Boston Flora

Month: May 2010

  • Saturday, May 15, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Spring Spectacular!

    Come to Natick Community Organic Farm on Saturday, May 15, from 10 – 3, rain or shine, for an old fashioned fair for the whole family, and seedling sale.  Enjoy live music by an all-youth line up of talented local performers, hayrides, nature based crafts, petting pasture, three-legged races, and other old fashioned games.  There will be wind-up boat races, talks, demonstrations, and workshops throughout the day on keeping chickens in your own backyard, organic bee keeping, composting with worms, and much more.  All this good food and outdoor fun will cost Natick Community GTarden members $6 for adults, $5 for children over 3, and nothing for children under 3. Prices for non members are equally modest: $10, $5 and $3, respectively.  For more information and directions call 508-655-2204, or email ncorganic@verizon.net.

  • Sunday, May 16, 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm – All About Flower Shapes and Colors

    On Sunday, May 16, beginning at 1:30 pm,  enjoy a free lecture at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden led by environmentalist and naturalist Katie Griffith.  Explore how a flower’s shape and color attracts the right pollinator for the plant.  Dress appropriately for going outdoors, and children are encouraged to attend, accompanied by an adult.  Pre-registration is required by calling 781-283-3094, or by emailing horticulture@wellesley.edu.

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  • Saturday and Sunday, May 22 and May 23, 10 – 5 – Bonsai Weekend

    Come to Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive, Boylston, Massachusetts on Saturday or Sunday, May 22 and 23, from 10 – 5, and enjoy Bonsai Weekend, The Art of the Potted Plant.  The exhibit will be in the Stoddard Education and Visitors Center, and is sponsored by The New England Bonsai Society.  Gorgeous displays of specimen bonsai plants, with guided tours, lectures, and programs on bonsai culture will be part of the celebration.  Discover the world of bonsai – the art of growing trees in miniature.  Have you bought or received a bonsai and it died? Come out and learn how to keep your bonsai alive and thriving.  If you can raise a houseplant, you can grow a bonsai. Vendors will sell plant material, pots, and accessories.   For more information, log on to www.towerhillbg.org, email thgb@towerhillbg.org, or call 508-869-6111, ext 146.

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  • Saturday, November 6 – Saturday, November 20 – New Zealand Expedition

    From kiwis to spring wildflowers, temperate rainforests to alpine meadows, New Zealand possesses a rich natural heritage. Some of the most spectacular scenery in the world is preserved in New Zealand’s national parks, many of which we visit on this expedition.  Nearly 93% of the alpine flora of New Zealand is endemic and many plants have no close relatives anywhere else in the world. The geologic forces are as dynamic as anywhere on earth, and can be seen in the plunging cliffs at Milford Sound, in the spectacular peaks and glaciers of the Southern Alps, and along the rugged shore.

    One of the top naturalists in New Zealand, Lloyd Esler, leads this 15-day expedition, featuring fine cities, museums, botanic gardens, national parks, and natural areas on North and South Islands.  Lloyd has explored and written about much of the natural world in his home country and is often called a “walking encyclopedia.”   The program is sponsored by the New England Wildflower Society.

    The trip takes you from Auckland in the north to the Southern Alps, to Milford Sound in the Fiordland World Heritage Park, to Mt. Cook National Park and beyond.  Trip fee is $3995 plus air fare.  Please call  508-877-7630 ext. 3303 for a brochure with full details and itinerary, or visit http://www.botanicalexpeditions.com/aus-nz_nz.htm

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  • Tuesday, May 25, 10:30 am – 1:30 pm – Metro East & Metro West District Annual Meeting

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay, Inc. is a member of the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, Metro East District.  The Annual Meeting of Metro East and Metro West District Clubs will be held Tuesday, May 25, from 10:30 am – 1:30 pm at Elm Bank in Wellesley.  The meeting will feature a floral demonstration by a designer from Winston Flowers, along with a boutique, lunch and raffle.  The price for members of Metro East and Metro West clubs is $35 per person, and guests may attend for $40 per person.  To register, send a check payable to GCFMA Inc to Alisa Billings, 12 Woodridge Road, Dover, MA 02030, and please note your garden club affiliation, if any, on your check.  Garden Club of the Back Bay members will receive a notice, with car pooling information, in the mail soon.  Photo below by Karen Harvey Cox.

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  • Saturday, May 15, 8:30 am – 11:00 am – Perennial Plant Sale

    The Brockton Garden Club will hold a Perennial Plant Sale on Saturday, May 15, from 8:30 am – 11:00 am at the Brockton Park Department headquarters, 45 Meadow Lane in Brockton (former site of the Campello Swimming Pool).  See new plants, old favorites, perennials, shrubs, herbs, ground covers, grasses, house plants and more.  The Scholarship Committee will have hardy geraniums for sale in a veriety of colors.  Proceeds fund the Brockton Garden Club’s city-wide Civic Projects and Scholarship Fund.  For more information and directions, log on to www.brocktongc.org.

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  • Tuesday, May 25, 7:30 pm – The Apple Industry in Marlborough

    The Marlborough Historical Society invites you to a free lecture and reception on Tuesday, May 25, beginning at 7:30 pm at The Peter Rice Homestead, 377 Elm Street, Marlborough.  Joan Abshire will share interesting facts, photographs, and other items about the apple industry in Marlborough.  Perhaps not as well-known as the Marlborough shoe industry, the apple industry was an integral part of Marlborough’s early history.  Following the talk, enjoy apple desserts and cider.  For more information and directions, log on to www.historicmarlborough.org.

