Boston Flora

Month: August 2017

  • Thursday, October 5, 8:30 am – 3:30 pm – Massachusetts Green Careers Conference

    The 9th Annual Massachusetts Green Careers Conference will be held at the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife. 1 Rabbit Hill Road in Westborough, Massachusetts on Thursday, October 5 from 8:30 – 3:30. Learn about careers and trends in clean energy, working for nature, and sustainability. The programs are designed for everyone interested in these topics. The venue is a LEED platinum building adjacent to 900 plus acres of woodlands and fields. The Early Bird registration fee of $65 (Public) and $50 (Teacher rate) includes breakfast, lunch, speaker sessions, networking, and reception. Early bird pricing ends August 31. For more information visit www.MassGreenCareers.org or contact the Conference director at JenBoudrie@gmail.com, or telephone 508-481-0569.

  • Sunday, September 3, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Teas from the Garden

    Sunday, September 3, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Teas from the Garden

    The Trustees of Reservations will host a Teas from the Garden workshop on Sunday, September 3 from 2 – 3:30 at Naumkeag in Stockbridge. Learn about the herbs and flowers that make delicious and healthful teas and tisanes, and how to grow them in your garden. Taste tisanes created by local herbalist and gardener Krysia Kurzyca. Create your own tea blend to take home. Trustees members $12, nonmembers $20. Register by calling 413-298-3239, x 3016, or email mmoulton@thetrustees.org. Image from www.peerlesscoffee.com.

  • Monday, April 30 – Thursday, May 10 – National Parks of the Southwest

    Join a small active group in spring of 2018 (April 30 – May 10) for a land tour of the National Parks of the Southwest. The Southwest is a land of scenes epic in scope. Begin in Tucson at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, a 98-acre tribute to the natural world comprising a zoo, botanical garden, natural history museum, aquarium, and art gallery. Encounter Sedona, famed for its towering red sandstone formations, on an open-air jeep tour. Visit the Grand Canyon, often considered one of the seven wonders of the natural world. Embark on a rafting excursion on the smooth waters of the Colorado River before traveling onto Navajo land to discover Upper Antelope Canyon. In southern Utah, hike in Bryce Canyon National Park, then spend a day amid the wondrous Zion National Park, one of the most diverse national parks in the United States. Study leader Fran Ulmer, Chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, will discuss America’s National Parks: Brief history and current issues; Western Water Wars: How does water scarcity and state laws complicate life in the West; and The Interconnectivity between American Indian Reservations: Culture and History. Pricing starts from $4,495 per person land only / $4,795 per person including air. Registration form is available online at www.alumni.harvard.edu, or call 800-422-1636 or 617-496-0806.

  • Friday, September 1 and Saturday, September 2, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – The Farmer’s Table

    Celebrate four centuries of farming with a multi-course farm-to-table dinner featuring cider, ale, and wine pairings by Carry Out Cafe and produce grown by the Colby family at Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, in this September 1or September 2 Historic New England dinner at the farm, located at 5 Little’s Lane in Newbury, Massachusetts.

    These meals honor the recent history of farming at Spencer-Peirce-Little. The Stekionis family lived and worked at the farm from 1913 until 1994, while Dick Walsh came to grow spinach during World War II and never left. Historic New England now leases the land to local farmers such as Colby Farm, keeping a long tradition alive. Must be at least 21. $65 Historic New England members; $85 nonmembers.

    Registration is required. Please call 978-462-2634 or register online at http://shop.historicnewengland.org/SPL-FARMERTABLE-8481/

  • Tuesday, February 13 – Sunday, February 18 – South Florida: The Best of Miami & Naples Gardens

    Tuesday, February 13 – Sunday, February 18 – South Florida: The Best of Miami & Naples Gardens

    Join Pacific Horticulture for an immersive garden adventure in the semi-tropical clime of South Florida, February 13 – 18. From our base in Miami we’ll visit Kampong, a botanical garden that was once the private estate of Dr. David Fairchild, an influential horticulturist and plant collector. Other botanical garden visits include Montgomery Botanical Center and Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, lush educational gardens committed to the conservation of tropical plants, and we’ll take in the exquisite beauty of a 20-acre estate in Redlands known at Patch of Heaven (pictured). Our visit to R.F. Orchids includes a tour of the beautiful nursery and background on their history, production methods, and sales operation.

    Landscape designer Raymond Jungles, who is renowned for his work on private gardens and resort hotels throughout Florida and the Caribbean, will accompany our group to Naples Botanical Garden. Jungles, who was part of the garden’s design team, will provide a special tour with backstory about the garden’s design and implementation. The designer will also provide our group exclusive entrance to four private home gardens that he has created and join us for a farewell dinner at Fogo de Chao Brazilian Steakhouse on Miami Beach. This tour will be escorted by San Diego landscape designer Amelia B. Lima. Land cost $2,920 per person. For more information visit http://www.holbrooktravel.com/where-we-travel/florida/south-florida-pacific-horticulture-societys 

  • Sunday, August 27, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Fermentation Festival

    Boston Ferments is holding their fifth annual Fermentation Festival in The KITCHEN at the Boston Public Market on Sunday, August 27th from 10am-4pm! Like previous Fermentation Fests, this year will be a *free* tour de fermentation composed of dozens of speakers, demos, small fermenting businesses & authors.

