Boston Flora

Month: August 2021

  • Sunday, September 12, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Growing Show Orchids, Online

    Your orchids are thriving and blooming. If you’re wondering what’s next in your orchid adventure, this Smithsonian Associates more advanced orchid class is for you. Learn about the conditions necessary to raise vigorous, healthy orchids for shows and competitions. The instructor shares information about conditions for good orchid health, timing orchid blooms, competition requirements, and how to transport and prepare your competition-ready orchids.

    This class will be recorded. Please see our FAQ for recording terms and conditions. The class will take place September 12 from 2 – 4, and is $30 for Smithsonian members, $40 for nonmembers. Register at www.smithsonianassociates.org

    Other Information

    • The instructor is Barb Schmidt.
    • 1 session, 2 hours
    • This arts program is a Zoom Meeting to allow for patron and instructor interaction.

  • Saturday, September 11, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Baystate African Violet Society Show and Sale

    Small exhibit and Sale: 10AM-4PM (cash or check only)
    Demonstration: You Can Grow African Violets! / 11AM-12PM and 2-3PM

    What is it about African violets that has attracted so many fans and admirers? African violets are known for their unique features, vibrant colors, and beautiful blooms. The Bay State African Violet Society, Inc. is continuing its 62-year tradition of growing and showing named African violets. This one-day Tower Hill Botanic Garden special event includes an exhibit, a plant sale of African violets grown by members of BSAVS, Inc. and two lectures/demonstrations. Learn general care of African violets and basic requirements for soil, fertilizer, watering, and light. Discover tips on how and when to re-pot and how to propagate new plants from leaves. Free with admission to gardens. For more information visit https://www.towerhillbg.org/shows/

  • Wednesday, September 15, 12:00 noon – Water Infiltration and Improved Soil Carbon Storage, Online

    Water infiltration replenishes groundwater and is a normal part of healthy hydrology. Also, undisturbed soils store carbon, and carbon depleted soils are less productive for food value and have less infiltration capacity.

    In the face of climate change and the move toward more resilient practices, both green infrastructure and regenerative agricultural practices offer the same effect: they improve the soil’s ability to infiltrate water and store carbon. In this Ecological Landscape Alliance presentation, Ann English will explore strategies for increasing the carbon storage capacity of soil, including adding biochar, for increasing both carbon and infiltration capacities. She will also look at techniques for restoring degraded and eroded lands through planting and mulching. The webinar will be held September 15 at noon Eastern time, and you may register at www.ecolandscaping.org (free for ELA members).

    Ann English, PLA, ASLA, LEED® AP BD+C is the RainScapes Program Manager for the Montgomery County, MD Department of Environmental Protection. Under her direction, the RainScapes program has developed its incentive program into a model that others have copied. The incentive program is based on three elements: clear technical guidance, diligent data management, and excellent customer service. The program has right sized its rebate structure and streamlined its application process and grown to greatly expand the amount of land converted to manage stormwater using RainScapes practices. A key component of RainScapes practices is the improvement of local site hydrology with a focus on native plants and improving infiltration capacity through planting and working with in situ soils to achieve runoff reduction goals. An ongoing effort is being made to evaluate practices as they relate to climate change, carbon storage, carbon footprint reduction. Ann is both a designer and teacher who has worked in the private, non-profit, and governmental sectors. She is passionate about plants, and how to design and evaluate plant performance in the environments in which they are planted

  • Monday, September 13, 12:00 noon – Tell Me More! Elizabeth Kolbert and Helen Macdonald

    Have you ever wanted to hear two of your favorite authors in conversation together? Or two of the most well known environmentalists discuss their challenges and triumphs? Two scientists on winning the Nobel Prize? Tell Me More! is a new monthly series that will pair fascinating leaders in their respective fields for conversations about their journeys, inspirations and life lessons.

    WBUR senior environment editor Barbara Moran moderates a conversation with Elizabeth Kolbert, staff writer for The New Yorker and author of Under the White Sky: The Nature of the Future and Helen Macdonald, naturalist, Affiliated Research Scholar at the University of Cambridge and author of H is for Hawk and Vesper Flights.

    Virtual Tickets
    $5.00 (only one ticket needed per household)

    Ways To Save 
    WBUR Sustainers receive free tickets to this event.

    To apply the discount to your ticket purchase online, you’ll need to enter a promo code. The code is sent to you in your monthly events newsletter. You can also get your code by emailing membership@wbur.org.

  • Tuesdays, September 7 – March 29, 1:00 pm Eastern Time – Why So Special? Iconic 20th Century Landscapes, Online

    FOLAR and The Gardens Trust are delighted to present a series of weekly online talks reviewing the 21 recently registered Historic England post war landscapes and gardens and their designers.

    The purpose of the series is to focus attention on the ideas, ingenuity and quality of each of these C20 designs. With a brilliant array of speakers including the original designers, academics, landscape architects, historians and researchers plus further insights from head gardeners, residents, site managers and users, we aim to reveal more detail about the design, the designer, how the landscape/garden works, how it has endured over the years, and what its future is like even with Historic England (HE) listing. We also want to discuss availability and access to drawings and papers related to the projects.

    These landscapes and gardens range from private gardens to vast reclamation projects. Throughout the UK many C20 designed gardens and landscapes are at great risk from being unnoticed or under-valued, or they are maintained without any awareness of the original concept, such that sites get swept away, ‘improved’ or built over. We hope that this series of talks will help to change this.

