Boston Flora

Month: May 2011

  • Thursday, June 2, 11:00 am – Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion Opening

    Join the Boston Harbor Alliance for an opening celebration on Thursday, June 2 at 11 am.  Governor Deval Patrick, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Ms. Victoria Reggie Kennedy, and other dignitaries will join Boston Harbor Island Alliance and National Park Service staff on the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway to open the new $5,000,000, 2,500 square foot Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion.  This pavilion is the first structure to be built on the Rose Kennedy Greenway and will be a new gateway for residents and tourists to the Boston Harbor Islands National Park area.  The structure is located in the Wharf District Parks (between State Street and Atlantic Avenue.) We have to admire the contractor who got away with charging the government $2,000 per square foot.  Come view our tax dollars at work.

  • Friday, June 24 – Sunday, June 26 – Stowe Garden Festival

    Here’s a good excuse, if you need one, to experience the natural beauty that Stowe has to offer during the summer months. From Friday, June 24 through Sunday, June 26, you’ll get the opportunity to enjoy a number of local gardens open for public viewing; one- and two-day passes are available. Visit the Trapp Family Lodge Garden with its annual and perennial beds and greenhouse, the Historic Greatwood Estate Garden located at the Golden Eagle Resort, the inviting butterfly garden at Topnotch Resort and Spa, and the aromatic herb garden at Stoweflake Mountain Resort.  Day pass costs $10, a Two Day pass is $15, and a Weekend pass is $25.  Log on to www.stowegardenfestival.com to purchase tickets, and for additional information.  You may also email info@stowegardenfestival.com.

  • Wednesday, June 15, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm – Propagation by Cuttings Workshop

    Join the Trustees of Reservation at Long Hill in Beverly on Wednesday, June 15, from 5 – 7, and learn to grow Long Hill’s signature plants from your own cuttings. Experienced propagators demonstrate setting up a propagation box, caring for your cuttings, and transplanting rooted plants. All materials provided. Members: $20. Nonmembers: $25. Please pre-register at www.thetrustees.org/longhill, or call 978-921-1944, x. 4018.

  • Saturday, June 4, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – E.H. Wilson: A Century Past

    It’s been one hundred years since Wilson returned from his last major Chinese collecting expedition.  Wilson is credited with introducing over one thousand Asian plants into Western horticulture, including the paperbark maple, regal lily, Chinese tulip tree, and beautybush.  Learn more about this fascinating explorer and view a selection of Wilson’s introductions growing at the Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway in Boston, including some grown from seeds he collected, on Saturday, June 4, from 1 – 2:30, on a walking tour led by Jim Gorman.  The walk is free, and for more information call 617-384-5209.

  • Friday, June 3, 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Sprouts Preview Party

    Kick off this year’s Tower Hill Plant Sale event with a special preview the evening before (Friday, June 3, from 5:30 – 8:30 pm) – you’ll have first pick of the outstanding plants available for sale, enjoy delicious appetizers in a leisurely atmosphere from our sponsor Pepper’s Fine Foods Catering, and be able to bid on silent auction items such as private garden consultations, tours, and other services, as well as unusual plant specimens.  New items are being added daily.  Visit Tower Hill Botanic Garden’s website at www.towerhillbg.org for the latest selections.  Plant Societies and Specialty Vendors will not be present at the Preview Party sale.  Member tickets are $30 each, Non-member tickets are $35 each, Patron tickets are $75 each, and Sponsor Tickets are $125 each.  You may order online or call 508-869-6111.

  • Saturday, June 4, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm – Sprouts

    Tower Hill Botanic Garden’s Annual Specialty Plant Sale – Repotted! – will take place Saturday, June 4.  Members only hours are 9 – 11, and the general public is invited from 11 until 2.  Free to members, $5 per car for non-members.  This year for the first time Sprouts includes specialty nurseries of the highest caliber and purveyors of fine and unusual garden-related items.  Tower Hill is branching out to offer new resources for the finest quality plants and unique garden ornaments all in one location.  Knowledgeable volunteers and staff will help you with your plant selection and questions on cultural information.  Bid at two silent auctions featuring choice, specimen plants and garden ornaments.  Harvey’s Farm of Westboro will give away 100 plants during the 9 – 11 Members Only sale with any plant purchase of $50 or more, first come first serve, while supplies last.  Plant society participants will include Cactus & Succulent, Conifer, Daylily, Heather, Hosta, Lilac, Miniature Plants, and Rose.  Bring cash or check – many groups are unable to accept credit card purchases.  Please consider a donation to the Wagon Fund, so Tower Hill may purchase more carrying wagons for the Plant Sale customers – look for the donation boxes.  For more information, log on to www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Saturday, June 11, 1:00 pm – Painters for a Purpose

