Boston Flora

Month: November 2011

  • Thursday, December 8, 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm – A Very Merry Night on the Hill

    Every year, Beacon Hill attracts the likes of many with its rich history, beauty and culture. As winter fast approaches, the “Hill” will transform into a winter wonderland, with a fresh layer of snow to overlay and brighten the cobblestone sidewalks and antique lamps. On Thursday, December 8th, 2011, the Boston Center for Adult Education (BCAE) is offering guests an intimate look into the exclusive neighborhood with a tour of the historic Nichols House, followed by appetizers and wine at 75 Chestnut.

    The Nichols House is a perfect replica of what domestic life would have looked like in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in this historic neighborhood. It was constructed in 1804 and is one of the earliest structures on Beacon Hill. As one of the most monumental homes in the area, The Nichols House is filled with precious items, accumulated over generations, and on this particular night, it will be beautifully adorned for the holidays!

    Following the tour, students will head over to 75 Chestnut, a premier restaurant in Beacon Hill, where they will enjoy the warm and inviting ambiance along with appetizers and paired wine from executive chef Marcus Ripperger. For more information please visit www.BCAE.org, or call 617-267-4430. Tickets are $55 each, and registration is necessary.

  • Thursday, December 1, 8:15 pm – Commonwealth Avenue Mall Tree Lighting

    Since 2003, the Mall has been successfully lit without public funds thanks to the efforts of chairperson Mimi La Camera, the lighting committee, and many neighborhood supporters. Following the Boston Common Lighting, the Commonwealth Avenue Mall will be lit.  Picture from www.3rdhouseparty.typepad.com.

  • Thursday, December 1, 6:00 pm – Boston Common Tree Lighting

    Join Mayor Thomas M. Menino, the Province of Nova Scotia, WCVB-TV Channel 5, and MAGIC 106.7 FM for the lighting of Boston Common, the Public Garden, and the City of Boston’s Official Christmas Tree. Acts to be announced, check  at www.cityofboston.gov/parks for updates.

  • Thursday, December 8, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Yuletide 2011 House Tour

    The Community Garden Club of Cohasset invites you to its Yuletide 2011 House Tour on Thursday, December 8, from 10 – 4.  Five fully decorated homes will be on display, with a holiday marketplace, complimentary refreshments, celebrations of Christmases past, and new holiday ideas.  Advance tickets $30, day of tour $35.  To reserve, visit www.communitygardenclubofcohasset.org.

  • Patriot Daylily Society 2012 Calendar

    Looking for a beautiful 2012 wall calendar that benefits a good cause?  The Patriot Daylily Society is selling its 2012 calendar for $17, which includes priority shipping, two calendars for $27, or three for $35.  You may order on line at www.patriotdaylilysociety.org, or you may send a check made out to the Patriot Daylily Society to Karin Cooke, 45 Winter Street, Exeter, NH 03833.  Contact Karin for more information at cooke.k@comcast.net.

  • Holiday Wreaths 2011 – Why You Should Order Early

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s wreaths are becoming legendary.  For sheer beauty, freshness, and innovative decorations, these wreaths are holiday masterpieces.  Our past customers know this, and when the annual order forms are mailed, they are returned within days.  Last season we had so many orders for fully decorated wreaths, we had to cut off accepting new orders before the end of November, and our volunteer decorators still felt a bit overwhelmed during wreath making days.  So we made a few changes this year.  First, we did not advertise in our local newspapers, much as we love them and like to support our local businesses, especially those which give us such great coverage during the year.  Next, we are not planning to send out second notices, which we have always done prior years.  In an additional attempt to better manage our numbers, we instituted a $50 surcharge for matched sets of three or more fully decorated wreaths.  Matched sets are the most difficult to do, and we are happy to coordinate sets with matching ribbons and bow placement, as long as they need not be identical.  Our goal is to create 225 fully decorated wreaths December 5 – 8, along with our lovely plain wreaths and wreaths with bows, and no more.  As of today, we have orders for more than 115 fully decorated wreaths, and the window is closing.  Don’t be left out.  You may click on to https://bostonflora.com/products-page/ for an order form.

  • Saturday, December 3, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm – Flora Novae Angliae

    The New England Wild Flower Society hosts a lecture and book signing with Arthur Haines at Garden in the Woods on Saturday, December 3, from 1:30 – 3:30.  Illustrators Elizabeth Farnsworth and Gordon Morrison will also attend. New England Wild Flower Society is thrilled to announce that after nine years of field, herbarium, and literature study Flora Novae Angliae, a Manual for the Identification of Native and Naturalized Higher Vascular Plants of New England, has been published by Yale University Press.

