Boston Flora

Month: October 2013

  • Monday, October 28, 6:00 pm – Mushrooms, Safe Foraging, Delicious Cooking

    Have you ever wondered about safe ways to hunt for wild and exotic mushrooms, or wanted to spice up supermarket varieties like crimini or portabello? If so, join president of the Boston Mycological Club Susan Goldhor, expert forager Ben Maleson, and renowned chef Chris Douglass to explore fascinating fungi at this Boston University Food and Wine course to be held Monday, October 28 beginning at 6 pm at 808 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. Goldhor has been collecting and eating wild mushrooms—without a single stomach ache—for more than 25 years, and writes a regular column for the magazine Mushroom, the Journal of Wild Mushrooming. Chris Douglass is chef/owner of Dorchester’s beloved Tavolo and Ashmont Grill, and an active proponent and patron of local food producers. Please your palate with mushroom dishes paired with wine while expanding your mushroom knowledge.  $80.  Image below from www.cookingontheweekends.com. Register on line at http://www.bu.edu/foodandwine/registration-manager/catalog.php?action=section&course_section_id=808. 

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  • Thursday, October 17, 9:00 am – 12:30 pm – Therapeutic Landscape Collaborations: Successful Evidence Based Design

    The Landscape Institute at the Boston Architectural College and The Underground will sponsor a Commemorative Forum in honor of the late Landscape Institute instructor Michael Weinmayr entitled Therapeutic Landscape Collaborations: Successful Evidence Based Design, on Thursday, October 17, from 9 – 12:30 at The Union Hospital, 500 Lynnfield Street in Lynn, Massachusetts.

    Panelists include Harvey Zarren, MD, FACC, Christine Wojnar, Feng Shui Institute of America, Elizabeth (Zibby) Ericson, FAIA, LEED AP, Deborah Gaw, Owner of Garden Scapes Landscape Design, Lisa Bailey, ASLA, BayLeaf Studio, David Jay, ASLA, LEED AP O+M, Weinmayr/Jay Associates, Anna Pelosi, Lead HRO – NSMC Inpatient Psychiatry Services and Manager of the Patient and Family Relations Department.

    One can almost say that all gardens heal. So what differentiates a healing garden? The main distinction is in how a healing or therapy garden caters to its targeted user group such as cancer, rehabilitation, psychiatric and eldercare patients. This forum pairs healthcare providers, researchers and designers that focus on creating healing spaces and restorative landscapes to promote health and well-being. These experts will demonstrate down to the cellular level why gardens heal, and we will explore how different aspects to a healing garden can promote healing in the different user groups. Many examples of healing gardens will be shown, and participants will tour the Dr. Harvey Zarren Healing Garden, pictured below, at the site as a case study.  The fee is $50, and you may sign up by calling 617-585-0101.  You may also register online at http://theunderground.pbworks.com/w/page/22166298/Programs.

    http://www.healthcaredesignmagazine.com/sites/default/files/Remodel2011/HCD-RA/harvey-zarren-after-1.jpg

  • Friday, October 18, 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm – Tales and Ales

    In the late seventeenth century, the Swett-Ilsley House served the town as Swett’s Tavern, one of three watering holes in Newbury. The huge fireplace and massive beams make a perfect backdrop for an evening of historic fun on Friday, October 18, from 6:30 – 9. Join your friends around a rough tavern table and enjoy traditional local brews from Ipswich Ale Brewery and a hearty tavern dinner while listening to true tales of sword fights, scandalous romances, and bloody brawls, all from Newbury’s storied past. Participants must be over 21. The Swett-Ilsley House is located at 4 High Road in Newbury, Massachusetts, and the program is sponsored by Historic New England. $35 Historic New England members, $55 nonmembers. Registration is required. Please call 978-462-2634 for more information, or log on to www.historicnewengland.org.

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  • Monday, October 14, 10:45 am – 3:00 pm – Christopher Columbus Day Celebration at Christopher Columbus Park

    The Friends of Christopher Columbus Park continues its tradition of marking Christopher Columbus’ arrival in America with a free celebration to be held Monday, October 14 from 10L45 am – 3 pm.  Events will kick off with the annual Kids Parade, where kids of all ages are invited to bring their decorated bikes, scooters, or strollers at 10L45 for a promenade through the Park.  At the conclusion of the parade there will be a short ceremony at the Christopher Columbus statue, including a wreath laying ceremony led by Mayor Thomas Menino and Italian Deputy Consul Luigi Munno.

    Entertainment through the day will include performances by Jenny the Juggler, Peter O’Malley the Magician, Boris the Pennyfarthing Bicyclist and T-Bone the Interactive Pied Piper, as well as readings by Eliot School students and a patriotic musical performance by the North End Music & Performing Arts Center.  Other activities include face painting, a crafts table, lawn games with prizes, and tours of a real working fire truck.  For complete details visit www.foccp.org.

    http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/caribarch/images/chrisc.jpg

  • Friday, October 18, 5:00 pm – Application Deadline for Grow Boston Greener’s Fall Tree Giveaway

    Due to the overwhelming interest in planting trees in Boston, Grow Boston Greener is giving away 100 FREE trees on Saturday, October 26! The Free Tree Giveaway is aimed at broadening community level tree planting efforts by giving away free trees to Boston residents, non-profits and community groups. We have formally launched the Tree Giveaway on growbostongreener.org.

