Boston Flora

Month: July 2017

  • Thursday, August 3 – Saturday, August 5 – The Food Project’s Summer Institute

    Learn, Grow, and Connect at The Food Project’s Summer Institute on August 3–5, 2017. Many come to The Food Project during the summer to learn our models and are inspired by the beautiful farms, thriving farmers markets, and highly motivated, diverse young people working with passion towards a common mission. It seems to flow effortlessly.

    The summer season is the entry point when young people begin with us. The winter and spring, or academic season, is when the deepening happens. The young people returning for more, are known as Dirt Crew and Root Crew. They lead volunteers on our farms, build raised-bed gardens in Lynn and Boston, increase their understanding of food system issues, and implement projects to create real change. The learning and actions are dynamic and “real-time.”

    Learn

    Summer season planning and youth crew design
    The foundations of youth leader development in the context of farming, social justice and food access initiatives
    How to build a year-round tiered youth leader development structure to support your work
    What it takes to run dynamic farm operations with high school youth

    Grow

    Inspire and support others to create change in their own communities
    Work alongside youth and hear about their work

    Connect

    In-depth conversations with The Food Project staff
    Enjoy engaged conversations with Dirt Crew and Root Crew youth to learn about their work during the academic season
    Interact with and learn from Institute peers
    Network with others interested in youth-led sustainable, local agriculture

    For more information on The Food Project’s Institutes, please email institute@thefoodproject.org or call 781-259-8621 x29 to speak with Cindy Davenport, Director of Programming and Institutional Learning. You may register online at http://thefoodproject.org/institute

  • Tuesday, August 8, 12:00 noon – 3:00 pm – Gardening Workshops Under the Pines

    Members of the Springfield Garden Club will present Gardening Workshops Under the Pines at the Springfield Forest Park Farmers’ Market on Tuesday, August 8 between noon and 3 pm. Members will be available to answer questions about composting, worm composting, beneficial insects, good bugs/bad bugs, propagation (seed, stem, root), flower gardening, vertical gardening and container gardening. Entrance to the Forest Park event will be from Trafton Road in Springfield. Contact: Suzanne at (413) 537-0365 or via email at suzreed@gmail.com

  • Wednesday, August 9, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Harvest: Unexpected Projects Using Extraordinary Garden Plants

    In their beautifully photographed guide to growing, harvesting, and utilizing 47 unexpected plants, Harvest, Stefani Bittner and Alethea Harampolis encourage gardeners to discover the surprising usefulness of petals and leaves, roots, seeds, and fruit. Turn turmeric root into a natural dye and calamintha into lip balm. Make anise hyssop into a refreshing iced tea and turn apricots into a facial mask. Crabapple branches can be used to create stunning floral arrangements, oregano flowers to infuse vinegar, and edible chrysanthemum to liven up a salad. With the remarkable, multi-purpose plants in Harvest, there is always something for gardeners to harvest from one growing season to the next. Stefani will appear at Tower Hill Botanic Garden on Wednesday, August 9 for a talk beginning at 7 pm, followed by a book signing. Free with admission to the gardens.

    Stefani Bittner and Alethea Harampolis are the co-founders of Homestead Design Collective, a San Francisco Bay Area landscape design firm focused on creating beautiful gardens that provide harvest. Stefani is the co-author of The Beautiful Edible Garden (Ten Speed Press, 2013) and Alethea is the co-author of the best selling books, The Flower Recipe Book and The Wreath Recipe Book (Artisan 2013 and 2014). Stefani and Alethea’s latest collaboration, Harvest, was released by Ten Speed Press in February 2017. Stefani and Alethea’s work has been featured in San Francisco Chronicle, Sunset Magazine, C Magazine, Los Angeles Times, NY Times, Martha Stewart Living, Better Homes & Gardens, Vogue, Food and Wine, and Gardenista.com.

  • Wednesday, August 9, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm – Strand and Stem Opening Reception

    Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston, will mount an exhibit running through September 17 entitled Strand and Stem, with an opening reception on Wednesday, August 9 fro 5 – 7. The show of textile art explores the connections between fiber and plant forms with artists from across the country. Featuring artists: Mafalda Silva, Lesley Richmond, Betty Busby, Alice Fox, Danielle Clough, Emily Barletta. Free with admission to the garden. For more information visit http://www.towerhillbg.org.

  • From the Archives: Tree Protection Schemes

    Protecting our street trees from environmental and human-caused damage has always been a Garden Club of the Back Bay priority, and in 1983 members discussed a variety of solutions.  Pungent marigolds planted around each new tree were thought to discourage dogs, and thorny barberry shrub plantings were also suggested.  Organizing club members to plant and water thousands of plants would have been daunting, however. Railroad ties around each tree pit were debated (we still see a few examples of this on some of our side streets), and iron fencing was thought at the time to be too expensive. Another proposal was a soldier course of raised bricks, 3″ – 6″ high,  with a gravel fill in the pit, not too deep so the tree roots weren’t smothered.  Today, neighbors may purchase lovely, architecturally approved tree fences from the Club (https://bostonflora.com/tree-fence-project/) which are far more attractive and practical, and far less painful than invasive barberries!

  • Wednesday, August 9 (rain date August 16), 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm – Night Photography in the Gardens

    This Tower Hill Botanic Garden lecture on Wednesday, August 9 from 7 – 8 will cover the basics of night photography – the uniqueness of making photos at night, equipment, exposure, white balance, highlights and shadows, composition, capturing the element of time and a brief concept of light painting.