    The series runs from 7 September 2021 to 29 March 2022, grouped by subject and with a week’s break between topics. [and nothing in December] All talks are on Tuesdays from 18.00-19.15 GMT (1 pm in Boston)

    This ticket costs £84 for the entire series of 21 talks or you may purchase a ticket through Eventbrite for individual talks, costing £5 via the links found HERE By clicking through you will also see the complete list of gardens and speakers. The broad groupings are New Town Parks, Commercial Landscapes (including the Cadbury Factory), Public Housing, Semi-Public Gardens, Private Housing, and Private Gardens (Beth Chatto’s Garden is one). A recording link will be sent following each session so you may listen at your convenience for one week after the live talk.

  • Friday, September 10, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm – Around the World in 80 Plants, Online Author Talk

    Meet the authors! Native Plant Trust highlights top new publications about plants with the Author Book Talk series. Featuring some of the region’s most highly regarded botanists and horticulturists, this series offers you the opportunity to ask questions and interact with true experts. Books are available through our shop. All programs will be conducted virtually. 

    On September 10 at 6 pm, in his follow-up to the bestselling book Around the World in 80 Trees, Jonathan Drori takes another trip across the globe, bringing to life the science of plants by revealing how their worlds are intricately entwined with our own history, culture, and folklore. From the seemingly familiar tomato and dandelion to the eerie mandrake and Spanish ‘moss’ of Louisiana, each of these stories is full of surprises. Some have a troubling past, while others have ignited human creativity or enabled whole civilizations to flourish. With a colorful cast of characters all brought to life by illustrator Lucille Clerc, this is a botanical journey of beauty and brilliance. $12 for NPT members, $15 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/around-world-80-plants/

  • Thursday, September 9, 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm Eastern Time – Creating an Olmsted 200 Botanical Box, Online

    The Frederick Law Olmsted Society and the Riverside Public Library in Illinois present botanical artist Shilin Hora (below) and hardwood artisan Francisco Gonzales, who will walk us through the makings of intricate, museum-quality, botanical boxes commemorating Olmsted’s plan for Riverside. From Riverside Seed Hunts to the artists’ workshop at The Seed, this dynamic photo-rich lecture is set to be presented by Zoom on September 9 beginning at 8 pm Eastern time, 7 Central.

    Register at the Riverside Public Library website, https://riversidelibrary.libcal.com/event/7967471. You will be sent a link to the presentation after you register.

  • Saturday, September 11, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Rendezvous at Draves Arboretum

    The American Conifer Society announces a special field trip on September 11 from 10 – 4 at the Draves Arboretum in upstate New York. The Draves Arboretum mission is to collect, maintain, and display a diverse palate of native and introduced woody plants for the purpose of educating the public, private, and educational sectors on their benefits, proper identification, planting and potential use in the landscape. Draves Arboretum is a Level III ArbNet Certified Arboretum located in Darien, New York. With nearly 800 different woody species from all over the world, our collections bring together a vast array of trees and shrubs.

    • 10:00 AM: Arrival, coffee and pastries
    • 10:30 AM: Self-guided tour of collections of Magnolia, Aesculus, and Hamamelis, as well as many handsome mature conifers. You will discover native plants, new, unique cultivars, and the Cornell sponsored Quercus test site.
    • 12:00 PM: Pop-up plant auction and presentation of the ACS Reference Garden plaque.
    • Afternoon: Continue to explore on your own or lunch at one of the local diners. Visit amazing gardens and nursery locations in Buffalo and Rochester (about an hour’s drive to each). Jerry Kral’s amazing garden in Rochester and Bergen Water Garden and Nursery in Churchville are both available to visit that day. Register to attend (and ask any questions) via email to:

    evansb@buffalo.edu. Registrants will receive a list of all the open gardens and local nurseries as well and an arboretum map by return email.

    • Limited to 30 attendees. All required Covid protocols will be followed. A return email to you will contain further details.

  • Through September 30 – Garden Club of America’s Virtual Flower Show, Around the Green

    This virtual flower show, “Around the Green,” has been produced as a component of the GCA’s 2021 Annual Meeting. It is open to the public through September 30, 2021. We welcome curious visitors — look and learn!

    Entries are grouped into classes with specific requirements within a division, like floral design or photography. You may explore in any order, taking note of comments from the judges, unique awards, and even plant identification lists. Then head behind the scenes for how-to blog posts, learn more about The Garden Club of America, and discover how you can take action in areas of our interest: gardening, creating, advocating for a beautiful, healthy planet. The public is encouraged to attend “virtually” at https://flowershow.gcamerica.org/

  • Saturday, September 18, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Plein Air Painting: Premier Coup/First Attempt Technique

    This workshop sponsored by the Trustees at Weir River Farm in Hingham focuses on painting the landscape using the Premier Coup Technique. We’ll put a mark down, leave it and finish the painting in one session. This technique aims to simplify the process of seeing, color mixing, and composing, and includes a pared down materials list. Through a combination of demos and in-class assignments we’ll learn approaches to create direct, energetic paintings.

    All levels welcome, demos will be in acrylic. Materials list will be sent to registrants. Since 2009, instructor Lisa Daria Kennedy has committed to an on-going daily painting project. As a young adult cancer survivor, she discovered living is not just surviving. Each painting seeks to give a voice to the fiber of the everyday.

    Kennedy received a BA from Roger Williams University, a BFA in Illustration and an MFA in 2D from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Currently she is the Design Editor for the literary publication Mount Hope and an Assistant Professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, MA. She lives in an old fishing camp at World’s End in Hingham, MA with Olive the dog. View the daily painting project and everything else at lisadariakennedy.com

    Workshops to be held outside with access to inside studio with doors open. Masks required inside the building

    $152 for Trustees members, $180 for nonmembers. Register HERE.