Boston Flora

Month: March 2010

  • Saturday, March 20, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Hosta and Hemerocallis

    Bring a bagged lunch to the Berkshire Botanical Gardens on Saturday, March 20 for a fascinating illustrated lecture, beginning at 10:00 am.  Where to begin with hosta and daylilies?  Suitable for both sun and shade gardens, these low maintenance, drought tolerant plants offer much for both the beginner and the advanced gardener.  Learn about these rugged and important garden stalwarts.  Consider varieties, siting, cultivation, health care, diseases, design possibilities and companion plants for these poplular and well loved classics.  Barbara Provest manages the New England Daylily Society Display Garden at Elm Bank in Wellesley, and takes care of 650+ daylilies there.  Her garden is an official American Hemerocallis Society Display Garden with 1,136 cultivars.  Meg and Jim Dalton are avid hosta collectors and members of the Tri-State Hosta, Upstate New York Hosta, and American Hosta Societies.  Members of BBG will be charged $20, non members $25.  For directions, log on to www.berkshirebotanical.org.

    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Orange_Daylily.jpg/800px-Orange_Daylily.jpg

  • Saturday, March 20, 1:30 pm – The Monumental Landscape: New Ways of Remembering

    Patrick Chasse, Landscape Curator of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, enchanted us with his talk at last Fall’s Boston Committee Annual Meeting.  He will speak again on Saturday, March 20, beginning at 1:30 pm, as part of the Landscape Visions Lecture Series at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 280 The Fenway in Boston.

    Many of the most powerful modern memorials to individuals, groups, and even ideas are landscapes — like Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial. The profound connections of humans and their cultures to landscapes forge a timeless link to our memories. Landscape Visions Lecture are made possible by a bequest from Jeanne Muller Ryan. Tickets are $15 General Public, $12 Seniors, $5 Museum Members, and Free for Students.  For more information, or to purchase tickets in advance, call 617-566-1401, or log on to www.gardnermuseum.org.

    http://128.111.69.4/~jevbratt/teaching/F_05/102/art_examples/vietnam_memorial.jpg

  • Monday, March 29, 10:00 am – Growing Organic Vegetables and Herbs

    The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts presents a Horticulture Morning on Monday, March 29, beginning at 10 a.m. at The Espousal Center, 554 Lexington Street, North Waltham, Massachusetts (off Route I-95/128, Exit 27A Totten Pond Road).  Rita Wollmering, organic gardener and owner of The Herb Farmacy, will speak on Growing Organic Vegetables and Herbs: Great Growing Ideas from a Professional.  A donation of $5, payable at the door, is suggested.  To call for information on cancellations due to snow or storm, call 781-391-0261.  You may also contact Betsy Williams (betsy@betsywilliams.com) or Rita DeLollis (rdelollis@aol.com) for more information on Horticulture Mornings.

    http://www.mofga.org/portals/2/mof&g/djf%200809/14-Herb-Garden.jpg

  • Landslide 2010 – Every Tree Tells a Story

    Sentinel and specimen trees, allees and boulevards, hedgerows and urban forests – they surround us and are living reminders of our heritage.  In order to honor and help preserve our country’s heritage of trees, The Cultural Landscape Foundation and Garden Design Magazine are teaming up with The Davey Tree Expert Company for the 2010 Landslide: Every Tree Tells a Story.

    Since its inception in 2003, the landslide initiative has spotlighted more than 150 significant at-risk parks, gardens, horticultural features, and working landscapes.  The goal of Landslide is to draw immediate and lasting attention to these threatened landscapes and unique features, revealing the value of everyday places and encouraging informed community-based stewardship decisions. Through web features, traveling exhibits, and print publications, Landslide reveals the value of these forgotten places.

    An example of an at- risk garden selected by Landslide is The Italian Garden designed by Winthrop Ames at Queset, in North Easton, Massachusetts (pictured below circa 1920). Abandoned for generations, this ruined garden is a silent testament to Edwardian era bon vivants and the Golden Age of American gardens,   This year’s theme calls attention to the places that embody our shared landscape heritage.  Nominate or learn more by visiting www.tclf.org/landslide.  Deadline for nominations is March 31, 2010.

    Queset

  • Thursday, March 25, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Gibson House Museum Annual Benefit Gala

    The Gibson House Annual Benefit will be held Thursday, March 25 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at  The Algonquin Club, 217 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston.  This year’s event honors Carl R. Nold, President and CEO, Historic New England, and Theodore E. Stebbins, Jr., Curator of American Art at the Harvard Art Museum.  Wear your best Victorian jewelry! $125 in advance, $150 at the door. For more information, and to reserve, log on to www.thegibsonhouse.org,  telephone 617-267-6338, or email info@thegibsonhouse.org.

