Boston Flora

Month: June 2012

  • Thursday, June 28, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Design and Installation of an Edible Native Plant Garden

    Kristin DeSouza, Senior Horticulturist and Plant Record Coordinator at Garden in the Woods, and past speaker with The Garden Club of the Back Bay, will present the June 28 installment of Thursdays at the Hort at Elm Bank in Wellesley beginning at 7 pm. Most of our daily foods are non- native introductions produced in mass quantity using fertilizers and pesticides. So what are our native edibles and how can we utilize them in the garden? Have you ever eaten a Pawpaw fruit…or sautéed Oyster Mushrooms freshly picked from your garden for your evening’s dinner? Senior Horticulturalist Kristin DeSouza will illustrate the design and installation process of the new edible plant garden at Garden in the Woods. Using all native plants Kristin will weave together design approaches, horticultural techniques, and culinary uses. “There are over 20,000 species of edible plants in the world yet fewer than 20 species now provide over 90% of our Food.” The classes are priced at $12 for Mass Hort members and $15 for non-members – no need to pre-register.  You may pay at the class.  For more information visit www.masshort.org.  Below is a native persimmon.

  • June 30 Deadline for Ordering Tickets to War Horse, to Benefit Boston’s Park Rangers Mounted Unit

    Please join the Friends of the Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit for a special evening to support our Park Rangers’ Horses.  Premium seating for the Wednesday evening, October 17 performance of War Horse at the Boston Opera House, with a reception to follow, is available for $150 per ticket.  Please make checks payable to the Justine Mee Liff Fund for Friends of the Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit, or by major credit card by calling Ashley Helie at 617-522-2700, no later than June 30.  She may also be emailed at ahelie@emeraldnecklace.org.

    The play, winner of 5 Tony Awards including Best Play 2011, is a remarkable tale of courage, loyalty and friendship.  As World War One begins, Joey, young Albert’s beloved horse, is sold to the cavalry and shipped from England to France.  He’s soon caught up in enemy fire and fate takes him on an extraordinary journey, serving on both sides before finding himself alone in no man’s land.  But Albert cannot forget Joey and, still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to find him and bring him home.  This powerfully moving and imaginative drama, filled with stirring music and songs, is a show of phenomenal inventiveness that is currently playing to packed houses in London and in New York.  At its heart are astonishing life sized puppets created by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, that bring to life breathing, galloping, charging horses strong enough for men to ride.

  • Saturday, June 23, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Boston’s Second Annual Tour de Hives

    Boston 2nd Tour de Hives, 10-4, will be starting at the Growing Center (Somerville) with Warre Hives, continue in Inman Square (beekeeping and research), picnic with the Bee-U. Beekeepers club, and a Grand Finale at the Museum of Science.  Check https://www.facebook.com/events/297115667029162/  Pre-registration is now open:  http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/247983

  • Friday, June 29 – Saturday, June 30, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Garden Ashore! A Coastal Garden Tour of Wareham and Onset

    The Wareham Garden Club will sponsor a tour of three private gardens in the Town of Wareham and three in the Village of Onset on Friday and Saturday, June 29 and 30, from 10 – 3.  There will also be a raffle, a Garden Shop, and refreshments.  Contact Sandy at 508-291-1643, or email asslavin@aim.com for ticket information.

  • Tuesday, June 26, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Changes in the New England Landscape

    Brian Donahue will speak on Changes in the New England Landscape  Tuesday, June 26, from 7 – 9 at the Thayer Memorial Library, 717 Main Street in Lancaster, Massachusetts.  The free lecture is part of the Rosemary Davis Environmental Series The Fall & Rise of the Forest from Pre-European Times to Today. Brian Donahue, the author of Reclaiming the Commons: Community Farms and Forests in a New England Town (Yale University Press) and co-author of Wildlands and Woodlands: A Vision for the New England Landscape (Harvard University), will share his knowledge of our region’s environmental history, conservation efforts, and stewardship. He is Associate Professor of American Environmental Studies at Brandeis University. This program is sponsored by the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, Rosemary Davis Memorial Fund. For more information visit www.thayermemoriallibrary.org.

  • Sunday, June 24, 9:00 am – 3:30 pm – Elm Bank Antique Auto Show

    Do you love old cars? Does the sight of a classic Corvette or a car with tail fins make you smile? Then be prepared to do a lot of smiling on Sunday, June 24, because that’s the date of the 10th annual Elm Bank Antique Auto Show.

