Boston Flora

Wednesday, May 21, 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm Eastern – RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gardens, Online

Join garden designers Nigel Dunnett and Tom Hoblyn for an exclusive insight into how they created their show gardens for this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The livestream will be available May 21 from noon – 1 Eastern, and will be available thereafter on demand. £10 Livestream. Register at www.gardenmuseum.org.uk

Nigel Dunnett is Professor of Planting Design and Urban Horticulture at the University of Sheffield, and a gold-medal winning designer and author. He is one of the world’s leading voices on innovative planting design and ecological horticulture. He’ll be talking about his remarkable sand dune garden which takes its inspiration from the coastal location of charity partner Hospitalfield Arts in Arbroath. The garden interprets this landscape through the eyes of an artist, and creates a dramatic, highly sculptural topography. At the heart of the garden is an outdoor artists’ studio. The planting is resilient and forward-looking, and is established in sand, provoking discussions about trends for planting in low-fertility mineral substrates rather than rich topsoils for climate-adaptation. The garden features a dune pool, which collects rainwater from the studio and the surrounding dunes.

Tom Hoblyn is a RHS Chelsea Flower Show veteran who has created the Hospice UK – Garden of Compassion at the show this week. The garden has been designed for patients and families at the end of life. Drawing from his deep connection to the Mediterranean landscapes he’s explored on plant hunting trips, Tom has crafted a garden that combines the grounding presence of natural stone with the calming effects of drought-tolerant plants. Tom has used materials from the North East of England (as the garden is being relocated to St Cuthbert’s Hospice in Durham after the Show) and he has worked with extraordinary artisans on the sculptural benches and water features, to make a garden that aims to support both the emotional and physical needs of those in hospice care.

Sunday, June 8, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon Eastern – Cottagecore: Peony Flower Arranging

Cottagecore is an aesthetic that celebrates simple living, inspired by the countryside-comes to life in this fun floral workshop. Using a soft defused color palette, you’ll practice the simple styling of peonies in a mason jar or other repurposed container. Learn how to successfully tape a grid, position the flowers, and select complementary floral materials. Learn the tips and tricks of the trade for keeping peonies looking fresh and long-lasting without chemicals or oasis foam. This online New York Botanical Garden class on June 8 is taught by Trish O’Sullivan, and is $140 for members, $155 for nonmembers. When registering, click on the materials list button. Registration closes today – last chance.

Thursday, May 29, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Eastern – Colored Pencil Techniques: Great Blue Heron, Online

Join artist Emma Brittain as she guides you in discovering the art of identifying subtle colors and enhancing the vibrancy of your drawings. In this class, participants will learn to use artist-grade colored pencils to sketch a great blue heron. The primary emphasis will be on refining colored pencil techniques and honing the ability to perceive the myriad of colors hidden within the feathers of a common bird. A sketchbook or drawing grade paper and 24 or more pack of Prismacolor brand colored pencils is recommended. $29. Register at https://mtcubacenter.org/event/colored-pencil-techniques-great-blue-heron-online/. Emma Brittain is a studio artist and planning committee member for Black Birders Week. Her art often involves social commentary with animal or plant symbolism. She hopes to spread wonder and hope through her work.

Tuesday, May 20, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm Eastern – Introduction to Matrix Planting, Online

The Native Plant Trust will present a Zoom lecture with Meg Herndon on May 20 at 6 pm Eastern. Matrix planting originated in Germany after World War II, developed by urban planners seeking a simple, affordable, and low-maintenance way to restore nature and bring hope to war-torn cities. This technique uses small, densely planted species that grow together to form naturalistic “communities.” Researchers and city officials worked together to create this approach. Since then, garden designers and landscape architects in Europe and the US have embraced matrix planting for both its aesthetic appeal and its role in promoting biodiversity. Insights from German plant scientists and nursery owners, who have refined plant selection for sustainable, nature-inspired communities, are now sought after worldwide. Join us to explore the history of matrix planting and discover practical ways that developers, designers, and homeowners can apply these techniques to their own projects locally.

A recording of this class will be available to all registrants for two weeks after the class. $25. Register at www.nativeplanttrust.org. Image courtesy of Fine Gardening Magazine.

Wednesday, May 28, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – Gardens on Film: Risk and Reward

Historic parks and gardens play a frequent – and frequently tantalizing – role in films and on TV. Where is the 18th century landscape that forms the background to scenes in Bridgerton? Which English country estate serves as Paris for both James Bond and Sherlock Holmes? Is that really a world heritage site being flooded for a scene in The Secret Garden?

Join The Gardens Trust on Wednesdays in May for behind-the-scenes at some of the locations used in costume dramas, children’s adventures, murder mysteries and much else. We’ll hear from a location manager on choosing the right gardens for shoots and from a garden historian on films in her own county, as well as the experience of three major players who regularly manage film crews in their historic landscapes – the National Trust, the Royal Parks and English Heritage. This ticket costs £35 for the full series of five talks or you may purchase a ticket for individual talks, costing £8. To sign up, visit Eventbrite UK HERE. Ticket holders can join each session live and/or view a recording for up to 2 weeks afterwards. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days (and again a few hours) prior to the start of the first talk.

This May 28 talk will focus on how the members of the English Heritage venue hire team work with their gardens and landscapes specialists to protect spaces used for filming while encouraging filming hires across the portfolio of English Heritage sites. The session will look at some of the potential risks, approaches to mitigation – and the rewards attached to using historic gardens and landscapes in film. It will include case studies from some familiar film and TV series such as Bridgerton, Downton Abbey and The Crown.

