Boston Flora

Month: September 2015

  • Tuesdays, October 6 – 27, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm, Saturday, October 17, 12:00 noon – 4:00 pm, and Saturday, October 24, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm – Framework Trees of New England

    Forests are a dominant feature of the New England landscape. Join instructor Karen Sebastian and the New England Wild Flower Society as we explore the history, changes in composition, and ecology of the New England forest from the Ice Age through European settlement. Learn to identify native New England trees, their habitats, and their communities. Explore the impact of natural and human disturbances on the forested landscape and learn to recognize stands of different ages. In addition to the four Tuesday sessions (October 6 – 27 from 6:30 – 8:30), two weekend field trips will be held off-site. $246 for NEWFS members, $290 for nonmembers. Register on line at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/framework-trees-of-new-england.

  • Saturdays, October 3 and November 7, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm – Propagating Trees and Shrubs from Cuttings and Seeds

    Need to nurture? Then join longtime Arboretum propagator Jack Alexander at the Dana Greenhouses at the Arnold Arboretum to learn basic information and techniques for propagating most woody plants. Session One on Saturday, October 3 from 9 – 4 includes a lecture and workshop on seed propagation and construction of a propagation case. Session Two on November 7 will be a lecture and workshop on hardwood cuttings. You will leave class with numerous cuttings and seeds to care for. To participate, you must sign an Assumption of Risk and Release in order to practice the techniques taught in class. Bring a lunch and beverage. If you own hand pruners, bring them to class. A sharp knife and an apron may also be helpful. You will be collecting propagules from the Arboretum grounds on both afternoons regardless of weather, so dress accordingly and wear comfortable shoes. Fee $180 Arboretum member, $230 nonmember. Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.

  • Sunday, October 4, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Sustainable Wild Foraging

    Whether you are preparing for the zombie apocalypse or simply enjoy nibbling while hiking, join Dan Jaffe of the New England Wild Flower Society on Sunday, October 4 from 10 – 2 at Garden in the Woods for a rundown on the wild foods you can find in the woodlands and meadows of New England. Issues of sustainability, time of harvest, preparation, and recipes will be covered. Bring a bag lunch. $53 for NEWFS members, $64 for nonmembers. Field sites will be visited, so dress appropriately for the outdoors. Register at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/sustainable-wild-foraging.  Image, and we kid you not, from www.zombie-guide.com.

  • Tuesday, October 6, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – The Brother Gardeners

    Historian Andrea Wulf will speak at the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum on Tuesday, October 6, from 7 – 8:30. Bringing to life the science and adventure of eighteenth-century plant collecting, The Brother Gardeners is the story of how six men created the modern garden and changed the horticultural world in the process. It is a story of a garden revolution that began in America. In 1733, colonial farmer John Bartram shipped two boxes of precious American plants and seeds to Peter Collinson in London. Around these men formed the nucleus of a botany movement, which included famous Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus; Philip Miller, bestselling author of The Gardeners Dictionary; and Joseph Banks and David Solander, two botanist explorers, who scoured the globe for plant life aboard Captain Cook’s Endeavor. As they cultivated exotic blooms from around the world, they helped make Britain an epicenter of horticultural and botanical expertise. The Brother Gardeners paints a vivid portrait of an emerging world of knowledge and gardening as we know it today.
    Fee: free for sponsor members, $20 nonmembers. Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277. Offered with the Massachusetts Historical Society.

  • Saturdays, October 3 and October 10, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Celebrate Royalston 250th

    As part of the town of Royalston’s 250th celebration, the Royalston Open Space and Recreation Committee and the Athol Bird and Nature Club are cosponsoring Saturday walks this fall to five outdoor gems, each from 10 a.m. to noon. The first walk is to the top of Mount Tully along part of the Tully Trail on October 3, led by Carl Kamp, past president of the Massachusetts Butterfly Club and an avid naturalist and photographer. Meet at the Tully Lake Campground parking lot on Doane Hill Rd. Next, explore a section of the New England Trail (formerly called the M&M Trail) on October 10, led by Paul Montero, Royalston’s representative to the NET. A professional land surveyor, Montero will also demonstrate compass use. Meet at the Royalston Falls trailhead on Rte. 32 (Newton Cemetery). Other dates and venues will be announced. All the walks are weather permitting. If in doubt, call Paul Montero at 978-249-5879 by 9 a.m. on any walk morning. Royalston Falls is pictured below.