    The photo shoot, from 8 – 10, will include one-on-one guidance on how to get the best photos. You may register for the lecture only (Tower Hill members $15, nonmembers $25, or for the lecture plus photo shoot (Tower Hill members $45, nonmembers $55) at https://towerhillbg.thankyou4caring.org/pages/event-registration-form—night-photography-in-the-gardens-2017

    For photo shoot only, required equipment: a camera capable of manual settings (user-selectable exposure time, aperture, ISO), a tripod to hold that camera and a remote control/intervalometer for exposures longer than 30 seconds. You can buy these for around $15 on Amazon.com: search for your camera brand, model and the word “intervalometer”. A small flashlight to get around and colored flashlights for light painting the plants are useful. Advanced users can also do light drawing with any gadget that lights up. Ideas for what can be done in the gardens can be found here: http://www.meetup.com/GBNight/photos/26645926/

    A “cheat sheet” for equipment preparation and settings can be downloaded on Jürgen’s website: http://leyetscapes.com/edu/Night.Photography.Handout-Equipment+Settings.pdf

    Instructor Jürgen Lobert is a Massachusetts-based fine art photographer born and raised in Germany. He received a Ph.D. in atmospheric chemistry from Gutenberg University in Mainz before moving to the US in 1991. Jürgen is a self-taught photographer who specializes in night photography, daytime long exposures as well as Urban Exploration. According to Jürgen, there is a profound peace in roaming the nights in remote places, capturing the element of time to create otherworldly, serene and hauntingly beautiful photos. Jürgen is an executive member of the Boston Camera Club and the founder and organizer of the Greater Boston Night Photographers Meetup group. He has organized more than 100 photo excursions and he is a lecturer, instructor and judge for regional camera clubs.

     

  • Monday, August 7, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm – The Secret Lives of Fireflies

    Lunch and Learn at The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History , 869 Main Street in Brewster, on Monday, August 7 with Science Educator Don Salvatore speaking on The Secret Lives of Fireflies. Watching fireflies is a special part of warm summer nights in New England and a memorable experience. We watch, we enjoy, and as kids we use to catch them in a jar to get an up-close look at them. However, do we really know what these creatures of the night are saying? Why are they flashing, are they bugs or beetles, are they male or female? Fireflies, also known as “lightning bugs” are so much more than a flash in the night. Join Don Salvatore for this fascinating and enlightening look into the secret lives of fireflies!

    Don Salvatore grew up in Weymouth, a small coastal town south of Boston. He spent his professional career as a science educator at the Children’s Museum in Dartmouth, the Roanoke Valley Science Museum in Virginia, and for the last 36 years, at the Museum of Science in Boston where he founded and coordinated the Firefly Watch and citizen science program. He has taught programs in all the sciences; biology, physics, chemistry, geology, meteorology and biochemistry. ­Through them all, he has come to a deeper understanding of natural history.

    CCMNH members $15, nonmembers $25, includes program, box lunch and museum admission. Advance tickets only – call 508-896-3876, ext 133. Lunch choice includes roast beef, turkey club, or tomato basil sandwiches.

  • Wednesday, August 9, 10:00 am – 2:30 pm – Gardeners Who Inspire

    A Berkshire Botanical Garden offsite field study on Wednesday, August 9 from 10 – 2 features two remarkable gardens in Dutchess County, New York. Our first garden (pictured), which was included in Jane Garmey’s book, Private Gardens of the Hudson Valley, features a sophisticated plant palette and a spectacular meadow of Sporobolus heterolepsis (prairie drop seed) framing a sculpture by Vivian Beer. Although this is not a low-maintenance garden, the owners rarely water anything after the second year and fertilize only container plants; elsewhere, compost feeds the soil without making it too rich while suppressing weeds. The collection of plants features more natives every year, including interesting native cultivars like Liquidambar  ‘Slender Silhouette.’ The owners, however, still enjoy the thrill of searching out exotic rarities. Our second garden is located on rolling terrain in Sand Lake, NY, and has evolved within a classic nineteenth-century arrangement of house, barn, meadows, and woods. A long peony border leads from the house to a five-acre pond surrounded by native plants. Between the house and barn large deep flower beds are bordered by a pergola on one side and an Italianate upper garden on the other. We will tour both sites with the owners and glean tips and techniques from these remarkable gardeners.

    Driving directions to two gardens in Dutchess County will be provided upon registration. Bring a bag lunch to picnic at the first garden. BBG members $40, nonmembers $50. Register online at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

  • Wednesday, August 2, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Edgartown Tree Tour

    Polly Hill Arboretum will again be offering the ever-popular Edgartown Tree Tours this season. Join PHA Horticulturist/Arborist Ian Jochems on Wednesday, August 2 at 10 am for an informative and fun walking tour of the many glorious mature trees of Edgartown. In the midst of the mantle of green that envelops downtown Edgartown, among the hydrangeas and picket fences, many unique and fine specimen trees await discovery. As one past participant noted, “I will forever after see the town’s trees with new eyes and greater appreciation.” $15 for PHA members, $20 for nonmembers. Pre-registration is required. Call 508-693-9426. Image of pagoda tree from www.vineyardgazette.com.

  • Sunday, July 30, 1:00 pm – 2:30 PM – Invasion of the Aliens Part III

    Olmsted NHS summer 2017 programs include free walks throughout the season, no reservations needed.  On Sunday, July 30 beginning at 1 pm you are invited to Invasion of the Aliens Part III. This interpretive walk focuses on the natural history of the Wilderness in Franklin Park with a focus on invasive plants. Please wear hiking or running shoes. To RSVP or learn more, and for directions to start point, please call (617) 566-1689 ext. 221. For a complete list of programs visit https://www.nps.gov/frla/special-events.htm