Boston Flora

Month: August 2009

  • Saturday, August 22, 1:30 pm – South Middleborough Grange Fair

    The South Middleborough Grange #337 invites you to attend its 52nd Annual Grange Fair at the Grange Hall, 570 Wareham Street, South Middleborough, Massachusetts.  The Grange Fair is held in cooperation with the Massachusetts State Grange.  All exhibits of fruits, vegetables, flowers, canned goods, baked goods, needlework and crafts will be on exhibit beginning at 1:30 pm.  There will also be a baked goods sale and a bazaar.  A chicken pie supper will be served at 6 pm ($8 adults, $3 children), and at 7:15 there will be an auction of vegetables and flowers.  See the most gorgeous pumpkins, squash, beans, tomatoes, herbs, potatoes, onions – many with ribbons attached!  The South Middleborough Grange was organized in 1913 by 98 charter members, and annual events include clam bakes, dances, suppers and meetings with programs.  The annual agricultural fair is a long-standing tradition for the grange and community, and is symbolic of our agrarian past and continued support of rural and agricultural values.

    The Grange Fair - An American Tradition

  • Tuesday, September 1 – Thursday, September 3, 9:30 – 3:30 – Fern Morphology: Beyond the Fronds

    Spend three days at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden (September 1 – 3, 9:30 – 3:30) with Dick Rauh looking at and drawing ferns.  Learn to appreciate the variety of forms and the subtlety of color and texture that characterize them.  Study the fern life cycle, dissections, diagnostic characters and fern vocabulary.  With Dick’s guidance, compose these elements: a drawing of a frond or habit, details of pinna form, sori and scales into a scientific illustration in graphite or pen and ink.  Members of Friends of Wellesley Botanic Garden – $250, Non-Members $300.  Print a reservation form from the web site, www.wellesley.edu/WCFH, or send a check made payable to Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture and mail it to Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02481-8203.

  • Saturday, August 29, 10:00 a.m. – Fern Identification Workshop

    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 this Fern Identification Workshop at Lockwood Farm Cottage in Hamden , Connecticut, led by Casper Ultee, Past President of CBS.  Although many ferns are readily identified, some are easily confused with similar species.  This workshop will focus on those and others that are less common.  You may bring your own problem specimens (fronds only, no complete plants, please).   This workshop is limited to twelve participants, and pre-registration is required by contacting the leader in advance at 860-633-7557. 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.    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 Casper Ultee at the number above, or log on to www.ct-botanical-society.org.

  • Friday, August 21 – Sunday, August 23 – 25th Annual Wilbraham Peach Festival

    Wilbraham’s Twenty-fifth Annual Peach Festival, August 21, 22, & 23, 2009, will be held at Fountain Park, Tinkham Road in Wilbraham. Come join friends and neighbors and enjoy the country fair atmosphere of Wilbraham’s biggest event!

    There is a full schedule of activities for both adults and children along with plenty of food and exhibits. The main stage and children’s tent will feature a variety of local and regional talent, and FlippenOut Productions will make a return appearance on Sunday. And with peach sundaes, peach bread, peach shakes, and of course, Mr. Peach, we’re sure you will have a peach of a time!

    All proceeds from the Wilbraham Peach Festival go to local community groups and scholarships.  For directions, times and more information, log on to www.pickyourown.org.

  • Thursday, August 13, 6:30 – 8 pm – A Forest in Mind: Mixed-Media Paintings by Terry Boutelle

    Come to the Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall at the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain  at 6:30 on Thursday, August 13 for a conversation with artist Terry Boutelle.  Terry Boutelle’s vision of trees and forests is shaped by memory, meditation, and imagination. Initially inspired by birch trees in the Arboretum, Boutelle has moved beyond realism into psychological and emotional realms. Using mixed media such as acrylic, pastel, wax, and plaster, and often incorporating natural objects such as leaves, twigs, and seeds, she creates paintings that are at times richly textured and at other times, smooth and veiled. Her images evoke mystery and yearning for things we cannot quite grasp.

    Largely self-taught, Terry Boutelle has also studied at the Fine Arts Work Center, Massachusetts College of Art, and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She is the current president of the Jamaica Plain Artists Association and a painting instructor at the Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts.  For more information, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.  The exhibition will be on view through September 13, 2009.

    Winter Solitaire

  • Tuesday, August 18, 11:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. – Boston Public Market

    The Boston Public Market sponsored by Rodale on Dewey Square returns to the Greenway.  Together, Rodale Inc. (publishers of Organic Gardening Magazine) and the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway Conservancy are supporting the Boston Public Market and its farmers as they bring a robust seasonal market to Dewey Square Plaza.  In addition to fresh produce, farmers will sell eggs, cheeses, meats, breads, baked goods and other wholesome products grown or made in Massachusetts.  As the market season progresses, the Conservancy will provide live entertainment, seating and other amenities.  An authoritative resource for information on sustainable practices and wellness, Rodale will assist shoppers in making healthy choices through an iinteractive kiosk and related website.  The market will be open every Tuesday and Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. through October.  For more information, log on to www.hellogreenway.org.

