Boston Flora

Month: May 2015

  • Wednesday, June 10, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Seasonal Farmers Market

    Become a master of the farm to table experience – in this Boston Center for Adult Education class on Wednesday, June 10, from 6 – 9, students will work with seasonal ingredients carefully chosen by the instructor, Diane Manteca. Simple techniques will be shown to highlight the beautiful early summer flavors. There will be no menu in advance because the class will be based on the ingredients that look best that day! Tuition is $55 (BCAE member cost $47) and an additional materials cost of $15.00. Register online at http://bostoncae.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&int_class_id=12720&int_category_id=2&int_sub_category_id=5. The class will be held at the BCAE, 122 Arlington Street in Boston. Image from www.sustainablepath.org.

  • Saturdays, May 30 and June 6, 8:00 am – 11:00 am – Birding and Habitat Restoration Field Trips

    Join Mount Grace and the Athol Bird and Nature Club in celebrating this year’s international migratory bird day theme “restore habitat restore birds”. We will discover birds in a variety of habitats including beaver meadows and spruce swamps and learn about a new habitat restoration project that is about to take place. Both events are for all ages, no experience necessary. We will have a small selection of binoculars and field guides for people to use. Bring sturdy hiking shoes, insect repellent, binoculars, bird books etc. Participants must be able to walk on uneven terrain. On Saturday, May 30, the area to be visited is the Arthur Iversen Conservation Area on Gale Road in Warwick. Meet at the trailhead on the east side of Gale Rd. or, to carpool, meet at the Millers River Environmental Center at 7:30am at 100 Main St, Athol, MA 01331. On June 6, the focus will be the Fox Valley Conservation Area, pictured below. Meet at the Fox Valley trailhead parking lot on the north side of Lincoln Rd. (160 Lincoln Rd, Phillipston, MA) For more information visit www.atholbirdclub.org.

  • Saturday, June 13, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – West Roxbury 2015 Garden Tour

    Saturday, June 13, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – West Roxbury 2015 Garden Tour

    The Evening Garden Club of West Roxbury is sponsoring a self-guided driving/walking tour of distinguished private gardens in their classic Boston neighborhood on Saturday, June 13, from 10 – 3, rain or shine. Tour will also include the award-winning Reading Garden at the West Roxbury Branch Library and the opportunity to view Tiffany Studio floral-design stained glass windows at the Theodore Parker Unitarian Universalist Church. The church will be available for viewing only after 1 pm. For further information as tour day approaches, visit http://gcfm.org/eveninggcwestroxbury/Home.aspx. TICKETS AVAILABLE from any garden club member or on tour day at the West Roxbury Branch Library, 1961 Centre St., West Roxbury 02132. TICKET PRICE: $15 in advance; $18 day of tour, and proceeds benefit the mission of The Evening Garden Club of West Roxbury, a
    501(c)(3) organization, including community beautification projects and educational lectures. Garden below was featured on last year’s tour.

    Bogandale_2

  • Saturday, June 13, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Garden Tour of Historic Charlestown

    Explore twelve private hidden gardens of historic Charlestown on Saturday, June 13, 2015 from 10:00-3:00. The tour boasts a wide variety of horticulture and landscape features from fruit trees to cobble walkways and the garden at the PBS This Old House project of last year. Described as a “work in progress” by the owner, she is soliciting ideas from tour attendees about plant materials and design as her garden evolves.
    The tour begins at the Gardens for Charlestown Community Garden where you will receive your ticket/booklet/map. The Community Garden is a park-like setting which is open to the public and includes 64 garden plots and extensive communal boarder gardens. A free “Container Gardens” program will be conducted in the garden from 11:00-11:30. Topics including: plant selection and layout, growing edibles in containers, special considerations for specific sites (e.g. roof decks, window boxes) and general container garden maintenance will be covered. Box lunches will also be on sale in the community garden or you can enjoy lunch at one of Charlestown’s restaurants. Following the tour from 3:00-5:00 pm there will be a reception for tour goers, garden owners, supporters and volunteers in the Community Garden. This event is rain or shine.
    Tickets purchased before June 12th are $20.00. Day of Tour price $25.00 at the community garden. To purchase advance tickets go to www.gardensforcharlestown.com and click onto the Eventbrite link. Please bring your printed receipts with you. Proceeds from the tour support this 501c3 educational organization’s programs and maintenance. You may also mail your check to Gardens for Charlestown, P.O. Box 290044, Charlestown, MA 02129, and enclose a stamped, self addressed envelope.

    The Community Garden is located at the intersection of Main and Bunker Hill Streets two blocks from Sullivan Square. There is free street parking available, the Sullivan Square  Orange Line MBTA Station is a 5 minute walk or there is MBTA bus service from Haymarket Station on either the Route #92 or #93 bus, which drops you off at the garden.

  • Friday, June 12 – Sunday, June 28 – Cape Cod Designer Show House: Changing Lives Room by Room

    The inaugural 2015 Cape Designer Show House, Briarwood II, opens Friday, June 12 through Sunday, June 28 in Osterville.  This is a rare opportunity to view imaginative design trends and help a great cause in the process.  Proceeds from the Cape Designer Show House will benefit WE CAN, the organization dedicated to empowering Cape Cod women.

    More than 20 award-winning designers from Boston, Cape Cod and Islands are donating their time and talents to transform an exquisite, turn-of-the-century, shingle style home first inhabited in 1910 by the current owner’s great-grandparents.  Visitors to the Show House will see a superb exhibition of fine furnishings and art representing imaginative design trends throughout this treasure nestled near the water in this historic Cape Cod village.

