Category: Outdoors

Kiddie Pool 26/04/02

Family fun for whenever

Showtime

• The Hispanic Flamenco Ballet will perform for students on Friday, April 3, at 10 and 11 a.m. at the Concord City Auditorium, 2 Prince St. in Concord, according to theaudi.org. Call 305-420-6622 for tickets.

• Ovation Theatre Company will present The Addams Family Musical, primarily featuring performers ages 13 to 19, on Friday, April 3, and Saturday, April 4, at 7 p.m. as well as April 4 at 2 p.m. at the Derry Opera House, 29 W. Broadway in Derry, according to ovationtc.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• Cinderella will be presented by Southern New Hampshire Youth Ballet as their spring show on Saturday, April 4, at 1 and 4 p.m. See snhdt.org for tickets; the show takes place at the Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St. in Manchester, whose website says the show is 75 minutes long with a 15-minute intermission.

Easter fun

• Hunt for eggs at the Lions Clubs of Pinardville and Goffstown’s Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 4, with 9 a.m. (for ages 1 to 4), 9:45 a.m. (ages 5 to 7) and 10:30 a.m. (ages 8 to 10) start times at Roy Park in Pinardville. Find the clubs on Facebook.

• Carriage Shack Farm, 5 Dan Hill Road in Londonderry, will hold an Easter Bunny Party at the Farm on Saturday, April 4, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to carriageshackfarmllc.org, where you can purchase tickets.

• Charmingfare Farm, 774 High St. in Candia, will wrap up its Egg-citing Egg Hunt, geared toward egg hunters ages 2 to 12, this Saturday, April 4, and Sunday, April 5, with entry times from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to visitthefarm.com.

Science!

• Retro-priced $3 admission continues at the SEE Science Center, 200 Bedford St. in Manchester, through Saturday, April 4, to celebrate the Center’s 40th birthday. The center opens at 10 a.m. (with a last admission at 3 p.m. on weekdays and 4 p.m. on weekends) and is closed Sunday, April 5, for Easter, according to see-sciencecenter.org.

• The monthly Super Stellar Friday at McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord on Friday, April 3, is all about the nocturnal world of caterpillars and moths: “The Caterpillar Lab will present a photograph and video packed talk that explores the nighttime world of caterpillars, moths, and how to find them. … This special lecture will include time to meet a few special caterpillar specimens up close, try out blacklight flashlights, and chat with Caterpillar Lab educators about all things local caterpillar,” according to starhop.com. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for the 7 p.m. presentation, and a sky viewing will take place at 9 p.m., weather permitting, according to the website, where you can purchase admission tickets for the program as well as add-on tickets for the 8 p.m. planetarium show.

Kiddie Pool 26/03/12

Family fun for whenever

Books for everybody

Need some new reads? Children’s paperbacks are 25 cents, hardbacks are $1 at the Friends Annual Book and Media Sale at the Nashua Public Library, 2 Court St. in Nashua, Saturday, March 14, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, March 15, from noon to 4 p.m., according to nashualibrary.org. (There is a Friends-only preview on Friday, March 13, 4 to 8 p.m.; you can join the Friends that night, according to a library Facebook post). The sale will also feature gently used books for adults as well as games, puzzles and more, priced at 25 cents to $2, the website said. Make a Saturday morning of it: The Library’s Family Store Time runs from 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Lil’ runners

This year’s Northwestern Mutual Shamrock Shuffle — the 2-mile run/walk that usually takes place on the day of Manchester’s St. Patrick’s parade (this year’s parade was canceled) — will instead take place the weekend before. On Saturday, March 14, participants will run the Shuffle on Canal Street in downtown Manchester starting at 11 a.m. At 10:30 a.m., there will be a 100-yard Lil’ Leprechaun Run for ages 8 and under, according to millenniumrunning.com/shamrock, where you can find registration information.

Phish for the kids

Rock & Roll Playhouse will bring “Music of Phish” to the BNH Stage, 16 S. Main St. in Concord, on Sunday, March 15, at 11 a.m. “The Rock and Roll Playhouse band offers its core audience of families with children age 1 to 7 games, movement, stories and most importantly an opportunity to rock out,” according to ccanh.com, where you can purchase tickets.

