Boston Flora

Month: December 2021

  • Wednesday, December 15, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm – Floratopia, Online

    Landscape designer Jan Johnsen’s newest book, Floratopia, reveals how to combine annual and perennial flowers for color and seasonal interest, while attracting pollinators. She revisits the beloved classic blooms along with the latest hardy varieties. An engaging writer and speaker, Jan Johnsen has been in the landscape design and horticulture professions for over four decades. She has worked in Kenya, Japan, Hawaii and across the US. She was awarded the 2019 Award of Distinction by the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD). Her books include Spirit of Stone, Gardentopia and the 2021 Floratopia. Join her for an up-close-and- personal look at some private flower gardens that both inspire and benefit our ecosystem. The New York Botanical Garden online talk will take place December 15 at 11 am, and is $55 for NYBG members, $49 for nonmembers. Register at www.nybg.org.

  • Saturday & Sunday, December 11 & 12, 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Holidays at King Caesar

    For 50 years, volunteers have turned the historic King Caesar House into a winter wonderland to celebrate the holiday season. This year’s theme, GOLD, will celebrate the event’s 50th Anniversary and the volunteers who have made it happen over the years. Sponsored by the Duxbury Rural & Historical Society. The location is 120 King Caesar Road in Duxbury.

    Special this year! Local author Victoria J. Coe will be at the house Saturday & Sunday from 3–4 pm for purchase and signing of her newest book, published through DRHS: Ezra & the Mouse: the Search for Lafayette. All proceeds of sales go to supporting DRHS.

    • Masks required indoors
    • Pre-booked, timed tickets required
    • $8/per person. Sign up HERE
    • We are sorry, but we are unable to accept walk-ins for this event.

  • Friday, December 10, 6:00 pm – 9:30 pm – Third Annual Young Friends of the Public Garden Winter Party

    The Young Friends of the Public Garden is thrilled to gather again, and invite all to join us for the third annual Winter Party at 8 Park Street overlooking the lights on Boston Common.

    An exciting array of raffle prizes will be offered, including Red Sox tickets, a stay at the Newbury Hotel, a Reebok gift card, a Paws & Purrfection gift basket, and more! You can buy raffle tickets at the event. 

    Tickets include two (2) complimentary drink tickets and light hors d’oeuvres. Its holiday time, so come dressed to dazzle! No sneakers, jeans, or athletic attire is permitted.

    Please note: You will be required to provide proof of vaccination at least 72 hours prior to the event via CrowdPass. Instructions will be emailed to you after you have RSVP’d. NO tickets will be available at the door, and we will NOT be admitting those that did not verify their vaccination status through CrowdPass.  $65 – $110. Register HERE.

  • Wednesday, December 15, 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm – Sharing the Adventure: Communications for Ecological Landscapes, Online

    When a designed landscape succeeds, it’s a sign that there’s been strong communication across the project team. It means that the designers understand the clients’ goals and resources, and that the clients understand how their new landscape will look, how it will change, and how it will be managed over time.

    In this December 15 Ecological Landscape Alliance online presentation at noon, Toby Wolf will explore strategies for making the design process a shared adventure. Toby Wolf is a landscape architect whose designs connect people with the natural world. His work includes planning and design for Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Wellesley College, the Native Plant Trust, Cornell Botanic Gardens, Boston’s Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery, and for homeowners throughout the Boston area. Mr. Wolf is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University and has taught at Cornell, RISD, SUNY ESF, and the Landscape Institute. He serves on the Horticulture Committee of the Friends of the Public Garden and on the board of the Ecological Landscape Alliance. Free for ELA members, $10 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/sharing-the-adventure-design-communications-for-ecological-landscapes/

  • Thursday, December 16, 5:15 pm – 6:30 pm – Local Food Before Locavores: Growing Vegetables in the Boston Market Garden District, 1870 – 1930, Live and Online

    The Boston market garden district was a national leader in vegetable production from 1870 to 1930.  Suburban market gardeners’ practices both countered and anticipated broader trends in the US food system.  For example, intercropping  (though long-known) stood well outside the US agro-ecological mainstream. Boston growers also developed the modern forcing house, an engineered greenhouse environment dependent on fossil fuels, irrigation, and commodified insect pollinators.  Year-round lettuce from these houses helped prepare the way for consumers to embrace a de-seasonalized, nationalized vegetable supply.  This agro-environmental episode shows how the history of local food complicates our narratives about US food system modernization.