Christina Pascoe is National Venue Hire Manager and Interim Commercial Development Team Lead at English Heritage. Christina and her team manage all hires at English Heritage from small scale photoshoots to large scale filming hires, events, concerts and weddings. Christina is also the founder and chair of the Heritage Filming Alliance, established in 2024 to support venues within the heritage and culture sector during the planning and delivery of filming hires and to support them in expanding their filming business. She is also a trustee of The Bowes Museum.

Sunday, June 15 – Application Deadline: 2025 New England Leopold Conservation Award

The Leopold Conservation Award Program recognizes and celebrates achievement in voluntary conservation by agricultural landowners. Sand County Foundation, our national sponsor American Farmland Trust, and conservation partners across the U.S. present the prestigious honor, which consists of $10,000 and a crystal award, in settings that showcase the landowners’ achievements among their peers.

The Leopold Conservation Award program widely shares the stories of these conservation-minded farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners to inspire countless other landowners to embrace opportunities to improve soil health, water resources and wildlife habitat on their working land. Finally, the program builds bridges between agriculture, government, environmental organizations, industry and academia to advance the cause of environmental improvement on private land. The New England award is presented in partnership with American Farmland Trust and the New England Forestry Foundation. The nomination deadline is June 15, 2025. Apply at https://sandcountyfoundation.org/our-work/leopold-conservation-award/application-info

Monday, May 19 – Deadline for Comments on Proposed Weakening of Endangered Species Act

Tim Johnson, CEO of the Native Plant Trust, has issued a statement and call to action on a proposal from the US Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, both institutions “under new management”, set forth below. Clicking on to to the Share Your Comments link brings you to the Federal Register site, and comments need not be lengthy or complicated, but the more people adding their objections to the bill, the better. Comments close on May 19, so take a moment now to support the environment:

In April, the US Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service announced their intention to weaken the power of the Endangered Species Act by no longer recognizing the harmful effects of changing or destroying the habitat of endangered species. Those of us in the conservation community fear that such a change will mean that federal regulators will ignore the impact of habitat loss–the number one cause of species extinction–when considering mining, logging, and development on ecologically sensitive lands.
The Endangered Species Act was voted into law by Congress in 1973. It is designed to protect and conserve endangered and threatened species and their habitats so that these species can be spared from extinction. To state the obvious, a species cannot survive without its habitat. A forest cannot survive in a parking lot. Fish cannot survive in a drained pond. This change to the Endangered Species Act would be catastrophic for endangered species everywhere. Excluding damage to habitat when considering the impact of human activities on endangered species unravels the very fabric of the law and its intent.
At present, there are 944 species, varieties, and subspecies of plants on the endangered species list, including the globally rare Astragalus robbinsii var. jesupii (Jesup’s milk vetch) a species Native Plant Trust has worked hard to protect from climate change-induced habitat loss and flooding through seed banking, reintroduction, and invasive species control for more than 20 years. Without the habitat protection afforded this species through the Endangered Species Act, the habitat this species occupies could be destroyed. Without that habitat, Jesup’s milk vetch will go extinct in the wild. The same goes for hundreds of other species.
Your voice matters. I ask you to use it now on behalf of endangered species across the country. Sharing your opinion about this proposed change before the public comment period ends on May 19. Tell those in power that biodiversity matters to you and that you are paying attention to the plight of endangered and threatened plants and animals.

Share Your Comments

Saturday, May 17, 11:00 am – 1:30 pm – Free Plants BOS

Join Emerald City Plant Shop on May 17 from 11 – 1:30 at the Boston Public Library at 1350 Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan for a free tropical plant giveaway. Limit two plants per person, first come first served while supplies last! Phone 617-298-9218 for more information.

Tuesday, May 20, 12:00 noon Eastern – Tumult in the Vase: Radical Florists in Conversation, Online

Emily Thompson, Wagner Kreusch, Frida Kim, Françoise Ozawa & John Lim of This Humid House will be in conversation with Shane Connolly at The Garden Museum in London on May 20 at 12 noon Eastern time, during the week of the Chelsea Flower Show. All are playing a part in the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025, where their radical floral installations showcase the future of floral design.

These artists are connected by a shared commitment to the natural world, and are led by nature to create designs that embrace the sometimes chaotic, aggressive, and subtle aspects of the living world, turning the flower vase on its head. Still, they are rooted in the great traditions of floristry.

Hear them discuss their work, the exhilaration and challenge of the medium, and their aesthetic connections with one another, and be inspired. Book the livestream (£10) at gardenmuseum.org.

Tuesday, May 20, 12:00 noon Eastern – Babylon, Albion, Online

Whoever said nature is still has not borne witness to the migration of the seasons. Join The Garden Museum and debut author Dalia Al-Dujaili in conversation on May 20 to celebrate the launch of her debut book, Babylon, Albion. In this striking exploration of identity and place, Dalia Al-Dujaili considers what it means to belong in your land. Tracing the rich heritage of both the oak and the date palm, Iraqi marshes and Loch Ness monsters, Al-Dujaili marries Arab and Islamic mythology with the English and Christian pastoral. She draws from a rich array of sources to consider in a new light the communal lush, wild – and, at times, dark – places we share.

Dalia Al-Dujaili is an Iraqi-British writer, editor and producer based in London. She is the online editor of The British Journal of Photography. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, Dazed, GQ, WePresent, Aperture, Atmos, It’s Nice That, Elephant Art and more. She is the founder of The Road to Nowhere Magazine and in 2023 she was the Producer of Refugee Week. Dalia holds an MA Hons in English Literature from the University of Edinburgh.

A love song to Britain, Iraq and the body of earth we hold in common, Babylon, Albion is an urgent reimaging of what it means to be native. £10 Livestream. Register at gardenmuseum.org.uk