Learn how to combine fruits, vegetables and nuts with locally harvested greens, berries and candles for a creative holiday decoration. Betsy Williams will teach this Tower Hill Botanic Garden workshop on Sunday, November 13 from 1 – 3. Take home a decorated gourd and boxwood apple candle. All materials and handouts included in the fee of $50 for Tower Hill members, $65 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.
The glitter of gold and the sparkle of silver will dazzle you as you tour two magnificent mansions decked out in Yuletide finery. The Breakers and Marble House–two National Historic Landmarks and icons of the Gilded Age in America–are filled with thousands of poinsettias, fresh flowers, evergreens and wreaths. Decorated Christmas trees reflecting individual room decor anchor many of the magnificent spaces. Dining tables set with period silver and china complete the elegant setting. And windows of each mansion are lit with individual white candles, in keeping with the colonial tradition. A working garden scale model of the Vanderbilt family’s New York Central Railroad will be on display in the second floor loggia of The Breakers, traveling through a village made up of gingerbread replicas of some of the Newport Mansions, created by local pastry chefs.
Thursday, December 1, leave Tower Hill at 8am and return by 5:30pm. If you wish to meet the group in Newport please call 508-869-6111. Tower Hill Member $125, Non-member $150, includes transportation, lunch, and admissions to the Breakers and Marble House. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.
Turn your lopsided, non-blooming, multi-crowned African Violet into an object of beauty on Sunday, November 13 from 11 – 3 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston. You bring the plants – the Society will provide new pots, fresh potting mix, and good advice. $1 per pot. Admission to Garden is separate. For more information visit www.towerhillbg.org or call 508-869-6111, ext 124.
Please join apple historian and orchardist John Bunker at The Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley on Tuesday, November 15 at 1:30 pm for an entertaining history of New England’s iconic fruit. John will take us back 400 years to the first Massachusetts orchards, from the times when everyone made cider to the introduction of widespread grafting, from the era of the small self sufficient farm to the commodity orchards of today. He’ll tell us about the famous Massachusetts varieties, where they originated, how they disappeared and the recent efforts to rescue them.
John grew up in Concord, Massachusetts and Palo Alto, California. He’s lived in Palermo, Maine for the past 45 years. There he farms and tends orchards with Cammy Watts. He has coordinated nursery sales at Fedco Trees since its beginning in 1984. He is active in the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and directs the Maine Heritage Orchard in Unity. Mass Hort Member Cost: $12 Non Member Cost $20. Register online at http://www.masshort.org.
This entirely self-paced New England Wild Flower Society online course with Dr. Elizabeth Farnsworth will teach you the basics of designing with native plants and show you how to incorporate native plants into your garden and landscape. Discover the variety of native plants found throughout New England and learn how to design a visually interesting landscape that also supports biodiversity. Students complete the course at their own pace.
Open enrollment begins Monday, November 14 and ends Sunday, April 2. $64 for NEWFS members, $80 for nonmembers. Register at http://newenglandwild.org/learn/our-programs/designing-with-native-plants
Ben Taylor, Chair of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy’s board of directors and former publisher of the Boston Globe, has been a strong park advocate and champion of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy since before he joined the board in 2002. His guidance and leadership of the board have helped the Conservancy fulfill its ongoing mission to restore and improve the park for all. An avid proponent of the critical importance of the Emerald Necklace to sustain the quality of life in the city, Ben is one of the park’s strongest advocates and supporters. An enthusiastic park user himself, Ben walks or bikes pathways of the Emerald Necklace almost daily.
An Emerald Evening will be held on November 10, 2016 at 6 pm in the Koch Gallery of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The evening will include a reception and the awarding of the Olmsted Award of Excellence to our honored guest. All proceeds from the event will directly support the Conservancy’s programming in the Emerald Necklace park system. For more information visit www.emeraldnecklace.org.
The Olmsted Award of Excellence is awarded biennially to an individual or organization who demonstrates an unwavering determination to carry out Frederick Law Olmsted’s vision and commitment to urban parks. The inaugural award, made in 2013, was presented to park supporter and advocate, Sarah Freeman. The 2014 award honored former Governor Michael Dukakis.
Tickets ($250) may be purchased online at https://25749.thankyou4caring.org/emeraldevening2016
