Boston Flora

Month: August 2013

  • Sunday, September 22, 9:00 am – 4:30 pm – 17th Annual Massachusetts Outdoor Expo

    It’s not too early for families, friends, and youth groups to mark their calendars for Sunday, September 22, 2013, and join the fun at the 17th Massachusetts Outdoor Expo (Big MOE) held at the Hamilton Rod and Gun Club grounds at 24 Hamilton Road in Sturbridge from 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM. The Big MOE, sponsored by the Facts About Wildlife and Nature Society (FAWNS), is a free family-oriented event celebrating outdoor skills, nature, art, and wildlife. The Big MOE is the perfect opportunity to introduce young and old to a variety of new outdoor skills and activities. This year, the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will feature their mobile pellet gun range, turkey call making, turkey feathers and decoys and the opportunity to talk to a turkey biologist. A new Camping station will be staffed by a Girl Scout Troop and Tekoa Mountain Outdoors, a new Watershed station will be run by The Last Green Valley National Corridor and this year’s Kayaking station will be staffed by ZOAR Outdoors. A complete list of activity stations in information can be found at www.fawnsexpo.com.

    This all-day event is free, thanks to the following co-sponsors: Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Hamilton Rod and Gun Club, The Weatherby Foundation, Whitetails Unlimited and the Worcester County League of Sportsmen’s Clubs. The Big MOE is also in need of enthusiastic, outdoor oriented volunteers willing to assist at several skills stations or to host a skill station. Clubs, conservation organizations, and outdoor oriented businesses wishing to host a skill station, assist others at an existing station or make a donation are welcome. For more information on volunteering or exhibiting, contact Gary Zima at (508) 389-6314 or gary.zima@state.ma.us.

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  • Marathon Daffodils

    Marathon Daffodils is a collaboration of nonprofit organizations, gardeners, cities and towns, organizations, businesses, and citizens interested in preserving the spirit of the Boston Marathon and Boston Strong, while embracing the tradition of celebrating the arrival of Spring to Boston.

    Some of Massachusetts top horticultural organizations, partnering with communities and volunteers plan to plant daffodils along the 26.5 mile Boston Marathon route, to create a new event.  Tower Hill Botanic Garden, The Massachusetts Horticultural Society, The Garden Club Federation, The Charles River Conservancy and other groups have agreed to collaborate. The goal is to raise $1,000 per mile for a total of $26,500 from Hopkinton to Boston.

    “We want to do something to lift the spirits of the community, in support of Boston Marathon 2014 and Boston Strong,” said Diane Valle, volunteer and organizer.

    “We are excited to participate,” said Kathy Abbott, Executive Director of Tower Hill Botanic Garden, “because we believe Marathon Daffodils represent Spring and rebirth. This is a great community building opportunity.”

    Plans include outreach to supporters and volunteers from young to old; and novices to Master Gardeners; to plant daffodils. “Marathon Daffodil” donations are welcome, sent to The Cooperative Bank, 201 Main Street, Charlestown, MA 02129.

    “With the support of the communities, the planting of daffodils is to commence in October and continue through December, along the route, and hopefully throughout our communities,” said Kathy Thomas, Past Garden Club Federation President and horticultural activist.  Volunteers are welcome.

    For more information:

    Diane Valle
    dianevalle@gmail.com

    Kathy Thomas
    Kathymthomas@aol.com

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  • Wednesday, September 18, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Cycle Track Public Meeting Notice

    The City of Boston announces a public meeting scheduled for Wednesday, September 18, from 6 – 8 at the Firehouse at 127 Mount Vernon Street, relative to a conceptual plan for a cycle track and intersection improvements around the Public Garden on Arlington Street, Beacon Street, Charles Street, and Boylston Street.  The concept plan envisions a two-way cycle track along the streets around the Public Garden including intersection improvements.  Cycle tracks are sections of road designated for exclusive use by cyclists, physically protected from motor vehicle traffic.  The cycle tracks will be at street grade, separate from the sidewalk, and marked with paint or thermoplastic.  Parked cars and/or flexible bollards will separate cyclists from the moving vehicles.

