Boston Flora

Month: May 2021

  • Tuesday, May 18, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm – Upriver Journey, Online

    On Tuesday, May 18 from 5:30 – 6:30, learn about the fascinating lives and epic migrations of American Shad and Sea Lamprey. These fish play an important role in our river ecosystems as they migrate to and from the sea. Author John McPhee nicknamed American Shad our founding fish. Sea Lamprey have been called hero of our revires and vampire of the sea. Find out why this keystone species is misunderstood and underappreciated. Join Kim Noyes, Northfield Mountain’s Education Coordinator, for this free online presentation on the history and natural history of these unusual fish as this spring’s upriver migration is underway.

    The program is co-sponsored by Firstlight’s Northfield Mountain Recreation and Environmental Center and the Northfield Bird Club. Registration requests must be received at least 24 hours before the program begins. Click HERE to register.

  • Tuesday, May 11, 7:30 pm – Longhorned Beetles, Online

  • Saturday, May 15, 9:30 am – 11:30 am – What is That Plant?

    Join Tower Hill Botanic Garden and Leslie Duthie on May 15 at 9:30 outside at the garden for a lesson in plant identification. instead of “Hey, what has yellow petals and is growing over there?” you will learn what to look at and how to determine leaf arrangement, pick out flower parts, and look at growth habits. Then, we will use our new skills in the inner park and a field guide to actually identify what that plant is! We will provide a field guide to use for each person. Bring a hand lens and your enthusiasm!

    Leslie 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.

  • Monday, May 24, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Other Voices in Garden History: Working Towards Inclusive Botanic Gardens, Online

    This seventh in a series of illustrated lectures sponsored by the Gardens Trust will explore the impact and legacy of empire, colonialism and enslavement on western garden and landscape history. Our aim is to bring back some of the voices usually absent from this history, to identify and fill gaps in our collective knowledge, and to explore new ways of engaging with the whole history of gardens, landscapes and horticulture.

    This ticket costs £5, and you may purchase via the Eventbrite link here. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and a link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards.

    The Royal Botanic Gardens, at Kew and Edinburgh, with roots from colonial times, are developing a roadmap for change and working towards a more equitable and inclusive botanic gardens. Drawing on current work at Edinburgh and Kew, they share their process and recommendations for best practice. This session, on May 24 at 1 pm Eastern, will be presented by a panel of staff from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and Edinburgh.

  • Sunday, May 16, 11:00 am – Eyes Out for Edibles

    Join a nature walk at Gore Place with forager David Craft on May 16 at 11 am. David is the author of Urban Foraging and has led many walks in the Greater Boston area. Learn to identify edible wild plants!

    The walk lasts one to one-and-a-half hours. You’ll be walking trails and through tall grass. Dress appropriately. Masks and social distancing required.

    Coronavirus prevention safety precautions for this event are as follows: hand sanitizer will be available; all guests, staff and volunteers must wear masks or face coverings; capacity will not exceed 20 guests. $21 per person. Recommended for ages 12 and up.

    For more details, and to make reservations, email events@goreplace.org.

  • Thursday, May 27, 12:00 noon – The Duchess of Rutland: Belvoir Castle and ‘Capability’ Brown, Online

    Thursday, May 27, 12:00 noon – The Duchess of Rutland: Belvoir Castle and ‘Capability’ Brown, Online

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay is pleased to announce its live virtual May program, welcoming the Duchess of Rutland speaking on Belvoir Castle and ‘Capability Brown’ – Discovering a Lost Landscape. The program will take place on Zoom on Thursday, May 27 at noon.

    Belvoir Castle (pronounced “Beaver”) is the most fabulous fairy-tale castle in England. From its high hill it broods over immense tracts of Leicestershire and Lincolnshire. It is one of the great treasure houses of the country and its chatelaine for the new millennium is Emma, 11th Duchess of Rutland. Since taking charge of the estate she has shaken off the dust-sheets and brought back to life a castle that had slept since the 2nd World War.
     

