Boston Flora

Month: October 2009

  • Saturday, October 17, 2:00 pm – Contemporary Art Walking Tour

    Tour the Contemporary Sculpture Path of Forest Hills Cemetery, 95 Forest Hills Avenue, Jamaica Plain, with the Forest Hills Educational Trust’s Executive Director Cecily Miller, looking at Victorian sculpture and architecture along the way.  Discover the ways contemporary artists were inspired by this unique landscape to explore themes of nature, history, family, memory and the mysterious world of the spirits.  Forest Hills is a historic cemetery located in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed in 1848 as a 250-acre park and arboretum as well as a burial ground, it helped inspire Frederick Law Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace a generation later. Visitors discover a grand Victorian landscape filled with treasures of 19th century art and architecture, a green oasis shaded by magnificent canopy trees, and a sanctuary for birds and urban wildlife.

    The non-profit Forest Hills Educational Trust presents innovative cultural programs in this extraordinary setting, including: exhibitions of contemporary art, concerts and poetry readings, walking tours, the Buddhist-inspired Lantern Festival and a traditional Mexican Day of the Dead. This walk will begin at 2:00 pm and costs $9.  For directions and more information, log on to www.foresthillstrust.org.

  • Mondays, November 2, 9, 16, 30, and December 7, 6:30 – 8:30 pm – A Garden in Your Mind’s Eye: Developing Your Vision with Tony Bernstein

    Incorporating philosophy, aesthetics, economics, and theories as well as practicalities, it’s no wonder that planning a garden design can overwhelm. In this class, designer Tony Bernstein, Principal at SLDA Landscape Design Associates, will teach about core design principles, but will also coach you to clarify what you desire of a garden. Through exercises and discussions, he’ll encourage you to be introspective to develop design concepts that are reflective of your personality and lifestyle. Melding your inner visions with external factors, you will begin to develop a satisfying and cohesive garden design. In this class you will explore design foundations, philosophies, aesthetics, sensibilities, and practicalities. You will finish the class with rough sketches and plenty of ideas to develop during the winter. Fee: $140 Arnold Arboretum of NEWFS member, $168 nonmember.  Offered in collaboration with the New England Wild Flower Society. Please note there will be no class Monday, November 23.  All classes will be held in the Hunnewell Building at the Arnold Arboretum.  For more information, or to register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu, or telephone 617-384-5277.

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  • Saturday, October 17, 1:00 – 4:00 pm – Succulent Pelargoniums

    The Cactus and Succulent Society of Massachusetts (www.cssma.org) will present a program on Succulent Pelargoniums on Saturday, October 17, from 1:00 – 4:00 pm, at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston.  The program will be led by Dr. Matt Opel, of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut.  While Dr. Opel’s research focuses on micromorphology and anatomy of Conophytum leaves, he also enjoys Japanese animation, gardening, and hiking, so the program should prove to be quite interesting.

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  • Sunday, October 18, 10 am – 2 pm – Invasive Plants: Identification, Ecology and Control

    Ted Elliman, Vegetation Manager of the New England Wild Flower Society, in collaboration with the Arnold Arboretum, will present this one day class on Sunday, October 18, from 10 am – 2 pm at Garden in the Woods in Framingham.  This course will provide an introduction to about 40 of the most common invasive non-native plants in our local landscapes (see Japanese knotweed below). Through lecture, discussion, power point presentation, herbarium specimens, and a walk outside, you will become familiar with identification clues as well as the habits of a number of these plants which are so disruptive of natural ecosytems. Ted will discuss management techniques for many of these species, on both a home and a larger landscape scale. Homeowners and property managers who wish to get a head start on invasive control this year will appreciate the timing of this course, which will allow them to learn to identify young invasive plants before they become camouflaged by other vegetation. The New England Wild Flower Society’s Invader’s Magazine, as well as the Massachusetts Field Guide to Invasives, will be available for purchase at a discount. Fee $44 for members of the Arboretum or NEWFS, $52 nonmembers.  To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

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  • Saturday, October 18, 2:00 pm – Who’s Watching You?

    Come to Russells Garden Center in Wayland on Saturday, October 18, beginning at 2 pm, for an up-close encounter with live owls! Presentation by Naturalist Marcia Wilson of Eyes on Owls and hosted at Russell’s as part of its Bird Lovers’ Weekend (October 17 and 18, 11 – 4). The program includes a slide show and is a wonderfully interactive and entertaining way to learn about these secretive birds. Bring your camera!
    Adults $8.00, Children (4-14) $5.00. Seating is limited to 60. Pre-registration is strongly recommended. Please call 508-358-2283.  For directions to Russell’s, and for more information on Bird Lovers’ Weekend activities, log on to www.russellsgardencenter.com.

