Dear Members,

We are excited to announce that for the first time, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is recognizing the importance of seed-grown native plants for habitat restoration! We, and our collaborators in New York and South Carolina, have received funding to collect seeds of coastal plants for use in restoration projects at federal wildlife refuges hit hard by Hurricane Sandy and other recent storms. The federal funding requires a match from us of $100,000, and your Annual Fund gift today will help ensure we receive the full grant award and can provide the wildlife refuges with all the native plants they need. Thank you for helping support this important, large-scale restoration project.

The staff of New England Wild Flower Society

Germination Trials

In seed banking, germination trials are critical to our analysis of the stored seed's long-term viability. Trials involve plating samples onto filter paper, or agar, within a glass Petrie dish. All plating materials are sterilized, including the seed's exterior. Depending on the species, seed is then moved to either cold-storage for vernalization or is placed in an incubation chamber, with controlled light and temperature. Recently, one of our collections of Liatris novae-angliae var. novae-angliae (northern blazing star) underwent a germination trial and showed high viability.

Station Park Native Plant Garden

The Society's Horticulture staff occasionally provides contracted landscape design services for clients looking to install native plant gardens. This summer, our Chester B. Allen, Jr., Native Plant Propagation and Horticulture Intern, Lauren Weeks, will be working on just such a project for the Lincoln Garden Club at Station Park, a beautiful public landscape the Club maintains in downtown Lincoln, MA.

Weekend Gardening Series

Learn essential gardening skills this summer at Garden in the Woods. In these instructor-led demonstrations, our horticultural professionals will show you how to get beautiful results in your garden using native plants. Topics include: Managing Invasive Plants, Choosing the Right Plant, Planting, Pruning, Composting, and Managing Insects and Diseases. Sign-up for one or take them all.

Special Garden Shop Discounts for Members

Summer flowers are a-bloom at our Garden Shops at Nasami Farm and Garden in the Woods! Enliven your garden with pollinator-loving native plants at a special discount. Members take an extra 10% off when purchasing 3 or more shrubs, trees, or vines...or 5 or more herbaceous perennials. Contact: (508) 877-7630 x3209.

Intern Walk and Service to the Society Awards

Volunteers, along with Contributor, Supporter, Sustainer, and Conservation Circle members, are invited to the 2015 Intern Walk. Meet the next generation when this year's interns showcase their conservation and horticulture projects. We are delighted to announce that the 2015 Service to the Society Awards will be presented to Chris Gradijan and Ervina Hamilton at a luncheon before the intern presentations. RSVP: (508) 877-7630 x3104

Great NonProfits

We were "great" in 2014, thanks to you, and we can do it again this year...our 115th anniversary! Write an online review and help us achieve the GreatNonprofits' 2015 Top-Rate NonProfit award. All reviews submitted before October 31 will count toward their assessment. If you've never written a review before, we hope this will be your first of many. Thank you!

Seasonal Changes

Visitation hours for our world renowned botanic garden, Garden in the Woods, are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. through the end of the 2015 season. Our special extended hours on spring Thursdays ended July 2, and now we have the same opening hours on all days; Tuesdays through Sundays.

Free Fun Friday

Funded by the Highland Street Foundation, Free Fun Fridays offer visitors no cost admission to many of the most treasured cultural venues in Massachusetts, including our Garden in the Woods on Friday, July 31. Given the large number of participants for these free days, and as recommended by the Foundation, we ask groups to call in advance to ensure we can accommodate them. Contact: (508) 877-7630 x3303.

" 'Till and keep' the garden of the world."

In the "Laudato si'" encyclical released on June 18, Pope Francis called for "a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet." And he urgently requested action to save our planet that "groans in travail" and exhibits "symptoms of sickness...in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life." Executive Director, Debbi Edelstein, wrote a blog recommending that "all of us who care about the planet, about biodiversity, about the distribution of resources across the world" read the Pope's statement.

Give Us an Hour

We need volunteers to participate in a fun exercise to help us develop a new web site. If you would like to devote an hour to the project, email Rachel Wolff Lander to schedule your session. Take the opportunity to spend a lovely summer day at Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA, with a free pass for a guest as well.

Don't forget to add membership@newenglandwild.org
to your address book so we'll be sure to land in your inbox!