Garden Study Weekend Symposium Saturday, September 12

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Master Class: Native Plant Seed Saving Workshop at The Fen in Sharon, CT

Presented by: Heather Liljengren

September 26 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Spend an afternoon in the stunning fields of The Fen in Sharon, Connecticut, with botanist and seed specialist Heather Liljengren for a hands-on workshop in native seed collection. Set within expansive, species-rich meadows on a calcareous fen, The Fen is a native seed farm and regenerative land project seldom open to the public. This off-site field day offers a rare opportunity to learn directly from a field botanist in a working landscape shaped by seasonal rhythms, native plant communities, and careful stewardship. Guided by Heather’s deep knowledge of plants and seed ecology, participants will learn how to recognize seed maturity, collect seed responsibly, and clean and prepare native seed for successful planting. Each participant will leave with native ecotype seed they have collected themselves, ready to plant in their own garden.

NOTE: This is an off-site program. Participants will meet at The Fen in Sharon, Connecticut.

Heather Liljengren is a botanist with 17 years of experience in native seed collection, field botany, and ecological restoration across New England and the Mid-Atlantic. She spent more than a decade as a Supervising Seed Collector and Field Taxonomist with the Greenbelt Native Plant Center of NYC Parks, managing the seed bank and seed collection program for restoration projects throughout New York City. Now based in Washington, Connecticut, Heather is the owner of LocalLand Consulting LLC, where she works with land trusts, farmers, landscape design firms, and homeowners to restore and steward native plant communities across the region.

The Fen is a small diversified farm and ecological restoration project cared for and stewarded by Matt Sheehan, whose hands-on work is rooted in a deep love of the land and its native plant communities. Located on a rare calcareous fen in Ecoregion 58, the farm produces native plant seed, craft willow, elderberry, and other perennial crops while serving as a living example of regenerative land stewardship. For this field day, Matt is generously opening The Fen to participants, offering a rare opportunity to experience a working landscape devoted to biodiversity, restoration, and connection with the natural world.

HHG Members $55

Non-members $65

REGISTRATION

Details

Date:
September 26
Time:
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Event Category:

Organizer

Hollister House Garden
Phone
860.868.2200
View Organizer Website

Venue

The Fen, Sharon, CT

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pagedickey.com | Instagram: page dickey

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Rod Pleasants and his partner Steve Godwin are owners of McIver Morgan Interior Design and Architecture and Godwin Residential Construction. Rod has been a resident of Washington CT for 20 years and has been an active member of the local community, serving on several Boards including New Milford Hospital and the Gunn Memorial Library. In 2013 he was named one of Litchfield’s 50 Most Influential People by Litchfield Magazine. His design interests have often involved landscape design for clients’ homes and he has developed a keen interest in gardening.

BILL NOBLE,
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billnoblegardens.com

SUSAN PAYSON BURKE,
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GEORGE SCHOELLKOPF,
President – Washington, CT

George Schoellkopf was born in 1942 in Dallas, Texas, where he battled as a child against the harsh Texas climate to make his first garden. He was educated in Connecticut at The Hotchkiss School and at Yale University. He also holds a master’s degree in Art History from Columbia University in New York City, where for many years he ran a gallery specializing in 18th and 19th century American antiques and folk art and was thus only able to garden on weekends. He now divides his time between Hollister House and Santa Barbara, CA. George has written articles on gardening in Town & Country, House & Garden, House Beautiful, Fine Gardening and Rosemary Verey’s The American Man’s Garden. George is a member of the Board of Directors of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and Lotusland in Santa Barbara California and an honorary member of the Washington, CT Garden Club.

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