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  • Sundays, June 13, 20, and 27, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Bostons’s Gardens & Green Spaces Tours

    Join Meg Muckenhoupt, author of Boston’s Gardens & Green Spaces, and Maryglenn Vincens, founder of Boston Your Way Premium Private Tours, for three exclusive walking tours through Green Boston, past and present.  Inspired by Muckenhoupt’s beautiful new book, Muckenhoupt and Vincens will examine how Boston’s shifting landscape and coastline have shaped the city’s ever-expanding network of public spaces.

    Tours are $50 per person and are open to the public. Each tour is limited to 25 people. Reservations must be made by Friday June 4, 2010. Each ticket includes a signed copy of Boston’s Gardens & Green Spaces and complimentary tea at some of Boston’s finest cafés and restaurants.

    Week 1: The Big Dig: Boston Blasts, Builds, and Reconnects: Sunday, June 13, 1pm-3pm
    Week 2: Evolution of Boston Proper: From Puritan Functionality to Modern Day Leisure: Sunday, June 20, 1pm-3pm
    Week 3: The Fenway: Land Conflicts, Commitments, and Community Gardens: Sunday, June 27, 1pm-3pm

    To register, email: events@unionparkpress.com and send us the Boston’s Gardens & Green Spaces Tour Form.  You may also log on to www.unionparkpress.com/news-events/bostons-gardens-green-spaces-june-tour-series/ for more information.

    Boston’s Gardens & Green Spaces

  • Monday, May 10, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Home Sustainability 101: How to Live Greener, Cleaner and Cheaper

    The Ellis South End Neighborhood Association will present Home Sustainability 101: How to Live Greener, Cleaner and Cheaper to be held at the Lyric Stage, 140 Clarendon Street (YWCA building – mezzanine level). This program – free and open to the public – will reveal simple ways to make our homes more livable through carbon footprint reduction, energy conservation, and smart renovations or improvements that pay for themselves in just a few years. Intended for condominium and home owners, renters, building managers, real estate agents and prospective buyers, the symposium is for everyone who wishes to live greener in every way.

    The symposium will feature four speakers: Jacob Knowles, an energy conservation specialist from The Green Roundtable/NEXUS; Catriona Cooke of Conservation Services Group; Josh Wood, South End architect who has recently completed an award winning, sustainable renovation on Rutland Square; and Bertil Jean–Chronberg, manager of the Beehive and two–time “green” renovator whose innovative renovations were featured in The Boston Globe home section in January 2010 (see picture below – www.boston.com.)  The energy specialists, the architect and the home owner will illustrate a series of creative and energy efficient solutions through slides, charts and informational handouts. From weather stripping to storm windows, from insulation to new heating systems, the modest and the grand will be covered in this practical and informative neighborhood symposium.

    The program will include audience questions and participation and is free and open to the public.  For more information,  contact Grace Gregor by email at gracegregor@mindspring.com,  or visit the Ellis Neighborhood Association web site, www.ellisneighborhood.org.

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  • Thursday, July 22 – Saturday, July 24 – American Horticultural Society National Children & Youth Garden Symposium

    Register today for the 2010 American Horticultural Society National Children & Youth Garden Symposium, to be held July 22 – July 24 in Pasadena, California.  The Symposium’s theme is “The Vitality of Gardens: Energizing the Learning Environment.”  Featured keynote speakers include Alice Waters, chef, author, and proprietor of Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley, and the founder of The Edible Schoolyard.  Also, meet Sam Levin, one of six co-founders of Project Sprout, an organic, student-run garden on the school grounds in Massachusetts, and Roger Swain, familiar to many American gardeners as the genial host for 15 years of the popular PBS television program The Victory Garden.  The Symposium is hosted by the Descanso Gardens, Garden School Foundation, the Huntington Library Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, Kidspace Children’s Museum, Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden, the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens, and the University of California Common Ground Garden Program. For more information, log on to www.ahs.org.

    The restoration we seek in gardens is more essential than ever, but gardens are also sources of healthy food, environmental protection and personal fulfillment. The garden can be an incubator for fostering engaged citizens. For children and youth, a garden can be a science lab, art studio, kitchen, gathering place, theater of the imagination, a special place to explore the world.

    Come learn how to create and use gardens to provide dynamic environments for experimentation, social engagement, self-expression, and connection to the natural world. Hear from youth, the adults in their lives, and national experts about the vital role of gardens in the lives of today’s youth.

    As a symposium attendee you will participate in the only national symposium that explores the positive impact of gardens in the lives of children and youth, meet and learn from leading youth garden experts, receive useful and relevant project, curriculum, design and garden management ideas, explore the gardens and programs of the Symposium hosts, participate in 3 dynamic days of workshops, lectures, poster sessions and field trips and network and share your own expertise with children’s gardening advocates from across the nation. The early full registration fee is $330 (AHS members $290) before June 1, and $350 thereafter.   Lodging is available at the Westin Pasadena Hotel (the location of the sessions) at a discounted special rate of $155/night for reservations made by July 9.  Call the hotel at  866-837-4181 and ask for the National Children & Youth Garden Symposium room block.

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