Boston Flora

Month: September 2009

  • Saturdays, October 3 & 24, 9 am – 4 pm – Propagating Trees and Shrubs from Cuttings and Seeds

    Need to nurture?  Then join longtime Arnold Arboretum propagator Jack Alexander to learn basic information and techniques for propagating most woody plants.  Session One includes a lecture and workshop on seed propagation and construction of a propagation case.  Session Two will be a lecture and workshop on hardwood cuttings.  You will leave class with numerous cuttings and seeds to cherish and grow.  To participate, you must sign an assumption-of-risk-and-release form in order to practice the techniques taught in class.  Bring a lunch and a beverage.  If you own hand pruners, bring them to the second class.  A sharp knife and an apron may also be helpful.  You will be collecting propagules from the Arboretum grounds on both afternoons regardless of weather, so dress accordingly and wear comfortable shoes.  The classes will take place at the Dana Greenhouses, Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain.  For directions, and to register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu, or www.wellesley.edu/WCFH.  You may also email horticulture@wellesley.edu.  Course Number HOR 10 010, WCFH and Arboretum member price $180, Non-Members $215.

    Tree Branches 4 by LynGi.

  • Wednesdays, September 30 – November 4, 6:00 – 9:00 pm – Invasive Plant Species ID and Eradication

    This six session course will begin with a segment on the identification of the most common invasive plant species encountered in woodlots, fields, gardens, and similar sites. Appropriate management and control techniques will be discussed, as will commercially available herbicides. The understanding of invasive plant species dynamics and proper control techniques gained in this course will enable gardeners and landscapers to safely, effectively, and economically keep unwanted plants to a minimum. The course will be held at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive, Boylston, Massachusetts, each Wednesday evening beginning September 30 through November 4, from 6 – 9 pm, and will be taught by Mike Nelson, Norfolk County Agricultural High School.  Tuition is $400 for Tower Hill members, and $445 for non-members.  The non-member fee includes a one year individual Tower Hill Botanic Garden membership, since if you’re forking out the big bucks you should at least be a member, which will entitle you to many other great discounts and opportunities.  To register, log on to www.towerhillbg.org before September 23.

    http://petalpicker.com/flower_images/Bittersweet.jpg

  • Saturday, September 26, 1 – 3 pm – Behind the Scenes at the Chelsea Flower Show

    Spend an inspiring afternoon at the Heritage Art Museum in Sandwich, Massachusetts, with Paul Miskovsky, an award winning landscape designer/horticulturist from Falmouth, MA.  In 2007, Miskovsky had the opportunity to work at the world’s most prestigious horticultural event, The Chelsea Flower Show, in London England for The Blooms Of Bressingham as a volunteer. Join him for a behind the scenes photo journey of the show’s setup to the completion – you will be astounded at the scale and quality of this event!  For more information, log on to www.heritagemuseumsandgardens.org/event.  The lecture will take place in the North Wing of the Art Museum. Free with Museum admission.

  • Wednesday, September 23, 10:00 am – Birds of Two Worlds

    The Birds & Beansâ„¢ story began in Toronto in 1998 when Madeleine and David Pritchard opened their Café and Roastery – serving only ‘Bird Friendly’® coffee. Ten years later Scott Weidensaul (Pulitzer prize finalist author and naturalist, ‘Living on the Wind’, ‘Of a Feather’) and Bill Wilson took up the cause to shift coffee drinking behavior of bird lovers in New England and New York.  Bill’s Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) ‘Bird Friendly’® certification means that Birds & Beans â„¢ coffee is 100%-organic shade-grown, ensuring the conservation of migratory bird habitat in Latin America. Tanagers, thrushes, orioles, warblers, oven-birds and other wonderful birds nesting in Northeast America find sanctuary in the rustic canopy, rain forest-like environments of family coffee farms that carry the SMBC certification. Sun grown coffee – genetically modified and heavily dependent on chemical fertilization, pesticides and herbicides – adds to the destruction of critical bird habitat in Latin America. ‘Birds & Beans the good coffee’ â„¢ is part of the solution. He wants to help add thousands of hectares of shade grown, organic coffee habitat to the farms already producing a truly sustainable and environmentally responsible crop.

    The Birds & Beans team has grown to include three ‘ Voices for the Birds‘ – authors, naturalists, educators and conservationists. Kenn Kaufman (‘Kingbird Highway’, Kaufman Field Guide series) and Bridget Stutchbury (‘Silence of Songbirds’, Professor and Director of The Stutchbury Lab at York University, Toronto) have joined Scott Weidensaul in getting the word out about The Good Coffee. Kenn, Bridget and Scott are touring New England and New York in 2009 and 2010 for The Birds & Beans Talks â„¢, a series of free lectures about the birds we know and love and how our lives and theirs are inexorably connected.   An optional lunch with our speaker will follow the Garden Club of the Back Bay  meeting, which will take place at The College Club, 44 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston.  Guests welcome. Pre-registration required.  Luncheon is $19 per person.  For additional information, email info@bostonflora.com.

