Boston Flora

Month: February 2020

  • Saturday, March 14, 10:30 am – 3:30 pm – Rock Lichens

    Rocks are excellent places to study lichen growth forms, biology, and ecology. Native rock walls, cement walls, and cemetery monuments made from different rocks boast a diversity of rock-colonizing lichens common to New England. During this March 14 Native Plant Trust class at Garden in the Woods and a field site, you will learn about lichen identification, reproduction and growth, and habitat interactions through a stereoscope workshop and field application at local cemeteries. Elizabeth Kneiper leads. $75 for NPT members, $90 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/rock-lichens/

  • Thursday, March 19, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Fruit Trees: Pruning and Care

    On March 19 from 7 – 8:30, at The Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley, Stockbridge School of Agriculture Director and Professor of Pomology, Wes Autio, will present a talk on pruning fruit trees in the home landscape and will discuss the physiology of fruiting trees, methods for dwarf-tree pruning, ways to enhance fruit production, and other interesting facts for creating and maintaining a home orchard. $15/member, $20/general admission. Register at http://masshort.org

     

  • Thursday, March 19, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Winter Tree & Shrub Identification and Signs of Spring

    Join the Friends of Mount Auburn and Mount Auburn President Dave Barnett on March 19 at 2 pm at the Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn Street in Cambridge, as the snow-covered ground gives way to the earliest spring flowers and buds.  We will observe the early signs of spring’s arrival and learn how to identify some of the most interesting trees and shrubs at Mount Auburn by their buds, twig, and bark characteristics. 

    Experience a deeper connection to Mount Auburn Cemetery with free access to all our public programs and discounts on special events by joining the Friends of Mount Auburn. Our robust roster of programs each year is made possible through your generous support.

    $7 for Member of Friends of Mount Auburn, $12 for nonmembers. Funding for programs has been provided in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Register at www.mountauburn.org

  • Thursday, April 2, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm, & Friday, April 3, 8:15 am – 12:45 pm – Gardening Study School Course 3

    The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts’ Gardening Study School. Course 3, Series 11, will take place April 2 and 3 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston.

    Subjects covered: Thursday, April 2 (Tested subjects) Factors that Influence Plant Growth – Dr. Judith Sumner, Botanist

    New Plant Development & Evaluation – Dr. Judith Sumner, Botanist Teaching Tour of Tower Hill – Joann Vieira, Horticulturalist

    Supporting the Wild – Joann Vieira, Horticulturalist (non-tested)

    Friday, April 3, (Tested subjects) Container Gardening – Betty Sanders, Master Gardener

    Houseplants – Betty Sanders, Master Gardener

    Test for those becoming consultants begins at 1:45 PM. Registration deadline March 25.

    Make checks payable to GCFM and mail with your name, address, telephone number, email, Garden Club affiliation, to Linda Jean Smith, 23 Bentley Lane, Chelmsford, MA 01824. $110 GCFM Student Member, exam fee included, $100 Refresher, $140 non-member (2 day fee), $70 one day registration, & available box lunches $18/day (choose chicken, roast beef, or vegetarian wrap) For further information contact Joy DeMaggio at jmarykay2@outlook.com

  • Sunday, March 15, 10:30 am – 4:30 pm – Drawing Plants and Flowers

    Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston will hold a Drawing Plants and Flowers Class with Carolyn Todd on March 15 from 10:30 – 4:30. Students will be encouraged to develop observation skills to assist in the discovery of the anatomy of selected plants and flowers. Drawing and capturing the rhythm and shapes of live plants is superior to drawing from photographs or publications. Students will learn about drawing tools and specific drawing techniques to enhance drawing skills and critical thinking. Along with building technical skill, students will also be encouraged to promote a creative, unique, and personal drawing style. A materials list will be sent upon registration. $78 for THBG members, $88 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

    Carolyn earned her BFA and MA in studio Fine Arts and Fine Arts education from the University of Texas and the University of Houston. She was selected as the “Artist in Residence” for the National Park Service, Amistad National Recreation Area. She enjoys helping students of all ages discover their personal expression by enabling critical thinking. Carolyn teaches drawing, and watercolor, oil, acrylic, gouache, and encaustic painting. She is currently teaching in the ALFA program at Fitchburg State University, and the Creative Minds program (Seven Hills Foundation) at the Worcester and Fitchburg Art Museums.

    copyright Carolyn Todd, Blue Landscape

  • Saturday, March 14, 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm – The Earth in Her Hands: 75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants

    Focus in a wholly unique way on how horticulture intersects with our everyday world, and on women whose work has enriched and expanded these intersections in the last 25 years. The Earth in Her Hands: 75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants by Jennifer Jewell explores and celebrates how the plant world is improved not only by greater representation of women, but also by diversity amongst those women. It chronicles how working in the world of plants is a more viable and creative career path for women than ever before and how the plant-work world is demonstrating greater social and environmental responsibility, in large part due to women’s contributions. Walking through profiles of women doing current and innovative work in all fields horticultural – botany, environmental science, landscape design and architecture, floriculture, agriculture, social justice, plant seeking and breeding, seed science, gardening, garden writing and garden photography, public garden administration, research, and public policy – we see how they often represent larger issues or shifts in our world. The work of these women illustrates how the many challenges of our world – environmental, economic, cultural/societal, individual – can be met through cultivating an interdependence with plants. 

