Boston Flora

Month: January 2015

  • Thursday, February 5, 6:00 pm – Virgin Territory: Exploring the World of Olive Oil

    Discover everything you wanted to know about extra-virgin olive oils.  Nancy Harmon Jenkins, author of the just published Virgin Territory, will show you the ins and outs of one of the most important ingredients in the modern kitchen: what extra-virgin olive oil really is, how to choose it and use it, and why it’s critically important for good health and good food.  Together we’ll taste good and bad oils, try some tasty samples of fearless cooking with olive oil, and learn what to look for in the market.  $30, includes copy of book.  Sponsored by Boston University as part of the Pepin Lecture Series in Food Studies and Gastronomy.  Class will take place Thursday, February 5 beginning at 6 pm in 808 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 117, Boston. Register online at http://www.bu.edu/foodandwine.

  • Thursday, January 22, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Sogetsu Ikebana from Basic to Freestyle

    Thursday, January 22, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Sogetsu Ikebana from Basic to Freestyle

    Join The Massachusetts Horticultural Society on Thursday, January 22, from 7 – 8:30 for a brief presentation on the history of ikebana and a demonstration from basic to free style Sogetsu Ikebana. Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement that is growing in popularity throughout the United States. Steeped in the philosophy of developing a closeness with nature, ikebana weaves living materials and creative expression together with specific rules of construction.

    Mrs. Tomoko Tanaka began her studies of the Sogetsu school of ikebana at the age of thirteen. Presently she holds a certificate of Riji, the highest rank of the Sogetsu School. She serves as director of Sogetsu Mass Branch and served twice as president of Ikebana International Boston Chapter. She is currently teaching ikebana at home. Lecture Fee: Mass Hort Members $10, Non-Members $15. Register at www.masshort.org.

    Her many experiences include teaching, demonstrations and workshops throughout New England, including the Boston Flower and Garden Show. She has also appeared as a guest on the PBS television show, “The Victory Garden” where she introduced ikebana to a national audience. Her arrangements have been displayed at museums, hotels, and ikebana conferences in numerous cities in this country, and also in Japan.IMG_0266

     

  • Saturday, January 24, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Starting Seeds Indoors

    Get your gardens off to a good start this spring by starting vegetable, flower and herb seeds indoors. This Saturday, January 24 Tower Hill Botanic Garden workshop will help you decide which plants will benefit most from a head start. You will learn the tools and supplies needed, the best sowing and nurturing techniques, and when and how to transition your seedlings into the garden. Participants will sow two flats to take home. Class meets from 1 – 4 at Tower Hill, 11 French Drive in Boylston.

    Christie Higginbottom has worked as a costumed interpreter at Old Sturbridge Village since 1981. From 1984 to 2004 she coordinated the historic horticulture program researching, planning and planting the re-created kitchen and flower gardens at the museum’s historic households. She also supervised the Village’s Herb Garden collection, a garden exhibiting over 300 varieties of historic herbs. From 2004 to 2006 she researched and developed a series of self-guided walking trails interpreting people and the environment in the early 1800s. She researched and designed the 2007-2009 exhibit Taking Root: Gardening in Pots in the early 1800s. Now retired from full-time work at OSV, she continues to work in costume part-time and to present garden programs for the Village. Christie writes and consults on historic gardens and their interpretation, antique plants, and herb use; and she lectures at museums and historic sites, garden clubs, historical societies, and libraries. She teaches home gardening classes at the Adult Education program at Bay Path Regional Vocational High School, the Worcester Regional Environmental Council and other venues. THBG members $35, nonmembers $45. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Thursday, February 12, 7:00 pm – Gardner Museum Landscape Lecture: Kathryn Gustafson

    The Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Landscape Lecture series continues Thursday, February 12 with Kathryn Gustafson. Gustafson is a partner in both Gustafson Guthrie Nichol in Seattle and Gustafson Porter in London. Her work incorporates the fundamental sculptural and sensual qualities that enhance the human experience of landscape. She is only the third landscape architect to have received the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Gustafson is also an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and a medalist of the French Academy of Architecture. Along with her partners at Gustafson Guthrie Nichol, she received the National Design Award for Landscape Architecture from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

    Landscape Lectures begin at 7 pm in Calderwood Hall. Lectures include Museum admission and require a ticket; tickets can be reserved online, in person at the door, or by phone: 617 278 5156. Museum admission: adults $15, seniors $12, students $5, free for Museum members.  On line tickets may be purchased at www.gardnermuseum.org.

    When a lecture sells out, the Museum will offer a limited number of obstructed view seats the night of the event via a signup sheet at the admissions desk. The signup sheet will become available at the desk at 6 pm. We will make every attempt to seat everyone but cannot guarantee a seat once we are at capacity. Seats will be assigned 5 minutes prior to the lecture time. These obstructed view seats will be free of charge.

