Month: April 2019

  • Sunday, May 12, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Lilac Sunday

    Of the thousands of flowering plants in the Arboretum, only one, the lilac, is singled out each year for a daylong celebration. Mainly located on the edge of Bussey Hill Road in the heart of the landscape, the lilac collection at the Arnold Arboretum is among the premier collections of these plants in North America. Lilac Sunday has been celebrated at the Arnold Arboretum since 1908. Tours of the lilacs and family activities are available from 10 – 3 on Sunday, May 12. Picnicking is permitted on this day only, but food must be brought into the Arboretum – no food vendors will be allowed on site. The landscape is open from dawn to dusk. For more information visit http://arboretum.harvard.edu.

  • Thursday, May 2, 7:00 pm – Hand Tool and Small Motor Maintenance and Repair for Horticulturists and Home Gardeners

    The garden shed can sometimes be an overwhelming experience. Years of tools and dust often pile up in corners and hang unused on the walls. Rusty pruners, a broken shovel, a decade old weed whacker and a wobbly wheelbarrow haunt a gardener’s dreams.

    Come to Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street, Wellesley, on May 2 at 7 pm and learn how to repair and revive old tools as well as how to maintain the new ones. In this Mass Hort class we will cover the basic maintenance of hand tools and small motor/electric tools such as chainsaws and weed whackers. We will sharpen pruners, repair shovels and even clean the air filter on a motor. Please bring your hand pruners and a sharpening stone if you have them. Handouts will be provided but bring a pen and paper to take notes.

    Instructor Nate McCullin is an accomplished horticulturist with over 15 years of hands on experience designing, installing and maintaining gardens and landscapes in the Northeast. After completing a degree in Landscape Horticulture and Plant Science from the University of Delaware, Nate headed north to New England. Since arriving in Southeast Massachusetts he has worked in a variety of horticultural settings including public gardens, residential landscapes, estate management and many different commercial settings. His wide range of experience combined with a modern sustainable approach have enabled Nate to create aesthetically pleasing landscapes that also retain high functionality whether it be for stormwater control, drought tolerance or supporting local fauna. From bulbs to bushes, containers to perennials and everything else between the soil and canopy Nate knows how to create beautiful and resilient outdoor spaces that his clients will enjoy for years to come.

    $12 for Massachusetts Horticultural Society members, $20 general admission. Register at www.masshort.org.

  • Saturday, April 27, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Arbor Day Celebration and Tree Giveaway

    Come to Garden in the Woods in Framingham on April 27 from 10 – 3 for a fun-filled, family-friendly day to celebrate trees and forests, with a lecture and book-signing with Richard Drori, author of Around the World in 80 Trees (the talk is free but pre-registration recommended: www.nativeplanttrust.org). There will be children’s activities, games, art projects and investigation stations throughout the Garden. Adults can enjoy guided tours and workshops on planting and pruning trees. One hundred trees will be given away on a first come, first-served basis. Free of charge with Garden Admission.

  • Thursday, May 2, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Tree Planting Deep Dive

    On May 2 from 6 – 8 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, join the staff of Worcester Tree Initiative to learn how to properly plant and care for young trees and shrubs. Topics include: planting container trees, ball and burlap stock, and bare root plants. We will also discuss the basic elements of choosing right tree right place and when to stake a tree. Each attendee will receive a tree care booklet to take home. $26 for Tower Hill members, $36 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Saturday, May 4, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Beyond Crabapples – The Four Season Beauty of Ornamental Trees

    Hollister House Garden, 300 Nettleton Hollow Road in Washington, Connecticut (the Berkshires) hosts a May 4 morning program entitled Beyond Crabapples – The Four Season Beauty of Ornamental Trees.

    Surround yourself with the beauty of small, ornamental trees. In this illustrated talk, Elisabeth Cary will teach us how this underutilized group of plants can play an important part in the four season garden offering flowers, fruit, foliage and structure. These small trees can have a role in the mixed border, as a focal point to brighten a dark corner or as a canopy to brighten a dark corner. Learn about the many species available for the zone 5 garden and explore how to select, site, and cultivate this great group of plants.

    Elisabeth Cary, former Director of Education at Berkshire Botanical Garden, has been gardening for over 30 years. She is currently developing Cooper Hill Farm, a micro flower farm in Sheffield, MA.