    The group of 75 includes representatives from the United States, England, Ireland, Wales, Canada, Australia, India, and Japan.  These paradigm-shifting women range beautifully across race, ethnicity, socio-economic and religious backgrounds, sexual orientation, and age – in a way that transcends preconceived notions of what horticulture/gardening is and what plantspeople/gardeners look like. These women and their work have profoundly positive impacts on the larger world – aesthetically, environmentally, culturally, and economically – making them joyful and encouraging role models and inspirations for us all.

    Following the March 14 lecture at the Berkshire Botanical Garden in West Stockbridge, there will be a book sale and signing of The Earth in Her Hands.

    Jennifer Jewell is the creator and host of Cultivating Place, an award-winning public radio program and podcast on natural history and the human impulse to garden.

  • Tuesday, March 10, 5:15 pm – 7:30 pm – The Metabolism of Military Forces in the War of Independence: Environmental Contexts and Consequences

    The Massachusetts Historical Society presents an Environmental History Seminar on Tuesday, March 10 at 5:15 at 1154 Boylston Street in Boston on The Metabolism of Military Forces in the War of Independence: Environmental Contexts and Consequences. David Hsiung of Juniata College will speak, with comment by James Rice of Tufts University. In order to function during the War of Independence, armies and navies needed multiple sources of energy—food, firewood, work animals (which also needed food), ammunition, and more. How did specific natural environments, both proximate and distant, fuel those military metabolisms? How did such actions affect those environments in the decades and centuries that followed? This presentation is the seed of a book proposal that, when watered by your feedback, will germinate come summertime. Free, but registration requested at www.masshist.org.

  • Tuesday, March 10, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Orchids of Massachusetts

    Orchids are a source of fascination for many, with their dramatic and unusual flowers, especially in the tropics. They are also important to a diverse suite of pollinators. Massachusetts has its own fair share of native orchid species, many of great beauty or unique in their own way. Two botanists with the Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program work to protect our orchids species, all across the state, from Martha’s Vineyard to Williamstown to Gloucester. Some of these are very small and difficult to find, located deep in the swamp. Others have such bright flowers they can be seen from quite a distance. How many species are in the state, which ones are rare, where are they found, which are federally listed, which have disappeared, and what are the threats they face? The questions will be discussed as Bob Wernerehl (state botanist) and Karro Frost (Plant Restoration Biologist), and who will present examples of the state’s native species of orchids. The lecture will take place at Tower Hill Botanic Garden from 6 – 8 on March 10, and is $15 for THBG members, $20 for nonmembers. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org

  • Thursday, March 12, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Holiday Houseplant Hangover

    Did you receive plants as gifts over the holidays? Are they looking a bit sad at this point and are you wondering whatever to do with them? Or are you simply a houseplant hoarder whose enthusiasm has waned with the winter months? If yes, let plant propagator and horticulturist Sean Halloran raise your plants—and your hopes—up a notch. In this March 12 Arnold Arboretum class, beginning at 6:30 pm in the Hunnewell Building, Sean will share tips for getting your plants back on track to becoming home enhancements instead of embarrassments. In advance, email close-up photos of your plants and plant problems so that Sean can be sure to address specific horticultural challenges you may be facing. Email (preferred): adulted@arnarb.harvard.edu; or bring images to class.
    Fee $10 member; $15 nonmember

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

  • Twilight Garden Party 2020 – Caring for our City Trees

    Twilight Garden Party 2020 – Caring for our City Trees

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s annual fundraiser, the Twilight Garden Party – Caring for our City Trees, will be held this year on Tuesday May 19th, 6pm-8:30pm at the St. Botolph Club, 199 Commonwealth Avenue.

    Urban trees, particularly street trees, are under stress now like never before. A primary mission of our Club is to care for the trees of our city, particularly in the Back Bay. Your generous support will go toward sustaining and increasing the green canopy that cleans our air, filters our water, cools our temperatures and restores our souls. In addition, your gift will support our mission to promote civic beauty and educate the public.

    This year, through the support of friends like you, we have:

    • Evaluated the health of hundreds of trees
    • Pruned over 100 street trees, which is vital for tree health and limits storm damage
    • Fertilized 40 of the newly planted street trees, giving them vital nutrients 
    • Coordinated the purchase and installation of 13 new tree fences
    • Had member volunteers water new trees on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall this past summer 
    • Inventoried every front garden tree (in addition to alley trees) in the Back Bay and have made that information available free to the public at backbaytrees.org.
    • With the support of a grant given to us by the children of the Learning Project Elementary School, we are coordinating with the city to have a new tree planted this spring, and are installing a fence, plantings and a plaque near the school.
    • Revitalizing an old side garden at the First Lutheran Church at the corner of Marlborough and Beacon Streets

    This and so much more cannot be done without your continued financial support.

    When the Founder of our Club, Laura Dwight, pulled together friends, neighbors, businesses, college students and landlords to help revitalize a declining Back Bay in the 1960’s by organizing and planting most of the Magnolia and Dogwood trees that you see on Commonwealth Avenue today, our mission was clear: honor and care for the trees and greenspaces of Back Bay.

    Won’t you please help us support that mission by becoming a sponsor to the Twilight Garden Party?

    To learn about sponsorship categories, click here:
    https://bostonflora.com/twilight-garden-party/ where you can pay on line.  
    Or you can pay by check (made out to the Garden Club of the Back Bay) and send to:
    Susan Leathers
    283 Commonwealth Avenue, Apt 4
    Boston, MA 02115 
    NO LATER THAN March 9th, 2020. 
    Be sure to include your name as you would like it to appear on the invitation.

    Thank you for supporting the Garden Club of The Back Bay. Your generosity is greatly appreciated. Photo below courtesy of BostonZest.com