A Farm in the Valley

by Bill Cullina, Director of Horticultural Research

The New England Wild Flower Society is embarking on a tremendously exciting new chapter in the evolution of our nursery and sanctuary network. The Society has purchased Nasami Farm and Nursery in Whately, Massachusetts from Bob and Nancy August. They built a thriving retail/wholesale woody plant nursery (named after their three children) on land that had been in the family for 60 years, but they decided recently that it was time to retire. Nasami sits on 75 beautiful acres in the Connecticut River Valley. The purchase will allow us to produce native plants that are suited to the region—to its climate and character—and to do it on a scale that will make them available to all who wish to plant them. It will also provide us with more opportunities to serve our membership in the Pioneer Valley as well as new ways to collaborate with the region’s nursery and landscaping industries.

The farm is also notable for the pristine Mill River and Roaring Brook that flow through its hayfields, beaver meadows, and woodlands. The rear section of the farm is within the Great Swamp, a wetland habitat formed from the remains of a large glacial lake. Both the Mill River and Great Swamp are top conservation priorities for the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, and the state already owns the land bordering Nasami on two sides. This gives the Society an ideal setting to interpret the nature of this region and to establish a trail network in the coming years through the beautiful natural areas beyond the nursery.

Our plan is to create a retail native plant nursery that can provide a source of our plants in the Pioneer Valley, Southern Vermont, Central Connecticut, and even the Berkshires, as well as to increase capacity for our sales at Garden in the Woods, including a line of hard-to-find woody material. We will also create demonstration plantings and continue our breeding and selection work, searching for more plants like our popular Boltonia ‘Snowbank,’ ‘Lady in Red’ lady fern, and ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Jacob’s ladder (available this spring). Once we have established the retail business, we will also explore opportunities in upland and wetland restoration.

In a few years, we plan to construct a 2,500-square-foot barn/agricultural building to match the existing tobacco barn, but with some heated areas to use for seed sorting and propagation, plus restrooms and a break room for volunteers and staff. We expect to rely heavily on volunteers to make this operation a success, just as we do in at our existing nursery in Framingham. The new building may include classroom space, allowing local members of NEWFS and others in the surrounding community to take classes, attend lectures and participate in workshops closer to home.

Biodiversity at Nasami Farm

(Report prepared by the Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, 10/08/03, in Adobe Acrobat [PDF] format)

The Society has many hopes and plans for this farm and invites your collaboration.