It has been stupidly hot here – last week’s heat wave brought us up to 95 or 96F, plus this week has been your bog-standard midsummer “in the 80s and humid.” (That’s 30-35 C, for you metric lovers). As much as possible, I’m trying to stay inside – I have a lot of repotting to do, and I can do that in my cool plant dungeon basement! But unfortunately that’s not always possible…

Can you believe it’s already June – and almost July? April felt interminable (“the cruelest month”; thanks T.S. Eliot), May had a slow start, but June has flown by. Maybe because it’s the busiest time of the year! … My entire life right now is potting up plants that I winter sowed; pls halp. Speaking of winter sowing, finally some of our winter sown plants are big enough to sell! We also had a generous donation of plants from a friend of the nursery, Ginny, who has been a huge supporter since day 1.

Hello, friends of RTG! We’re moving into June, and I wanted to update you on upcoming markets and new resources on the website. Next Market(s) Our next scheduled market is Saturday, June 15, 2024, from 9am - 2pm, at Montuori Fleamarket at 186 Massachusetts Ave. Some of the plants we plan to have available there include: Yarrow (multi-hued cultivar) - Achillea millefolium - $5/plug Wild bergamot/bee-balm - Monarda fistulosa - $5 per plug; 10 for a quart Spotted bee-balm - Monarda punctata - $5/plug Swamp/rose milkweed - Asclepias incarnata - $5/plug Broad-leaved mountain mint - Pycnanthemum muticum - $5/plug We also have starts of tomatoes (slicing, sauce, and cherry varieties), peppers (both hot and bell), and herbs.

We changed our site description, so it’s official – we’re now open for business! “When can I visit?” As we don’t have a storefront, currently we are selling plants in two ways: 1) at markets and events, and 2) by order for pickup. “What’s your next event?” We are planning to attend these two events: Framingham Spring Fest, May 4, 2024, at Downtown Common, 2 Park Street, Framingham, MA, 12pm-4pm. (Facebook event) Montuori Flea Market, May 11, 2024, 186 Mass Ave in Lunenburg, MA.

The big news is that we’ll be at two events coming up in April and May. The first is this weekend: Fitchburg Earth Day, April 21, 2024, from 12pm to 3pm at Riverfront Park in Fitchburg, MA. We’ll be there as part of Grow Native Massachusetts’ “pop-up market.” Come plant some seeds of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and take them home with you! We’ll also have some select native and garden herbs to sell, but it’s still too early for most of our stock.

Spring is fast approaching, and we have been busy here at Red Trillium Gardens! Did you notice our new look? RaigeMage wrapped up our logo and banner design last week, and this week I’ve finally been able to implement it! (Being a former web developer helps!) My guidance to him was “Art Deco trillium,” and I think he’s done a bang-up job of capturing that. If you see any infelicities with the site associated with those changes, do let me know!

Next up on our list of planted species alphabetically is Ageratina altissima, or white snakeroot. … I feel a bit intimidated tackling this one, as it’s the first member of the Asteraceae family that I’ve written about. Asteraceae is an enormous and complex family – but we’ll get to that. By the Numbers Species: Ageratina altissima (formerly Eupatorium rugosum) Common name(s): white snakeroot, richweed, white sanicle Family: Asteraceae Seed source(s):

We now have socials! If you haven’t already, please give us a like/follow on Facebook or Instagram. We also now have an email newsletter! It sends on Tues, Thurs, and Sat evenings if there’s a new blog post to show. Right now we’re averaging about 1 email a week. We have hired RaigeMage to make a more professional logo and header for us. I’m excited by what I’ve seen so far, and I’m excited to see the final result!

“Native” has become a buzzword in the world of botany and horticulture, and I guess I’m contributing to it! Suddenly a bunch of people who didn’t care where their plants came from are ready to lionize one group of plants and villainize another. But what does “native” actually mean? This is a question that Mark Richardson and Dan Jaffe attempt to answer at the beginning of Native Plants for New England Gardens:

One of the things we’re sowing right now is Agalinis tenuifolia, a tiny-but-mighty late summer flower. What makes this one unique is the fact that it’s hemiparasitic, meaning it’s (partially) a PLANT VAMPIRE. Like Bunnicula. But pinker. And only a part-timer. Agalinis tenuifolia, a small pink and red-spotted flower with petals fused into a tube and slender, spear-like leaves. I found this one on a path leading between a campsite and the beach.