    The Massachusetts Historical Society will sponsor this December 16 lecture by Sally McMurry, Pennsylvania State University, with comments by Andrew Robichaud of Boston University. The free event begins at 5:15 pm.

    The Environmental History Seminar invites you to join the conversation. Seminars bring together a diverse group of scholars and interested members of the public to workshop a pre-circulated paper. Learn more.

    Please note, this is a hybrid event which may be attended either in person (register HERE) at the MHS or virtually on the video conference platform, Zoom (register HERE) Registrants will receive a confirmation message with attendance information.

  • Saturday, December 11, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Winter Tabletop Tree, Online

    Bring festive and aromatic greenery indoors for the holiday season. From her studio, Diana Conklin will demonstrate how to create a tabletop tree using fresh evergreen and boxwoods. She’ll show you how to achieve the desired shape, width, and height of the tree. Then, with an assortment of natural botanicals, she’ll guide you through decorating process – using herbs, dried flowers, cone, pods, and more to add personal flair to this special centerpiece.

    Note, this New York Botanical Garden online class is a demo only. The materials list linked HERE includes supplies needed to recreate what the instructor demonstrates. The class takes place December 11 from 1 – 4 and is $59 for NYBG members, $65 for nonmembers. Register at www.nybg.org.

  • Through December, 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Hancock Holiday Nights

    This December, the oldest Shaker Village in New England will sparkle in a new multi-sensory month-long experience called Hancock Holiday Nights. Enjoy five stunning art light projections that immerse you in wonder. Stroll through the 19th-century village transformed with festive decorations. Hancock Shaker Village is located at 1843 West Housatonic Street in Pittsfield. For ticketing and more information visit https://hancockshakervillage.org/

  • Sunday, December 12, 12:00 noon – 4:00 pm – Beacon Hill Holiday Wreath Tour

    Sunday, December 12, 12:00 noon – 4:00 pm – Beacon Hill Holiday Wreath Tour

    Join the Nichols House Museum on December 12 from noon – 4 for its most festive fundraiser of the year, the Beacon Hill Holiday Wreath Tour! Explore the historic and architecturally stunning Beacon Hill neighborhood all decked for the holiday season. The Nichols House Museum and the Colonial Society of Massachusetts will be open for self-guided tours.

    Olde Towne Carolers will be serenading visitors throughout the afternoon. Light refreshments will be included. $55. For more information and tickets, visit Here or email info@nicholshousemuseum.org or call (617) 227-6993

  • Wednesday, December 15, 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm – Electric Vehicles and EV Charging Stations, Online

    The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay’s Green Committee is holding a Zoom meeting on December 15 at 6 pm on Electric Vehicles and EV Charging Stations. Presenters include Matthew Warfield, Planner, Boston Transportation Department, and Mal Skowron, Transportation Coordinator, Green Energy Consumer Alliance, and the falicilators are Gordon Richardson and Elisabeth Morris of NABB. To register for the link, email green@nabbonline.org

  • Wednesdays, December 8 & 15, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm – Willow Growing for Fun and Function, Online

    Growing willows will introduce winter color, texture, and functionality to your garden or farm—while also supporting biodiversity. Learn how to grow, care, and harvest shrub willows with Jes Clark of Willow Vale Farm. In this lecture-based New York Botanical Garden online two session class December 8 and 15, you’ll learn how to plan your space, where to get plantable cuttings, and what to do with them. Explore the many uses of willow as well its maintenance needs. $59 for NYBG members, $65 for nonmembers. Register at www.nybg.org.