Fish for the kids

Thursdays through April 16 are “Big Fish Little Fish” days at Seacoast Science Center in Odiorne Point State Park in Rye with special themes and a group program scheduled at 11 a.m., geared at ages 0 to 5, according to a press release. On Thursday, March 12, it’s Turtle Time with special guest speaker Raspberry, and the theme for March 19 and March 26 is Pirates, the press release said. The center is open on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. See seacoastsciencecenter.org to purchase tickets.

Patience for perennials

You can start plants — even trees — from seed

It seems to me that the prices of many things have gone up significantly in recent times. One way to combat that, as a gardener, is to start plants by seed instead of buying plants that someone else has started, watered and mothered for months.

Many gardeners enjoy starting lettuce or carrots by seed outdoors, but few of us start perennial or biennial flowers by seed. Why is that? Because we want results right away. This summer we want gorgeous new varieties of purple coneflower, black-eyed susans or shasta daisies. Alas, most perennials and biennials will develop into handsome plants this year if started by seed, but few will blossom before next year.

Biennials, by definition, do not bloom in their first year. They grow foliage this year, send up a flower stalk next year, and then, having produced seed, they die. Probably the best-known of these are foxgloves, specifically Digitalis purpurea. It has a flower stalk that is 18 to 60 inches tall, adorned with blooms in pink and purple and shaped a bit like the finger of a glove. One named variety, “Foxy,” will bloom late in its first year if started early enough. Foxglove blossoms bloom in sequence along their stem over several weeks.

Foxgloves do well in part shade and like lightly moist soil. They are easy to propagate: I just cut a stalk that has finished blooming, and shake the small seeds over bare, lightly cultivated soil and pat down without covering. There are also yellow foxgloves that are fully perennial (Digitalis lutea).

Hollyhocks are also terrific biennial flowers, though some books list them as half-hardy perennials. These beauties can grow to be up to 6 feet tall and bloom for a long time. If you cut off the stem as soon as it finishes blooming, sometimes you can confuse the poor thing — it doesn’t know if it produced seed or not. So it may send up another flower stem next year.

Perennials generally live for several to many years. The genus “Sanguisorba” includes several species of perennial flowers, all of which are delightful. The common name for these is burnet. “Sanguisorba canadensis” is our naïve species, a tall, late-flowering wetland species, and is called Canadian burnet. I’ve had a big clump for 20 years at least, and love its fuzzy white pendulous blossoms. Pollinators love it in the fall.

My favorite of the burnets is Sanguisorba hakusanensis or Korean Burnet, one called “Lilac Squirrel.” Why that name? The blossoms are pink to lilac in color and hang down like the squirrel tails attached to bicycle handlebars in the 1950s. Less tall than our native, it does need staking as it can get to be 2 to 4 feet tall. I have found it easy to propagate by seed, and it blooms in its second year. I collect and grow all species of burnets, which can grow from miniatures to big bush clumps of gorgeous foliage 5 feet tall and 5 feet wide, but have not collected seed from them — yet.

Hostas are great foliage plants that do best in shady areas in rich soils. If you collect seed from your favorite hostas be forewarned that most hostas are hybrids and the seeds will not produce plants identical to their seed-producing parent plant. I only planted them by seed once, and I did it with seed from one called “Hosta sieboldii.” The parent plant is known for having variegated leaves, but mine produces all-green leaves. Still, I’ve had that clump for 40 years, and it gives me pleasure every time I walk past it.

Generally it is best to give hosta seeds a cold period of six to eight weeks in your refrigerator. This is true for many varieties of seed, so a good practice for all. Hosta seeds may need some sunshine on them to germinate, so cover them with a very thin layer of soil in their starting pots, or with vermiculite. Mature hostas are easy to divide to get more plants.

What about starting trees from seed? It’s not hard: Blue jays and squirrels do it all the time — they bury them, and forget where they put them, just like us with the car keys. Although you can plant tree seeds, I recommend just looking for first-year seedlings planted by your wildlife. Of course, this works best with native trees like oaks and maples.

