Boston Flora

Month: June 2014

  • Seed Savers Exchange Saving and Sharing Seeds Contest

    Seed Savers Exchange is finishing up a free resource for gardeners to teach folks how to save and share seeds. Though the text is pretty well set, they are reaching out to friends and followers for the graphics.

    To that end, they’re looking for original illustrations – instructional or inspirational – that encourage seed saving, seed sharing and seed sowing. Selected submissions will be featured in a new resource, and artists will be awarded SSE memberships, rare seeds, or other prizes.

    Details:

    Content: Original illustration (no photographs, please, but diverse styles and media encouraged) instructing or inspiring others to save and share vegetable seeds. (Think halved tomato fruits, onion flowers, bolting lettuce, cabbage flowers, fermenting cucumber pulp, isolation cages, hand-made seed packets, seed swaps, etc.)

    Submission: All entries should be sent via email or wetransfer.com to grant@seedsavers.org with the subject SEED ART before July 1, 2014. Submissions must be high quality, RGB color mode, JPEG format, and 72dpi. Digital files must be smaller than 5MB. Artists retain all rights to their works, but allow SSE to use in Saving and Sharing Seeds and also display via social media as part of the contest.

    Use: Selected submissions will be featured in Saving and Sharing Seeds, a free resource made available on our website and sent to seed libraries, seed swaps, and gardener gatherings across the country. Saving and Sharing Seeds will be published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, and will be made available Fall 2014. Estimated distribution is 25,000. All submissions will be displayed online in a gallery at exchange.seedsavers.org, and many will be displayed via social media. Work title and artist name will be included with each image in the book (if selected) and on social media galleries. Selected artists and descriptions of their piece will also appear in the publication as a separate section.

    Selection Process: All submissions will be reviewed by Seed Savers Exchange staff and local artists. Art will be selected on the basis of general quality as well as suitability for this publication. Requirements of Selected Artists: SSE staff will notify selected artists before July 31. Artists will be asked to provide some specific written information about their selected illustration(s) for inclusion in the publication. Selected artists will also be required to submit a 9” x 12” RAW file (RGB format, 300dpi) for the work to be published. For a list of selected artists, visit exchange.seedsavers.org/artists after August 1, 2014.

  • Sunday, June 29, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm, and Wednesday, July 9, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Transcendental Abstractions

    Meet Fruitlands Museum’s Artist-in-Residence Richard Kattman and tour his new exhibit of abstract paintings.  Some of Richard’s works are inspired by natural elements—sea, wind, sand, grass, sky, flowers, fields, woods, gardens and night stars. Some canvases are his views of the earth as it appears from space. Some are drawn from infinite places located within his subconscious. Others are explorations he takes at the speed of light to places he imagines in deep outer space. These artworks portray the fragility of life and the known universe. The exhibit will run through August 10.

    On Sunday, June 29, from 2 – 4, Richard will give a formal presentation and demonstration on abstract painting, free with museum admission.  On Wednesday, July 9, from 10 – 3, attend an Abstract Landscape Painting class.  This one day plein air workshop will cover the steps of capturing the essentials of the Fruitlands landscape in acrylics on canvas.  All skill levels are welcome.  Registration required.  Email Melissa at mkershaw@fruitlands.org.  Museum members $100, nonmembers $110.

  • Saturday, June 28, 10:45 am – 3:00 pm – Independence Day Celebration

    Saturday, June 28, 10:45 am – 3:00 pm – Independence Day Celebration

    Christopher Columbus Park will hold its second annual Independence Day Celebration Saturday, June 28, from 10:45 am – 3:00 pm.  This free celebration will be kicked off by the family favorite Kids Parade, led by Uncle Sam on stilts.  Other entertainment throughout the day will include visits by T-Bone, Mr. Balloon Wizard, Station 8’s Fire Truck, the Tanglewood Marionettes, and Magician Peter O’Malley.  A Musical Petting Zoo, a performance by the North End Music and Performing Arts Center, and a host of family-friendly games on the West Lawn (think bean bag toss, tic-tac-toe toss, and hula hoops) complete the day’s activities.  For more information visit www.foccp.org.

    Uncle-Sam-on-Stilts-waves-the-flag-at-Christopher-Columbus-Park

  • Sunday, June 29, 8:00 pm – 10:30 pm – Die Fledermaus at Christopher Columbus Park

    On Sunday, June 29, the Friends of Christopher Columbus Park and the North End Music & Performing Arts Center (NEMPAC) present a fully staged opera production of Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II, in English, from 8 – 10:30 pm.  Conductor Tiffany Chang and Director Adrienne Boris will lead this special outdoor performance at the Park.  The performance may also be seen for a charge on June 27 & 28 at Faneuil Hall.

  • Monday, July 1 – New Back Bay Recycling Schedule

    Beginning July 1, 2014, the Back Bay will have residential trash and recycling collected on both Mondays and Thursdays. Please note the added recycling day.

    Residents are urged to place trash out on the morning of pick-up. This will significantly reduce the opportunity for spillage and scavenging. Properly and securely containing your trash and recycling is a critical component of keeping your neighborhood clean. Trash must be placed in a container with a lid or a sturdy trash bag.
    The Back Bay has single-stream recycling and all eligible recycling materials can be co-mingled and placed out for curbside collection in a clear plastic bag. These are available at most retail supermarkets. Those with alley collection can utilize the clear plastic bags or the large 64 gallon carts (pictured below) for recycling. The City has formally discontinued distribution of the small, open recycling blue bins and residents are urged to use only the clear plastic bags for their recycling, instead of the small bins. Small plastic and paper bags from market/convenience stores are not acceptable for trash/recycling placement.
    It is illegal to utilize City sidewalk litter barrels or solar-powered compactors for the disposal of residential or commercial trash and carries a fine of up to $1,000 per day.
    Failure to comply with the above regulations will result in fines issued by the Code Enforcement Division. Offenses may be reported to the Mayor’s Hotline at 617-635-4500.
    Comprehensive trash and recycling guidelines, including a listing of recyclables can be found at www.cityofboston.gov/publicworks.

  • Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts Organic Garden Project with Franklin Park Zoo

    Last fall, the Board of Directors of the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts agreed to participate with the Franklin Park Zoo in a special and unique garden initiative named the Organic Garden Project (OGP). The garden will raise food for the animals to offset the annual food costs. The Garden Club Federation’s role is to provide volunteers.

    • In April, the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston established their rotating horticulture garden at the zoo to grow varieties of nutritious greens and other crops to feed the gorillas, anteaters, giraffes, zebras, birds and more. Now volunteers are needed from June through August 2014 to sow seeds, water and harvest the crops.

    • The zoo needs a maximum of three volunteers each day to support this 50’ x 60′ garden.

    • Volunteers may sign up for two hour shifts from 10 am – 12 noon on Mondays and Wednesdays beginning June 2nd through August 27th.

    Please sign up to volunteer to help.  Organize a group to volunteer every Monday and Wednesday for a month this summer. If you belong to a club with a youth gardeners’ group, encourage them to volunteer as a summer activity (volunteers must be 14 years or older).

    It is so easy to sign up.
    To volunteer, go to: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0B4AACA72BA5FF2-zoonew and enter the information requested. For more information, contact Ali Fioretti, Volunteer Coordinator for Zoo New England. She can be reached by email (afioretti@zoonewengland.com) or phone at 617-989-2017 or 617-259-4360.

    This is an exciting and amazing opportunity for our members to help Zoo New England… and the animals that will be fed by your efforts!

  • Wednesdays, July 9 – July 30, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – The Garden In Watercolors

    Seeing and painting the garden en plein air is the subject of this series of Wednesday classes, to be held at the Berkshire Botanical Garden July 9 – 30 from 10 – 1. Students of all levels are welcome in one or all sessions; no experience is necessary. The first session will focus on drawing forms, finding compositions and simple, direct color schemes. Composition will be stressed. Each class will begin with an introduction and demonstration by the instructor and then move into the garden to paint, with the instructor circulating among the students to provide input and answer questions. You can attend the whole series or pick and choose individual classes; however, everyone is encouraged to attend the first meeting, when the basics of watercolor, paint, brushes and paper will be explained. Individual classes are $45. BBG members may pay $145 for the series, and nonmembers may register for the entire series for $175. Visit http://www.berkshirebotanical.org/ai1ec_event/the-garden-in-watercolors-session-i-en-plein-air-watercolor-painting-in-the-summer-garden-4/?instance_id=2613.

    Ann Kremers is an artist and calligrapher. Her work is currently focused on watercolor and drawing media. She has received commissions for paintings, drawings, illustrated and calligraphed citations and awards, artists’ books and botanical drawings. Ann lives in Bennington, VT, and teaches throughout Berkshire County. Examples of her work can be viewed at www.annkremers.com.

    http://www.annkremers.com/images/A.Images/RockUnderTree.jpg

  • Saturday, June 28, 10:30 am – 12:00 noon – Greenspace Connections and Tree Walk

    Explore the greenspaces of Jeffries Point, including parks, urban wilds, community gardens and the East Boston Greenway, and also the neighborhood’s street trees, with your guide from the Boston Natural Areas Network, an affiliate of the Trustees of Reservations, on Saturday, June 28 from 10:30 – noon. We’ll learn about future greenspace construction, East Boston’s canopy coverage and the challenges faced by its street trees. Registration requested by contacting 617-542-7696 or info@bostonnatural.org. Meet at the entrance to Piers Park, Marginal Street, East Boston.

  • Tuesday and Wednesday, July 8 – 9, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Capturing the Landscape and Architecture in Watercolor

    On July 8 – 9, spend a couple of warm summer days in the bucolic gardens of Elm Bank exploring and capturing the landscape en plein air in watercolor with Paul McMahan of the New England Watercolor Society.  This location will afford the participants the opportunity to paint both alluring landscapes filled with flowers as well as beautiful architecture.  If you have always wanted to just get out and paint in the garden then this workshop will be the impetus to do so.  Demonstrations as well as painting right along side of the students will help foster confidence and learning.  Paul will also allow enough time for individual instruction as well as group critique.  Attendees must provide their own lunch and materials – list provided upon registration.  $160 Mass Hort members, $180 non-members.  Register at www.masshort.org.

  • Wednesday, July 9, 5:00 pm – Looking at Lichens: A Journey of Discovery Beginning on Cape Cod

    Looking at Lichens-A Journey of Discovery Beginning on Cape Cod was written by naturalist Nancy Wigley with photographs by Susan W. Carr.

    Ms. Wigley will answer questions about what lichens are, where they are found, how they reproduce, why they are like the canary in the mine, which ones are poisonous, how they are used medicinally, and how they played an important role in establishing life on Earth. She will also have common specimens on hand during this drop-in program at the Green Briar Nature Center, 6 Discovery Hill Road (off Route 6A) in East Sandwich on Wednesday, July 9 beginning at 5 pm.  $5.  For more information call 508-888-6870, or email info@thorntonburgess.org.

    http://www.ccmnh.org/Images/cms/looking%20at%20leichens128.jpg?format=jpg&mode=max&scale=both