On Wednesday, September 14, from 9:30 – 11:30 at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, 33 Marrett Road in Lexington, Quentin Prideaux will cover the impacts and causes of climate change, the actions we need to take, and what it all means for Massachusetts and the Northeast. His highly informative free presentations are visually appealing and even funny! The event is sponsored by the Lexington Field and Garden Club. For more information call 781-860-7440, or email lfgc.pr@gmail.com.
Acquire a knowledge of the skills required for creating and maintaining beautiful and successful container gardens. Container gardening expert Jenna O’Brien starts with techniques for overwintering tropicals, tender perennials, bulbs, and annuals without a greenhouse by teaching participants how to store dormant plants, collect and save seeds, and take divisions and cuttings. Jenna also shares her thorough knowledge of plants that thrive in containers and how to care for them. This 3 session Berkshire Botanical Garden class will cover practical approaches to container gardening such as plants that do double duty as houseplants in the winter and as outdoor plants in the summer. The class also is filled with advice on container selection, siting, planting, growing, controlling pests, and maintaining moveable gardens. Meeting Mondays, September 12, 19, and 26 from 5:30 – 8:30, the cost is $150, and you may register online at www.berkshirebotanical.org.
Jenna O’Brien owns Viridissima, a garden design and maintenance business. Her specialties include perennial garden design, container design and culture, indoor gardening, and houseplants. She teaches at area horticultural organizations and has completed the Horticulture Certificate Program at the Berkshire Botanical Garden.
Join Massachusetts Audubon Society at the Redbrook Harvestfest being held on September 17th from 10 – 2, sponsored by Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary and Great Neck Wildlife Sanctuary. The annual event is held in partnership with the the A.D. Makepeace Company, the Redbrook Community in Plymouth and Old Colony YMCA and features live cranberry harvesting, wagon rides, music, food, vendors, children’s activities, and site tours. We’ll have a table and will be leading guided walks and hosting crafts for kids of all ages – stop on by!
Directions to Redbrook for GPS: 237 Wareham Road, Plymouth, MA 02360; free, and registration not required. For more information visit www.massaudubon.org.
HUBweek 2016, a festival for the future, will take place in Boston September 25 – October 1. Founded by The Boston Globe, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Massachusetts General Hospital, you will explore the topics and meet the thought leaders shaping our tomorrow. At HUBweek, the sponsors believe that sharing accelerates innovation and creativity and that Boston is where the future is being built. They invite you to join over 70 organizations and 50,000 participants in 2016 for a look behind-the-scenes – visit labs, companies, and creative spaces. Meet those who are making an impact, from policy leaders and researchers to investors, founders and creatives. Explore, imagine, and exchange ideas that are shaping your tomorrow. Open Registration is available at www.hubweek.org.
Join Berkshire Botanical Garden staff members Elisabeth Cary and Dorthe Hviid for a three-day Study Tour in Greater Philadelphia, October 13 – 15. The cornerstone of this trip includes attendance at the Perennial Plant Conference held at the extraordinary Scott Arboretum, located on the campus of Swarthmore College. Attended by professionals and avid home gardeners from the northeast and mid-Atlantic states, this conference is by far the most sophisticated, cutting-edge gardening conference held on the East Coast. This three-day trip includes transportation, tours of exceptional gardens both public and private, and admission to a world-class gardening conference. There will also be a bit of free time for relaxing and resting weary feet! On the return trip, the group will make a side trip to Terrain, the fabulous garden life-style store located in Glen Mills, PA. The staff is eager to share this wonderful gardening adventure with you.
Included in the cost:
Motor-coach transportation
Registration fees for attendance of the Perennial Plant Conference at Swarthmore College (2016 speakers include Cassian Schmidt, Director of Hermannshof, the seminal German naturalistic botanical garden; Seattle-based landscape designer Richard Hartlage; Canadian garden personality Larry Hodgson; Peter Zale, Curator of Plants at Longwood Garden; Jessica Walliser, author of Attracting Beneficial Bugs to the Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control; and Jared Barnes of NC State University Department of Horticulture). Tours of two private gardens as well as Chanticleer Garden, Longwood Garden, and The Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College. A two-night stay (double occupancy) at the Radnor Hotel on Philadelphia’s Main Line in Wayne, PA, conveniently located near area gardens, plus all breakfasts and lunches and a wine reception.
Evening meals are on your own; a variety of different restaurants are located within walking distance of the hotel. This excursion departs Thursday, October 13 at 7:30am from BBG and returns Saturday, October 15 at 7pm.
Cost: $975. A deposit of $400 is due upon registration. To register, call 413-298-3926, x 10 or x15. To download Registration Form and Tour Contract visit https://berkshirebotanical.org/education/field-trips/.
Discover the perfect plant to enliven your garden or window sill at The Somerville Garden Club Annual Plant Sale on Saturday, September 17 from 9 – 1 at Davis Square, at the intersection of College Avenue and Holland Street. Perennials for sun and shade, plus a wide variety of house plants, will be featured, as well as herbs, shrubs, and ground covers. Choose from hundreds of plants donated by both Somerville Garden Club members and community friends of the Club. Visit the Connoisseur Table for that unique specimen or find a tried-and-true favorite. This year we will also have field-grown hostas from Fox Hollow Farm in Huntington, NY. There’s something for everyone! Horticultural books, decorative containers, and garden tools will also be for sale. Experienced gardeners will be available to answer questions and assist with plant selections. And the littlest gardeners will enjoy the Children’s Table.
Proceeds benefit the educational programs and public plantings of the all-volunteer, non-profit Somerville Garden Club. For additional information visit www.somervillegardenclub.org.
Wondering what to do in the fall with all those special patio plants that you have slaved over for the summer months? On Saturday, September 10, from 2 – 4:30 at Berkshire Botanical Garden, horticulturist and Viridissima owner Jenna O’Brien will pass along tricks of the trade to gardeners so that they can protect their tender perennials, house plants, woody potted specimens and succulent collections and encourage these plants to thrive during the winter season. Topics will include cultivation, fertilizing, watering, and health management as participants learn by doing and will leave with some plants to take home and carry through the winter. Overwintering and simple propagation techniques will help gardeners multiply their plant supply for the next season’s garden and save money next season (or spend it on something else) at the nursery. Bring hand pruners.
Jenna O’Brien owns Viridissima, a garden maintenance and design business. Her specialties include perennial garden design, container design and culture, indoor gardening, and houseplants. She teaches for area horticultural organizations and has completed the Horticulture Certificate Program at the Berkshire Botanical Garden. BBG members $25, nonmembers $30. Register online at www.berkshirebotanical.org.
