Boston Flora

Month: January 2018

  • Sunday, February 11, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Pot-et-Fleur

    Plant a lovely winter garden at Tower Hill Botanic Garden on Sunday, February 11 from 1 – 3 with Betsy Williams. Garden indoors while you are waiting for the garden to return outdoors. A Pot-et-Fleur combines potted plants with fresh flowers in a decorative container. Flowering and tropical plants accented with lacy ferns, trailing ivies and fresh cut flowers become an enchanting table garden. With proper care, the plants will last for many months and the fresh flowers may be replaced when desired. Please bring floral scissors and an apron to class. Plants, flowers, container and mechanics will be supplied by the instructor. $80 for THBG members, $95 for nonmembers. Register online at https://towerhillbg.thankyou4caring.org/pages/event-registration-form—pot-et-fleur-2018

    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.

  • Tuesday, February 13, 5:15 pm – 7:30 pm – Governor Francis W. Sargent: Fisheries Manager

    Francis Sargent was a Cape Cod fisherman. Fishing brought him into the government as Director of Fisheries, then head of Public Works, and, eventually, Governor of Massachusetts. In his positions, Sargent bridged the gap between working-class fishers and government. This paper examines Sargent’s ability to speak directly to fishermen, arguing that his post-1974 disengagement from public life robbed fishermen of an ally who might have soothed tensions created by late-1970s federal regulations. The Massachusetts Historical Society will welcome Benjamin Kochan of Boston University and Brian Payne of Bridgewater State University on Tuesday, February 13 at 5:15 pm at 1154 Boylston Street in Boston. To RSVP: email seminars@masshist.org or call (617) 646-0579.

  • Sunday, February 18, 10:30 am or 12:30 pm – Amazing Animal Ambassadors

    Bethany Jakubson is the owner of Amazing Animal Ambassadors and grew up on Cape Cod. She has been working in zoos and aquariums since 2006 and went on to get a Bachelor of Science degree in Captive Wildlife Care and Education at Unity College in Maine. She has studied Wildlife Management through the University of Pretoria in South Africa as well. Bethany went on to work for several traveling companies who teach with an assortment of animals, and over the years she has rescued many animals of her own. Two years ago she started the company using some of the animals she had rescued over the years and since then has been expanding the business to have a wide variety of reptiles, birds, mammals and even amphibians and insects. It is Bethany’s passion.

    Bethany will be bringing to this Cape Cod Museum of Natural History program some of her favorite members of the natural world including: Cali, the talking Sulfur Crested Cockatoo; Boomerang, the Kookaburra, a member of the Kingfisher family; Big Red, the Red Tegu which is a large lizard from the rain forest of South America; Milo the Fennec Fox and Peter Pan the African Pygmy Hedgehog (pictured) that is covered with quills but not related to the porcupine. Bethany will also be bringing an assortment of smaller reptiles and insects. Fun for the whole family! Tickets ($8 for museum members, $12 for nonmembers) available online at http://www.ccmnh.org/Events/Amazing-Animal-Ambassadors $15 at the door. For more information call 508-896-3867, x 133. The Museum is located in Brewster, Massachusetts.

     

  • Friday, August 3 – Friday, August 10 – International Carnivorous Plant Society Conference 2018 – Save the Date

    The 2018 International Carnivorous Plant Society Conference will be hosted by the Bay Area Carnivorous Plant Society (BACPS), the oldest carnivorous plant society in the United States, in partnership with the world renowned carnivorous plant nursery California Carnivores. The main conference will take place August 3 – 5, with scheduled field trips August 7 – 10. The venue is the Hyatt Vineyard Creek Inn, located in downtown Santa Rosa, California, and attendees will enjoy the BACPS Annual Plant Show & Sale, Lecturers, Conference Dinner, and Field Trips. Complete registration details may be found at https://www.icpscon2018.com/

  • Saturday, February 10, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm – Bark: A Multi-Sensory Experience of Trees

    Michael Wojtech, Naturalist, Author, and past Garden Club of the Back Bay speaker, will lead an Arnold Arboretum session on Saturday, February 10, 9:00am–1:00pm. Explore the wonderful variety of bark textures, shapes, thicknesses, and colors, which are always-visible clues to tree identity. Through presentations and a series of participatory exercises, learn how to identify tree species by their bark, and uncover why such a variety of bark characteristics exist. See, touch, smell, and trace the contours of bark to hone perceptive skills and deepen intimacy with trees and the places where they grow. Class will meet indoors and in the landscape of the Arnold Arboretum. Open to tree enthusiasts at all levels of experience. Michael will be available to sign copies of his book, Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast. For more details visit: http://www.knowyourtrees.com. Fee $60 Arboretum member, $75 nonmember. Register at http://my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.

  • Saturday, February 10, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Rhododendron Diversity

    Saturday, February 10, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Rhododendron Diversity

    This free (with admission) talk at Tower Hill Botanic Garden on Saturday, February 10 at 2 pm will provide an introduction to, and overview of, the very diverse genus Rhododendron. You will learn about the main rhododendron types using both native and exotic species as examples. Both species and hybrids that perform well in New England will be highlighted. You will see examples of the diversity in flower color and shape. You will be shown another, less often appreciated aspect of rhododendrons – the magnificent foliage found on some hardy species and their hybrids. This will include learning new terms to describe foliage characteristics. Live material will be used to demonstrate some of the features discussed.

    Joseph Bruso is a hybridizer and propagator of rhododendron species and unusual hybrids, with a focus on attractive foliage as well as flowers. He maintains a three acre woodland garden in Hopkinton MA containing all the hardy species, including the natives, and many hybrids of his own creation. Bruso is a member of the Board of Directors of the Mass. Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society.

  • Sunday, February 4, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Natural Dye Workshop

    On Sunday, February 4 from 1 – 3, learn how to use plants to create a color palette of natural dyes and use indigo to make a beautiful Shibori scarf, at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston.

    Instructor Laura Hacker has a BFA in Fiber Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has been working with natural dyes for 15 years. She recently exhibited in the Strands and Stems exhibit at Tower Hill. $40 for Tower Hill members, $55 for nonmembers. Register online at https://towerhillbg.thankyou4caring.org/pages/event-registration-form—natural-dye-workshop

  • Thursday, February 8, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm – Plant-Soil Interactions: Introduction to Nutrient Cycling

    On Thursday, February 8 from 6 – 7:30 at Nasami Farm Nursery in Whately, explore the cycling of nutrients through the Northeast ecosystem, with an emphasis on plant and soil functions and interactions. In this informal class, Alexis Doshas will discuss the role of soil microbes, chronic deposition, the implications of climate change for nutrient cycles, and the way plant-soil interactions shape our forests and plant communities. $20 for New England Wild Flower Society members, $24 for nonmembers. Register online at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/plant-soil-interactions-introduction-to-nutrient-cycling

  • Tuesday, February 6, 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm – Bogs and Fens Webinar – Cancelled

     Image from www.nhptv.org.

  • Wednesday, February 14, 7:00 pm – Tea Cup Arrangements

    Leslie Lincoln will present a floral demonstration on Wednesday, February 14 on Tea Cup Arrangements, at the Norfolk Library, 139 Main Street in Norfolk. The program is sponsored by the Garden Club of Norfolk, and advance registration is required by contacting Liz Davey at Lliz.davey@comcast.net. For complete information visit http://gardenclubofnorfolkma.com.