Boston Flora

  • Friday, July 10 – Sunday, July 19 – Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival 2026 at Heritage Museums & Gardens

    As part of the annual Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival, we celebrate the iconic plant that makes the Cape so stunning. Enjoy fabulous photo opportunities as you stroll through the gardens and be sure not to miss two featured gardens which together make up the most comprehensive collection of hydrangeas in North America. The Cape Cod Hydrangea Society Display Garden boasts a collection of over 155 exceptional cultivars, around 60% of which are legacy varieties no longer in cultivation anywhere else. The North American Hydrangea Test Garden showcases over 240 of the newest varieties of hydrangeas being vigorously tested and evaluated here. Featuring hydrangeas in combination with companion plants growing alongside them, this garden provides incredible garden design inspiration!

    Special daily activities include:

    10 am-5 pm – Self-Guided Walking Tour: Discover hydrangea highlights while learning about each of the six major species of this signature plant
11-11:30 am – 30-Minute Hydrangea Guided Tour: Guides share the story of hydrangeas at Heritage and highlight spectacular specimens during this walking tour of both the Display Garden and the Test Garden (tours meet at the Cape Cod Hydrangea Society Display Garden)
    On Saturday, July 11 this tour will be American Sign Language (ASL) interpreted.
11:30 am-3 pm – Hydrangea Discovery Cart: Learn tips for identifying, selecting, and caring for all six types of commonly-grown hydrangeas
Get your hydrangea questions answered by Cape Cod Hydrangea Society volunteers in the gardens

    All extra hydrangea-focused activities are free with museum admission or membership. No advance registration is required. Hydrangea University is a separate fee. For more information visit https://heritagemuseumsandgardens.org/hydrangeafest/

  • Saturday, June 27, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm – Identifying Medicine in Our Gardens: Plant Walk & Herbal-Infused Vinegars

    On June 27, herbalist Taina Vargas leads a plant walk and demonstration on how to make herbal-infused vinegars.

    Join herbalist Taina Vargas for a guided walk through the Lenox & Kendall Community garden followed by a demonstration on how to make herbal-infused vinegars.

    This guided plant walk invites us to slow down and tap into our senses as we engage with the plants growing around us. Learn to safely identify and work with wild medicinal and edible plants to build resilience and deepen our relationship to the land.

    Taina of @sankofa.anacaona.botanicals, a woman-of-color-owned small business based in Roxbury, specializing in plant-based wellness products handcrafted in small batches with locally-sourced botanical ingredients.

    This event is held sliding scale pay what you can $0-20. Please pre-register for weather related updates. If this event is canceled due to bad weather, the rain date will be Sunday June 28th.

    The Lenox & Kendall Community Garden is located on 900 Tremont St, a short walk from the Ruggles or Mass Ave Orange Line stations and local bus lines. Street parking is also available. Sponsored by The Trustees and Boston Community Gardens.

  • Saturday, July 11 – Not Your Mother’s Garden Tour

    The Bowdoinham Public Library in Bowdoinham, Maine is organizing the Second Biennial Not Your Mother’s Garden Tour on Saturday, July 11. For details on time and tickets, visit https://bowdoinhamlibrary.org/events/not-your-mothers-garden-tour-2026/

  • Sunday, June 28, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Harnessing Our Gardens Celebratory Lunch

    Please join the Urban Farming Institute, 487 Norfolk St, Mattapan, on June 28 from 1 – 4 to celebrate the launch of the book, Harnessing our Gardens! The publication features essays, poems, and intimate conversations with Joanne “Mrs. JoJo” Caidor, Laila J. Franklin, Annalise “River” Guidry, Adrienne Hawkins, Sarah “Nnenna Loveth” Nwafor, Isaura Oliveira, Jenny Oliver, Ellice Patterson, Nailah Randall-Bellinger, Lilly Rose Valore, Jessica Roseman, Saturn, Von, Makeda Wallace, Ella Wechsler-Matthaei, Pearl Young, and additional artists whose insights deeply informed this work. For complete information, and to register, visit Eventbrite HERE. $25, book purchasing available at a separate price.

  • Saturday, June 27, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm – Spill the Tea: Ghosts of the Gilded Age

    Join the Trustees for Spill the Tea, a new outdoor lecture series at Naumkeag offering an engaging blend of history, storytelling, and afternoon tea set within the estate’s iconic gardens.

    The program begins at 4:00 PM with an informal tea service on the Arborvitae Allee, featuring a selection of Harney & Sons teas and light snacks (vegan and gluten free options will be available). At 4:30 PM, grab a seat on the top lawn for that month’s lecture. Each session will highlight a different topic—so there’s always something new to discover. The lecture will last approximately one hour, and following the talk, guests are invited to visit our pop-up bar to enjoy a cocktail or non-alcoholic beverage at an additional fee. The property will remain open until 6:30PM. Trustees members $24, nonmembers $30. Register at https://thetrustees.org/event/448055/

  • Saturday, June 27, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Rockport in Bloom Garden Tour

    Saturday, June 27, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Rockport in Bloom Garden Tour

    Plan a day trip to Cape Ann for “Rockport in Bloom” this year—and keep a copy of Boston Magazine’s Rockport guide handy when you go. The festival’s self-guided tour threads through nine gardens in three neighborhoods. Some frame views of the ocean, while others feature one-of-a-kind granite sculptures that hearken back to Rockport’s granite industry history. Plein air painters will be positioned in some gardens, recreating the vibrant petals and grasses on canvas.

