Boston Flora

Month: July 2009

  • Sunday, July 26, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. – Judged Daylily Exhibition at Tower Hill

    Sunday, July 26, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. – Judged Daylily Exhibition at Tower Hill

    Visit Tower Hill Botanic Garden and view the New England Daylily Society’s judged exhibition.  Log on to www.towerhillbg.org for directions, or visit www.nedaylily.org for more information.  The schedule is as follows:

    11:00 – 11:40 “Got Sun? Go Daylilies!” presented by Sandra Schaider. See their beauty and endless variety, learn about their easy care and propagation, the fun of cross pollinating and growing from seed… all in a series of extraordinary photographs.
    11:45 – 12:20 “Local Treasures” presented by Mike Huben, hybridizer
    12:25 – 12:50 “Propagation by Division” shown by Denise Pavlovich
    12:55 Raffle drawing for free plants and membership to the daylily society
    1:00 – 5:00 “Judged Exhibition” features New England’s prize daylilies.

    See full size image

  • Thursday, July 23 – Saturday, July 25 – Nantucket Garden Festival

    The Nantucket Garden Festival benefits the Nantucket Lighthouse School, an independent day-school serving children pre-school through sixth grade through a developmentally appropriate education that engages the whole child – head, heart and hand.


    Thursday, July 23

    6:00 – 8:00 p.m.            Preview Party and Keynote:
    Holly Shimizu, first-look at the Garden Marketplace, auction, hors d’oeuvres and libations. Read more.

    Friday, July 24

    9:00 – 11:00 a.m.          Hypertufa Workshop:
    Kathy and Chris Tracey. Make a look-alike stone trough planter.  Limit 12; bring rubber gloves.  Read more about it.

    9:00 – 10:00 a.m.         “Out of their Element”:
    Ellen Hornig’s power point lecture on growing tender plants in inhospitable climates. Read more about it.

    9:30 – 11:00 a.m.          Cut it Out:
    Janice Shields demonstrates making garden trellis from vines and twigs. Read more about it.

    10:10 – 11:10 a.m.        “Epimediums: No Longer Just a Groundcover:”
    Karen Perkins Probst is the proprietor of Garden Visions, the nursery credited with breeding epimediums, botany’s gift to dry shade. Read more about it.

    11:15 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.    Garden Tour & Luncheon with Michael May:
    A tour of four private gardens with lunch catered by Sarah Leah Chase.  Limit 30. See “Special Events” for details. Read more about it.

    3:00 – 5:00 p.m.            “True Organics: Landscaping with Yesterday’s Knowledge and Today’s Science” Seminar with Michael Nadeau. Read more about it.

    10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.    Stonewalling Demonstration by Nantucket Plantsman. Read more about it.

    6:30 – 9:30 p.m.            Dinner in the Garden with David Wheeler:
    A dinner party in an evening garden setting.  Seating limited. Read more about it.

    Saturday, July 25

    9:00 – 10:00 a.m.          Beekeeping Seminar:
    David Berry discusses the rewards of beekeeping. Read more about it.

    9:00 – 10:00 a.m.          “Thinking Like a Seed”:
    Ellen Hornig’s challenge in this power point lecture. Read more about it.

    11:15 – 1:15 p.m.          Hypertufa Workshop:
    Make a look-alike stone trough planter. Limit 12; bring rubber gloves. Read more about it.

    11:15 – 3:00 p.m.          Garden Tour & Luncheon with Russ and Marian Morash:
    A tour of four very different vegetable gardens with lunch catered by Black Eyed Susans.  Limit 30.  See “Featured Events.” Read more about it.

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.            Raffle

    10:00 – 2:00 p.m.          Stonewalling Demonstration by Nantucket Plantsman. Read more about it.

    Children’s Program conducted by Lizbet Carroll Fuller, co-founder of the Nantucket Lighthouse School

    Friday:

    9:00 – 10:15                    Feather Your Own Nest (ages 6 – 12)

    10:45 – 12:00                  Make a Mosaic Flowerpot (ages 6 – 12)

    Saturday:

    9:00 – 10:15                    Create a Miniature Fairy Garden (ages 6 – 12)

    10:45 – 12:00                  Make a Sunprint Pillow (ages 6 – 12) or                                                                                                                         Build a Wooden Birdhouse (ages 8 – 12)

    Check back for event details as they develop.  Call 508.228.0427 for event details and information about participation.

  • Saturday, July 18 – Meals in the Meadow

    You are invited to The FARM Institute’s annual auction and celebration Meals in the Meadow on Saturday, July 18th held under the stars in the pastoral setting of Katama Farm in Edgartown, MA.

    This year The FARM is pulling out all the stops to celebrate nine years of reconnecting children and adults to the land, animals and each other. Indulge in priceless auction items, eat locally grown food prepared by some of the Island’s best chefs and dance your boots off with The Cattle Drivers and other local musicians.

    Island auctioneer celebrity and auctioneer Trippy Barnes will be taking the reins of the live and silent auction.

