Boston Flora

Month: January 2016

  • Tuesday, January 12, 6:30 pm – A Bazaar of Flavors: Bringing the Middle East to Boston

    The 2016 Ayer Mansion Lecture Series kicks off Tuesday, January 12 at 6:30 pm with Ana Sortun, Executive Chef and Owner and Maura Kilpatrick, Executive Pastry Chef, of Oleana Restaurant Group (Sofra, Oleana, and Sarma), with a program entitled A Bazaar of Flavors: Bringing the Middle East to Boston.  Wine and cheese will be served at 6:30 followed by the lecture at 7.  The Ayer Mansion is located at 395 Commonwealth Avenue, and tickets may be purchased online at http://www.AyerMansion.org.  $35 per person.

  • Thursday, January 28, 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Flora in Winter Opening Party

    This year’s Flora in Winter Opening Night Party at the Worcester Art Museum is not to be missed, with hors d’oeuvre, live music, and a cash bar. Make sure to dress in our theme: Winter White and Ice Blue. Reserve early by January 19 for discount: $25 WAM Members; $45 nonmembers; $25 students.
    After January 19 or at the door: $30 WAM Members; $50 nonmembers; $30 students; Member youth $4; nonmember youth $6  To buy tickets: Call 1-800-838-3006, or buy online at www.worcesterart.org.

  • Thursday, January 28 – Sunday, January 31 – Flora in Winter

    Come in from the winter cold to the warmth of Worcester Art Museum’s annual floral extravaganza, Flora in Winter, when the Museum blooms with flower arrangements inspired by works of art. This premier floral design event includes captivating and imaginative interpretations of artworks created by skilled arrangers from across the region, displayed in virtually every Museum gallery. Dates are Thursday, January 28 – Sunday, January 31, and the event is sponsored by People’s United Bank, and unum. WAM members free during exhibition hours, nonmembers $20. For more information go to www.worcesterart.org.

  • From the Archives: Window Boxes

    From the Archives: Window Boxes

    In May, 1973, as part of a planting project on Beacon Street which we will describe in a future “From the Archives” post, the Garden Club of the Back Bay sold window boxes to neighbors. Then-President Patsy Boyce admitted the idea was borrowed from the Beacon Hill Garden Club, and the boxes themselves were made by the North American Rockwell Corporation of Linesville, Pennsylvania, the same company BHGC used.  Included with each box was an eight page brochure on installing window boxes, and what to grow in them, including maintenance hints.

    Below is a shot of former Club members Ethel Dunlop and Ruth Eder selling one of 100 available window boxes to the Kilpatricks.

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  • Tuesday, January 12, 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm – A Global Herbaria: Collecting Plants Across the Ages and the Continents

    Tuesday, January 12, 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm – A Global Herbaria: Collecting Plants Across the Ages and the Continents

    An herbarium is a collection of pressed and dried plant material, and they have been collected throughout the ages to document plants that grow in different regions of the world, and their uses that are avidly studied by scientists. Why are these herbaria so important? Linnaeus knew, Emily Dickinson knew, Henry David Thoreau knew. Do you?

    Join Mass Hort and Julie McIntosh Shapiro, from the Harvard University Herbaria on Tuesday, January 12 at 1:30 pm in the Parkman Room of the Education Building, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley, as she takes us on a tantalizing journey through the Global Plant Initiative (GPI) project, where people participated from 75 countries, and Julie will show highlights from around the world as well as Mass Hort’s collections.

    Mass Hort Members $12 Non-Members $20. Register on line at http://www.masshort.org

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  • Thursday, January 14, 1:00 pm – Botanical Print Collection of the Boston Athenaeum

    Stanley Cushing, curator of rare books and manuscripts at the Boston Athenaeum, will welcome a small group from the Garden Club of the Back Bay on Thursday, January 14 in the Vershbow Special Collections Reading Room for a viewing of botanical images in the rare books collection. This special opportunity will be preceded by a docent-led tour of the building, beginning at 1 pm. If you are a member and plan to attend, please email info@bostonflora.com no later than Friday, January 8. Due to space limitations, the number of attendees is limited to 12, so responses will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis. Please indicate if you would like to be on a waitlist, should a vacancy occur. You will be contacted with a confirmation upon receipt of your rsvp. We are sorry but nonmember guests cannot be invited to this event. We will meet at the Athenaeum at 1 pm. There is no cost for this meeting.

  • Thursday, January 21, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm – Grow Your Own Sprouts

    Growing sprouts in your own kitchen is a great way to keep your diet fresh and local in the wintertime. Learn to sprout beans, lentils, sunflower seeds and more, at the Boston Public Market on Thursday, January 21 from 6 – 7:30. Trustees of Reservations Member Price $9; Nonmember $15.

    The Trustees, Massachusetts’ largest conservation and preservation nonprofit, offers exciting line up of culinary, health, and wellness programs being offered at the KITCHEN at the Boston Public Market in 2016. As a founding partner and the programming partner for the Market, the only all-locally sourced market of its kind in the nation, The Trustees offers daily events and programs at the 3,200 square foot, state-of-the art demonstration kitchen space in the Market. Run in tandem with the Market’s hours our operation (Wednesday-Sunday, 8AM-8PM), The Trustees’ programming is designed to connect Boston residents, commuters, and visitors to local food and healthy, active living and is conducted by both Trustees experts and educators, and partners who share the passion for this mission. These include Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, REI, Project Bread, Let’s Talk About Food, and many more. For more information visit www.thetrustees.org/KITCHEN.  Image from www.sproutman.com.

  • Wreath of the Day: The Final Wreath

    Wreath of the Day: The Final Wreath

    Today is our final Wreath of the Day post for the 2015 season.  Not that this exhausts our supply of pictures and beautiful wreaths by any means.  Stay tuned next fall when we begin our 2016 wreath sale promotions to see more.  Meanwhile, thank you to all our customers, donors, volunteers, and supporters for making this year so much fun, and so profitable for the neighborhood.

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  • Saturday, January 9, 12:30 pm – Annual Nepenthes Cutting and Propagation Workshop

    The New England Carnivorous Plant Society will meet on Saturday, January 9 at 12:30 pm at the Roger Williams Park Botanical Center for its popular Annual Nepenthes Cutting and Propagation Workshop, where members and guest are almost certain to take home a Nepenthes cutting or two.  For directions and more information visit www.necps.org.  Image from www.carnivorousplants.org.

  • Wreath of the Day: Handcrafted

    Wreath of the Day: Handcrafted

    The lacy bow and brown pine cones give this wreath, one of a coordinated set of four, a distinctly hand crafted feel, understated but suitable for a long stay on the Commonwealth Avenue building during the early winter.  That is, if winter ever comes …

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