Boston Flora

Month: May 2014

  • Saturday, May 31, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm – Greenovate Boston Community Summit

    On Saturday, May 31, from 10 – 5, you are invited to the Greenovate Boston Community Summit.  The Summit will include world-class speakers, interactive workshops and trainings, and a Marketplace of Ideas to showcase local innovations, products and services.  This day-long event will help gather input and ideas from the community for the 2014 Climate Action Plan Update, which is due for completion by the end of the year.  Location to be determined.  Free and open to the public.  Presented by the City of Boston. For more information check www.summit.greenovateboston.org, or contact Leah Bamberger at leah.bamberger@boston.gov.

    http://greenovateboston.org/wp-content/themes/greenovateboston/img/logo_big.png

  • Thursday, June 19, 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Rose Garden Party

    Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Ms. Lorri Higgins invite you to the 18th annual Rose Garden Party on Thursday, June 19, from 5:30 – 8:00 in the Kelleher Rose Garden in the Back Bay Fens.  To purchase tickets, call 617-635-4032, or visit www.cityofboston.gov/parks/rosegarden/. The party will benefit free programs in Boston parks.

  • Saturdays, May 31, June 7, June 21, and July 12 – 2014 Dragonfly Institute: Introduction to Odonates of Central Massachusetts

    After more than a decade since the last Dragonfly institute was held, the Athol Bird & Nature Club is pleased to announce the 2014 Dragonfly Institute will be held at the Millers River Environmental Center (100 Main Street in Athol) beginning May 31st 2014. The class, coordinated by Athol Bird and Nature Club president Dave Small in cooperation with the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, will feature some of New England’s premier naturalists who will share their knowledge and enthusiasm for odonates. (Note: due to the late spring we will not begin the classes until May 31st)

    Curriculum for the class will focus on the basics of dragonfly identification, but will also include discussions of dragonflies as indicators of environmental health, documentation of rare and unusual species, and dragonfly life history and behavior. The goal of the course is to provide the participant with the basic skills of odonate identification providing a solid base for the continued study and enjoyment of these amazing creatures.

    Class lectures will be held at the Millers River Environmental Center 100 Main Street in Athol. Directions may be found on the web at http://www.atholbirdclub.org. Lectures will be on Saturday from 9:00 to 10:00 AM and will include visual presentations, viewing of prepared specimens and discussion.

    Field trips will meet at the Center following the lecture. Each trip will focus on a limited number of habitats within or near the Millers River Watershed. Participants should be prepared to wade in streams, ponds or other wet habitats. Hip boots or waders may be needed for early trips in cold river water and sandals may be useful in the warmer season. Precautions should be made to protect the participant from biting insects and other vertebrate and invertebrate organisms.

    Fee $5.00 for non ABNC Members – Free to ABNC Members

    Lecture and Field trip Dates will be Saturdays:

    May 31st, Early flying Odonates and NHESP Dave Small and Lynn Harper 9:00 AM

    June 7th , Dragonflies for Families Rachel Roberts 10:30 am – Noon

    River odonates (Field trip only) Dave Small 1:00 PM

    June 21st, Josh Rose 9:00 AM

    July 12th. Photographing Odonates Frank Gorga 9:00 AM (see his beautiful image below.)

  • Wednesday, May 28, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – The Landscape Legacy of Chestnut Hill Reservoir

    In addition to its significant role in early Boston water supply, the Chestnut Hill Reservoir was a popular public park since its inception.  Designed landscapes of formal grassed banks, picutesque rock outcroppings, meadows, and woodlands and rich architectural features attracted city dwellers for leisurely walks and carriage rides.  Today the Chestnut Hill Reservoir Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and it is a designated City of Boston Landmark.  Discover the fascinating design history of the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, constructed at the height of Boston’s “Golden Age.”  In celebration of Massachusetts Preservation Month, join the Waterworks Museum and Department of Conservation and Recreation on Wednesday, May 28, for a one hour lecture in the Overlook Gallery of the Waterworks Museum followed by a one hour leisurely stroll along the banks of the reservoir to look at historic restoration efforts in progress.

    Meet at the Waterworks Museum at 2450 Beacon Street in Boston.  Parking is limited.  There are only 30 parking spaces in the complex allocated for exclusive use by the Museum.  Please park in spaces labeled “Museum Visitor.”  Public transportation encouraged.  Contact Lauren Kaufman at 617-277-0065 for more information.

    http://www.bahistory.org/ReservoirBostonCollegeAerial_Lo.jpg

  • Monday, May 26, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Memories of Massachusetts: Iris Society Show

    The Iris Society of Massachusetts (ISM) is having its biennial iris show on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, with over 200 individual iris blooms on display. After the irises are judged and ribbons awarded, the display is open to the public. In addition to the array of irises, companion plants will be on view as well as arrangements that use irises and that reflect the theme of Memories of Massachusetts. Potted iris plants and rhizomes will be sold.

    Everyone is welcome to enter identified irises in the show. Everyone is also welcome to enter an iris arrangement that reflects the Massachusetts memory theme. Both irises entries and arrangements must be received at the show between 8 and 10 am. The free show will be open to the public from 1 – 4 at the Harvey Wheeler Community Center, 1276 Main Street in West Concord, Massachusetts. All attendees to the show are encouraged to vote on their favorite iris and favorite companion plant. Members of ISM will be on hand to answer questions about irises. For more information visit www.massirises.org.

