Boston Flora

Month: March 2011

  • Saturday, April 9, 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm – Hive Installation and Spring Management

    This introductory workshop on Saturday, April 9,  from 4:30 – 6 pm at the Boston Nature Center, 500 Walk Hill Street in Mattapan, will cover honeybee hive installation as well as springtime management for a newly installed hive. There will be a live demonstation of installing a package of honeybees. Feeding, life cycle of the colony, hive expansion will also be covered. Cost: $25 NOFA members/ $30 Non-members. *PLEASE NOTE: To provide participants with a live hive installation demonstration, the workshop date might change depending on hive package delivery. Because of flexible date, payment will be collected at the event. Pre-registration still required.  Also please be aware that this event was also listed as taking place from 12:30 – 2 pm, so checking again with nnacamuli@gmail.com is highly recommended.   And we couldn’t resist Amy Winehouse’s beehive hairdo.  Thank you www.dailymail.co.uk.

  • Tuesday, April 12, 6:00 pm – Marketing Massachusetts Agriculture: Farmers’ Markets, Public Markets, and More

    Come to Boston University’s Fuller Building, 808 Commonwealth Avenue, on Tuesday, April 12 at 6 pm to hear David Webber, program coordinator of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, and Don Wiest, chair of the Boston Public Market Association, speak on Marketing Massachusetts Agriculture: Farmers’ Markets, Public Markets, and More.  This free program is part of Boston University’s Taking Food Public series.  Reservations are required – please call 617-353-9852.  Photo from www.seriouseats.com.

  • Friday, April 8, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Food for Thought: Fisheries

    We are at an underwater crossroads. Food from the sea is increasingly important to the human diet. Yet fish stocks are more fragile than ever, made scarce by overfishing and endangered by environmental assaults. What are the factors that contribute to overfishing and what steps can we take to avoid them? Are regulations the answer? Are farmed fisheries good, bad, or some place in between?  In this Museum of Science session, we examine how to preserve and protect the vitality of food sources drawn from our waters. Free, but seating is limited; advance registration is required. To register: http://survey.mos.org/public_survey/Checkbox/Survey.aspx?s=9494d2fafc03486a94c4db2f760d70bb.  This forum is part of the Food for Thought series, encouraging conversation about what we can do to improve how we grow our food and feed our bodies.  Thank you to www.chefsblade.monster.com for the image below.

  • Wednesdays, April 6 and 13, 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm, and Wednesday, April 27, 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm – Introduction to Landscape Lighting

    Learn about illuminating the landscape from professional lighting designer Nancy Goldstein, in a three session class at the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum April 6, 13 and 27.  The first two sessions, from 2:30 – 4:30, will give an overview of the subject.  Nancy will discuss the creative use of light, as well as the necessary fixtures, accessories and controls.  In the third session, from 6:30 – 9, participants will work with Nancy and Wade Geller, principal of Brilliant Lighting, in the landscape to practice certain effects and become familiar with a variety of lighting options.  This class is geared for landscape professionals, although all are welcome.  Offered with the Landscape Institute of the Boston Architectural College, the fee is $85, and you may register on line at www.my.arboretum.harvard.edu, or by calling 617-384-5277.

  • September 26 – October 6, 2011 – Castles and Gardens of Bohemia and Moravia

    The American Horticultural Society will begin this autumn trip (September 26 – October 6, 2011) to the Czech Republic in the capital city of Prague, renowned for its castles and cathedrals.  From there you will venture to the historic and picturesque regions of Bohemia and Moravia (see Kromeriz Gardens in central Moravia, below.)  Experience a wealth of gardens in styles ranging from formal Italianate, Renaissance, and Baroque to Neo-classical and modern – including several 20th-century gardens created by visionary designers.  For full information and itinerary, contact the AHS Travel Study Program through its travel planner, MacNair Travel, at ahs@macnairtravel.com, or call 866-627-6621.

  • Esplanade Association Update

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay provided two grants to The Esplanade Association in 2010 in support of its work with trees – updating the tree inventory and replacing storm damaged trees.  We have received a note from Executive Director Sylvia Salas at The Esplanade Association which we’d like to share with our readers:

    “1. Tree inventory: We have been working with Joyce Husseni from Nitsch Engineering and David Rines on this project. David has assessed the condition of every tree on the Esplanade and has input this data into an Excel spreadsheet for Joyce to import into a database. David also has re-plotted tree locations on the maps, as needed. The assessment and data update include approximately 90 new trees, including the Yoshino cherries. The updated inventory will prove very useful to DCR as well as TEA in identifying and prioritizing tree work. We hope next to re-tag the trees.

