Boston Flora

Month: October 2012

  • Saturday, November 3, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Nature Journaling for Adults

    In the tradition of the early naturalists and explorers, you will be learning about the natural world by drawing and writing, listening and discovering, using your very own hand-crafted nature journal, at this Boston Nature Center class on Saturday, November 3, from 10 – noon. You will explore the sanctuary, using journals to write about and draw trees, rocks, landscapes, plants, birds, and other interesting animals. You will learn to observe the natural world more closely by using writing and drawing to describe what you see. You will use pencil, pen, colored pencils, and even watercolor in our journals, so that you can prepare for your own continued exploration of the changing seasons.

    Mass Audubon members: $7, non-members $9. Registration is required. Register online at www.massaudubon.org or call 617-983-8500 to register by phone.  Image from www.homemadesimple.com.

  • Monday, November 5 – Monday, November 10, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Floral Design Course

    Monday, November 5 – Monday, November 10, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Floral Design Course

    Exhibitor Meetings for Amateur Horticulture (January 10, 2013, 10am, Elm Bank) and the Design Divisions (January 17, 2013, 10:30am, Elm Bank) are already planned. Design Division II Chairman Julie Pipe has also launched a 6-week floral design course for potential new exhibitors in the Open Classes (Design Division II), which sold out in days! Due to the overwhelming success of this program a new Floral Design Course is being offered. It will be held Monday mornings from 10 am to 12 pm beginning on November 5th. You can register for this class here at https://www.masshort.org/secureforms/OnlineRegistrationForm.php.

    So you see, even though the Show is months away, committee members are working hard and exhibitors are getting excited.  Mass Hort at the Flower Show is on!

  • Saturday, November 3, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Making Alcohol-Free Spirits: Cordials, Shrubs and Syrups from Fruit and Flowers

    Learn how to make syrups and shrubs from cultivated fruits such as raspberries, strawberries, currants and rhubarb, at this Berkshire Botanical Garden class to be held Saturday, November 3, from 10 – noon. Also consider berry essences and elixirs made with native plants such as elder flowers, milkweed and aronia. This workshop will focus on how to make syrups and shrubs at home. Enjoy tasting various combinations of products and making shrubs from a 19th-century recipe. Each participant will take home a finished bottle of red currant, raspberry or strawberry shrub, a recipe for a vinaigrette-made shrub, as well as cocktail recipes for using shrubs.

    Participants should also bring wide-mouth, quart-size glass jars that they will fill in class, take home to age and then turn into shrub from a simple recipe included with each jar.

    Kate Keravian is owner of Bug Hill Farm, Ashfield, MA. They grow and make berry essences and elixirs made with native plants such as elder flowers, milkweed and aronia. Their signature concoction is “Kiss of Cassis” an alcohol-free cordial made from whole pressed black currants slightly sweetened with local honey. Their products are made from whole fruit and flowers.  Cost is $22 for BBG members, $27 for non-members, nad you may register at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

  • Join Team Friends of the Public Garden for the 2013 Boston Marathon

    The Friends of the Public Garden has been invited to participate in the John Hancock Non-Profit Marathon Program which enables organizations to offer athletes marathon race entries in exchange for fundraising. Team Friends of the Public Garden has FOUR guaranteed entries for the 2013 Boston Marathon® scheduled for April 15, 2013. Athletes are required to raise a minimum of $5,000 to support the mission of the Friends to preserve, protect and enhance the Public Garden, the Boston Common and the Commonwealth Avenue Mall.

    Interested athletes should submit an application form as soon as possible. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and prospective team members will be contacted.

    The Friends of the Public Garden will offer the benefits below to the athletes in exchange for raising a guaranteed minimum amount to support the work of the Friends.

    Athlete Benefits:

    Guaranteed Entry into the 2013 Boston Marathon®

    Expert marathon training provided by Fitcorp and weekend training runs.

    Individual fundraising website for each runner on Crowdrise.com

    Ongoing fundraising support from Team Friends program staff

    Monthly Team meetings to share fundraising tips and successes and important race information.

    A Team Friends branded race day singlet and training shirt

    Pre-race pasta dinner

    For more information, and to receive an application, contact: TeamFriends@friendsofthepublicgarden.org

  • Thursday, November 1, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Hardscape for the Home Garden

    Whether it’s walls, walkways, patios or other outdoor rooms, the hardscape you choose may be in the garden longer than most plants. Therefore it makes sense to research your needs and your options together. Hear renowned landscape designer Paul Miskovsky outline your steps when placing these elements and then discuss your options for choice of materials, at the first Thursdays at the Hort event for the month of November.

    Paul Miskovsky is the owner and driving creativity behind Miskovsky Landscaping. Paul is also a Trustee of Mass Hort, and the overseer of the Bressingham Garden at Elm Bank.

