Daily Archives: April 28, 2012

Sunday, May 20, 9:00 am – 3:30 pm – Great Tomato Celebration and Society Row Plant Sale at Elm Bank

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Quick: what’s the difference between ‘Sungold’ and ‘Black Cherry’ cherry tomatoes? ‘San Marzano’ and ‘Martino’s Roma’ paste tomatoes? ‘Red Brandywine’ and ‘Mortgage Lifter’ beefsteak varieties? And just exact what kind of tomato is a ‘Missouri Pink Love Apple’, ‘Orange Flesh Purple Smudge’, and ‘Pink Ping Pong’? You’ll have the opportunity to find out the answers to those questions – and to purchase those varieties of tomatoes – on Sunday, May 20 from 9:00 – 3:30 when one of the major horticultural events of the year will be held in MetroWest Boston’s back yard.

The Massachusetts Horticultural Society hosts the Society Row Plant Sale at Elm Bank. Again this year, the Society Row sale is joined by The Great Tomato Celebration , which is hosted jointly by Mass Hort and White Flower Farm of Litchfield, Connecticut. ‘Society Row’ isn’t about high society. Rather, the name refers to the thirteen plant societies that come together for the annual event. These societies, together with a group of specialty nurseries, offer an extraordinary array of high-quality plants for your garden. Among the groups that will be represented are the Hosta Society, Lilac Society, Begonia Society, Rhododendron Society, Miniature Plant Society, Daylily Society, and the Herb Society. Collectively, they’ll offer thousands of plants grown by members; many of them unusual cultivars. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society will also sell perennials and annuals grown in its own greenhouses.

Many of the local chapters of plant specialist societies will continue to offer their own plant varieties including unusual and popular cultivars that Society Row has provided for more than 75 years.

Vendors from around New England will also be selling anything you can think of to help you plant your garden at home including:

– A variety of pots, containers and raised bedding
– Seeds, seedlings and young plants
– Fruits, vegetables, and flowers for planting
– Garden sculpture
– Garden and patio furniture
– Tools and Clothing
– Horticultural vendors: landscape designers, arborists, landscapers

Mass Hort has planned a full day of lectures, children’s’ activities, food vendors, and fun for the whole family.  For more information, visit www.masshort.org.

Special members’ hours: 8:00 -9:00 am
Open to the public: 9:00 am – 3:30pm

 

 

 

Sunday, May 13, 10:30 am – Annual Duckling Day Parade

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The Friends of the Public Garden will celebrate Mother’s Day with Boston-area families during its annual Duckling Day parade on Sunday May 13th. Registration will begin at 10:30am and the parade will begin at noon.

Based on the children’s classic Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey, Duckling Day is an annual event where children and their families retrace the steps of the beloved characters Mr. and Mrs. Mallard and their family of eight ducklings. The parade will begin at the Boston Common on the corner of Beacon and Park Street. Children will parade through Beacon Hill dressed like characters from the story and end in the Public Garden near the famous duckling sculptures.

Prior to the parade there will be plenty of family entertainment including a face painter, balloon artist and a magician. Mayor Menino will greet families at the end of the parade and actors from the Wheelock Family Theater will do a dramatic reading from the book.

The registration fee is $35 per family in advance and $40 per family the day of the event. Each family that registers will receive a special goodie bag filled with Duckling Day toys and treats.  For more information visit www.friendsofthepublicgarden.org.  Photo courtesy of www.universalhub.com – don’t you just love the feathers?