When and Where
Why Attend Our Meetings?
Why Attend Our Meetings?
We'd love for you to join us. Visitors welcomed!
Why Attend Our Meetings?
Why Attend Our Meetings?
Why Attend Our Meetings?
They are fun, educational, and you will leave with more plants!
CSSM Recorded Programs
Why Attend Our Meetings?
CSSM Recorded Programs
Check out our latest recorded programs on YouTube.
October 21, 2023 - Socotra!
In-person Meeting
Speakers: Marek and Maria Kawka - Back in January 2023, CSSMers Marek and Maria Kawka joined a Plant Expedition trip to the Yemeni island of Socotra. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Socotra is situated in the Arabian Sea between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
It was an amazing adventure - Maria and Marek were lucky enough to see many of the unique endemic plants of Socotra. They also enjoyed experiencing the interesting culture of local Yemeni people.
Our intrepid travelers will share pictures of the many plants that were in bloom as well as a few stories from their travels around Socotra.
Don’t miss this amazing journey as seen through the eyes and cameras of our very own club members Marek and Maria.
Time: 1:00p-4:00p
Location: Norfolk Public Library - 2 Liberty Lane
Norfolk, MA 02056
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November 11, 2023 - Fall & Winter Flowering South African Bulbs
In-person Meeting
Speaker: Matt Mattus - Bulbs from the southern hemisphere have always been on plantsman Matt Mattus’ list of favorite plants, but it wasn’t until he built a greenhouse did his collection really take off with the addition of fall, winter and spring blooming South African and South American geophytes.
Join Matt as he shares with us his latest passions, collections and adventures with these bulbs (and their allies) growing in his Central Massachusetts greenhouse.
Matt is the author of two books, writes for many gardening magazines and his garden and greenhouse has been featured in magazines such as Martha Stewart Living, Better Homes & Gardens to name a few. He is the past president of the North American Rock Gardening Society and lives and gardens in Worcester.
Time: 1:00p-4:00p
Location: Norfolk Public Library - 2 Liberty Lane
Norfolk, MA 02056
December 16, 2023: CSSM Holiday Party
In-person Celebration
No formal meeting, we’ll be having a potluck lunch with lots of laughter, an optional gift swap, and gift plants for all registered attendees. CSSM Registered Members only.
Time: 1:00p-4:00p
Location: First Universalist Society Meeting House - 262 Chestnut St, Franklin, MA 02038
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January 20, 2024: Intuitive Meandering: Adventures & Lessons in Desert Botany & Restoration
Virtual meeting via Zoom
Speaker: Michelle Cloud-Hughes - Michelle Cloud-Hughes is a botanist and restoration ecologist specializing in the cacti, succulents, and rare plants of the North American deserts. This talk will provide a scenic and botanically diverse meander through the deserts of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico while discussing the fundamental importance of scientific botanical fieldwork to the conservation, propagation, and restoration of the cacti and succulents we all love. This talk will focus on the diverse desert habitats and plant communities Michelle has explored during her rare plant surveys and cholla research, with an emphasis on the “cold” Mojave and Great Basin Deserts. She will discuss some optimistic cactus and succulent restoration projects currently happening in the southwest and provide suggestions for cold-hardy native plants and general tips for more closely emulating native habitats in a garden setting.
A little about our speaker...Michelle Cloud-Hughes began her career working for the Soil Ecology and Restoration Group at San Diego State University, working mainly in the California deserts. In 2010 she started her company, Desert Solitaire Botany and Ecological Restoration, and since then has worked on rare plant surveys and other botanical research and restoration projects throughout the southwestern U.S. and Mexico. She is an authority on the genus Cylindropuntia and an author of Cylindropuntia chuckwallensis, a rare California endemic and the most recent addition to California’s cactus flora. Most recently, she and her fellow chollistas published ×Cylindronia robertsii, the first documented intergeneric hybrid between Cylindropuntia and Grusonia.
Time: 1:00p-4:00p
Location: Zoom details to be sent to members
February 17, 2024: Inside the International Succulents Program of the Huntington Botanical Gardens
Virtual meeting via Zoom
Speaker: John Trager - Succulent fans who keep an eye on CSSA’s journals have probably noticed that the annual summer issue features dozens of eye-popping, must-have, unusual specimens that are offered for sale by the Huntington Botanical Garden in California, as part of their International Succulent Introductions program (ISI). The aim of ISI is to propagate and distribute new or rare succulents to collectors, nurseries, and institutions. (In keeping with environmental ethics, only plants that have been properly propagated in a nursery environment without harm to wild populations are offered.) Unusual and beautiful colors, forms, and characteristics advance the Huntington’s pursuit of aesthetics, conservation, education, and science.
Where do these living artworks come from? Who decides which ones will make the lineup each year? John Trager, Curator of Desert Collections at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California, is responsible for this annual beauty pageant of plants, and he’ll be joining us remotely by Zoom for our February meeting. He’ll give us a history of the program, how it came into the Huntington’s care, and how it keeps on finding and propagating remarkable new offerings.
Our Speaker:
John Trager is the Curator of Desert Collections at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California, where he also oversees the annual International Succulent Introductions program (ISI), which presents to the public unfamiliar species and newly hybridized offerings which can be purchased by the public.
John’s horticultural writing has appeared in numerous books and horticultural journals. His photography has appeared in many landmark works, including The Genus Conophytum, Dumpling and His Wife, and Lithops: Treasures of the Veld, all by Steven Hammer; Gordon Rowley’s The Succulent Compositae, and his Anacampseros, and Crassula books; and the multi-authored, six-volume reference, The Illustrated Handbook of Succulents.
John has traveled widely in search of plants (and insects), including China, Costa Rica, Israel, Mexico, Namibia, South Africa, Thailand, and Venezuela. CSSA’s Journal readers will recognize John’s masterful photography and writing in its annual summer report on the current ISI offerings.
Time: 1:00p-4:00p
Location: Zoom details to be sent to members
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March 16, 2024: Ant Plants
Speaker: Matt Opel - Ever wonder about succulent tropical epiphytes that have symbiotic relationships with ants? Here's your opportunity to learn about this fascinating topic from Dr. Matt Opel of the University of Connecticut. His talk will include Hydnophytum, Myrmecodia, and Dischidia - just to name a few.
Time: 1:00p-4:00p
Location: Norfolk Public Library - 2 Liberty Lane
Norfolk, MA 02056
April 20, 2024: Pachypodiums
Speaker: Frank Streeter - Details to come
Time: 1:00p-4:00p
Location: Norfolk Public Library - 2 Liberty Lane
Norfolk, MA 02056
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May 18, 2024: Pests, Diseases, and Home Treatments
Details to come
Time: 1:00p-4:00p
Location: Norfolk Public Library - 2 Liberty Lane
Norfolk, MA 02056
June 15, 2024: Annual Picnic
Join fellow CSSMers at our annual June Picnic. This year we will meet for fun, sun, and good times at a beautiful location in Massachusetts. Event details will be sent to all members in May 2024. Stay tuned!
Time: TBD
Location: TBD