Boston Flora

  • Sunday, August 30, 11:00 am – 1:30 pm – Italian Summer Feast

    Join farmer, chef and educator Tracy Hayhurst for this Berkshire Botanical Garden farm-to-table cooking class on Sunday, August 30, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Participants will harvest from the BBG vegetable garden, then head into the kitchen with Hayhurst to make a multiple-course meal.

    The Italian Summer Feast will be using the bounty of the garden in traditional Italian recipes, and we’ll create a fantastic multi-course meal.

    Tracy Hayhurst began her culinary training in the late 1990s, attending Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland. In 2002, she co-founded Chubby Bunny Farm in Falls Village, Conn. In 2015, she returned to the kitchen in her dual role as chef and community outreach director at Plantin’ Seeds, connecting farmers and the community through meals that highlighted the best of the season. Her passion for sharing both farming and cooking has led her to Husky Meadows Farm, first as farm manager and now as culinary director for Husky Meadows’ Seed and Spoon Culinary Farm Stay programming.

    BBG members $90, nonmembers $110. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/farm-table-lunch-series-tracy-hayhurst-august-30

  • Saturday, August 22, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Wampanoag Heritage Day

    Join Heritage Museums & Gardens on Augusty 22 for the sixth annual Wampanoag Heritage Day, a fun-filled celebration of Wampanoag culture at Heritage featuring a variety of activities from 10 am-2 pm, including:

    11:30 am-12:15 pm: Watch a performance by the Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers of eastern social songs and dances (with audience participation encouraged!)
    Craft a corn husk doll to take home
    Explore the wetu, a reproduction of a historic dwelling, the mush8n, a reproduction dug-out canoe, and the Three Sisters demonstration garden, all created in collaboration with local Wampanoag partners
    View and learn about historic Wampanoag artifacts found on the land that is now Heritage Museums & Gardens
    Visit a native artisan to shop for handcrafted contemporary wampum jewelry

    All activities are free with museum admission or membership.

    The Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers are a group of musicians, educators, and artisan from the tribal communities of Mashpee on Cape Cod, Aquinnah on Martha’s Vineyard, and Herring Pond in Bourne. Their performances of eastern social songs and dances have both educated and entertained audiences of all ages in museums, schools, and various multicultural events. They dress in traditional clothing and their songs are accompanied by a water drum and handcrafted rattles. They encourage audience participation and prefer to dance with the people instead of for the people.

    In addition to their performances at Heritage, they have appeared at Jacob’s Pillow, the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, The Peabody Essex Museum, Cambridge Arts Council, The Mary Baker Library, Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, Mashpee Powwow, Aptucxet Trading Post Museum, Stonehill College, Brown University, and more. They have toured throughout New England and as far away as Bermuda, Hawaii and the United Kingdom. For three years they have participated in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, heading up the First Light Float and delivering the televised land acknowledgement.

    For more information visit www.heritagemuseumandgardens.org

  • Thursday, August 27, 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm – Pop + Bonsai Workshop

    Let’s reimagine the centuries-old Japanese art of bonsai, emphasizing individual expression beyond classical tradition. This approach embraces playful, lighthearted and sometimes humorous ways of working with miniature trees as an artistic form. In this Berkshire Botanical Garden workshop on Thursday, August 27, from 5 to 7:30 p.m., led by artist and horticultural therapist Brian Mikesell, you’ll have creative freedom to shape your own bonsai. Step beyond your horticultural comfort zone and into a hands-on creative challenge. All materials are included, and you’ll take your finished bonsai home. $100 for BBG members, $130 for nonmembers, Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/pop-bonsai-workshop

  • Wednesday, August 26, 7:00 pm Eastern- Food: The Ultimate Climate Change Messenger, Online

    Climate change is affecting everything on the menu, making this topic relevant to everyone who eats! Not another doom-and-gloom story–this free Massachusetts Master Gardeners online talk on August 26 focuses on solutions to confront climate change and still keep our favorites on the menu. And coincidentally, help keep the planet livable.

    Prof. Emeritus Mike Hoffmann, author of Our Changing Menu: Climate Change and the Foods we Love and Need (see https://cornellpress.cornell.edu/climate-change-and-its-effect-on-our-food/). He has given a TEDx talk and over 150 climate change – related talks.

    Join MMGA for this timely topic that affects us all. Registration link : https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/uxbsj2d

  • Wednesday, August 19, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm Eastern – Planning for the Unknown: Tools for Urban Forest Pest Preparedness, Online

    Urban forests are on the front lines of invasive pest threats and climate uncertainty. This free Invasive Species Centre webinar features two practical tools that help communities assess risk, strengthen preparedness, and respond strategically to emerging forest pests. Representatives from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources will introduce the Urban Forest Pest Readiness Playbook, a resource that guides towns, cities, counties, and urban forestry programs through self assessments and recommended actions to close gaps between local managers and state and federal response partners. We will also explore Portland’s Tree Inventory Project and how comprehensive tree data supports proactive management. By measuring, mapping, and identifying public trees across the city, Portland has strengthened its ability to plan for climate impacts and invasive species, including using inventory data to inform its response planning for emerald ash borer. Join us to gain practical insights and learn about scalable tools that can help your community prepare for the next pest threat before it arrives. Visit https://naisma.org/event/webinar-planning-for-the-unknown-tools-for-urban-forest-pest-preparedness/ to register.

  • Wednesday, August 19, 7:00 pm Eastern – The Ecology of Home: Creating Habitat That Works

    A healthy landscape is more than a collection of plants.

