from Wallingford, CT, won the 2025 Stout Silver Medal for his stunning flower “EXPLOSION IN THE PAINT FACTORY.” This award is the highest honor for a daylily and its hybridizer, given by the American Hemerocallis Society.

Rich will talk about his hybridizing program and how Explosion came to be. He will also feature many of his other beautiful daylilies, some of which will be auctioned off. CAKE and refreshments will be served!

Meeting Agenda
12:30 – 1:00 – Social Time
1:00 – 2:00 – Guest speaker: Rich
2:00 – Short Business Meeting
3:00 – 3:30 – Clean up

Sycamore Hills Recreation Center, aka the Avon Senior Center, 635 West Avon Rd, Avon CT (intersection with Scoville Road)

Please join us for this in-person meeting

Looking forward to seeing everyone!

Please contact Rebecca Nisley at 860-306-6315 with any questions.

CDS Membership:
There is no fee to join CDS and attend meetings, however if you’d like to get the “full daylily experience,” join The American Daylily Society for $30. Included with your membership, you will receive four beautiful issues of The Daylily Journal, our official newsletter magazine, each year. This magazine contains articles on award winning daylilies, the most popular daylilies by geography, trends in daylily hybridizing, scientific studies, and highlights of gardens and conventions.
New members joining the American Daylily Society also receive a $25 voucher, which can be redeemed towards purchases of daylilies with select growers across the United States. Visit https://daylilies.org/membership/ for more details.

Visit our website
https://ctdaylilyclub.com/
Like and Follow us on Facebook (Connecticut Daylily Society) and Instagram (ctdaylilyclub)
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Annual Founder's Day Event-Farmington Garden Club Program
2026-03-23 08:00 - 17:00, 2026-03-23 11:30 - 14:00 | Farmington Main Library, 6 Monteith Drive, Farmington, CT, 06032
The Farmington Garden Club, as we celebrate our 80th Anniversary, in conjunction with the Farmington Libraries is pleased to welcome Adam Wheeler from Broken Arrow Nursery to our Annual Founders Day Event, Throw the Burning Bush on the Brush Pile, Overused Plants and Superior Alternatives. The member meeting and lunch will run from 11:30-12:30; the program is free and open to the public is from 1-2:30pm.

Many familiar landscape staples have become so ubiquitous that they’re losing their impact – and in some cases, creating ecological challenges. In this lecture, Adam Wheeler of Broken Arrow Nursery will explore some of the most overused woody plants, discussing why they became popular and why it might be time to retire them. Most importantly, he will highlight superior alternatives that deliver outstanding performance and beauty without negative environmental effects. Attendees will leave with practical ideas to refresh their planting palettes and design landscapes that truly stand out for all the right reasons.
Donations of canned goods or non-perishables are suggested to benefit the Farmington Food Pantry.

“Pot Herbs, Sallads and Roots:" Kitchen Gardens in Early America
2026-03-24 14:00 - 15:00 | Avon Free Public Library, 281 Country Club Rd., Avon, CT, 06001, United States
“Pot Herbs, Sallads and Roots”: Kitchen Gardens in Early America is a program defining the role played by kitchen gardens in the lives of New Englanders 1790 to 1850. Using documentation from Samuel Deane’s book, The New England Farmer (Worcester, MA: Isaiah Thomas, 1790), with additional 19th-century publications and landscape illustrations, and the re-created gardens at Old Sturbridge Village as examples, Christie Higginbottom will discuss both typical and more progressive garden styles and cultural practices, plant varieties, and preservation techniques.
Christie is a garden consultant and research historian. She has worked as a costumed interpreter at Old Sturbridge Village since 1981. From 1984 to 2004 she coordinated the historic horticulture program researching, planning and planting the re-created kitchen and flower gardens at the museum’s historic households.
This program is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Avon Library and Garden Club of Avon, Avon Land Trust and Avon Clean Energy as part of their “How They Grew” Avon 250 Initiative.

