Boston Flora

Month: February 2011

  • Wednesday, March 23, 6:00 pm – The Brave New World of Manufactured Soils

    Manufactured soils—formulated to provide highly predictable and consistent performance—are a means to stretch topsoil resources while also improving the horticultural performance and sustainability of soil environments. Today, many landscape architectural designs must use manufactured soils to meet sustainability and high performance project requirements. Bob Pine and John Swallow have designed manufactured soils for projects throughout the United States and worldwide. They will describe the opportunities and challenges of modern soil design with the objective of helping landscape professionals better understand their options and the process of specifying and using these soils, on Wednesday, March 23, beginning at 6 pm in the Hunnewell Building at the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Boston. Offered with the Boston Society of Landscape Architects. Fee: $25; Free to BLSA and Arnold Arboretum members. To register, call Marc Devokaitis at 617-384-5209, or email marc_devokaitis@harvard.edu.

  • Monday, March 28, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Our Constitution’s Intelligent Design

    The Arnold Arboretum presents an exciting lecture series in 2011: the new Director’s Lecture Series at the Hunnewell Lecture Hall, 125 The Arborway in Boston. The lectures are free but advance registration is required. This particular lecture is for Arnold Arboretum Members Only – you may join online at www.arboretum.harvard.edu/membership, or call 617-384-5767.

    On Monday, March 28, from 6:30 – 8:30 pm, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III will speak on Our Constitution’s Intelligent Design. In 2005 Judge John Jones presided over the landmark case of Kitzmiller v. Dover, and thereafter rendered an opinion holding that it is unconstitutional to teach the concept of intelligent design as an alternative to the theory of evolution. In the aftermath of that ruling, Judge Jones, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, was subjected to intense criticism. Judge Jones will highlight some of the lessons he learned from these experiences, including the development of his passion for judicial independence, and a belief in the need for better civics education, particularly related to our three branches of government

    Recommended reading related to this talk:

    · Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (available online), Monkey Girl by Edward Humes,

    · 40 Days and 40 Nights by Matthew Chapman,

    · The Battle Over the Meaning of Everything by Gordy Slack

    · The Devil in Dover by Lauri Lebo.

    Contact Pamela Thompson, 617.384.5277. http://calendar.arboretum.harvard.edu/index.php

  • Wednesday, March 30, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Gibson House Museum 15th Annual Benefit

    The Friends of the Gibson House Museum cordially invite you to their Fifteenth Annual Benefit on Wednesday, March 30, from 6 – 8, at The Algonquin Club, 217 Commonwealth Avenue, honoring Erica Hirshler, Croll Senior Curator of American Paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.  Enjoy cocktails, jazz trio, raffle and live auction, with proceeds benefiting the preservation of the Gibson House Museum.  Auction items will include a special tour for 8 at the New Wing of the MFA with Elliot Bostwick Davis, John Moors Cabot Chair of the MFA’s Art of the America’s Department, Asian cooking classes with dinner in a Back Bay home, a special trip to Williamsburg, baseball tickets, wine, and much more.  Tickets are $125 per person in advance, $150 at the door, and you may reserve by sending a check made out to The Gibson Society, Inc. to the Gibson House Museum, 137 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02116.  For more information, call 617-267-6338, or email info@thegibsonhouse.org.

  • Sunday, March 20, 2:00 pm – Lunch Line

    Filmmakers Michael Graziano and Ernie Park were originally inspired by the Organic School Project, a now-defunct school garden project in Chicago, and had intended to focus their  film Lunch Line on it. Once they started production, however, they realized that there was a much larger story to be told. The resulting film adopts a visually striking style as it portrays the surprisingly long and tortuous history of school food in this country. $5, co-sponsored by Slow Food Boston and The Museum of Science, at The Cahners Theater at The Museum of Science, 1 Science Park in Boston, at 2 pm on Sunday, March 20. To reserve, log on to www.slowfoodboston.com/reserve.cfm?eno=872.

  • Tuesday, April 26 through Thursday, April 28 – Flower Show School Course II

    Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts Flower Show School Course II will be held Tuesday, April 26 through Thursday, April 28 at the Holiday Inn in Taunton, Massachusetts. Instructors include Mary Huntoon (Design), Dottie Howatt (Horticulture, Daffodils and Broadleaf Evergreens), and Sandi Joyce (Procedure). It is not necessary to have taken Course I, but all members interested in being a Flower Show Judge must eventually take all four courses and get passing grades on all exams on Flower Show Procedure, Horticulture, and Design. Contact local Flower School Show Chairman Hila Lyman for a brochure and more information at 508-548-0841, or email her at hilajeanne@comcast.net.  This class is open to members of any Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts member who has a current subscription to the National Gardener magazine.  Please contact Lillian Cohen for information or applications at 781-721-2888, or email lilandbud@verizon.net.

