Boston Flora

Month: January 2016

  • Saturday, January 23, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Bare Trees and Naked Shrubs

    No leaves? No problem! Boot Boutwell and the New England Wild Flower Society will use a combination of branching patterns, bud and bark characteristics, habitat, persistent fruits, galls, and marcescent leaves to help identify woody plants in winter. The program will begin indoors at the Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary on 127 Combs Road in Easthampton, Massachusetts. We will then head outdoors to the Sanctuary for a close-up look at 15- 20 common trees and shrubs. The program will conclude indoors with a twig quiz and a hot beverage. Bring a bag lunch and a hand lens if you have one. Co-sponsored with Massachusetts Audubon Society. $25 for members of a sponsoring organization, $30 for nonmembers. Register online at www.newfs.org. Image of Arcadia in winter courtesy of the Boston Globe.

  • Saturday, January 30, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – The Indestructible Houseplant

    The Berkshire Botanical Garden, 5 West Stockbridge Road in Stockbridge, presents author Tovah Martin on Saturday, January 30 for a stimulating lecture based on her book The Indestructible Houseplant. Grow houseplants that will prosper. Get recommendations for dozens of low-maintenance, tough windowsill companions that can survive and thrive despite challenging conditions. Also get suggestions for new varieties as well as creative ideas for containers. Get information about watering, fertilization and ongoing care. BBG members $15, nonmembers $20. Register online at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

  • Monday, September 19 – Friday, September 30 – Art, Food, and Wine of Italy

    Tower Hill Botanic Garden is sponsoring a trip September 19 – 30, 2016, to the Italian Lakes Region, the Italian Riviera, the Tuscan countryside, Florence, Siena, Bologna, and Venice.  Learn about this small group travel experience trip on Saturday, January 23 at 1 pm at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, and mark you calendar for February 12, the deposit due date.  If you are unable to make the January 23 presentation but would like to learn more about the trip, call 508-869-6111, x 124.

  • Wednesday, January 20, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Meditations in Ink: Introduction to Asian Brush Painting

    Students in this January 20 Massachusetts Horticultural Society workshop will focus on Calligraphy and Iris painting in ink and color.This workshop is for those interested in learning and using the traditional tools and techniques of Asian Brush Painting (aka “sumi-e” in Japan). Through step-by-step instructor demonstrations and hands-on brush painting projects using the “Four Treasures” (bamboo brushes, hand ground ink, inkstone, and rice paper) you will explore this ancient and elegant art and leave class with two completed works. NO ART EXPERIENCE NECESSARY. Against a backdrop of meditative music, this workshop is your doorway to the exciting yet contemplative world of Asian art! This day long class runs from 10 – 4 in the Putnam Building, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley.

    Bruce Iverson is an artist who has specialized in Asian Brush Painting (sumi-e in Japan) since 1972 with master brush painters Jean Shen, Ning Yeh, and I-Hsiung Ju. He has exhibited in group and juried shows throughout the United States and has had several one-man shows in New England. He has traveled to China for a deeper understanding of the context of brush painting and is a juried member of the New Hampshire Art Association. His work is grounded in a three thousand year old tradition in which the tools, techniques and philosophy of this Asian art form have had a lifelong resonance. Additional information about Bruce can be found at his website www.iversonarts.com Instructor will provide supplies. Students must provide their own lunch and beverages.Mass Hort Members $150 Non-Members $180, Register online at www.masshort.org.

  • Wednesday, January 20, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm – “Beyond LID” Green Infrastructure

    Low Impact Development (LID) has become an increasingly widespread sustainable approach to site planning and stormwater management design. In this Ecological Landscape Alliance webinar on Wednesday, January 20 from 2 – 3, Jonathan Ford, PE and Brian Kuchar, PE, RLA, will review the fundamental LID principles, then demonstrate innovative “beyond LID” advancements including neighborhood scale environmental design, “lovable” infrastructure, bioretention and permeable pavement case studies in various contexts, bioretention planting approaches, and solutions to address perceived LID stormwater maintenance and operation challenges.

    Brian Kuchar has over 18 years of experience in the combined fields of site engineering and landscape architecture including: site inventory assessment and planning, park and trail design, erosion control, stormwater management, green infrastructure, ecological and stream bank restoration, land management planning, public outreach, and construction administration. Brian has been employed in both the public and private sectors and has experience with a broad range of projects including multi use paths, park and riverwalk design, land use management, stormwater retrofit, green infrastructure and ecological restoration. He collaborated with the EPA on the development of a handbook for urban green infrastructure and stormwater retrofits as part of the EPA’s Green Infrastructure Municipal Handbook Series. Brian is a registered landscape architect as well as a registered professional engineer and a LEED accredited professional, and previously served as an adjunct professor in the Landscape Architecture Department at the University of Rhode Island.

