Boston Flora

Month: September 2013

  • Wednesday, October 2, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Lost Breweries of Roxbury and Jamaica Plain

    In 1900, Boston had the most breweries per person of any city in the country – and the overwhelming majority of them were in the Stony Brook area of Roxbury and Jamaica Plain.
    During the heyday of Boston breweries, this area was the center of the industry with at least 24 breweries along the banks of the Stony Brook. On Wednesday, October 2, beginning at 7 pm at The Urbano Project, 29 Germania Street (in the Brewery Complex) earn about about the history of brewing in Boston and the people who established the breweries in our city. The speaker is Michael Reiskind, vice-president and historian of the Jamaica Plain Historical Society, who has been researching Boston’s historic breweries for twenty years. The event is free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by Haley House, Discover Roxbury, Roxbury Historical Society and the Jamaica Plain Historical Society.

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  • Wednesday, October 16, 11:00 am – Boston Committee Annual Meeting Featuring Bill Cullina

    The Annual Meeting of The Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America will take place Wednesday, October 16 beginning with coffee and registration at 10:30 am, and the meeting at 11 am at The Country Club in Brookline. We are fortunate to have as our keynote speaker Bill Cullina, Bill is the Executive Director at one of North America’s newest and most exciting public gardens, The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine. Bill’s topic is Sugar, Sex and Poison: Shocking Plant Secrets Caught on Camera: The world of pollen, poisons, pigments, pheromones, sugars and sex, and how they translate into sound into sound organic gardening practices.

    A well known author and recognized authority on North American native plants, Cullina lectures on a variety of subjects to garden and professional groups and writes for popular and technical journals. His books include Wildflowers, Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines, Understanding
    Orchids, Native Ferns, Mosses, and Grasses, and most recently, Understanding Perennials, published in 2009.  Members of The Boston Committee clubs will receive invitations by email.  Garden Club of the Back Bay members will receive car pool notices in the mail. If you are not a member but wish to attend, please email info@bostoncommittee.org.

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  • Charles River Clean Up Boat Update

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay is proud to support Tom McNichol and the Charles River Clean Up Boat.  Below is Tom’s end of season wrap up and a link to an article published in The Boston Globe. To contribute, visit www.cleanupboat.org:

    It’s been a wonderful year on the Charles. The Spring was rainy and it upset our schedule for a while, but by the end of June we were right on track.

    The 4th of July was a great party and a credit to the City and all the people and organizations involved in putting it on.

    For the Clean Up Boat it is always a day we need to prepare for. This year, in an effort to get some new donors, we worked to get some publicity. Anne Benaquist worked hard to get articles in the Cambridge and Newton Tabs. The Metrowest Daily News wrote a nice article on the Clean Up Boat. But nary a donation materialized from these efforts. Peter DeMarco wrote an article in the Globe when we were starting (9 years ago) and it generate a number of donations that got us going. Since this was our 10th year he agreed to do another story, only if I guaranteed that there would be trash. The first time he came, we went all day and got very little trash. So I set it up for him to come right after the 4th, and we did not disappoint him.  By the way, David Solomon was the crew for that day, and the article included a nice picture of him.

    The volunteers have been wonderful. Always on time. Always cheerful, enthusiastic and hard working. Our schedule was basically full in late July and we have had only a rare cancellation.

    We are doing a great job. Last Friday, Bob Gaffney, a 10 year veteran captain of the Clean Up Boat, reported he had never seen the river so clean.

    Our combined efforts have kept the river clean, for so long, that people assume it is always clean. Not so, but our efforts have made it so. As always take a few moments and enjoy this unique asset that we have right in the middle of our metropolitan area.

    Link to Boston Globe article: http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2013/08/19/tom-mcnichol-for-decade-charles-river-not-unofficial-garbage-man/wZDgF6xZNU5Kb8ZA0s9vLI/story.html

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  • Thursday, October 24, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm – Casino, Cocktails and a Cause

    The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay invites you to its Fall Fundraiser, Casino, Cocktails and a Cause, on Thursday, October 24, from 7 – 10 at the Algonquin Club on Commonwealth Avenue.  Old Las Vegas meets New Las Vegas at this black tie event.  For ticket information visit www.nabbonline.org.

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  • Sunday, September 29, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Oh Nuts!

    This free event at the Arnold Arboretum offers a great way to explore plants. Take the guided tour, participate in fun science and craft activities for kids, look through a microscope, and chat with knowledgeable staff and volunteers. They will highlight different special collections each spring and fall. Free; no registration needed. Hickories, oaks, and walnuts—oh nuts! Look on the ground and look up above; in fall the Arboretum is a great place to see a diverse variety of both familiar and odd nuts. Come learn what a nut really is, go on a nut hunt, look closely at a variety of nuts and non-nuts, or take a guided tour to understand the conservation, ethnobotanical, and horticultural value of nut trees. Meet near the Centre Street Gate on Sunday, September 29 at 1 pm.

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  • Friday, October 18 – Sunday, October 20, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm – Garden Sculpture Workshop

    Create a unique marble sculpture for the garden, home or gallery in this 3 day Tower Hill Botanic Garden workshop with award-winning sculptor and author DJ Garrity. Workshop participants will discover how to use basic hand tools to finesse an image from stone which carries their unique creative imprint, in a program designed for both the novice or those with experience. The format of the workshop will follow techniques established in the artist’s book titled The Rhythms of Stone, a basic guide to direct stone sculpture. $475 for Tower Hill Members, $525 for nonmembers.

