Month: October 2018

  • Tuesday, October 16, 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm – Daytime Floral Design

    Join the Boston Center for Adult Education, 122 Arlington Street, on October 16 from 2:30 – 4:30 for a relaxing afternoon of floral design. In this class, you’ll create your very own beautiful floral arrangement with the help of accomplished floral designer Jimmy Guzman. You’ll leave feeling refreshed, with your lovely floral arrangement to display in your home or give as a gift.

    Jimmy N. Guzman possesses an impressive breadth of experience in the hotel, catering, floral, and events industries having performed executive roles for various firms in and around Boston. His background includes: General Manager of a hotel and restaurant, Retail Manager for Winston Flowers‘ two acre flagship property in Chestnut Hill, Operations Manager for Off the Vine Catering, and Sales & Marketing Manager for an event design firm.

    JNG Event Consulting grew out of Jimmy’s immense desire to assist industry professionals with all aspects of event execution as well as to provide consultation on how to market their firms. Jimmy’s love of design and his love of people, lend passion to his work and he is able to contribute his expertise to events of all sizes.

    JNG Event Consulting is a proud sponsor of the American Theater Wing, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, the Red Sox Foundation, and the Victim’s Rights Fund. JNG has also executed design for non-profit organizations such as the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children at the Fairmont Copley Plaza, the Boston Center for the Art’s “BCA Ball” at the Cyclorama, the Sumaria Foundation’s 2nd Annual Gala at the Mandarin Oriental, Boston, and the Philippine Medical Society’s Gala at the Four Seasons Hotel, Boston.

    Jimmy is the recipient of a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and Communications from Boston College (cum laude), and a Master of Science degree in Economic Development and Tourism Management from Boston University. While at Boston University, Jimmy completed a certificate course at Rittners’ School of Floral Design and took courses towards a Certificate in Professional Cooking from Newbury College, where he also served as an adjunct professor teaching hotel industry Issues.

    $45 for the session, plus a $25 materials fee. Register at https://bcae.org/product/daytime-floral-design-10-16-2018/

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  • Sunday, October 14, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Growing Pollinator-Friendly Plants From Seed

    Learn how to grow the top New England plants for pollinators from seed. The fates of native plants and pollinators are intricately interwoven; both are essential to the environment. Growing from seed is an affordable solution for creating pollinator habitat in a home gardener’s yard. This New England Wild Flower Society class, to be held at Nasami Farm in Whately on Sunday, October 14 from 10 – 1, covers all information needed to raise these pollinator powerhouses. Instructor Kate Stafford leads the class. $40 for NEWFS members, $48 for nonmembers. Register online at www.newenglandwild.org.  Image from www.northeastpollinator.com.

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  • Thursday, October 25 & Friday, October 26, 8:45 am – 3:30 pm – Landscape Design School

    The popular Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts Landscape Design School (LDS) will be held at St. Brigid’s Keilty Hall, 2001 Massachusetts Avenue in Lexington on October 25 and 26, 2018. Landscape Design School (LDS) is a series of four courses presented by distinguished lecturers on landscape design, methods, history, theory and analysis. LDS is open to the public. While the courses do not confer professional status, it is an enriching experience and can serve as an entrée to the subject.

    The speakers this year include Historian Lucinda Brockway; Darrah Cole, Senior Horticulturist and Designer on the Rose Kennedy Greenway; Christie Dustman, APLD; Heather Heimarck, ASLA, of HighMark Land Design; landscape architect and designer Laura Eisener; Designer Yvonne Watson, and Andrew Whittaker, Green Abundance by Design.

    To find out more and obtain a registration slip visit https://sites.google.com/site/ldcmass/lds-course-1—oct-30-to-nov-1-2014. Registration deadline is October 15. $110 for NGC Garden Club Members, $125 for nonmembers.

  • Tuesday, October 9, 7:30 pm – The Whole Story: A Celebration of Caterpillars in All Their Incarnations

    Tuesday, October 9, 7:30 pm – The Whole Story: A Celebration of Caterpillars in All Their Incarnations

    Samuel Jaffe from the Caterpillar Lab will present a photograph and video packed talk on Tuesday, October 9 at 7:30 that explores backyard pollinators, plants, and the many caterpillars that are positioned at the center of it all. He will introduce a “Whole Story” perspective of natural history study and appreciation that just might make you reconsider a herbivore’s place in our gardens. The “Whole Story” is a celebration of caterpillars in all their incarnations. Sam founded “The Caterpillar Lab” in 2013, a non-profit educational outreach organization. He travels the country working with museums, nature centers, schools, and individual teachers helping native insects find their place in our everyday lives.

    The talk is free and open to the public. It will be held in Room 101 of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, 26 Oxford Street in Cambridge. The meeting is readily accessible via public transportation. Parking is available in the Oxford Street Garage with advance arrangement, or (usually but not always) at spaces on nearby streets. Everyone is also welcome to join The Cambridge Entomological Club for dinner before the talk (beginning at 5:45 PM) at the Cambridge Common, 1667 Mass Ave., Cambridge. For more information visit http://entclub.org.

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  • Wednesday, October 24, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm – Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts Fall Conference

    Please join President Suzanne McCane, along with the Board of Directors of The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, Inc., on Wednesday, October 24 for the Fall Conference at The Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley. Registration and continental breakfast begins at 9 am, the business meeting begins at 9:30, followed by a speech by Claudia Thompson, founder of Grow Native Massachusetts. For complete information and registration visit www.gcfm.org, or contact meetings chairman Lisa Bourgeois at klbprc@comcast.net.

