Boston Flora

Month: October 2019

  • Sunday, November 3, 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm – Grow Microgreens

    Learn to grow Microgreens with Tim Smith and Lisa Evans, co-founders of We Grow Microgreens, LLC. Microgreens are tender, edible seedlings of vegetables and herbs grown to the cotyledons (seed leaves) or first true leaf stages. In comparison to their mature plant counterparts, microgreens provide approximately five times more vitamins and carotenoids. Unlike sprouts, microgreens are grown in soil and only the stem and the leaves are eaten not the root as is done with sprouts. Similar to sprouts, they are valued for their high nutritional value. Microgreens can provide strong flavors, bright colors and interesting textures as garnishes for salads or entrees. Students will grow samples of Radish, Broccoli, Pea, Sunflower and Amaranth microgreens and wheat grass. The growth cycle of each microgreen will be observed and discussed. You learn about the nutrient properties and health benefits of microgreens and each microgreen will be tasted. Students will take home one tray with eight small live containers of microgreen growing samples. The Tower Hill Botanic Garden class will take place November 3 from 12:30 – 3:30 and is $55 for Tower Hill members, $69 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

    We Grow Microgreens, LLC, founded by urban growers Lisa Evans and Tim Smith, specializes in growing highly nutritious microgreens using sustainable growing practices. Their greenhouse is in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. After four years of working with the City of Boston, they are expanding their farm to Hyde Park. Evans experienced the benefits of eating primarily a microgreen diet at the Hippocrates Health Institute and became fascinated with the curative properties of the tender greens. Smith is an urban gardener who has won local awards for various produce. They use potting soil as a growing medium, natural sunlight and try to find organically sourced seeds. After harvest, the soil is composted thereby creating minimal waste. We Grow Microgreens has been featured on WBZ TV, The Boston Globe, Edible Boston, and Ask This Old House.

  • Tuesday, October 29, 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm – Climate Change and Its Effects on Trees and Their Relationship to Insects

    After slowly cooling throughout the past millennium, Earth has substantially warmed over the last 40 years, and effects on trees and insects are already apparent. There is a strong scientific consensus that this warming is caused by human emission of greenhouse gases. There also is a substantial discrepancy between this scientific consensus and perceptions of the public regarding climate change.

    In this October 29 Ecological Landscape Alliance webinar at 12:30 pm, Dr. Dan Herms will examine the evidence for anthropogenic climate change, including changes in patterns of precipitation; consider current and future impacts; and look at the implications for trees in urban and natural forests, especially their interactions with insects. He will also address the potential for trees to sequester carbon in urban forests as a climate change mitigation strategy. Free for ELA members, $10 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/webinar-climate-change-and-its-effects-on-trees-and-their-relationship-to-insects/

    Dr. Dan Herms is Vice President of Research and Development at The Davey Tree Expert Company. Prior to joining Davey in January 2018, Dr. Herms was a professor in the Department of Entomology at The Ohio State University, where he served on the faculty for 21 years. His research has focused on interactions between trees and insects, including effects of climate change, and he was a member of The Ohio State University Climate Change Outreach Team. Dr. Herms received his BS in landscape horticulture from The Ohio State University, his MS in horticulture and entomology from The Ohio State University, and his PhD in forest entomology from Michigan State University. In 2014, he was inducted as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  • Thursday, November 7, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm – Pruning Basics

    Worcester Tree Initiative’s Community Forester, Derek Lirange, will cover the fundamentals of pruning woody plants including what should be cut out of trees and shrubs and how to make cuts for both health and appearance. He will also address common pruning mistakes or misconceptions and simple tool maintenance so you can make sure you’re making the best cut every time. The lecture takes place at Tower Hill Botanic Garden at 10:30 am. $26 for Tower Hill members, $36 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org

    Derek Lirange is the Community Forester for the Worcester Tree Initiative (WTI) program at Tower Hill Botanic Garden. He has worked for WTI since 2013 helping to coordinate programs ranging from tree planting and pruning events with volunteers to classes for children and adults on the value of the landscape in cities and towns. Derek has a Bachelors of Science in Community Forestry from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and is an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist.

  • Saturday, November 2, 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm – Seed Collecting

    Learn techniques for collecting, storing and stratifying seed to increase your plant collection. Not all plants produce seed that will come true, but our native plants are easy ones to collect, store and grow. The Tower HIll Botanic Garden class will spend some time in the garden collecting seed and discussing how to handle that seed, we will clean some seed and each student will have the opportunity to take home some seed. Finally we will discuss the best ways to germinate most seed. Class takes place November 2 from 1:30 – 4:30 (rain date November 3), and is $39 for Tower Hill members, $53 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

    Leslie Duthie is the horticulturist/plant propagator at Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary in Wales MA where she gardens for wildlife and habitat types. She has 40 years of experience in native plant gardens.

