Boston Flora

Month: May 2014

  • Monday, May 12, 6:30 pm – 7:45 pm – South Boston: Streetcar Suburb?

    Please join the Boston Public Library for the 34th Annual Marjorie M. Gibbons Lecture on Monday, May 12, beginning at 6:30 pm, entitled South Boston: Streetcar Suburb? with speaker Patrick E. Francis. Mr. Francis will present an illustrated talk on the use of public transportation by South Bostonians from the days of the horse-drawn trolley to today’s hybrid bus. This free special event is open to all adults. Refreshments will accompany the program. The program will take place at the South Boston Branch of the BPL, 646 East Broadway.

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  • Saturday, May 17, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Native Pollinator Conservation

    The University of Massachusetts Extension wraps up its spring fruit courses with a session on Native Pollinator Conservation, led by Sonia Schloemann (pictured below) on Saturday, May 17 from 10 – 1 at Powisset Farm, 37 Powisset Street in Dover. Pollination is an important step in growing all fruits and many vegetables. While most people know about honey bees, native bees are also important pollinators. Encouraging native bees and other beneficials by providing nesting and forage habitat is easy and fun for the home gardener. Learn about how to build bee blocks and which flowering plants make good forage habitat. Participants will build nest boxes to bring home to their gardens. $50.  Register on line at https://classic.regonline.com/builder/site/?eventid=1460640.

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  • Thursday, May 15, 6:00 pm – Saying It With Flowers

    From the symbolic flower in Piero della Francesca’s Virgin and Child Enthroned with Four Angels to Moss Roses in a Vase by Édouard Manet and Peonies by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, flowers appear in a remarkable variety of works in the Clark’s collection. Visit the Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge, MA, on Thursday, May 15, beginning at 6 pm, where Michael Cassin, director of the Clark’s Center for Education in the Visual Arts, takes a look at some of the splendid examples of flower paintings that will be on view when the Clark reopens this summer.  Free.

    Space is limited and reservations are required. Visit clarkart.edu to register or call 413-458-0524.

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  • Sunday, May 18, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – North Andover Garden Club Plant Sale

    On Sunday, May 18, from 10 – 2, the North Andover Garden Club will hold its Annual Plant Sale on the front lawn of Stevens Memorial Library, Main Street, North Andover, rain or shine.  This is their major fund raising event of the year.  The sale features proven perennial plants from members’ gardens, as well as annuals.  Proceeds from the sale will go toward civic beautification throughout the town and free gardening programs for all. For more information visit www.northandovergardenclub.com.

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  • Sunday, May 18, 12:00 noon – 5:00 pm – Petals & Palettes on a Sunday Afternoon

    Andover Garden Club’s Petals & Palettes On a Sunday Afternoon will feature artists, floral design, live music, art for sale, and appetizers and beverages. The event takes place Sunday, May 18, from noon until 5 at the Essex Art Center, Lower Level, 56 Island Street in Lawrence.

    More than 70 pieces from two score of the community’s best artists will be displayed, including sculpture, watercolor, oil painting, drawing, photography, mixed media, and fiber arts. Select pieces will be interpreted in floral arrangements à la “Art in Bloom.”

    Much of the artwork will be offered for sale, with a percentage of the proceeds going to support the work of the club.

    The exhibit of art and floral design will offer attendees a chance to take in the fragrance of fresh spring flowers, contemplate the colorful collection of art pieces, tap their feet to the tempo of a live jazz band, sample savory appetizers, and sip select beverages, including wine and beer.  $40 entrance fee.  For more information visit www.andovergardenclub.org, or call 978-475-7119.

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  • Thursday, May 8, 9:30 am – 12:00 noon – Sogetsu Ikebana

    Sogetsu Ikebana is an internationally recognized school of Japanese flower arranging known for creative self expression. Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston, will host Garden Club of the Back Bay member Kaye Vosburgh on Thursday, May 8, from 9:30 – noon. Kaye provides the flowers for each class and will have supplies and equipment for purchase. Tower Hill members $40, nonmembers $55. Click here to register, or visit www.towerhillbg.org.

