Natick Report

More than you really want to know about Natick, Mass.

Broadmoor bursting with yellow

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Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary in South Natick is looking mighty colorful even before the fall foliage kicks in.

Thanks to Denny Nackoney for sharing these photos, which he says were identified during a nature walk as water marigolds. The photos were taken from the wooded boardwalk across the stream and wetlands.

“Best guess is that because of current drought, high temps, and the stream’s low water level, it was just the right conditions for them to take off.  What a spectacular sight!” he wrote.

broadmoor yellow
Photo courtesy of Denny Nackoney
broadmoor yellow
Photo courtesy of Denny Nackoney

Natick dedicates Erica “Ricky” Ball Community Garden

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Thank you to correspondent Christine Schell for the following story and photos.

“Erica, we love you!” declared opening speaker Randy Waters, Director of the Natick Housing Authority, at the Erica Ball Community Garden dedication on September 8. Nearly 75 people attended the event, with several local and state leaders speaking passionately about Erica “Ricky” Ball’s commitment to and outsized influence on Natick.

Erica Ball, Natick Community Garden
Erica “Ricky” Ball at the dedication of the  Erica Ball Community Garden.

Ricky perched center stage at her own picnic table, while husband Jay Ball stayed with the crowd taking photos of the speakers and Ricky.

Natick Select Board member Paul Joseph teared up during his speech, then took a breath and forged ahead, drawing parallels between Ricky’s 60-year dedication to Natick and the Garden’s purpose of nurturing community and nourishing people.

Erica Ball Community Garden, Natick
Paul Joseph seated with Ricky after giving his speech

Slam poet Jamele Adams performed a poem honoring Ricky, calling her a “boss” who “leaves a mark on your skin, brain, and heart.”

Other speakers in attendance included Natick resident and MA State Rep David Linsky, and Massachusetts Senate president Karen Spilka who called Ricky a “giant in the Natick community in every aspect of the word” and a “beacon of a public servant.”

Erica Ball, Natick Community Garden
Erica Ball, Natick Community Garden

But the fan favorite, the true luminary, and the brightest star of the night was Ricky. She reflected on the many positive changes in Natick over the years, and expressed humorous regret that she and Jay have chosen this time to relocate to Canton. She said that coming to Natick was the best thing that ever happened to her, and then promised, “I’ll be back.” If you know Ricky, you won’t doubt that.

Erica Ball, Natick Community Garden
Concept artist Amy Adams explains her design. The linked hands represent community and connectivity.  The hand emerging from ground connect the earth’s water and nutrients to the top hand, which links to sunlight. Chainsaw artist Michael Legassey brought Adams’ design to completion.

Be a part of Natick’s growth industry

Natick has four community gardens—The J.J. Lane Park Gardens at 185 Speen Street; the Eric Markman Interfaith Community Gardens near A Place to Turn at 99 Hartford Street; Navy Yard Park Community Gardens at 56-48 Washington Avenue; and the Erica Ball Community Gardens, behind the Housing Authority offices at 72 South Main Street.

Registration information on how to sign up for your own garden plot.

Questions about the community gardens program can be directed to the Community Gardens Coordinator at communitygardens@natickma.org or by calling 508-647-6400 ext. 2013.

Please send tips, photos, ideas to natickreport@gmail.com

Natick has been a dry town for much of this summer

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After a July that brought thirteen days during which temperatures reached over 90 degrees, combined with a measly 0.62″ of rainfall in the Boston area according to the National Weather Service, brown lawns in Natick are having a moment, and maybe even a proud one at that. After all, how better to virtue signal, “in our house we believe climate change is real,” than by taking the sprinkler system offline and letting nature take its course?

Natick, brown lawns
This Natick lawn is one of many in town sporting a late-summer dormant look. Photo credit by Duncan Brown

 

Lately as we drove around the various neighborhoods of Natick, manicured green lawns certainly were in evidence, but seemed to be in the minority. One reason could be that the town hasn’t made it effortless for homeowners to keep the grass green on either side of the fence.

Restrictions put into place last month mandated a two day/week watering schedule for both residents and businesses. Those occupying a building with an odd number street address must limit nonessential water use, including lawn and garden watering. to Monday and Thursday from the hours of 5pm on the select day until 9am the following day.

Residents and businesses occupying a building with an even number street address must limit nonessential water use, including lawn and garden watering, to Tuesday and Friday from the hours of 5pm on the select day until 9am the following day.

