Just Garden!
March 22-28
With everything going on in our world right now, gardening is one activity that can bring you peace. Gardening has been proven to build strength, improve memory, boost mood, and reduce stress. Whether you grow your own vegetables, native plants, or have a container garden, all forms of gardening are beneficial.
Join us for a week of FREE virtual gardening seminars, videos and give-aways!
Here’s a preview of what coming… plus lots more!
Click here to register!
(One registration gets you in to all of the webinars)
Our first presentation is Nature’s Best Hope by Doug Tallamy. Tallamy is a professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has authored 105 research articles and has taught Insect Taxonomy, Behavioral Ecology, Humans and Nature, and other courses for forty years. Douglas W. Tallamy’s first book, Bringing Nature Home, awakened thousands of readers to an urgent situation: wildlife populations are in decline because the native plants they depend on are fast disappearing. In his new book, Nature’s Best Hope, Tallamy shows how homeowners everywhere can turn their yards into conservation corridors that provide wildlife habitats.
Click here to register!
(One registration gets you in to all of the webinars)
Live Zoom Presentations
Date/Time | Speaker | Presentation |
Monday, March 22 – 7:00pm | Doug Tallamy | Nature’s Best Hope |
Tuesday, March 23 – 7:00pm | Debbie Cook | What is Biochar? |
Wednesday, March 24 – 7:00pm | Susan Leigh Anthony | The Battle Between Native and Invasive Plants |
Thursday, March 25 – 7:00pm | Lisey Good | Making Your Garden a Sanctuary for Songbirds |
Friday, March 26 – 7:00pm | Blake Dinius | The Magic of Butterflies |
Saturday, March 27 – 11:00am | Kerry Richardson | Healthy Soil 101 |
Sunday, March 28 – 7:00pm | Sam Jaffe | Caterpillars the Whole Story: Caterpillars, Connections, and Why Biodiversity Matters |
Recorded Presentations
- Farm to Food Pantry – Jon Belber, Holly Hill Farm
- Practical Organic Gardening: A No-Nonsense Guide to Growing Naturally – Mark Highland, Organic Mechanics Soil
- Right Plant, Right Place… Why Native? – Wild Ones South Shore MA chapter (Coming Soon)
- Top Ten Edible Native Plants – Blue Stem Natives (Coming Soon)
- Top Ten Plants for At-risk Pollinators – Blue Stem Natives (Coming Soon)
- Top Ten Plants for Monarchs – Blue Stem Natives (Coming Soon)
- City Nature Challenge – Chris Jacobs, South Shore Natural Science Center (Coming Soon)
- Greenscapes 101: Greating a Beautiful Yard Using Less Water – NSRWA Executive Director Samantha Woods (Coming Soon)
- Outdoor Gardening, Tools, and Safe Shopping in a Pandemic – Chris Kennedy, Kennedy’s Country Gardens (Coming Soon)
Downloads, Give-aways, and more
- Our FREE lectures will be online
- Enter our drawing for free prizes and products!A signed copy of Nature’s Best Hope by Doug Tallamy
- (10) 1-gallon bags of Biochar – Value $5/bag
Gift Bag of Local Goodies and One Year Subscription to Edible South Shore & South Coast
- (3) Gift Cards, each in the amount of $35 from Blue Stem Natives
- A copy of Practical Organic Gardening: A No-Nonsense Guide to Growing Naturally by Mark Highland
- A collection of saved seeds including vegetables and milkweed from Holly Hill Farm
- Order your rain barrels and composters online
- Order your $35 Special NSRWA NEW Member Deal with $25 Kennedy’s Gift Card and $10 Explore South Shore Guide Map (For NEW NSRWA members only)
Enter to Win a Custom Garden Plan by Susan Leigh Anthony of Doveflower Cottage Designs
- Download our 16-page Greenscapes Guide – With tips on how to create a beautiful healthy yard the natural way. (After filling out the online form you will be redirected to the guide.)
- Watch our 2019-2020 Gardening Green Expo videos in the expandable bar below
- And more to come!
Downloadable Plant Resources from Kennedy’s Country Gardens
- Native Perennials for Sun
- Native Perennials for Shade
- Perennials for Pollinators and Birds
- Annuals for Bees, Butterlies, Hummingbirds and Songbirds
- Native Plants for Native Pollinators
This FREE expo is sponsored by the WaterSmart program, North and South Rivers Watershed Association, Kennedy’s Country Gardens, Wild Ones – South Shore MA chapter, Edible South Shore & South Coast. WaterSmart is a nonprofit partnership between the NSRWA and 12 towns on the South Shore: Cohasset, Duxbury, Hanover, Hingham, Hull, Kingston, Marshfield, Norwell, Pembroke, Rockland, Scituate and Weymouth. Our programs are based on the belief that education is key. Since its creation, WaterSmart has educated thousands of local school-age children, adults, and businesses on water conservation, stormwater pollution, where their water comes from, and how to care for it.
Blake Dinius, Plymouth County Entomologist
America’s Forgotten Bees
Nature Watch from NSRWA – America Forgotten Bees from Norwell Spotlight TV on Vimeo.
