Boston Flora

Month: October 2009

  • Wednesday, October 28, 6:00 pm – Neighbors & Networks: The Olmsted Firm and the Development of Brookline, 1880 – 1936

    Professor Keith Morgan of Boston University will present an illustrated lecture on The Olmsted Firm and the Development of Brookline, 1880 – 1936, at the Wheelock College Auditorium, 43 Hawes Street in Brookline, on Wednesday, October 28.  A reception at 6:00 pm will be followed by the lecture at 7:00 pm.  Seating is limited.  Please rsvp to friendsoffairsted@gmail.com, or telephone 617-566-1689 x 235.  Cohosted by the Friends of Fairsted; Brookline Greenspace Alliance; Brookline Historical Society; Emerald Necklace Conservancy; Fenway Alliance; High Street Hill Association; Historic New England; Mount Auburn Cemetery; Muddy River Restoration Project Maintenance and Management Oversight Committee; NPS, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site; Society of Architectural Historians, New England Chapter; and the Friends of Stonehurst.

    http://friendsoffairsted.org/images/fs-spring.jpg

  • Wednesday, October 28, 7:00 – 9:00 pm – Creating Sustainable Food Production

    Join EcoLogic at the Boston Public Library Mezzanine Conference Room, 700 Boylston Street, on Wednesday, October 28 beginning at 7 pm for a panel discussion to explore alternative agricultural methods such as organic and sustainable farming available to you here in the United States as well as to rural farmers in developing countries. Coffee will be served after the discussion. Panelists include: Jennifer Hashley, Director of the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project; Jason Bond, Executive Chef at Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro; JJ Gonson, personal chef; and Shaun Paul, Executive Director of EcoLogic Development Fund. More information on panelists to come soon! Admission: $8 ($5 for full-time students with valid ID) Buy tickets at www.ecologic.org/grenag.

  • Saturday, November 14, 10 – 2 – Lichen Identification Workshop

    This will be an intermediate workshop on lichens. Participants are expected to know basic lichen information. Participants should have the book MicroLichens of New England by Hinds and Hinds or photocopied keys from this book. We will use this lichen key and a few chemicals necessary for identification. Please register by contacting the leader in advance (limit 10). Bring a 15x hand lens or low power microscope. Bring lunch and a beverage (microwave and refrigerator are available). Bring the macrolichens that you wish to work with in the class. We will briefly key several lichens that I will bring, but this is a workshop to learn to key any lichens you find in the field, and especially problematic lichens.

    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 Lichen Identification Workshop in Hamden, Connecticut, led by Carol Lemmon, President of CBS.    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, or to register, call 203-488-7813, or log on to www.ct-botanical-society.org.

  • Wednesday, October 21, 5:30 pm – The Creation of Boston’s Back Bay

    Gibson House Museum Executive Director Charles Swift will give an illustrated lecture on the history of the creation of Boston’s Back Bay, discussing the events which led to the decision to fill the Back Bay (see early photo of Back Bay fens below) and the history of the earliest buildings in the Back Bay.  Date:  October 21, 2009 at the Gibson House Museum, 137 Beacon Street, Back Bay.  Reception at 5:30 PM, Program at 6:00 PM. Free for museum members, $10 for non-members. Reserve by calling 617 267 6338 or email the Gibson House Museum.

    http://memory.loc.gov/award/mhsdalad/110000//110026r.jpg

  • Saturday, November 7, 10 am – 12 noon – Deer Resistant Plants, Winter Garden Protection, and Plants for Winter Interest

    Join The Trustees of Reservations at the Long Hill Horticulture Center in Beverly, Massachusetts for this special workshop on Saturday, November 7, from 10:00 am to noon.

    The  horticulture staff will lead a walk through the Sedgwick gardens followed by an indoor presentation to inspire all gardeners before the snow starts to fly.  They will demonstrate  methods for protecting deer favorites, show you deer resistant shrubs, and give you the best tips on winterizing your garden. The presentation will inspire you with beautiful winter gardens and remind you that you can have something blooming every month of the year, as they do in the Sedgwick Gardens. Please pre-register.  Trustees members $15, non-members $20.  Call 978-921-1944, x 4018, or email bzschau@ttor.org for directions and registration.

    http://www.chicagobotanic.org/images/pests/deer.jpg

  • Thursday, October 29, 5:30 pm – Landscapes for Art with Ann Kearsley

    Come to The Landscape Institute, 30 Chauncy Street, Cambridge, MA on Thursday, October 29 to hear Ann Kearsley speak about her exhibition of landscape design work, including drawings and photographs that document the process from foundations to cranes to finished installation of built landscapes and of sculpture installations.  Ann Kearsley MLA, MLAUD, principal/owner of Ann Kearsley Design, has been designing landscapes for art since 1996. Her lecture will discuss the challenges of designing landscapes for modern sculpture, using examples of her work that include sculpture by Tony Smith, Mark di Suvero, Willem de Kooning and others. Sculpture has been placed in landscapes for millennia. For centuries, figurative forms in public landscapes and private gardens communicated specific meanings through formal expressions of shared cultural iconographies. In the 20th century, as the imagery of abstract art moved away from mainstream culture, the role of sculpture in designed landscapes began to change as well, creating an opportunity for our consideration of the relationship between sculptural and landscape forms.

