This presentation focuses on the native plants of New England. Plants native to our region will be easier to maintain, better able to withstand New England weather and may offer better resistance to deer and rabbits. The trees, shrubs, and perennials that evolved here will grow here with much less input from you. You will reduce your workload while creating a paradise for the native birds and pollinators.

About the Master Gardener: Gretel Anspach is a Trustee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, a Lifetime Master Gardener with the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association, and a recently-retired systems engineer for Raytheon. She won the MMGA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. Gretel established and maintains a 20,000 square foot food production garden that has provided fresh produce to the Marlboro and Maynard Food Pantries for the last ten years. Her primary interest and focus is always in the science behind horticulture.