Boston Flora

  • Saturday, October 24, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm – Fall-oween on the Farm

    Celebrate the season with a full day of autumn fun at Fall-oween at Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary in Lincoln on October 24 from 9 – 5. Check in when you arrive. Preregistration is not required.

    Wander through vibrant fall foliage and take a once-a-year festive hayride through the fields. Visit the Creepy Critter Mansion for an up-close look at snakes, insects, and other crawlers, and don’t miss the return of the ever-popular Hay Play area—perfect for climbing, jumping, and rolling around.

    Stations around the farm feature crafts, games, facepainting, and storytelling sessions with the one-and-only Drumlin Witch. Meet one of our iconic owl wildlife ambassadors, then stick around to dance to the Harmony Highway Band as they fill the farm with lively tunes. Enjoy food options from local food truck vendors as well as cider, doughnuts and other classic fall treats. Come dressed in your favorite costume for a special free farm prize!

    Each activity runs in several time blocks throughout the day, so come when you can and stay as long as you’d like.

    *Note: Special event pricing for Fall-oween on the Farm will apply to all visitors, including Mass Audubon members and Lincoln residents. No library passes are accepted for this date. Your admissions fee contributes to supporting our work. Thank you! Adult members $10, nonmembers $15. Child members $8, nonmembers $12. For more information visit https://www.massaudubon.org/programs/drumlin-farm/103948-fall-oween-on-the-farm

  • Tuesdays, November 6 – December 17, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Eastern – Paleobotany: The Origin of Plants, Online

    Paleobotany, the study of plant evolution through fossil evidence, gives us insights into Earth’s flora, past and present. Gain a historical perspective on global diversity and climate change, and the origin and development of present-day trees and flowering plants. This online New York Botanic Garden continuing education series will be held Tuesdays, November 6 – December 17, from 6 – 8 Eastern. Instructor Jamie Boyer, Ph.D., is the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Vice President for Children’s Education at The New York Botanical Garden. He holds a Masters in Paleobotany from Illinois University-Carbondale, and a Doctorate in Plant Biology from SUNY-Binghamton. NYBG members $330, nonmembers $367. For information, including prerequisite class options, visit www.nybg.org

  • Saturday, October 17, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Sip Local: Cider & Brewery Tour

    Go beyond the bottle with a private excursion to the Ragged Hill Cider Company, a leader in sustainable orchard management. Step behind closed doors for a rare, inside look at the cider production facility which is usually not open to the public, where renowned cider expert Steve Garwood will lead an intimate discussion on heritage apple varieties and the delicate science of fermentation. Apply your new horticultural and scientific knowledge to a curated heirloom apple and cider tasting, then take home your favorites with an exclusive 10% discount.

    This New England Botanic Garden tour on October 17 begins with a check in at 9:45 at New England Botanic Garden, where you will meet your host and driver. The scenic drive to Oakham will take you to Ragged Hill just in time for opening, a picnic lunch, and curated cider and heirloom apple tasting. You will return to NEBG by 2 pm.

    Optional box lunches can be ordered can be from Farmer & The Fork. They will delivered by NEBG staff on the tour (no need to pick them up). We will reach out to all participants with more lunch details and options. Box lunch costs are not included. You are welcome to bring your own lunch. Register HERE. $78 for NEBG members, $90 for nonmembers (adults).

  • Wednesday, October 14, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Eastern – Foundations of a Four-Season Garden, Online

    Are you hungry for practical tips about how to plan a garden that prioritizes biodiversity while being tailored to your goals and space? Much like people, plants have individual personalities that reveal themselves when they share a common space. Participants in this Native Plant Trust online class on October 14 at 5:30 will explore how to create varied, beautiful native plant landscapes that benefit wildlife all year long. We will focus particularly on how to create sustainable, compelling landscapes while keeping in mind the unique growing habits of individual plants. A recording of this class will be available for 30 days after the class date. Marie Chieppo is the instructor. $25. Register at https://nativeplanttrust.org/class/foundations-of-a-four-season-garden/

  • Now Through February 21 – Sensing Oceans at the MIT Museum

    How do we sense and make sense of the ocean? How do we go beyond the limits of our perception to understand the ocean more completely? Come see at the MIT Museum, 314 Main Street, Gambrill Center Building E-28 in Cambridge, now through February 21.

    Combining science, history, and contemporary art, Sensing Oceans offers a multifaceted look at the marine environment that covers three quarters of our planet, and yet, without technology, is largely beyond our reach. From autonomous vehicles and sonar images to immersive artistic installations and robots that mimic fish, this exhibition explores how we might sense the ocean more completely, and by extension, become better stewards of this crucial ecosystem.

    Among the centerpieces of this exhibition are the US premiere of two installations by experiential artist collective Marshmallow Laser Feast: Seeing Echoes in the Mind of the Whale, and Plankton Temple. The former, a sensory experience that immerses audiences in the worlds of whales and dolphins on their underwater journeys, and the latter an homage to plankton in the form of a kinetic sculpture of light, glass, and sound that echoes their intricate structures and movements. Additionally, audiences are invited to discover underwater landscape artwork by contemporary artist Julius von Bismarck, alongside the historic glass marine invertebrate models of Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, and deep sea photography of life on the ocean floor by Harold Edgerton.

