Daily Archives: September 21, 2011

Tuesday, October 4, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Places for the Spirit: Traditional African American Gardens

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Gardens and Spirit: The Power of Landscapes to Transform, is a series offered by the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and Trinity Church in the City of Boston.  The first of this year’s lectures will take place Tuesday, October 4, from 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm at Trinity Church in Copley Square.  Vaughn Sills, Associate Professor of Photography, Simmons College, and Lowry Pei, Professor of English at Simmons College, will speak on their new book,  Places for the Spirit: Traditional African American Gardens. Places for the Spirit is a stunning collection of over 80 documentary photographs of African American folk gardens — and their creators — in the Deep South (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina). These landscapes have a unique historical significance due to the design elements and spiritual meanings that have been traced to the yards and gardens of American slaves and further back to their prior African heritage. These deceptively casual or whimsical foliage arrangements are subtle and symbolic reminders of the divine in everyday life, the cycles of nature, and implied right and wrong ways to live. In the spirit of “outsider” art traditions, blues musical roots, and other such folk manifestations, these gardens have a unique aesthetic and cultural significance. Over 20 years in the making, this is the first collection of fine art photography to document this subject and, as such, it adds greatly to our understanding and appreciation of this disappearing element of African American culture. Fee is $15 for Arboretum members, $20 for non-members.  Register on-line at http://my.arboretum.harvard.edu/.

Friday, October 7, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm – Practices and Principles of Growing Nutrient Dense Vegetables

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This Berkshire Botanical Garden course, for serious home vegetable gardeners as well as professionals caring for vegetable gardens, is an overview of how biological systems function and support you in addressing limiting factors in your garden. Examine soil testing and mineral balancing, biological inoculation, seed sizing and sorting, potting soil, tillage, fertility, in-season plant and soil monitoring and supplemental feeding based on plant needs. In-season monitoring will be based on conductivity and Brix monitoring with appropriate solutions including nutrient drenches and foliar spraying. The objective of this course is to support gardeners in growing vegetables that are pest- and disease-resistant as well as very flavorful and containing high levels of nutrition.  The course will take place Friday, October 7, from 9:30 am – 4:30 pm, and will be repeated in the spring, on Friday, March 23.

Dan Kittredge is an organic farmer and cofounder of the Real Food Campaign. As the son of two prominent leaders in the organic farming movement, Dan has been an organic farmer since childhood. His experience managing organic farms and developing sustainable agriculture techniques has connected him to farmers in Central America, Russia, India and the United States. Dan is passionate about raising the quality of nutrition in our food supply.  This hands-on workshop will cost $185, plus an additional $35 soil test fee, payable directly to the instructor. Participants are requested to have their soil test completed prior to the first class. For information on specifics, contact the garden, 413-298-3926, four weeks prior to the course.  To register, visit www.berkshirebotanical.org.