    Tickets are $35 per person in advance, $40 per person at the door, and $30 per person for groups of 15 or more.  Tickets may be purchased online at www.wecancenter.org.  Hours are Fridays, 10 – 7, Sundays 1 – 5, and Monday through Thursday, and Saturday, 10 – 4.  Free parking and shuttle service available.  No handicap accessibility.

  • Friday, May 29, 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm, and Saturday, May 30, 9:00 am – 2:00 pm – Tower Hill 30th Annual Preview Party and Plant Sale

    On Friday, May 29, from 6:30 – 9 enjoy a silent auction, light fare, cash bar, and an opportunity to purchase prior to Saturday’s plant sale at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston.  Tickets are $30 per person for THBG members, $40 for nonmembers.  On Saturday, THBG members may shop for outstanding plants of all kinds, plus garden accessories, from 9 – 11, and nonmembers are admitted at 11 am.  Premier vendors include Broken Arrow Nursery, Garden Vision Epimediums, My House Leeks, Harvey Farms, The American Conifer Society, and many more.  Visit www.towerhillbg.org  for a complete listing of vendors.

  • Wednesday, June 3, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Passing Along the Passion: Sowing the Seeds for Lifelong Horticulture Appreciation

    Mentoring a child with hands-on gardening is a powerful force for developing an understanding of the natural world. When children start young, nature’s values become permanently imprinted, forming the basis for appreciation of how horticulture is relevant in all aspects of their lives. Wayne Mezitt of Weston Nurseries discusses some concepts on developing a compelling lifelong engagement with horticulture for young and old alike, at Tower Hill Botanic Garden on Wednesday, June 3, from 7 – 8. Free with admission. To register, visit www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Thursday, May 28, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Spring For Clean Water

    Please join Clean Water Action on May 28th for its benefit event, Spring for Clean Water. Together, let’s celebrate what we’ve achieved in the past year and build our power for future victories such as shifting our state away from dirty power, kicking toxic flame retardant chemicals out of all children’s and consumer products, and advancing Boston toward its goal of Zero Waste. The party will be held from 5:30 – 7:30 at Bell in Hand Tavern, 45 Union Street in Boston, and the suggested donations are $36, $91, $182, or $365. $36 is less than a dime a day for the environment. If you have questions call Amanda Sebert at 617-338-8131, or email asebert@cleanwater.org. You may also purchase tickets on line at https://org.salsalabs.com/o/2155/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=84283.  Image, available for purchase in different sizes, is available  from www.paulsilvaart.com.

  • From the Archives: The Trees of Beacon Street

    A letter went out to the residents of Beacon Street in 1910, from a citizens committee chaired by Mrs. F. T. Lord, from the Committee of the Metropolitan Improvement League (whose members included Frederick Law Olmsted,) and from the Secretary of the Massachusetts Forestry Association, Mr. Irving T. Guild. The letter is excerpted below:

    “A year ago a committee of residents of Beacon Street met with delegates of the Metropolitan Improvement League and the Massachusetts Forestry Association to consider the planting of a row of trees on either side of Beacon Street between Arlington Street and Massachusetts Avenue. A strong sentiment in favor of tree-planting had previously been shown by a house-to-house canvass by ladies of this committee. As a result of this meeting, Mr. Arthur A. Shurtleff, the well-known landscape architect and tree expert, was requested to make a complete study of the situation and to present a full report…

    The undersigned committee recommend that Mr. Shurtleff’s plan be adopted and the details of the undertaking be placed in his hands as architect. To do this will cost approximately $12,000, or an average of $34 per house, there being 352 houses between Arlington Street and Massachusetts Avenue.

    It is desirable that the work of preparing the pits be done during the summer months, when most of the residents will be away and when the work can be done more cheaply.  The planting should be done either in November or April, better in the latter month…

    Will you not contribute toward this well-considered, desirable, and permanent improvement of Beacon Street?  Cheques may be made payable and sent to R.G. Wadsworth, 323 Beacon Street.  If enough money is not raised, the cheques will be returned.  The committee wish to point out that as all the 352 houses between Arlington Street and Massachusetts Avenue are not occupied by permanent residents, it is hoped that those who are especially interested in the plan will not limit their contributions to any arbitrary sum. On the other hand, small contributions from any one interested will be very welcome.  Should more money than is necessary for the actual planting be obtained, this excess will be used for the future care of the trees.”

    This project was a successful early example of crowdfunding.  Thomas High, in his invaluable site www.backbayhouses.org, notes that Dr. Wadsworth was a physician who lived and maintained his office at 323 Beacon Street. Noted artist Polly Thayer Starr also resided there, and the building is now a lodging house. Picture below is from 1870, of a treeless Beacon Street looking west from Arlington Street.

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  • Saturday, June 6, 12:00 pm – 4:30 pm – Chestnut Hill Garden Club Centennial Garden Tour

    The Chestnut Hill Garden Club’s Centennial Garden Tour will take place on Saturday, June 6 from 12 noon – 4:30 pm, rain or shine.  All gardens are located in the Chestnut Hill Historic District and feature many older estate gardens redesigned by some of today’s well-known landscape architects. A lovely meandering walk along quiet streets in the district will provide access to all the gardens. Your tour will end at an historic property, with a large garden of extensive rooms.

    “The front walk is framed by wisteria and acers which leads to the ‘New Dawn’ rose room bordered with eleven trellises, inspired by those in the Bois de Boulogne. There are espaliered fruit trees surrounding the garden of white and purple carrots, heirloom mustard greens and various chicories.”

    Advance tickets are available on line by clicking HERE.  Day of tour tickets are $40 and are available at First Church of Chestnut Hill, 26 Suffolk Road in Chestnut Hill.  For more information, contact carolyn.thayer.ross@comcast.net.  Image from www.chestnuthillgardenclub.org.