  • Friday, March 11 – Boston Tree Party Application Deadline

    The Boston Tree Party is a collaborative campaign to plant 100 pairs of heirloom apple trees in civic spaces across Greater Boston. They’re planting with schools, hospitals, faith communities, businesses, neighborhood groups, nonprofits, restaurants, social clubs, assisted living centers, and more. They want to plant with you! For more information please go to: http://www.bostontreeparty.org/

  • Sunday, March 20, 1:30 pm – American Rhododendron Society DeBurlo Lecture

    The Massachusetts Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society is hosting the DeBurlo Lecture, featuring speaker Donald Hyatt, in the Hunnewell Building at Elm Bank on Sunday, March 20, beginning at 1:30 pm.  The lecture will last roughly one hour, with ARS providing time for questions and refreshments.  This event is free to MHS members.

    Although professionally a mathematics and computer science teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools in Northern Virginia for 33 years, Donald Hyatt has always maintained a strong interest in plants. He lives in the family home his late parents built in 1950, and maintains a lovely mature garden that he started when he was only 3 years old.

    Don’s educational background includes a Bachelors degree in Horticulture with double major in Biochemistry, but he also earned a Masters degree in Computer Science. He served as the Computer Systems Lab Director at the highest ranked school in the US, the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, VA, from the time school opened in 1985 until he retired in 2002. During his teaching career, Don received a number of tributes as an educator. A team of students he coached won a million dollar supercomputer for their school, and numerous other students won national and international awards in various science and Internet competitions. Don was personally honored as a Teacher of the Year finalist in Fairfax County.

    After retiring, Don has focused his efforts on varied horticulture interests including the documentation and preservation of rare native azalea populations in the Southern Appalachians. Don has served on the national boards of the ASA (Azalea Society of America) and the ARS (American Rhododendron Society). He has received national awards from both organizations including the Distinguished Service Award from the ASA, and both Bronze and Silver Medals from the ARS. He is a frequent speaker at national and international plant conferences, has authored a number of articles on azaleas and rhododendrons, and is recognized as an accomplished botanical illustrator and photographer.

    Recently, Don has been championing the local opposition to what many see as an ill-conceived decision by certain administrators at the U.S. National Arboretum who plan to destroy the magnificent azalea display (pictured below) on the historic Glenn Dale Hillside planted in 1947 by the Arboretum’s first Director, Benjamin Y. Morrison.  If you plan to attend, please rsvp to Susan Harding at dsh1965@comcast.net.

  • Saturday, March 12, 2:00 pm – The Magnetic North: Notes from the Arctic Circle

    Smashing through the Arctic Ocean with the crew of a Russian icebreaker, herding reindeer across the tundra with Lapps, and shadowing the Trans-Alaskan pipeline with truckers—author Sara Wheeler will discuss her adventures in the beautiful and brutal Arctic from her book The Magnetic North, featured in the Boston Globe and the February 6 edition of the New York Times Book Review. The lecture and book signing will take place at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street, beginning at 2 pm on Saturday, March 12. Free with museum admission.  For more information log on to www.hmnh.harvard.edu.

  • Thursday, March 17, 4:30 pm – 170th Worcester County Horticultural Society Annual Meeting

    Worcester County Horticultural Society Members are invited to attend the 170th Annual Meeting of the Society at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive, Boylston, Massachusetts, where Board Members will be elected, and general business conducted, including a review of 2010. Following the short business meeting, we are delighted to have Jane Pepper, former President of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, as our guest speaker. For more information about Ms. Pepper, log on to  http://philadelphiagreen.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/an-interview-with-jane-pepper/ A Reception in the Great Hall will follow the program. Members are welcome to bring guests; but only members may vote.

    Jane Pepper will be the Keynote Speaker at the 170th Annual Meeting

  • Saturday, March 5, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm – Insect Planet Family Festival

    The Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge,  will be buzzing with dozens of family activities on Saturday, March 5, from 9 – 5, as we explore the amazing world of insects and their relatives, spiders, crustaceans, and the many other creatures that comprise nearly 80% of all animals on Earth. Get close to live beetles, scorpions, and centipedes; listen to the sounds of insects communicating; experiment with robots that mimic bugs; and meet the Harvard scientists who collect and study these amazing creatures. Free with museum admission. Insect Planet is supported in part by the Cambridge Trust Company. Call 617-495-3045 for more information, or log on to www.hmnh.harvard.edu.  Image below from www.spiderzrule.com.