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  • Thursday, October 18, 9:00 am – 4:30 pm – Advanced Design Workshop with Roy Diblik

    Join acclaimed designer and plantsman Roy Diblik on October 18 from 9 – 4:30 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden for a rare opportunity to immerse yourself in garden design and to be inspired by nearly four decades of his design experience and extensive plant background. During this full-day workshop, Mr. Diblik will share the importance of affection in the design process; the beauty of self-discovery in coming to know plants and creating intimate plant communities; and the joy of caring for perennial plantings.

    Mr. Diblik’s teaching is based on his belief that successful planting design isn’t about how many new and different plants you can use, but rather about knowing your plants and understanding how to combine them to create sustainable and beautiful relationships. In this workshop, Mr. Diblik will delve into 16 plants and explain the value of coming to known them. In-depth discussion will help build an understanding of their growth rate, growth habits, and other characteristics that contribute to successful placement in communities and to their seasonal and yearly developmental associations with each other. Mr. Diblik will explore the importance of mindful inputs based on the garden’s selected plant patterns within the overall plant community and their evolving relationships from year to year. During the workshop, he will guide the group through layout patterns and evaluate layouts based on their stewardship needs from the first year to the fifth year. In addition to plant and design topics, Mr. Diblik will discuss gardening practices over landscaping practices. This exploration will challenge workshop participants to consider the relative benefits of health-and-beauty over neat-and-tidy. With the recognition that we must manage time as well as financial resources, Mr. Diblik will also share his inspirational wisdom about the transformational time we are in within the horticultural industry. He will describe his vision that we are positioned to become a plant driven culture that raises the level of beauty while recognizing the value of responsible water use, biodiversity expansion, habitat creation, and good soil stewardship.

    Roy Diblik is a recognized perennial plant expert, grower, designer, author, and co-owner of Northwind Perennial Farm in southeastern Wisconsin. Combining his 35+ years of knowledge growing traditional and Midwest native perennials, he specializes in highly aesthetic, sustainable plant communities for all seasons, while reducing maintenance through design. e believes that gardens should be thoughtful, ecologically directed, emotionally outreaching, and yet very personal. Mr. Diblik is the author of The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden, a simplified approach that promotes use of hardy, beautiful plants that are complementary and thrive together as a community.

    Co-sponsored by the Ecological Landscape Alliance. $125 for members of sponsoring organizations, $160 for nonmembers. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.

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  • Saturday, October 13, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm – Landscape Design Clinic

    This Berkshire Botanical Garden fast-paced, information-saturated clinic on October 13 from 9 – 4 will introduce design students, home owners, and others to an opportunity-finding and problem-solving design process. It will lead to the basic conceptual elements of a landscape master plan. All attendees will participate in the process of observing and designing. Students will come away with coherent examples of how design happens. An active discussion format will focus on common design principles. A step-by-step PowerPoint presentation will focus the discussion later in the afternoon. This all-day workshop is a prerequisite for the Landscape Design Clinic Level II course offered in spring 2019. The field trip is held rain or shine. The instructor is Walter Cudnohufsky, and the cost is $115 for BBG members, $125 for nonmembers. Register online at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

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  • Saturday, October 13 – Things Fall Apart: Land-Use History, Non-Native Insects, Climate Change, and the Decline of a Forest

    The October New England Botanical Club meeting will take place Saturday, October 13 at the Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts. The featured speaker is Dr. Aaron Ellison, Senior Research Fellow in Ecology at the Harvard Forest. From late morning to mid-afternoon, there will be a tree coring and dendroecology workshop with Dr. Neil Pederson, and filed trips to sites of botanical interest around Petersham. In the late afternoon and evening, you will enjoy a tour of the Hemlock Hospice installation with Dr. Ellison at 4 pm, followed by a potluck dinner with NEBC members and guests (6 pm), and a 7 pm presentation from Dr. Ellison in the Fisher Museum at the Harvard Forest. For more information visit www.rhodora.org. Image courtesy of The Harvard Crimson.

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  • Tuesday, October 9, 5:15 pm – 7:30 pm – Native American Environmental History

    This Massachusetts Historical Society panel on Tuesday, October 9 from 5:15 – 7:30 will explore the intersections of environmental history and indigenous studies—the questions that each field engenders in the other, as well as the perspectives that native and non-native scholars bring to their research as they traverse both fields. Questions of race, gender, geography, and sources enliven this growing body of scholarship. Join us for a stimulating and wide-ranging conversation on these and other topics. The panel participants are Lisa Brooks, Amherst College; Strother Roberts, Bowdoin College; Ashley Smith, Hampshire College; Thomas Wickman, Trinity College.  Moderator: Cedric Woods, Institute for New England Native American Studies, University of Massachusetts Boston. The panel takes place at 1154 Boylston Street in Boston.

    Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required.To RSVP: email seminars@masshist.org or call (617) 646-0579.

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  • Sunday, October 14, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Under the Spell of Succulents

    Succulent nursery owner Jeff Moore introduces us to the world of cultivated succulents, offering insight into how we engage with these plants, from the casual enthusiast to collectors and growers. Learn about their use in container gardening, landscaping, bonsai and more, on Sunday, October 14 from 1 – 2 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden. Moore will also showcase the major genera, including aloes, euphorbias, agaves, cacti, crassulas and kalanchoes, with stunning images, and plenty of opportunity for Q&A.

    Co-sponsored with Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Jeff Moore is a long-time succulent enthusiast who has owned Solana Succulents, just north of San Diego, since 1992. He is the author of three books, Under the Spell of Succulents, Aloes and Agaves, and Soft Succulents. All three books will be available for purchase and signing after his talk. Lecture is $10 for Tower Hill members, $20 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

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