  • Monday, October 5, 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm – The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World

    Andrea Wulf reveals in her new book the extraordinary life of the visionary German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) and how he created the way we understand nature today. She will speak on Monday, October 5 beginning at 5:30 at the Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston Street in Boston.

    Though almost forgotten today, his name lingers everywhere from the Humboldt Current to the Humboldt penguin. Humboldt was an intrepid explorer and the most famous scientist of his age. Wulf traces Humboldt’s influences through the great minds he inspired in revolution, evolution, ecology, conservation, art and literature. In The Invention of Nature, Wulf brings this lost hero to science and the forgotten father of environmentalism back to life. Fee: free for Arnold Arboretum and Massachusetts Historical Society members, $20 nonmembers. Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.

  • Wednesday, September 30, 5:30 pm – Wilderness in America: A History of America and the Land from Conquest to Conservation

    America has a conservation legacy unmatched anywhere in the world. Almost 30 percent of the land in the United States—National Parks, National Forests, wild rivers, wilderness and other lands—are owned by the people of the United States. This film, Wilderness in America, tells the story of four centuries of American history and describes a changing view of the land by a number of leaders, writers, artists, photographers, teachers, and organizations. Join the Arnold Arboretum and the Massachusetts Historical Society on Wednesday, September 30 for a reception at 5:30 pm at the MHS headquarters, 1154 Boylston Street in Boston, followed by a Fulcrum Film screening at 6. Free, but registration requested at www.my.arboretum.harvard.edu or by calling 617-384-5277.  You may see a trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvbyLW-rdU4.

  • Saturday, October 3, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Pruning

    Learn essential gardening skills at Garden in the Woods in Framingham.  On Saturday, October 3 from 2 – 3 pm, experts will show you how to get the most beautiful results in your garden.  Fee is $16 for NEWFS members, $20 for nonmembers.  Register at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/weekend-gardening-series-pruning-1.

  • Wednesday, September 30, 12:15 pm – 1:00 pm – Blacklisted: A Planted Allegory

    This multi-modal project stems from the ground research of collecting, studying and digging into the histories of invasive plant species in Claremont, California. Restricting her investigation to vegetation classified as invasive by the California Invasive Species Advisory Committee, artist Jenny Yurshansky was able to determine which invasive species have infiltrated the local area. At its root the project investigates the distinction between native versus invasive species. The discourse surrounding a list of “invasive” or “alien” flora species has interesting and fruitful correlations to policies regarding immigration, multiculturalism and evolving ideas about national identities that are inherently tied to the identity of border cultures and specifically California, a location that has carried the name of a number of nations throughout the historical record. Learn about Yurshansky’s process and discoveries in this creative look at invasive species, on Wednesday, September 30 from 12:15 – 1 in the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum (bring your lunch.)
    Free – Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.

  • Saturday, October 3, 9:00 am – 3:30 pm – Measuring Soil Health and Managing Site Challenges in an Urban Landscape

    Saturday, October 3, 9:00 am – 3:30 pm – Measuring Soil Health and Managing Site Challenges in an Urban Landscape

    This hands-on, indoor/outdoor workshop at Garden in the Woods on Saturday, October 3 from 9 – 3:30 introduces the concept of the soil health assessment and the implementation of soil health indicators for evaluating the biological, chemical, and physical attributes of soil as they pertain to the constraints of a site. Use of these soil health indicators will help landscape architects, garden designers, arborists, and landscape professionals determine the appropriate products, tools, equipment, and techniques needed to correct soil constraints and to develop a seasonal maintenance plan for a newly installed landscape, from installation to establishment and on to maturity. Bring a bag lunch. Taught by Chuck Sherzi, Jr., the fee is $86 for NEWFS and Ecological Landscape Alliance members, $104 for nonmembers. Register online at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/managing-soil-health-and-managing-site-challenges-in-an-urban-landscape.

    Soil-Workshop-Graphic1