Although mulch is a commonly used groundcover, a beautiful tapestry of foliage and flowers is more visually dynamic and ecologically valuable. Discover a selection of tough, versatile plants to use as groundcovers in a variety of growing conditions. Presented by Duncan Himmelman, this online Berkshire Botanical Garden program will take place March 15 from 5:30 – 7 pm Eastern time. $12 for BBG members, $15 for nonmembers. Register at www.berkshirebotanical.org
Duncan Himmelman earned his doctorate at Cornell University and taught horticultural science at the college level for 24 years. He recently retired as the education manager at Mt. Cuba Center, a public garden in Delaware devoted to native plant advocacy. He continues to enjoy teaching, designing landscapes and promoting ecologically focused gardening practices.
Dubbed “pioneering design talents of their generation” by the Royal Horticultural Society, Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg believe both the landscapes they design and the business they run must be respectful, inclusive, and ethically responsible. The duo will highlight their progressive ethos as they discuss Kitchen Garden at RHS Bridgewater, which includes an edible forest garden, a classic kitchen garden, and an apothecary/herbal garden, all situated amid the stunning historic walls of a previously derelict site. They will also provide a rare glimpse into the series of productive, traditional, and experimental garden rooms they designed for a private, rural estate in Oxfordshire, England.
Formed in 2017 when Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg merged their separate practices, Harris Bugg Studio is a values-driven, award-winning landscape design practice. The studio creates inclusive and immersive gardens located in the U.K. and Europe encompassing high-end residential, public, botanic, commercial, historic, and conservation landscapes. The studio has won five Gold medals, two Silver Gilts and a Best in Show at RHS shows, including three Gold medals at Chelsea Flower Show, including most recently for its pocket park garden in 2021.
This March 30 webinar is hosted by the New York Botanical Garden. $35. Register at www.nybg.org.
Good horticultural practices form the backbone of any successful garden, and understanding how to apply these practices is the first step toward becoming a horticulturist. We will discuss how to select the right plant for the right place and how to plant and care for native plants. You will learn proper techniques for transplanting, preparing soil, mulching, watering, and pruning as well as maintaining, winterizing, and preparing the garden for the next growing season. This two part class with Uli Lorimer will be held at Garden in the Woods in Framingham. $72 for NPT members, $88 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/horticultural-techniques2/
Created and re-created against the backdrop of cycle of war and peace with its accompanying social and economic impacts, the twentieth century garden pivots between tradition and modernism, informality and structure. The century sees a shift in both style and materials as concrete takes its place at the heart of new towns and spaces, whilst the country house garden struggles to survive and flourish again in a new order. Garden design increasingly reflects the needs of a wider range of society, whilst literary and artistic movements locate gardens at the very heart of the struggle for meaning in a world of change and aspiration. The Gardens Trust series reflects the continuity and change in garden design and understanding through the twentieth century highlighting specific gardens and designers and setting them within more contextual discussions. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days (and again a few hours) prior to the start of the first talk (If you do not receive this link please contact us), and a link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 1 week. Tickets £30 or £5 each. To purchase a ticket for the complete series through Eventbrite, visit HERE. The Gardens Trust has complete details on its website.
The March 16 talk with the excellent Catherine Horwood centers on Margery Fish. My personal favorite instructional quote from one of Ms. Fish’s books is “First, have your man dig a ditch.” I didn’t have the man to do such a thing, and it was an artifact of an age.
For many years, Margery Fish fought a lonely battle to revive the popularity of the cottage garden style of planting in an age of close-mown striped lawns and beds of formal floribunda and Hybrid Tea roses. But was cottage garden planting ever a true horticultural style or rather a romantic, bucolic myth? In this talk, Dr Catherine Horwood will look at what constitutes this type of planting, where it originated from and how it links to other gardening styles. She will consider how Margery Fish was able to take it forward into becoming a national movement through her life story, and the legacy she left behind.
Dr Catherine Horwood is an experienced speaker and the author of many books on social history including Gardening Women. Their Stories from 1600 to the Present (Virago, 2010) and Potted History. How houseplants took over our homes (Pimpernel Press, 2020). Her biography Beth Chatto. A Life with Plants(Pimpernel Press, 2019) was selected as the European Garden Book of the Year in 2020. She is currently working on a biography of Lady Dorothy Nevill.
