Boston Flora

Month: July 2015

  • Thursday, July 9, 10:00 am – 1:30 pm – Hosta, Japanese Maples, and Dwarf Conifers: Collectors’ Plants for the Garden Obsessed

    Join plantsman extraordinaire John O’Brien on Thursday, July 9 from 10 – 1:30 for a walking tour of his fabulous specialty nursery, O’Brien Nurserymen, located in Granby, Connecticut. View this exceptional collection of rare and beautifully grown specimens with a focus on dwarf conifers, Japanese maples and hundreds of hostas and other rare woodland perennials. There will be plenty to see in this meticulously maintained small-batch nursery, and John will devote the tour to teaching us the virtues of the many fabulous selections cultivated on his property. Following the tour there will be time to purchase plants. Then the group will head over to nearby Lost Acres Orchard. Lunch is available for purchase and includes a nice selection of homemade sandwiches and salads. Relax on the porch of the wonderful barn or wander through the orchard, sit in the shade and enjoy a wonderfully prepared lunch.

    John O’Brien is owner of O’Brien Nurserymen, LLC, which has grown into New England’s premier hosta nursery. The extensive display gardens feature over 1,600 hosta varieties, as well as other shady characters, including asarums, pulmonarias, epimediums and arisaemas. The gardens also include a wide variety of unusual dwarf conifers and over 100 varieties of Japanese maples. Participants can choose to carpool or drive separately.Those joining the carpool should meet in the parking lot at Berkshire Botanical Garden for an 8:30 am departure. BBG members $40, nonmembers $50. Register online at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

  • Thursday, July 16, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm – A Path to Beauty and Bounty: Building a Sustainable Eco-System

    For landscape designer Sanne Kure-Jensen, this path began with a historic farm dating to 1670. After years of ecologically-guided design, planting and maintenance, this Portsmouth, Rhode Island destination is a thriving landscape ecosystem and bountiful garden.

    The professionally designed, organically managed property includes a wildflower meadow, liberty lawn and honeybee apiary. Perennial and woodland gardens offer food and shelter for pollinators, birds and wildlife as well as compost inputs and firewood. Leaves, twigs, finished compost and wood ash feed soil life, continuing the cycle.

    Vegetable and herb gardens feed the homeowners with a comfortable balance between pests and beneficial insects. Fruit trees and shrubs benefit honeybees; homeowners share berries, fruit and honey. This organically managed property has received a Backyard Wildlife Habitat certification from the National Wildlife Federation. As you stroll through this idyllic property, you will learn how the garden welcomes diversity in plant, animal, insect and microbial life. Throughout the tour, Sanne will share tips for how you can create client enthusiasm for sustainable landscapes. Register for this Ecological Landscape Alliance tour, to be held on Thursday, July 16 from 4 – 6. $20 for ELA members, $30 for nonmembers. See more at: http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/a-path-to-beauty-and-bounty-building-a-sustainable-eco-system/#sthash.iQK6Ohuk.dpuf

  • Through July 31 – Trees and Reflections: Paintings by Erica S. Nazarro

    Erica S. Nazzaro has been expressing herself creatively through the arts all her life. She expresses the feeling a place conveys rather than the realistic image of what she sees. Erica is spontaneous and curious, using accidents as opportunities. Her painting is a meditative exercise where she becomes the vessel of connection between the environment, her feelings, and the materials she uses. Erica’s paintings are moments in nature captured and provides a serene and calming effect. She graduated from The School of the Museum Of Fine Arts in 1984 and went on to get her Masters in Social Work in 2003. She now combines her art and therapeutic work in a healing process with transitional age youth, families, and children. She is a member of Uforge Member Collective, Newton Watercolor Society, Jamaica Plain Artists Association and Hyde Park Artists Association. The July exhibit will take place at the Connolly Branch of the Boston Public Library, 433 Centre Street in Jamaica Plain.