Boston Flora

Month: November 2011

  • Saturday, November 19, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – The Organic Home Orchard

    Join holistic orchardist Michael Phillips at the Berkshire Botanical Garden on Saturday, November 19, from 1 – 4,  for an intensive program on growing all kinds of fruit in the back yard. Successfully growing fruit for your family becomes straightforward when you narrow the big picture down to getting the basics right. Harvesting sunlight through smart pruning is what renews fruit buds. Fungal disease becomes manageable with wise variety choices and enhanced soil biology. Even major insect challenges can be resolved safely when you perceive who, what, and when. All sorts of fruits—from apples and pears to peaches and cherries and onward to berries—make for a diverse home orchard planting. Confidence to integrate tree fruits into your landscape begins with embracing biodiversity and knowing how to steward system health. This program will be useful for both backyard growers as well as small-market fruit growers with a focus on growing healthy organic fruit. Michael’s new book The Holistic Orchard, published by Chelsea Green Publishing, will be hot off the press and available for sale at the lecture.

    Michael Phillips is known across the country for helping people grow healthy apples and understand the healing virtues of plant medicines. Information about the “community orchard movement” he helped found is available at www.GrowOrganicApples.com and provides a full immersion into the holistic approach to orcharding. His Lost Nation Orchard has two acres of trees and supplies local families with many varieties of organic apples. Michael was honored by Slow Food USA to receive the first Betsy Lydon Ark Award for his work promoting healthy ways to grow fruit.  The fee to attend is $45, and you may register online at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

  • Saturday, November 19, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Tiny Gardens: Build a Terrarium Garden

    Although not new to gardening, terrariums are enjoying renewed interest. In this Berkshire Botanical Garden class, to be held Saturday, November 19 from 10 – 12, learn about gardening under glass — a way to bring nature indoors year round. When enclosed in glass, plants thrive with almost no help from outside of their little world. This hands-on workshop will address the aesthetics and technical aspects of terrarium building including plants, soil preparation, planting, container selection, design and maintenance. Participants will build a tiny garden gem in glass using a unique selection of plants. Elisabeth Cary, who will conduct this session, is Director of Education at the Berkshire Botanical Garden and has been making terrariums for many years. She is a home gardener and specializes in woody plants, mixed borders and vegetable gardening. The fee is $50 for BBG members, $60 for non-members, plus a $15 materials fee paid to the instructor. You may register on line at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

  • Wednesday, November 16, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Botany of Thanksgiving

    Pumpkins, squash, peas, beans, turnips, carrots, potatoes, parsnip, spinach, corn, apples, pecans, cabbage, and more are common components of a Thanksgiving feast. But have you considered these fruits, tubers, nuts, and vegetables from a botanical perspective? In a novel analysis of this traditional meal, Professor Pamela Diggle, Evolutionary Biologist at University of Colorado and Harvard University, will open your eyes to the plant anatomy and physiology that preceded the creation of, say, your grandmother’s sweet potato-marshmallow casserole or your uncle’s savory succotash.  This Arnold Arboretum class will be held Wednesday, November 16, from 7 – 8:30 in the Weld Hill Research Building at the Arboretum.  Free, but registration requested.  Visit www.arboretum.harvard.edu for registration and more information.

  • Tuesday, November 15, 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm – Project Bread’s Strike Out Hunger Bowl-a-thon

    Join Project Bread on Tuesday, November 15, from 5 – 10 at Lucky Strike Lanes/Jillian’s, 145 Ipswich Street in Boston, and mix and mingle with fellow Project Bread supporters and cheer on the bowlers, including Team Ramiro and Pebbles of JAM’N 94.5.  That’s not all – enjoy light appetizers, taste Rodney Strong wines, and win great raffle prizes such as a Vera Bradley gift set, or an autographed football from the New England Patriots.  Tickets are only $20, and you may register on line at www.projectbread.org.

  • Saturday, November 12, 8:00 am – 9:30 am, and Saturday, November 19, 8:00 am – 10:00 am – Bird Walks

    Come on a bird walk through the Back Bay Fens , led by Arnold Arboretum’s Marc Devokaitus, on Saturday, November 12, from 8 – 9:30 am, and/or come on a bird walk of Jamaica Pond on Saturday, November 19, from 8 – 10, led by Gerry Wright of Jamaica Pond Boathouse.  Free, but please rsvp to projectassistant@emeraldnecklace.org for information on the assembly site.