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  • Thursday, May 22, 9:30 am – 11:30 am – Boston Flower Exchange Tour

    Thursday, May 22, 9:30 am – 11:30 am – Boston Flower Exchange Tour

    Join Betsy Williams and Tower Hill Botanic Garden for a guided tour of the Boston Flower Exchange, New England’s wholesale flower market, usually open to floral professionals only. We will talk with vendors, tour the facility and revel in the profusion of fresh cut flowers. We’ll learn where our flowers and cut greens come from and what happens to them as they travel from local and distant greenhouses and fields to our homes. Please meet at the Flower Exchange or car pool from Tower Hill Botanic Garden.  THBG members $40, non members $60.  Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

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  • Wednesday, June 18 – Sunday, June 22 – 11th World Flower Show: A Floral Odyssey

    Wednesday, June 18 – Sunday, June 22 – 11th World Flower Show: A Floral Odyssey

    During the 11th World Flower Show, to be held June 18 – June 22 in Dublin, Ireland, the RDS Convention Complex will be transformed into a haven of beauty filled with spectacular competitive floral exhibits. The creativity and innovation of floral artists never ceases to amaze. Irish and International floral demonstrators and lecturers will take you on magical tours of their countries with the use of their native plant materials and stories while the myriad of vendors in the Trade Hall will tempt you to shop. Explore the gardens, culture and scenery of Dublin and the surrounding counties on one of the planned tours. Join the party on the final evening at the Gala Banquet in the Burlington Hotel, now known as The Doubletree by Hilton Hotel. WAFA Ireland promises a truly Irish evening of music, dance and fun.

    Bookings for all events are particularly brisk with some demonstrations now full. Don’t be disappointed and book your tickets before the ‘Full House’ sign goes up. Accommodation in some hotels in the immediate vicinity of the RDS is sold out but our conference accommodation team has added extra hotels and will assist you in acquiring accommodation.

    The World Flower Show is a triennial event and this is the first occasion it is staged on Irish soil. The show is open to all and even if you are not a flower arranger, please come and witness this colorful extravaganza. You will not be disappointed. Details may be found at http://wafaireland.com/ A complete listing of all events, day by day, may be accessed at http://wafaireland.com/uploads/files/ScheduleforWeb%5B1%5D.pdf.

    Below is a picture of an arrangement by Ireland’s own Mary C. O’Keeffe from the 10th World Flower Show which was held in Boston – the flowers were truly spectacular.

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  • Thursday, May 8, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Pine Hollow Arboretum Tour

    For woody plant and tree lovers, join staff from the Berkshire Botanical Garden on Thursday, May 8 for an exploration of a lesser known horticultural gem, Pine Hollow Arboretum, located in Slingerlands, NY. In 1966, founder John W. Abbuhl, M.D., started planting trees around his home to create an attractive setting. His affinity with the land, his interest in horticulture and his love of trees combined to inspire the creation of an arboretum. The arboretum’s cataloged collection consists of over 3,300 unique trees, shrubs and other woody plants from around the world. This living collection is aesthetically arranged in a natural setting that includes 12 ponds and a succession forest, all easily accessible by a network of walking trails and bridges. Tour the grounds with the founder, Dr. Abbuhl, and learn about the small, flowering tree collections, including magnolias, dogwoods, crabapples and more. View cultivars of unusual genera, too, such as styrax, stewartia and heptacodium. A great way to view specimen plants in a naturalistic setting, just an hour’s drive away.

    Participants can choose to carpool or drive separately. Those joining the carpool should meet in the parking lot at Berkshire Botanical Garden for a 9 am departure. Carpool will return at approximately 1 pm. BBG member price $25, non-members $30. Register by visiting http://www.berkshirebotanical.org/ai1ec_event/pine-hollow-arboretum-study-tour/?instance_id=2620.

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  • Wednesday, May 7, 7:00 pm – The Extreme Life of the Sea

    Drawing on his newest book, The Extreme Life of the Sea, marine scientist Stephen Palumbi will explore the spectacular life forms, such as blind zombie worms, ageless jellyfish, and the unicorn-like narwhal, that thrive at the ocean’s most brutal limits. From the icy Arctic to boiling hydrothermal vents and pitch-dark trenches, Palumbi looks at extreme habitats and considers how humans may be driving dramatic changes to the ocean’s ecosystem. The lecture and book signing will take place Wednesday, May 7, beginning at 7 pm at the Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge, and is sponsored by the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Stephen is the Jane and Marshall Steel Jr. Professor of Biology and Director of Hopkins Marine Station at Stanford University. Free and open to the public. There is free event parking in the 52 Oxford Street Garage.

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