Daily Archives: January 27, 2023

Wednesday, February 1, 1:30 pm Eastern – Unforgettable Gardens – Ireland, Mount Usher, Online

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The Gardens Trust presents a series of 4 online talks on some of the well- and lesser known historic gardens of Ireland Wednesdays from 1 Feb £5 each or £16 for all. Register through Eventbrite HERE., or visit https://thegardenstrust.org for more details. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk (If you do not receive this link please contact us). A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards. The first in the series, on February 1, is on Mount Usher.

William Robinson (1838 – 1935) who advocated a naturalistic style of gardening described Mount Usher as ‘a charming example of the gardens that might be made in river valleys’. Edward Walpole had purchased a mill house and land by the Vartry river at Ashford, Co. Wicklow. We examine how from the 1880s his sons, described as ‘Robinson’s disciples’ introduced his ideas as they and later generations planted an 8-ha site and created what remains an outstanding example of a Robinsonian garden in Ireland.

For Dr Mary Forrest, horticulture has been her occupation and gardening her hobby for many years. After studies in amenity horticulture in the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin and commercial horticulture in University College Dublin, Mary was appointed A Taisce Heritage Gardens Fellow – preparing an inventory of trees and shrubs in private and public gardens in Ireland, published as Trees and Shrubs cultivated in Ireland (Carrageen Books, 1985) One of the gardens catalogued was Mount Usher, Co. Wicklow. Following three years as Horticultural Supervisor at Glenveagh National Park, Co. Donegal. Mary was appointed lecturer in UCD where she specialised in ornamental horticulture and garden history from 1986 until retirement in 2020. She has spoken on Irish garden history at the Northern Ireland Heritage Gardens Trust’s annual conferences and published papers on women’s horticultural colleges, school gardens, allotments and Arbor Day in 20th century Ireland. She holds an MSc in environmental sciences; a PhD in cut foliage studies and an MA in Carmelite Studies.

Tuesday, May 16 – Thursday, May 25 – Greece: Antiquity, Culture & Gardens

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This splendid American Horticultural Society tour on May 16 -25, 2023, will bring us to ancient ruins, modern gardens, intriguing museums, and many sensory delights. As always on an AHS Travel Study tour, we will be given exclusive access to spectacular private gardens. Your AHS Hosts will be AHS Board member Jane Diamantis and her husband, George, and Verity Smith of Specialtours. Jane is an accomplished garden designer and owner of a landscape design company. George was born and raised in Greece, and is an avid photographer of plants and gardens around the world.

Our trip begins in the city often called the cradle of Western civilization: Athens. Our itinerary includes the Philodassiki Botanical Gardens, lunch at the water’s edge at a marina, and a late afternoon visit to the Acropolis to see the Parthenon and its other monuments. During our stay in Greece we’ll see two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the medieval city of Rhodes, and the old town of Corfu. There will be leisure time to explore Rhodes, a mosaic of different cultures and civilizations for over 2,000 years. We’ll discover the elegant Old Town of Corfu, with its streets and squares, and tour private gardens all over the island. We’ll also be accompanied by Nigel McGilchrist, art historian and author of the Blue Guide to the Greek Islands, whose personal contacts have opened many doors on this sojourn. His insight and depth of knowledge will greatly enhance our understanding of past and present Greek culture. For complete itinerary and information visit http://ahsgardening.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/AHS-GREECE-ANTIQUITY-CULTURE-GARDENS-May-202385719.pdf

Wednesday, February 8, 7:00 pm – What is a Species, and Who Cares? Online

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The Athol Bird & Nature Club will present a Zoom talk on February 8 at 7 pm Eastern with Rodger Gwiazdowski entitled What is a Species, and Who Cares? He will discuss the epistemology of species boundaries, and the real-world legal implications for food, conservation, and the environment. Dr. Gwiazdowski is curious about discovering and conserving biodiversity at the species level. His research focuses on insects, where he explores primary questions about evolution, diversity, ecology and conservation, using tools from molecular systematics, bioinformatics, ecology, and animal husbandry. He is also interested in principle-based negotiations, and popularizing methods in epistemology.

Prior to his graduate work, Rodger worked in several zoological institutions (Bronx Zoo, NY Aquarium, and the Liberty Science Center). Rodger completed his Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology & Entomology (joint degree) at UMass Amherst in 2011, where he found extraordinary cryptic species-diversity in one widespread North American pest insect that’s been “well known” for over 150 years. Concurrently, he developed captive-rearing techniques for rare tiger beetles. He then went to Canada as a post-doctoral fellow with the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, where he developed high-throughput DNA reference libraries for rapid insect identification, and combating seafood fraud. He currently consults on innovative conservation projects with Federal and state governments, and serves as Principal Investigator of tiger beetle recovery projects, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He is currently Adjunct Professor of Insect Conservation at University of Massachusetts Amherst in the Department of Environmental Conservation.

To register, visit https://atholbirdclub.org/