Boston Flora

Month: October 2015

  • Sunday, November 1, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Artisan Bread Making

    The wonderful aroma of fresh baked bread awaits you at the Newton Community Farm on Sunday, November 1 from 2 – 3:30 pm. No need for kneading – with this recipe from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, you can enjoy fresh bread whenever you want it. You’ll learn to make a dough sponge that keeps in your refrigerator for up to two weeks; just take it out and bake, any time you crave fresh crusty bread. The dough can also be used for pizza crust, dinner rolls, cinnamon buns, and more. You’ll mix your own dough to take home from class, and learn to handle it so you can shape different types of bread. Bring a large container (at least 4 quart capacity) to take home a recipe’s worth of dough.

    General Public $25, Friend of the Farm $22.50. The farm is located at 303 Nahanton Street in Newton. Register on line at www.newtoncommunityfarm.org.

  • Sunday, November 8, 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm – Herbal Boosters for Winter Wellness

    Chris Marano, a well known and respected Massachusetts herbalist, will be introducing a winter preparation for our systems using Earth-based wisdom. As we start slowing down in the colder days, our systems can be nurtured herbally to keep the metabolism efficient for the holiday preparations. Learn how the traditional spices and herbs have more than a purpose of taste for this time of year. Come enjoy this fascinating lecture at Tower Hill Botanic Garden on Sunday, November 8, from 2:30 – 4 about Old World use of plants. Co-sponsored with the Herbal Community of Central Mass.

    Chris Marano RH (AHG), MA, BS, is a community herbalist of Western, Chinese, and Native American healing traditions, offering clinical health consultations and custom-blended herbal preparations for people seeking guidance on the path to wellness. Chris is also founder, director, and head educator of Clearpath Herbals, a school and center dedicated to the teaching and integration of holism, herbal medicine, and Earth-based wisdom. THBG members $25, nonmembers $35. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.  Image by B. Stachowski from www.ediblepioneervalley.com.

     

  • Saturday, November 7, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – The Radicle Underground

    Saturday, November 7, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – The Radicle Underground

    Join Dr. Peter Del Tredici of Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum on Saturday, November 7 from 10 – noon at Berkshire Botanical Garden for an exploration of the important relationship between plants and soil. Developing a clear understanding of what goes on below the ground will help make you a better gardener. Learn about the structure and function of woody- plant root systems as well as the practical aspects of when and how best to water and fertilize trees and shrubs. Dr. Del Tredici will also examine the all-important contribution that soil microorganisms make to the nutrition and survival of plants, both in nature and in cultivation. The lecture will also cover the pros and cons of various methods for “packaging” root systems in commercial nurseries and basic planting techniques. This lecture is a must for anyone who cares about their garden plants both large and small.

    Dr. Peter Del Tredici retired from the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University in 2014 after working there for 35 years as Plant Propagator, Curator of the Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection, Editor of Arnoldia, Director of Living Collections and Senior Research Scientist. Dr. Del Tredici is an Associate Professor in Practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where he has been teaching in the Landscape Architecture Department since 1992. He is the winner of the Arthur Hoyt Scott Medal and Award for 1999 presented by the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College, and in 2013 he was awarded the Veitch Gold Medal by The Royal Horticultural Society (England) “in recognition of services given in the advancement of the science and practice of horticulture.”

    You may register online ($25) at http://www.berkshirebotanical.org/event/peter-del-tredici-the-radicle-underground/?instance_id=3528 or call 413-298-3926, ext 15.

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  • Sunday, November 1, 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm – The Art of Raising Fancy Exhibition Chrysanthemums

    Learn everything you need to know about fine craft of raising, training and displaying fancy exhibition chrysanthemums in this Tower Hill Botanic Garden presentation by plantsman and blogger Matt Mattus, to be held Sunday, November 1, from 2:30 – 4. With cultural techniques that date back to the 15th century the chrysanthemum remained popular until the early 20th century, when the economics and interest in keeping such a collection, waned. Today, those fancy varieties (spiders, recurves and brush types) as well as their training methods (columns shields, arches, cascades) are rarely seen outside of the handful of specialist collectors and botanic gardens who continue to raise and display these flowers. Inspired by this deep tradition, plantsman Matt Mattus has dedicated much of his research in learning as much as he can about the culture and history of these flowers. He has amassed an important collection of exotic and vintage named varieties, which he grows and displays in his private greenhouse in Worcester. We’ve been able to convince Matt to share with us his not only his tips and tricks, but also some of the actual specimens. A slide presentation is included, full of tactical information such as where to find all the materials you will need to create your own display for next autumn. Free with admission.  Image from www.fhshh.com.