Susan Leigh Anthony, Doveflower Cottage Garden Designs
Native Pollinator Plants and the Pollinators Who Love Them
Nature Watch with NSRWA – Native Pollinator Plants from Norwell Spotlight TV on Vimeo.
Kill Your Lawn
Part of our 2020 WaterWatch Lecture Series
Mark Richardson, Tower Hill Botanical Director – According to NASA, in the United States more surface area is covered by lawn than by any other single irrigated crop. Lawns are resource-heavy, requiring irrigation, fertilizer, and pesticides to thrive in our climate. Learn how to replace your lawn with beautiful and environmentally friendly native plantings from Tower Hill Botanic Garden’s director of horticulture Mark Richardson, co-author of Native Plants for New England Gardens, with photographer and author Dan Jaffe. This lecture is sponsored in part by Wild Ones – South Shore MA Chapter.
NATURE WATCH – KILL YOUR LAWN from Norwell Spotlight TV on Vimeo.
Please enjoy these 2019 Gardening Green Expo videos thanks to Norwell Spotlight TV.
Katie Banks Hone, The Monarch Gardener
Saving the Monarch, One Yard at a Time
NORWELL NATURE WATCH – SAVING THE MONARCH, ONE YARD AT A TIME from Norwell Spotlight TV on Vimeo.
Jon Belber, Friends of Holly Hill Farm
Planting Organic, Big and Small
NORWELL NATURE WATCH – PLANTING ORGANIC, BIG AND SMALL from Norwell Spotlight TV on Vimeo.
Jean Devine, Meadowscaping for Biodiversity
Saving the Planet Starts in Your Backyard: How to Garden with Native Plants to Help Pollinators, Birds and Your Community
NORWELL NATURE WATCH – SAVING THE PLANTS STARTS IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD: HOW TO GARDEN WITH NATIVE PLANTS TO HELP POLLINATORS from Norwell Spotlight TV on Vimeo.
Blake Dinius, Plymouth County Entomologist
Little Bee, Big World: Challenges of Solitary Native Bees
NORWELL NATURE WATCH – CHALLENGES OF SOLITARY NATIVE BEES from Norwell Spotlight TV on Vimeo.
Suzanne Mahler, SuzanneMahler.com
Creating a Garden for Pollinators
NORWELL NATURE WATCH – CREATING A GARDEN FOR POLLINATORS from Norwell Spotlight TV on Vimeo.
Ken Pearl, Magical Moon Farm Bee Keeper
The Importance of Pollinators and What We Can Do for Them
NORWELL NATURE WATCH – THE IMPORTANCE OF POLLINATORS AND WHAT WE CAN DO FOR THEM from Norwell Spotlight TV on Vimeo.This FREE expo is sponsored by the WaterSmart program, North and South Rivers Watershed Association and Kennedy’s Country Gardens.
How to Build a Rain Garden
Want to stop having standing water in your yard? Live near a waterbody and want to reduce polluted runoff? Want to create bird and butterfly habitat? These are just some of the potential benefits of building a rain garden on your property! Learn how to build a rain garden that helps save our water, uses native plants, and makes your property even more attractive to homebuyers and wildlife. NSRWA, WaterSmartSouthShore, and Wild Ones partnered for a Zoom meeting on How to Build a Rain Garden. Samantha Woods, Executive Director of the NSRWA gave a tour of some local rain gardens to visit on the South Shore, and Environmental Educator Brian Taylor provided instructions on how to build them. Britt Drews, Co-president of Mass Wild Ones – South Shore chapter shared her knowledge of the right plants for your rain garden, the advantages of using native plants, the benefits to wildlife, and where to source your native plants.
Other Rain Garden Resources:
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- NSRWA How to Build a Rain Garden Presentation pdf
- Wild Ones Native Plants for Northeastern Rain Gardens Presentation pdf
- Wild Ones Presentation Notes
- Download our 16-page Greenscapes Guide
- Greenscapes North Shore Rain Garden Brochure – Detailed step-by-step manual
- Rain Garden Alliance Sizing Calculator – For Pennsylvania, but a good tool for sizing
- UVM Rain Garden Manual – More detailed step-by-step manual
Visit these South Shore Rain Gardens
WaterSmart is a nonprofit partnership between the NSRWA and 12 towns on the South Shore: Cohasset, Duxbury, Hanover, Hingham, Hull, Kingston, Marshfield, Norwell, Pembroke, Rockland, Scituate and Weymouth. Our programs are based on the belief that education is key. Since its creation, WaterSmart has educated thousands of local school-age children, adults, and businesses on water conservation, stormwater pollution, where their water comes from, and how to care for it.
- 2020 WaterSmart Video Contest
- Fish Out of Water Raffle
- Gardening Green Expo 2021
- Greenscapes
- Create a Healthy Yard and Go Organic!
- Recycle Water - Too Precious To Waste
- How to Build a Rain Garden
- Indoor Water Conservation
- Pet Waste Education
- Plant a Monarch Garden
- Rain Barrel and Composter Sale
- School Programs
- Septic Systems
- Stormwater
- Water Conservation Tips
- Watersmart Business