Upcoming Events

Lexington Living Landscapes-sponsored events


Creating and Enhancing Native Bee Habitat in Your Garden with Heather Holm

Tuesday, March 26, 7:00 – 8:30 pm

 

Presented by Lexington Living Landscapes with generous funding from the Lexington Field and Garden Club.

 

There is a great deal that home gardeners can do to provide habitat for our native bees without sacrificing other garden goals. When creating and managing thriving habitats for native bees, many factors such as seasonal phenology, nesting strategies, and flower preferences must be considered – and with approximately 3,600 species in North America (north of Mexico), there are many unique aspects to keep in mind when managing successful landscapes for bees.


Join Heather as she explores the nesting habitats, life cycles, pollen collection, brood rearing, and general characteristics of some of the most common native bees in eastern North America, while highlighting the pollination of native plants and the mutualism between native plants and native bees. Learn about pollen specialists, the presentation of floral resources, and how the physical characteristics of bees can influence their effectiveness as pollinators. Heather will also discuss ways to manage gardens and other small landscapes to enhance bee diversity, plant selection considerations, and ultimately how to think like a bee!

 

Heather Holm is a pollinator conservationist and award-winning author of four books: Pollinators of Native Plants (2014), Bees (2017), Wasps (2021), and Common Native Bees of the Eastern United States (2022). Both Bees and Wasps have won multiple book awards including the American Horticultural Society Book Award (2018 and 2022 respectively). Heather’s expertise includes the interactions between native pollinators and native plants, and the natural history and biology of native bees and predatory wasps. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Minneapolis Star Tribune, and many local publications. Heather is also an accomplished photographer and her pollinator photos are frequently featured in print and electronic publications.

Heather is a National Honorary Director of Wild Ones and serves on the boards of the Friends of Cullen Nature Preserve and Bird Sanctuary and Friends of Minnetonka Parks. In her spare time, she is an active community supporter, writing grants, and coordinating and participating in volunteer ecological landscape restoration projects. The latest project is a 13-acre oak savanna restoration that will provide thriving habitat for pollinators, birds, mammals, and passive, nature-based opportunities for people. ​ 

 

To register for this event, click here. The presentation will not be recorded.

Our 4th Annual Native Pollinator Plant Sale


Sales ongoing from March 14 until all kits are sold

Plant pickup Saturday, May 11 @Lexington DPW 

 

Native plants are essential for pollinators and for the health of our ecosystems. Building on three years of successful sales (close to 4,000 native plants sold!), Lexington Living Landscapes and the Lexington Conservation Office will again bring you Native Pollinator Plants for sale this spring. 2024 options include: a Sun Kit with plants that thrive in sun to partial sun and a Shade Kit with plants that prefer filtered light to shade, and six species of "A la carte" (single plants). Both kit options include three plants each of four different species for a total of twelve beautiful, healthy plants. This  kit and a la carte species are listed below, with bloom time in parentheses). 


The plants are grown at a certified organic New England native perennial farm in New Hampshire and come in quart size biodegradable pots. All of the species are either native to Middlesex County or on Dr. Robert Gegear’s list of native species for at-risk pollinators in New England. The plant kits are sold at a highly discounted price of $83 each, while the individual a la Carte plants are $7.25 each. The sale opens online on Tuesday March 14 for Lexington residents and on Tuesday, Mar21 for non-residents. Payment is by credit card only.  The plants will become available for pick-up on Saturday May 11 at the Lexington DPW, which is located at 201 Bedford Street. To participate in this sale, please set up a Town of Lexington MyRec account ahead of time at:  https://lexrecma.myrec.com/info/default.aspx. To order, scroll down to Conservation under Programs. For any questions, please contact us at lexlivingland@gmail.com or acarr@lexingtonma.gov.  