    Painters for a Purpose is a group of South Shore artists who donate 30% of their sales from each exhibit to a local charity.  For their upcoming exhibit opening Saturday, June 11 at the Arnold Arboretum, they have chosen the Elizabeth Stone House. The opening reception will be in the Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall at 1 pm and is free and open to the public.  The show will run through July 23.

    Located in Roxbury, Massachusetts, the Elizabeth Stone House is committed to countering the effects of trauma and breaking the cycles of violence and abuse—one family at a time. Through residential and community support services, the Stone House helps families heal and women reclaim control over their lives. The Stone House helps women and families rebuild their lives after experiencing domestic violence, mental illness, substance abuse and other forms of trauma. The Stone House provides residential and non-residential programs, as well as an emergency shelter for those who are in immediate need.  For more information, call 617-384-5209, or visit www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

  • Wednesdays, June 29, July 13, August 10, and September 14, and Tuesdays, July 12 and August 9, 9:30 am – 2:30 pm – New England Flora 2011

    The Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture presents a class with Carol Govan, who will help you follow plants through the growing season.  Expand your creative botanical art and illustration skills through the close study of natural plant communities and seasonal changes.  Between meetings, study independently and create accurate illustrations of a local habitat.  Focus on gathering data in the field to understand how to identify plants and render them.  You will draw faster when you understand what is important for identification and the difference between a field sketch and a plant portrait.  Experiment with different media.  The six day course will take place June 29, July 12 and 13, August 9 and 10, and September 14, from 9:30 – 2:30 at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden in Wellesley.  WCFH members $360, non-members $450.  To register, call 781-283-3094, or log on to www.wellesley.edu/WCFH.

  • Thursday, June 16, 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm – 15th Annual Rose Garden Party

    Mrs. Angela Menino and Commissioner Antonia Pollak cordially invite you to the 15th Annual Rose Garden Party to benefit Park ARTS on Thursday, June 16, from 5:30 – 8:00 at The Rose Garden, Back Bay Fens, Boston.  Garden party attire is enthusiastically encouraged – pictured below is the queen of the garden party hat, none other than HRH Queen Elizabeth II, not currently scheduled to attend (thank you www.telegraph.co.uk.)  Wear a hat to enter the Hats Galore! contest, where judges will choose their favorites in the following categories: Best Garden Party Hat, Most Creative Hat, Most Elegant Hat, and Just for Men Hat.  This year’s event is generously supported by the Boston Pops.  Individual tickets $125, or be a sponsor at $500, or patron at $1,500.  To reserve and make credit card payment by telephone, call 617-961-3039, or send a check  made payable to The Fund for Parks & Recreation: Park ARTS, and  mail to the Rose Garden Party Committee c/o Boston Parks and Recreation Department, 1010 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA 02118.  Parking will be available on Park Drive and Agassiz Drive, and there will be Boston Park Rangers to direct you.

  • Wednesday, June 1, 7:00 pm – Gardening in Raised Beds with Sally Muspratt

    Sally Muspratt will be the featured speaker at Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s Wednesday Evenings at Elm Bank in Wellesley, Massachusetts on Wednesday, June 1, beginning at 7 pm, in the Education Building.  One of Mass Hort’s most popular lecturers, Sally is a landscape designer with an eye for both the novel and the practical.  In this talk entitled Gardening in Raised Beds, she’ll show that raised beds – a standard practice for vegetable gardening – is also a great idea for annuals, perennials, and even shrubs.  Her programs are always lushly illustrated and you’ll leave with dozens of great ideas.  The cost to Mass Hort members is $10 per talk, or $50 for the series of ten.  The charge to non-members is $15 per talk.  Refreshments and beverages are served at all talks, and reservations are not required.