Boston Flora

Month: January 2011

  • Saturday, January 22, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Little Landscape, Big Ideas

    Since you will already be out at the Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge learning about honeybees (see above), stay and enjoy an armchair tour of some private grand-scale estates, with behind-the-scenes stories of the why and how they were created. View a variety of design styles including modern, cottage, and woodland gardens, and learn about the nuts and bolts for achieving some of these design concepts on your own property. Take away some inspiration, plus practical ideas for the less-landed gentry among us.

    Naomi Brooks owns and operates Verdant Landscapes, a design/maintenance firm located in the mid-Hudson Valley region. She specializes as an owner’s representative for private and public landscape projects. She is the former education coordinator for The Institute of Ecosystem Studies (now the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies) in Millbrook, N.Y., and earned certificates in Gardening and Landscape Design from the New York Botanical Garden.  This Saturday, January 22 lecture will begin at 1 pm, and the fee to  attend is $22 for BBG members, $27  for nonmembers.  For more information, call 413-298-3926, or email info@berkshirebotanical.org. Image below of a chef’s garden from www.growsonyou.com.

  • Saturday, January 15, 9:30 am – 12:00 noon – Beyond the Traditional: Parallel Design

    Learn the elements of floral design in a fresh new way, with award winning designer Julie Lapham of Julie Lapham Designs at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Massachusetts.  All experience levels are welcome, and all materials, including container, plant material, and mechanics, are provided.  On Saturday, January 15, from 9:30 – 12 noon, Julie will conduct a class in Parallel Design.  Explore the creation of a parallel design, placing plant material and other components in a strong grouping.  Photo below courtesy of Julie Lapham Designs.  The fee is $60 for Tower Hill members, $65 for nonmembers, and you may register on line at www.towerhillbg.org.

    photo courtsey of Julie Lapham Designs

  • Saturday and Sunday, January 15 & 16, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Botanical Illustration

    Brighten up winter with a colored pencil illustration class at the Berkshire Botanical Garden, 5 West Stockbridge Road, Stockbridge, on Saturday and Sunday, January 15 and 16, from 10 – 4. Create a still life of flowers, fruits or vegetables on black paper. This colored pencil technique enables students to achieve a dramatic effect with a deep black background in contrast to the rich bright colors of flowers, fruits and vegetables, resulting in a pleasing still life that glows. Basic colored pencil techniques are taught the first day as well as how to mix colors for light and shade. Beginning students will work on a small study and advanced on to a larger rendering. Work from color photos or bring a variety of flowers, fruits and vegetables to draw.

    Carol Ann Morely is a professional illustrator and dedicated teacher of botanical illustration working in Dover, N.H. She founded the Botanical Art Illustration Certificate Program at the New York Botanical Garden. She currently teaches at the New York Botanical Garden, and the Institute of Ecological Studies. BBG members $150, nonmembers $175. Call 413-298-3926, or email info@berkshirebotanical.org.  Illustration from Decor Arts Now.

  • Tuesday, January 11, 7:30 pm – Seminal Influences: The Role of Male Ejaculates in Firefly Evolution

    Sometimes you just can’t make this stuff up.  We recently highlighted the Museum of Science’s Firefly Project, and now we receive notification that the Cambridge Entomological Club will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, January 11 at 7:30 pm in Room 101 of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Oxford Street, Cambridge.  Adam South will speak on “Seminal Influences: The Role of Male Ejaculates in Firefly Evolution.” Adam is a PhD candidate from Tufts University, and we’d love to see his Facebook profile.

    Have you ever wondered what is behind the flashing lights of fireflies? Adam South will discuss his fascinating research exploring firefly mating, sexual selection and nuptial gifts. Male fireflies produce and transfer to the female a proteinacous, spirally coiled spermatophore each time they mate. These types of seminal nuptial gifts have been shown to be intimately connected with pre and post copulatory sexual selection in a diverse array of taxa. This presentation will examine spermatophore production from a phylogenetic perspective, including how it is linked to sex specific patterns of evolution and its role in firefly sexual selection.

    The meeting is free and open to the public. Snacks will be provided and you are also welcome to join Club members at 6:15 PM for an informal pre-meeting dinner at Harkness Commons, in the law school cafeteria on the second floor. For more information you may contact David Lubertazzi at lubertazzi@gmail.com.  Photo below by Baird Woods.

  • Saturday, January 22, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Trees of My City: Photography of Roberto Mighty

    Newton artist Roberto Mighty presents a public, new-media, fine art project, Trees of My City, in the Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall of the Arnold Arboretum. His work focuses on dormant, dead, and decaying trees in surprising and beautiful ways. While photography is the main component of the Arboretum exhibition, the reception will also feature high-definition video and audio surround-sound installation. There will also be an on-line component using geotagged locations of the subjects portrayed in the show. Opening reception from 1 – 3 on Saturday, January 22. Show will remain on display through March 6. For more information, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu/news-events/art-shows/.

