Workshop: Tour & HT Activity – Acton Arboretum

Workshop

October 21, 2017
Tour & HT Activity: Acton Arboretum
2 Taylor Rd., Acton, MA 01720
www.actonarboretum.org
Lunch & Business Meeting:
Home of Cathy Fochtman
18 Wright Terrace, Acton, MA 01720

Agenda

• 9am – 10am Registration
• 10am – 11am Upper Grounds Tour
• 11am- 12:30pm Back 40 Tour and HT Activity
• 1pm – 2pm Lunch at Wright Hill
• 2pm – 3pm Business Meeting

Contact

Lorraine Brisson at [email protected] or call 413-268-3660(H)
Cathy Fochtman at [email protected] or call 978-502-6875(M)/978-263-5806(H)

Workshop Registration

Please e-mail or call to let us know you will be attending if you have not mailed your registration form in advance or register online by clicking below:

REGISTER ONLINE

 

Spotlight

The Acton Arboretum is situated on 65 acres of town conservation land in the heart of Town Center, Acton, Massachusetts. Each garden and collection in the Acton Arboretum is designed with a particular purpose in mind. The introduced trees and shrubs in the Arboretum are not arranged in a formal collection, but rather placed informally throughout the developed areas, especially among the gardens and collections. Overall, the arboretum’s management and continued development follows this “naturalistic” approach rather than a formalized planting scheme. Many factors are essential to understanding and developing our “naturalistic” arboretum, including the interaction and sustainability of various wildlife habitats and corridors and the diversity of topographical, hydrological, and geological elements in the area. The incorporation of universal design to host visitors of all abilities is an ongoing endeavor.

Today’s meeting will be an active walking tour led by Cathy Fochtman through this jewel of cultivated gardens and varied geological features. Points of interest on the Upper Grounds Tour will include a Crabapple Allee, Daylily Collection, Hosta Garden, Butterfly Garden, Herb Garden, Sun Pond, Rhododendren Collection, Understory Study Area, Fern Collection, Woodland Wildflower Collection, Fragrance Garden, and a new Alpine Rock Garden The Back 40 Tour continues through an upland forest leading down through an esker to a bog. The Arboretum’s bog boasts a new boardwalk offering opportunities to educate visitors about this unique ecosystem. The HT activity will be a stop along this tour to do a community service project. The Friends of the Acton Arboretum regularly facilitate volunteers of all abilities who perform service projects for the Arboretum.

Volunteering at the Acton Arboretum is fun, healthy and gratifying. People with all levels of ability volunteer, from scout troops, to religious organizations, autistic adults, high school students, and senior citizens. We have groups that meet April 1 to December 1 on Tuesdays from 2:30-4:30 and on Thursdays from 9-12 noon. All types of activities occur from weeding, shoveling, mulching, raking, pruning, planting, and watering. Activity level may be modified to ability. New volunteers email Acton Natural Resources Department [email protected] or call the Town of Acton Conservation office at 978-929-6634 if they would like to volunteer. Families and individuals may “adopt a tree” or a garden or boardwalk and tend to it on their own schedules. Tools are provided or volunteers may use their own. “If you want to help, we will put you to work!”

For more information on the Acton Arboretum please visit www.actonarboretum.org

Cathy Fochtman has been a member of the Friends of the Acton Arboretum Board of Directors since 2000. She has worked as Town of Acton Recreation Director since 2006 and obtained an HT certificate in 2013 from Horticultural Therapy Institute, Denver, Colorado. This training enhances her special interest in improving the lives of people through plants, nature and horticultural activities. For more information on Cathy Fochtman, please visit www.acton-ma.gov/recreation

We will meet at the Arboretum entrance gate, at the end of the parking lot. Registration will be at a nearby picnic table and light refreshments will be available.

The horticultural therapy activity topic at this workshop will be the botany and growing of fall planted /spring blooming bulbs. We will be examining “What is a bulb?” and planting some in the Acton Arboretum’s rain garden and under the Welcome Sign. The three varieties of bulbs to be highlighted can thrive in wet areas. Activity plan and sample bulbs will be distributed.

Narcissus ‘Actaea’

Camassia ‘Leichtlinii’

Snowflake Lecojum aestivum

Photos courtesy of Colorblends Wholesale Flowerbulbs.

We hope to see you at there!

At the conclusion of our Arboretum visit at 12:30 pm, we will travel to Cathy Fochtman’s home for lunch and our business meeting. Her Arts and Crafts bungalow was built in 1911 as a summer home for the Mead family of Belmont, MA and is situated at the top of Wright Hill in West Acton, surrounded by open meadows, forest and abundant wildlife. Visit the gardens and enjoy the home’s unique architecture.

See Google Map of Acton Arboretum here.

Directions to Acton Arboretum,
2 Taylor Rd., Acton, MA 01720

From Route 495

From Route 495, take Route 2 East (Exit 29A). Take the MA-27 N exit, EXIT 42, toward ACTON. Turn left onto MA-27/Main St. Proceed 0.76 mile and turn right onto Taylor Rd.  Take second entrance on the left to park at the Acton Arboretum.

From Route 128/95

Take Route 2 West from Route 128/95 (Exit 29B) and continue 6.8 miles to the Concord Prison Rotary. Stay on Route 2 W through the rotary and continue another 0.6 miles to the lights at the intersection of Route 2 and Taylor Road. Turn right here and take Taylor Road about 0.75 miles to the Arboretum entrance on the right. Look for the sign at the entrance.

Directions to Lunch at 18 Wright Terrace, Acton, MA 01720

Map of 18 Wright Terrace
https://goo.gl/maps/Hmfd1kKvKYu

From the Acton Arboretum parking lot, take a right onto Taylor Rd. and make a left onto MA-27/Main Street.  Go 1 mile south to the traffic light at Massachusetts Ave./Route 111 and make a right.  Take Mass Ave. 2 miles to the traffic light at Central Street.  Continue straight and after passing Mead Terrace, make a right onto Wright Terrace. 18 Wright Terrace is located at the end of a steep hill, through a stone walled gate.  As pictured on the right photo above, cars can park on the circular driveway (on the right side when going counter clockwise) or head-in on the field before the driveway.