    The award winning sculptor and author who currently divides his time between France and The Aran Islands in the West of Ireland is the former Sculptor-In-Residence of Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Garrity developed the hands-on workshop at Mount Rushmore as an interpretive training program in collaboration with the National Park Service and has subsequently conducted the Garden Sculpture Workshop at botanic gardens, museums and art associations from coast-to-coast across America. This workshop will be his only appearance in New England in 2013. For more on the artist, visit www.djgarrity.com.

    Register online at https://dnbweb1.blackbaud.com/OPXDONATE/AddDonor.asp?cguid=C7E2C131-AD0F-49AA-B073-5B92F8300A37&sid=EF28B975-E2B2-43D9-8410-CA2930595C41&sTarget=https%3A%2F%2Fdnbweb1.blackbaud.com%2FOPXDONATE%2FEventRegister.asp%3Fcguid%3DC7E2C131%252DAD0F%252D49AA%252DB073%252D5B92F8300A37%26eid%3D46556

    http://www.masoncontractors.org/newsandevents/masonryheadlines/images/the-rhythms-of-stone-sculpture-workshop.jpg

  • Friday, September 27, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Growing a Cutting Garden Part II

    For gardeners the ultimate pleasure is to be able to cut flowers from their own garden to beautify their home and give it a fresh look and feel. At Blithewold, located at 101 Ferry Road in Bristol, Rhode Island, which has tended a cutting garden for over 100 years, flowers from the garden have been brought into the Mansion for everyday pleasure as well as for special events, or given away to friends and family. Others who keep a cutting garden love to have home-grown blossoms, foliage, and seed heads handy for fresh or dried floral arrangements and crafts, and even for cooking.

    Guests at this Friday, September 27 session, beginning at 10 am, will meet at Blithewold’s Greenhouse, then accompany Gardens Manager Gail Read into the Cutting Garden, where she will share what she likes to grow for cut flowers. The June session of the two-part series highlighted cutting-garden annuals and planting plans; a walk around the property highlighted a variety of flowers worthy to be cut and brought into the home. The cutting bed comes into its own in July through September. September is Gail’s favorite time in the cutting garden—the flowers are so exuberant! And, it’s a great time to demonstrate cutting techniques as well as the possibilities for favorite foliage cuts. $20 for Blithewold members, $25 for nonmembers. Sign up by calling 401-253-2707, or online at www.blithewold.org.   Photo from www.theruralsociety.com.

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  • Wednesday, October 9, 7:00 pm – River Otters: Their Lives & Significance

    Join the Athol Bird & Nature Club on Wednesday, October 9 beginning at 7 pm at the Miller’s River Environmental Center, 100 Main Street in Athol to hear Elizabeth Baldwin, assistant director of Biodiversity Works, a new non-profit on Martha’s Vineyard that focuses on wildlife research, monitoring and mentoring, will give a presentation on the natural history of river otters and touch on how we study them and why they can be a potential indicator of ecosystem health.  For more information visit www.atholbirdclub.org.

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  • Saturday, September 28, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Fall & Winter Bloom in the Solar Greenhouse, Unheated Glassed-In Porch, or Spare Bedroom

    Do you want the sights and smells of flowers in winter, but rising fuel costs seem to put a greenhouse out of reach? The solution—the subject of this Berkshire Botanical Garden class—is to go solar! You will learn the basic elements of a solar greenhouse, how to optimize greenhouse performance, how to operate month by month in response to the weather and how to choose plants that are growable and rewarding. The class will take place Saturday, September 28, from 1 – 3 in the Education Center of BBG in Stockbridge. BBG members $22, nonmembers $27. Call 413-298-3926 to register, or sign up online at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

    James Jones is a lifelong gardener and a member of many horticultural societies, with a particular interest in the North American Rock Garden Society, where he has been national president and chapter chair, as well as director of the Seed Exchange. He has recently published a book on his experiences using solar energy, Fall and Winter Bloom in the Solar Greenhouse. He often judges at the Boston Flower Show.  Image from www.houzz.com.

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  • Wednesdays, October 9 and October 16, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Autumn Leaves: Botanical Painting in Watercolor

    This Tower Hill Botanic Garden two-day workshop on October 9 and 16, from 10 – 3, takes leaf-peeping to another level. Join botanical artist / illustrator Helen Byers to celebrate the beauty of autumn leaves by painting them in glorious detail. Instruction will cover color mixing and traditional botanical painting techniques, including dry-brush. Helen will provide daily demos, helpful tips, and plenty of one-on-one. All levels welcome.

    Helen Byers is an artist, writer, editor, and educator with a background in literary and educational publishing. Her drawings and paintings have been exhibited in solo and group shows in the West and East and are held in various private collections. Her illustration credits include six children’s books and six literary book covers. Her teaching of art has included courses and workshops in botanical drawing and painting, watercolor painting, figure sketching, still-life drawing, and field sketching / journal writing.  Tower Hill member price $90, nonmembers $100. Register online at https://dnbweb1.blackbaud.com/OPXDONATE/AddDonor.asp?cguid=C7E2C131-AD0F-49AA-B073-5B92F8300A37&sid=7509DC02-1C41-468B-B242-AC2BCD6161BA&sTarget=https%3A%2F%2Fdnbweb1.blackbaud.com%2FOPXDONATE%2FEventRegister.asp%3Fcguid%3DC7E2C131%252DAD0F%252D49AA%252DB073%252D5B92F8300A37%26eid%3D46748

    Artwork copyright © Helen Byers. All rights reserved