  • Sunday, January 30, 1:00 pm – Clean Out the Bookshelf: A Cookbook Swap

    Admit it. You have shelves and shelves oozing with cookbooks and cooking magazines… some of which have rarely (if ever!) been cracked open. We know, because gardeners are often somewhat obsessive about collecting. Just how many perennial geranium cultivars are planted in your garden?

    So what to do about it? How about joining Slow Food Boston on Sunday, January 30th from 1:00 to 4:00PM for a good old book swap? Load up your old cookbooks you never use anymore, or maybe those esoteric ones you’ve received as gifts & never used… Don’t forget any food & dining magazines, too! And why not go one step further and bring on down any food-related novels or written collections you’ve read and want to pass on?

    The organizers ask for a $5 donation to SFB (payable in cash at the door) in order to participate; in exchange you get a way to give your books to others who will find joy in them, and you get to peruse the piles and take a few items that will bring yourself a little joy! Share the love, people, share the love….

    And speaking of sharing the love, all leftover items with will be donated to More Than Words Cafe. The cafe is an organization in Waltham that empowers youth who are in the foster care system, court involved, homeless, or out of school to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business.

    The event takes place at Green City Grocers, 600 Windsor Place in Somerville, between Union and Inman Squares.  Directions are on the Slow Food website.  There is even parking! Cookbook image from The Perfect Pantry.

  • Firefly Watch

    Spotting fireflies is a special part of any warm summer night, because we so rarely see them. Are fireflies disappearing from our landscape? If so, why? What can we do about it?

    The Museum of Science has linked with the Citizen Science website, co-sponsored by the Museum of Science, Tufts University, and Fitchburg State College, helping researchers determine why fireflies seem to be declining, and offering the general public an opportunity to learn how to collect scientific data in a manner that is both useful to firefly researchers and fun for the whole family.

    Using your own backyard as a data collection site, chart the occurrence of fireflies from May to August. Each week, you can upload your observations to the website, joining the data from hundreds of other citizen scientists to track the status of fireflies in your area.

    Becoming a citizen scientist is easy and fun, and your collective data is essential to helping scientists learn why firefly numbers are declining, as well as what can be done to reverse the trend. Whether you participate as an individual or family, it is a great way to foster a lifelong interest in science and a greater understanding of natural history. To learn more about the project, and to register, log on to www.mos.org/fireflywatch.

  • Saturday, January 22, 12:00 noon – 2:00 pm – Staying Healthy with Winter Soups and Healing Herbs

    Tasha Halpert has taught cooking both formally and informally for many years, both in her own kitchen and others, and even in a TV studio. For most of her adult life she has been interested in the healing power of herbs and foods and has written cooking columns emphasizing this for several publications. On Saturday, January 22, from noon – 2 pm, she presents a complete menu (see www.towerhill.org website for menu details) of original, easy to prepare recipes for you to taste, together with suggestions for staying healthy with those foods and herbs used in her soups, casseroles, salads and desserts. Also featured will be suggestions and recipes for ways to aid in preserving good health using commonly available herbs and foods.  The program, which will take place at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive, Boylston, costs $35 for Tower Hill members, and $40 for non-members.  You may register on the website, or call 508-869-6111.

    Tasting Menu:
    Warm Your Bones Lentil Soup
    Dairyless Corn Chowder with Variations
    Hearty Orange Vegetable Soup
    Tofu Squash Curry
    Easy, Tasty Carrot Salad
    Sweet ‘N Spicy Dessert Muffins

  • Sunday, January 23, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm – NABB Member Reception

    Join The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay for its annual tradition of welcoming new members to NABB.  The 2011 Member Reception will be held at the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel on Sunday, January 23, from 5:30 – 7:30 pm.  This is the perfect opportunity to share experiences as well as learn information about the many activities, both civic and leisure, NABB members enjoy throughout the year.  Complimentary hors d’oeuvre will be served, and there will be a cash bar.  RSVP by January 17 to 617-247-3961.  NABB gratefully acknowledges the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel for its generous support.

  • Saturday, January 8, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Wachusett: How Boston’s 19th Century Quest for Water Changed Four Towns and a Way of Life

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s program theme this year, “Water, Water Everywhere, and Not a Drop to Drink,” could have inspired author Eamon McCarty Earls and his presentation at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive, Boylston, Massachusetts on Saturday, January 8, from 1 pm – 2 pm.  He will discuss his new book on the history of Wachusett Reservoir – Wachusett: How Boston’s 19th Century Quest for Water Changed Four Towns and a Way of Life.  Mr. Earls became interested in the Wachusett Reservoir after a visit a few years ago and began his research when he learned there wasn’t really too much else published about it.  He mined information in local historical societies and libraries, and the result is this interesting and very readable book.  Please join the Tower Hill staff as he discusses his work and shares some of the maps and images in the Tower Hill Library (which overlooks Wachusett Reservoir, as it happens.)  Copies of the book will be available for purchase.  The program is free with admission, and there is a snow date of January 22.  For directions and more information, log on to www.towerhillbg.org.