Boston Flora

Month: April 2023

  • Wednesday, April 26, 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm Eastern – Spices 101: Pepper, Online

    From the tangled jungles of Kerela, pepper spread around the globe and altered the course of history as it did. Peppercorns have been used since antiquity, both for flavor and as a traditional medicine. Black pepper is the world’s most-traded spice, beguiling cooks worldwide with its fragrant warmth. Its spiciness is due to the chemical compound piperine, which imparts a different kind of heat than the capsaicin characteristic of chili peppers. Pepper is ubiquitous in the Western world as a seasoning, and has a long partnership with salt on dining tables in shakers or mills.

    Black, green, pink, red pepper…Sichuan, cubeb, long, sansho, and more. Which are true peppercorns and which are pretenders? Eleanor Ford, award-winning author of The Nutmeg Trail, delves into the history, botany, lore, and culinary uses of the world’s favorite spice, then turns to the kitchen to explore flavor profiles, cooking tips, and recipes that put pepper to best use. This Smithsonian Associates webinar will take place Wednesday, April 26 at noon Eastern. $25 for Smithsonian members, $30 for non-members. Register HERE.

  • Friday, April 21, 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm Eastern – At Home in a Wild Landscape, Online

    Thoughtfully arranged native plantings can reduce maintenance, improve the environment, and enhance the beauty of any residential property. Achieving these goals however, requires a basic understanding of the patterns and processes that govern plants in the wild, and an effort to apply that understanding to a designed environment. Through a series of detailed case studies, including his own small suburban property, Larry Weaner, FAPLD, will show how artistically composed native plant compositions can result in both ecologically healthy and experientially rich home landscapes. The webinar takes place April 21 from 2 – 3:15 Eastern, and is $42. Register at https://learning.ndal.org/courses/at-home-wild-landscape-2023 The session will be recorded and viewable to registrants for 3 months after the live session date.

    Larry Weaner, FAPLD, founded Larry Weaner Landscape Associates in 1982 and established NDAL in 1990. He is nationally recognized for combining expertise in horticulture, landscape design, and ecological restoration. His design and restoration work spans more than twenty U.S. states and the U.K., and has been profiled in numerous national publications. His book Garden Revolution: How Our Landscapes Can Be a Source of Environmental Change (Timber Press 2016) received an American Horticultural Society Book Award in 2017, and in 2021 he received American Horticultural Society’s Landscape Design Award.

  • Saturday, April 22, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Shade Gardening Basics

    Wondering what plants to grow in the shady parts of your yard? Fear not. An enterprising gardener can create an attractive, ecologically robust and relaxing garden, even in the shade. This Berkshire Botanical Garden class starts by identifying the various degrees of shade you may have and moves on to presenting the best native plants for those conditions. Don’t let a lack of sunlight hold you back! Led by Duncan Himmelman, it takes place April 22 from 1 – 3, and is $15 for BBG members, $20 for nonmembers. Register HERE.

    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. 

  • Mondays, May 1 – May 22, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Eastern – Wildflowers of New England, Live and Online

    This Native Plant Trust Live virtual course provides a comprehensive introduction to native plants, including their identification, ecology, and conservation. We explore New England’s native plants by studying key identification features of flowers, leaves, and stems; family characteristics; growth patterns; pollinators; seed dispersers; and habitats. You will learn basic botanical skills and tools for identifying wildflowers and study pollination and coevolution of flower structure and design, habitats and ecology, and conservation concerns. (This course is also offered in-person). Neela de Zoysa leads the four Monday sessions, May 1 – 22. $216 for NPT members, $264 for nonmembers. Register at www.nativeplanttrust.org Once registered, students will receive an automatic email containing details about the course and their receipt. These details may include pre-class readings, handouts, an access link, or directions to field sites. A reminder email will be sent out 1 week in advance.

