FRAMINGHAM, MA — Celebrate Earth Day at New England Wild Flower Society’s Garden in the Woods, Saturday, April 25. Enjoy free admission to Garden in the Woods all day, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Take a guided walking tour and learn the history of the Garden, the design of the various gardens and habitats, and the conservation elements being addressed. Tour the unique (more…)
FRAMINGHAM, MA — This spring the Department of Public Works will be hosting several events aimed at increased recycling and environmental awareness.
On Saturday, April 18th the second annual Shred Fest will be held at the Recycling Center on Mount Wayte Ave from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm. This event provides free and secure paper shredding of your confidential documents. Watch a video monitor as your documents are shredded in their first step to being recycled. The only (more…)
While we can’t quite get the hang of remembering to bring along our tote bags to the supermarket, we are learning the scan and bag method of shopping at Stop & Shop.
Except we seem to underestimate the number of bags needed.
And, it appears that in the last few weeks, the size and sturdiness of the paper bags has changed. We use the paper bags to neatly consolidate our paper to be recycled and they just don’t hold as much and rip more easily.
Trader Joe’s bags are still reliable for the job. Probably because in part they don’t want your bottles of “Cheap Chuck” wine falling through the bottom on the way to the car.
In order to save money on kitchen wastebasket liners, we buy wastebaskets that work well with the size of the plastic grocery bags that we always have an abundance of. We fit several at a time, so that as a filled bag is removed, there is another one right underneath it, ready to go. This also helps if one bag is a “leaker.” The multiple bags catch the leaks.
Although we may have to take out the trash a little more often that having a large trash barrel, our barrel fits conveniently under the sink, and we have never, ever bought bags for it.
Tote bags are in. The LL Bean durable canvas ones have been around for ages, but in the last few years, totes have popped up for sale in a variety of stores and offered as popular premiums and giveaways.
But now, more than ever, you see them in use in the grocery stores. It seems to be a combination of the “green” environmental movement and the 5 cent per bag savings that the stores give you that is motivating the rise in usage. Reducing the stash of plastic bags in the house is a blessing too.
Some closet “tree-huggers” who previously felt self-conscious about using tote bags when grocery shopping can now be part of the tote bag brigade. And shoppers mix and match, as you will see Whole Foods and Stop and Shop and Wildlife Conservacy totes in use at Trader Joes.
One of our favorite totes is the roomy $ 1 bag available at the Framingham Library. It holds several plastic bags worth of groceries as it promotes the library.
It comes with a rigid bottom stiffener and is large enough to replace 2 paper bags or up to 4 plastic bags each time it is used. According to its environmentally conscious manufacturer, it’s designed to be used weekly for two years or more and to replace up to 416 plastic bags over its entire lifetime.
The bags are also washable and stand up straight on their own for loading and the handles are a convenient length.
Four or five will handle a cart full of groceries, support the library, and save hundreds of plastic and paper bags over the course of a year. Not to mention the 5 cents per bag savings.
FRAMINGHAM, MA — The New England Wild Flower Society’s Garden in the Woods presents BIG BUGS Sculpture Exhibit and Web-of-Life Extravaganza through October 31, 2008. David Rogers’ dino-sized sculptures on 45 acres with 1,500 varieties of native plants. Special events each weekend.
Visit the BUGMOBILE for crafts and live bugs. Stamp your Big Bugs Map two weekends to win a BUGOLOGIST Pin. Create a sculpture at the Build-a-Bug Interactive Park. Take a Grasshopper jump. Borrow a Bug Activity Bag and a Bug-Venture Guide from the Visitor Center. Submit digital images to the BIG BUGS online gallery at bigbugsart@newenglandWILD.org.
Admission $8 for adults; $6 seniors 65+ /students with ID; $4 youths 3-18. Free for members and children under 3. Open 9-5 through Oct 31. Rain or shine. Tours weekdays at 10, weekends at 2 included with admission. Shop the native plant nursery. 180 Hemenway Road, Framingham, MA. (508) 877-7630, www.newenglandwild.org.
Special Weekends in October:
October 18-19 SPIDER WEEKEND: Special events from 12-3 p.m., Sat and Sun. Get ready for Halloween. Learn spider skills for weaving webs. Make your own spider and web to take home.
October 25-26 BYE BYE BUGS: Final weekend to see them before they leave the Garden. Wear a bug costume, vote for your favorite bug. Design a good-bye card.
October 31 FINAL BIG BUGS DAY: Last chance to see the 13 giant BUG sculptures at the Garden. Enjoy the fall foliage, hike the Garden, learn about predators and pollinators, and build your own giant sculpture.
Classes:
Please contact the Registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3301 to register for programs, and visit www.newenglandWILD.org for full descriptions of programs
Thursday, Oct 16, 3:30-5:30 p.m THE GROUND WE WALK ON Children in Grades 2-5,: CHP5950, with Steven Scholom, $12M/$14NM per child (includes materials). Get down & dirty to identify healthy soils and discover helpful insects.
FRAMINGHAM, MA — Can you grow the ugliest tomato in Framingham? Bring your fresh picked “Ugliest Tomato” to the Framingham Farmers’ Market on Thursday, August 24th, 2006. Enter your homely homegrown for a chance to win a full basket of fresh farmer’s market products.
The winner will be selected by market-goers’ popular vote. So, if you don’t have a tomato, come anyway to vote and buy fresh produce, bakery, and maple products from 12:30 – 5:30 p.m.
The Framingham Farmers’ Market is held every Thursday afternoon, 12:30 – 5:30 p.m., on the Edgell Rd side of the Framingham Centre Common through October.