There is to be no non-essential outdoor water use on Wednesdays, Saturdays, or Sundays.

And don’t think about taking your bucket down to the South Natick Dam to scoop up some water to spread on your lawn. The pickings are mighty slim there.

South Natick dam, drought

Could the tide be turning against the perfect green lawn as the ultimate outdoor status symbol? It’s too early to call brown Natick lawns a trend, but the situation bears watching. It’s not too late to join in. Although the long-term forecast calls for more civilized temperatures in the 70s and 80s, and it looks like some rainclouds are on the horizon, summer is far from over. Your lawn can still transition to a beautiful brown expanse, a nonverbal embodiment of your feelings about water conservation.

Natick, brown lawns
Homeowners of some of the prettiest homes in Natick have let lawns go dormant this summer. Photo by Duncan Brown

 

Natick, brown lawns
This homeowner’s approach is to do away with the lawn entirely and instead plant a low-maintenance mix of pachysandra, fern, sedum, day lilies, privet hedges, and more. Photo by Duncan Brown

 

Wellesley garden
When it comes to dormancy, our lawn has a mind of its own. The three rectangular dry spots in the foreground are not, I assure you, because there are three bodies buried beneath them, as a neighbor suggested.
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Please send tips, photos, ideas to natickreport@gmail.com

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Natick Garden Club plant sale to fund community-based programs

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The Natick Garden Club will hold its annual plant sale on Saturday, June 4, 10am-2pm, at the Natick Community Senior Center, 117 East Central Street.

​Come and purchase plants that have been successful in Garden Club members’ gardens. Prices are reasonable and typically lower than local nurseries. There will be also be door prizes.

​This is the club’s major fundraiser, and proceeds fund the club’s programs, scholarships for graduating seniors, and community activities.

Natick Garden Club

More garden news

Weston Garden Club tour is Saturday, June 4—11 unique gardens

Blithewold mansions and gardens on Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay

An hour in my garden—tidying the shed

Partway around Earth Day All Around Natick

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We hit a sampling of the dozens events scattered across town and over the weekend for Earth Day All Around Natick, and we’re feeling all the greener for it.

We swung by the Common to catch town officials providing updates on sustainability efforts, and got a chance to chat with some afterward. Members of Natick’s Sustainability Committee and friends also entertained the crowd with Costa Rican and other tunes in front of the gazebo, while kids played soccer in the background.

2022 gazebo leo alfredo earth day
Leo Ryan and It’s A Mystery performed (Leo Ryan, vocal, guitar, percussion; Alfredo Vargas, vocals, guitar; Mark Dixon, drums; Dave Levesque, bass; Scott Matsumoto, guitar. backup vocals)

Natick Earth Day, 8 Whispering Lane
Bob and Monica Foley opened up their outdoor space, a Certified Wildlife Habitat, for garden tours. Certified Wildlife Habitat spaces provided the elements for each of the following: food, water, cover, places to raise young, and sustainable practices. “We haven’t mowed yet,” Monica said. “Just this morning I saw a cardinal pecking around in the leaves and the grass, looking for bugs. Those bugs provide the birds with a lot of protein. Mowing too early removes a lot of food for the birds.”

 

Natick Earth Day, Monica Foley's she-shed
We loved Monica Foley’s she-shed, a working space with plenty artistic touches.

 

Natick Earth Day, Jack Creeden
The Town of Natick’s newest hire, Jack Creeden, from the Land Facilities & Natural Resources Division, was on hand to pass out Canaan Fir saplings.

 

Natick Earth Day, Canaan Fir
We went home and planted our Canaan Fir right away. We’ve heard different things about how big they get. It’s either 6-8 feet tall, or up to 50 feet tall. So maybe we’ve made a smart environmental move.  Or maybe we will  have to move our driveway in a decade or so to accommodate the tree’s spread.

 

Natick Earth Day, weaving wall
Natick students add to the weaving wall on land where both the Bacon Free Library is located, and the ancestral Praying Indians burial ground.

 

Natick Earth Day, Rose Huling. Bookmobile & Outreach Services Coordinator
Rose Huling, Bookmobile & Outreach Services Coordinator for the Morse Institute Library, gave out birch tree saplings to Natick kids.

 

We didn’t get a chance to catch the chainsaw artist in action at the new new Erica Ball Community Garden (72 South Main St.), but did stop by on Monday to see the progress on the tree stump-turned-sculpture. Gotta hand it to the artist…

chainsaw natick public gardens