    Common Groundnut courtesy Go Botany

  • Saturday, April 22, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm – Remarkable Flora, Memorable Greek Myths, and Surprising Etymologies: A Romp Through the Berkshire Botanical Garden

    On April 22 at 11 am, enjoy a talk chock-full of fun facts about flora — flowers, herbs, shrubs, trees, and veggies — that grow at the Berkshire Botanical Garden. Based on the book An Alphabetical Romp through the Flora of Berkshire Botanical Garden: from Agave to Zinnia, this talk will enhance your every visit to BBG’s 24 acres of magnificent gardens. Presented by the author, Stewart Edelstein. $10 for BBG members, $12 for nonmembers. Register HERE.

    Stewart Edelstein is the author of this and three other books, as well as numerous articles on a variety of subjects. Stewart creates podcasts, gives webinars and teaches OLLI courses. He lives in Stockbridge, Mass., with his wife, Lynn. He wrote the 100 essays in this fun and informative book in collaboration with Berkshire Botanical Garden’s horticultural team.

  • Through Sunday, April 30 – Nest/Emerge

    Berkshire Botanical Garden presents “Nest/Emerge,” an art exhibition, through Sunday, April 30. Featuring works by Elizabeth Cohen, “Nest/Emerge” will exhibit in the Garden’s Center House Leonhardt Galleries. The gallery hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

    In Nest/Emerge, Cohen explores relationships between natural and imagined forms through layers and patterns, re-contextualizing them. The works invite viewers to experience quiet moments and unexpected delights. Incorporating hand-thrown porcelain, mulberry paper, wasp nests, and other materials found in nature, Cohen’s art beckons the viewer to connect with the botanical world.

    “I find inspiration everywhere: the natural world, microscopic images, landscapes, shells, bugs, bark, leaves, pods and seeds,” she said.

    A studio potter living Wellesley, Massachusetts, Cohen explores cycles of birth, life and death, growth and decay, rhythm and change. She explores varied metaphorical nuances, such as family, security and comfort, through nesting sets. 

    She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a minor in Japanese Studies from Tufts University and a master’s degree in teaching from Simmons College. Her work has been exhibited in recent years at the Boston Sculptors Gallery, Boston; The Mill Contemporary, in Framingham; Worcester Center for Craft; River Oaks Arts Center, in Alexandria, La.; and Fuller Craft Museum, in Brockton. For more information, visit BerkshireBotanical.org.

  • Thursday, April 27, 12:00 noon – 1:15 pm Eastern – Chasing Plants, Online

    Join Chris Thorogood, deputy director and head of science at the University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum, for a glimpse into the exhilarating adventures of a field botanist. The Smithsonian Associates Program on April 27 at noon Eastern time is presented on Zoom, live from the UK.

    In his adventures across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, Thorogood has clambered over cliffs and up erupting volcanoes and trekked through typhoons. Along the way, he’s encountered pitcher plants, irises, and orchids of unimaginable beauty. Thorogood brings his travels to life with his vivid paintings, shares details of hair-raising excursions, and explains the vital work he and other botanists are doing to protect the world’s plants.

    The lecture is $20 for Smithsonian members, $25 for nonmembers. Thorogood’s book Chasing Plants: Journeys with a Botanist Through Rainforests, Swamps and Mountains (University of Chicago Press) is available for purchase through the registration link.

  • Thursday, April 20, 2:00 pm Eastern – A Conversation About Inspiring Black Flower Farmers and Florists, Online

    Teresa J. Speight is an author, podcaster, garden writer, and proud native of Washington, DC. With ancestral sharecropping roots originating in North and South Carolina, she feels deeply connected with the earth.  Teresa also works to reconnect people with the soil through one-on-one garden coaching and by offering curated “garden experiences” for small groups.

    Teresa is the author of Black Flora: Profiles of Inspiring Black Flower Farmers + Florists and co-author of The Urban Garden: 101 Ways to Grow Food and Beauty in the City. On her podcast Cottage in the Court (available on Anchor or Apple Podcasts), Teresa introduces interesting people, discovers unique places, and adds a little poetry to remind everyone to embrace the garden, as it is here for us.