    This lecture is free and open to the public.  The exhibition will continue through December 3, 2009.  The reception begins at 5:30, the lecture at 6:00.  Please rsvp to landscape@arnarb.harvard.edu, since seating is limited.  For directions and parking information, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

    http://www.pierrofoundation.org/images/site_2.jpg

  • Friday, November 6 – Sunday, November 8, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Christmas at The Crosby Mansion

    Built in 1888, “Tawasentha” is located on Crosby Lane off Route 6A across from Nickerson State Park in Brewster.  On Friday, November 6 through Sunday, November 8, The Nauset Garden Club will Deck the Halls with Christmas at The Crosby Mansion.  Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door, and may be purchased at Hyannis Country Gardens, at Agway in Orleans, Chatham and Dennis, at Puritan in Hyannis or Chatham, at Nory’s in Orleans, and at the Brewster General Store.  To get to the Mansion, take Route 6 South to Exit 11, follow Route 137 to Brewster.  Take right turn on Millstone Road and follow to Route 6A.  Take a right onto 6A and follow for 1/2 miles.  Crosby Lane will be on your left.

    http://www.baysidebears.com/mansion.jpg

  • Thursday, October 22, 7:00 – 9:30 pm – Land’s Sake Supper Club

    Join Land’s Sake and Slow Food, Boston on Thursday, October 22, beginning at 7 pm at the Josiah Smith Tavern Barn, 358 Boston Post Road in Weston, for a gourmet dinner prepared by chef Sam Hunt. From our farm to this table, Land’s Sake’s Supper Club dinners feature produce from Land’s Sake and other area farms. A portion of the proceeds support the educational programs of Land’s Sake, so please come for a great meal and support the farm! They look forward to sharing a meal with you.  Sam Hunt, a Weston native, is the Executive Chef and Co-Manager at Indigo Bistro in Hamilton, MA. Prior to joining Indigo, Sam was the Executive Chef and General Manager at the West Side Lounge in Cambridge. After switching careers from graphic design and moving back to Massachusetts, Sam spent two years cooking with Barbara Lynch at No. 9 Park in Boston, MA. Cost (includes tax, tip and corkage): $40 for Land’s Sake Members, $50 for non-members (cash or check only) RSVP (required): Please email supper@landssake.org. Kindly include the number of people in your party, their first names and any dietary restrictions (if applicable). Cancellations: Because seating is limited and food is purchased in advance, full payment is required for cancellations made within 48 hours of the event date. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation with this policy. Special thanks to the Women’s Community League of Weston, the stewards of the Barn, for letting Land’s Sake host this event at this historic landmark.

    Land’s Sake (www.landssake.org) combines ecologically-sound land management practices with hands-on environmental education to model how public open space can be used and enjoyed by the community.

    A 501c(3) nonprofit corporation, Land’s Sake runs a public farm, hosts educational programming for all ages, maintains the town forest for recreational and production uses, and cares for both public conservation and private land.

    Their efforts are centered on three themes:

    • Environmental Education
    • Sustainable Land Management and Open Space Preservation
    • Community-Building and Caretaking

    Bringing people onto the land as visitors to the farm, as volunteers or youth workers, and through active educational programs, they directly connect people to their local ecology. Their work uncovers the intrinsic value of the land around us and the importance of treating the land with respect.

    Land's Sakehttp://www.bottomofthegarden.com/botg/images/newsletter/logosmall.gifLand's Sake

  • Sunday, October 25, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm – Identifying the 25 Most Common Trees in Boston

    Just how dumb do you feel when someone says “You’re in the Garden Club.  What’s this tree called?” Perhaps you smile and say it’s a native Eastern whortleberry.  Lie no more. In just a few hours on Sunday, October 25,  you can learn to identify 90 percent of the trees growing in Boston, both native and nonnative (like the ailanthus, below). Beginning in the classroom in the Hunnewell Building at the Arnold Arboretum, you will briefly review the characteristics of the 25 most common trees and learn the botanical terminology necessary to describe them. You will then walk the grounds of the Arboretum to look at mature specimens of these trees. Your instructor is Kyle Port, Manager of Plant Records at the Arboretum. To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.
    Fee $45 Arnold Arboretum member, $55 nonmember.

    http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/CAPS/pestInfo/pics/big/treeHeaven1.jpg

  • Saturday, November 7, 10 am – 12:30 pm – Conifers for Urban Sites

    Mount Auburn Cemetery’s Horticultural Curator Dennis Collins is the go-to guy for teaching about conifers.  He will use the Arnold Arboretum’s vast collection of conifers to show those that would be suited for smaller spaces in city gardens. Dennis will also recommend plants that can withstand some of the stressors common to urban sites, such as extreme wind or heat.  Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes for this class, which takes place entirely outdoors.  The location is Bussey Street Gate, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain.  For directions, and to register, log on to www.wellesley.edu/WCFH, or www.arboretum.harvard.edu, or email horticulture@wellesley.edu.  Cost is $30 for members of WCFH and the Arboretum, $35 for non members. Araucaria heterophylla photo courtesy of Rundstedt B. Rovillos.

    Araucaria heterophylla by Rundstedt B. Rovillos.