Somerville Garden Club

June 23, 2019
by Head Gardener
Comments Off on Meeting – July 10

Meeting – July 10

Please Note. This presentation has been postponed. Instead, we will be watching some video highlights from British horticulturist Monty Don at the July 10 Meeting.

Ants in the City: The role of ants in urban landscapes

Insects are a fundamental part of ecosystems, making up the base of food chains and providing a wide range of ecosystem services. Recent research from around the globe suggests we may be losing our insect populations at a disturbing rate. However there is also reason to believe urban green spaces could play an important role in insect conservation, if managed correctly. Ants play a wide variety of roles in ecosystems, from aerating soil to dispersing seeds to decomposing waste and controlling pest populations. How can we manage our urban green spaces to protect these important insects? We will discuss recent work on ant diversity and habitat structure in green spaces in the Boston area and what this work can teach us about conserving our local ant fauna.

Amy Mertl, has long been fascinated by the underlying patterns structuring the evolution and ecology of diverse insect groups. Currently she teaches Biology, Animal Behavior, Botany, and Ecology and Natural History at Lesley University where she is an Assistant Professor of Biology. Her present research involves investigating the diversity, ecology and structure of ant and termite communities in New England forests. This project engages Lesley students and community members in citizen science projects. Amy also has a background in using film and video as educational tools. She has co-produced several short documentaries, including “Ants”, an award-winning short film on her favorite tiny subjects. Amy holds a BS from the University of Minnesota and a PhD from Boston University.

All Somerville Garden Club meetings are free and open to the public. 7-9pm. Meetings are held the at the Tufts Administration Building, (TAB), 167 Holland Street, second floor, wheelchair accessible. Parking is available, and the building is a ten-minute walk from the Davis Square MBTA stop.

May 29, 2019
by Eleanor Ramsay
Comments Off on Meeting – June 12, 2019

Meeting – June 12, 2019

Native Plants for Shady Gardens, Groundcovers, and Lawn Alternatives throughout the Growing Season

David Falk, owner of Wild City Gardens and David Falk Gardening, in Somerville, MA will give a talk about using native plants in shady gardens, as groundcovers, and an alternative to the labor-intensive, grass lawn. Discover the shade plants native to the greater Boston area to create gardens that are beautiful, ecologically alive, sustainable, low maintenance throughout the growing season, and suitable for the spectrum of our difficult urban conditions.  His passion is to focus on cleaning and healing soils and ecosystems, relying on plants to do most of the work.  His goal is to use the simplest, most direct, and least expensive techniques to deal with the difficulties of an urban setting while trying to improve the ecology of our region.

David Falk, a Somerville resident, is a horticulturalist, garden professional and artist. After studying philosophy in both undergrad and grad school, he found his way back to working with the earth and with art. His love for gardening started with his mother, who was a garden professional at the NY Botanical Garden for 20 + years. He has worked at the Arnold Arboretum and in landscaping and then started his own business in Somerville offering smaller scale, personalized organic gardening services. He is currently a horticulturist at Garden in the Woods, the botanical garden of the New England Wildflower Society.
All Somerville Garden Club meetings are free and open to the public. 7-9pm. Meetings are held the at the Tufts Administration Building, (TAB), 167 Holland Street, second floor, wheelchair accessible. Parking is available, and the building is a ten-minute walk from the Davis Square MBTA stop.