Member Highlight with Rie Macchiarolo Written by: ELA Director, Mads McELgunn, MA This month, ELA is proud to announce a new newsletter segment focusing on our wonderful members and community….
Featured Members
Congratulations to ELA’s 500th Member!
by Maureen Sundberg
In November, ELA was getting close to welcoming our 500th member and decided to celebrate the 500th person to join ELA. We hoped to get to 500 before the end of the year. Thanks to your amazing support, we surged past our goal of 500 members and can announce our winner!
Deciduous Plantings for Winter Interest
Contributors: Andi Pettis, Sarah Saltino, Chris Sawicki
After autumn winds strip foliage from deciduous plantings, new colors, shapes, and textures gain prominence in the landscape as berries, bark, and seed heads gain visibility. We invited a few ELA members to comment on plants they especially appreciate in the winter.
Weed or Habitat?
Contributors: Leslie Duthie and Ellen Sousa
ELA invited a couple of members to identify the “weeds” they like to leave in the landscape for their habitat value.
Members Making a Difference: Native Plant Demonstration Garden Is a Labor of Love
by Maureen Sundberg
ELA member Marie Chieppo initiated a collaboration with the Town of Needham to install a native plant demonstration garden at a busy public park. With the help of local volunteers and her own teenage children, the installation took place over six weeks this spring, and she continues to maintain the site.
Maximizing Soil Health with Compost
ELA invited a few members to talk about the compost they use, how they are utilizing that resource, and their compost sources. They also offer tips for managing soil.
Jump-starting the Season
What are you doing to get ready for the season that’s just taking off? ELA asked a few members to share their favorite tips for getting the season off to…
Renewal and Ruins: Season Wrap-up 2017
by Tricia Diggins
This was the best growing season in eastern Massachusetts in a long time. We had rain in the spring! No worrying about stress on the trees in April when it is supposed to rain but doesn’t, like many recent springs. And the rain continued steadily, but not too much, through July.
About the Weather, Job Satisfaction and “Maintenance” – A Season in Review
by Thomas Berger Mid-February It is an unusually warm February morning in Southern Maine: 50 degrees and the birds are singing, even some insects buzzing around, a bit scary for…
Members Making a Difference
Across the country, 2016 has brought challenges to landscapes and the businesses that help sustain them. ELA checked in with a few members to find out about their season, their…
Namcook: A Breezy, Coastal, Summer “Cottage”
by Shawn Mayers While the property at Namcook is more than 10 acres in total, the landscaped area for the home (which groundSwell Designs was asked to focus on) is…
Natives Beyond Naturalizing
by Susan Barbier “I thought a nice line of Boxwood flanked by Gold Mop Cypress and skirted with Blue Star Juniper would be great for this property. I pitched that…