    Scheduled to run from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., the show will feature hundreds of classic cars, from hot rods and pace cars to lovingly restored autos from the ’50s and ’60s, when cars were more than just something to get you from point A to point B. There are competitions for ‘best of show’ in multiple categories.  Visitors will have the opportunity to talk with owners, look under the hood, and maybe even sit behind of their favorite vintage cars. There will also live music (oldies, naturally), food and drink, and a swap meet area where you can browse for memorabilia.

    General Admission: $5. Mass Hort members: $3 Children under 12: FREE.  For more information, visit www.masshort.org.

  • Saturday, June 23, 9:00 am – 12:00 noon – Pond and Garden Tour

    Take a ride with the top pond and waterfall builder in Central Massachusetts and experience some of the area’s best ponds, waterfalls, and backyards! Get ideas for your next landscape project and as the Sterling Greenery experts how to get started.

    The tours will start at Sterling Greenery , 44 Redemption Rock Trail in Sterling, at 9 a.m. and end at Mark Packard’s house (owner of Sterling Greenery) at 12 noon on Saturday, June 23rd. Bus tour attendees are welcome to enjoy a complementary lunch next to Mark’s new pond, and experience the water garden lifestyle. The bus will shuttle back to Sterling Greenery between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.

    You can also choose to follow the bus ($25) or guide yourself for $15 per person.  All proceeds benefit Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.  Tickets may be purchased on line at www.sterlinggreenery.com, or call 978-422-0071.

  • Friday, June 22, 10:00 am – 3:30 pm – Chatham by the Sea House and Garden Tour

    The Chatham by the Sea House and Garden Tour, sponsored by the Friends of the Eldredge Public Library, will take place Friday, June 22, from 10 – 3:30.  This is a unique chance to tour four fabulous Chatham homes with breathtaking water views and to walk through several special Chatham gardens. Tickets are $35.00 per person (check or cash) and are now on sale at the following locations:
    Eldredge Public Library, 564 Main Street, Chatham
    Where the Sidewalk Ends Bookstore, 432 Main Street, Chatham
    Yellow Umbrella Bookstore, 501 Main Street, Chatham
    Gallery Antonia, 578 Main Street, Chatham
    Chatham Clothing Bar, 534 Main Street, Chatham

    For more information, visit www.eldredgelibrary.org/involved/tour.

  • Friday, June 22, 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm, and Saturday, June 23, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm – 23rd Annual South Church Pocket Gardens of Portsmouth

    Originated as a way to raise funds for the upkeep of South Church’s own pocket garden at 292 State Street in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, described as “a semi-private haven for passersby,” the annual event has grown dramatically. Today some 125 volunteers include church members, garden owners and garden lovers, musicians and artists. They make the arrangements, host the gardens, bake cookies to welcome visiting guests, play music and create works of art in the gardens.

    The best idea is to accompany a friend on this lovely walking experience to take in this year’s all-new tour, featuring 10 gardens in Portsmouth’s historic South End. Discover delightful nooks and crannies of sweetness and beauty. Private spaces spilling over with aromatic flowers, rock gardens, benches, flowering trees and even stunning seaside views. The gardens will keep getting more beautiful as the day goes by. How often do you get invited to enjoy such places?

    As well as garden viewing, listen to the sounds of local musicians performing in several gardens – self-indulgence of the best kind. You’ll hear solo flutists, jazz guitar – or maybe even a shanty band. Portsmouth history will not be far from your awareness. You’re also more than likely to occasionally see artists at work in the shade of a lovely flowering tree.

    A ticket pamphlet contains all the information needed: A list of the homes’ addresses, plenty of flowery detail, and maps to get around town. The garden walk should last about three hours. The ticket price is $20 in advance or $23 the days of the tour. Tickets ($20 in advance, $23 day of tour) can be reserved through the church, www.southchurch-uu.org, or call 603-436-2762.  Thank you, www.nhmagazine.com, for the photo below.

  • Thursday, June 21, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – An Intimate Garden Tour: Along the Sakonnet

    A tour will be led on Thursday, June 21, from 6 – 8, of a garden located near the gathering point at 101 Ferry Road (Rt. 114) in Tiverton, Rhode Island.  The guide is Jessica Duphily of Quintessential Gardens.  Individual highlights of this exquisite property include a hidden Japanese garden, a raised vegetable garden, a fruit tree orchard, and a rose garden, all set on a historic Civil War burial site.  Registration is limited and required in advance.  Cost is $30 for Blithewold members, $35 for non members.  To register, visit www.blithewold.org, or call 401-253-2707. Image of nearby garden from www.thegrowingvine.com.