Boston Flora

Month: April 2011

  • Saturday, May 7, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Sustainable Lawn Care Basics

    Join The Trustees of Reservation’s Long Hill horticultural staff at Long Hill in Beverly, Massachusetts on Saturday, May 7, from 10 – 11:30 am to learn the basics of sustainable lawn care. By changing a few traditional lawn care habits, you can transform your lawn into a thriving green landscape. Come and learn about how they are doing it at Long Hill and leave with practical tips and techniques to start today! TTOR Members: $8. Nonmembers: $12.To register, or for directions, log on to www.thetrustees.org, or call 978-921-1944, x 4018.

  • Saturday, May 7, 10:00 am – 11:00 am – Glorious Gardens Tour at Codman Estate

    Historic New England Gardener Ellen Mackey leads a walking tour through the Codman Estate landscape and gardens during the May planting and blooming season on Saturday, May 7, beginning at 10 am, 34 Codman Road, Lincoln, Massachusetts. The landscape is undergoing a significant restoration to bring it back to its appearance in the 1930s. Following the garden walk, enjoy a tour of the Codman House museum. Reservations are required. $10 for Historic New England members, $15 for nonmembers. To register, call 617-994-6690, or log on to www.historicnewengland.org.

  • Tuesday, May 3, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm – 3-D: Digging Deep for Dignity

    We don’t make a habit of publicizing benefits which don’t have a specific horticultural tie-in, but today we’re making an exception for a treasured neighbor.  On Tuesday, May 3, from 6 – 9, there will be an event to benefit the Women’s Lunch Place Capital Campaign.  Entitled 3-D: Digging Deep for Dignity, the Latin themed party will take place in the Mandarin Oriental Ballroom, 776 Boylston Street, and will feature Latin festive fare and entertainment, plus a live and silent auction.  Tickets are $150 per person, valet parking is available, and casual chic attire is recommended.  For tickets and information, log on to www.womenslunchplace.org, or call 617-267-1722.

     

     

  • Saturday, April 30 – Sunday, June 5 – The New Botanicals/Lilacs by Vinette Varvaro

    The New Botanicals / Lilacs is an exhibition of exquisite giclee lilac prints. Intense color saturated lilacs in varying hues of purple, magenta, pink and white emerge from velvety black back grounds creating lifelike portraits of each specimen. This exhibition is in co-ordination with The Arnold Arboretum’s Lilac Sunday annual celebration. Artist Vinette Varvaro created The New Botanicals Collection as a fresh new version of traditional antique botanical prints yet has retained their classic beauty and detail. Also shown are several prints from The New Botanicals / Woody Plants and Shrubs collection. Ms. Varvaro uses both digital technology and painterly skill to produce fine art prints for collectors and horticulturalists. The twenty-four lilac images shown are blossoms cut from lilacs at Syringa Plus Lilac Nursery in West Newbury, Massachusetts. The exhibition, in the Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall at the Arnold Arboretum, will run from Saturday, April 30 through Sunday, June 5. A reception with the artist will take place Wednesday, May 4, from 6 – 8 pm. You may also meet the artist in the Lecture Hall during Lilac Sunday on May 8, and she will give an artist talk about her work on Wednesday, May 18, from 6:30 – 8:30 pm. For more information about the artist, visit www.thenewbotanicals.com.

  • Sunday, May 1, 2:00 pm – British Landscapes Tour and Southern Charm Tour Information Session

    The Shirley-Eustis House and Collette Vacations present an information session on Sunday, May 1, 2011 to announce two very special tours – a British Landscapes Tour and a Southern Charm Tour!

    The Shirley-Eustis House is now offering two very special trip opportunities with Collette Vacations. Imagine a ten-day trip to England, Scotland and Wales on the British Landscapes Tour. You will explore London’s Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and the Changing of the Guard. Then you will be whisked away to Scotland to visit Edinburgh Castle, home of the Scottish crown jewels. Finally, you will step into Shakespeare’s world when you arrive at Stratford-Upon-Avon and marvel at the mysteries of Stonehenge and reflect on the wonders of the Roman Baths. This tour takes place October 27 through November 5, 2011.