    ‘Sensing Oceans’ asks what it means to know something we can never fully grasp. From the earliest sounding rods to today’s underwater autonomous vehicles and bio-acoustic recordings, humans have built an extraordinary lineage of technologies to reach beyond our own senses and into the medium of the ocean. This exhibition brings that lineage into full view, showing how each instrument and artwork can measure the sea and transform our relationship to this magnificent realm.

  • Thursday, October 15, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Eastern – Jane Austen & The English Landscape, Online

    Austen is famed for her sharp social satire, but she was also highly attuned to the shifting sensibilities surrounding landscape. From Pride and Prejudice’s wickedly funny take on the Picturesque to the lampooning of real-life landscaper Humphry Repton in Mansfield Park, there is no doubt that Austen had a deep love of the English landscape. She recognized that “to sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment.”

    Dr Laura Mayer has an MA in Garden History and a PhD in 18th Century patronage. Originally an art historian, she fell into Garden History after working at the Alhambra in Granada. She has published extensively – particularly on Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and on Jane Austen’s contemporary, Humphry Repton. Laura shares Elizabeth Bennett’s appreciation of Gilpin’s picturesque, as well as her talent for tramping about a garden inappropriately shod. She has worked as a consultant for the National Trust, English Heritage and Land and Heritage. She lectures regularly for the Gardens Trust and Cambridge Botanic Gardens.

    This October 15 online talk is sponsored by the Oxfordshire Gardens Trust. £4 for members; £5 for non-members. Booking is through Eventcube. Visit www.ogt.org.uk for registration.

  • Wednesday, October 21, 6:15 pm – 8:00 pm – Wildlife in Focus: Matt Patterson’s Journey in Art & Conservation

    The Walden Woods Project welcomes artist and naturalist Matt Patterson, whose dedication to illustration accuracy has taken him from Boston’s rivers to the rainforests of Belize. Matt has illustrated several celebrated books including three award-winning collaborations with author Sy Montgomery. In his presentation, Matt will discuss his experiences working in the field, his commitment to conservation, and the research behind bringing his (turtle) subjects to life. The event takes place Wednesday, October 21. Doors open at 6:15 pm for a wine and cheese, and lecture begins at 7. Registration required at https://www.walden.org/upcoming-events-and-event-catalog/

  • Thursday, October 22, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Music for Landscapes

    The Harvard Graduate School of Design presents Grammy Award winning musicians Caroline Shaw and Andrew Yee on Thursday, October 22 at 6:30 pm in the Piper Auditorium, They will perform a selection of their music, inspired by landscapes we imagine and inhabit. The musicians draw on their recent album, Or, The Whale (2026), to explore connections between the sun and soil of the landscape and the sound and sense of music. Edward Eigen, a senior lecturer in the history of landscape and architecture at the GSD, joins the musicians for a conversation following the performance. The event is part of ArtsThursdays, a university-wide initiative supported by the Harvard University Committee on the Arts.

    Please note: This event is in-person only, free, and registration is required. There is no livestream option for this event. Register at https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/event/music-for-landscapes/?mc_cid=d2db7456eb&mc_eid=314db6bd32

  • Sunday, October 25, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm – Celebrating Chrysanthemums

    In celebration of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s annual John Lowell Gardner Chrysanthemum Installation in the Courtyard, we present this exploration of the chrysanthemum as a muse for musicians and writers. An all-star cast is joined by the Gardner’s Stanley P. Kozak Director of Horticulture Erika Rumbley and Abrams Curator of Music George Steel. The event, in Calderwood Hall, is on October 25 from 1:30 – 3:30, and the program may be found at https://www.gardnermuseum.org/calendar/celebrating-chrysanthemums-20261025. Tickets are available online at the link above or by calling the Box Office at 617-278-5156. If sold out, place your name on the wait list, or just go to the Museum and enjoy the Chrysanthemum installation while it is in peak bloom. Photo: Jenny Pore

  • Tuesday, October 27, 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – Margaret Mee & the Moonflower, Online

    On her fifteenth and final expedition into the Amazon, in 1988, at the age of 79, Margaret Mee traveled to Anavilhanas, Rio Negro in search of a flower very few had ever seen bloom – the Amazon Moonflower (Strophocactus wittii). By torchlight, she waited for its petals to unfurl: the culmination of a search begun over twenty years earlier, and the last great encounter of her extraordinary life.

    Join The Garden Museum online on October 27 for a special evening to relive that moment – one of the most potent in the history of botanical art.

    Margaret Mee (1909–1988) was a British-born botanical artist who spent four decades documenting the flora of the Brazilian Amazon by canoe, painting plants that had rarely, if ever, been recorded. She became one of the earliest voices to raise the alarm on Amazon deforestation, using her paintings as a form of activism as much as art.

    This event forms part of our Burle Marx season, marking Mee’s close friendship with the Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx. All our live streams are recorded so you have the choice to watch the event live or enjoy at a later time that suits you. Customers who book the live stream can automatically view the recording immediately after the event at the same link. £10 Livestream Register at www.gardenmuseum.org/uk