Boston Flora

Month: January 2018

  • Michael J. Nichols is New Executive Director of The Esplanade Association

    The Board of Directors for the Esplanade Association announced the unanimous selection of Michael J. Nichols, of Boston, as the organization’s Executive Director. Nichols, an experienced public servant, attorney, and non-profit professional began work at the Esplanade Association on November 29.

    Nichols joins the Esplanade Association after three years at the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, serving the last 2.5 years as Chief of Staff. At the Greenway, Nichols was responsible for the Conservancy’s community and government affairs, external communications, and advancing strategic priorities. Under his leadership, the Conservancy negotiated a landmark public-private funding agreement, opened Boston’s first fully open-air beer garden, launched the organization’s signature young professional fundraising event, significantly grew earned revenue with innovative activities, and initiated numerous partnerships with other leading Boston institutions for in-park events.

    “Michael has proven strategic leadership experience in communicating the value of a public/private partnership to care for – and activate – an urban public park,” said Alexi Conine, Chair of the Esplanade Association Board. “We were impressed with his passion, broad skillset, and record of success in mission-focused government and non-profit work. We’re thrilled to have Michael join us.” Michael can be reached at mnichols@esplanadeassociation.org or at 617-227-0365 ext. 403. He looks forward to working with you, the Park’s dedicated supporters, to revitalize and enhance this signature public space.

  • Thursday, January 18, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Grow Your Own Succulent Container

    Come to The Gardens at Elm Bank (Parkman Room) on Thursday, January 18 from 7 – 8:30 for a fun evening and learn what you need to know to maintain a container planting of succulents. Carrie Waterman will bring a selection of plants to show the diversity of succulent plants. She will discuss the best species to keep in containers and how to care and propagate your own succulents. Afterward, Barb Rietscha of Stow Greenhouses will provide materials so every student can create a long-lasting, low-maintenance garden. Must pre-register at www.masshort.org. Mass Hort Members: $40; General Admission: $60

  • Hortus TV

    Watch garden shows you love. Stream to your tablet, computer, or smart television. Hortus TV is offering a free seven day trial, after which you will be charged $6.99 per month, but you may cancel at any time. Right now hundreds of videos are in the current library, many of which are the eccentric British gardening shows you love, and new content is always being added. No advertisements, which is a plus, although to be fair some of the shows are available on YouTube. Visit www.hortustv.com for more information. Reviews have been positive overall.  Some examples of shows offered are Love Your Garden with Alan Titchmarsh, World of Herbs with Lesley Bremness, Open Gardens,  The Secret World of Gardens, Gardener’s World (seven seasons!),  and Dan Pearson’s Routes Around the World.

  • Monday, January 22, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Replaying Life’s Tape Through the Lens of Plants

    Each winter, Director William (Ned) Friedman and the Arnold Arboretum present the Director’s Lecture Series, featuring nationally recognized experts addressing an array of topics related to Earth’s biodiversity and evolutionary history, the environment, conservation biology, and key social issues associated with current science. The Director’s Lecture Series is open to current Arnold Arboretum members only; visit http://arboretum.harvard.edu for information on becoming a member. Lectures take place in the Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall. Parking will be available along the Arborway and in front of the Hunnewell Building on lecture nights.

    This year’s series begins Monday, January 22 at 7 pm, with the Director himself speaking on Replaying Life’s Tape Through the Lens of Plants. What can an understanding of the history of photosynthetic life tell us of the human condition? Are we, as a cognitive species, an absolutely inevitable consequence of several billion years of evolution? Or, should we wake up every morning with an exhilarating sense of the sheer improbability of just being! For decades, going back to the book Wonderful Life, by Stephen J. Gould, the debate as to the probabilities of intelligent life evolving not only here on Earth, but throughout the universe, has ebbed and flowed. None of the chief protagonists in this debate (zoologists, microbiologists, or philosophers) has ever thought about how an understanding of plant evolutionary history might bear heavily on the conclusions one reaches. Professor Friedman will discuss how just a few tweaks to the evolutionary history of plants might ultimately have precluded human life from evolving on Earth – and whether such tweaks could occur upon replaying life’s tape.

    Register online at https://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/news-events/directors-lecture-series/

  • Saturday, January 13, 2:00 pm – The New Shade Garden: Creating a Lush Oasis in the Age of Climate Change

    Berkshire Botanical Garden’s 2018 Annual Winter Lecture will take place Saturday, January 13 at 2 pm at Lenox Memorial High School in Lenox.

    Ken Druse plumbs the depths of shade once again – 20 years after the publication of his best seller, The Natural Shade Garden. This time, it’s to tackle the challenges that have arisen due to our changing climate. The low-stress environment of shade (lower temperatures, fewer water demands, carbon sequestration) is extremely beneficial for our plants, our planet, and us. Ken details new ways of looking at all aspects of the gardening process, in topics such as designing your garden, choosing and planting trees, preparing soil, solving the deer problem, and the vast array of flowers and foliage – all within the challenges of a changing climate, shrinking resources, and new weather patterns. Ken knows that the best defense is to create a cool, verdant retreat – he says, “The garden of the future will be in the shade.”

    Ken Druse is a celebrated lecturer, an award-winning photographer, and an author, who has been called “the guru of natural gardening” by the New York Times. He is best known for his twenty gar­den books published over the last twenty-five years. The American Horticultural Society listed his first large-format work, The Natural Garden (Clarkson Potter, 1988), among the best books of all time. His book, Making More Plants (Stewart Tabori & Chang, 2012) won the award of the year from the prestigious Garden Writers Association. That group gave Ken the 2013 gold medal for photography and the silver for writing. Also in 2013, the Smithsonian Institute announced the acquisition of the Ken Druse Collection of Garden Photography comprising 100,000 images of American gardens and plants.

