Month: September 2013

  • Friday, September 27, 6:30 pm – Delicious Molds and Mushrooms

    What is fungus? Join Formaggio Kitchen’s two favorite fungus gurus for a tour through the microbial world of cheese and mushrooms! Veronica Pedraza, cheesemaker at Meadowood Farms and avid forager, and Benjamin Wolfe, a microbiologist and mycologist at Harvard University specializing in the microbiology of fermented foods will help you discover a whole new world of fungal treats.While Veronica and Benjamin walk you through these fungal delights, eat tasty bites prepared for you by Veronica that will show you the ways these foods play together in harmony. With a crisp glass of wine in hand, Veronica and Benjamin’s class is sure to be a tasty educational journey you won’t want to miss. $55 fee. The class takes place at the Formaggio Kitchen annex, 67 Smith Place in Cambridge.  You may register online at www.formaggiokitchen.com.  Photo below from www.honestcooking.com.

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  • Fridays, September 27 – October 25, 9:30 am – 12:00 noon – Photoshop Elements Demystified

    Bring your laptop and artwork to this Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Garden class on five Fridays, September 27 – October 25, from 9:30 – noon, and learn how to transform your images into finished reproductions for cards, collages and posters, as well as for the web.  With guidance from Patricia Buchanan, make color adjustments, tidy up edges and backgrounds, add a watermark, type or add other enhancements.  Solve the mystery of sizing and resolution to meet printing and exhibition submission standards.  Scanning procedures will be covered.  Mouse skills and a basic computer proficiency are required.  Note: Photoshop Elements is a more user-friendly and affordable version of the original Photoshop.  The skills you acquire with Elements are always transferable to Photoshop.  If you don’t already have Photoshop Elements, it can be downloaded for a free 30-day trial period.  Although this will not cover the entire class period, it’s a good way to begin. Thank you www.geekersmagazine.com for the screenshot below.  WCFBG members $150, nonmembers $195.  Register by calling 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu. 

    http://www.geekersmagazine.com//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/adobe-photoshop-elements-11-mac-photo-editors.jpg

  • Sunday, September 15, 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Fungi in the Fall

    Can you distinguish a bolete from a gilled mushroom? What is a mushroom anyway? While fall is considered fungi season in the Northeast, fungi are seasonally cyclical and different species and types can be found almost any time except deep winter. Join New England Wild Flower Society and Massachusetts Audubon Society Drumlin Farm for a walk around the Drumlin Farm Nature Center sanctuary in Lincoln, Massachusetts to discover as many fungi as we can. Learn about the crucial and sometimes astonishing roles these fascinating life forms play in the ecosystem and some methods for identifying mushrooms and other fungi in the field. $25 for members of either sponsoring organization, $29 for nonmembers.  Photo from www.deviantart.net. Register online at https://46858.blackbaudhosting.com/46858/fw13-fdt1079-Fungi-in-the-Fall.

    http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/087/7/7/fall_fungi_by_graveyardcat-d2b9kzk.jpg

  • Monday, September 16, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Culinary Guild of New England’s 34th Annual Opening Meeting

    You’re invited to attend the Culinary Guild of New England’s 34th Annual Opening Meeting on Monday, September 16th, from 7 – 9 at Commander’s Mansion, 440 Talcott Avenue in Watertown.  Open to members, guests, and prospective members, our Opening Meeting is your chance to share some wine with old friends, meet new members, and to learn more about a very exciting year ahead for the Guild.  This year, Guild President Kris Piatt will be introducing our guest speaker, Beth Daley, award-winning Boston Globe reporter. Beth is an environmental reporter for The Boston Globe who is known for her coverage on fishing, climate change,and the environment. As a result of her work, Beth was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2008. For this event, Beth will be sharing the frequent mislabeling of fish in Boston area restaurants and supermarkets and sustainable fishing.  Wine and hors d’oeuvre will be served — and all attendees will have the opportunity to win one of several raffle prizes. Tickets for this event are just $10 for all attendees. And please remember — the Annual Opening Meeting is the most popular event of the year, so be sure to RSVP at https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07e81a79qp6090052a&c=058daff0-f51b-11e2-bd59-d4ae52a2cb52&ch=0590bd30-f51b-11e2-bd59-d4ae52a2cb52 now to confirm your seat at this event.

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  • Saturday – Sunday, September 14 &15 – Cactus & Succulent Society Annual Show and Sale

    Come to Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston, Masachusetts, on September 14 & 15, for the Cactus & Succulent Society Annual Show and Sale. Hundreds of spectacular cactus and succulents will be on display in a judged show of over 100 categories. Visit the plant sale area with 12 vendors offering rare & unusual plants, books, art and more. Plant auctions each day.  Enjoy lunch at Twigs Cafe patio overlooking Wachusett Reservoir. Tour Tower Hill’s spectacular gardens. Print $2 discount coupons at www.cssma.org. Free admission for Tower Hill members and other institutions w/reciprocal benefits. Sat. 9/14: Vendor sales 9 AM- 5 PM; Show 11 AM – 5 PM; Sun. 9 AM – 4 PM.

    http://horticulturevideos.com/img/CactiAndSucculents.jpg

     

  • Saturday, September 21 and Sunday, September 22, 10:00 am – Annual Combined Plant Societies’ Judged Show and Sale

    Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston, will once again host the Annual Combined Plant Societies’ Judged Show and Sale, this year taking place Saturday, September 21, from 10 – 5, and Sunday, September 22, from 10 – 4.  Sponsors are the Buxton Branch of the American Begonia Society and the New England Chapter of The Gesneriad Society.  Cost to attend is $12 for adults, $9 for seniors, and $7 for youths aged 6 – 18.  For more information call 617-479-3680, or visit www.towerhillbg.org.

    http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5306/5638551621_ca41aa4191_n.jpg

  • Thursday, September 12, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm – Survey of Late Season Grasses of the Northeast

    This New England Wild Flower Society workshop on Thursday, September 12 from 9 – 3 focuses on the grasses which are in identifiable condition in late summer and early fall. Key identification characteristics are given for 10 tribes and about 60 genera of common grasses using dried specimens and microscope displays. Following a morning session of lecture and observation of the plant materials, there is an afternoon field trip to observe as many grasses as can be found in the time available. Students are expected to have a good understanding of basic botanical nomenclature and concepts for this higher level class. Bring a bag lunch and a good 10x to 15x hand lens. The instructor is Dennis Magee, author and environmental consultant. $77 for NEWFS members, $91 for nonmembers.  Register on line at www.newfs.org/learn/catalog/bot3517.

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  • Thursday, September 12, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm, and Friday, September 13, 7:30 am – 12:30 pm – Relax, It’s Only Garden Photography

    Starting with an illustrated lecture at Elm Bank on Thursday evening, September 12, from 7 – 8:30 pm, our friend Rich Pomerantz will provide an introduction to and explanation of camera workings, light, composition and technique as it all relates to garden photography. This presentation, illustrated by a digital slideshow, is suitable for beginners, novices, or more advanced photographers. With the fabulous Elm Bank gardens at our disposal, come prepared to be productive and have plenty of opportunities to explore your garden photography fantasies in the field with your camera.

    A half-day workshop beginning early Friday morning will explore methods of seeing and of photographing, aimed at improving the way you photograph flowers and gardens. Whether you wish to preserve horticultural and natural beauty for posterity, publication or personal enjoyment, this class will expose you to steps that can help you bring your garden photography to a higher level and produce clear photographic visual imagery. We will learn the proper use of the camera, the true value of the tripod, how to set up a shot and evaluate light using the meter and the eyes. We will explore depth of field, color, light modification and more. Describe order in the chaos, manage changing light, find and convey the emotion and energy in the scene you see. We will critique students’ work at lunch after photographing in the beautiful Elm Bank gardens.

    Participants should have a working knowledge of their equipment. Even if you do not have a DSLR and you use a ‘point-and-shoot’ you will benefit from this class. If possible, please bring your own laptop for editing. There are only two things you must bring: a working and open mind, and YOUR CAMERA’s MANUAL.

    Fee: Lecture Only – $20 members, $25 non-members; Workshop only – $95 for members: $125 for non-members

    Participants who attend both the workshop and the lecture can do both for 1 flat fee: $105 for members: $135 for non-members. Register online at http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e7r2qh0e4a9aabcb&llr=kzaorjcab

    Rich Pomerantz is a full time freelance photographer based in Litchfield County, Connecticut. His images have appeared in diverse periodicals ranging from Garden Design, Horticulture, Fine Gardening, Organic Gardening and Outdoor Photographer to Coastal Living, Traditional Home, Berkshire Living, Connecticut Home and Garden, CT Cottages and Gardens, National Geographic for Kids and Ranger Rick. He counts among his clients many corporations, garden designers, landscape architects and individuals.

    Rich teaches photography classes and workshops through the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and the NY Botanical Gardens. He has spoken about garden photography at the Boston, Rhode Island and Long Island Flower Shows and at the national Garden Writers Association symposium (and The Garden Club of the Back Bay!)

    http://blog.richpomerantz.com//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/20100909_Welsch-125.jpg

  • Thursday, September 26, 10:00 am – Tour of Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay opens its 2013/2014 “Author Year” with a visit to the historic home of the extraordinary Alcott family, where Louisa May Alcott wrote and set Little Women. Amos Bronson Alcott originally purchased two houses set upon twelve acres of land on the Lexington Road in 1857 — both dating to circa 1690-1720 — for $945. He then moved the smaller tenant farmhouse and joined it to the rear of the larger manor house, making many improvements to the home, as explained in his journals of 1857-58. The grounds also contained an orchard of forty apple trees, which greatly appealed to Mr. Alcott, who considered apples the most perfect food. It is not surprising, then, that he should name his home “Orchard House.” Fortunately, there have been no major structural changes to the house since the Alcotts’ time, and on-going preservation efforts adhere to the highest standards of authenticity. Since approximately 80% of the furnishings on display were owned by the Alcotts, the rooms look very much as they did when the family lived here, causing many modern-day visitors to comment that, “A visit to Orchard House is like a walk through Little Women!” Following our Thursday, September 26 tour, which will begin at 10 am (our Garden Club members will receive written notice and car pool information in the mail)  those who can stay will enjoy an optional Dutch treat lunch at The Concord Inn.  If you are not a member of the Garden Club of the Back Bay but wish to join us, please email info@bostonflora.com.

    http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/30/3056/B2HDF00Z/posters/concord-ma-exterior-view-of-the-orchard-house-home-of-louisa-m-alcott.jpg