Boston Flora

Month: November 2009

  • Thursday, November 19 – World Toilet Day

    World Toilet Day is a global day of action to increase awareness for toilet users’ rights and to advocate a better toilet environment. This day is marked by individuals, toilet associations, and other advocacy groups across the world to bring attention to a cause that truly affects every everyone on earth.  The World Toilet Organization is a not for profit group dedicated to improving toilets and sanitation globally.

    The task is huge, 2.5 billion/40% of the world’s population is without access to sanitation.  The WTO alone can’t fight this situation but if you join them in this movement, its possible. At WTO they have a belief that “Change is possible. Because I’ll make it possible.”

    Each of you can be a change agent by contributing your time, talent, skills and commitment to make it happen.  The WTO needs everyone and anyone ,whether a student, housewife, executive, artist, schools, universities, corporations, institutions originating from any part of the world, of various language, religion, ethnicity and ideological persuasion, to come together and join the movement towards delivering toilets to 2.5 billion toilet-less.

    More information may be found at www.worldtoilet.org.

    http://www.littlefishtravel.com/World-Travel/Images/toilet.jpg

  • Wednesday, December 2, 1:00 – 3:00 pm – Wreaths from the Wild

    Get ready for the Garden Club of the Back Bay’s annual wreath making week by trekking out to the Berkshire Botanical Garden in West Stockbridge for this hands on workshop on Wednesday, December 2, from 1 – 3 pm.

    Create a beautiful evergreen wreath for the holidays, using the bounty of the fields and forests of the Berkshires. Learn about the natural history of common and not-so-common plants that can be used to create interesting holiday decorations. Consider a wide selection of plant material including: evergreen boughs, berries, seedpods, fern fronds and moss. Construct and take home a simple evergreen wreath. Take it home and the knowledge to create wreaths for holidays to come. Elisabeth Cary is the Director of Education at the Berkshire Botanical Garden and has been collecting plant materials from the wild and creating wreaths for over fifteen years. The cost of this workshop is $40 for BBG members, $45 for non members, and the materials are included in the cost of the class.  Bring pruners and gloves.  To register, or for more information, log on to www.berkshirebotanical.org.
    http://www.anthonyschristmastrees.com/images/lg_traditional_22.jpg

  • Garden Club of the Back Bay Holiday Wreaths – Saving the Elms

    One mission of The Garden Club of the Back Bay is to beautify the neighborhood, and one historic aspect of the neighborhood is its majestic elms.  As we know, the elm tree population has been decimated by Dutch elm disease, a fungal disease spread by the elm bark beetle.  For many years, the Garden Club has helped fund the inoculation of elm trees, through grants to The Friends of the Public Garden.  This is not inexpensive.  A single application cost between $200 – $300 in the 1980’s.  Thirty years of inflation, naturally, has taken the price, depending on the size of the tree, to the $1,000 range.  In 2009, we gave $4,000 to inoculate trees between Massachusetts Avenue and Charlesgate East.

    Without our fund raising efforts, including the Holiday Wreath project, this financial assistance would not be available.  Please remember the elms as you decide to purchase one of our exquisite wreaths or our full, extra large poinsettia plants.  To order, click here.

  • Friday, December 4, 5:00 – 7:30 pm – Holiday Marketplace Cocktail Party

    The Berkshire Botanical Garden will host a Holiday Marketplace Preview Cocktail Party on Friday, December 4, from 5:00 – 7:30 pm.  This is your chance to do some early buying of handcrafted wreaths, holiday decorations, seasonal blooms and greens, herb products, crafts and gift items.  The Holiday Marketplace itself begins Saturday, December 5 and runs through Sunday, December 6, from 10:00 am – 5 pm.  This event is part of Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas celebration.  Admission on Saturday and Sunday is free, but there will be a charge for the Cocktail Party.  Call 413-298-3926 for details and reservations.

    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_C2GNFnrrbpg/R0-d6I8Nr1I/AAAAAAAAAdM/IxJYtlcc95k/s400/IMG_1756.JPG

  • Friday – Sunday, November 27-29, December 4-6, and December 11-13, 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Holidays at Heritage

    Holidays at Heritage will be a multi-day community celebration for the holidays during Heritage Museum’s 40th anniversary.  The Heritage Museum and Gardens is located at 67 Grove Street, Sandwich, Massachusetts.

