Bryan Connolly will speak at Elm Bank on Thursday, July 30 beginning at 7 pm in the Parkman Room on the techniques and benefits of seed saving. Connolly is author of the Organic Seed Production and Saving: The Wisdom of Plant Heritage, which covers both the history and cycle of seed saving. This colorful presentation will give you the courage and knowledge to try seed saving. Lecture Fee: Mass Hort Members $10, Non-Members $15. Register on line at www.masshort.org.
The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, Inc. Southeastern District presents Kids’ Games, A Standard Flower Show, at the Barnstable County Fair at the Cape Cod Fairgrounds, Route 151, East Falmouth, July 20 – 26. Fair Hours Monday through Thursday, 4 pm – 10 pm, Friday through Sunday, noon – 10 pm. For directions, visit http://capecodfairgrounds.com/events/barnstable-county-fair/
Elizabeth Farnsworth, botanist and nationally recognized fern expert, will lead a Fern Walk on Masson Ridge. The 183-acre property has been protected with a Forever Wild conservation restriction held by Mount Grace and sits in the middle of the Satan’s Kingdom Wildlife Management Area. This event is free. Elizabeth Farnsworth is Senior Research Ecologist with the New England Wild Flower Society and past Garden Club of the Back Bay speaker. Her unique background as a botanist, professor, illustrator and author provide her with a wealth of information to share during this botanical exploration. Meet at West Road in Northfield. For complete information visit The Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust at www.mountgrace.org. Image from www.mywoodlandgarden.com.
Enjoy an early evening walk at 5:30 pm on Thursday, July 30 with Mount Auburn President & CEO Dave Barnett to observe the ornamental trees and shrubs that show off their flowers in late July. Learn about the many plants available that provide summer beauty and interest. The culture and use of these plants in your home garden will be discussed. $7 for Friends of Mount Auburn, $12 for nonmembers. Register at http://mountauburn.org/2015/summer-blooming-trees-shrubs-3/ Funding for programs has been provided in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Image from massbutterflies.blogspot.com.
A great sauce is the key to a great dish – and while these days you can learn to cook online, perfecting an incredible sauce takes much more than YouTube! Partner with Diane Manteca at the Boston Center for Adult Education at 122 Arlington Street on Thursday, July 30 from 6 – 9 to master wonderful summer sauces. Students will team up with chicken, red meat, pasta, or fish to create Heirloom Tomato and Garlic Ramps, Wild Mushroom & Marscapone, Kale & Pistachio Pesto, and Sicilian Eggplant with Grilled Peppers. $52 (BCAE members $45) with an $18 materials cost. Register online at www.bcae.org. Image from www.voraciousvander.com.
Rich in sensory experience, a garden is an especially inspiring place in which to write. In this two-hour workshop, to be held twice on July 24 and 31, from 10 – noon, participants will visit two gardens at Tower Hill and write spontaneously in response to prompts inspired by the surroundings. Both aspiring and experienced writers are welcome.
Instructor Jane Roy Brown is an award-winning writer, editor, and landscape historian who lives in Conway, Massachusetts. Jane works part-time as director of educational outreach at the Library of American Landscape History, a nonprofit organization based in Amherst, Massachusetts, which publishes books, produces films, and organizes exhibitions about American landscape history. Her workshop series, The Heart of Story: Writing Stories of Our Lives, focuses on how to write memoir.
With Susan Haltom, Jane is co-author of One Writer’s Garden: Eudora Welty’s Home Place (University Press of Mississippi, September 2011), which won the 2012 Eudora Welty Award. Jane also wrote Drawing Lessons, a history of the Conway School of Landscape Design (CSLD via lulu.com, November 2011, work for hire).
Her articles on travel, gardens, and landscape architecture have appeared in numerous periodicals, including Architectural Record, the Boston Globe travel section, The Christian Science Monitor, Garden Design, Harvard Magazine, and Preservation. She is a contributing editor for Landscape Architecture, the magazine of the American Society of Landscape Architects. She received a 2008 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Gold Award from the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation. She edited the 2003 Journal of the New England Garden History Society and worked in various editorial staff positions at AMC Outdoors, the magazine of the Appalachian Mountain Club, from 1995 to 2004, where she received a 2004 national Gold Award from the Society of National Association Publishers. After earning a B.A. at Middlebury College, Jane completed the certificate program in landscape-design history at Radcliffe Seminars (now the Landscape Institute at Boston Architectural College). As her final project, she documented the history of the 1926 Jens Jensen landscape at Skylands, the former summer home of Edsel and Eleanor Ford in Seal Harbor, Maine.
Tower Hill member price is $20 per session, nonmembers $35 per session. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.