  • Sunday, August 23, 7 pm – Fruits of the Land Dinner

    Fruitlands Museum invites you to taste fabulous food from local farms at its Fruits of the Land Dinner, Sunday, August 23 beginning at 7 pm.  The dinner, overlooking the spectacular Nashua River Valley, will be a gourmet treat, with all proceeds supporting Fruitlands Museum.

    Sam Hunt, executive chef and co-manager of Indigo Bistro in Hamilton, MA,
    will serve savory and exquisite dishes prepared with local ingredients to delight the most discerning palates.

    Dinner will include:

    • Trilogy of tomatoes with hand-pulled mozzarella and basil jelly
    • Local Surf & Turf of grass-fed beef and striped bass
    • Grilled corn relish and cornbread pudding
    • Summer peach napoleon & cream cheese mousse with shaved Taza chocolate

    A vegetarian menu may be requested in advance of the dinner.

    Reservations are $100 per person with wine pairing or $65 without wine. For reservations, log on to www.fruitlands.org, email kcastorano@fruitlands.org, or call 978-456-3924, ext. 289.

    http://www.uscsd.k12.pa.us/bakeres/lib/bakeres/fall-harvest.jpg

  • Monday, August 17 – It’s a Small World

    It’s a Small World: Color Microscopy and Macro Photography

    by Julie McIntosh Shapiro
    Aug 17–September 10, 2009

    Photographs of visual secrets, macro and micro documentation, these images bring out a love of looking and watching at close range. Ms. Shapiro has spent the last fifteen years using the close up photographic techniques of macroscopy and microphotography to present objects not easily seen with the naked eye. Ultimately, these visual investigations provide hidden insight into things unknown, overlooked and magnificent.

    Julie McIntosh Shapiro is principal of Garden PHI, a photographically based horticulture research and design/build company. She was principal photographer for a digital database project on imaging seeds for the Arnold Arboretum. Her seed images are included in Harvard’s North American Plant Collections Consortium (NAPCC) specimens, Center for Plant Conservation (CPC) specimens, and a myriad of other rare, endangered, and native plant collections. Her work is published in the newly revised publication about Reverend John Fiala, Lilacs: A Gardener’s Encyclopedia (2008).  This exhibit is sponsored by the Arnold Arboretum and takes place at The Landscape Institute, 30 Chauncy Street, Cambridge, MA.  For information on times, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

  • Monday, August 17, 6 – 9 pm – Home Canning and Preserving

    Come to the Boston Center for Adult Education, 122 Arlington Street, and learn to can!  Ebru Grundy will teach you to preserve food for home use or create unique gifts that are edible and memorable.  This workshop provides you with the experience to know what is safe to can using the boiling water method, and where to look for information on food items discussed.  Take the abundance of vegetables available this time of year and save some for the winter.  The tuition includes a materials fee for food. This is a demonstration and participation class. The cost is $54 (BCAE member cost $42) plus $15 for materials.  Ebru Grundy, a Turkish native, attended the French Culinary Institute in New York City and worked in various New York City restaurants, including L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, before moving to Boston.  In addition to teaching cooking classes, Ebru is launching her own business.  For more information, and to register, log on to www.bcae.org.

  • Saturday, September 12, 7 a.m. – Ride for Green 2009

    The Ride for Green, sponsored by The Trustees of Reservations, is a one-day, 125-mile cycling event dedicated to protecting Massachusetts’ natural landscapes and preserving the health and well-being of our communities through local green initiatives.  One-hundred percent of the proceeds raised through the Ride will go toward The Trustees of Reservations’ land conservation fund so that special places throughout Massachusetts can be protected and preserved for everyone, forever. In Massachusetts, more than 1 million acres of land are in urgent need of protection — together we can change this.

    If you are an avid cyclist who loves the outdoors and you are passionate about protecting our natural landscapes, then please join The Trustees on September 12th. Together we will inspire a greener, healthier, and more sustainable future.  The 125 mile, point to point ride begins in Cohasset and travels through Norwell and Sharon before turning north through Dover, Wellesley, Weston and Concord.  It then heads northeast through Tewksbury, Andover, and Topsfield before finishing at Appleton Farms in Ipswich.  The Ride will pass by several historic sites, including Walden Pond, the Old Manse (Emerson’s former home), and the Old North Bridge.  Cyclists will ride by more than eight Trustees of Reservations properties along the way.  There will be two aid stations on the route to restock and refuel. The ride will finish with a BBQ, beer, and music at Appleton Farms in Ipswich.  We expect over 250 Trustees members and other leaders in conservation at the post ride party to welcome riders and celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Trustees’ Conservation Council.  Families are encouraged to attend the post-ride celebration.  For more information log on to www.thetrustees.org.