    Throughout the evening there will be plenty of food to sustain your soul. From sushi to oysters to chocolate desserts to smoked tomato martinis and everything in between your appetite will be more then satisfied.

    BerriesThis year’s event will feature a full buffet dinner prepared by Buckley Gourmet Catering. Appetizers will be served where patrons can sample a variety of delicious items from some of the Island’s most renowned chefs. As always, the menu will work to offer enticing, locally grown foods, which showcase the Island. Contact Rob at 508-627-7007 for exact time and directions, or email him at rob@farminstitute.org. Learn more about the Farm Institute at www.farminstitute.org.

    The FARM Institute (TFI) is a teaching farm that educates and engages children and adults in sustainable agriculture through the diverse operations of a working farm. TFI provides year-round educational programs offering learning experiences in:

    • The culture and history of Martha’s Vineyard farming;
    • Farming (Field crops, produce, fruit, hay);
    • Land preservation;
    • Nutritional awareness;
    • Humane livestock management (cattle, poultry, swine, sheep, goats);
    • Entrepreneurial thinking and application

  • Thursday – Saturday, August 6 – 8 – Annual Meeting of American Conifer Society

    Entitled “Great Gatsby on Long Island”, the 2009 American Conifer Society will present its 2009 Annual National Meeting in Hauppauge, New York, August 6 – 8.  The Northeastern Region is excited to host this year’s ACS National Meeting on Long Island. The emphasis will be the Great Gatsby themed estates of Long Island. Each of these estates were created with lavish gardens and magnificent landscapes. The estates contain their own pinetum which feature mature conifer specimens as well as dwarf conifer gardens. Participants will also visit  perhaps the finest public garden in the United States: the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, New York. The NYBG features the Benenson Collection of Dwarf and Unusual Conifers plus a number of the conifer discoveries of the late Dr. Sid Waxman. Fred Soviaro, Director of the Hofstra University Arboretum, will speak on “The Gardens and Conifers of Hofstra.” Vinny Simeone, Director of  The Planting Fields, will present “A Look at the Coe Family and Their Estate.” There will also be a session on “Conifer Gardens of Great Britain and the Netherlands.” Other tours will be of Old Westbury Gardens, 88 acres of formal gardens, tree-lined walks, grand allees, ponds, statuary, and architectural follies, Hofstra University, and the newly renovated Dwarf Conifer Garden at the Planting Fields.  Silent and live plant auctions will be held at the banquet dinner Friday nightt.  On Saturday, two tours, New York Botanical Gardens and Bayard Cutting Arboretum, will conclude with a Caribbean cookout.  The meeting site and accomodations will be the Hyatt Regency Long Island, 1717 Motor Parkway, Hauppauge, New York.  For more information and to register, log on to www.conifersociety.org.


    New York Botanical Gardens The ACS meeting will feature:

    • Premier garden tours
    • Educational Talks featuring the ACS Scholarship 2008 winner
    • Outstanding silent and verbal conifer auctions
    • Excellent accommodations
    • Plenty of conifer information and conifer comradery
    • PLUS attendance by members of the British and Dutch Conifer Societies
    • Exclusive Post tour (details soon)

  • Thursday, July 30, 6-7:30 – Opening Reception, “Illuminating Nature” Scanner Photography

    Ellen Hoverkamp was a pioneer in using the flatbed scanner as a tool to create fine art.  Her technique involves making intricate arrangements from plants, vegetables and natural objects.  The light from the scanner reflects the subject making the arrangement appear to glow against a dark background.  Inspiration for her work comes from the Victorian botanical illustration, particularly “Language of Flowers” bouquets, and Dutch still life painting.  Hovercamp gratefully utilizes cuttings offered from local gardeners and farmers in her scanned compositions. This collaboration with the gardening community began in 1997 and continues today, as she works to preserve souvenirs of the garden.  She views her pictures, often named for the gardeners, as portraits of flowers and also portraits of those who grew them.  “Friends, family, neighbors, and even people I hardly know invite me to cut and use their flowers and vegetables for my work.”  See more of Ellen Hoverkamp’s work at www.myneighborsgarden.com.  The Exhibit will run from July 28 – September 16, 2009 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Massachusetts. The reception will feature a cash bar and light refreshments.  Free and open to the public.    For more information, call 508-869-6111 or log on to www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Friday, July 31, 6 – 9 pm – Garden Party at Naumkeag

    Delight in a festive evening amongst the gardens of Naumkeag – a National Historic Landmark and one of the most beautiful views in New England! Stroll through the world-famous gardens sparkling with fireflies. Feast on hors d’oeuvres and sip on cocktails while watching the sun set behind the Berkshire Hills. Bid on the best of the Berkshires at the silent and live auctions. All proceeds support restoration of Naumkeag’s historic kitchen.

    Naumkeag was the summer “cottage” of the Choate family who began summering in Berkshire County in the 1870s. Designed by McKim, Mead & White in 1885, this forty-four-room, shingle-style house is filled with original furniture, ceramics, and artwork collected from America, Europe, and the Far East. Joseph Hodges Choate (1832-1917) was a prominent New York attorney. Between 1899 and 1905, he served in England as U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James.