  • Saturday, November 2, 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm – The Genus Pinguicula

    The New England Carnivorous Plant Society will hold its November meeting on November 2 from 12:30 – 2:30 at the Roger Williams Park Botanical Center, 1000 Elmwood Avenue in Providence. The meeting is free and open to the public. In November, the speaker will be Mike Graziano, on the topic of the genus Pinguicula. For more information visit http://necps.org

    Pinguicula, commonly known as the butterworts, is a genus of carnivorous plants that use sticky, glandular leaves to lure, trap, and digest insects in order to supplement the poor mineral nutrition they obtain from the environment. Of the roughly 80 currently known species, 13 are native to Europe, 9 to North America, and some to northern Asia. The largest number of species is in South and Central America.

  • Wednesday, November 13, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Homeward Bound

    Wednesday, November 13, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Homeward Bound

    The Women’s Lunch Place and The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay join to sponsor a benefit to support both the Women’s Lunch Place in serving the homeless and NABB’s work to maintain the quality of life in the neighborhood, including its efforts to educate the public and address issues regarding homelessness. Enjoy harvest bites, craft beers, wine, and a special harvest cocktail, and a silent auction on Wednesday, November 13 from 6 – 9 at the Women’s Lunch Place, 67 Newbury Street in Boston. $75 general admission, or $400 to underwrite at a Sponsor level. Your contribution, excluding $40 per ticket, is tax deductible to the extent provided by law. To purchase tickets online, visit https://womenslunchplace.org/event-calendar/2019/9/18/nabb-homeward-bound or mail a check to PO Box 170900, Boston, MA 02117. For more information, email tour@womenslunchplace.org.

  • Friday, November 1, 10:30 am – 2:30 pm – Navigating Public Design

    Community spaces are exciting projects to envision and realize. In this Ecological Landscape Alliance half-day workshop, learn a process to bring stakeholders together to collaborate in creating outdoor spaces of meaning and beauty. Understand how to use your creative ideas to build partnerships, fundraise, overcome obstacles, and draw visitors to your public landscape. We will emphasize the creation of spaces that are both ecologically and operationally sustainable. The session takes place at Garden in the Woods in Framingham on November 1 from 10:30 – 2:30. ELA members $60, nonmembers $71. Landscape designer Staci Jasin will lead the class. Register at www.ecolandscaping.org

  • Wednesday, October 23, 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm – Plants with True Grit Webinar

    Both in the designed landscape and in the wild, plants thrive or die within a wide variety of conditions, often surprising us with either outcome. Our observations and experiments can help us choose which plants have a greater chance of tolerating the conditions we want to place on them. In this Ecological Landscape Alliance online class on October 23 from 12:30 – 1:30, we’ll talk about some of the plants that have shown themselves to be especially tough in a variety of conditions. Free for ELA members, $10 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/webinar-plants-with-true-grit/

    Amy Nyman is landscape designer and owner of Ruby Leaf Design, providing ecological solutions that include site analysis, landscape restoration, water management, hardscaping, master plans, planting plans, and edible landscapes. Her design philosophy is founded on the belief that landscapes should blend beauty, function, and health. Her professional goal is to help people find that balance within their living spaces. She enjoys integrating native plants into the formal garden, offering both recognized structure and a sense of place by reconnecting the space with regionally-native plants, while also increasing the biodiversity and resilience of the landscape.

  • Sunday, October 27, 10:30 am – 4:30 pm – Drawing Fall Gourds with Colored Pencil

    Tower Hill Botanic Garden has scheduled an art class on October 27 from 10:30 – 4:30 on Drawing Fall Gourds with Colored Pencil. Autumn colors are everywhere. Refine your technique of layering colored pencils to achieve beautiful, realistic botanical art. Using fall gourds as subject matter, discover what colors to mix for subtle tonal values, how to depict textures and pattern, and where to add highlights and shadows. A materials list will be provided upon registration. $80 for Tower Hill members, $90 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

    Carol Schwartz is an award winning artist, educator, scientific illustrator and nature themed picture book artist, with over 60 books illustrated by her. She has been an Artist in Residence at the Shoal’s Marine Laboratory on Appledore Island, ME for the past two years and teaches illustration at Eastern Connecticut State University.

  • Wednesday, November 6, 10:00 am – Beekeeping in an Urban Environment

    Wednesday, November 6, 10:00 am – Beekeeping in an Urban Environment

    The November meeting of the Garden Club of the Back Bay will take place Wednesday, November 6 beginning at 10 am at The College Club of Boston, 44 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. Beekeeper Dave Strickler will talk about beekeeping in the City. Dave is a member of the Massachusetts Beekeeping Association, and will bring a few different honeys for attendees to sample. Members of the Garden Club will receive email notification of the meeting and should respond as directed on the invitation. An optional lunch will follow the meeting, and you may pay online at https://bostonflora.com/shop/

    If you are not a member but wish to attend, please email info@bostonflora.com.