Blog at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill

Category - Any Category - Art Exhibits Community Connections Environment and Sustainability Exhibitions and Events Garden in Action Horticulture Learning People

Rebuilding Worcester’s Urban Forest One Tree at a Time

“It’s the moment of truth,” Seth Libby says to Jackie Harris as he sets down his shovel and grabs hold of the trunk of a small eastern redbud tree. He... Read more

A Spring Ephemeral Walk Through the Inner Park

It’s a brisk spring morning. Sunlight beams onto the leaf litter lining the forest floor as gardener Ellen Scheid leads the way through New England Botanic Garden’s Inner Park. This... Read more

Volunteers contribute to the life of the Garden

When Leslie Duthie’s two daughters were young, spring meant a trip to Hartford’s wholesale garden market. Leslie would give the girls, Stephanie and Monica, free reign to explore whatever they... Read more

The secrets of spring’s earliest early blooms

There’s nothing quite as cheer-inducing as finding the sunny blooms of winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) suddenly dotting an otherwise dreary late winter garden. Well into March, these buttercup relatives in... Read more

Orchids don’t like ice cubes, and other must-knows about one of the planet’s most fascinating plant families

Dendrobiums are among the thousands of orchids on display at the Garden’s annual orchid exhibition. A snowstorm started to ramp up as the horticulturists and gardeners at New England Botanic... Read more

Inside the Conservatories, Part II: Keeping It Growing

In its natural habitat, the vigorously growing banana plant can unfurl its large leaves in a matter of days. Each leaf, long and fan-like when it finally meets the tropical... Read more

Inside the Conservatories, Part I: A Tale of Two Houses  

Early each morning, long before visitors arrive, a member of the Garden’s “conservatory crew,” a team made up of horticulturist Meg Varnes and gardeners Brooke Harris and Greg Farrington, hoses... Read more

For the birds: “Winter interest” plants that appeal to our feathered friends

The longest, darkest, coldest season is upon us. If you’re not a winter lover, your garden can help get you through it if you design with winter in mind. What... Read more

One-of-a-kind gnomes of Gnomevember

Creating “Sylvia” was no quick task for area artist S.E. Clark. In a video (see below), Clark walks viewers through the multi-day process of painstakingly layering paints to transform a... Read more

Illuminating the magic behind Night Lights 2022

Swirling strands of rope lights. One hundred feet of rainbow. Uplighting, spotlighting, dripping icicle lights, bottle flowers, orbs, starbursts, and dancing fairy lights illuminating trees. You name it. We’ve got... Read more

Stewarding a greener garden: How our electric equipment transitions are leading the way

It’s 8AM at the Garden. There are no visitors yet. Sprinklers quietly sputter and spray as the voices of volunteers chatting with horticulture staff about morning tasks carry over the... Read more

Back to school, Growing Green brings climate and sustainability lessons to Worcester classrooms

From a young age many of us may learn the basics about trees and the water cycle, but it’s not often that environmental issues are thoroughly discussed as early as... Read more