    Naumkeag is famous for its eight acres of terraced gardens and landscaped grounds surrounded by forty acres of woodland, meadow, and pasture that stretch to the Housatonic River Valley. The gardens and landscaped grounds, first designed in the late 1880s by Nathan Barrett, were transformed and expanded between 1926 and 1956 by Fletcher Steele and Mabel Choate. Separate garden “rooms” include the Afternoon Garden, Tree Peony Terrace, Rose Garden, Evergreen Garden, Chinese Garden, Arborvitae Walk, and Linden Walk. Perhaps the most famous feature of the landscape is Steele’s Blue Steps, a series of deep blue fountain pools flanked by four flights of stairs climbing up a gentle hillside and overhung by birch trees.

    Fees: $100 per ticket for members, $140 non-members (includes one year individual membership); $250 for a non-member couple (includes one year family membership)
    Notes: Call for event details and reservation information. Tickets must be purchased in advance.
    Telephone: 413-298-3239 x3000
    E-mail: westregion@ttor.org

  • Thursday, July 23, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. – Landscape and Garden Tour of Hamilton House

    Take part in a special oportunity to learn about the landscape and gardens at Hamilton House, 40 Vaughan’s Lane, South Berwick,  Maine, one of the properties administered by Historic New England, with Regional Landscape Manager Gary Wentzel.

    After railroads made the region accessible in the late 19th century, coastal Maine became a fashionable destination for wealthy summer people. Many of the newcomers bought and restored the fine old houses built during the prosperous years following the American Revolution.

    In 1898, Mrs. Emily Tyson and her stepdaughter, Elise, purchased the c. 1785 Hamilton House, built on a magnificent site overlooking the Salmon Falls River. The Tysons flung themselves into a lifelong project to restore the house to its former glory. Influenced by literary imagery, including the writings of their neighbor and friend, Sarah Orne Jewett, they decorated with a mixture of elegant antiques, painted murals, and simple country furnishings to create their own romantic interpretation of America’s colonial past.

    $6 for Members of Historic New England, $12 for non-Members.  For more information and directions, log on to www.historicnewengland.org.

  • Sunday, July 26, 10:00 a.m. – Botanize Hartman Recreational Park

    Field trips are a long standing tradition of the Connecticut Botanical Society.  They provide an opportunity to learn about plants and habitats from some the area’s most knowledgeable botanists, and an opportunity to share your own knowledge with others.  The trips also add to the bank of knowledge of New England flora.  On each field trip. a list is made of all plant species identified, and this list becomes part of the Society’s records.  The Connecticut Botanical Society encourages the gardening public to participate in the botanizing of Hartman Recreational Park in Lyme, Connecticut, led by Carol Lemmon, President of CBS.  This 300-acre park with 10 miles of trails meanders through swamps, marshes, around a beaver pond, under power line cuts, and unusual rock formations.  There are archeological sites dating from the American Revolution.  For field trips, wear sturdy footwear and bring a lunch.  Sunscreen and insect repellant are also recommended.  For plant identification, you may wish to bring a field guide(s), a hand lens, and a small notebook.  Familiarity with plant taxonomy is helpful, but not required.  No pre-registration is required.  Free to CBS members.  Non-members must pay a $15 fee, which includes a one-year membership in CBS, and entitles you to join future trips this season at no additional cost.  For more information and directions, call 203-484-0134, or log on to www.ct-botanical-society.org.

  • Tuesday, July 21, 4 – 6 pm – Garden Trough Making at Long Hill

    Long Hill is one of The Trustees of Reservations most beautiful North Shore properties. Join this annual tradition of making your own living container; perfect for a variety of diminutive plants that can endure our winters. Members of The Trustees, $28, non-members $35.  Please pre-register by calling 978-921-1944, x4018, or email needucation@ttor.org.

    How to Get There:
    From Route 128, exit 18, take Route 22 (Essex Street) north 1.3 mi. Bear left at fork in road and continue for 0.2 mi to brick gate posts and entrance drive on left. Parking area (50 cars) located about 100 yards up the driveway on the left. Overflow parking in field.

  • Sundays through October 25, 10 – 4 – SOWA Open Market

    The SoWa Open Market offers a shopping experience like no other in Boston. With an ever-changing group of artisans, a hip location and the chance to feel the sun on your face while you browse, it’s a trip worth making. The market offers the opportunity to meet the artists, vendors and farmers behind the work, and is fast becoming part of the South End’s well-known artist’s community. Every week offers shoppers something different and unique – you won’t want to miss it!

    The market hosts a wide variety of vendors, whether you’re looking for hand-crafted accessories, original art, indie designer clothing or just a fresh loaf of bread, you’ll find painters, sculptors, photographers, clothing and jewelry designers, milliners, handbag designers, house wares, florists, bakers, local farmer’s produce and much more every week!  Free Admission and Parking. For directions and more information, log on to www.sowaopenmarket.com.