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  • Saturday, March 27, 9:00 am – Birding Belle Isle and Vicinity

    Belle Isle Marsh Reservation on Bennington Street in East Boston is known as one of Massachusetts’ birding hot spots.  Join DCR and Boston Natural Areas Network to look for snipe and waterfowl on Saturday, March 27, beginning at 9:00 am.  Binoculars will be available to borrow.  Boston Natural Areas Network, 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 – Urban Wilds, Greenways and Community Gardens. 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, log on to www.bostonnatural.org.

    http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/metroboston/maps/bellisle.gif

  • Friday, March 26, 8:30 am – Saturday, March 27, 4:40 pm – The Cultural Landscape Foundation Los Angeles Garden Excursion

    TCLF is pleased to announce its spring garden excursion March 26 and March 27,  highlighting the diverse cultural landscapes of Pasadena and Los Angeles, California.  Attendees will have the opportunity to tour several private contemporary and historic gardens, with both the original designers and those who have stewarded the properties.

    Events will include a visit to Pasadena’s Thornton Garden (recently featured in Garden Design magazine), a tour of the Norton Simon Museum’s outdoor sculpture garden by designer Nancy Goslee Power, a walking tour of the Garret Eckbo-designed Ambassador College (pictured below), and evening drinks on the terrace of the Greene and Greene-designed Gamble House (subject of a recent exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). Day 2 will place the spotlight on modernism and guests will have the opportunity to visit three private, contemporary gardens, punctuated by lunch at a Richard Neutra-designed estate in Los Angeles famed Laurel Canyon.

    Transportation for this weekend event will be provided from downtown Santa Monica. We recommend that attendees stay at Hotel Shangri La in Santa Monica, as the bus will depart and return to this location, however, Santa Monica offers a diversity of hotels including the nearby Viceroy.  The price for this unique trip is $450 (hotel extra), and you may register on line at www.tclf.org/event/los-angeles-garden-excursion.

    http://farm1.static.flickr.com/91/231275852_4babff665e.jpg

  • Thursday, April 8, 6:30 – 9:30 pm – Taste of the Back Bay

    The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay’s 15th Annual Taste of the Back Bay will take place Thursday, April 8, from 6:30 – 9:30 pm at the Prudential Skywalk.  Participating restaurants include Asana at the Mandarin Oriental, Blue Restaurant and Cafe,  Brasserie JO, Cafeteria Boston, City Table, DaVinci Ristorante, Eastern Standard, Haru Sushi, Kashmir Restaurant, L’Espalier, Petit Robert Bistro, Sel de la Terre/Back Bay, Stanhope Grill at the Back Bay Hotel, Top of the Hub & Skywalk, Turner Fisheries, Vlora Mediterranean Restaurant and Wine Bar, and of course, beverages from Bauer Wines, Harpoon Brewery, and DeLuca’s Back Bay Market.  For tickets, and for more information, log on to www.nabbonline.com.

    http://z.about.com/d/cruises/1/0/B/i/3/Chefs_Table05.JPG

  • Saturday, March 20, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm – Boston Natural Areas Network 35th Annual Gardeners Gathering

    On Saturday, March 20, from 11 – 5, the Boston Natural Areas Network will hold its signature event at the Curry Student Center, Northeastern University, Boston (pictured below).  Join over 300 community and backyard gardeners for plenary sessions, workshops, community gardener awards, information gallery, door prizes, and much more.  Contact Jo Ann Whitehead at joann@bostonnatural.org, or call 617-542-7696, x 15 for more information.  This event is free.  To see a map of the event location, log on to www.bostonnatural.org.

    http://www.northeastern.edu/campustour/images/currycenter178.jpg

  • Wednesday, March 10, 6:00 pm – The Weeping Goldsmith

    As part of the Globe Corner Bookstores Adventure Lecture Series, author W. John Kress will give an illustrated talk about and read from his latest book The Weeping Goldsmith: Discoveries in the Secret Land of Myanmar.

    The Weeping Goldsmith is a remarkable memoir of the over nine years that Dr. Kress spent exploring the wilderness of Myanmar in search of rare and beautiful plants, and how he came to appreciate Myanmar’s unique people and culture. The book contains past explorers’ archival photographs as well as 200 of the author’s color photographs of plants, people, landscapes, and temples. A 10-page portfolio includes photographs of 50 Myanmar plants, with botanical profiles and habitat detail.

    W. John Kress prefaces his book by explaining that it “is about the natural landscapes and people of Myanmar as interpreted through the eyes of a modern-day scientist and plant explorer…I surveyed the teak forests, bamboo thickets, timber plantations, rivers, and mangroves to document the plant diversity of this vast unknown land. Myanmar is one of the world’s great biodiversity hot spots in Asia, but because of its social isolation and reputation for political repression it has been off-limits and avoided by many biologists, conservationists, and environmentalists.”

    This event will take place Wednesday, March 10 at First Parish Church, 3 Church Street in Cambridge (Harvard Square), and is free and wheelchair accessible.  Reservations are recommended, and you may call 617-649-5700 x 21, or email events@gcb.com.

    http://www.longitudebooks.com/images/book_large/BMA61.jpg