Pot Herbs, Sallads and Roots”: Kitchen Gardens in Early America (in-person)
2026-03-24 14:00 - 15:30 | Avon Free Public Library, 281 Country Club Rd., Avon, CT, 06001, United States
“Pot Herbs, Sallads and Roots”: Kitchen Gardens in Early America is a program defining the role played by kitchen gardens in the lives of New Englanders 1790 to 1850. Using documentation from Samuel Deane’s book, The New England Farmer (Worcester, MA: Isaiah Thomas, 1790), with additional 19th-century publications and landscape illustrations, and the re-created gardens at Old Sturbridge Village as examples, Christie will discuss both typical and more progressive garden styles and cultural practices, plant varieties, and preservation techniques.
About our presenter: Christie Higginbottom, Garden Consultant and Research Historian: Christie has worked as a costumed interpreter at Old Sturbridge Village since 1981. From 1984 to 2004 she coordinated the historic horticulture program researching, planning and planting the re-created kitchen and flower gardens at the museum’s historic households. She also supervised the Village’s Herb Garden collection, a garden exhibiting over 300 varieties of historic herbs. From 2004 to 2006 she researched and developed a series of self-guided walking trails interpreting people and the environment in the early 1800s. She contributed research and design for the 2007–2009 exhibit, “Taking Root: Gardening in Pots in the Early 1800s.” Now retired from full-time work at OSV, she continues to work in costume part-time – most often in the Herb Garden.
Christie writes and consults on historic gardens and their interpretation, antique plants, and herb use; and she lectures at museums and historic sites, garden clubs, historical societies, and libraries. She has taught home gardening classes at the Adult Education program at Bay Path Regional Vocational High School, New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, and the Northeast Organic Farmers Association.
Christie and her husband, Bruce Craven, have published Finding William Lewis [1819-1897]; The Every Day Life of This Singular Man. Their book relates the life of this New England leatherworker, book peddler and farmer as revealed in his 143 journals and over 200 account books.
This event is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Avon Library, Garden Club of Avon, Avon Land Trust, and Avon Clean Energy Commission.
Please register, so we can set the community room up with appropriate seating.
Snow date: 3/31/25, same time

Gardeners of Simsbury Speaker Series: Bird-friendly Gardening by Jennifer McGuinness
2026-03-24 19:00 - 20:00 | Simsbury Public Library, 725 Hopmeadow St., Simsbury, CT, 06070, United States
Even as many bird populations face decline, every backyard garden has the power to make a difference. In this hopeful and practical seminar, led by award winning journalist and author Jen McGuinness, learn what birds need to thrive, how to use organic practices and native plants to meet those needs, and which trees, shrubs, and flowers attract specific species. With inspiring ideas and easy actions, this session shows how helping birds also helps create more balanced, life-filled gardens for us all.

EXHIBITION of Botanical Impressions: Preserving Nature's Beauty
2026-03-25 - 2026-05-18 | Kerri Art Studio and Gallery, 861 Main Street, Willimantic, CT, 06226
This exhibition is open to the public from March 25 – May 18, 2026.
Please visit during the Kerri Gallery hours: Tuesday – Friday 10am – 2pm or by appointment (860) 456-8615

The Little Things that Run the World - Film Screening- Hamden, CT
2026-03-25 18:30 - 20:00 | Whitney Center, 200 Leeder Hill Rd., Hamden, Connecticut, 06517
“Insects are the little things that run the world, and if they disappear, life as we know it will change.” – E.O. Wilson
Join Cheshire Pollinator Pathway and Hamden Land Conservation Trust for this FREE screening. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for refreshment. Showtime: 7 p.m.

Lights Out CT -- You Can Help Prevent Bird Deaths!
2026-03-26 19:00 - 20:30
Craig Repasz, Chair and Co-Founder of Lights Out CT will present an informational program:
Light Pollution and its Effects on Birds,
Wildlife, and Human Health:
You Can Help Prevent Bird Deaths!
Millions of birds pass through Connecticut every spring and fall on their way to and from their summer nesting grounds.
Light pollution has wreaked havoc on our night sky. Artificial light emitted by our homes, buildings, streetlights, bridges, and other structures can confuse and disorient birds, causing them to land near buildings, crash into windows, and/or circle around for hours until they drop from exhaustion.
The result is catastrophic:
There are over 1 billion bird deaths in North America each year.
All are welcome to this free event.

OPENING RECEPTION: Botanical Impressions: Preserving Nature's Beauty
2026-03-27 15:00 - 17:00 | Kerri Art Studio and Gallery, 861 Main Street, Willimantic, CT, 06226
Join pressed botanical artist Marguerite Alpert for the opening reception: Botanical Impressions: Preserving Nature’s Beauty. Marguerite will share insights into her creative process and present her handcrafted wooden flower presses, filled with beautifully preserved plant material. Gardeners and art enthusiasts alike will appreciate this distinctive perspective on the natural world.

