Boston Flora

Month: February 2019

  • Friday, April 12, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm, and Saturday, April 13, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm – The 15th Annual Great Gardens Symposium

    Friday, April 12, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm, and Saturday, April 13, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm – The 15th Annual Great Gardens Symposium

    The premier Great Gardens Symposium takes place on Friday, April 12 and Saturday, April 13, 2019, at the magnificent, world-class Woodstock Inn and Resort in Woodstock, Vermont. The symposium features:

    Five info-packed lectures led by nationally and regionally renowned professionals in their fields

    A Gardeners Marketplace with plant vendors, artisans, gardening gifts and products

    An exquisite setting – The Inn is cherished for its preservation of New England history, heritage, and elegance as well as farm-fresh food and an emphasis on conservation

    Terrific handouts, door prizes and garden gifts for everyone

    Special overnight room rates for symposium attendees at The Woodstock Inn and Resort

    An opportunity to connect with hundreds of gardeners from around the Northeast and beyond

    The 2019 symposium is sure to be another sellout like past symposiums! Friday’s Pre-Symposium program from 1 – 4 with Kerry Ann Mendez is $55, and Saturday’s 8 – 4 day, with presenters Matthew Benson, Annie White, Warren Leach, and Kerry Ann Mendez, is $98. Full descriptions of the lectures and registration may be found at https://pyours.com/symposium/

    Image result for photographic garden: mastering the art of digital garden photography

  • Tuesday, March 12, 7:00 p, – 9:00 pm – Flowering Trees and Shrubs for Home Landscapes

    The North Andover Garden Club presents Flowering Trees and Shrubs for Home Landscapes on Tuesday, Mar 12, from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM at St. Michael’s Parish Hall, 196 Main St, North Andover. Suzanne Mahler explores the splendor of flowering trees and shrubs with a look beyond their fleeting flowers to varieties that provide colorful foliage and fruits, attractive forms, and textural bark, for interest in more than one season. The cost is $5 for the general public. Learn more at http://www.northandovergardenclub.com/

     

  • Thursday, September 5 – Thursday, September 12 – Gardens, Cuisine, & Royal Treasures of Vancouver, Salt Spring Island, & Victoria, BC

    The American Horticultural Society with hosts Erich Veitenheimer and Drew Cariaso and Tour Leader Kiloran McRae of Beneficial Travel have planned another exquisite trip September 5 – 12 in British Columbia. Highlights includetThe charming city of Vancouver, including a guided tour of the green oasis of Stanley Park, The University of British Columbia’s Nitobe Memorial Garden, among the world’s top five Japanese gardens outside Japan, and UBC’s Botanical Garden, with a walk into the tree canopy along an aerial trail system. Also included is the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, which embodies the philosophy of yin and yang and was named the world’s top city garden by National Geographic and the VanDusen Botanical Garden (below), a 55-acre oasis whose features include a majestic stand of giant sequoias and a Sino-Himalayan garden. You will see the Vancouver Art Gallery, whose spectacular photography collection includes images by Ansel Adams, Cindy Sherman, and Henri Cartier-Bresson, and enjoy a wine tasting at the organic Garry Oaks Estate Winery. There will be the opportunity to tour organic farms, including the Salt Spring Apple Company’s orchard, the Salt Spring Island Cheese Company’s farm, and Foxglove Farm, created by organic-farming pioneer Michael Ableman. Private homes and gardens to which AHS has kindly been granted access, including a property named Canada’s best residential garden.

    Top-rated Accommodations are: OPUS Hotel, a charming boutique hotel in Vancouver that TripAdvisor named one of the top five trendiest hotels in the world. Hastings House Country House Hotel, a small luxury resort on 22 waterfront acres that is a member of the prestigious Relais and Châteaux hotel group. The Magnolia Hotel and Spa, a luxury boutique property two blocks from Victoria’s picturesque Inner Harbour that is consistently selected as one of Canada’s top hotels. For more information and to make reservations, please contact Susan Klejst, Director of Development & Engagement at (703) 768-5700 ext. 127, or Laura Popovich, Development Coordinator, at (703) 768-5700 ext. 132, or email development@ahsgardening.org. Our fax number is (703) 768-8700.

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  • Saturday, March 9, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Creating a Varroa Management Plan

    Keeping Varroa mites under control in a honeybee colony can be hard and confusing. There are lots of treatment options but no silver bullet. UMass extension educator Hannah Whitehead will lead a workshop on how to choose and combine treatment options in order to create a mite management plan. She will explain the theory of Integrated Pest Management, review mite treatment options and discuss the most effective non-chemical management tools. As part of the workshop, participants will fill out their own personal mite management plan for this coming summer.

    Hannah Whitehead is a honey bee extension educator at UMass Amherst. She received her masters at The Ohio State University, where she studied drone brood removal and surveyed beekeepers about mite management choices. In addition to her interest in bees, she is also passionate about farming: before pursuing her masters, she worked on vegetable and dairy farms, studied urban agriculture in Chicago, and worked as a research assistant for OSU’s Agroecosystem Management Program.

    $10 BBG members, $25 nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/creating-varroa-management-plan

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  • Friday, April 26, 3:00 pm – 10:00 pm, and Saturday, April 27 – Monday, April 29, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm – Art in Bloom

    Celebrate the return of spring with Art in Bloom, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s annual festival of fine art and flowers.

