Boston Flora

Month: May 2017

  • Sunday, June 4, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Pest Walk with The Trustees Gardener

    Join The Trustees of Reservations Superintendent and Horticulturist Kevin Block on Sunday, June 4 from 10 – noon at the Stevens-Coolidge Place in North Andover for this gardening workshop on pests. Learn all about techniques for identifying and combating pests and pathogens in your garden. Together, we will walk through the gardens, looking for symptoms that can help you identify any developing problems in your garden. With each issue we will discuss the best practices for managing the pest or pathogen so your garden can stay healthy and thriving all season long. Trustees member price $24, nonmember $30. Register on line at www.trustees.org or call 978-689-9105, ext 1.

  • Wednesday, June 7, 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm – Grand Opening Ceremony for the George Robert White Memorial Fountain

    Thanks to financial contributions from many neighbors, the George Robert White Memorial Fountain and the surrounding landscape in the Boston Public Garden have been beautifully restored! You are invited to join The Friends of the Public Garden on Wednesday, June 7 at 4:00 pm for the grand opening ceremony in the Public Garden. They will be celebrating the completion of this wonderful project which was only made possible thanks to generous community support, including contributions by The Garden Club of the Back Bay.

    They will also dedicate a beautiful red horse chestnut tree in memory of Anne Brooke, the Friends late Board chair, who is celebrated for her inspired leadership of the Friends and this special restoration project. For more information visit www.friendsofthepublicgarden.org.

  • Sunday, June 11, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – The Wonderful World of Basils

    On Sunday, June 11, from 1 – 4 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston, explore the fascinating and delicious world of basils with Betsy Williams. There are dozens of varieties of culinary basil: basils with huge leaves, basils with tiny leaves, basils from Asia, Italy and Greece, tall elegant basils, purple and variegated basils. There are basils that smell like cinnamon, cloves, lime and lemon: there is even a basil that smells like black walnuts. Learn the long, curious history of basil, its magical and medicinal associations and how it became America’s favorite culinary herb. We’ll smell and nibble different types of basil, discuss its growing requirements, how to use it in the kitchen and ways to preserve it. Students will enjoy a tasting of basil butter, vinegar, sauce and wine. Each person will plant 3 10″ pots of three varieties of basil to take home and enjoy during the warm days of summer.

    Please bring an apron and floral scissors to class. Recipe sheets are included. All materials included. $65 for Tower Hill members, $85 for nonmembers.  Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.

    Betsy Williams teaches, lectures and writes about living with herbs and flowers. A gardener and herb grower since 1972, Betsy trained as a florist in Boston and England. She combines her floral and gardening skills with an extensive knowledge of history, plant lore and seasonal celebrations. Betsy is the author of several books on the uses and stories of herbs and flowers. She has appeared on the Discovery Channel and greater Boston cable stations as well as local and national radio talk shows. Betsy lectures and teaches locally and nationally.   Image from www.kingbasils.com.

  • Through June 18 – Resilient Landscapes of Marblehead and Cape Ann, Viewed Through the Prism of Ecology and Stories

    Enjoy the blending of art and ecology from May 6-June 18 at the Marblehead Arts Association exhibit Resilient Landscapes of Marblehead and Cape Ann: Viewed through the Prism of Ecology and Stories. Resilient landscapes, as defined by The Nature Conservancy, preserve biodiversity and sustain natural strongholds. They help us endure and survive as humans. But they need care, maintenance and management in order to sustain these special qualities. Unspoiled open spaces and landscapes are part of our legacy to our children and grandchildren. We look at the resilient landscape through the lens of stories which illustrate ’emotional geography.’

    The Nature Conservancy (TNC), drawing on cutting-edge research by Dr. Mark Anderson, defines a climate-change resilient site as “an area of land with sufficient variability and microclimate options to enable species and ecosystems to persist in the face of climate change, and which will maintain this ability over time.” By examining TNC resilience maps for both Halibut Point and Dogtown (below) we see how the varied landforms with steep elevational changes—the rocky coastland, upland forests, and water-covered quarries—create microclimates that provide temperature and moisture options for wildlife and plants. These microclimates allow the inhabitant to persist at the site and buffer them from the effects of the regional climate. A recent study by the Nature Conservancy identified the Dogtown quarries and Halibut Point as among the most resilient places within the North Atlantic Coastal region.

    Susan Quateman and Leslie Bartlett, SQ /LB Artist Collaboration, are landscape and environmental artists on Boston’s North Shore. Susan is a silk painter, urban planner and writer; Leslie is a photographer, local historian and graphic designer. We fuse our skills to create vibrant silk paintings, photography and text for indoor/outdoor art exhibits on the effects of climate change on the coastal landscape. Susan is from London, UK;
    Leslie from Epsom, New Hampshire.