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  • Sunday, October 18, 1:00 – 5:00 pm – Understanding Fungi: Mushrooms in the Wild

    Author-mycologist Lawrence Millman will lead a mushroom walk in Concord or Lincoln (exact location to be determined before the event based on conditions). However dry or unpromising the conditions, he guarantees that participants will find a minimum of 30 different species. You will learn to identify mushrooms both with and without a guidebook, and you’ll also unlearn everything you were ever told about how to distinguish a poisonous from a non-poisonous species. Be aware, however, that the focus of this event is scientific, not culinary. Bring a basket, wax paper, a pocket knife, a hand lens (if you have one), and – most important of all – a spirit of adventure. Please join us come rain or shine! Dress appropriately for weather.  Limited to 16. If students have questions for Larry Millman about the walk, call (617) 492-5861. Directions to Estabrook Woods from Concord Center, MA: Get to Concord Center and the Colonial Inn, in the heart of Concord Center. If you’re facing the Colonial Inn, take a right onto Monument Street and head toward the Old North Bridge. Take a left on Liberty Street, then right on Estabrook Road. After less than half a mile, take another right on Estabrook Road when it bends to the right. Go to the end of the road and park (space for cars on the left-hand side of road).  Cost – $76.

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  • Sunday, October 18, 2 – 5 pm – Painting Fall Foliage

    Revel in fall color under the guidance of Rebecca Arnoldi, artist and naturalist, an instructor who combines an artist’s eye with botanical knowledge. Combine careful observation with fluid watercolor painting to express the essence, energy and emotion stirred by the natural world. All levels are welcome. The class meets at the Arnold Arboretum. Fee $50, offered in collaboration with the Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts.  To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

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  • Saturday, October 24, 1 – 3 pm – Botanica: Scanography by Marty Klein

    The Arnold Arboretum invites you to attend a reception with Artist Marty Klein on Saturday, October 24, from 1 – 3 pm in the Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall of the Arnold Arboretum.

    Marty Klein is fueled by an insatiable and wide-ranging curiosity to see familiar natural forms in new and refreshing ways. Using a flatbed scanner as a camera, Marty Klein captures images of plants and other natural objects with incredible depth and contrast. The images are very different from traditional photographs, yet remain close in spirit, imbued with an arresting vitality. Several new works in this show use specimens gathered by special permission from the Arboretum’s living collections.  The exhibition continues through December 15, 2009.

    Marty Klein holds a BA and a Master of Regional Planning from the University of Massachusetts, and over the years has worked as an artist, photographer, blacksmith, and land protection activist.  For more information, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

    Roadside foliage

  • Saturday, October 24, 9:30 am – 12 noon – Assessing Tree Health and Structure

    Dave Ropes, Consulting Arborist, Tree Specialists, Inc., will give a class at Garden in the Woods in Framingham in collaboration with the New England Wild Flower Society and the Arnold Arboretum on Saturday, October 24, from 9:30 am – 12 noon.  Proper tree care requires assessment of the entire tree system from roots to shoots. Learn how to properly assess a tree’s health and structure with techniques used by professional arborists. Learn which types of structural defects compromise the integrity of the tree and require attention, and which are merely aesthetic concerns. Study and evaluate tree foliage, twig growth, and the presence of pathogens and diseases. A classroom session will cover tree physiology and site conditions that relate to tree health, followed by a field session to look at a variety of trees at Garden in the Woods. Appropriate for landscape professionals as well as property owners who want to know how to decide what can be done and when to call a professional arborist.
    Fee: $30 for Arnold Arboretum or NEWFS members, $36 nonmembers.  To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

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  • Sunday, October 19, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm – Peddocks Island Trip

    From harbor protection to national park area, the uses of Peddocks Island have varied greatly based on the needs of Native Americans, Colonists and Bostonians.  The island’s proximity to the mainland ensured its prominent military role.  During the Revolutionary War, patriots raided a loyalist farm and Peddocks saw over 600 militiamen stationed on the island to guard the harbor against the return of British troops.  In more recent times, Fort Andrews protected the harbor from 1904 to the end of World War II.  Twenty six structures remain, including guardhouses, prisoner-of-war barracks, stables, a gymnasium and a firehouse.  At 184 acres, Peddocks is one of the largest, most diverse islands in the Boston harbor.  Gravel bars called tombolos link the five drumlins that form the island.  Fort Andrews to the east overlooks the waters of Hull Gut.  Quaint cottages and a salt marsh occupy the Middle Head, while West Head is a conservation area.  Join the Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands and Park Rangers for a walk through history and rustic island terrain.  Advance Ticket Purchase recommended.  Adults – $28, FBHI member or Senior (65+) – $25.  Purchase on-line at www.FBHI.org ($2 transaction fee per ticket).  Boat will pick up passengers at Fan Pier in Boston at 11:00 am and Pemberton Point Pier in Hull at 11:45 am.

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