Daily Archives: June 19, 2010

Saturday, June 26 – Sunday, June 27, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Lavender Festival

by

Johnson Hill Farm is a unique place where you will find a Lavender Labyrinth, Doves, an 1800’s Cemetery, and more – all high on a hill, down in a hollow of scenic Buckland, Massachusetts. It is the home of the Lavender Labyrinth where you can experience the beauty of nature and aroma of Lavender. The Lavender Festival is held here during the last full weekend of June each year.  Admission is free, and the hours are 10 – 4 each day.  You will enjoy a relaxing self-guided tour of the Farm, local artisans and crafters vending their products, demonstrations throughout the weekend, workshops in pounded flower art, lavender wand making, wild flower gathering and wreath making, cooking with lavender, and more.  Each day there will be a release of the doves, weather permitting.

The Farm, located high on Johnson Hill, is nestled in a Hollow surrounded by the rolling hills of Buckland. This is now both a home and the home of the Lavender Labyrinth, the owner’s doves, an historic cemetery, and the all too friendly farm dogs. Entering the labyrinth can be a healthy walk or a gentle wander through the lavender, or for some a spiritual exercise or experience.

For those interested in historic cemeteries, Sandy and Glenn Cardinal now carefully tend the Johnson Hill Cemetery. Photos are encouraged, but the stones are too fragile now to allow rubbings.

Lavender grown and hand-harvested from the Labyrinth on the South Meadow provides the material for fresh cut or dried lavender and related hand-crafted products. Tucked between the plants you will find ‘verb garden stones’ (some practical, others whimsical) on display. Other crafts become available when inspiration and skill decide to work successfully together. Call 413-625-6439 for more information, or log on to www.lavenderland.com.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/EdibleFlowers/LavenderFlowers.jpg

Thursday, July 8, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Falmouth Garden Stroll on the Bay

by

Join the Falmouth Art Center on this one of a kind spectacular walking garden tour on Thursday, July 8, from 10 – 3.  Seven outstanding seaside gardens, including a National award winner, are located on a private peninsula on Cape Cod with English-style cottage gardens and manicured country estates.  This tour is an easy seaside walk, arranged so you may stroll at your leisure through the gardens and outdoor markets.  Hidden garden gems will include a Farmer’s Market, Artisan Marketplace, and much more.  Tickets, $35, are limited, and the event is rain or shine.  Because the neighborhood has a no-parking rule, offsite parking, with shuttles to and from the seaside community, is included in the ticket price.  Harborside luncheon is also available.  Tickets may be purchased by telephone or in person at the Falmouth Art Center, Tuesday through Fridays, 9 am – 4 pm, or on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4 pm.  You may also call 508-540-3304, or order on line at www.falmouthart.org.  If you wish to mail a check made out to the Falmouth Artists Guild, you may do so by sending your check to Falmouth Art Center, PO Box 660, Falmouth, MA 02541.

http://www.bedbreakfastreservations.com/directory/Massachusetts/img/mostlyhall_falmouth_newfrontmostlyhall.jpg

Saturday, July 10, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Ferns in the Wild and in Your Garden

by

Nothing evokes serenity and “naturalizes” a landscape like a glade of ferns. They are easy to establish and provide dependable season-long greenery. This workshop will get you started in appreciating and identifying common native ferns and learning the right ones for different soil and light conditions. We’ll begin with a classroom program about fern natural history, keys for identifying the common natives, and how to integrate ferns into landscapes with different light, soil, and vegetative surroundings. From there the class will explore a nearby preserve to see a variety of  ferns in the wild. Finally, those interested may follow the instructor to his property nearby to see how native ferns add diversity and aesthetic quality to a natural landscape. Cosponsored by the New England Wild Flower Society with Westport River Watershed Alliance and the Connecticut College Arboretum, the program takes place Saturday, July 10, from 10 – 2.  You may register at www.newfs.org, and the participation fee is $38 for members of the cosponsoring organizations, and $44 for nonmembers.  Garry Plunkett will lead the class, and directions will be sent.

http://www.designerstencils.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/largeview/8022E.gif

Tuesday, June 29, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Spider Silk: Evolution and 400 Million Years of Spinning, Waiting, Snagging, and Mating

by

Porter Square Books, 25 White Street in Cambridge, welcomes Leslie Brunetta, a freelance writer whose articles have appeared in the New York Times, Technology Review, and the Princeton Alumni Weekly, as well as on NPR, on Tuesday, June 29, beginning at 7 pm.  Her wonderful new book, co-authored with Catherine L. Craig, Spider Silk: Evolution and 400 Million Years of Spinning, Waiting, Snagging, and Mating “cures arachnophobia for any lucky reader…”, according to Simon Levin, author of Fragile Dominion.  For more information, log on to www.portersquarebooks.com.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51a04fyxK4L._SL500_AA300_.jpg