Pollinators in Your Garden
2026-03-28 14:00 - 15:00 | Countryside Park, 355 Huckleberry Hill road, Avon, CT, 06001
Join Avon Land Trust and the Garden Club of Avon’s presentation by Lisa Newell, Ambassador for the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, about improving the pollinator population in your garden!

Seed Giveaway, Master Gardener Advice and Lego Building
2026-03-29 14:00 - 16:00 | Simsbury Grange, 236 Farms Village Rd., West Simsbury, CT, 06092, United States
Join us for our 4th annual Spring event!

UPSTAIRS:Join us for a community SEED SWAP and GIVEAWAY! Bring seeds if you have them or come to collect free seeds. Have your garden questions answered by a local farmer or Master Gardener.
DOWNSTAIRS:Are your kids CRAZY for LEGOs? Supervised FREE LEGO event. Build an original design up to 12”x12”x12”. Creations may be entered in the Simsbury Grange Agricultural Fair for prizes on 6/13/26.
GRANGE FAIR CONTEST RANGES – 2 CATEGORIES:Ages: 6 and underAges: 7-14Free Legos provided or bring your own.

Park at the Farms Village plaza next door unless mobility impaired.
Donations are welcome and appreciated!

Bringing the Outdoors Inside and Onto Your Windowsill by Tovah Martin | Lecture, Lunch & Book Signing
2026-04-08 11:00 - 14:00 | Pond House Café, 1555 Asylum Avenue, West Hartford, CT, 06117
What do you love most about the garden? Is it the lushness of greenery? Do you enjoy the scents? Is it the textural interplay? Or maybe what means most to you is the sense of nurturing nature. This lecture talks about bringing the essence of what you love about the garden inside and onto your windowsill. Amazingly, many outdoor garden plants love sharing our homes indoors. Tovah describes garden plants that can successfully make the leap from garden to windowsill as well as tropicals that capture the mood. She talks about how to host garden plants, creating a scene, adding the elements, and crafting vignettes that reflect our favorite moments outside. This is fun and fulfilling, it’s creative, and it will bring everything you treasure about the garden into the heart of your home.
In her constant, undying pursuit of all things garden- related, Tovah Martin gets her hands dirty both outside and indoors. She is a perennial, heirloom, vegetable and cottage gardener of fanatical proportions, and is accredited with NOFA as an Organic Land Care Professional. Beyond the garden outdoors, Tovah’s areas of specialty also include decades of experience with houseplants (she grows over 200 in her home). That passion for gardening indoors led to her many books. Most recently, a new title was added to her book publications; Gold Medal award winning The Garden in Every Sense and Season (Timber Press, 2018) describes how your garden can kindle the senses on all layers to become more meaningful. The newest publication is added to more than a dozen titles that Tovah has authored, including The Indestructible Houseplant, The Unexpected Houseplant, The New Terrarium, and Tasha Tudor’s Garden.
For her writing, Tovah was awarded The Garden Club of America’s award for outstanding literary achievement and an Honorary Membership in The Garden Club of America. In 2013, she received the Gustav Mehlquist Award—the highest honor bestowed by the Connecticut Horticultural Society. And in 2019, The Garden in Every Sense and Season won the Gold Medal from Garden Communicators International.
Lecture, Lunch & Book Signing: $50
BOOKS

The Garden in Every Sense & Season- $18.03

The Unexpected Houseplant – $24.41

Traprock Ridge Hiking Club Hike at McLean Game Refuge
2026-04-09 10:00 - 14:30 | McLean Game Refuge, 109 Salmon Brook St, Granby
Please join us for this hike with Tammy Olszewski, along with TRLC volunteer Dave Mogul, for her annual frog pilgrimage at McLean Game Refuge. The planned hike is a loop of 4 to 5 miles using multiple trails, and it’s expected to take 4 – 5 hours, depending on our group’s pace.
This is a moderately difficult hike, which includes a relatively steep but short climb to the summit of East Barndoor Hill. The key feature of this hike is an amazing visit to a vernal pool with thousands of chirping wood frogs.
We’ll depart at 10:00 a.m. from the eastern parking lot of McLean Game Refuge, located at 109 Salmon Brook St.
Alternate date of April 16 if we need to reschedule. Contact Dave Mogul at hikes@trlandconservancy.org with any questions.