    Jon Ford, PE, is a Senior Project Manager at the Horsley Witten Group. His planning and design approach is based on the principles of New Urbanism and the belief that compact, walkable neighborhood design creates vibrant, livable places in balance with nature. Mr. Ford is a Knight Fellow in Community Building at the University of Miami’s School of Architecture, co-founder and past President of the New England Chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), and on the faculty of the Form Based Codes Institute. His projects have won numerous awards, including a CNU New England Award of Excellence, Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence Silver Medal, and Boston Society of Landscape Architects Honor Award. He serves on the Board of Directors of the New England Chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism, Ecological Landscape Alliance, and Blackstone Parks Conservancy. Free for ELA members, $10 for nonmembers – See more at: http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/beyond-lid-green-infrastructure/#sthash.ai2ui447.dpuf 

  • Saturday, January 23, 10:30 am – 12:30 am – Pot Et Fleur

    Plant a lovely winter garden to grow indoors while you are waiting for the garden to grow outdoors! Combine potted plants with fresh cut flowers in a decorative container. With proper care, the plants will last for many months and the fresh flowers can be replaced when desired. Please bring floral scissors and an apron to this Tower Hill Botanic Garden class on Saturday, January 23 from 10:30 – 12:30. Plants, flowers, container and mechanics will be supplied by the instructor, Betsy Williams.

    To register for this event, please call Gayle Holland (508) 869-6111 x124 or email gholland@towerhillbg.org. Online registration is currently in the process of being revamped, but THBG member price is $75, nonmember price $90.  Photo from www.welwynflorist.co.uk.

  • Thursday, January 21, 10:30 am – 11:30 am – Wow for the Windowsill: Outstanding Houseplants

    Patrick Hillman, Staff Horticulturist at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, will take you on an expert-led look at the Limonaia and Orangerie at Tower Hill, both filled with wonderful plants that can be grown in smaller sizes on your windowsill.  Cost is included with admission.  Register by calling 508-869-6111 x 124, or email registrar@towerhillbg.org.

  • Tuesday, January 19, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Year-Round Indoor Salad Gardening

    Discover the Low-Tech, No-Grow-Lights Approach to Abundant Harvest. On Tuesday, January 19, from 7 – 8:30 in the Parkman Room of Mass Hort’s Education Building, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley, home grower and author Peter Burke will demonstrate how he plants his greens year round, and discuss his method found in his newest book Year-Round Indoor Salad Gardening. Come for a demo, a chance to ask questions and to start your own.

    Year-Round Indoor Salad Gardening offers good news: with nothing more than a cupboard and a windowsill, you can grow all the fresh salad greens you need for the winter months (or throughout the entire year) with no lights, no pumps, and no greenhouse. The book will be for sale at this lecture.

    Longtime gardener Peter Burke was tired of the growing season ending with the first frost, but due to his busy work schedule and family life, didn’t have the time or interest in high-input grow lights or greenhouses. There had to be a simpler way to grow greens for his family indoors.

    Burke found a way- he didn’t even need a south-facing window, and he already had most of the needed supplies just sitting in his pantry. The result: healthy, homegrown salad greens at a fraction of the cost of buying them at the market. The secret: start them in the dark. Growing “Soil Sprouts”—Burke’s own descriptive term for sprouted seeds grown in soil as opposed to in jars—employs a method that encourages a long stem without expansive roots, and provides delicious salad greens in just seven to ten days, way earlier than any other method, with much less work. Mass Hort Members $12 Non-Members $20

    Register online at www.masshort.org.

  • Saturdays, January 16 and January 23, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Botanical Notebook: Art Journaling in the Limonaia

    On two Saturdays, January 16 and January 23, at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, create a record of your botanical observations in the Limonaia, and learn a valuable new skill to draw upon! Artist/illustrator Helen Byers will explain and demonstrate techniques involved in keeping a botanical journal that’s personal, artful, and informative. You’ll learn what kinds of plant features to record, how to sketch and/or paint what you see, and what kinds of notes to make. A list of recommended supplies will be sent to registrants. To see galleries of Helen’s work and slideshows from her courses, visit www.helenbyers.com. This Tower Hill Botanic Garden class is full, but lease call Gayle at 508-869-6111 ext. 124 to be put on a waiting list. Cost: THBG Member $110, Non-member $130.

  • Wednesday, January 13, 7:00 pm – Steeped

    Get your oolong on at Porter Square Books, 25 White Street in Cambridge, on Wednesday, January 13 at 7 pm! From morning eats to evening sweets, Steeped infuses your day with the flavors and fragrances of tea. Romance your oat porridge with rooibos, jazz up your brussel sprouts with jasmine, charge your horchata with masala chai. Annelies Zijderveld’s deliciously inventive tea-steeped recipes include:

    Matcha Chia Pudding Parfaits
    Earl Grey Soba Noodle Salad
    Green Tea Coconut Rice
    Chamomile Buttermilk Pudding with Caramelized Banana
    Earl Grey Poached Pears with Masala Chai Caramel Sauce

    This beautiful book will inspire you to pull out your favorite teas, fire up the stove, and get steeping. Annelies Zijderveld is a food writer and creator of the literary food blog, the food poet, selected by Alimentum Journal as one of their favorite food blogs. Her passion for working with good food companies started during her 8 years heading up marketing at Mighty Leaf Tea. She is the digital media newsletter editor for the International Association of Culinary Professionals and an associate editor of Poetry International. Her work has been published on Today, Edible Sacramento, Remedy Quarterly, Arthouse America and others. She holds an MFA in poetry from New England College and lives in Oakland with her husband and sourdough pet, Salvatore.