Hello, native plant friends – and especially those newcomers who joined at the Fitchburg Market! I’ve just got a few announcements for you today. Next market: Ashby We will be at the Ashby Farmers’ Market this weekend: Sunday, July 28, from 9am to noon, on the Ashby Common (1 South Rd), Ashby, MA. We plan to have a sampling of most everything on our availability list. Please email lise@redtrilliumgardens.com to reserve specific plants for pickup at this market.

We got rained out last weekend for Leominster Farmers’ Market. Sad, but at least I got to trial my new vehicle packing solution! More details on that below, but the first order of business is… Upcoming Markets We will be at the Fitchburg and Ashby Farmers’ Market this weekend! Fitchburg Farmers’ Market: Saturday, July 13, 2024, 10am-1pm, Upper Common, Fitchburg, MA Ashby Farmers’ Market: Sunday, July 14, 2024, Ashby Town Common (1 South Rd), Ashby, MA, from 9am to noon.

I have a very short announcement for you today: in the past week, we’ve been approved to setup at the Leominster, Fitchburg, AND Ashby Farmers’ Markets. Here are the details – If you use Facebook, you can indicate your interest in the events using the links below. Leominster Farmers’ Market: 1st Saturday of the month through October, in Monument Square, Leominster, MA, from 11am to 2pm. We plan to be there 7/6, 8/3, 9/7, and 10/5 of 2024.

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):