    2. Replacement trees and tree care: The process of planting, even pruning, trees on the Esplanade is somewhat complicated because of oversight requirements by the Massachusetts Historic Commission and Boston Landmarks Commission, but we have managed to work through all of the DCR requirements to move forward with tree work. We are planting 10 willows at Otis Grove this spring and we intend to plant trees, as well as shrubs, ground cover and other plants at Eliot Plaza. The Eliot Plaza project is a significant one, encompassing a redesign of the plaza’s current landscape to convert it into the classic room within the park as intended by Arthur Shurcliff. We also have managed to get nearly 200 trees pruned around the Hatch Shell and are working with DCR to have as many as 300 trees pruned in the Otis Grove, Esplanade Café and Sherborn exercise areas this spring.

    Please express our gratitude to the members of the garden club for their support of The Esplanade Association’s ongoing work to improve the health and care of the Esplanade.”

  • Sunday, April 3, 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm – More Fruit Please! Expanding Your Home Harvest

    With proper planning and plant selection, fruiting trees and shrubs can be an attractive and low-maintenance option for growing food in the home landscape.  Former City Fruit program director for Earthworks Ben Crouch will provide basic tips and outline resources for planning, planting, tending and harvesting a home orchard at this Sunday, April 3 workshop at the Hunnewell Building at the Arnold Arboretum. Learn the particulars of growing blueberries, apples, pears, plums and other less common fruit. There’s nothing fresher than home grown.$30 for Arboretum members, $35 for nonmembers.  Register at www.my.arboretum.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?EventID=1#April.  Photo of plum tree by Joshua James Evans.

  • Saturday, April 2, 9:00 am – Lawns: Installation, Care and Maintenance

    Jeff Moor from Jonathan Green Turf Products will present a free seminar on lawn care on Saturday, April 2 at Weston Nurseries in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.  Enjoy a great looking, healthy lawn this year using traditional and/or organic methods. Join the staff for Jeff Moor’s popular presentation on spring lawn care and learn how to get your lawn off to a great start and keep it healthy through the seasons. Jeff will show you grass seed varieties you can use for various lawn conditions, how to establish a new lawn, patch, or over-seed, and explain the different options you have for fertilizing, crabgrass control, and weed and pest control. Bring your questions. For more information, call 508-435-4314.

  • Friday, April 1, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm – Taste of Spring VIP Preview Party

    Join Massachusetts Horticultural Society for a reception to help them bring their horticulture education program into the schools.  On April 1, you’ll have an opportunity to preview the Step into Spring flower and garden show at the Taste of Spring VIP Preview Party at the Chestnut Hill Mall. The reception, from 7 to 10 p.m., will feature – in addition to an advance peek at the gardens and displays – cocktails and hors d’oeuvre.

    Beginning April 2 and continuing through May 15, The Mall at Chestnut Hill will host ‘Step Into Spring’, a flower and garden show featuring richly planted gardens, dazzling floral arrangements and landscapes from award winning designers and horticulturalists. The show will be held in the common areas of the Mall’s two levels. Part of the proceeds from the VIP Preview will benefit the Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s Plantmobile, the traveling, interactive plant-science program that provides hands-on, exploratory educational programs for children grades K-12. Mass Hort is upgrading the Plantmobile curriculum and plans to send the vehicle and its staff to schools in and around Boston beginning this spring. By attending the VIP Preview Party, you’ll directly benefit Mass Hort and the children served by the Plantmobile. You’ll also have a great evening out. Tickets are $35, and are available online at www.masshort.org, by calling 617-933-4995, or at the door.

  • April 1 – May 15 – Step Into Spring at The Mall at Chestnut Hill

    The Mall at Chestnut Hill sponsors its Annual Spring Garden & Flower Show April 1 – May 15.  Stroll through extraordinary gardens and floral displays in bloom.  Call 617-965-3038 for details.  Image from www.petersadeck.com.