    The Garden Club of America presented Ken with the Sarah Chapman Francis medal for lifetime achievement in garden communication.

    KenDruse.com is a blog with ten years of archived podcast interviews. He also appears monthly on Margaret Roach’s radio show, A Way to Garden.

    The Winter Lecture Series was begun by the Berkshire Botanical Garden in 1997 and was established to bring inspiring speakers to the region to talk about horticulture, landscape design and history, plants and plant exploration, and home gardening.

    Over the years, the Garden has invited such luminaries as Marco Polo Stufano, Anna Pavord, Joe Eck, Tovah Martin, Dan Hinkley, W. Gary Smith, Penelope Hobhouse, Ken Druse, Gordon Hayward, Lauren Springer and Scott Ogden, Bill Cullina, Fergus Garrett, Debs Goodenough, Margaret Roach, Michael Dirr, Glyn Jones, Louis Benech, Alan Power and Thomas Woltz to share their knowledge of plants, gardening, design and history with an interested audience of gardeners and horticulturists from the region. The series has proven to be a popular event in the region and is held annually in mid-winter. Proceeds from ticket sales are used to further the Garden’s education and horticulture efforts.

    Advance registration is highly recommended, but walk-ins are always welcome, space permitting.  Many thanks to the Winter Lecture sponsor: The Red Lion Inn. Register online at https://berkshirebotanical.org/see-and-do/winter-lecture-series/

  • Wednesday, January 17, 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Transitioning to Ecological Landscape Practices: Toxin-Free Landscapes Webinar

    The reasons to remove toxic chemicals from our landscapes are many and many homeowners are seeking landscape professionals who can deliver healthier landscape options. However, too often clients give up on pesticide- and fertilizer-free landscapes because their expectations are not met, the results are not what they had in mind, or the process is confusing to them. How do landscape professionals educate, manage expectations, and keep a client’s trust during the transition?

    Edwina von Gal from Perfect Earth Project will discuss solutions that are minimal in cost and aesthetically pleasing, in this Ecological Landscape Alliance webinar on Wednesday, January 17 from 4 – 5.. She will share her ideas on how to convince clients that a toxin-free landscape is worth pursuing, how to anticipate common problems, and how to communicate effectively.

    Edwina von Gal, Principal of her landscape design firm on Long Island since 1984, Ms. von Gal has striven to integrate simplicity and sustainability into her design of landscapes for private and public clients around the world. Her work has been published in major publications and her book Fresh Cuts won the Quill and Trowel award for garden writing in 1998. She has served on boards and committees for a number of horticultural organizations, and is currently on the board of What Is Missing, Maya Lin’s multifaceted media artwork about the loss of biodiversity. Ms. von Gal designed the park for the Biomuseo, a museum of biodiversity in Panama City and stayed on to found the Azuero Earth Project with like-minded friends and scientists. The process convinced her to extend the toxin-free message to the US and consequently, she launched Perfect Earth Project in 2013. Most recently, she was appointed as a Master Teacher at the Conway School for the 2015-2016 academic year. She is the Green Schools Alliance Site and Landscaping Expert.

    Free for ELA members, $10 for nonmembers. Sign up at http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/webinar-transitioning-ecological-landscape-practices-toxin-free-landscapes/

  • Wreath of the Day – Happy New Year

    And we wrap up another season of Wreath of the Day. Choosing the wreaths is terribly hard because so many beautiful wreaths are still to be shown. The example below is one half of a mirror image matched pair. We hope you have enjoyed the feature and for those who are not yet registered to receive our daily email notices, please go to the bottom of the home page at www.gardenclubbackbay.org and sign up. No advertising, lists are never shared or sold, and you’ll be informed of all the latest local happenings in the fields of gardening, the environment, food and wine, and travel, to name just a few categories. Happy New Year to all.

  • Thursday, April 5 – Friday, April 13 – Gardens of San Diego & Anza Borrego Desert

    Susan Mahr and Hidden Treasures Tours will take you to San Diego and the Anza Borrego Desert April 5 – 13.  The tour will start with a visit to a private garden set on a hillside with several levels and a lot of steps, followed by a welcome dinner. The next day will be spent in Balboa Park, one of the most lushly planted urban parks in America, which includes the famous San Diego Zoo. On Saturday your day will start at the Little Italy Mercato Farmers Market and then on to the San Diego Horticulture Society’s annual spring garden tour in the Encinitas area north of the city. A multi course dinner at the Wine Vault & Bistro will complete the day. Sunday you’ll drive north again, through a section of Torrey Pines State Park, to the San Diego Botanical Garden and Mission Trails Regional Park. Dinner will be at Ironside Fish & Oyster in Little Italy. Monday will focus on the coastal environment with a trip to the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, and Tuesday will begin the optional desert extension, stopping first at The Water Conservation Garden in El Cajon and Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, then after lunch on to the Imperial Valley floor and Anza Borrego Desert State Park. There will be some optional hiking to see ocotillo, beavertail, barrel, fishhook, and other cacti before heading to Borrego Springs Resort Gold Club and Spa. On Wednesday drive past the Salton Sea into the Coachella Valley, with lunch at Shields Date Garden in Indio and a tour of The Living Desert, a remarkable combination garden, zoo, and natural history museum. In late afternoon you’ll arrive at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa in Rancho Mirage, with two outdoor pools, before dinner at The Steakhouse. Thursday features a drive over the coastal range to Temecula, San Diego’s wine country. For complete itinerary visit http://hiddentreasurestours.com//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/San-Diego-2018-Itinerary-Final-1.pdf