May 16, 2014 - Boston Flora

Friday, May 30 – Sunday, June 1, 9:30 am – 4:00 pm – Perennial and Hosta Sale

May 16, 2014 by Boston Flora

Hundreds of varieties of perennials, both new to the market and old-time favorites, are for sale and thousands of hostas are available in creams, golds, blues, and mixes, at the annual Perennial and Hosta Sale at the Lyman Estate Greenhouses, 185 Lyman Street in Waltham. Choose from large-specimen and small plants, along with many new and hard-to-find varieties at the Lyman Estate Greenhouses. Let our experts help you choose the right plants for your garden. The sale, sponsored by Historic New England, will take place Friday through Sunday, May 30 – June 1, from 9:30 – 4 each day. Free admission. For more information call 781-891-1985.Â Image from www.eminencemeadows.com.

Sunday, May 18, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm – Historic Gems of the Back Bay Fens

May 16, 2014 by Boston Flora

From once foul mud flats to a recreated salt marsh to today’s gardens and park land, the Fens has undergone many transformations in the last 130 years.Â Join Emerald Necklace docents as they talk and walk the landscape on Sunday, May 18, uncovering the layers of history from Olmsted’s 19th-Century sanitary improvement and H.H. Richardson structures to the 20th-Century transformations that brought gardens, memorials, and ball fields to the Fens.Â What do a 17th-Century Japanese Temple Bell, a historic bridge made of Roxbury puddingstone, the oldest continually operating World War II Victory Garden in the country, and a tree once thought to be extinct have in common?Â They all reside in the Back Bay Fens.Â Learn about these and other historic gems on a guided walking tour that is sure to bring out the history detective in you.Â Meet your guide at 11 am at the Shattuck Visitor Center, 125 The Fenway.Â Free and open to the public.Â Contact Jeanie Knox at jeanine@emeraldnecklace.org for more information, or call 617-522-2700. Image below is from 1892.