Sun kits (3 plants each of these 4 species for $83)

Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea); (spring)

Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis); (summer)

Slender Mountain Mint  (Pycnanthemum tenuifoliium); (summer)

Sweet Goldenrod (Solidago odora); (fall)


Shade kits (3 plants each of these 4 species for $83)

Foam Flower  (Tiarella cordifolia); (spring)

Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis); (spring to early summer)

Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum); (spring to summer)

Heart-leaved Aster (Symphyotricum cordifolium); (fall)


A la carte species ($7.25 per plant for these 6 species)

1. Northern Blue Flag (Iris versicolor); (spring)

2. Pink Tickseed (Coreopsis rosea); (summer)

3. Foxglove Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis); (summer)

4. Woodbine  (Clematis virginiana); (fall)

5. Smooth Blue Aster (Aster laevis); (fall)

6. Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica); (spring)

Sun kit (top) and shade kit (bottom)

Iris versicolor

Coreopsis rosea

Penstemon digitalis

Clematis virginiana

Aster laevis

Carex pensylvanica

Other events of interest - All events are online unless otherwise indicated. 

 

March 28, 7:30 pm

Diversity Underground: Ecological Gardening with Groundcovers for Soil Health and Climate Resilience with Rachel Neurath. Lincoln Land Conservation Trust. More info here.

 

April 2, 6:00 – 7:30 pm

Fundamentals of Pollinator Gardening with Nick Dorian. West Newbury Wild & Native and Essex County Greenbelt. More info here.

 

April 2, 7:15 pm

Native Lawn Alternatives with Alexis Doshas. Lincoln Garden Club. Online and in person in Lincoln, Mass. More info here.

 

April 3, 12:00 – 1:00 pm

“Drop-In” Brown Bag Lunch with the Mass. Pollinator Network. More info here.

 

April 3, 7:00 – 8:30 pm

Planting for Climate Resilience with Andrea Berry. In person at the Cambridge Public Library. Grow Native Massachusetts. More info here.


April 9, 7:30 – 9:00 pm

Invasive Plant Roundtable 2 at the monthly meeting of the Mystic Charles Pollinator Pathways Group. More info here.

 

April 10, 5:00 – 6:00 pm

Protecting Our Night Skies, Mass. Sierra Club Advocacy Hour. More info here.

 

April 10, 7:00 – 8:30 pm

Resilient Landscapes for a Changing Climate with Trevor Smith. Massachusetts Pollinator Network. More info here.

 

April 11, 12:00 – 1:00 pm

Building Resilient Landscapes with Dan Jaffe Wilder. Mass. Association of Conservation Commissions. More info here.

 

April 11, 7:00 – 8:30 pm

Coexisting with Coyotes in Suburban Communities with Dave Wattles. Newton Conservators.  More info here.


April 18, 6:00 – 7:00 pm

Native Edibles for Cities with Dan Jaffe Wilder. Native Plant Trust. Fee. More info here.


April 18, 7:00 pm

Ecological Approaches to Garden Design and Management with Harland Patch. Connecticut Horticultural Society. Fee. More info here.

 

April 20, 9 am – 4 pm

Transforming The Landscape: Audubon Native Plants and Pollinators Symposium. Audubon Society of Rhode Island. In person in Providence. Fee. More info here.


April 22 and following

Gardening for Pollinators. An online, self-paced course from the Native Plant Trust. Fee. More info here.


April 24, 7:00 – 8:00 pm

Rethinking Gardening with the Wild Seed Project. York Public Library. More info here.

 

April 25, 6:30 – 8:00 pm

Native Plants and Birds in New England with Evan Dalton. Native Plant Trust. Fee. More info here.

 

May 8, 7:00 – 8:30 pm

Gardening Among Hungry Mammals with Nancy Lawson. Grow Native Massachusetts. More info here.


May 20, 7:00 – 8:30 pm

Ecological Gardening 101: How to Select, Install, and Care for Native Plants with Mary Chieppo. Grow Native Massachusetts. Fee. More info here.

 

May 22, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Wild Edibles of Lexington’s Waysides with Russ Cohen. Citizens for Lexington Conservation. In person at Lincoln Park, Lexington. More info here.


May 23, 1:00 – 2:00 pm

In the Life of Nocturnal Pollinators with Emily May. Xerces Society. More info here.