    Saturday, June 27, 10 a..m.-4 p.m., rockportgardenclub.org.

  • Friday, June 26, 2:30 pm – 5:00 pm – Poetry Writing Workshop: What Words for Nature’s Beauty?

    With Hollister House Garden in Washington, Connecticut as a source of inspiration, Woodbury poet laureate emerita Sandy Carlson invites you to explore of the role of nature in poetry. Spend time exploring the garden rooms at Hollister House, observing, wandering, and writing as you feel inspired. Go where the Muse takes you- being as contemplative or as playful as you please. Carlson will be available for support and feedback throughout the afternoon. The workshop will conclude with an informal open mic, offering participants the option to share their work with the group while enjoying a beverage.

    This June 26 workshop is for everyone who loves words and the natural world—no previous poetry or writing experience is required. Bring a notebook and your favorite pen or pencil.

    Sandy Lee Carlson is a widely published poet, educator, and Poet Laureate Emerita of Woodbury. She founded the monthly open mic at Woodbury Public Library, and she organizes poetry events in Litchfield and New Haven counties. She edits and publishes poetry anthologies as managing partner of Orenaug Mountain Publishing and hosts the podcast People and Their Poems, featuring conversations with area poets about their work and the poems that have shaped people’s lives. Sandy teaches high school English in Litchfield. A Master Gardener, she spends her free time removing introduced plants wherever she finds them clogging the landscape. Learn more at sandycarlson.net.

    HHG members: $30. Non-members: $35. Register at https://hollisterhousegarden.org/event/poetry-workshop-what-words-for-natures-beauty/

  • Friday – Sunday, June 26 – 28, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Secret Gardens of Newport

    Eight to ten gardens will be open in this summer’s Secret Gardens of Newport Tour. Order your tickets online at https://www.secretgardentours.org/faqs.htm Advance sale tickets are $30. On the days of the tour, tickets may be purchased for $35, if there are any tickets available. On the day you arrive, present your PayPal receipt under the tent in Storer Park at 32 Washington Street in Newport and you will be given a program with a map and directions to each of the gardens.

    The Newport Secret Garden Tours is proud to partner with Bike Newport and the “Get There By Bike” initiative. We encourage you to bike to the Newport Secret Garden Tour, helping to reduce traffic congestion, parking stress, and carbon emissions. We will have temporary bike racks set up at Storer Park. More information on bike parking and other related information can be found here:
    https://bikenewportri.org/bike-to-newport-secret-garden-tours/

  • Tuesday, June 30, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Garden Dining Series: Smokeshow

    New England Botanic Garden’s Garden Dining Series invites guests to savor the ever-evolving relationship between food and nature by celebrating the ingredients and techniques rooted in the natural world. Each event in this signature culinary experience features a thoughtfully curated, multi-course, family-style meal centered around a distinct theme that explores nature’s influence on global cuisines and culinary traditions. From seasonal harvests, the rustic beauty of wood-fired cooking, and the healing flavors of an apothecary-inspired feast, the Garden Dining Series gathers guests together at communal tables to enjoy an unforgettable evening that blends exceptional food, atmosphere, and storytelling. Must be 21+ to attend.

    Ticketing: Each ticket will include one complimentary beverage from a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages including beer, wine, signature drinks, and soft drinks. Additional beverages may be purchased throughout the evening. Deadline for Smokeshow registration is June 24. This barbecue inspired evening highlights the role plants play in smoking, seasoning, and transforming food, from aromatic woods and herbs to charred vegetables and smoked mains. For registration (NEBG members $115, nonmembers $125) visit HERE.

  • Wednesday, June 24, 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Blossoms & Bites

    What goes better together than chocolate and flowers?

    In this New England Botanic Garden event on June 24, a dual-maker workshop, you’ll step into the world of artisanal chocolate with Viviane of Vivilicious Chocolates, learning the craft behind chocolate tempering, making and designing two of your own floral-infused creation. Incorporate botanicals like rose, lavender, and chamomile and explore chocolate not as candy, but as an ingredient of depth and structure, where each botanical is expressed with clarity and balance.

    While your chocolate sets, Sam of Sam’s Stems will guide you through the art of creating a colorful summer garden arrangement. Using fresh seasonal blooms, you’ll compose something simple and beautiful and pick up the basics of caring for cut flowers at home, including whatever might already be growing in your garden.

    Leave with a chocolate treat you made yourself, a bouquet to brighten your space, and a handful of new skills to carry into the season.

    No experience needed. Just a love of beautiful things. And chocolate. Definitely chocolate. $125 NEBG members, $140 nonmembers. Pair pricing: $165 NEBG members, $180 nonmembers, but pair pricing includes only ONE set of materials to share. Register at www.nebg.org