New Spring Events Announced to Celebrate Native Plant Month
April is National Native Plant Month. This designation encourages all Americans to understand, plant, and preserve native flora, which are essential to maintaining biodiversity, supporting pollinators, and preserving ecosystem health.
“Native Plant Month is a powerful reminder that local action — planting native species, supporting conservation, and connecting with the land — can have a lasting impact,” says Tim Johnson, CEO of Native Plant Trust. While the national observance is held in April, Native Plant Trust, the nation’s first plant conservation organization and the only one solely focused on New England’s native plants, is celebrating throughout the spring to align with New England’s spring bloom season and offer expanded opportunities for public engagement. These include Trillium Week, a plant-inspired dance performance, and a full seasonal line-up of classes and events. Native Plant Trust’s renowned botanic garden, Garden in the Woods, in Framingham, MA, opens for the 2026 season on Sunday, April 19.
On Saturday, May 2, Native Plant Trust will offer a special evening at Garden in the Woods, beginning with a walk through the gardens, followed by a performance of Unfurling, an original work by the Boston Dance Theater. Following the performance, visitors will be invited to join Unfurling’s creative team for a discussion about the intersection of artistry, creation, and the natural world, featuring BDT Founder and Co-Artistic Director Jessie Stinnett, Choreographer Kim Rachochia, sound artist Skooby Laposky, and Native Plant Trust Senior Horticulturist David Falk.
According to its creators, Unfurling is a site-responsive performance created by the artists of the Boston Dance Theater in collaboration with visual artist Kim Radochia. Drawing inspiration from the quiet resilience of plant life and the writings of indigenous botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer, the work invites audiences into a shared sensory experience of movement, sound, and sculptural installation. Unfurling asks viewers to notice what is overlooked and to sense their place within a living, interdependent world.
Trillium Week takes place May 3–9 at Garden in the Woods. This vibrant seasonal event, now in its 11th year, features guided tours (free with Garden admission) and educational opportunities such as “The Native Plant Trust Trillium Collection: An Inside Look,” which highlights the ecological significance and beauty of spring ephemerals. “Trilliums are arguably the most distinctive flowers in the forests and wetlands of New England,” says Johnson. “Add to that their natural rarity and status as a harbinger of spring, and it is hard to imagine a better ambassador for New England’s plants. Trillium Week offers a rare opportunity to see the many color forms of all three New England species — Trillium erectum, Trillium grandiflorum, and Trillium cernuum — in a single location tucked under the canopy of towering hardwoods at Garden in the Woods.”
Native Plant Trust named Skooby Laposky its 2025 Visiting Artist, and he returns for a live performance during Twilight Trilliums, the signature event of Trillium Week. Laposky is a multidisciplinary artist and sound designer whose work — featured in Fast Company and The Boston Globe — translates natural systems into immersive sonic landscapes. Twilight Trilliums, a one-night-only event, takes place on Friday, May 8, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Garden in the Woods. Guests will experience a world-premiere sound installation, created by Laposky specifically for the occasion and inspired by the spring bloom and surrounding forest. Tickets to Twilight Trilliums are $50 and include Garden admission and refreshments.
Native Plant Trust’s newly released spring/summer course catalog offers a robust lineup of in-person and online offerings, from hands-on workshops to special events and lectures. The catalog is available for download now. For tickets, registration, and additional information, visit www.NativePlantTrust.org.
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