Pollinators and How to Help Them, with Louise Washer
2026-04-09 11:30 - 14:00 | St. John’s Episcopal Church, 679 Farmington Ave, West Hartford, CT, 679 Farmington Ave., West Hartford, CT, 06107, United States
The bee and butterfly populations have declined precipitously over the past decade. In this slide lecture, Louise Washer will offer insight, exploration, science and how-to’s — all dedicated to protecting our pollinators. In 2017 she co-founded the Pollinator Pathway, a grassroots effort to encourage residents and municipalities to restore and connect pollinator habitat by planting native plants, avoiding pesticides, and rethinking lawn culture. A graduate of Smith College and a former magazine editor and writer, she is president of the Norwalk River Watershed Association. She also serves on the Norwalk Mayor’s Water Quality Committee and the Hudson to Housatonic Regional Conservation Partnership (H2H). Today the Pollinator Pathway has grown to include over 325 communities across 11 states.

Windsor African Violet Society Annual Judged Show and Sale
2026-04-11 08:30 - 14:30 | Grace Episcopal Church, 311 Broad St., Windsor, CT, 06095, United States
The Windsor African Violet Society Show’s theme this year is “Wicked Good Violets”. Come to see beautiful show plants, including species, standards, trailers, miniatures, semi-miniatures, other gesneriads, and designs including African violets. Our education exhibit has information on all aspects of growing and caring for these wonderful house plants! Commercially grown plants from Lyndon Lyon Greenhouse are available for purchase. Members’ plants, leaves, and rooted leaves are also for sale. Admission is FREE and open to the public.

41st Connecticut Cactus & Succulent Society Show and Sale (FREE ADMISSION)
2026-04-11 09:00 - 2026-04-12 16:00 | 240 Stafford Ave, Bristol, CT 06010, 240 Stafford Avenue, Bristol, CT, 06010
Discover a world of fascinating plants at the Connecticut Cactus & Succulent Society (CCSS) 41st Show and Sale on April 11 & 12, 2026! Admission is free and there will be something for plant lovers at every level and every member of the family. Come on Sunday to beat the crowds and have a chance to win exciting giveaways and door prizes!

Over 2 dozen exciting vendors with plants, pottery/ceramics, books, artwork, seeds, and much more for sale
A judged cactus and succulent show: displaying many unusual specimens from private collections with the opportunity for you to choose your favorite (entry submission is free)
Free Masterclass series of plant topic related lectures
Live auctions with many exciting plants, pottery, and other wonderful items
Free craft/coloring area for kids*
Sunday only door prizes and giveaways
Steve’s Top Dog food truck specializing in delicious BBQ & French-Canadian Comfort Food

Find out more on our website: https://www.ctcactussociety.org/annual-show-sale
*Adult supervision required for children participating in the craft/coloring area

Pollinator Power at Home Natureworks Early Spring Class Day
2026-04-11 09:30 - 11:45 | 326 Notch Hill Rd North Branford CT 06471, 326 Notch Hill Rd, North Branford, CT, 06471
Location: Zion Episcopal Church, 326 Notch Hill Rd, North Branford, CT 06471
Cost:$40 for both classes Two talks to inspire you!
9:30-10:30 Small Meadows and Flowering Lawns for the Home Gardener taught by Diane St. John
Years ago Diane decided an area of her organic lawn was a complete waste of space and she went on a long, magical journey to transform it into a beautiful flowering meadow. Watch in photographs as she explains her process and see the results. It is amazing how much LIFE is now in this area and how happy it makes her feel every single day. Changing a traditional lawn to a meadow is one of the best ways to encourage more pollinators, beauty and life to your yard. Join Diane for her talk and learn the non-traditional way she transitioned an unused area of her own lawn in CT into a beautiful meadow. She will also explain other lawn alternatives you can plant to up the pollinator power right at home.
10:45-11:45 The Secret Lives of Moths-Pollination after Dark taught by Nancy Tipping, Xerces Society Ambassador
This presentation presents the most recent research about the surprising relationships between nighttime pollinators and plant health. Find out what you can do in your own yard to support the moths that we now know are vital to all ecosystems.

NatureWorks presents “Pollinator Power at Home! Two Talks to inspire You”
2026-04-11 09:30 - 12:00
Natureworks presents:
9:30-10:30 am – Small Meadows and Flowering Lawns for the Home Gardener
Years ago Diane decided an area of her organic lawn was a complete waste of space and she went on a long and magical journey to transform it into a beautiful flowering meadow. Watch in photographs as she explains her process and see the results. It is stunning how much life is now in this area and how happy it makes her feel every single day. Changing a traditional lawn to a meadow is one of the best ways to encourage more pollinators, beauty and life to your yard.

