Boston Flora

Month: October 2019

  • Friday, November 8 – Sunday, November 10, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – All Through the House

    “All Through the House,” a holiday celebration at Crosby Mansion, 163 Crosby Lane, Brewster, MA, will be held November 8-10 from 10-4 pm and will feature tours of the mansion, fresh florals and a holiday boutique sponsored and decorated by members of Nauset Garden Club of Orleans.

    Tickets are $25 in advance, available at Snows, The Farm, Agway in Orleans and the Brewster General Store. $27 online at nausetgardenclub.com. and $30 at the door. For more information contact event chair Kay Nagle, at kaynagle3@gmail.com.

  • Thursday, November 14, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm – Shibori Indigo Dyeing

    The Massachusetts Horticultural Society will present a session on Shibori Indigo Dyeing on November 14 from 9 – 4. Learn how to create vivid blue designs on cloth.  We begin by twisting, folding, stitching, clamping, wrapping and compressing fabric into a variety of shapes.  Then we dip the fabric into a magical indigo vat to produce shades ranging from pale blue to denim.  Finally, we unwrap the dyed pieces to reveal stunning patterns – both simple and complex.  You will leave class with several pieces of dyed fabric and the knowledge and confidence to explore this exciting process at home.

    Students need to bring small sharp scissors and tight fitting dishwashing gloves to class.  Students should wear old clothes or bring an apron.

     Mary DeLano is a fiber explorer who loves eco printing, natural dying, stitching, wool applique, and rug making. Mary enjoys sharing her passion for fiber arts with new students.  She teaches throughout New England, including at Maine Fiber College, where she also serves on the organizing committee.

    $140 Mass Hort members/$200 general admission. Register at www.masshort.org.

  • Wednesday, November 6, 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm – Kiley Fellow Lecture: Paola Sturla

    Paola Sturla is a registered Architetto and Paesaggista in Italy, a Ph.D. candidate in Urban Planning, Design, and Policy at Politecnico di Milano, and the 2018-19 Daniel Urban Kiley teaching fellow at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She holds a Master of Landscape Architecture (Harvard GSD 2011, with distinction), as well as a Master of Architecture (PoliMi 2007). She will speak on November 6 at noon at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in Gund Hall – the lecture is free and open to the public.

    Her current research aims to critically investigate how AI-based tools and computer simulations could support landscape architecture in the context of infrastructure planning, taking advantage of the user’s experience as a design variable. The research asks if these tools can integrate cognition among the engineering-based design parameters, introducing a relational approach borrowed from interaction design and complexity science.

    Before starting her Ph.D., Paola’s interests spanned across academia and practice. She has been a landscape design discipline leader at One-Works S.p.A., where she worked on Qatar Railways’ Doha Metro Red Line North Underground project. This experience enabled her to reflect on the role of landscape design in the framework of an international, large-scale and interdisciplinary socio-technical infrastructure project. Prior to that, she had been collaborating with the Beijing based firm BAM Ballistic Architecture Machine.

    At the same time, Paola has been teaching landscape design in the first year Master of Architecture studio at Politecnico di Milano with Cino Zucchi and Matilde Cassani.

    Paola is also an alumna of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Community (Rome Hub). Together with some fellow Shapers, she started Powering Education ONLUS, a not for profit initiative that developed the award-winning Powering Impact research project sponsored by the Coca-Cola Company, Enel Foundation, and Enel Green Power.

    Anyone requiring accessibility accommodations should contact the events office at (617) 496-2414 or events@gsd.harvard.edu.