    Enjoy art from across the MFA’s collection paired with magnificent floral interpretations. Daily events include tours of arrangements throughout the galleries; flower-arranging demonstrations; informal dining among European paintings at the Art in Bloom Café; and outdoor walking tours.

    Art in Bloom launches with a Preview of freshly installed arrangements on Friday, April 26 from 3 to 10 pm. The popular Member Night is Saturday, April 27, and Community Day with children’s activities is Sunday, April 28.

    Browse the MFA Art in Bloom Market and Garden Cart for unique gifts and treasures.

    Special guest speaker Remco van Vliet demonstrates creative techniques for designing spectacular arrangements from classic to contemporary. Tickets and reservations for lecture, classes, and group tours go on sale February 28, 2019.

    Art in Bloom is sponsored by Wilmington Trust. Supporting Sponsor is Fitch Law Partners. Art in Bloom Community Day is sponsored by Arbella Insurance Foundation.

  • Tuesday, March 12, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Winter Pruning

    Proper pruning of trees and shrubs improves their health and structure while enhancing their appearance in the landscape. Gain hands-on experience and learn basic pruning principles, including how to make proper cuts, when to prune different species, and how to select and maintain tools. The New England Wild Flower Society class will take place March 12 from 1 – 3 at Garden in the Woods in Framingham, and is $26 for NEWFS members, $32 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.newenglandwild.org/learn/our-programs/winter-pruning

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  • Saturday, March 9, 9:30 am – 1:00 pm – Cultivating Legacies: New England Women in Horticulture and Landscape Design

    Women are often overlooked when we discuss individuals who had great impact on botany and landscape design of the 20th century. The Arnold Arboretum was one of the few institutions in America that encouraged women to study with and be mentored by established botanical and landscape design professionals.

    Mary (Polly) Wakefield, Eleanor Cabot Bradley, Martha Brooks Hutcheson, Marian Roby Case (below), and Marjorie Russell Sedgwick developed exceptional personal garden spaces and designed outstanding professional landscapes, and were also very active in the conservation and preservation of appreciable New England open space. This March 9 seminar highlights these women’s personal legacies: significant plant collections and garden design within beloved public spaces. Presentations illuminate these women and their roles in creating and protecting New England landscapes, the discernible role that the Arnold Arboretum played in these endeavors, and how we can continue to raise the visibility of these special places. Program includes an associated exhibition in the Arnold Arboretum’s historic Library Reading Room and light refreshments. Fee $50

    Co-sponsored by The Trustees of Reservations, the Mary M.B. Wakefield Charitable Trust, and the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University

    Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.

    Image result for Marian Roby Case

  • Thursday, March 7, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm – Rain Garden Plants Webinar

    Rain gardens can reduce groundwater pollution in urban landscapes by cleaning, cooling, and slowing stormwater. Learn how to maximize rain garden function by using the most durable native plants in some of the toughest spots. New England Wild Flower Society sponsors a March 7 webinar with Anna Fialkoff from 6 – 7 EST, for a fee of $10 for NEWFS members $13 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.newenglandwild.org/learn/our-programs/rain-garden-plants

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  • Sunday, March 3, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Heirloom Apple Grafting

    Come join Broken Arrow Nurseries grafting guru, Adam Wheeler, on Sunday, March 3 from 1 – 4 at Berkshire Botanical Garden for this hands-on workshop that explores the world of grafting heirloom apples. Participants will be given a brief lecture that explores the methods and intricacies of this time-tested craft. Following the lecture, participants will put this newfound knowledge to work by grafting a few specimen apples of their own to take home.

    Adam Wheeler started playing with plants at Broken Arrow in 2004 after completing his B.S. degree in Urban Forestry and Landscape Horticulture at the University of Vermont. His favorite responsibilities at Broken Arrow Nursery include plant propagation and the acquisition and development of new plants. He is a past recipient of the Young Nursery Professional Award from the New England Nursery Association and is the current Vice President of the North American Maple Society. He loves to share his passion for plants through photography and educational outreach. As a result, he lectures widely on a variety of subjects and is also an adjunct lecturer at Naugatuck Valley Community College and the Berkshire Botanical Garden. With his spare time he enjoys cultivating his eclectic collection of rare and unusual plants, rock climbing and competitive giant pumpkin growing! $35 for BBG members, $45 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/heirloom-apple-grafting

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  • Tuesday, March 5, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Native Bees in the Hood

    Tuesday, March 5, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Native Bees in the Hood

    Perhaps surprisingly, urban environments support a high diversity of native bee species. But where are they living and what are they eating? In this March 5 Arnold Arboretum workshop, you will first learn about the biology and diversity of native bees and why they are important pollinators. We’ll dive into the city lifestyles of bees and the strategies they employ to be successful in these anthropogenic landscapes. In the second part of the workshop, we’ll focus on native bee decline and conservation, and learn answers to common questions such as: Why are bees dying? Do all bees need saving? What can I do to help bees at home? You’ll also learn the fundamentals of gardening for bees, and at the end of the workshop, have the opportunity to build and leave with a mason and leafcutter bee hotel. This workshop, taught by Nick Dorian, will extend your interest in native pollinators and equip you with the knowledge essential to supporting populations of native bees. Photo of Cuckoo Bee below from  http://nativebeesofnewengland.com.

    Fee $15. Meets in Hunnewell Building, 125 Arborway, Boston, beginning at 6:30 pm.  Co-sponsored by Agricultural Hall and the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.

    Image result for Native bees in Boston