    Why install cycle tracks? The proposed two-way track is a key component of the City’s Bike Network Plan, which seeks to provide safe, protected routes through the City, encouraging all residents to bicycle, from children to senior citizens.  The proposed track would provide a path-like facility connecting the Charles River path to existing and proposed on-street facilities ini the network.  The existing one-way street pattern requires bicyclists to ride significantly out of their way, against traffic, or on the sidewalk, to make important connections.  Cycle tracks in other cities have been shown to increase ridership, decrease sidewalk riding, decrease crashes, and reduce speeds.  Parking and traffic modifications will be discussed at this meeting. Hopefully, police enforcement of bicycle riding traffic violators will also be discussed.

    For more information contact Nicole Freedman, City of Boston, at 617-918-4456, or email her at Nicole.freedman@cityofboston.gov.

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  • Tuesday, September 24, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – The Rose Kennedy Greenway: Ecological Form and Function

    On Tuesday, September 24 (rain date Wednesday, September 25), tour guides Stuart Shillaber and Anthony Ruggiero will lead a tour through the Rose Kennedy Greenway sponsored by the Ecological Landscaping Association.  The Greenway is the mile long ribbon of green that replaced Boston’s elevated Central Artery when Route 93 was moved underground as part of the Big Dig.  The Greenway builds on Boston’s legacy of beautiful parks within the active center of the city.  Its gardens, lawns, and fountains have made it a gathering place than unifies neighborhoods once divided by the elevated highway.  It has brought a unique mix of tranquil green spaces and vibrant urban streetscapes to downtown Boston.

    The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy manages the parks, supplements them with new plantings, and builds entire new landscapes within the Greenway.  The Conservancy’s horticulture staff is attuned to the behavior of people in parks as well as to the behavior of plants in the city.  They have learned which plants are adapted to the particular demands and stresses of Boston’s urban environment, and they apply those lessons to each new planting.

    The Conservancy is also an innovator in the ecological management of urban landscapes, and this tour will include in depth discussion of the Conservancy’s organic horticultural practices. Join tour guides Conservancy Superintendent of Horticulture Stuart Shillaber and Horticulture Foreman Anthony Ruggiero for a behind the scenes tour of the Greenway.  Registrations are limited.  For more information email ela.info@comcast.net. $20 for ELA members, $25 for nonmembers.  Register online at https://www.eventville.com/catalog/eventregistration1.asp?eventid=1010445.

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  • Tuesday, September 24, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Classical Excellence in Boston: The Work of Isaac Vose, 1815 – 1825

    Historic New England will hold it second Boston Classical Furniture Lecture of the fall on Tuesday, September 24 from 7 – 9 at Otis House, 141 Cambridge Street in Boston, featuring Clark Pearce on Classical Excellence in Boston: The Work of Isaac Vose, 1815 – 1825. The first quarter of the nineteenth century produced some of Boston’s most creative and skilled cabinetmakers. Recent research by independent furniture scholar Clark Pearce has uncovered remarkable survivals and identified key players in the flowering of the early nineteenth century Boston furniture industry. $14 ($8 for HNE members). To register, call 617-994-5959.

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  • Tuesday, September 17, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Jacob’s Retirement Party from the Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit

    Please join the Friends of the Boston Park Ranger Mounted Unit as they thank their beloved Jacob for his service and send him off to retirement in style. Additionally, the Friends of the Boston Park Ranger Mounted Unit is hoping to purchase a new member of the team and hopes you can be a part of the exciting process that begins with this event. Jacob, Liberty, Frederick, Baron, Mystic and Winston look forward to seeing you there and thank you for your continued support!

    The party will be held on the Taj Hotel Rooftop on Tuesday, September 17, from 6 – 8, and tickets are $150 ($135 for Young Professionals under 35), and additional donations are greatly appreciated.

    Tickets: $150 per person or $135 per person if you are under 35. You may purchase tickets using PayPal by visiting http://savebostonshorses.org/events/ or by check made out to the Friends of the Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit, mailed to P.O. Box 67147 Chestnut Hill, MA 02467.  Portrait by Jodie Sinclair.

