How Does Your Garden Grow?

The recent warm weather has given most of us a serious case of spring fever; perhaps no one more so than the amateur gardener.  If you find yourself just itching to get out and play in the dirt, you may want to catch the next lecture in Grow Native Massachusetts' Evenings with Experts series.  The five lecture series, which is being partially sponsored by the Friends of CPL, is being presented at the Main Library on the first Wednesday of each month from 7:00 until 8:30.  On April 4 Ellen Sousa, author of The Green Garden, will speak on the topic Our Native Pollinators:Intriguing Insects and More.

Grow Native Massachusetts is a 3 year old nonprofit focused on education at the community level and working to engage people in action on behalf of native plants and the diversity of life that they support. Their lecture series got its start in 2010 when nationally acclaimed Doug Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home, spoke on the the importance of our gardens to ecosystem health. Last year Grow Native expanded the series to five lectures, and the response was so positive that they have organized another five for this year.

President Claudia Thompson says, "The importance of native plants to our landscapes is something that is just starting to be appreciated, and the science behind it is relatively new, especially Doug's work on the role of insects."  Her organization's motto is "Every garden matters - Every landscape counts."

We hope that you will be able to catch the lecture on April 4.  If not, you have two more chances to hear the experts.  On May 2 Wayne Mezitt, Chairman of Weston Nurseries, will present Sexual Secrets: Tales of Species, Seedlings, and Sports.  On June 6 you can hear about The Rare Plants of Massachusetts from Bryan Connolly, Massachusetts State Botanist.

To learn more about these lectures or Grow Native in general, you can visit  their website at www.grownativemass.org .  And don't forget to save some time on June 10th for the Friends' Secret Gardens of Cambridge tour!

There are always great things happening at the library! For more information on how you can get involved with the Friends and help to support our Cambridge libraries click here.