The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy is seeking volunteers to help create a color stick garden installation on the Greenway. The red stick/blue stick garden is intended to bring color and interest to the garden beds during the winter months. Volunteers are needed for painting sticks on Wednesday and Friday, November 9 and 11, from 9 – 11 at 185 Kneeland Street. To sign up, or for more information, contact Jenny at jwhelen@rosekennedygreenway.org.
In this Boston Center for Adult Education workshop you will learn the secret of professional floral designers. Fresh seasonal flowers will be used to create a long-lasting centerpiece that will be the focus of your table or could be used as a gift. Fall colors, leaves, and a re-usable container will be employed. Go home with an impressive floral creation. The workshop, taking place Tuesday, November 22, from 6 – 8, will cost $35, plus a materials cost of $18 (members of the BCAE pay $30 plus the materials cost), and the instructor is Laurie Marino. You may sign up at www.bcae.org. Image from www.tasteofhome.com.
Yes, we know it’s over a month away, but Garden Club of the Back Bay members are gearing up for our best Holiday Wreath Project ever. Incredible natural materials have been gathered all year in preparation for four days of marathon crafting at The First Lutheran Church of Boston December 5 – 8. Over the following weeks we’ll update you on what’s new, what will stay the same, how to order, what to think about, but for now, we’d just like to give you a heads up – past customers will receive a Holiday Wreath Order Form in the mail shortly. We may not be sending out second notices this year, due to the overwhelming response we received last season. Due to time and volunteer limitations, we have to be firm and cut off orders for fully decorated wreaths once we reach our maximum number. We deliver over 400 wreaths in December, 225 of which are fully decorated. We just can’t do 226, so please order early. You may also download and print our order form from this website, and mail it in with payment. Don’t risk disappointment. Below is an example of a wreath we created last year. Each, as you know, is custom designed to your specifications. You will not see your wreath on another door, trust us. Have fun with the ordering, or give us “designer’s choice” leeway. Either way, we know you’ll be happy.
Somerville Garden Club members will speak and give demonstrations on four garden related topics: raising and re-potting orchids, planting a terrarium or glass Wardian case, making greeting cards with horticultural photos, and creating a garden journal, on Wednesday, November 9, from 7 – 9 pm at the Tufts Administration Building, 167 Holland Street in Somerville. All Somerville Garden Club meetings are free and the public is invited to attend. Parking is available on site, and the building is a ten-minute walk from the Davis Square MBTA station. For more information, please visit somervillegardenclub.org. Image from www.ravengrrl.blogspot.com
In his newest book, Relics, world-renowned zoologist Piotr Naskrecki travels the globe to photograph “relics,†creatures or habitats that, while acted upon by evolution, remain remarkably similar to their earliest manifestations in the fossil record. From horseshoe crabs of the Atlantic to orchids of New Guinea, Naskrecki has created a time-lapse tour of life that has persisted nearly untouched for hundreds of millions of years. This lecture and booksigning will be held on Wednesday, November 30, beginning at 6 pm. Free and open to the public, Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street.
Science writer/NPR commentator Richard Conniff tells the story of the bold and colorful adventurers who risked death to discover strange life-forms in the farthest corners of planet Earth. The lecture will take place Sunday, November 20, beginning at 4 pm at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street in Cambridge. Mr. Conniff will sign copies of his most recent book, The Species Seekers: Heroes, Fools, and the Mad Pursuit of Life on Earth.
Learn about daredevil species seekers, ranging from the father of modern taxonomy, Carl Linneaus, and Thomas Jefferson, who laid out mastodon bones on the White House floor, to the Harvard anatomist who helped introduce the world to the most spectacular species discovery of the nineteenth century. For more information, call 617-495-3045, or visit www.hmnh.harvard.edu.
Trinity Church, Copley Square, Boston, and the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University team up once again as part of their Garden and Spirit: The Power of Landscapes to Transform series on Tuesday, November 29, from 7 – 8:30, hosting Wade Graham, designer, historian, and Adjunct Professor of Public Policy at Pepperdine University. In his book, American Eden, Wade Graham argues that how we design and garden shows more than simply how green are our thumbs. Gardens reveal information about who we are as a nation—where we have come from, and where we might be headed. From ethics to aesthetics, from politics to political correctness, Graham will speak about the history of gardening in America and how it has shaped and been shaped by daily life. The lecture is entitled American Eden: What Our Gardens Tell Us About Who We Are. The event will take place at Trinity Church, and the fee is $15 for Arboretum members, $20 for non-members. You may register online at www.my.arboretum.harvard.edu.
New England winters can be cold, long, and gray but our landscapes don’t have to be. Our gardens can still provide cheer even on the dreariest winter days. Get tips from Nate McCullin, Horticulturist of the New England Wild Flower Society, for creating a landscape with year-round appeal as well as ideas to help your plants survive the season’s challenges such as damage from ice, snow, and voracious mammals. Learn about plants that provide color, texture, shelter, and food sources throughout the winter with a few surprises etched in along the way. The class takes place at Garden in the Woods in Framingham on Thursday, November 10, from 1 – 4 pm. Fee $36 member, $43 nonmember
Offered by the Arnold Arboretum with the New England Wild Flower Society. You may register online at www.arboretum.harvard.edu, or at www.newfs.org. Doug Green photo from www.simplegiftsfarm.com.
“Make the cut” with Arboretum arborist John DelRosso in this two session practical workshop, to be held Saturday – Sunday, November 5 – 6, in the Hunnewell Building at the Arnold Arboretum. In the first session he emphasizes chainsaw operation, maintenance, and safety. In the second session he demonstrates sawing techniques and guides you in felling and cutting using practice logs in the Arboretum’s wood recycling area. Bring your saw to both sessions, if you have one. If you don’t own a saw but intend to purchase one, wait until you’ve attended the first class session to learn which styles and features are best for your size and needs. All participants should bring safety goggles, gloves, and ear protection to both sessions. Fee $80 member, $105 nonmember. Register on line at www.arboretum.harvard.edu.