    Presentations will begin at 7pm on November 1 and go until all questions are answered. The classes are priced at $12 for members and $15 for non-members unless otherwise indicated. There is no need to pre-register and you may pay at the class. For more information visit www.masshort.org.

  • Saturday, October 27, 9:00 am – 11:00 am – Blue Hills Reservation: Charles Eliot’s Master Plan

    In his 1890 Waverly Oaks report, Charles Eliot suggested that Boston residents look beyond the city and into the suburbs for natural scenery to foster and preserve “an education in the love of beauty” and “a means of human enjoyment.” Contemplate Eliot’s efforts and ideas as the National Park Service guide traverses the Blue Hills. Offered in partnership with the Department of Conservation and Recreation. Prepare for a moderate hike over rugged and rocky terrain. Meet at the Trailside Museum Parking Lot. For more information, visit www.nps.gov.

  • October 31 Deadline: Name A New Species of Iris

    An exceptionally rare, and almost certainly a once-in-a-lifetime, opportunity to have your name, or that of a loved one, immortalized by giving a name of your choosing to a newly discovered species of beautiful South African iris.

    In November 2011 Odette Curtis of the Renosterveld Management Project (which now falls under the newly established Overberg Lowlands Conservation Trust) in South Africa, discovered a new species of Hesperantha – a beautiful and rare iris.

    In an unusual move, Odette and her colleagues are offering the opportunity for members of the public to bid on the right to name this new species – immortalizing their name or another name of their choosing.

    All proceeds from this Auction will go to Fauna & Flora International (http://www.fauna-flora.org/) and the Overberg Lowlands Conservation Trust (http://www.overbergrenosterveld.org.za/) to protect the Critically Endangered habitat where this iris was discovered.  For complete terms and conditions, log on to www.irisauction.com.

  • Sunday, October 21, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Franklin Park: Country in the City

    Join the National Park Service at Franklin Park, the last of Olmsted’s classic urban parks, one of his finest design achievements, and a prime example of his social ideals. Discover Olmsted’s vision for the park on our walk through the landscapes of Scarboro Pond, Schoolmaster Hill, and the Wilderness. Meet at the Resting Place Picnic Area, in front of Shattuck Hospital, Jewish War Veterans Highway. Free – no reservations required. For more information visit www.nps.gov.

  • Friday, November 9, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm – Birds and Brew Fundraiser

    Have a hoot while supporting Boston Nature Center’s education programs, on Friday, November 9, from 7 – 10 at The Boston Nature Center, 500 Walk Hill Street in Mattapan.  The evening will feature beer tastings with local breweries, live music, trivia contests with prizes, bird demonstrations by Blue Hills Trailside Museum, and great pub food.  For tickets please call 617-983-8500, or purchase on line at www.massaudubon.org.  This is a 21+ event and valid ID will be required.  Tickets are $50 in advance and $60 at the door – last year’s event sold out in advance!

  • Monday, May 20 – Sunday, May 26 – Gardens of the Philadelphia Region

    The greater Philadelphia area boasts some of the most outstanding gardens in the United States of America. It includes estate gardens founded on fabulous wealth, a historic garden pre-dating American Independence, exceptional nurseries, and delightful private gardens. Destinations include:

    Mt. Cuba, dedicated to the study, conservation and appreciation of plants native to the Appalachian Piedmont Region
    Henry Francis du Pont’s Winterthur, encompassing a 60-acre naturalistic garden and the premier museum of American decorative arts
    The Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College established to further horticulture through beautiful visual demonstration
    The Morris Arboretum at the University of Pennsylvania with its collection of more than 13,000 labeled plants including many collected from around the world under the leadership of John Morris and E. H. Wilson
    Chanticleer, pictured below, called by some the most romantic, imaginative, and exciting public garden in America
    Meadowbrook Farm, lovingly designed and created by J. Liddon Pennock, Jr, whose pictures grace innumerable books and magazines because of the 25 acre site’s beauty.
    Bartram’s Garden, a historic landmark dating from 1728, this site is the home and garden of America’s first botanist, John Bartram.
    Longwood Garden, one of he world’s premier horticulture showcase, a legal of Pierre S. du Pont that features exquisite flowers, majestic trees, and opulent architecture.
    Private garden visits that feature outstanding landscape architecture and plant choices and rarely open for public view.

    Space for this tour, taking place May 20 – 26,  is limited—sign up now as this tour is sure to sell out early.

    This tour is escorted by Pacific Horticulture Society Board President, Greg Graves. Click here for a detailed itinerary for this tour on the Sterling Tours website. Or, call them for additional information at 1-800-976-9497. $1,865 per person, double occupancy, $595 single supplement.