  • Wednesday, November 4, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Bringing Nature Home

    On Wednesday, November 4, from 7 – 8:30 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Doug Tallamy will discuss the important ecological roles of plants in landscapes, and emphasize the ecological, educational, physical and emotional benefits of designing landscapes with these roles in mind. Tallamy is a professor at the University of Delaware and won the Silver Medal from the Garden Writer’s Association for his book, Bringing Nature Home. His most recent book, with Rick Darke, is The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden. Tower Hill members $15, nonmembers $25.  Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Wednesday, October 28, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Fall Harvest Fest

    Wednesday, October 28, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Fall Harvest Fest

    Join Project Bread for Fall Harvest Fest the evening of October 28th, 2015 6PM-9PM at the BOSTON DESIGN CENTER for a celebration of the bounty of the season. The cocktail reception and dinner will support Project Bread’s Chefs In Schools program. The Honoree is Andrew Dreyfus, President & CEO, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, and the “FRESH APPROACH” AWARD RECIPIENT is the Honorable Brian S. Dempsey, Chair, Massachusetts House Committee on Ways and Means. Don’t have your tickets yet? $250 per person. Click here to purchase!  Learn more: www.projectbread.org/fallharvest

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  • Sunday, November 1, 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm – Second Nature: An Environmental History of New England

    On Sunday, November 1 at 2 pm at the Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston, Richard W. Judd, PhD, Adelaide & Alan Bird Professor of History, University of Maine, will explore the mix of ecological process and human activity that shaped that history over the past 12,000 years. He traces a succession of cultures through New England’s changing postglacial environment down to the 1600s, when the arrival of Europeans interrupted this coevolution of nature and culture. A long period of tension and warfare, inflected by a variety of environmental problems, opened the way for frontier expansion. This in turn culminated in a unique landscape of forest, farm, and village that has become the embodiment of what Judd calls second nature, culturally modified landscapes that have superseded a more pristine first nature. Judd will relate significant cultural and ecological changes that have influenced the evolution of the New England landscape over time. $10 fee. Call 617-384-5277 for more information.

  • Sunday, November 1, 1:00 pm – At the City’s Green Edge: A Planned Landscape for Turn of the 20th Century Worcester

    Susan McDaniel Ceccacci, author of the newly released book Living At the City’s Green Edge: Bancroft Heights, A Planned Neighborhood in Worcester, Massachusetts, discusses landscape planning and garden features found in Stephen Salisbury III’s comfortable residential subdivision. Al Southwick’s review of the book noted: “This is a remarkable book. I know of nothing like it. It stems from a local group’s decision to commemorate its neighborhood’s history and significance. The result is an outstanding chronical of an important slice of Worcester history. It will be referenced and quoted for years to come.” To be followed by a reception and book signing. This Tower Hill Botanic Garden event on Sunday, November 1 at 1 pm is free with admission.

  • Friday, November 6, 7:30 pm – Horticultural Insights into Plant Conservation and Climate Change

    Climate change is predicted to be a major threat to biodiversity in coming years. It is unclear how plant species will respond to this challenge: if they will be able to tolerate new climatic conditions in their native ranges, or if their dispersal and migration capacities will be sufficient to keep up as their preferred climate zones shift northward.

    Native plant horticulture in the eastern U.S. provides a largely untapped trove of data on these pressing questions, as many species have been grown outside their native ranges for decades and, in some cases, have even escaped to colonize new geographic areas. These data are helping to recalibrate ecological models and guide the development of new conservation approaches, including controversial steps like “assisted migration”.

    Dr. Jesse Bellemare is an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Smith College. His research focuses on plant ecology, biogeography, and conservation in relation to climate change, as well as ecosystem changes caused by exotic species. He will speak on Friday, November 6 at 7:30 pm in the Campus Center Carroll Room as the Fall Chrysanthemum Show Opening Lecture.

    A reception and preview of the Fall Chrysanthemum Show at the Lyman Plant House will follow. For more information visit https://www.smith.edu/garden/Home/events.html The Chrysanthemum Show, featuring ikebana by Smith College Students, runs from Saturday, November 7 – Sunday, November 22, 10 – 4 daily. Friday extended hours 10 – 8. Suggested donation $5.

  • Sunday, October 25, 3:00 pm – Boston Farmers Dinner

    Sunday, October 25, 3:00 pm – Boston Farmers Dinner

    Imagine shutting down a street in Boston to host a festive farm to table dinner while hearing stories from local farmers. How about in the historic financial district as a menu of farm fresh cuisine is served to your table? For the first time in Boston’s history, such an event is taking place on Sunday, October 25th, 2015 at 3 pm on Franklin Street. Gathered under the Boston autumn sky, we’ll be presenting the first ever Boston Farmers Dinner.

    Franklin Street (from the cross streets of Broad St. to Batterymarch St.) will be closed to traffic for a Farm To Table inspired dinner featuring locally sourced items from area farms. Long, linen-clad tables will be set up in two rows down the middle of the street with seating for over 200 guests.

    This five-course dinner, artfully created and prepared by Umbria Prime’s chefs, will feature an optional wine pairing for an additional fee. While enjoying the fresh, local food, guests will hear from a variety of speakers on pertinent topics including the farmers who provided the food for the event. Local activists (such as past Garden Club of the Back Bay speaker Jessie Benhazl) who share a similar mission will speak about topics such as biodiversity and sustainability. This event allows people to come together and not only enjoy local food, but also find out how to better support local farms.

    Event organizer Keith Sarasin of The Farmers Dinner along with support from Umbria Restaurant have prepared a fantastic evening of local fine dining. “We are bringing the farm to the city to help educate, inspire and enjoy really good food,” Sarasin said. The Farmers Dinner hosts events across the north east, shutting down city streets bringing the farm to the city in these farm to table style events. Tickets are $50 and up, and tickets are available online at http://www.thefarmersdinner.com/event/the-boston-farmers-dinner/

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