Birdscaping: Home, Sweet Habitat

Bird lover Joan Butler will explore the joys and benefits of creating beautiful layered gardens designed to bring avian performers right into our own backyard. This delightfully illustrated program will explore the importance of creating welcoming habitats for birds through thoughtful landscape choices, including native plants vital for food and nesting sites.

The program will take place Tuesday, April 3, from 10:00 AM to approximately noon at South Church, 41 Central Street, Andover. The event begins with social time and refreshments, followed by a business meeting, then the lecture. Guests are welcome. The suggested $10 donation includes refreshments.

Bird Lover, Gardener, Writer and Lecturer

Joan Butler, co-owner of Enchanted Gardens of Holliston, is a garden designer and lecturer who has authored weekly articles for the Holliston Reporter, Holliston Tab, and Gatehouse Media, Inc. Past chairman of the Landscape Design Council of Massachusetts, she was also president of the Holliston Garden Club and currently serves as a horticultural consultant for Weston Nurseries.

An enthusiastic gardener with more than 30 years’ experience, she combines good design principles with an extensive knowledge of plants to produce landscapes that are at once welcoming and distinct; her own gardens have been included on several tours. Butler received a BA in Geology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has completed courses in landscape design, drafting, garden study, and floral design. She has served as chairman of Civic Development for the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts and the New England Region of National Garden Clubs, Inc. She was cochairman of the garden selection committee for the American Hosta Society national convention. She is an accredited flower show judge.

About the Andover Garden Club

Founded in 1927, the Andover Garden Club is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that encourages the study and practice of horticulture, landscape design, and floral design; aids in the beautification of the town of Andover; and helps protect and conserve natural resources. A member of the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, Inc., and National Garden Clubs, Inc., the club provides both financial and hands-on support to a variety of municipal, educational, and environmental organizations throughout the region.

The Andover Garden Club welcomes new members, and information about joining is available from membership chairs Liz Bell (belles810@gmail.com, 978-475-3021) and Kathy Hess (kmhess1@verizon.net, 978-470-0806).

Photos of Cooper's hawk, goldfinch, barred owl, and red-bellied woodpecker by Frances Y J Wheeler.