    Pollinators, birds, amphibians, and other wildlife depend on a range of resources that are often overlooked in conventional garden design. Bare soil may provide nesting habitat for native bees. Fallen leaves and plant stems may shelter insects through the winter. Water, dead wood, dense vegetation, and specialized soil conditions can each support different species and life stages.

    Drawing on more than 20 years of experience in ecological restoration, habitat management, and conservation research, Shaun McCoshum will explain how these pieces work together within an ecosystem. He will also share practical ways to incorporate them into residential landscapes. Shaun McCoshum, PhD, is a landscape ecologist, Certified Wildlife Biologist, botanist, conservationist, and author with more than 20 years of experience in ecological restoration, habitat management, and conservation research.

    His work has included habitat restoration and planning projects across the United States supporting a wide range of species and ecosystems. Currently a Senior Ecologist, Shaun combines scientific research with practical habitat design to help people create landscapes that support biodiversity.

    He is the author of Natural Habitats and Wildlife Gardening: Inviting Nature into Your Backyard and a frequent speaker on wildlife habitat, pollinator conservation, and ecological gardening.

    Whether you care for a small suburban yard or a larger property, you will leave with a better understanding of how to create habitat that supports biodiversity throughout the year.

    This webinar is sponsored by Wild Ones. Join live to participate in the chat, and a recording link will be shared after the premier. Free, but donations are encouraged. Register at https://wildones.org/the-ecology-of-home-creating-habitat-that-works/

  • Tuesday, August 25, 5:00 pm – 2026 Orleans Conservation Trust Annual Meeting

    Join Orleans Conservation Trust on August 25 at 5 pm at the Orleans Yacht Club, 39 Cove Road in Orleans for our 2026 Annual Meeting. Doors open at 4:30 pm. Enjoy refreshments and the gorgeous view over Town Cove as we celebrate OCT’s work to protect and restore land for people and wildlife. Attendees will learn about the Trust’s projects, highlights of 2026 and what’s to come in the new year. OCT members are encouraged to vote on the Slate of Trustees, including five renewing members and two incoming Trustees. Free with cash bar.

    The meeting’s keynote presentation will be by guest speaker Nick Nelson. A fluvial geomorphologist and regional director with Inter-Fluve, Nick will present on “Opportunities to Transform Ecosystem Health on Cape Cod.” His talk will cover topics such as restoration of degraded wetlands and waterways throughout Cape Cod and active work on OCT’s Namequoit Bog eco-restoration project in South Orleans.

  • Saturday, August 22, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Cooking with Tomatoes

    tI’s tomato season, the most anticipated harvest of the year. In this hands-on Berkshire Botanical Garden class, held on Saturday, August 22, from 3 to 5 p.m., and led by Miriam Rubin, we’ll begin with a tomato tasting, exploring varieties, textures, and flavor, along with a look at the growing season. Each participant will make a personal tomato galette with a choice of toppings on pre-rolled dough. While the galettes bake, we’ll cover an easy method for peeling and seeding tomatoes for sauce or freezing, then prepare Ginger Tomatoes and a Tomato and Peach Salad from Rubin’s book, Tomatoes. $90 for BBG members, $110 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/cooking-tomatoes-hands-workshop

    Miriam Rubin was the first woman to work in the kitchens of New York City’s famed Four Seasons Restaurant. A food writer and gardener, she wrote the Miriam’s Garden column for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for many years and her work has appeared in many other publications, including Organic Gardening and Rural Intelligence. She and her husband, the artist David J. Lesako, live in Ghent, N.Y. Find out more at her website, MiriamRubin.com, and Instagram @Miriam Rubin.

  • Grandmothers’ Garden in Westfield

    The American Horticultural Society has announced the inclusion of Grandmothers’ Garden in Westfield as part of the AHS Garden Network. Located within Chauncey Allen Park, this historic 1935 design by landscape architect Thomas Desmond features a formal layout of geometric beds organized around a central Summer House. Designed in the Colonial Revival style, Grandmothers’ Garden is home to a vibrant mix of formal flower beds and delicate herb gardens. Each season brings new color and fragrance, from spring bulbs and perennials to lush annuals planted by dedicated volunteers. The blossoms and herbs offer beauty, texture, scent and timelessness, creating a living tapestry that recalls both the Garden’s history and the humanity that allows it to thrive.

    The history of the garden may be found at https://www.grandmothersgarden.org/home. Photography is encouraged – for policies, click HERE. The garden is located on Smith Avenue in Westfield, open daily from dawn to dusk.

  • Tuesday, August 18, 7:00 pm – 8:15 pm Eastern – The Beasts of the East: The Fall & Rise of America’s Eastern Wilderness, Online

    Before skyscrapers and smokestacks transformed the eastern United States, the region was home to an abundance of wildlife. Elk roamed Illinois, bison grazed the prairies of Indiana, and wolves and cougars moved through forests and wetlands stretching from the Northeast to the Deep South. Environmental writer Andrew Moore, author of The Beasts of the East, revisits this largely forgotten landscape and shows how, in just a few generations, industrialization and unregulated hunting pushed many of these animals to the brink of extinction.

    Moore follows conservationists, biologists, hunters, and local communities working to return these animals to their native habitats—from bison grazing on restored Illinois prairies to elk thriving in the hills of Kentucky and red wolves roaming coastal North Carolina. As wildlife begins a remarkable comeback, Moore holds that these efforts raise questions about conservation, coexistence, and the meaning of wilderness in a modern landscape shaped by cities, suburbs, and highways.

    This Smithsonian online presentation on August 18 at 7 pm is $25 for Smithsonian Associates, $35 for nonmembers. Register at www.smithsonianassociates.org