Chapters in Connecticut

In 1962, Spicebush Swamp Park was West Hartford’s first park to be set aside as a natural area for nature study and walking, and as a 33-acre outdoor classroom for schools to use. Later, in 1968, McGovern Pond was created in the park by excavating an area of approximately one acre.  The West Hartford Garden Club's Civic Project Committee has made the restoration and preservation of Spicebush Swamp Park its key long-term ecological project. In 2020, the garden club upgraded a rundown garden near the park sign with native pollinator plantings. During 2020 and 2021, that work continued. Beginning in 2022, an area further inside the property was restored through the removal of invasive plants and installation of a bird sanctuary garden designed with native trees, shrubs, and herbaceous perennials, all with the help of Master Gardeners and volunteers from local Sierra Club and other community and municipal groups. A group has continued to meet for about 2 hours most weeks throughout the year at Spicebush, and periodically on weekend dates, to identify and tag remnant native plants, remove invasive plants, manage the pollinator and bird sanctuary gardens, install new native plantings, and set priorities for the future. A new wet meadow, funded in part by a Hartford Audubon Society grant, will be installed this fall. We hope to install interpretive educational signage and to improve plant labeling. The terrain is uneven in places, the area is subject to flooding, the invasives are formidable, and it is heavy work. However, we enjoy the birds, the insects, the native flora, and the beauty of this natural setting.  The walk will be led by Beth Ann Loveland Sennett.  

A small parking lot is located just north of the intersection of Mountain Road with Farmington Avenue.  

Free and open to the public.  Registration is requested to aid planning.

Questions?  Contact Beth Ann Loveland Sennett by text (860-729-4150) or email ([email protected])

Kim Eierman is the founder of EcoBeneficial LLC, an eco landscape design company. She  also teaches at the New York Botanical Garden, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Native Plant Center, and the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.

In addition, she is the author of the book “The Pollinator Victory Garden-Win the War on Pollinator Decline with Ecological Gardening; Attract and Support Bees, Beetles, Butterflies, Bats and Other Pollinators.”

Join Wild Ones and Audubon Birdcraft for an informative and lively evening.  Ms. Eierman is an engaging and knowledgeable speaker. She loves questions, so bring them on!  She will have her book for sale and will happily sign it for you. 

This program is free, but registration is necessary as spaces are limited.

This is the first day of our annual plant sale pre-order pickup and walk-in sale.   You can log into your account at the plant sale website to see a copy of your order(s).  We suggest that you drive in and pick up your order first, then park and explore the walk-in sale at leisure. 

WALK-IN SALE: Both commercially grown and member-donated plants will be available on a first come, first served basis during pick-up hours.  We expect to have a large variety of local ecotype forbs, grasses, sedges and ferns including species and sizes not available for advance ordering. There will also be some woody plants.  Wild Ones and Arboretum volunteers will be on hand to help you find the right plant for the right place in your landscape.  Planting instructions, sample garden designs and suggested guilds of compatible plants for multilayered plantings will be available. 

Cash, check or credit card payments will be accepted. (Sorry but we do not accept e-payments.)   Come early for the best selection! 

Contact [email protected] with questions or if there are specific native plants you are interested in purchasing this year. 

This is the second and last day of our annual plant sale pre-order pickup and walk-in sale.   You can log into your account at the plant sale website to see a copy of your order(s).  We suggest that you drive in and pick up your order first, then park and explore the walk-in sale at leisure. 

WALK-IN SALE: Both commercially grown and member-donated plants will be available on a first come, first served basis during pick-up hours.  We expect to have a large variety of local ecotype forbs, grasses, sedges and ferns including species and sizes not available for advance ordering. There will also be some woody plants.  Wild Ones and Arboretum volunteers will be on hand to help you find the right plant for the right place in your landscape.  Planting instructions, sample garden designs and suggested guilds of compatible plants for multilayered plantings will be available. 

Cash, check or credit card payments will be accepted. (Sorry but we do not accept e-payments.)   Come early for the best selection! 

Contact [email protected] with questions or if there are specific native plants you are interested in purchasing this year. 

Come along on a guided walk, led by Lydia Pan, through areas that are being planted and managed to augment wild populations of native species.  Learn how native plants disperse their seeds, how to know when seeds are ripe, how to gather them sustainably without harming wild populations and prepare them for storage or sowing.  You will leave with several different types of seeds to try sowing at home.  Bring garden snips, empty envelopes or small paper bags to hold each type of seed, a pen or pencil for labeling envelopes and a shopping bag to carry everything with you.   (We will have some extra envelopes and bags.)

This program is co-hosted by the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center and Wild Ones.  Open to the public, but preregistration is required since space is limited.

DPNC Members: $8.50, Non-members: $10