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Gardening Green Expo 2023

2023 Gardening Green Expo Info Coming Soon!

2022 Gardening Green Expo – Connecting to the Natural World

Now more than ever we need an escape from the pressures of daily life. Connecting to nature can reduce stress, improve mood, and more. You can even reap the benefits in your own backyard.

See the recorded presentations below!

Congratulations to Our Prize Winners!

  • A signed copy of Nancy Lawson’s book “The Humane Gardener” – Julia Nanigian, Whitman
  • A signed copy of Doug Tallamy’s book ” The Nature of Oaks” – Victoria Do, North Weymouth
  • A garden sign from Blue Stem Natives – Kristina Melanson, Kingston
  • A garden sign from Blue Stem Natives – LuAnne Alexander, Rockland
  • A $500 online gift card from Bower & Branch – Liz Holbrook, Weymouth
  • $100 online gift card from Bower & Branch (1) – Kathy Krein, Marshfield Hills
  • $100 online gift card from Bower & Branch (2) – Richard Hopkinson, Hanover
  • $100 online gift card from Bower & Branch (3) – Lynn Neacy, Marshfield
  • $100 online gift card from Bower & Branch (4) – Marianne Mahoney, Scituate
  • $100 online gift card from Bower & Branch (5) – Mary Murphy, Duxbury
  • A rain barrel and small diverter from the WaterSmart program – Terri Nickerson , Duxbury
  • A bag of soil and a bag of fertilizer from Organic Plant Magic – Michelle Hadley, Norwell
  • Gift basket from Edible South Shore – Mary Bryant, Hanover

Downloads, Give-aways, and more

  • Free native tree saplings* from Bartlett Tree Experts (Available for pickup at the NSRWA office – M,W,F  from 10am-5pm – *Quercus alba – White Oak (Native), Quercus macrocarpa- Bur Oak (Native), Cladrastic Kentukea- Yellowwood (Native flowering tree), Parrotia persica- Persian Ironwood (Non-native), and • Stewartia pseudocamellia – Japanese stewartia (Flowering – Non-native)
  • $35 Special NSRWA NEW Member Deal with $25 Kennedy’s Gift Card and $10 Explore South Shore Guide Map can be ordered online (For NEW NSRWA members only)
  • Order your rain barrels and composters online
  • 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.)
  • Get your FREE Help Save Water lawn sign (Available for pickup at the NSRWA office M,W,F  from 10am-5pm – Starting March 28, 2022)
  • Pick up your FREE copy of Edible South Shore Magazine (Available for pickup at the NSRWA office – M,W,F  from 10am-5pm – Starting March 28, 2022)
  • Purchase any piece from the Kjeld Mahoney Wild Life Gallery Show – 10% of the profits are donated to NSRWA
  • Watch our 2019-2021 Gardening Green Expo videos!

Plant Resources from Kennedy’s Country Gardens and UMass

Useful plant resources from Blue Stem Natives, Doveflower Cottage, Blake Dinius, Doug Tallamy, and National Wildlife Federation

Want to see more programs like this? Please make a gift to the NSRWA to protect local waters.

 

 

 

This FREE expo is sponsored by the WaterSmart program, North and South Rivers Watershed Association, and Kennedy’s Country 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.

Pollinators and Their Host Plants – Blue Stem Natives 

Building an Insect Hotel/Supporting Biodiversity at Home – Angie Daugirda, Organic Plant Magic

Kid-Friendly Gardens – Susan Leigh Anthony, Doveflower Cottage Garden Designs

Garden for Wildlife: Remove Invasives & Plant Natives to Help Birds, Butterflies and Other Wild Creatures
By Lisey Good, Founder, Wild Cohasset – The Lisey Good Zoom presentation video had a conversion error, however, you can download the presentation and listen to the audio with the links below:
Download Lisey Good’s Presentation here.
Listen to Lisey Good’s Presentation here 

The Importance of Insects and Gardening for Native Bees – Blake Dinius, Entomologist Educator at County of Plymouth

Audubon Plants for Birds Presentation by Don Eaton, Bower & Branch

Growing Tasty Edible Greens and Snacks – Jon Belber, Holly Hill Farm

Building a Rain Garden – Samantha Woods, NSRWA

Composting for Zero Waste – Ann McGovern, Retired MassDEP Compost Specialist

Backyard Birding – Doug Lowry, Mass Audubon South Shore Sanctuaries

Watch the 2019-2020 Gardening Green Expo Videos

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:

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.