Last year I dug up half a dozen sprouted acorns and moved them to an area that needed more trees to screen my property from the road. It was a dry summer and I was less than fully vigilant, so some of them died. But there will be others I can dig up this year. Remember: Watering is key for any first-year planting.

So here is my challenge: Go to your local garden center and buy seed packets for three perennials or biennials. Start them either indoors under lights, or later, outdoors. Buy things that you like and want several plants or even a bed full of. You can fill in a bed of first-year perennials with some annuals that will bloom this year. Please email me how that works out for you if you do so.

Lastly, it might be better to plant flower seeds in small pots rather than in the soil, as it can be difficult to identify them when weed seeds are growing around them. Or plant them in a perfect circle to help identify them. Good luck!

Reach Henry by e-mail at henry.homeyer@comcast.net or by snail mail at P.O. Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746. His column appears here monthly.

Featured photo: White Ash bark. Photo by Henry Homeyer.

Kiddie Pool 26/03/05

Family fun for whenever

Video game history

• On Sunday, March 8, SEE Science Center, 200 Bedford St. in Manchester, will celebrate Ralph Baer, the German-born engineer who lived in Manchester and is known as “the father of video games,” according to see-sciencecenter.org. According to SEE’s Facebook page, the day will feature activities celebrating his legacy, which will be included with regular admission — $15 per person ages 3 and up, according to the website. The Center is open Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with the last admission of the day at 4 p.m., the website said.

Maple season

• New Hampshire’s Maple Weekend is Saturday, March 21, and Sunday, March 22, this year but Ben’s Sugar Shack, 8 Webster Highway in Temple, offers free tours on weekends throughout March, according to bensmaplesyrup.com. This weekend, visit Saturday, March 7, or Sunday, March 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for a tour that demonstrates the maple syrup making process from tree to pancake. And, of course, the tour will include samples of maple products such as maple soft-serve ice cream, maple roasted nuts, maple cotton candy, maple soda, maple fudge, maple barbecue sauce, maple syrup and more, the website said.

• Charmingfare Farm, 774 High St. in Candia, kicks off its Maple Express event celebrating maple season with times for the public Saturdays and Sundays, March 6-22 (as well as some school group days). Visit the sugarhouse, see boiling sap, learn about tree tapping and taste the syrup during the event, which also features visits with the animals and a horse-drawn or tractor ride, according to the website, where you can purchase tickets for specific times during the event.

Big screen fun

• Chunky’s Cinema Pub, 707 Huse Road in Manchester, chunkys.com, will feature new Disney Pixar release Hoppers in its “Little Lunch Date” screening on Tuesday, March 10, at 11:30 a.m. The lights will be slightly dimmed and admission costs $5, according to the website. Let this also serve as a reminder that Tuesday, March 10, is town voting day in some communities, which can mean no school for students.

Kiddie Pool 26/02/26

Family fun for whenever

February vacation week fun

• Pats Peak, 686 Flanders Road in Henniker, patspeak.com, has extended its POP Ticket (pay one price for skiing, snowboarding, snowtubing, rentals and lesson tips) days for every day through Saturday, Feb. 28. The POP tickets cover night activities starting at 4, 5 or 6 p.m. and running through 9 or 10 p.m. depending on the day (with ticket prices based on start time), according to the website.

• Wonderland Books and Toys, Maple Valley Plaza, 245 Maple St., No. 12, in Manchester, wonderlandbooksandtoys.com, has a variety of activities scheduled for the rest of vacation week, according to its Facebook page. On Thursday, Feb. 26, there will be a drop-in story time from 11:30 a.m. to noon; a reading of Part 3 of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland from 1 to 1:30 p.m. (recommended for ages 7+), and a bookstore scavenger hunt from 2 to 5 p.m., the post said. On Friday, Feb. 27, the fun includes Pokemon Day to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first Pokemon video games from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; a reading of Part 4 of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland from 1 to 1:30 p.m. (recommended for ages 7+), and Board Game Afternoon from 2 to 5 p.m. Activities for Saturday, Feb. 28, include a 3D model building project (ages 6+; see post for pricing) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; the wrap-up reading of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland from 1 to 1:30 p.m., and a 3 to 3:30 p.m. story time, the post said.

