Boston Flora

Month: January 2018

  • Saturday, January 27, 1:00 pm – Tower Hill READS 2018 Kickoff

    Join friends and fellow garden members reading and discussing a thought provoking, award-winning book, The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben during Tower Hill Botanic Garden’s 2018 community read. Tower Hill also plans a series of tree walks, lectures and other events with the Worcester Tree Initiative. The kickoff will be held Sunday, January 27 from 1 – 2, and is free with admission, but registration is recommended at https://towerhillbg.thankyou4caring.org/pages/event-registration-form—tower-hill-reads-2018-kickoff

    Learn more about the book and related events at the kickoff. Copies of the book are available in the Library and The Garden Shop.

  • Wednesday, January 24, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Wild and Wonderful Natives Webinar

    Join Dan Jaffe of the New England Wild Flower Society online on Wednesday, January 24 from 6:30 – 7:30 for a crash course on all things weird in the native flora. We’ll explore the wild and wonderful world of native plants, from the toxic sap of monk’s hood to the armature of honey locust and odd survival strategies. NEWFS members $10, nonmembers $13. Register online at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/live-webinar-wild-and-wonderful-natives

  • Saturday, January 27, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Family Art with Herbs: Foilography

    On Saturday, January 27 from 10 – noon, bring the whole family to Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston, to try this fun, no-fail printmaking technique. Using a tabletop printing press, fresh herbs, inks and aluminum foil you will create multiple prints to use as artwork or handmade gifts. Maximum attendance 6 parent/child pairs. $10 for THBG members (parent/child pair) and $20 for nonmembers (parent/child pair.) Register online at https://towerhillbg.thankyou4caring.org/pages/event-registration-form—family-art-with-herbs-foilography

  • Thursdays, February 1, 8, 15, and March 1, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm – Composition From the Start

    Ellen Duarte leads a Wellesley College Botanic Gardens introduction to composition based on the writings of Molly Bang in her book Picture This. On four Thursdays (February 1, 8, 15, and March 1, from 9:30 – 12:30) learn how balance, harmony and emotional response are affected by the elements in the picture. Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens $150, nonmembers $200.  Register at http://wellesley.edu/wcbg/learn. There is a snow date of March 8 if needed.

  • Wednesday, January 31, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Fun in a (Little) Sun

    Jessie Blum, Conservatory Horticulturist at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, will lead a group through the Orangerie at Tower Hill on Wednesday, January 31 from 2 – 3, to discover what types of plants do well in low light conditions and how to best take care of them.  Free with admission to the Garden. For more information visit www.towerhillbg.org, or call 508-869-6111, x 124.

  • Wednesday, January 24, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Invasive Plants: What Are They? And What Can Be Done? Webinar

    What are invasive plant species and what harm do they do to an ecosystem? Invasive plant species are a threat to natural areas throughout the country. No habitat or region is immune from the threat of invasive species. They displace native plants, eliminate native food and cover for wildlife, and threaten rare plant and animal species.

    Nearly all landscapes, both private gardens and public spaces, have become the unwelcome home to many invasives. Ecological Landscape Alliance will sponsor a webinar on Wednesday, January 24 from 7 – 8 pm. Lecturer Bruce Wenning is an invasive plant specialist who will help to shed light on the invasive plant challenges that face most property owners. If you are a homeowner who wants to understand more about invasives, join Bruce for this webinar to learn:

    * How to identify different types of invasive plants
    * How to safely remove them your own landscape
    * How different invasive plants spread
    * What removal methods are effective on each
    * The importance of proper disposal of invasive plants once removed

    Bruce Wenning is a horticulturist at The Country Club, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, where he is responsible for garden management and design, invasive species management, natural history of the grounds; and frequently lectures on horticultural subjects. Bruce’s background includes formal garden design and installation as well as public space management. Bruce has nearly 20 years of experience working with exotic invasive plant species common to Massachusetts for both private and public clients. Bruce’s career has also included several years at Massachusetts Audubon and at Land’s Sake. In addition to his general horticulture expertise, Bruce specializes in plant pest diagnostics; insect taxonomy; invasive species management; ecological landscaping consultation and design; as well as natural history. Bruce is on the Board of Directors for the Ecological Landscape Alliance (ELA) where he has served since 2003 and is a regular contributor to the ELA Newsletter and a local publication, the Newton TAB. Free. Image from http://www.notablecharacters.wordspress.com. Sign up at http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/webinar-invasive-plants-can-done/

  • Saturday, January 27, 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Propagating Native Plants from Seed: Part 1

    Part 1: Seed Dormancy and Sowing Techniques

    Learn to propagate native plants from seed in this two-part, New England Wild Flower Society hands-on workshop at Nasami Farm Nursery in Whately that focuses on practical methods for small-scale propagation. This Saturday, January 27 workshop from 5 – 8 is appropriate for beginners and propagators with some experience. Take one or both classes. During part 1 of this series join us to explore seed biology and practice sowing seed. Take home your work.

    Part 2: Seedling Germination and Establishment, has yet to be scheduled and will take place in spring 2018. In Part 2 of this series you will learn the science behind successful seed starting and practice transplanting. Take home your work.

    $40 for NEWFS members, $48 for nonmembers. Image from www.ecolandscaping.org. Register online at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/propagating-native-plants-from-seed-part-1-seed-dormancy-and-sowing-techniques

  • Tuesday, January 23, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Pets and Plants

    Whether your pet is a cat, dog, chicken or “other” they have the potential to be exposed to your plants either indoors, outdoors, or both. There are many sources of information about plant toxicity but they can often conflict with each other. This Massachusetts Master Gardeners presentation with April Daley will help you to understand what “toxic” and “poisonous” mean to your pets as well as a method to evaluate the pet, the plant as well as horticultural practices and how much risk is involved in each situation. The event will be held at the Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate in Canton on Tuesday, January 23 from 6:30 – 8, and the cost is $25. Registration and payment is through the Massachusetts Master Gardeners Association. Contact: bradley@thetrustees.org for more information and the location to register and provide payment. Image from www.costafarms.com.

  • Thursdays, January 25 through February 15, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Landscape and Planting Design

    Instructor Warren Leach, Landscape Horticulturist, will focus on fundamental principles of design used in creating landscapes and garden spaces and composing planting designs using a complement of woody and herbaceous plants.

    Classes will be held Thursdays, January 25 – February 15, from 7 – 9 in the Cheney Room of the Education Building at The Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley. Mass Hort Member Cost: $125; Non Member Cost $160. Register online at http://www.masshort.org/eventdetail/608/landscaping-and-planting-design?filter_reset=1

  • Through Thursday, August 30 – Rotten Apples: Botanical Models of Diversity and Disease

    Carried to our shores by the earliest European colonists and first planted in Boston in 1625, the apple, Malus pumilla, is a New England dietary icon. One of the oldest fruit trees to be domesticated, this single species now encompasses thousands of distinct varieties worldwide. Not only do these apple varieties differ in look and taste, they also vary greatly in how they respond to pests and disease.

    Combining historic wax models with a series of exquisitely crafted glass models made by Rudolf Blaschka, this Harvard Museum of Natural History small, special exhibit, located in the Glass Flowers gallery, reveals the astonishing diversity of apples and the surprising beauty of the fungal and bacterial infections that afflict these and other fruits. The exhibit will be mounted through August 30, 2018. The museum is located at 26 Oxford Street in Cambridge, and the gallery is open from 9 – 5. Free with admission Visit https://hmnh.harvard.edu/glass-glowers