Native Plant Trust - Garden in the Woods

Search again Edit this page
United States of America - Massachusetts - Framingham

Institution Code: NEWF

BGCI Member: Yes

About the Native Plant Trust - Garden in the Woods

New England Wild Flower Society’s Garden in the Woods is New England's premier wildflower showcase and is accredited by the American Association of Museums. Begun in 1931, the Garden has grown through the years and now encompasses a collection of more than 1500 native species and cultivars of which 150 are rare and endangered. Located 20 miles west of Boston, from April and May’s spring ephemerals to summer’s blooming meadow through October’s fiery foliage, the Garden displays an ever-changing tapestry of flowers and foliage.



Founded in 1900, New England Wild Flower Society is the oldest plant conservation organization in the United States. Through our leadership, the Society protects native plants and their habitats with the goal of ensuring that they will exist in vigorous populations within healthy, evolving ecosystems and of engaging a broad range of people to actively promote and protect them in the wild and in their gardens.

Main Address:
Native Plant Trust - Garden in the Woods
180 Hemenway Road
Framingham
Massachusetts 01701-2699 United States of America

Telephone: (508) 877-7630
Fax: (508) 877-3658
URL: www.nativeplanttrust.org
Primary Email: information@NativePlantTrust.org

Staff Details

  • Director's Name: Debbi Edelstein, Executive Director
    Curator's Name: Michael R. Piantedosi, Director of Conservation
    Plant Records Officer's Name: Melanie Kenney, Plant Records Coordinator
  • Total Staff:
    Horticultural Staff Number: 3
    Educational Staff Number: 2
    Research Staff Number: 6
    Administration Staff Number: 9

About the Garden

  • Institution Type: Botanic Garden
  • Status
  • Status: Private: Yes
    Status: Educational: Yes
  • Date founded: 1931
  • Physical Data
  • Natural Vegetation Area: Yes
    Natural vegetation area: Size: 10 Hectares
  • Landscaped Area: Yes
    Landscaped Area: Size: 8 Hectares
  • Total Area: 18 Hectares
    Latitude: 42.3409959
    Longitude: -71.4275150
    Altitude: 0.00 Metres

Features and Facilities

  • Herbarium: Yes
    Arboretum: No
  • Micropropagation/ Tissue Culture Facilities: No
    Seed Bank: Yes
    Published Plant Catalogue: No
    Computer Plant Record System: Yes
  • Open to public: Yes
    Friends society: Yes
    Retail Outlet: Shop: Yes
    Retail Outlet: Plant Sales: Yes
    Disabled access: Yes
  • Number of Visitors: 20000
    Number of Volunteers: 230

Plant Collections

  • Accession Number: 4807
    Cultivation Taxa Num: 1569

Conservation Programmes

  • Conservation Programme: Yes
    Medicinal Plant Programme: Yes
    Ex Situ Conservation Programme: Yes
    Reintroduction Programme: Yes

Research Programmes

  • Biotechnology: No
    Plant Breeding: Yes
    Conservation - Biology: Yes
    Conservation - Genetics: No
    Data Management Systems and Information Technology: Yes
    Ecology: Yes
    Ecosystem Conservation: Yes
    Education: Yes
    Ethnobotany: Yes
    Exploration: Yes
    Floristics: No
    Invasive Species Biology and Control: Yes
    Molecular Genetics: No
    Pollination Biology: Yes
    Restoration Ecology: Yes
    Seed/Spore Biology: Yes
    Sustainability: Yes
    Pharmacology: No
    Agriculture: Yes
    Land Restoration: Yes
    Urban Environments: Yes

Education Programmes

  • Visitor/Education Centre: Yes
    Education Signs in Garden: Yes
    Public Lectures/Talks: Yes
    Education Booklets/Leaflets: Yes
    Guided Tours: Yes
    Permanent Public Displays: Yes
    Special Exhibitions: Yes
    Courses for School Children: Yes
    Courses for University/College Students: No
    Courses for General Public: Yes
    Education Programme: Yes

Meadow restoration in New England

The New England Wild Flower Society - Garden in the Woods - conducts land survey, removes invasive plants, and monitors rare plant species throughout the New England states.   The conservation department and the horticulture department work together on the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge restoration project in Sudbury, MA. The Rice’s Barn meadow is an extensive, sloping former farm field with both upland and wetland sections. In the past, it was infested with glossy buckthorn and other invasive shrubs that the Refuge has successfully controlled. A variety of native shrubs have been planted to improve habitat for native birds.
 
Future plans at NEWFS, include the use of the nursery operation more effectively for restoration projects.  The Garden will be collecting seed from known provenance and propagating these plants for contract grown projects.  We will also work with people who can affect change, such as conservation managers and conservation commissions to promote the use of specific known provenance native plants.