The Polly Hill Arboretum in West Tisbury welcomes back Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation’s director of stewardship Kristen Fauteux and Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank ecologist Julie Russell, for an in-depth study of our island trees. Join them for this one and a half-day workshop to learn the tools of tree identification and to search for examples of island native trees in their habitats. We begin Wednesday with a class (9 – 3) at the Arboretum, then head into the field to find our trees. Thursday we continue our field exploration from 9 – noon. Class size is limited, advance registration required. $90/$70 for PHA members; $50 for professionals associated with Island land management or conservation organizations. To register, and for more information, call 508-693-9426.
The writer Eudora Welty found her garden to be a wellspring of sensory experience that nourished her writing. She observed that when stimulated by fragrance, the sounds of insects and birds and the colors and textures of plants, our minds take flight, and stories and memories bubble to the surface. Writing in a garden provides an opportunity to tap this rich inspiration, whether the topic is the garden itself, a personal memory or a story born of the imagination. In this series taking place on three consecutive Thursdays, July 23 – August 6, participants will visit different garden spaces at Berkshire Botanical Garden and write spontaneously in response to prompts—verbal or visual cues provided by the workshop lead- er—inspired by the natural surroundings. Writers will hone their abilities to observe, stay focused and respond from their hearts. This workshop is designed to be a safe, guided experience for aspiring and experienced writers alike. Participants can enroll in one, two or all three of the sessions. Each session will focus on a different topic: (1) Memoir and Garden Memories; (2) Establishing Sense of Place; (3) Writing with All Your Senses. BBG Members $135; Nonmembers $145. Register online at www.berkshirebotanical.org. What to bring: Come prepared to spend two hours outdoors, including moderate walking. For example, the instructor usually carries a small tote or backpack containing a notebook, pen or pencil, water bottle, light rain jacket or umbrella, sunhat, sunscreen and bug repellent. In inclement weather, the workshop will take place indoors.
Instructor Jane Roy Brown is an award-winning writer, editor and workshop leader who lives in Conway, MA. In January 2012, Jane founded “The Heart of Story: Writing Stories of Our Lives,†a suite of workshops designed to facilitate memoir writing for adults at all levels of experience. Jane is coauthor of One Writer’s Garden: Eudora Welty’s Home Place (University Press of Mississippi, 2011), the winner of the 2012 Eudora Welty Book Award. Her writing has appeared in numerous periodicals, including The Christian Science Monitor, Garden Design, Horticulture and Preservation. She is a contributing editor for Landscape Architecture, the national magazine of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and was a regular contributor to the Boston Globe travel section from 2001–2013.
On Saturday, July 25, the National Wild Turkey Federation will hold its 4th Annual Women in the Outdoors event, named the Best Special Event in the Nation for 2012, 2013, and 2014. Portions of this day are sponsored by the Mass Wildlife “Becoming an Outdoors Woman” program. The activities will be held at the Auburn Sportsman’s Club (ah, the irony that it’s at a Sportsman’s Club) at 50 Elm Street in Auburn. Activities will include Archery 101, Explore Bowhunting, Kayaking, Fly Fishing 101, Beekeeping, Trap-Shooting, Outdoor Photography, Intro to Handguns, Rifle Marksmanship, Woodsmanship, Tactical Firearms, Turkey Hunting 101, Intro to Trapping, Game Processing (oh yes), Basic Self-Defense for Women (judo and Jujitsu), Advanced Self-Defense, Falconry, Wilderness Survival, Dutch Oven Cooking, Map & Compass, Massachusetts License to Carry Certification, Power Tools 101, Treestand Safety, Knife/Hawk Throwing, The Notorious Nefarious Necessary Nettle, Wildcrafting Weedwalk, The Black Bear in Massachusetts lecture, and Blade Honing. Participants will choose 7 of the courses offered, and when registering you will rank them in order of preference. Five to seven will serve as alternates due to space and scheduling. Registration fee $75 for ages 18 and older, $45 for ages 13 – 17, which includes tuition, WITO membership and meals. Complete registration form is available at http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/education-events/2015-wito-flyer-pdf-567k.pdf. For more information contact Kathy Dalbec at 978-870-4830, email mkdalbec@gmail.com, or Jen Ford at 508-340-9120, email jford9900@gmail.com.
Tower Hill Botanic Garden will host Professor Daniel Chamovitz of Tel Aviv University on Wednesday, July 22 from 7 – 8 pm for a lecture and book signing. Highlighting the latest in plant science, renowned biologist Professor Daniel Chamovitz takes us into the lives of different types of plants and draws parallels with human senses to reveal that we have more in common with sunflowers and oak trees than we realize. What a Plant Knows was listed as one of the Top 10 Science Books on Amazon and has been featured on the BBC, NPR, and CBS. Tower Hill members $15, nonmembers $25. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.