  • Saturday, November 9, 10:15 am – 4:15 pm – Horticultural Therapy

    In this Tower Hill Botanic Garden workshop on November 9 from 10:15 – 4:15, designed for educators, healthcare professionals and caregivers, learn the benefits and fundamentals of horticultural therapy. Hands-on projects and role playing will be included, as well as many more ideas for indoor and outdoor horticultural therapy projects. Fee ($85 for Tower Hill members, $95 for nonmembers) includes materials. Register at www.towerhillbg.org

    Lorraine A. Lee is a Horticultural Therapist, Certified Activity Consultant through NCCAP, Certified Dementia Practitioner and Master Gardener . She earned a Masters degree in Counseling and has 25 years experience as an educator, artist and Alzheimer’ disease clinical professional.. She is past Chairman of the Horticultural Therapy Committee for The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, Inc.

  • Holiday Wreaths – How We Price

    Last year we were obliged to raise the price of our exquisite hand tied bows due to the ever-rising costs of ribbon. Customers purchasing wreaths with bows or just a separate bow paid an extra $5 ($10 for extra large bows), but we didn’t add on the extra costs to our fully decorated standard wreaths. This year we realized we need to charge more for the fully decorated models, for a few reasons. One factor, naturally, was the more expensive ribbon, but in addition to ribbon costs, prices for all the mechanics we need to execute the designs also had risen. Wires, picks, paint, exotic greens, and accessories have become more expensive. Off-season storage costs went up, as did the popularity of the wreaths themselves. We have only so many volunteers and a limited time in which to create the wreaths, so we decided we needed to charge more for what we are designing and delivering. In 2019 a fully decorated wreath will cost $140, still massively less expensive than comparable wreaths from high end florists. And remember, as an all volunteer organization, every cent of profit goes directly to the projects and causes we support. We hope every customer agrees that ordering from The Garden Club of the Back Bay is the responsible consumer choice! To order, visit https://bostonflora.com/shop/

  • Thursday, November 7, 7:00 pm – The Path of the Daff

    We are delighted to announce that The Path of the Daff documentary about Marathon Daffodils is showing at The Arlington International Film Festival on November 7, 2019 at 7:00 PM. See below for tickets. The showing will be at the Capitol Theater, 204 Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington. Running time 2 hours, 45 minutes.

    The Path of The Daff was conceived and produced by Marathon Daffodils grower Mathew Piscitelli, and Olson Greenhouse co-owner with Clive Olson, and producer Michael Piscitelli.  https://www.olsonsgreenhouses.com/about/.

    A city faced with unimaginable tragedy rallies around a most unlikely hero. A timeless story about healing and finding purpose in life.

    There is no road map for living through a traumatic event. It’s different for everyone who experiences it, and at some point, it’s something we all go through. Feeling lost, hopeless, and depressed comes with the territory, as if no other person in the world could understand your pain. This is a story of a community finding meaning when their lives are forever altered.

    In the wake of the 2013 bombings, Boston blooms again on Patriot’s Day with its newest tradition – the Boston Marathon Daffodils. One man with a camera and an editing system follows one daffodil bulb’s adventure from the soil in the Netherlands, across the Atlantic, into a MA greenhouse, and onto the finish line of the Boston Marathon. A zen story of purpose, healing, community, and love, as told by the people who experience it.

    Everything has a journey.

    The documentary has been awarded the Opening Night at the Arlington International Film Festival, and the Best Documentary at the The Valley Film Festival. https://pathofthedaff.wpengine.com/film-festival-home
    BUY TICKETS NOW:http://51520.formovietickets.com:2235/T.ASP?WCI=BT&Page=schedule&SelectedDate=20191107http://capitoltheatreusa.com/arlington-international-film-festival/

  • Saturday, November 9, 9:00 am – 12:00 noon – Build a Cold Frame Workshop

    Build your very own cold frame on November 9 from 9 – noon at The Gardens at Elm Bank. Extend your growing season and provide protection for seedlings and tender plants. The cold frame’s footprint is 2′ x 4′, and slopes from 24″ at the back to 16″ at the front. It disassembles for easy transportation and storage. We’re able to provide a few drills & screwdrivers, if you have your own please bring them along. All building materials are provided and no woodworking experience is necessary!