The stories of the individual plant hunters who operated between the mid-eighteenth and mid-twentieth century have often been told and told well. The aim of this online Gardens Trust series of lectures with Dr. Toby Musgrave, therefore, is to broaden the subject and to explore four complementary yet contrasting topics. It will also serve as an introduction to the whole topic of plant hunting, collecting and transfer round the world, which we are planning to cover in more depth in the autumn. The secon lecture on March 13 is Economic Botany and Plant Exchange. The series ticket costs £16 for the course of 4 sessions or you may purchase a ticket for individual sessions, costing £5. To register through Eventbrite, and for more information, visit HERE, or visit The Gardens Trust events page, https://thegardenstrust.org/events-archive/?events=gardenstrust. 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 will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 1 week.
It is well known that Sir Joseph Banks in his role as unofficial Director of the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew established a paradigm for botanical plant hunting on a global scale. This lecture offers a different economic perspective and examines plants as a vehicle for colonial expansion and exploitation; and it will bring the topic up to date with a discussion of contemporary issues including as genetic copyright and cultural and intellectual property.
Merwin House, from its beginning as a museum, has told the story of Mrs. Merwin and her desire to take her place in New England’s historical narrative. Become acquainted with this lesser-known site in Stockbridge and the woman who willed the house to Historic New England: Marie Vipont Merwin—her athletic prowess, her love of animals, her marriages (one of them secret) and her home. The Merwin House in Stockbridge was constructed around 1825 by Francis and Clarissa Dresser. It remained in the Dresser family until 1875, when they sold it to William and Elizabeth Doane of New York City. The couple named the house “Tranquility” and used it as a summer home. They substantially renovated the house in 1900, remodeling the interior and doubling the home’s size by adding a shingle-style ell. The house was later the year-round home of the Doanes’ daughter, Vipont Merwin (1878-1965), and her third husband Edward Merwin, who died in 1932. She wanted the house, which was acquired by Historic New England in 1966, to become a museum and it is now open to the public several times a year. .Join site manager Laurie Masciandaro on a virtual tour of Merwin House in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Tickets are free, donations encouraged.
Please call 617-994-6662 for more information. The link for the webinar will be included in the order confirmation for this program. Advance tickets required. Register at https://my.historicnewengland.org/16414/meet-mrs-merwin
This is the fifth lecture in a six-week series of lectures which will look at the history and development of garden technology from Medieval times right up to the present day. The ‘technology’ of gardening has developed enormously over the past centuries due to mechanization, automation, advances in science – and we can now grow plants without soil, we have automated watering systems for our greenhouses and we can watch while the robot mower, controlled from our smartphones, trims our lawns to perfection. But although we may approach them differently, the tasks and challenges that face gardeners today are much the same as they were back in Tudor times and earlier: preparing the soil, planting, protecting, composting, propagating and so on and so on. The rise in the organic movement over the past few decades has reminded us that the gardeners of old knew at least as much about gardening and working in harmony with nature as we do now, so how have new technologies developed and progressed our gardening knowledge, practice, and techniques?
The Gardens Trust has engaged a series of expert speakers to examine this question, including the renowned garden writer and designer, Noel Kingsbury, National Trust curator James Rothwell, expert on lawnmowers through the ages Keith Wootton, as well as regular Gardens Trust lecturers Jill Francis and our very own David Marsh; who will take a different technology in turn – tools, fertilizers, pest control, glasshouses, lawnmowers and plant breeding – and explore their history and development in relation to gardening. Tickets £24 or £5 each. Register through Eventbrite HERE. 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 will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 1 week.
The invention of the lawn mower just before the dawn of the Victorian era helped to transform our landscapes. For the first time it was possible to manage large areas of grass efficiently and economically. The growth of urban parks, organized sport, and gardening as a leisure activity among others were all aided by this simple invention. It is possible that the inventor of the mower would recognize some features of modern machines. But in reality, the lawn mower has undergone significant changes in the last 190 years. From the original design, through animal, steam, petrol, and electric power to the autonomous “cyber mowers” of today this talk will touch upon the key innovations and developments.
Keith Wootton founded The Old Lawnmower Club in 1990 with a small group of like-minded enthusiasts. The club now has almost 700 members around the world, mostly in the UK but also from many commonwealth and EU countries. Its simple objective is to promote the collection, preservation, and display of old mowers. Members of the club attend garden shows, museum events, and vintage rallies throughout the UK to support these aims. Now President of the club, Keith has over the years presented on the history of the lawn mower to numerous clubs and societies and taken part in several TV and radio shows.