  • Saturday, May 31, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm – Discover Port Norfolk on the Neponset

    Tucked between the mouth of the Neponset River and the Southeast Expressway, Port Norfolk is a small Dorchester neighborhood with great transformations afoot. On Saturday, May 31 at 11 am, see the site of the former Shaffer Paper Company, which will soon be remediated and turned into a natural waterfront park. Comfortable shoes are recommended on this walking tour with neighbors and Greenway Council members. Register at 617-542-7696 or info@bostonnatural.org.Meet at the Venezia Restaurant Parking Lot at 20 Ericsson Street, Dorchester.

  • Thursday, May 29, 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm – A Green Colonnade: The Commonwealth Avenue Mall

    Conceived as the centerpiece of a grand boulevard meant to rival those of Second Empire Paris, the Commonwealth Avenue Mall was an integral feature of the original Back Bay plan of 1858.  Extending ten blocks, from Arlington Street to Kenmore Square, this linear park is today both the verdant heart of the neighborhood and a vital link in the Emerald Necklace, connecting the Public Garden and Common to the east with the Fens and Franklin Park to the west.  One hundred feet wide and studded with distinguished memorial statuary beneath a canopy of ornamental trees, the Mall we know and cherish may, in fact, owe as much to the twentieth and twenty-first centuries as to the nineteenth.  Continuously evolving to reflect the changing city around it, the Mall has been prudently husbanded to absorb the addition of new monuments, the introduction of accessibility and the incorporation of lighting, to say nothing of the vigilant management of its plant materials.  As a result of such tireless efforts, this much-loved place seems only to grow in beauty and meaning from year to year.  Explore the many ways in which the Mall has become not a facsimile of itself but the ongoing fulfillment of a farsighted vision.

    The May 29 tour, beginning at 5 pm, will be led by William Young, Assistant Director for Historic Districts, who has staffed the Back Bay Architectural Commission since 1991, and Margaret Pokorny, Chair of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall Committee of The Friends of the Public Garden, and past President of The Garden Club of the Back Bay, Inc.

    Meeting place will be confirmed at time of reservation.  Free and open to the public, but as no more than 30 participants may be accommodated, pre-registration is required.  Co-sponsored by the Back Bay Architectural Commission, The Friends of the Public Garden, The Garden Club of the Back Bay, Inc., and The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay.  Contact info@nabbonline.org to reserve a place before May 22.

    http://fopg.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/commonwealth_avenue_malll_hamilton_cleaning1_web3.jpg

  • Sunday, June 1, 9:00 am – 12:00 noon – Painting the Secret Garden: A Watercolor Workshop at the Codman Estate

    Join Historic New England Site Manager and watercolor painter Wendy Hubbard on Sunday, June 1 at 10 am for a morning of family-friendly watercolor painting. Paint pictures inspired by the Codman Estate’s secret garden in full bloom. Fun for dabblers of all ages. Appropriate for ages four and up; kids must be accompanied by grownups, who are also encouraged to get creative and messy.

    The workshop takes place in the Italian Garden at 34 Codman Road in Lincoln. $10 fee. Drop-ins are welcome. Co-sponsored with the Lincoln Family Association. Registration is recommended by calling 781-259-8098, or visiting www.historicnewengland.org.

    http://wwcdn.weddingwire.com/static/vendor/85001_90000/85726/thumbnails/600x600_1389038542508-italian-garden-from-the-upper-leve.jpg

  • Sunday, May 25, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Commonwealth Avenue: Boston’s Grand Boulevard

    Boston’s grand boulevard, Commonwealth Avenue, provides one of the city’s most enduring popular strolls.  The tour parallels the 19th-century filling and development of the Back Bay from its origin at Arlington Street.  The Avenue and its Promenade were planned to complement the transformation of the newly filled Back Bay into an elegant, upscale neighborhood.  Meet your guide on Sunday, May 25 at the George Washington Statue in the Public Garden, at the corner of Arlington and Commonwealth.  $15 per person ($5 for Boston by Foot members.)  For more information call 617-367-2345.

    http://www.oldstratforduponavon.com/sitebuilder/images/boston8-620x413.jpg

  • Saturday, May 24, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm – New England Daylily Society Spring Plant Sale & Auction

    New England Daylily Society (NEDS) is holding its SPRING PLANT SALE AND AUCTION on Saturday, May 24, 2014 at the First Congregational Church, 1 Church Street, Wakefield, MA. from 10AM TO 12 noon; auction begins at 12:30 and continues until all daylilies are sold. Daylilies are the “PERFECT” perennial since they are low maintenance, tough, hardy, and drought-tolerant. They require some sun. Their diversity is in the color palette, the height, and the flower form and pattern. Every garden needs some daylilies. By planting both early blooming and late blooming daylilies, you can extend the bloom season from late spring to October. Three to four varieties of daylilies together can create a stunning garden. Smaller daylily cultivars can be suitable for container gardens. Most daylilies will be priced at $5 – $10; some slightly higher sell by vendors. More expensive daylilies will be in the auction. Visit the NEDS website at www.nedaylily.org for additional information.

    NEDS is nonprofit organization and maintain gardens at the Elm Bank in Wellesley; Heritage Museum in Sandwich and Tower Hill Botanic Gardens in Boylston (meeting location). These daylilies cannot be bought at hardware stores and most garden stores; the plants come from club hybridizers. Photo courtesy of NE Daylily Society by Marlene Harmon.