    The other tour offered will be a seven-day tour to Charleston, Savannah, Jekyll Island, St. Augustine, and Jacksonville. Experience true Southern hospitality and charm in Georgia and South Carolina. Your tour will begin in beautiful antebellum Charleston, where magnificent formal gardens grace much of the historic district. You will stop at the battery overlooking Fort Sumter where, on April 12, 1861, the first shots of the Civil War were fired. Of course, there will tours of Southern plantations along the way. A visit to Savannah would not be complete without a visit to Paula Deen’s Candy Kitchen! You will also visit the winter retreat of Jekyll Island – where gilded age families relaxed in their beautiful cottages that are still standing for you to admire. The tour will wrap up with a trip to Jacksonville and St. Augustine, Florida where you will learn about the United States’ oldest city, built in 1565. This tour takes place from April 22 through April 28, 2012.

    Please join Patti Violette of Shirley-Eustis House on Sunday, May 1, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. at the Shirley-Eustis House Mansion, 33 Shirley Street, Roxbury. Pam Strand from Collette Vacations will be on hand to talk about these two delightful adventures. As always, refreshments will be served. Don’t miss these exciting opportunities!

    Phone 617-442-2275 for more information or become a fan on Facebook to stay connected to the Shirley-Eustis House events.

  • Thursday, May 19, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm – Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill

    The Beacon Hill Garden Club hopes you will join them to celebrate the 82nd Anniversary of the BHGC Hidden Gardens Tour. In May and June 1929, to mark the successful formation of the Beacon Hill Garden Club the previous fall, eleven founding members opened their gardens to the public for the first time. Thus began BHGC’s most important and enduring fundraiser, one which benefits environmental, horticultural, and conservation organizations across Boston, Massachusetts, and the United States. Select member gardens and ribbon gardens will be open to the public. Please consult their website for information useful in planning your day, and direct any questions to  info@beaconhillgardenclub.org.  Advance Purchase Price: $30 per ticket purchased before May 19, either by mail, online credit card, or from select retail stores. $35 day of tour.

  • Thursday, May 12, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – The Olmsted Legacy: America’s Urban Parks

    The Arnold Arboretum, in conjunction with the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, will offer an evening of film and discussion on Thursday, May 12 in the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum, from 7 – 8:30 pm.  The documentary The Olmsted Legacy: America’s Urban Parks explores the formation of America’s great city parks, including Boston’s own Emerald Necklace, through the eyes of 19th Century landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.   The film traces the life of Olmsted: his early struggles in school. his personal tragedies and his unorthodox career path.  Olmsted and his firm carried out more than 500 commissions, nearly 100 of which were public parks.  His work includes the linear park system that stretches from the Back Bay Fens to Franklin Park known as the Emerald Necklace.  A Q & A session will follow the screening.  For more information on the documentary, visit www.theolmstedlegacy.org.  The admission fee is $10, and you may sign up by logging in to www.my.arboretum.harvard.edu.

  • Saturday, April 30, 8:30 am – 12:00 noon – Back Bay Alley Rally

    The Annual Back Bay Alley Rally is upon us! Meet at the Clarendon Street Playground, at the corner of Clarendon Street and Commonwealth Avenue, on Saturday morning, April 30, at 8:30 for breakfast, then gather in groups to clean our alleys and side streets. Rejoin your fellow volunteers for lunch at noon. For more information, log on to www.nabbonline.com.

  • Friday, May 13, 9:00 am – 12:00 noon – First Annual Tree Pit Clean-Up Day

    Join members of the Garden Club of the Back Bay for a clean up and mulching of tree pits along Beacon Street on Friday, May 13, from 9 – noon.  Meet at 330 Beacon Street, dress in gardening clothes, and bring your own gloves.  Rain date is Friday, May 20, also from 9 – noon.  We need a head count by May 1, so please email Sherley Smith at slgsmith58@gmail.com if you can help.  We may have to cancel if we have too few volunteers.

  • Wednesday, April 27, 5:30 pm – Ancient Grains for Modern Meals

    Food writer Maria Speck’s passion for propelling Old World staples such as farro, barley, polenta, and wheat berries to the forefront of new American cooking is beautifully presented in Ancient Grains for Modern Meals. In her inspired and highly personal book, Maria Speck draws on food traditions from across the Mediterranean and northern Europe to reveal how versatile, satisfying, flavorful, and sophisticated whole grains can be. Her lecture, to be held Wednesday, April 27 beginning at 5:30 pm in Emerson 210 at Harvard University, is free and open to the public. For directions, log on to www.harvard.edu.