Join Diane for her talk and learn the non-traditional way she transitioned an unused area of her lawn to a meadow. She will also explain other lawn alternatives you can plant to up the pollinator power right at home.

10:45-11:45 am – The Secret Lives of Moths:

Pollination After Dark $40 for bth classes!

Join Nancy Tipping, Xerces Society Ambassador, to take a deep dive into the world of moths, and discover the many wonders of nighttime pollination! You’ll learn about their unique life cycle, behaviors, diversity, and more – as well as the important part that they play in our ecosystems. This presentation will conclude with constructive ways that you can help conserve these important, yet lesser-known, pollinators. The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international nonprofit organization that protects the natural world through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats.”

Barn Talk: A Garden in Dialogue: Place and Practice
2026-04-11 10:00 - 11:30 | Hollister House Garden, 300 Nettleton Hollow Road, Washington, CT, 06759
The 2026 Barn Talk season proudly opens with Bedford, NY-based landscape designer Leslie Needham, who invites us to embrace garden design as a continuous conversation. Every garden speaks through materials, familiar forms, and seasonal rhythm. Drawing from years of hands-on experience, Leslie will explore ways designers and gardeners can thoughtfully respond to place, sharing easy design strategies that bring clarity and intention to nature-inspired gardens. Join us and discover how loosening the pursuit of perfection can open space for joy, adaptability, and a deeper relationship with our gardens and surrounding landscape.
Leslie Needham is a gardener, landscape designer, writer, and lecturer whose work is grounded in sustainable, place-based design. Her home landscape, River Hills, was selected for the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Gardens. Her work has been featured in Martha Stewart Living, The New York Times, and Gardenista, and she has been a guest on Margaret Roach’s podcast, A Way to Garden. She is the founder and principal of Leslie Needham Design, a landscape design firm based in Bedford, New York.
HHG Members $30
Non-members $40 (includes admission to the garden)

Prop & Swap Workshop
2026-04-11 10:00 - 13:00 | 183 Windsor Ave. Windsor, CT 06095, 183 Windsor Ave, Windsor, CT, 06095, United States
The Prop & Swap Workshop will begin with a free, short, hands-on introduction to plant propagation and grafting, designed for participants who are new to these techniques. During this mini-workshop, attendees will learn simple, approachable methods for multiplying plants and maintaining healthy growth. After the instructional portion, participants will have the opportunity to trade plant cuttings and propagations they brought from home. Those who don’t have plants to share will still be able to take part by selecting from the propagations provided by KPSP. The event is designed to be welcoming and accessible, encouraging participants to learn new skills while building community connections. By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with new plants, practical knowledge, and connections with others interested in growing and sustainability.

Nature Workshop | Berry Fruit Gardening
2026-04-11 11:00 - 12:00 | Grace Farms, 365 Lukes Wood Road, New Canaan, CT, 06840, United States
Get inspired by the new, berry plantings recently installed in the Grace Farms Garden and learn the basics of growing these fruits at home. Understand the process from start to finish, beginning with plant choice, garden preparation and management, all the way to harvesting and preservation.

Pressed Botanical Art Workshop: Preserving Nature's Beauty
2026-04-11 15:00 - 17:00 | Kerri Art Studio and Gallery, 861 Main Street, Willimantic, CT, 06226
Join botanical artist Marguerite Alpert for a colorful and fun two-hour pressed botanical art workshop. Learn how to press fresh flowers in a wooden press (that is yours to keep!) and also make your own original piece of botanical art with ready-pressed flowers from Marguerite’s gardens. All fresh flowers and supplies are provided. Just bring your creative ideas – and a favorite fresh flower if you wish!

Salamanders of New England Film
2026-04-13 18:30 - 20:00 | Simsbury Public Library, 725 Hopmeadow St., Simsbury, CT, 06070, United States
Salamanders are some of our most mysterious amphibians. Living below ground, or underwater, they are seldom seen. This film will give us a close look at every salamander species that inhabits New England. We will see examples of the typical complete salamander life cycle, from egg to larva to adult, as well as some interesting behaviors. We will be joined by filmmaker Ray Asselin and Dr. Alan Richmond, herpetologist in the Department of Biology at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, as well as its Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles, Natural History Collections. He specializes in the natural history, conservation, and phylogeography of New England reptiles and amphibians.
Co-sponsored by Simsbury Land Trust, Simsbury Grange and Simsbury Public Library
Event is Free
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED @ link below

Landscape Design: The Creative Process
2026-04-14 12:00 - 14:00 | Nathanael Greene Community Center, 32 Church Street, Guilford, CT, 06437
Leete’s Island Garden Club invites George Trecina, owner of Land Design and Horticultural Sales, who will present steps to take when assessing the property area you wish to change, from concept, to detailed drawing, to the physical planting.
For more information and to register for this free event please call 203-453-0780.