For information about the market and about the Ugliest Tomato Contest, speak to Elizabeth Aurelio, the market manager, or email her at: framinghammarket@comcast.net.
FRAMINGHAM, MA –The Middlesex Conservation District will be holding its annual Fall Bulb and Perennial Sale on Friday September 22 from 3-6 pm, and Saturday September 23 from 8am – 12 noon.
Pre-order through August 26
The Sale will be held at the 4H Fairgrounds on South Chelmsford Road in Westford, MA. All items can be pre-ordered through August 26 and picked up on the sale days – we encourage early ordering as all items are sold on a first come, first served basis. To place an order, you can download an order form from our website at www.middlesexconservation.org, or call 978-692-9395 to request a brochure. Offerings will include daffodils, tulips, specialty bulbs, perennials, and hardgoods such as deer repellent, kitchen scrap buckets, and fertilizers. We will also be selling excess first quality stock on the days listed above.
The Middlesex Conservation District is a not-for-profit environmental agency whose purpose is conservation of natural resources in Middlesex County. Proceeds from our biannual plant sales provide programs to improve water quality and quantity, for preservation of open space and erosion control and provide environmental education. For more information about our sale or programs please visit www.middlesexconservation.org.
This beautiful rare ladyslipper (C. reginae) is just one of the thousands of plants at the renowned New England Wild FLower Society plant sale.
FRAMINGHAM, MA – New England Wild Flower Society’s Garden in the Woods, premier native plant botanic garden and nursery is now open for the season.
View 1,500 native species in naturalistic habitat displays, including 200 rare and endangered species, and thousands of seasonal blooms on 45 acres.
All purchases and membership support the health of the natural environment. 180 Hemenway Road, Framingham, MA. (508) 877-7630.
SPRING HOURS: Open daily, April 15-June 15; 9 a.m.- 7 p.m.;
SUMMER HOURS: June 17-October 31st daily 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.
Admission: $7, Seniors: $5, Children and Young Adults (6-18 yrs): $3, Members and Children under 6: Free.
Tours daily at 10 except Sundays at 2, no reservations required. Museum Shop, plant nursery and 275 special courses and events.
Upcoming Events
FREE PLANT LECTURES:
May 7 (Sun) FREE 1pm Meet Carol Stocker of The Boston Globe signing and discussing her new book, The Boston Globe Illustrated New England Gardening Almanac. Purchase copies at the Museum Shop at Garden in the Woods, 180 Hemenway Road, Framingham. www.newfs.org. 508-877-7630.
Here are some of the woodland wildflowers in their Spring glory at New England Wild Flower Society's Garden in the Woods.
May 14 (Sun) FREE 1pm Tom Smarr, New England Wild Flower Society Horticulture Director lecture/demo “Great Wildflowers for the Woodland Garden” Afterwards he and his staff help with custom native plant selections.
May 21 (Sun) FREE 1pm Author and New England Wild Flower Society Nursery Director William (Bill) Cullina lecture/demo: “Top Ten Native Woody Plants for Landscaping” Afterwards he and staff help with custom native selection and book signing.
May 28 (Sun) and again June 18 FREE 1pm Tom Smarr, New England Wild Flower Society Horticulture director lecture/demo: “The best tools in the trade for planting, pruning, and plant care.”
PLAN AHEAD: PLANT SALE PREVIEW PARTY – Friday, June 9th 5-8 pm. Enjoy New England Wild Flower Society’s largest plant sale in the northeast, and an evening of earthly delights, music, tasty treats, expert advice, and perfect shopping without the crowds. $25 ticket benefits plant conservation and gains admission to an unforgettable garden evening.
Garden in the Woods, 180 Hemenway Road, Framingham. www.newfs.org. 508-877-7630. Reservations at cbennett@newfs.org.
(Photos Courtesy of New England Wild Flower Society).
FRAMINGHAM, MA – Celebrate Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, in Framingham at the Downtown Common and at Garden in the Woods.
From 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. there is free fun for families, children and adults at the Park Street Downtown Common, at the intersection of Concord and Howard Streets. Local artist, Nancie Handy, will coordinate art activities and games. Angie Fowler, Recycling Coordinator, will provide composting demonstrations with free information about building your own compost bin. Recycle ink jet cartridges, toner cartridges and cell phones at the event! Call 508-620-4900 for more information.
From noon until 4 p.m. visit the New England Wild Flower Society’s Garden in the Woods off Hemenway Rd. for their free Earth Day celebration. Enjoy Garden tours on the half-hour, scavenger hunts, wild flower seed plantings, Mother Earth’s juggling act at noon, conversations with Granny and Grandpa Granite. Enjoy famed nature illustrator, Gordon Morrison. Live Animal Shows at 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Call 508-877-7630 for details.
FRAMINGHAM, MA – Chef Vittorio Ettore of the highly acclaimed restaurant, Bistro 5, will perform a cooking demonstration on Thursday, August 11th, using the produce available fresh that day from Framingham’s own Farmers’ Market. Watch as Vittorio selects fresh produce directly from our farmers’ stands and prepares delectable dishes on the spot – right here on the Framingham Village Green! Vittorio will show you how to explore the versatility of our fresh, in-season produce and explain why he shops at Farmers’ Markets all season long. Leave the market ready to bring the best of our farmland to your own kitchen table.
FARMERS’ MARKET TASTING MENU, at BISTRO 5 – NIGHTLY – JULY – OCTOBER
Come celebrate our farmlands at Bistro 5 where every night throughout the season Chef Ettore and his team present a Farmers’ Market Tasting Menu. Bistro 5 is located at 5 Playstead Road, Medford, Massachusetts.
For more information about BISTRO 5, please call the restaurant at 781-395-7464.