Theater by kids

• The Community Players of Concord Children’s Theatre Project Winter Vacation Theatre Camp presents The Rainbow Fish Musical at the Concord City Auditorium (2 Prince St., Concord, 228-2793, theaudi.org) Friday, Feb. 27, at 6:30 p.m. A family treat for all ages, this is a children’s classic set to music, performed by a cast of 30 young actors ages 8 through 14. It is adapted from The Rainbow Fish, the award-winning book by Marcus Pfister. This event is free and open to the public, though donations will be accepted.

• How I Became a Pirate (Younger@Part), presented by the performers in grades 2 to 12 from the Palace Youth Theatre vacation camp, will be on stage at the Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St. in Manchester, on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 11 a.m. See palacetheatre.org for tickets.

• For the older crowd, Cabaret presented by the Palace Teen Apprentice Company and the Palace Teen Company, performed by student actors ages 12 to 18, will be on stage at the Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St. in Manchester, on Sunday, March 1, at 2 p.m. See palacetheatre.org for tickets.

Save the date

• Chunky’s Cinema Pub, 707 Huse Road in Manchester, chunkys.com, will hold Girl Scout Cookie Bingo for all ages on Friday, March 13, at 6:45 p.m. Winners of each round of bingo will receive boxes of Girl Scout Cookies. See the website for tickets.

• Kids Con New England — a celebration of comic books, comic book creators, comic book readers, superheroes and more — will take place Sunday, April 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sheraton in Nashua. See kidsconne.com for tickets and for a list of artists and authors scheduled to attend as well as activities and programming scheduled throughout the event. Tickets cost $16 for ages 5 and up and $60 for a family of four.

• Enjoy the “comedy canine cabaret” of Mutts Gone Nuts on Friday, May 1, at 7 p.m. at the Dana Center at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, according to tickets.anselm.edu, where you can purchase tickets.

Kiddie Pool 26/02/12

Family fun for whenever

Winter fun!

• The Wilton NH Main Street Association will hold its Winter Fest on Saturday, Feb. 14, with ice carving in Main Street Park from 1 to 4 p.m.; a campfire with s’mores and hot cocoa from noon to 4:30 p.m.; a winter market at Wilton Town Hall, and a chili cookoff potluck from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Wilton Community Center, all according to a post on the Association’s Facebook page.

• The Squam Lakes Association Winterfest will take place Saturday, Feb. 14, from noon to 3 p.m. at 534 Route 3 in Holderness, according to squamlakes.org. The day will include a chili cookoff, winter mini golf, sledding, ice skating, a campfire with hot cocoa and s’mores, a Squam Lakes Natural Science Center Discovery Table and more, according to the website.

• And speaking of the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, 23 Science Center Road in Holderness, this weekend’s Wild Winter Walk takes place Sunday, Feb. 15, with 90-minute sessions at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.The walks are geared to ages 6 and up; see nhnature.org to register.

Valentine fun

• Bookery, 844 Elm St. in Manchester, will hold a Valentine’s Day themed storytime and craft for the book The Day It Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond on Saturday, Feb. 14, at 11:30 a.m. Reserve a spot at bookerymht.com.

• Valentine’s Day — Saturday, Feb. 14 — is also Second Saturday at the Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St. in Manchester, when admission is free for New Hampshire residents. This Saturday, the Creative Studio artmaking activity will feature heart collages and runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to the Currier’s In Focus newsletter. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. See currier.org.

On the court

• It’s another weekend of SNHU Penmen basketball with the women’s team playing Adelphi University at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14, at Stan Spiro Field House at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. The men’s team will take on Adelphi at 3:30 p.m. Both teams will take on Franklin Pierce University in games on Wednesday, Feb. 18 — women at 5:30 p.m. and men at 7:30 p.m. See snhupenmen.com.

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