    The Marblehead Arts Association is located at 8 Hooper Street in Marblehead. Call 781-631-2608 for hours and other information.

  • From The Archives: Passive Parks

    As early as 1982, Garden Club of the Back Bay members were discussing the misuse of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall.  The complaints mostly revolved around ball and frisbee playing by college students.  A suggestion for interpretive plaques was considered, to explain how the Mall, designed as a “passive park” should and should not be used.  It’s always a fine line, but soon signs were installed asking visitors to keep dogs on leashes only, to use trash barrels, to refrain from skateboarding, rollerskating, or pursuing active sports on the grass, etc.   Still, as good weather returns to Boston, we see exuberant young people rejoicing in the beauty of the neighborhood – just try to keep off the grass!

  • Saturday, June 3, 10:30 am – 12:00 noon – The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Landscaping Obsessions

    As self-proclaimed “plantaholics,” Susan and Doug Harding have a hard time sticking to their garden design. Into their 1.2-acre lot in Lincoln, Massachusetts, they have crammed more than 350 rhododendrons, hundreds of plants from The Arnold Arboretum’s plant sales, and dozens of native plants from the Society. They also have a vegetable garden and orchard. Come enjoy the results of their obsessions. This New England Wild Flower Society visit will take place Saturday, June 3 from 10:30 – noon, and is $18 for NEWFS members, $21 for nonmembers. Register online at www.newfs.org, and the address will be provided upon registration.

  • Volunteer Opportunity – The Charlesgate Alliance

    The Charlesgate Alliance is a new neighborhood organization dedicated to improving Charlesgate Park and to knitting together the Charlesgate district. It promises to become an effective new force to defend and serve a diverse and dynamic neighborhood, connecting Kenmore, Back Bay and the Fenway. The group is actively soliciting new members. A short term goal is to develop the notion of Charlesgate as a neighborhood while creating safe, pedestrian friendly public “parklets” and to improve the Muddy River water quality. Ultimately, a long term goal is to restore Charlesgate Park.  For more information visit https://charlesgatealliance.org/

  • Wednesdays, June 7 – 28, July 12 – 26, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Introduction to Herbalism

    Herbalist Steph Zabel demonstrates practical ways to gather and use medicinal herbs in this Wellesley College Botanic Garden course for adults and teens age 16 and up in the WCBG’s Edible Ecosystem Teaching Garden.  Seven Wednesdays, June 7 – 28 and July 12 – 26, from 2 – 4.  Friends price $225, nonmembers $275.  Registration online at http://wellesley.edu/wcbg/learn.

  • Saturday, June 3, 8:00 am – Lace ’em Up: No Ordinary Tour

    Saturday, June 3, 8:00 am – Lace ’em Up: No Ordinary Tour

    Lace ’em Up: No Ordinary Tour:  On Saturday, June 3 beginning at 8 am, walk the entire Olmsted Emerald Necklace. Enjoy a seven-mile walk on a spring day through Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace—from the Fens to Franklin Park— with Conservancy President Karen Mauney-Brodek and some very special guests. Brief stops along the way will allow participants see recent park improvements and hear about the exciting things to come for the Emerald Necklace, considered by many to be one of the greatest park systems ever designed.

    Starting at the Shattuck Visitor Center, the walk will traverse the Back Bay Fens to Charlesgate and continue along to the restored Muddy River, where the brand new Justine Mee Liff Park takes center stage overlooking the recently day-lighted river. From there, walkers will stroll the banks of the river along the Riverway, glimpsing, perhaps, the turtles and herons that are frequent visitors. Iconic structures loom large in this park—the picturesque Round House, bridle path and granite bridges.

    Next up is Olmsted Park with its scenic waterways and ponds and on to Jamaica Pond where we’ll stop for a lunch break at Pinebank Promontory before heading to the Arnold Arboretum for some floral sights and scents. The walk continues on to Franklin Park, which Olmsted himself considered to be one of his greatest achievements. Participants will enjoy vistas that transport the viewer back in time — Schoolmaster Hill, the 99 Steps and Ellicott Arch, to name a few. This event has reached its capacity, but people’s plan change, so contact Jeanie Knox at jknox@emeraldnecklace.org or call 617-522-2700 to join the waiting list.

  • Wednesday, June 7, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Tower Hill, the First Twenty-Five Years: Selective Memories of a Benign Dictator

    On Wednesday, June 7 from 7 – 8 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Worcester, John Trexler, Worcester County Horticultural Society Director Emeritus and Founding Director of Tower Hill Botanic Garden, will discuss how Tower Hill evolved from a beautiful farm on a hill to an acclaimed public Garden. He will also sign copies of his new book, Tower Hill, the First Twenty-Five Years: Selective Memories of a Benign Dictator.  Free with admission to the garden. Image from www.telegram.com.