    The Grow Boston Greener Tree Giveaway is made possible through the Boston Urban Forest Program, a partnership effort by the Boston Natural Areas Network, the City of Boston’s Park Department, Office of the Mayor’s Sustainability Initiative Greenovate Boston, and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

    Available trees include fruit, flowering, shade, or conifer trees. Trees will be in 5 gallon pots, 6′ in height, and weigh about 50 pounds each. The trees must be planted in the City of Boston. Pick up time and location, one day only, Saturday, October 26 from 10 – 2 at City Natives, 30 Edgewater Drive in Mattapan. On that day also, two half hour training sessions will be offered at 11 and 1, on how to properly plant and care for your trees. You must agree to water and maintain the trees for two years following the planting date, to help ensure the tree establishes itself and survives. The trees must be planted before November 30, 2013.

    The application form may be found at www.growbostongreener.org/gbg, and you may email the completed form to linda@bostonnatural.org, or mail to Grow Boston Greener, Attn: Linda Ciesielski, Boston Natural Areas Network, 62 Summer Street, 2nd floor, Boston, MA 02110.  Image from www.upwithtrees.org.

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  • Tuesday, October 15, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – A Living Laboratory Tour

    The Wellesley College Botanic Gardens have some exciting new research gardens that are engaging students in multiple ways.  On Tuesday, October 15, from 1 – 3, journey along with Kristina Jones, Director of the Botanic Gardens, and explore through the eyes of an ecologist the Creighton Educational Garden, the green roof planted with native species, the Climate Change Monitoring Garden, and the in-progress Edible Ecosystem Teaching Garden, all within a short walk from the starting point at the Greenhouse Visitor Center.  The tour is offered in collaboration with New England Wild Flower Society and Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens.  WCBG members $24, non-members $28.  Sign up at www.wellesley.edu/wcbgfriends, or call 781-283-3094.

    http://www.wellesley.edu/sites/default/files/styles/slider/public/img_5754_small.jpg?itok=LcnlpabU

  • Friday, October 4 – Monday, October 11 – Topsfield Fair

    The colorful and often exciting history of Topsfield Fair began in 1818 when the Essex Agricultural Society, the non-profit organization that owns the Topsfield Fair, was officially granted a charter on June 12th of that year.

    The goal of the fledgling Society, formed by a group of “practical farmers” who first met on February 16, 1818, was “to promote and improve the agricultural interests of farmers and others in Essex County.”

    Now, almost 200 years later, the Society still strives to do this, “to encourage, promote and preserve Essex County agricultural activities and to educate the general public regarding their importance in an atmosphere of fun and excitement through the medium of the Topsfield Fair.”   For more information log on to www.topsfieldfair.org.

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  • Wednesday, February 26 and Thursday, February 27 – Sustaining the Living Landscape

    Save the dates for the 20th Annual Ecological Landscaping Association Conference and Eco-Marketplace, Sustaining the Living Landscape, on Wednesday and Thursday, February 26 and 27 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts,  Join designers, educators, landscape architects, product suppliers, and other ecologically focused land care practitioners at ELA’s two-day Conference and Eco-Marketplace.  Build networks and connections, discover new products, share firsthand experiences, learn the latest sustainable practices, and get educated and inspired.  Call for more information: 617-436-5838.  If you are interested in exhibiting, call 617-308-7063.  The full brochure will be available in December at www.ecolandscaping.org. Image from www.arcadenw.org.

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  • Wednesday, October 16, 6:30 pm – Friends of the Public Garden Members Reception

    The Friends of the Public Garden invites you to a Members Reception on Wednesday, October 16, beginning promptly at 6:30 pm, at the Union Club, 8 Park Street in Boston.  The talk will begin promptly and the reception will follow.  During this unprecedented season of political change in Boston, come hear national parks leader Tupper Thomas speak about the critical role citizens can play to ensure the revitalization, protection, and well being of their parks.  Tupper was Administrator of Brooklyn, New York’s Prospect Park for 30 years, during which time the park was restored to its former glory.  She is a founding member of City Parks Alliance, a national urban parks advocacy organization, and an inspiring spokesperson for parks.  Those lucky enough to attend a past Boston Committee luncheon will attest to the power of Ms. Thomas as a speaker.  The event is free for members, but please rsvp as space is limited.  Email by Friday, October 11 at info@friendsofthepublicgarden.org, or call 617-723-8144.  Your membership can be renewed at this event.  Lead sponsor of the reception is Motor Mart Garage.

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  • Saturday, October 19, 10:00 am – Sissinghurst: Portrait of a Garden

    Join former Sissinghurst head gardener Alexa Datta at Berkshire Botanical Garden on Saturday, October 19 at 10 am for a first-hand look at the gardening year at Britain’s fabled garden at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, England. Designed by writer Vita Sackville-West and her diplomat husband Harold Nicolson, this iconic landscape is one of the most renowned gardens in the world. Portrait of a Garden gives a short history of Sissinghurst Castle, the gardens, the creators, its philosophy and a visual tour that is sure to inspire. The gardens at Sissinghurst have certainly evolved over the years since its inception in 1930 and, though being conserved, it is currently being gardened in a dynamic way. Get the down and dirty on gardening from the woman behind the scenes at this classic English garden.

    Alexa Datta has been a professional gardener for over forty years and spent twenty-two of them as head gardener at Sissinghurst. She studied gardening at horticultural college in England, and has worked at several private and public gardens. In 1983 she joined the National Trust, which cares for many of Britain’s leading gardens and arrived at Sissinghurst in 1991. BBG members $30, nonmembers $35. Register by calling 413-298-3926, or online at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

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