    Instructed by Gretel Anspach,  a Trustee of Mass Hort, a Lifetime Master Gardener, past-president of the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association and a retired systems engineer for Raytheon. 

    Workshop Fee $65 Mass Hort members; $75 general admission. Register at www.masshort.org.

  • Thursday, November 7, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Botanizing in the Land of the Blue Poppy

    Join Blithewold Mansion, Gardens, and Arboretum on Thursday, November 7 from 10 – 2 for some high-elevation Himalayan escapism via Matt Mattus’ stunning photos and film from a recent expedition.

    He followed in the footsteps of some of the greatest 19th-century botanists (Farrer, Ward, Forest) through a fascinating horticultural area, Yunnan and the borderlands of the Tibetan Autonomous Region. This area remains of immense interest to botanists and alpine gardeners and is home to varietals of primula, rhododendron and meconopsis: the famed blue poppy.

    $85 per person – register at www.blithewold.org

    ***The lecture will be followed by a luncheon, book signing, and raffle at the R.I. Country Club.***

  • Sunday, November 10, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm – Rooted in Place: Annual Ecological Gardening Symposium

    Berkshire Botanical Garden’s 4th annual ecological gardening symposium on November 10 at the Berkshire School in Sheffield, Massachusetts from 9 – 5 challenges gardeners to think what can we do to welcome wildlife and plant diversity in our gardens, rather than working to keep undesired pests out. Invasives are harmful, we do not want them. Pests can be detrimental so we need to look out for the health of our plants. That all holds true, but in these times of ever-present studies showing what can do harm, our symposium speakers will look on the bright side: what steps we can take to encourage beneficial insects, birds, and inspiring plants — all with a goal of creating unique and resilient landscapes.

    Speakers include Doug Tallamy on Helping Migrants Justify Their Migration, Bethany Bradley on Ecological Gardening with Climate Change to Prevent Future Invasions and Assist Native Migrations, Dan Jaffe on How to Make Your Life Easier with Native Plants, and Amy Nyman on Native Plants with True Grit. Registration includes lunch and refreshments throughout the day.

    BBG Members: $95; Non-Members: $110 Full descriptions of lectures and registration information may be found at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/rooted-place-annual-ecological-gardening-symposium

  • Thursday, November 7, 6:00 pm – Climate Change and Urban Landscapes: Extending Olmsted’s Legacy

    This November 7 Friends of Fairsted lecture will address the contemporary challenges and implications of climate change on cities and urban landscapes. Chris Reed will explore how Olmsted’s work in the 19th century can act as a model for multifunctional urban parks, and how new versions of these parks and park systems might best take on the climate challenges and social equity issues we face today. Examples of current work in Boston by Reed’s firm Stoss Landscape Urbanism will demonstrate how climate change has renewed Boston’s leadership in imagining open space systems that respond to contemporaneous social and environmental challenges.

    Chris Reed is Founding Director of Stoss Landscape Urbanism as well as Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture and Co-Director, Master of Landscape Architecture in Urban Design Program, at Harvard Graduate School of Design. He is recognized internationally as a leading voice in the transformation of landscapes and cities, working alternately as a researcher, strategist, teacher, designer, and advisor. Chris is particularly focused on creating resilient social spaces that foster vitality, equality and community within the public realm. His work collectively includes urban revitalization initiatives, climate resiliency efforts, adaptations of former industrial sites, and the creation of vibrant public spaces that act as a catalyst for change—environmentally, culturally and economically. Chris is a recipient of the 2012 Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award in Landscape Architecture, a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and the 2017 Mercedes T. Bass Landscape Architect in Residence at the American Academy in Rome.

    The event takes place at 43 Hawes Street, corner of Hawes and Monmouth Streets in Brookline. Limited street parking is available, and public parking is not allowed in the Wheelock parking lot. A reception begins at 6 pm and the lecture begins at 7. Free, but reservations are essential at https://friendsoffairsted.org/programs/register/

    Chouteau Greenway, St. Louis