    As a 21st century duchess, Emma’s role is very different from that of her forebears. How do you maintain for the future a 1000 year old estate with huge overheads? An estate with 16,000 acres of tenanted farms, 400 properties, 50 employees, a thriving local community and a castle with 2.5 acres of roof? Seeking advice from the legendary Duchess of Devonshire, she was shocked to learn that, when it comes to Dukedoms, it is the women who earn the money and the men who spend it!
     

    In her book, Belvoir Castle and Capability Brown – discovering a lost landscape the Duchess tells the story of her discovery of plans for the park, drawn up in 1780 by the great landscape designer Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, but then shelved and left forgotten. Her predecessor, Elizabeth, the 5th Duchess (known as the ‘Builder’) had started to implement these plans and now, over 200 years later, Emma is bringing them to fruition.

    Please RSVP by May 21st  to Jackie Blombach by clicking here:  jdb.lily@comcast.net. The program is free for Garden Club of the Back Bay members. Non-members may register online for $10 by clicking HERE.

    A ZOOM link will be sent a few days before the program. PLEASE NOTE:  This program will not be recorded.

  • Wednesday, May 12, 7:00 pm – What the Camera Sees, Online

    Have you ever taken a picture, and when viewed on the computer screen, found some unexpected results? Several years ago, Athol Bird & Nature Club member Ernie LeBlanc purchased a camera to carry along during bird trips and other outdoor excursions. Join him on May 12 at 7 online for this free presentation and see what images the camera captures – some surprising, some artistic, and some even in focus!! 
    Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__3YAJO_cQz2Oh9GoYJ15pg

    After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

  • Friday, May 7 – Sunday, May 16 – GO Public Garden Days 2021 – Virtual Garden Profiles

    Friday, May 7 – Sunday, May 16 – GO Public Garden Days 2021 – Virtual Garden Profiles

    Got the travel itch? Looking for some inspiration and motivation to visit some amazing gardens across the nation? Look no further! Join The American Public Gardens Association from the comfort of your home for FREE virtual profiles from the gardens listed below, where they showcase ongoing research, amazing history and collections, and other incredible features, via easy and convenient Zoom webinars. Participants can register for as many programs as they choose, and tune in and out as they like – though many presenters are doing Q&As after their live program! Since all presentations will be recorded, a Youtube video will be posted afterwards for those who are unable to attend the live program, and videos will be available the duration of GO Public Gardens Days, as well as some time after.

    On May 7 at 6 Eastern time, look across almost 85 years of history and horticulture at the Norfolk Botanical Garden with Alexandra Cantwell, followed at 7 by a 30 minute presentation by Erin Smaldone on the Wild and Wonderful West Virginia Botanic Garden at Tibbs Run Preserve. At 7:30 Mark Miller will speak on From Black to Green: The Story of Pittsburgh Botanic Garden, and Becky Mallison will present Becky Mallison on Bok Tower Gardens.

    Monday, May 10’s lectures will begin at 6 with Molly Davis and Dawn Bailey on The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky, followed by Tim Gould on The Arboretum at Penn State, and Seth Hamby, Head Gardener of the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center, on Know Your Natives. Stick around for ecologist Michelle Bertelsen speaking on 20 Years of Land Restoration Research at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

    Tuesday, May 11 brings Jamie Burghardt from the Waterfront Botanical Gardens in Louisville on Louisville Landfill to Louisville Landmark, Jessica Farmer of the University of Washington Botanic Gardens, Executive Director Scott Lafleur from Sherman Library and Gardens with A Walk Through the Sherman Library. and Bradley Evans from the US National Arboretum Water Garden.

    Wednesday, May 12 begins with Cindy Brown from Smithsonian Gardens on its Collections and Greenhouse, a talk on the Rebirth of Ventura Botanical Gardens, and Brian Kemble of Ruth Bancroft Gardens & Nursery on Iconic Plants of the Ruth Bancroft Garden.