  • Saturday, November 12, 10:30 am – 12:00 noon – Conserving our Native Pollinators

    Most gardeners understand the important relationship between plants and pollinators, but did you know that native pollinator populations are declining globally? Learn about the science behind this worrisome trend and discover ways to encourage these important members of the healthy ecological system. Join Joan Edwards, professor of biology at Williams College, on Saturday, November 12, from 10:30 – noon, for a talk about her work with native pollinators and be inspired to turn your gardens into a safe haven for these embattled creatures. Joan Edwards is a professor of biology at Williams College where her research focuses on the evolution of plant-animal interactions. She specializes in how plant behaviors enhance reproductive success.  Image below is of a cuckoo wasp.  The program takes place at Berkshire Botanical Garden in West Stockbridge, and is free to those signed up for The Future Meets the Past – Sustainable Gardening Practices with Scott Lafleur later that day, or, if you wish to attend this lecture only, $18 for BBG members, $22 for non-members. You may sign up at www.berkshirebotanical.org, or by emailing info@berkshirebotanical.org.

  • Charles River Clean Up Boat Update

    Our good friend Tom McNichol of the Charles River Clean Up Boat sent us a “year in review” letter which we’d like to share with you.  Tom may be reached at cleanupboat@yahoo.com, if you’d like to put your name on the volunteer list for next season:

    Once again, all the news from the river is good. 2011 was a safe and productive season. We had no accidents or injuries. This is most important, as safety is our number one concern.

    As to productivity, we kept the Charles looking very good nearly every day this spring, summer and fall. We had great weather. Lots of sunny, comfortable, and dry days. Sure, rain cost us a few days, but the days were spread out and we were able to operate between them. The Charles River Yacht Club and the Boston Gondola folks helped on the first day and gave us a jump start on getting rid of the winter’s accumulation of trash and debris.

    The 4th of July celebration was wonderful. The fireworks were world class. The crowd were large and had a great time. Cleaning up after the party was routine. We scheduled extra days and even with the barge fire we had the river back to “mid season form” in about 5 days.

    The other great yearly event, the Head of the Charles Regatta, was spectacular, and they had some fair weather.

    The new engine ran perfectly all season. Mitch and I pulled the Lisa S on the Friday before the Head of the Charles Regatta . We replaced the rear guard, refastened the rubber rub rail and took care of other minor repairs. Then we took her over to Russo’s for winterizing, a complete servicing, shrink wrap, and storage.

    The Lisa S just finished her 6th season (we used a smaller boat the first 2 years). We are on our 3rd set of control cables, second motor and will have to replace the worn out helm (steering) this winter. She gets a great deal of use and has served us well. We will also install a gas filter/water separator to insure the Ethanol laced gasoline we now have to use does not give us problems. Everything to make sure she performs reliably in 2012.

    Even the news on funding is good. Somebody is looking over us. Actually somebody is always doing a little extra to help. Here is this year’s story. All year we were behind. I did get on the phone and ask for help, but we were still not whole as of the end of August. In mid September I get a phone call from Torri Zissman. Torri is a second grade teacher at the Rashi School in Dedham. She uses the Charles River as a theme all year long for her students. They learn of the Indians who lived there, take field trips to net some of the small marine life in the river, and lean about the birds and other wildlife.  She also covers the issue of taking care of the river, and each May invites Mitch and me to visit her class and talk about the Clean Up Boat. This year, after the presentation, she asked how we were doing for funding. I said we needed some publicity. It had been a number of years since we were on TV or in the newspapers. Torri and her class nominated us for an award from the Bank of America. The Bank decided to give us an award, and with it comes a grant of $5,000. With a few late donations, and one yet to be received promised donation, we will once again be able to pay all our bills for 2011.

    By the way, it was Emma, a student in Torri’s class, who, about 5 years ago, told her family and friends not to give her toys for her birthday, but rather make a donation the the Clean Up Boat, as she thought that was more important. I don’t remember the exact amount, but I believe the donations came close to $500. Emma has also come on the boat as a volunteer.

    Speaking of volunteers, as always they were great. We did not miss any days for lack of crew. I did crew one day with Bob, due to a mix up in dates, but we didn’t miss any days. I met a number of new friends and some I expect will become long term volunteers.

