Daily Archives: June 1, 2020

Wednesday, June 10, 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm – Landscaping With a Purpose: What’s Diversity Got To Do With It? Webinar

by

In the fragmented ecosystems where we live and work, the importance of diversity in our landscapes cannot be over emphasized. Diversity of native plants, insects, mammals, birds, amphibians… they all play a crucial role in sustaining a healthy environment.

When we encourage a diversity of native plants in the landscape, we provide just one component of a successful habitat. We all learned the components of sustainable habitats when we were in elementary school – all creatures need food, shelter, and water.

But what does this mean in a landscape? We need diversity of food: native plants that supply food for insects that in turn become food for other insects, birds, and animals large and small. We must have plant diversity to feed a diversity of creatures, but we also need structural diversity. Places for butterflies to hide at night and moths to hide during the day. Places for all sorts of creatures to shelter from weather, both summer and winter. Places for cover and nesting sites. We need diversity of form: trees, shrubs, evergreens, and groundcovers; leaf litter, brush piles, rock piles and fallen logs. We also need water – streams, ponds, bird baths, and mud puddles. Incorporating all these elements into the landscape does not require a large space, but it does require creative vision.

Dr. Randi Eckel has been studying native plants for over 30 years, and founded the mail-order native plant nursery Toadshade Wildflower Farm in 1996 to further public awareness and availability of native plants. A life-long naturalist, lover of nature, and confirmed plant and ecology nerd, Randi specializes in the interactions between plants and other living things. She is known for her lively and engaging lectures and workshops on growing and propagating native plants, and offers interesting, nuanced information on the complex issues facing native plants and native plant communities. This Ecological Landscape Alliance webinar will be held June 10 at noon, and is free, but registration is required at https://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/webinar-landscaping-with-purpose/

Thursday, June 4, 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Painting Edo

by

“Painting Edo” at the Arnold Arboretum is a collaboration between the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and the Harvard Art Museums, inspired by the exhibition Painting Edo: Japanese Art from the Feinberg Collection.Observing artworks from the exhibition alongside the living collections of the Arnold Arboretum, we invite you to marvel at the remarkable accuracy with which artists of the Edo period (1615–1868) in Japan rendered their botanical subjects.  In this online talk, Rachel Saunders, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Curator of Asian Art, and William (Ned) Friedman, Director of the Arnold Arboretum, will discuss the striking Magnolia sieboldii, also known as Siebold’s magnolia or the Oyama magnolia. After a close look at a very rare painted specimen in the Feinberg Collection with Rachel, Ned will bring us into the Arboretum’s landscape to learn about the live specimen’s unique biology and gorgeous bloom.  
This virtual program will take place live in Zoom. Free admission, but registration is required. Rain date Friday, June 5. Register here: https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Frp8sRcWTqG1S_aZKI7gZg