    Visitors are invited to stroll the lighted paths, explore the Hart Family Maze and several lighting vignettes created by the area’s premiere landscape companies. A grove of Christmas Trees decorated by community organizations will adorn the Parade Field. The J. K. Lilly III Automobile Museum and the Art Museum will be decorated with elegant indoor holiday displays. Once again Santa will visit from the North Pole for photo opportunities with him in the Model T.The antique carousel will be adorned for the season and offer a ride into holidays past.

    The museum store will be open with special gifts for everyone on your list. Additional activities such as “drop-in” crafts and community musical performances make this a holiday celebration not to be missed!

    Admission is $6 for all adults, $5 for adult members of Heritage Museums & Gardens, $2 for children ages 4-12 and children 3 and under free. A $1 discount off above admissions will be offered to groups of 20 or more.

    A portion of the proceeds from this event will provide an opportunity for less fortunate members of the community to attend this festive event as our guests. Bring a canned or dry good item for a neighbor in need. All food contributions will be donated to the Sandwich Food Pantry. Join us for this community-wide holiday celebration!

    To sign up, and for directions and more information, log on to www.heritagemuseumsandgardens.org.

    http://www.welovecapecod.com/images/f_sandwich_heritage.jpghttp://www.welovecapecod.com/images/f_sandwich_heritage.jpghttp://www.welovecapecod.com/images/f_sandwich_heritage.jpghttp://www.welovecapecod.com/images/f_sandwich_heritage.jpghttp://www.welovecapecod.com/images/f_sandwich_heritage.jpg

  • Friday, December 11 – Sunday, December 13 – Woodstock Winter Wassail Weekend

    Frankly, we’re reporting on this event because the alliteration is magnificent.  Wassail Weekend is Woodstock’s gift to Vermont and to you, if you’ll join for the weekend. Voted one of Vermont’s Top Ten Winter events, the term has its roots in medieval England referring to the Norse, “ves heill” meaning “to drink to the health”. Ale brewed with spiced apples and sugar was the warm drink given to the singers who went door to door during the Solstice. Christmas became interwoven with celebrations during the darkest time of the year. For the past twenty-four years, Wassail Weekend in Woodstock has welcomed people from near and far to celebrate in unique ways. Journalists have highlighted this special event finding it a unique way to enjoy Vermont during a special time of year. See Country Living Article. Throughout the Christmas Season, Billings Farm & Museum is decorated and offers the perfect opportunity to see what the holidays were like in Vermont in the 19th Century complete with wagon or sleigh rides around the farm.  The highlight of the weekend is a unique Wassail Parade through the center of Woodstock with over fifty horses and riders dressed in holiday costumes and period dress from the early 19th Century. The Green Mountain Horse Association welcomes riders from all over with wagons, surreys and sometimes sleighs, if weather permits. Mr. Claus himself usually puts in an appearance and then heads on to our Little Theater where he greets the children at the magical “Christmas Visions”. Troupes of singers parade the streets, and our arts council, The YOH Players offer entertainment at the Wassail Feast on Friday night hosted by the Woodstock Inn & Resort. Pentangle offers a historic house tour of 5 or so of Woodstock’s notable historic homes. In the evenings, talented professionals guide local actors in a Christmas musical at the Town Hall.

    There is usually a reading of “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” at noon at the Norman Williams Library. An open house at the Woodstock Historical Society on Friday night offers historic music through the beautifully decorated Dana House.

    Shops are often open late, the streets are decorated with white lights and usually Mother Nature provides a dusting of snow (or possibly a few feet).  Rarely can you experience the holidays in such a picture-perfect place. Click here to see Vermont Life Video’s two minute film of the joy of Wassail! Make your reservations ahead of time to be sure to enjoy all the weekend has to offer. 2009 schedule of events.

    http://www.countryliving.com/cm/countryliving/images/Woodstock-Inn-at-Christmas-REGFOOD1206-de.jpg

  • Friday, December 4 – Sunday, December 6 – Holly Folly

    Have a Holly Folly Weekend – it’s the best time in P’town.  The festivities begin on Friday, December 4 at 5 pm at the Land’s End Holiday Gala at the Land’s End Inn, 22 Commercial Street.  Free admission.  This decade-old tradition marks the opening to the Annual Holly Folly Festival in Provincetown. Come enjoy complimentary hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, homemade cookies and great company at this annual holiday celebration open to the public and free of charge at this historic seaside inn in Provincetown’s West End. It’s a great time to visit Provincetown and start the holiday season with local events, performances and great shopping deals in town.For more details visit www.landsendinn.com.