    Hollister House Garden Members $25; Non-Members $35. Register at https://hollisterhousegarden.org/events/beyond-crabapples-the-four-season-beauty-of-ornamental-trees/

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  • Thursday, May 16, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm – 90th Annual Tour of the Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill

    Thursday, May 16, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm – 90th Annual Tour of the Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill

    Join the Beacon Hill Garden Club on Thursday, May 16 from 9 – 5 for a stroll through the charming streets of Beacon Hill. The Beacon Hill Garden Club is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The annual tour of the Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill honors a long tradition of urban gardening in Boston. The Club will welcome over 2,500 visitors to the neighborhood. Ticket holders  will enjoy not only our hidden gardens, but also our shops, restaurants and museums. From its first garden tour since the club was founded in 1928, club members have opened their gardens every year on the third Thursday in May, even through the Depression and World War II. They hope you will enjoy the day visiting the nooks, crannies and charming spaces that make Beacon Hill special. Tour proceeds benefit local, state and national horticulture and conservation causes.

    Tickets are available online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/annual-tour-of-the-hidden-gardens-of-beacon-hill-tickets-43114965021. $50 – $60, rain or shine, no refunds. Information and Ticket Booth will be located at 70 Charles Street, at the corner of Charles and Mt. Vernon Streets, on the day of the tour.

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  • Wednesday, May 1, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Hops Gardening

    Learn all about cultivating hops for ornamental, homebrewing, and home remedy usage. Hop Gardening, a class to be held at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston, on May 1 from 6 – 9, will introduce the novice and expert to hop planting techniques, the growth cycle, pruning, spacing and support methods, harvesting, drying, and diseases and pests. Take home your very own hop rhizome ready for cultivating.

    Samantha Ambrose has been cultivating hops most of her life. Samantha’s grandfather cultivated Noble German hops on an 80 acre farm in Old Chatham, NY. In 2006 Samantha won the Gold Medal for Pale Ale category in the Boston Homebrewers competition using home grown hops. In 2004 Yankee Brew News produced a 7 page spread detailing Samantha’s Lancaster, Massachusetts hop garden. Warm, vibrant and engaging, Samantha is at home on the community theater stage or presenting, facilitating, and mentoring on a variety of gardening topics. $39 for Tower Hill members, $47 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Wednesday, May 1, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – A Grassland Restoration Tale of Weeds, Wildlife, and Renewal

    Restoring weed-dominated habitats comes with many complex challenges and often involves difficult tradeoffs. This process is even more complicated in public landscapes with diverse constituencies. Join landscape designer Jenna Webster, co-curator of the New Directions in the American Landscape conference, and a teacher in the Ecological Gardening Certificate program at the Mt. Cuba Center, on May 1 at 7 pm at the Cambridge Public Library at 449 Broadway in Cambridge to learn how Larry Weaner Landscape Associates negotiated these challenges in their restoration planning for a 100-acre grassland at Croton Point Park in New York. Located atop a capped landfill, this site provides vital habitat for imperiled bird species. The Park’s popularity and complex history led Jenna and her team to seek stakeholder input, synthesize crowd-sourced ecological data, and utilize scientific research— creating a thoughtful restoration plan that is now under construction. This case study gives us valuable lessons for land restoration on sites both large and small, and particularly for protecting specialized habitat used by native wildlife.

    The Grow Native Massachusetts free program is part of its Evenings with Experts 2019 slate.

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  • Reconnect Parkland Through Storrow Project

    MassDOT has opened a public conversation about the reconstruction of Storrow Drive near Kenmore Square where it intersects with the Bowker Overpass.

    They have developed an approach that offers the exciting prospect of moving Storrow further back from the River and consolidating parkland. Planners are converging on Options 3A or 3B in this slide deck. Worth noting: The project does not include, but will be done so as not to foreclose, the daylighting of the Muddy River’s entrance to the Charles.

    A lot of thinking has been to identify these options, but a lot of design and engineering work remains to be done in collaboration with neighbors and the larger public. A meeting was held to start the conversation with representatives of neighborhood groups and abutting institutions — much more conversation to come.

    The project is likely to begin construction in roughly 2023. To learn more about this project, contact State Senator Will Brownsberger at http://willbrownsberger.com, or call his office at 617-722-1280.

  • Thursday, April 18, 12:00 noon – Memorial Tree Dedication

    Thursday, April 18, 12:00 noon – Memorial Tree Dedication

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay announces a tree dedication to honor the memory of the two fire fighters who lost their lives five years ago fighting the nine-alarm fire at 298 Beacon Street.  On April 18th, at 12 noon, the families of Lieutenant Edward Walsh, Jr., of Engine Company 33, and Firefighter Michael Kennedy, of Ladder Company 15, will join the Fire Commissioner of the City of Boston and the Garden Club of the Back Bay to dedicate a new tree planted at the site of the fire.