Save the date, Saturday, January 10, 2026 for our Winter Seed Sowing Workshops with a morning and afternoon session to be held at the Druker Auditorium at the Newton Free Library. Pre-registration will be required and this page will be updated when the Library registration process goes live.
This workshop will help you learn how to grow your own native plants from seed! This workshop will give you the tools you need to spark your own pollinator garden. Soil, native seeds and one empty one-gallon milk jug will be provided, and you will get to bring home your own mini greenhouse in a bottle. We invite you to bring an extra one or two empty milk jugs if you want to plant and bring home a variety of seeds.
Winter seed sowing is a technique for starting native plant seeds outdoors in containers during winter to create optimal conditions for germination and growth when spring returns. Winter sowing is a simple and inexpensive technique to grow a wide variety of native plants. It mimics the natural process of seeds falling to the ground in autumn and being stratified by New England’s cold and wet winter weather, while providing protection from critters and adverse weather, resulting in a very high germination success rate.
This program is presented by the Newton Community Pollinator Project, a group of Newton residents who are working to create pollinator pathways around Newton through native plantings. Their work includes educating residents and City departments about native, pollinator-friendly plantings and maintaining several pollinator gardens on public land. The program is co-sponsored by the Newton Free Library, Newton Community Pollinator Project (NCPP), Newton Conservators, and Friends of Cold Spring Park so far.