    Black flower farmers and florists are often overlooked in an industry that is essential as we embrace the beauty that surrounds us. In many instances, the people in this book have pivoted from different careers and have found peace in working with flowers. In other instances, the choice to grow flowers and create with them is a way of life versus traditional employment. This work is not easy, however, each person in this book is dedicated to working with flowers. Boldly stepping out from behind the scenes, these floral professionals have been brought to life and hopefully will inspire the next generation of floral professionals.

    Register for this Garden Conservancy April 20 online talk at www.gardenconservancy.org. $5 for Conservancy members, $15 for nonmembers. A recording of this webinar will be sent to all registrants a few days after the event. We encourage you to register, even if you cannot attend the live webinar.

    copyright Elyse Fujioka

  • Friday, April 21, 6:30 pm Eastern – Choose Your Own Disaster: Adventuring through Hollywood’s Attempts to Tackle Climate Change, Live and Online

    Earth Week with WBUR is a week long series of events on the environment and climate change leading up to Earth Day (April 22, 2023). Join them for conversations, performances and more, focused on celebrating and protecting our planet. On Friday, April 21, at WBUR CitySpace, 890 Commonwealth Avenue, and online, join Ben Brock Johnson and panelists including Samantha Montano — author of Disasterology: Dispatches from The Frontlines of The Climate Crisis and assistant professor of emergency management at Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

    Hollywood is full of big screen metaphors and on-the-nose cliches about climate change. And it turns out audiences love a disaster flick, from world-ending meteor strikes to the next ice age or even the mysterious switching of the planet’s polarity.

    But IN A WORLD… where we actually need to talk about the real issues we’re facing, can disaster movies help? Join Endless Thread podcast co-host Ben Brock Johnson and the WBUR Podcasts team for a night of absurdity, fun and some real discussion of what our blockbuster movie industry has gotten wrong—and right—about the greatest existential threat humanity has ever faced.

    You will have the power to choose which decisions we make to stop a world-ending climate threat inspired by scenes from our favorite disaster films. Along the way, we’ll check in with a panel of experts who will help us understand if any of these events could ever happen and, if so, how we can navigate the real future. Tickets are $5 – $25. Buy tickets at www.wbur.org

  • Wednesday, April 19, 2:00 pm Eastern – A Celebration of Play in the Garden: Labyrinths, Online

    This Gardens Trust online series of four lectures considers aspects of play and playfulness within the landscape and garden. For children, play is the life’s work. We all want to discover what’s new and explore what’s out of sight. We should never lose this sense of revelry. Families that play together come away walking tall and feeling better about themselves and each other. In the spirit, let us celebrate the importance and life-affirming joy of play. 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. This ticket link is for this April 19 individual session and costs £5: www.thegardenstrust.org

    For four thousand years, Labyrinths have symbolized the Thread of Time and the Path of Life. Across cultures and civilizations, the notion of the Labyrinth has kept appearing and reinventing itself, from Nordic folklore, Roman mosaics and medieval Christian cathedrals to present day examples.

    Adrian Fisher gives his own particular interpretation of the Christian Path of Life; not ending (as in Jesus Christ Superstar) at the moment of mortal death; but continuing onwards beyond mortal life to eternal life and Salvation. Adrian Fisher MBE is the world’s leading creator of mazes of all kinds, full of challenges, discovery and fun. For 44 years he has been transforming the traditional art of getting lost into state-of-the-art adventures, each with a compelling narrative and story line. He and his wife Marie live in the village of the Durweston in Dorset. Their garden contains his GEOMITICA art, and a hedge maze with a folly tower, mirrored chamber, spiral staircase and battlements.

    He is the author of a whole shelf of books about mazes while his website www.mazemaker explains much more about his work.