Last weekend’s Backyard Pruning Session with Jen Kettell (from the Arnold Arboretum) was a great success. Everyone thought Jen was a terrific teacher, which she certainly is. Participants got an opportunity to try out the tools, practice pruning cuts, and may participate in a upcoming pruning practice day to be schedule in early May.

Our latest Backyard Homesteading session was held this past Saturday and attracted an enthusiastic group. Participants left ready to order bare-root trees and create their own compact orchard. Based on the guidelines we’ve been given, if successful, their trees should each yield 100 apples within five years! 

With the recent string of warm days, suddenly signs of spring are everywhere at the estate!

An enthusiastic group gathered last Saturday for our annual Raising Backyard Chickens session. Participants were very engaged, with lots of great questions and interest in getting started this spring. Most likely many of the attendees will be watching for shipments of day-old chicks later this spring, and can expect their first fresh eggs to be laid by September!

Dates are set for our popular “Raising your own Backyard Chickens” and “Creating a Compact Backyard Orchard” sessions on February 11 and March 24, respectively. Both “do-it-yourself” programs have drawn enthusiastic audiences, so register early to guarantee your seat! For more information, click here to see our full calendar of upcoming programs.

A hearty group filled the farmhouse November 16 for our annual Holiday Decorating Demonstration despite a soaking torrent of rain. Once here, the participants were not disappointed as Lisa Ahern worked her magic, showing how to create simple but elegant centerpieces, swags, and windowboxes to adorn the home during the holidays. As usual, her creations were raffled off among the attendees who were […]

We are happy to introduce Jack, our new guard llama. After adding our three ewes, Maisy, Daisy, and Binney to our existing livestock population of over 30 chickens, visits from the neighborhood coyotes increased greatly in frequency. While our newly acquired electric fence enclosure is a deterrent, coyotes are known for their wiles and we worried about losing one or more […]

This week our 2011 Wakefield Estate Landscape Interns will complete their sixth and final week and they have proven to be a fantastic crew. Each year, the intern crew is selected from applicants who are 16-20 year-old greater Boston area students. This year, we have a crew of ten, including students from Milton, Canton and a wide array of Boston Public […]

Tuesday was an exciting day at the estate – our final school visit – and the arrival of 3 beautiful baby Shetland Sheep. Following in Polly Wakefield’s footsteps, we have re-introduced sheep to the estate as a way to more naturally and sustainably manage the turf in parts of the landscape – just as Polly did 50 years ago. After […]

On Monday, June 20th, we launched our High School Archaeology Institute for the third year. There are two 2-week sessions of this hands-on course, taught by doctoral candidates in Boston University’s renown archaeological program. The institute is open to students in or entering high school, as well as college freshman. There is still room in session 2 which will begin on July 5th and run […]