This 8-day Culinaria is special in so many ways. You’ll have hands-on cooking classes with two incredible cooks—Chef Semsa Denizsel, who left her well-loved restaurant in Istanbul, Kantin, and created the Cooks Grove, a cooking and event space near Ayvalik on the Turkish Aegean Coast, and Chef Ana Sortun, beloved, amazing chef and owner of Oleana, Sofra and Sarma. The hands-on cooking lessons at Cooks Grove will be in small groups of 12 maximum, giving you lots of individual attention. We’re excited about this new format—half the group will cook with Semsa, a well known Turkish chef and dear friend of Ana’s, while the other half explores cheese farms, the market, cultural sights the town with Ana. Then, the two groups switch!
We’ll also explore markets, visit food producers, and eat at restaurants that Chef Semsa knows and loves. We’ll also be accompanied by Banu Ozden, who is incredibly knowledgeable about Turkish food and wines, and is a great friend of Ana’s and Oldways’. No doubt! You’ll have an extraordinary experience.
Since we’re on the Aegean Coast of Turkey, we’ll also visit two historic sites—Pergamon and the incredible Ephesus, south of Izmir. We’ll have wonderful meals in and around Izmir, and you’ll be able to experience the Izmir market, wineries, a fish auction, and the making (and tasting) of katmer, a truly delicious Turkish breakfast dish.
In addition, if you (and others) are interested in a food tour in Istanbul at the end of our 8 days by the Aegean, we can make arrangements for a very special food tour experience with Banu Ozden. Questions? Please read our Travel FAQ here. Call us at (617) 896-4861, or email us at Travel@OldwaysPT.org
For complete daily itineraries, cost, and flight information visit Oldways Cultural Food Traditions website HERE.
The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s annual Twilight Garden Party will take place on Wednesday, April 26 from 6:00 to 8:30 pm at the St. Botolph Club, 199 Commonwealth Avenue. Join the festivities and sponsor its mission of promoting civic beauty and caring for the trees. The Club has planted over one hundred magnolias throughout Boston. In partnership with the City of Boston, the Club supports the planting, inoculation, pruning, watering and cataloging of both street trees and the alley trees. In addition, the GCBB provides funding and volunteers in support of community green spaces such as the Clarendon Street Playground and various gardens located throughout our neighborhood. Each year there are target projects aimed at enhancing the beauty of our streets. The wrought iron tree fences surrounding our street trees is one of these projects.
Please support the GCBB with Back Bay tree stewardship and enjoy an evening of fun, including delectable heavy hors d’oeuvre, drinks, music and beautiful flowers, by clicking below to purchase a sponsorship.
Click on this link to view the sponsorship opportunities and choose your support level by March 12th. Be sure to include your name as you would like it to appear on the invitation. All sponsors will be acknowledged on the invitation, the Club’s website and at the event. Payment must be received by the March 12th deadline to be listed on the invitation, but support at any time is always welcome.
This online March 15 talk will examine the travel accounts of Philip Yorke (later 2nd Earl of Hardwicke) and his wife, Jemima Marchioness Grey, focusing on their tours of Yorkshire – which Grey judged to be ‘exceeding fine country’. Both keen travelers, the couple often spent summers touring the length and breadth of the country seeking inspiration for their own garden improvements at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire. Their travel accounts reveal shifting attitudes to garden design and engagement with the emerging discourse of the picturesque in the mid-eighteenth century, which is particularly evident in their accounts of Studley Royal. While Yorke had praised Aislabie’s improvements when he first visited in 1744; by the time he visited again in 1755 with his wife, both were critical of the way the gardens had been ‘tortured’ to fulfil the owner’s fancy – preferring instead the ‘wild Hilly romantic Country that forms Studley Park.’
Dr Jemima Hubberstey completed a collaborative doctoral award with the University of Oxford and English Heritage in 2021, in which she examined the influence of literary coteries on garden design in the mid-eighteenth century, with a particular focus on the circle at Wrest Park. She is currently a postdoctoral research assistant for ‘Mithraic Groves and Gothic Towers: Reuniting the Lost Literary Legacies of Wrest and Wimpole’, a Knowledge Exchange Fellowship between the University of Oxford, the National Trust, and English Heritage. This project examines the shared literary, gardening, and cultural connections between Wrest Park and Wimpole Hall when both were owned by the Yorke family in the mid-eighteenth century. She recently assisted English Heritage with new garden interpretation at Wrest Park and has published on Jemima Grey’s engagement with garden design in the Journal for Eighteenth Century Studies.
This is the third of a series sponsored by the Yorkshire Gardens Trust. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards. Register HERE£5 each or all 5 for £20