    This 1,008 page book is the definitive publication for the study and identification of the plants of New England. Join the author for a discussion of the underlying philosophies, a look at some of the research and novel finds on which the manual was written, and discussion of the many collaborators (and their exciting finds) who helped make the book possible. The lecture will present fascinating botanical information pertinent to each state in New England.

    This partly illustrated work presents the latest in nomenclatural, taxonomic, and distribution information for New England’s tracheophytes (i.e., higher vascular plants). The manual makes a departure from its predecessors in several respects. First, well-supported information was incorporated into the text, regardless of how unpopular it may have been viewed. Second, many thousands of herbarium specimens were reviewed to verify not only recent collections but the early ones as well. Third, identification keys were written, where possible, with focus on characteristics that do not display substantial phenotypic (i.e., environmental) variation. And fourth, all hybrid plants that could be verified as part of the New England flora were included (rather than just the well-known or named ones). These underlying philosophies have contributed to building a floristic manual with many substantial changes from earlier works covering the region.

    Arthur Haines stated, “The initial view of this manual may be one of greater complexity, but the goal was simply to write a manual that reflected, as accurately as plant taxonomists understood, our best understanding of the species growing on the New England landscape.”  After the lecture, the author will be joined by the two illustrators, Elizabeth Farnsworth and Gordon Morrison, for a book signing in the Garden Shop at Garden in the Woods.  Please RSVP if you plan to attend the December 3 lecture by calling the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext 3303.

  • Saturday, December 3 – Sunday, December 4 – Pilgrim Hall Museum’s Fifth Annual Holiday House Tour

    Pilgrim Hall Museum’s fifth annual Holiday House Tour on December 3rd and 4th will share some of Plymouth’s finest – and sometimes hidden – architectural gems all dressed up for the holidays. Your tour ranges from private residences in North Plymouth, to the center of town, to wonderful homes down in South Plymouth. Feel the warmth of the holiday season while helping preserve the museum’s superb collection of 17th century artifacts and support its educational programs. Your ticket includes a light lunch at Plymouth Country Club.

    Exact locations of houses on the tour are kept confidential until the day of the tour. You MUST pick up the booklet and map that will serve as your ticket (and which reveal the locations of the houses) AT PILGRIM HALL MUSEUM (75 Court Street, Plymouth, MA). The books may be picked up after 9:30 am on the days of the tour. (The houses themselves will NOT open before 10:00 am).  Tickets will NOT be sold at the houses or at Plymouth Country Club.

    Lunch at Plymouth Country Club is included with the ticket. Lunch will be served between 11:00 and 2:00 each day (ticket holders are entitled to ONE lunch).  Space is limited, so purchase your tickets early! A discount is also available with advance purchases. Advance ticket orders must arrive at Pilgrim Hall Museum by 3:00 pm Friday, November 19.  Tickets are $40 in advance (November 19 or before) and $45 if purchased after November 19. Tickets are nonrefundable.

    Tickets to the House Tour may be purchased by mail. An order form may be printed at www.pilgrimhall.org/HolidayouseTour.htm.

    OR
    Stop by Pilgrim Hall Museum and pick up a Holiday House Tour brochure!
    Pilgrim Hall Museum, 75 Court Street, Plymouth, MA 02360.

  • Saturday, November 19, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Winter Flowering Bulbs

    Join the Cactus and Succulent Society of Massachusetts on Saturday, November 19, from 1 – 4 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston, for a talk by noted plant author and blogger Matt Mattus, who will be speaking on Winter Flowering Bulbs.  Matt is a passionate horticulturist with a particular love of flowering South African bulbs.  Learn about the beauty and diversity of these fall and winter flowering plants.  With a little special care you, too, can enjoy these rare beauties at home. For more information, contact margothammer@mac.com.`

  • Friday, December 2, 4:00 pm – Ghost Orchids

    In this sculpture display in the Harvard Museum of Natural History’s Glass Flowers gallery, Scottish artist Siobhan Healy creates a subtle and thought-provoking piece inspired by the Ghost Orchid (Epipogium aphyllum), a rare British wild flower recently rediscovered after it was thought to be extinct for 23 years. Healy depicts the orchid in transient and ethereal clear glass, encouraging the viewer to reflect on the potential loss of this fragile species—an evocative emblem of the one in five of wild flowers that are threatened with extinction. This artist talk will take place Friday, December 2, beginning at 4 pm. Free with museum admission. For more information, visit www.hmnh.harvard.edu.