    http://10000birds.com//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/coffee-toucanet.jpg

  • Saturday, September 26, 10 am – 2 pm – Fall Harvest Festival and Perennial Swap

    Bring plants to swap and share, get gardening advice, or bring your over-sized produce to enter in the Incredible Crop Olympics, at Boston Natural Areas Network’s Fall Harvest Festival and Perennial Divide, Saturday, September 26, from 10 in the morning to 2 in the afternoon, at BNAN’s City Natives Nursery, 30 Edgewater Drive in Mattapan.  Admission is free.   Divide your crowded perennials and bring pre-divided plants to the free plant swap.  Bring your own containers. Volunteers will answer plant care questions, and you may purchase fresh, local produce and native plants.  Tour the vegetable display beds and visit the woodland garden.

    Boston Natural Areas Network (BNAN), organized in 1977, works to preserve, expand and improve urban open space through community organizing, acquisition, ownership, programming, development and management of special kinds of urban land –

    In all of its endeavors, BNAN is guided by local citizens advocating for their open spaces and assisting them to preserve and shape their communities.

    For more information, call 617-542-7696, or email info@bostonnatural.org.

  • Thursdays, September 24, October 8, & November 19, 9:30 am – 12 noon – Sogetsu Ikebana with Kaye Vosburgh

    Sogetsu Ikebana is an internationally recognized school of Japanese flower arranging.  In these classes, to be held at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Massachusetts, you will learn the essentials of this venerable art from Garden Club of the Back Bay member Kaye Vosburgh.  Kaye has, for many years, exhibited and taught Sogetsu Ikebana in Massachusetts, New York, several other states, and three foreign countries.  Kaye provides flowers for each class and will have supplies and equipment for purchase by students who wish them.  Sign up for any or all of these sessions, most of which cover two lessons in the course’s inexpensive text, which is available from the instructor for $20.  Each session costs $27.50 (Tower Hill members) or $30 (non-members).  Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.

    http://www.khulsey.com/travel/japanese_ikebana_sogetsu_2.jpeg

  • Garden Club Table at NABB Street Sale Canceled Due to Rain

    The Garden Club hoped to participate today, September 12, in the NABB Street Sale, but the rain is pouring down, and most of our material is paper, so we regretfully will not be on the Dartmouth Street mall today.  Should the entire event be canceled and rescheduled, we’ll let you know.

    http://oregonstate.edu/cla/philosophy/sites/default/files/RAIN_CLOUDS.jpg

  • Monday, September 21, 6:00 – 9:00 pm – Island Farm Tour and Dinner

    Enjoy a culinary adventure at a Martha’s Vineyard farm on Monday, September 21 .  Beginning at 6:00 pm, take a private tour of North Tabor Farms in Chilmark with the farmers , who will share their knowledge of the land and crops.  At 7, a delicious seasonal dinner will be made with fresh produce from the farm, paired with organic wines.  Enjoy the sunset and delicious food, in a quiet setting now that the President has departed!  $150 per person, including recipes.  For directions, registration, and more information, contact Jan Buhrman at 508-645-5000, or email info@culinary-experiences.com.  Check out their website as well, www.culinary-experiences.com.

    http://www.wrightangle.com/food/blog//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/mg-9425.jpg

  • Wednesdays, September 23 – October 14, 7 -9 pm – Inexpensive and Beautiful Flower Arrangements

    If you would like to learn the secrets behind the creation of stunning floral arrangements, this part traditional, part contemporary course is for you. Through Brookline Community Education, you’ll be introduced to simple flower arrangement concepts, and learn the basics as a creative platform. You will learn about the wide variety of seasonal choices available, properties and shapes of cut flowers and branches, and how to arrange impressive animal or unusual centerpieces in cost effective ways. We will discuss equipment and reference materials used by florists, and how to best care for your flowers before, during, and after they have been arranged. Please bring a pair of scissors, glue sticks, and a glue gun to class. The instructor will provide fresh flowers, oasis, low-floral dishes, floral tape, and wires. A $50 materials fees is payable to the instructor at the first class. The class will be held at Brookline High School, and is limited to 16 attendees. The cost of the class is $93, and it will be taught by Wong-Ng.  To register, log on to www.brooklineadulted.org, or call 617-730-2700.

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  • Saturday, October 3 – Sunday, October 4 – Harvest Festival

    Enjoy the Harvest Festival at the Barnstable County Fairgrounds on Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4, from 10:00 to 5:00, rain or shine.  There will be an Arts & Crafts Show, Barnyard Animals, 4-H Activities for children, Hay Rides, Pony Rides, a Master Gardeners Soil Testing Clinic, Garden Tours/The Crooked Path, food, and much more.  Adult Admission $5, Children under 10 free.  The event is sponsored by the Barnstable County Agricultural Society and the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension.  For more information, call 508-563-3200, or log on to www.barnstablecountyfair.org/harvestfest/index.html.