    Also on Friday night, from 6 – 8, attend the free Opening Reception for Small Works at PAAM, 460 Commercial Street, where a vibrant exhibition of artworks are offered for sale, just in time for holiday giving, in the Hoffman Gallery.

    Saturday, from 11 – 4, enjoy the Holly Folly Farmer’s Market in the Ryder Street Parking Lot, where you will  find wreaths, woodland greens, holly, pine roping, winter vegetables, jams, and other seasonal products.  The Holly Folly Sing-A-Long with Casey & Denise, from 5:30 – 8:30 pm, is also free at the Porchside Bar at the Gifford House Inn, 9 Carver Street.  Concerts and performances continue in the evening.  A Sunday cookie party concludes the festivities.

    For complete information log on to www.ptown.org.

    Holly Folly in Ptown

  • Saturday, November 21, 1 – 4 pm – Roots and Shoots Day at Barefoot Books

    Celebrate Roots and Shoots, the Jane Goodall Institute’s international environmental and humanitarian program for youth of all ages. Come in to Barefoot Books at 1771 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, MA for an afternoon of Roots and Shoots activities, art projects, and snacks, on Saturday, November 21, from 1 – 4 pm.

    Learn about Roots and Shoots and how they are empowering youth to make positive changes happen for communities, for animals, and for the environment.

    PLUS 25% of all in-store sales will go directly to Roots and Shoots New England’s Sprouts of Hope Fund.  For more information, log on to www.rootsandshoots.org.

    Roots and Shoots LogoRoots and Shoots Logo Icon

  • Tuesday, November 17, 6:30 pm – Reanimating Extinct Plants

    Science for the Public presents Dr. Jonathan P. Wilson, California Institute of Technology, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, at the Boston Public Library on Boylston Street in a free lecture on Tuesday, November 17 beginning at 6:30 pm.

    A nature walk in New England 300 million years ago would have looked quite different from one near Boston today. Instead of forests composed of oaks, maples, and pines, the area would have been dominated by unusual extinct forms: mostly climbing ferns and seed plants under a canopy of trees that more closely resemble telephone poles than anything in a modern garden. How did these plants work?
    In this talk, he will explore how recent advances in plant physiology allow paleontologists to understand, in a quantitative fashion, how extinct plants functioned. Are there fundamental physiological differences between extinct plants and living ones? What can we learn about ancient environments and ecosystems from looking at fossil plants? For more information, log on to www.cityofboston.gov.

    http://www.plantcare.com/oldSite/httpdocs/images/MM/IMG0504090.jpg

  • Saturday, December 5, 4 – 5:30 pm – Winter Lights Along the Greenway

    Enjoy the East Boston Greenway lit up with festive luminarias and a holiday sing along with local performers and carolers.  Hot chocolate and cookies will keep you warm.  Meet at the blue caboose near South Bremen and Marginal Streets.  Snow date Sunday, December 6.

    The Friends of East Boston Greenway and Boston Natural Areas Network are sponsoring this event, and they need help from community groups, businesses and individuals.  Here is how you can help:  Make batches of 50 luminarias (materials will be provided and delivered to your worksite or other location – bags, sand and candles). Or, if you’d rather, volunteers from your group can attend a group lunimaria making session, date and time to be announced.  Your sponsorship will be recognized by a sign on the Greenway.  You can volunteer to be a monitor the night of the event, watching over a section and lighting any candles that go out.  You can donate food or refreshments, or hang event flyers or posters.  With the support of volunteers, the Friends hope to make at least 350 – 400 luminarias.  If you can help, call Candice Cook at 617-542-7696, or email candice@bostonnatural.org.

    http://thepartyfaq.com/wordpress//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/luminarias.jpg