Garden in the Woods promotes native plants for pollinators, sustainability

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. —

Late spring is putting on quite the show at Garden in the Woods in Framingham. The property is dedicated to growing plants native to Massachusetts and New England.

Hay-scented ferns, deep pink sheep laurels and delicate hairy beardtongues spring up around a kettle pond.

"It’s a plant that absolutely would have been found around here a long time ago," Chief Horticulturalist David Falk said of the hairy beardtongue. "What they need is difficult conditions, thin soils, rocks."

Plants native to Massachusetts thrive in the area’s low pH, nutrient-poor, sandy soil.

"They honestly look their best when they are growing in difficult situations," Falk said.

Butterflies fluttered overhead as bees buzzed around trees. A hummingbird paused on a tree branch. It is in a native p