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  • Thursday, September 19, 6:00 pm – Vegetable Literacy: An Evening Discussion with Deborah Madison

    The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts is pleased to host Deborah Madison, renowned vegetarian cookbook author, for an evening discussion, book signing, and recipe tasting on Thursday, September 19 at 6 PM. Tickets are on sale for $50 and include a signed copy of Madison’s new book Vegetable Literacy, as well as a selection of recipes from the book. All proceeds will benefit The Boston Public Market Association.

    For over three decades, Madison has been at the vanguard of the vegetarian cooking movement, authoring classic books on the subject and emboldening millions of readers to cook simple, elegant, plant-based food. Her recipes have appeared in Gourmet, Food & Wine, the Time-Life Cookbook series, Bon Appetit, and Home and Garden, among many other publications. Her awards include the Andre Simon Memorial Prize, multiple James Beard awards, and induction into the James Beard Foundation’s “Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America.”

    Madison’s new book Vegetable Literacy explores the diversity of the vegetable kingdom. Madison reveals the surprising relationships between vegetables, edible flowers, and herbs within the same botanical families, and how understanding these connections can help home cooks see everyday vegetables in new light. The event will take place at 2020 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge. Register online at http://www.cambridgeculinary.com/news/DeborahMadison.asp.

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  • Tuesday, September 3, 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm – Immortality: Can We Live Forever and Should We Want To?

    Join The Museum of Science at the home of GrandTen, producers of small-batch, craft-distilled spirits, for a gripping exploration of the most universal of human obsessions — the tireless effort to cheat aging and death.

    From vampires to the billion-dollar anti-aging industry, our culture is fascinated with the concept of eternal life. In The Book of Immortality: The Science, Belief, and Magic Behind Living Forever, Adam Leith Gollner, the critically acclaimed author of The Fruit Hunters, weaves together religion, science, and mythology. The book delves into a strange array of contemporary and historical characters, cults, religions, and myths all devoted to this primal human pursuit.

    Enjoy craft cocktails, selections from The Dining Car food truck, and a chance to take and share animated GIFs of yourself in the Bosco’s enhanced photo booth.  GrandTen Distilling is located at 383 Dorchester Avenue, South Boston, MA 02127.  Special thanks for in-kind support from The Bosco and Yelp.

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  • Saturdays, September 7 – 28, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Botanical Illustration: Basic Drawing Skills

    Weston Nurseries and the Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens will again partner to bring you the opportunity to study with experienced instructor Jeanne Kuntz on four successive Saturdays, September 7 – 24, from 10 – noon, surrounded by the newest Weston Nurseries’ world class garden center.  You will increase your awareness of and appreciation for plants via the drawing experience.  If you can write your name, you already have some basic drawing skills.  Gain confidence and develop your ability to draw what you see.  The site is at 160 Pine Hill Road in Chelmsford, the cost is $100 for WCBG Friends, $125 for the general public.  Sign up by calling 781-283-3094, or emailing wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu. Below is a photo of cacti from Weston Nurseries – let’s draw!

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  • Fall Programs in the Foundations of Botanical Drawing and Painting

    Celebrate the colors of the fall, recording their vivid and vibrant palette while learning how to realistically record your subject matter in pencil, then in watercolor, with Wellesley College Botanic Gardens’ lead instructor and Education Director Sarah Roche (her painting of Hops is pictured below.)  Through demonstrations and tutorials, Sarah will introduce you to the traditional art and science of botanical drawing and painting.  Instructional focus includes observational skills, drawing, composition, design and watercolor techniques.  All abilities are welcome.  This course is the core of the WCBG Friends’ Botanical Art Program.  Choose either 8 Wednesdays, September 11 and 18, October 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30, and November 6, or 8 Thursdays, September 12 and 19, October 3, 10. 17, 24, 31, and November 7.  All classes meet 9:30 – 12:30 at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens Visitor Center in Wellesley, Massachusetts.  Members $240, nonmembers $295.  Call 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu to register.

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