From garden to vase, learn the skills to assemble a stunning garden centerpiece with spring blooms that illustrates the abundance of the springtime growing season for your home.
Get outside with your family this Mother’s Day and celebrate Mom with a picnic at The Stevens-Coolidge Place surrounded by the peak of lilac season. Enjoy live music by Julianne and Barry Johnston of the Brookline Music School. Explore the garden with your little ones. Play croquet, bocce, ring toss, and other lawn games that will be set up throughout the garden. Take a family photo among the beautiful gardens.
Fresh from the garden, learn the skills to assemble a petite but dramatic posy arrangement that allow its ingredients to shine, featuring the ultimate queen of spring – the peony. Learn how to create a beautiful posy arrangement that combines both traditional and whimsical ingredients for a beautiful and unexpected combination.
Algae, seaweed, or even sea vegetables! Whatever you prefer to call it, join this family education program to learn all about local seaweed. Participants will get their hands wet exploring and identifying local seaweed species and learn how seaweeds grow, reproduce, and provide food and habitat to many creatures. Families will get the chance to taste some seaweed food and create your own seaweed art to take home.
Take in beautiful views of the Crane Wildlife Refuge while learning about estuary flora and fauna and environmental conditions at the Crane Boat Dock. Families will conduct measurements of water quality and weather, census native vs. Non-native crabs, collect and observe plankton using field microscopes, and observe the ever-shifting tides. Join this program to discover a lesser-known area of the Crane Estate, on the backside of Crane Beach along the picturesque Castle Neck River.
Rolling grasslands, grazing livestock, agricultural fields, stone walls, and historic farm buildings are part of this 1,000-acre pastoral landscape – a rare glimpse into New England’s agricultural past. A gift of Colonel Francis R. Appleton, Jr., and his wife Joan, Appleton Farms is one of the oldest continuously operating farms in the country, established and maintained by nine generations of the Appleton family.
Have you noticed the four mysterious, tall stone structures that dot the property? Have you wondered what they are and why they’re at Appleton Farms? They are called pinnacles and they have a fascinating history and connection to the Appleton family. Join us for a guided hike to visit all four of the pinnacles and learn about them and so much more.
The Trustees wants to bring you closer to the fantastical elements of the forest with this self-guided outdoor trail bundle for use on the Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens property. Avoid the bugs and the crowds and get outside this winter to discover the hidden life of trees!
Join us for an easy, family-friendly hike along the trails and paths that cross the idyllic landscape of Appleton Farms. Please wear shoes appropriate for walking across uneven, possibly wet or muddy terrain. Bringing your own water is advisable.
Families try their hand at maple sugaring at Appleton Farms! Join us for a fun, hands-on workshop that kids and adults will love. After exploring our maple sugaring tools, use our hand drill to practice tapping a tree! We’ll go through the whole process from maple sugar tree ID to boiling sap, and we’ll be sure to play along the way. Our knowledgable educator will answer your questions so you can be a sugar maker at home. We’ll finish up with a story– and, of course, a maple syrup sample!