    One centerpiece of the fest will be our free communal crowd-sourced #KrautMob (sponsored by Boston Organics!) here everyone will be invited to make sauerkraut together under the guidance of local fermentation experts. For more information email kitcheninfo@thetrustees.org.

  • Friday, October 6 – Sunday, October 8 – What’s Out There Weekend: Indianapolis

    The Cultural Landscape Foundation is pleased to announce the upcoming What’s Out There Weekend: Indianapolis. The Weekend, October 6 – 8, will offer free tours of the city’s renowned modernist landscapes, as well as highlight other regional gems. The tours will be led by experts in history and landscape design, revealing a largely unrecognized legacy of thoughtful landscape architecture and design in the heart of the Midwest.

    What’s Out There Weekend: Indianapolis and its accompanying City Guide are made possible in large part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Art Works and Lilly Endowment Inc., and in partnership with the Indiana Cultural Landscapes Committee of the Indiana Chapter, American Society of Landscape Architects (INASLA). The seven-person committee is led by Meg Storrow, FASLA, Chair, and David Gordon, ASLA Trustee, Vice Chair.

    Further details on the Weekend’s schedule and registration will be made available in the coming months at https://tclf.org/whats-out-there-weekend-indianapolis. For more information, or to volunteer for the event, please contact Dena Tasse-Winter at dena@tclf.org.

  • Friday, August 25, 7:00 pm – The Wildcrafted Cocktail

    Meet the natural lovechild of the popular local-foods movement and craft cocktail scene. It’s here to show you just how easy it is to make delicious, one-of-a-kind mixed drinks with common flowers, berries, roots, and leaves that you can find along roadsides or in your backyard. Foraging expert Ellen Zachos gets the party started with recipes for more than 50 garnishes, syrups, infusions, juices, and bitters, including Quick Pickled Daylily Buds, Rose Hip Syrup, and Chanterelle-infused Rum. You’ll then incorporate your handcrafted components into 45 surprising and delightful cocktails, such as Stinger in the Rye, Don’t Sass Me, and Tree-tini. This lecture and book signing will take place at 7 pm on Friday, August 25 at Porter Square Books, 25 White Street in Cambridge. For more information visit http://www.portersquarebooks.com/event/ellen-zachos-wildcrafted-cocktail

  • From the Archives: Greenhouse Space

    On February 10, 1983, Michael Connor, then Superintendent of Horticulture in the Boston Parks Department, was our guest, speaking on the topic of Perennials for the Library Courtyard.  At the time, our Club maintained the garden at the main branch on Boylston Street. He outlined what perennials could be started from seed, and the various methods of propagation. He volunteered greenhouse space at Franklin Park. The consensus was that annual begonias would be planted in the spring, and perennials could be started the following year. Mr. Connor then offered the Club a tour of the Franklin Park Greenhouses in May.  Notes indicate the tour took place, with only four Club members attending. Ultimately, perennials, most notably hosta and pachysandra, were planted in the library beds. with many of the plants coming from past President Margaret Pokorny’s gardens in New Hampshire, and these plants were divided and redivided over the years.  Having greenhouse space offered by the City was a special tribute to our Club’s energy in pursuing neighborhood beautification projects, which continue today.

  • Thursday, August 24, 7:00 pm – Fiery Ferments

    The authors of the best-selling Fermented Vegetables are back at Porter Square Books on Thursday, August 24 at 7 pm, and this time they’ve brought the heat with them. Whet your appetite with more than 60 recipes for hot sauces, mustards, pickles, chutneys, relishes, and kimchis from around the globe. Chiles take the spotlight, with recipes such as Thai Pepper Mint Cilantro Paste, Aleppo Za’atar Pomegranate Sauce, and Mango Plantain Habanero Ferment, but other traditional spices like horseradish, ginger, and peppercorns also make cameo appearances. Dozens of additional recipes for breakfast foods, snacks, entrees, and beverages highlight the many uses for hot ferments.

    Kirsten K. Shockey and Christopher Shockey got their start in fermenting foods with their farmstead food company, where they created more than 40 varieties of cultured vegetables and krauts. Their current focus is on teaching the art of fermenting vegetables to others through classes and workshops at their farm. They live on a 40-acre hillside homestead in the Applegate Valley of southern Oregon. Porter Square Books is located at 25 White Street in Cambridge. More information at http://www.portersquarebooks.com/event/kirsten-shockey-fiery-ferments