  • Tuesday, January 13, 7:30 pm – The Bee: A Natural History

    The January meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club will take place Tuesday, January 13 at 7:30 pm in Room 101 of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge.  The speaker will be Noah Wilson-Rich, the founder of The Best Bees Company and author of The Bee: A Natural History.  The meeting is free and open to the public.  Snacks will be provided, and you are welcome to join the group at 6 pm for an informal pre-meeting dinner at Cambridge Common.  For more information email Shayla Salzman at shaylasalzman@FAS.harvard.edu.

  • Saturday, January 24, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Meditations in Ink: An Introduction to Asian Brush Painting

    This Massachusetts Horticultural Society workshop, to be held Saturday, January 24 from 10 – 2 at Elm Bank in Wellesley, is for those interested in learning and using the traditional tools and techniques of Asian Brush Painting. Through step-by-step demonstrations and hands-on projects you will explore this ancient and elegant art and leave class with two completed works. Subjects for the workshop will be Calligraphy and Orchid painting in ink and color. No art experience is required. Instructor will provide supplies.

    Bruce Iverson is an artist who has specialized in Asian Brush Painting since. He has exhibited in group and juried shows throughout the United States. He has traveled to China for a deeper understanding of the context of brush painting and is a juried member of the New Hampshire Art Association. Additional information about Bruce can be found at his website www.iversonarts.com

    Students must provide their own lunch and beverages. $150 for Mass Hort members, $170 for nonmembers. To register, call 617-933-4973 or email kfolts@masshort.org.

  • Thursday, January 29, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Xeriscape: Whole System Planning and Practice

    Christie Green is the founder of Down to Earth Designs and Radicle in Santa Fe, NM. Her goal is to design and implement artful, regenerative, innovatively designed small- and large-scale land projects which educate about and inspire stewardship of natural resources and appreciation of food and beauty as necessary components in daily life. Ms. Green has a Masters in Landscape Architecture from the University of New Mexico. She teaches many classes and workshops on sustainable landscaping topics in the arid west and this year will be a food justice artist-in-residence at the Santa Fe Institute.

    On Thursday, January 29, Christie Green will present a webinar overview of planning and installing xeriscapes using examples from her work in the Southwestern US. Her presentation will cover landscapes as living ecological and cultural systems using long-term and large-scale vision in the planning. She will discuss water use zones, passive water harvesting, soil building, selection of plant species for different water zones and purposes and provision of edibles for humans and birds. Learn from examples of each principle how the whole system works together to create a drought-tolerant, beautiful landscape. Free to ELA members, $10 for non members. See more at: http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/webinar-xeriscape-whole-system-planning-and-practice/

  • Wednesday, January 21, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm – “Car Free” in the Back Bay

    The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay will hold a neighborhood forum on Wednesday, January 21, from 6:30 – 8:30 at the French Cultural Center, 53 Marlborough Street, on “Car Free in the Back Bay” – Alternatives to Dependence on the Private Vehicle. Speakers include Beverly Scott, CEO and General Manager of the MBTA, Wendy Landsman, Executive Director of Walk Boston, Vineet Gupta, Director of Planning for the Boston Transportation Department, and Lisa Feldman of zipcar.  Sign up by emailing info@nabbonline.com, or by calling 617-247-3961. This is a free event.

  • Sunday, January 18, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm – Rib-Sticking Herbal Winter Soups

    Join Rosemary Nolan at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston, on Sunday, January 18 from 11 – 1 to make and eat a fabulous array of hearty yet healthy winter soups that will energize and nourish your family during the dark winter months! We’ll talk about the best way to make your own stock for on-demand soup making, before we dive into classic Thai Coconut Lime soup, Moroccan Chickpea & Parsley soup, French Chestnut soup and more! Please bring a container or two in case we have leftovers. All are laden with fresh herbs and can be made as vegetarian OR non-vegetarian meals. THBG members $30, nonmembers $45. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org. Image from www.saltshaker.net.

  • Wednesday, January 21, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Xeriscape: Whole System Planning and Practice

    Christie Green will present an overview of planning and installing xeriscapes using examples from her work in the Southwestern US online on Wednesday, January 21 from 1 – 2, sponsored by the Ecological Landscape Alliance. Her presentation will cover landscapes as living ecological and cultural systems using long-term and large-scale vision in the planning. She will discuss water use zones, passive water harvesting, soil building, selection of plant species for different water zones and purposes and provision of edibles for humans and birds. Learn from examples of each principle how the whole system works together to create a drought-tolerant, beautiful landscape.

    Christie Green is the founder of Down to Earth Designs and Radicle in Santa Fe, NM. Her goal is to design and implement artful, regenerative, innovatively designed small- and large-scale land projects which educate about and inspire stewardship of natural resources and appreciation of food and beauty as necessary components in daily life. Ms. Green has a Masters in Landscape Architecture from the University of New Mexico. She teaches many classes and workshops on sustainable landscaping topics in the arid west and this year will be a food justice artist-in-residence at the Santa Fe Institute.
    – See more at: http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/webinar-xeriscape-whole-system-planning-and-practice/#sthash.s2cE8Qa3.dpuf.