    Thursday, May 13 will spotlight Tim Boland of the Polly Hill Arboretum on Plants are Powerful! at 6 pm. Jennie Ciborowski from Haverford College Arboretum follows with The History of Haverford College Arboretum, and Steve Huddleston from the Fort Worth Botanic Garden with Erin Starr White of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas on Together and Growing.

    Friday, May 14 starts with Allyson Whalley and Katie McCarthy on Tudor Place Garden: Over 200 Years of Growth in Washington, DC, then continues with Jim Salyards and Erika Frank on Inspiration from a Garden: Culture and Community at Filoli, 30 miles south of San Francisco, and Sandi Polyakov, head gardener, on Elements of Japanese Gardens of Shofuso, a 17th century style Japanese house and garden in Philadelphia’s West Fairmount Park.

    Saturday, May 15 the programs continue with Kathryn Masuda of the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Sue Watts of the South Carolina Botanical Garden, and Ashley Krueger on The Gardens on Spring Creek.

    All programs are free. Register at https://norfolkbotanicalgarden.org/go-public-gardens-days-2021-virtual-garden-profiles/

  • Tuesday, May 11, 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm – Growing Knock-out Tomatoes, Online

    Gardener Ron Kujawski shares his tips for getting the most out of your tomatoes in this virtual Berkshire Botanical Garden class on May 11. He’ll cover tomato varieties, planting for success and care throughout the season. Pest and disease management will be addressed. He’ll also share his tips for harvest and preservation. Ron personally grows over 40 tomato plants in his home garden each year! $10 for BBG members, $15 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/growing-knock-out-tomatoes

    Ron Kujawski spent his formative years working on the family onion farm in Florida, New York.  From there he went on to earn his BS, MS, and PhD in Biological Sciences from the State University of New York at Albany. After five years of developing and directing the Environmental Studies program at Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, MA, he moved on to the University of Massachusetts Extension Service as a specialist in landscape, nursery and urban forestry.  Now retired, when he is not tending to his vegetable garden, he spends time as a horticultural writer and lecturer. His weekly columns appear in the Berkshire Eagle during the growing season and The Berkshire Edge throughout the year. Ron and his daughter Jennifer Kujawski co-authored the book: Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardeners Handbook. Their weekly gardening tips can be found on Instagram at weekbyweekvegetablegardeners and Facebook at Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook.

  • Monday, May 17, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Other Voices in Garden History: Telling Tales About Trees, Online

    Monday, May 17, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Other Voices in Garden History: Telling Tales About Trees, Online

    This sixth in a series of illustrated lectures sponsored by The Gardens Trust will explore the impact and legacy of empire, colonialism and enslavement on western garden and landscape history. Our aim is to bring back some of the voices usually absent from this history, to identify and fill gaps in our collective knowledge, and to explore new ways of engaging with the whole history of gardens, landscapes and horticulture.

    Africa’s Great Green Wall is an ambitious project to restore land and livelihoods across the Sahel region, from Senegal to Djibouti. This romantic idea of a line of trees holding back the desert has been put forward by numerous politicians and activists, notably including Nobel Prize-winner Wangari Maathai, English forester and conservationist Richard St. Barbe Baker, and Burkino Faso’s socialist revolutionary President, Thomas Sankara. In this lecture Camilla Allen, who recently finished a PhD on Baker, will trace the voices, stories and myths that have sustained the Great Green Wall, weaving together stories from Africa’s past, colonization, and independence to explore what is so compelling and pertinent about this tale of ecological restoration and redemption.

    This ticket costs £5, and you may purchase tickets via the Eventbrite link here. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and a link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards.

    Camilla Allen’s research focuses upon the events, people and places that illuminate our relationship with trees and the natural world, using biography as a means of teasing out forgotten meaning and experience. Camilla recently completed her doctorate on the English forester and environmentalist Richard St. Barbe Baker, founder of the Men of the Trees, in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Sheffield and is currently co-editor of The Politics of Street Trees (Routledge, 2021) with Dr Jan Woudstra, which brings together a diverse collection of perspectives on the issue from academics, lawyers, campaigners and practitioners.