    I was along the river during the Head of the Charles Regatta. Most of the people were looking at the hundreds of shells on the river, while I am looking in the corners by each bridge abutment. I was limited in where I could go, but I did not see one coffee cup, water bottle or other item of floating trash. It’s a great sight to see all the visitors and rowers. I confess to a warm feeling of pride knowing all these people had a beautiful river to enjoy. Each of you should share in that feeling of pride as no one person can clean 7 1/2 miles of river, four days a week, spring, summer and fall by themselves.

    There are now hundreds of us doing many different things to help keep the Charles beautiful. By spreading the work, and funding, over many people and organizations, no one person, or organization, has to bear an uncomfortable load. That may be the reason we continue to be viable and effective. It is obvious that most people take pride in their surroundings and know an effort has to be made to keep them attractive and enjoyable. The Charles River is a jewel for all of us to enjoy. Take a walk along her shores and savor the results of your efforts. With her coat of colored leaves, she will give you one more enjoyable afternoon before winter sets in.

    See you in the spring.

  • Saturday, November 12, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – The Future Meets the Past: Sustainable Gardening Practices

    Ecological gardening with native plants uses our treasured flora of the past and applies the most innovative sustainable practices to create a new norm for the American garden. Learn practices in horticulture that have positive or neutral ecological impact—methods that can be sustained over the long term with the least possible alteration of the existing community of plants, animals, fungi, and microbes. Ecological gardening is a way to work with nature, not against it, and sustainable practices are those which work in an ecologically sound manner. The New England Wild Flower Society has utilized principles of ecological gardening for over 40 years at its botanic garden, Garden in the Woods. Such practices preserve floral and faunal diversity, both above and below the soil line, and do not significantly alter the soil, water, air or organisms that exist in, or come in contact with, our landscape. In this Saturday, November 12 Berkshire Botanical Garden class, held at The Berkshire Botanical Garden from 1 – 3 pm, led by Scott Lafleur of the New England Wild Flower Society, learn about the sustainable practices with a focus on creating and maintaining healthy soil and effectively using compost and compost tea. Consider site location and how to identify the “right plant for the right place.” These techniques use a hands-on approach to mitigating the adverse affects of traditional gardening. Learn how to put all these practices together to achieve a closed system. $35 fee. Register on line at www.berkshirebotanical.org, or email info@berkshirebotanical.org.

    Scott Lafleur is Botanic Garden Director at Garden in the Woods, home of the New England Wild Flower Society, where he is curator of plant collections and oversees facilities, visitor services and retail services. He is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire horticulture program, and specializes in perennials and perennial garden design.

  • Friday, December 2, 6:00 pm – Fashioned From Nature: Holly Days Gala and Fashion Show

    Tower Hill Botanic Garden and Co-Chairs Barbara L. Morse, Trustee, and Christopher S. Reece, President, cordially invite you to attend Fashioned from Nature: Holly Days Gala and Fashion Show, on Friday, December 2.  The evening will begin at 6 pm with cocktails and hors d’oeuvre, followed by a light dinner and fashion show by James Hogan.  There will then be a custom holiday wreath auction and caroling in the Limonaia.  Individual tickets $125, Patron Tickets $250, and Sponsor Tickets $500. Please respond by November 22.  You may pay by check made out to WCHS and mail to Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Attn: Marleen Kilcoyne, Development Coordinator, 11 French Drive, PO Box 598, Boylston, MA 01505-0598, or you may pay securely on line at www.towerhillbg.org.  For more information call 508-869-6111, x 114.  Also, visit the Tower Hill Holly Days Auction at www.biddingforgood.com/towerhill.  All proceeds support Tower Hill Botanic Garden.

    http://www.towerhillbg.org/HD_logo11.jpg

  • Saturday, November 9 – Sunday, January 1 – Christmas at the Newport Mansions

    The glitter of gold and the sparkle of silver will dazzle you as you tour three magnificent mansions decked out in Yuletide finery. Music, tours, and spectacular decorations highlight the celebration of Christmas at the Newport Mansions. The Preservation Society of Newport County invites you to make holiday memories with your family by visiting The Breakers, The Elms and Marble House this holiday season. For complete information, call 401-847-1000, email info@newportmansions.org, or visit www.newportmansions.org.