Board Meeting
2026-04-14 19:00 - 20:00

The Past, Present, and Future of the Keney Park Sustainability Project with Herb Virgo 4/16/26
2026-04-16 19:00 - 20:30
Herb Virgo
The Past, Present, and Future of the Keney Park Sustainability Project
April 16, 2026, 7pm
CNTR and on Zoom
725 Main Street, Middletown
Free for members; $10 for non-members (register here)

Join Herb Virgo for an inspiring exploration of the Keney Park Sustainability Project (KPSP), a transformative initiative dedicated to preserving and enhancing one of Hartford’s most iconic green spaces. In this talk, Herb will take you on a journey through the history, current efforts, and visionary plans for the future of Keney Park.
KPSP is a holistic initiative that actively engages the community in various areas, including health and nutrition education, landscaping, forest management, waste reduction, building and design, and urban agriculture.
Herb holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology-Based Human Relations from Connecticut College and has been recognized for his contributions with multiple awards, including the KNOX Green Heroes Award and the Hartford Community Food Security Award. He is a certified forest practitioner, tree warden, and a member of several environmental councils, including the Connecticut Urban Forest Council. Additionally, he managed a project that expanded Keney Park’s trail system by seven miles, collaborating with local organizations and volunteers to improve public access to green spaces.
Free for members; $10 for non-members (register here)

Peeper Prowl
2026-04-17 08:00 - 20:00 | Johnson’s Pond, Hamden, CT, Spring Glen, Hamden, CT 06517 (near Thornton St, Greenway St, and Ingram St)., Hamden, CT, 06517
Join us for a spring peeper nature walk at our Johnson’s Pond property. Hamden Land Trust Board Member Jim Sirch will lead a walk and discuss the life cycles of these fascinating amphibians. Meet at the entrance near Thornton Street and Connolly Parkway.

Barn Talk: Signs of Spring: Connecticut’s Ephemerals and Early Risers
2026-04-18 10:00 - 11:30 | Hollister House Garden, 300 Nettleton Hollow Road, Washington, CT, 06759
The first signs of spring appear in forms both subtle and spectacular. While the horticultural industry highlights familiar favorites like crocuses, snowdrops, and daffodils, it is our native flora that truly reveal the start of spring in Connecticut. Join field botanist Heather Liljengren for an engaging introduction to our local early risers – the enchanting native ephemerals, graceful sedges and flowering trees that are our true harbingers of spring. Learn what signs to look for on your own walks and woodland explorations as our New England landscape begins to wake up.
Heather Liljengren is the owner of LocalLand Consulting LLC and has over 17 years of professional experience botanizing throughout the Mid-Atlantic and New England. She works closely with land trusts, farmers, landscape design firms, and homeowners to support the management, conservation, and restoration of native flora and regional habitats. Her extensive knowledge of local plant communities is grounded in her experience managing native seed collection programs for government agencies and nonprofit organizations.
HHG Members $30
Non-members $40 (includes admission to the garden)

The AWE Program Budget Raised Bed Build Workshop
2026-04-18 10:00 - 12:00 | 183 Windsor Ave. Windsor, CT 06095, 183 Windsor Ave, Windsor, CT, 06095, United States
Join us for a hands-on Budget Raised Bed Build with Travis Stewart of Farm With Me LLC. This interactive workshop approaches gardening through an affordability and accessibility lens, showing participants how growing food can be practical, low-cost, and achievable for anyone.
Together, we’ll build a raised garden bed using upcycled pallets and other inexpensive, easy-to-find materials. Participants will work alongside the educator, learning DIY techniques, material sourcing tips, and creative ways to reuse what you already have. Whether you’re new to gardening or looking for budget-friendly solutions, this workshop will provide practical skills you can take home and replicate in your own space.
This is a free, hands-on workshop focused on making gardening more accessible, sustainable, and community-driven. No experience necessary — just come ready to learn and build together.
