Soil is alive with microorganisms that help provide garden plants with the all-important nutrients they need. Learn the basics of soil science (texture, structure, pH), how to foster and maintain soil health, and why a soil test is a great starting point. Discover how to create a living soil and reap its benefits for years to come. Led by Duncan Himmelman. This April 22 Berkshire Botanical class will take place at the garden in Stockbridge from 10 – noon, 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.
Every house in America should be fronted with a non-native monoculture with the maintenance requirements of a golf course and the ecological value of a strip mine; a place where all flowers are called weeds and signs to the extent of ‘keep off’ are the norm. Does the idea seem a bit odd to you? It’s time to take a second look at this idea we call lawn. Join ecologist, horticulturist, and author Dan Jaffe Wilder online on April 19 at 2 pm Eastern to explore alternatives; from whole lawn replacement options, to strategies for reducing lawn inputs while increasing their ecological value.The NDAL webinar is $42., and the session will be recorded and available to registrants for 3 months following the event. Register at https://learning.ndal.org/courses/kill-your-lawn-2023
The Preservation Society of Newport County will offer a series of six Zoom lectures on The Gilded Age Years: Transforming America, beginning April 13 at 6 pm. The series will also be presented live at The Breakers. The series of 6 online talks is available as a bundle for $50.
This series will be unlike anything the Preservation Society has ever offered: A truly comprehensive look at the period that gave shape to modern America. It starts with “The Gilded Age: Past and Present,” where Dr. Michael Patrick Cullinane of Dickinson State University, an award-winning author and the host of the popular podcast “The Gilded Age and Progressive Era,” will address the question: Are we living in a second Gilded Age?
Each program will be given in the Great Hall of The Breakers, a space that epitomizes the Gilded Age. See www.newportmansions.org/events for the full schedule.
There are plenty of other ticket options available: In-person tickets for each individual program at regular or member price; Zoom registration for all six at a discounted price; and Zoom registration for each single program.
Cartoon, Labor’s discontent with Capital. Courtesy of Dr. Michael Patrick Cullinane
This year, following on from the Gardens Trust’s successful 2022 series on the rose, in partnership with the Historic Roses Group, the Gardens Trust is happy to announce a new rose-related lecture series, again with the HRG, this time including an international slant.
With speakers hailing from Iceland to Australia, via England, Italy and the USA, these talks are wide-ranging. We begin with a portrait of a popular 19th century rosarian who loved riding as much as roses, knew everyone on the literary scene, was a celebrity preacher and organized the first ever National Rose Show in London. An account of a hillside rose garden in Italy which started as a collection of pots on a terrace in Rome; how to grow roses in the Arctic Circle and ‘down under’ on a working Australia farm; the intriguing stories behind the names of some romantic heritage roses; and where to find a unique UN Food and Agriculture Organization collection of the other – edible – members of the rosaceae family continue the series. We finish with practical advice about training and pruning your climbers, whether roses or wisterias, from a professional horticultural gardener, the latest in three generations of market gardeners and a shows organizer and designer whose sumptuous stands have won medals for the Historic Roses Group at the Hampton Court Flower Show.
This ticket costs £28 for the entire course of 7 sessions or you may purchase a ticket for individual sessions, costing £5. 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 through Eventbrite HERE or visit https://thegardenstrust.org/events-archive/page/3/
Week One on April 17 is The Humour of Hole with Martin Stott. This presentation is about the Rev. Samuel Reynolds Hole, 1819-1904, celebrated Anglican preacher, rosarian, horticulturalist, prolific letter-writer, author of the immensely popular A Book about Roses (W. Blackwood and Sons, 1869) among other works, and Dean of Rochester Cathedral. He was the first organizer of the National Rose Show in London, one of the inaugural recipients of the Victoria Medal of Honour awarded by the Royal Horticultural Society and the first president of the National Rose Society, 1876-1904.
A former journalist who has written for most of the UK’s national press, Martin Stott has made programs for Radio 4 and the BBC World Service in 21 countries. He is the co-editor of By Any Other Name, the heritage rose journal of the World Federation of Rose Societies and has written for the Historic Rose Journal and Gardens Illustrated. He is a member of the HRG and writes a garden history blog (see below). As well as being a keen rose grower, Martin is currently leading the restoration of a rare Georgian town garden at Bromley House Library in Nottingham – a garden that retains many of its original features from when the Grade 2*-listed house was created in 1752. He also has a growing collection of memorabilia about ‘the Rose King’, the Rev. Dean Hole; and a tolerant wife.
Celebrate orchid-blooming season. Hundreds of orchid plants are for sale, including many hard-to-find varieties. Visit the greenhouse and enjoy gorgeous floral colors, shapes, and scents. Varieties on display and for sale include Cattleyas, Laelias, Oncidiums, Paphiopedilums, Phalaenopsis, and many more. Their longlasting blooms are a dramatic addition to any indoor environment. This adaptable species can grow in a variety of home conditions. Staff are available to offer expert advice and contactless service.
Historic New England members save 10% on purchases. The three day event takes place at the Lyman Estate Greenhouses, 85 Lyman Street, Waltham, Massachusetts. Free. Please call 617-994-5913 for more information or visit https://my.historicnewengland.org/17180/spring-orchid-sale
Join other enthusiasts in great conversation while immersed in the beauty of the Garden at Elm Bank. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society Book Club meets monthly at 1:30 in the Putnam Building, 900 Washington Street. On April 18, the book to be discussed is A Clearing in the Distance: Frederick Law Olmsted and America in the 19th Century, by Witold Rybcznskji. To join the list, visit www.masshort.org.
The Cactus and Succulent Society of Massachusetts will meet on Saturday, April 22 from 1 – 4 at the Norfolk Public Library, 2 Liberty Lane in Norfolk, Massachusetts. CSSM Member Joel Mullen will introduce the club to similarities between growing bonsai and growing succulents and also how to train various succulents into bonsai. Topics will include tools, pots, soil and all the helpful things that can be taken from one and used on the other. Free. Public invited.
The Gardens Trust presents a four part online lecture series with Toby Musgrave beginning April 18. Tickets £16 for the series or £5 each through Eventbrite. For thousands of years peoples and civilizations the world over have adopted belief systems that give a key role to the natural world and the trees, fruits and flowers to be found there. Whether living a primitive existence in a desert land or enjoying the fruits of a richly cultivated soil, man endows his spirit world, his gods and his presumed afterlife with fertile, sweet surroundings that reflect an ideal – a garden paradise. Taking a global perspective and with a chronology of over 5,000 years, Gardens of the Gods examines, explores and interprets the purpose, role, use and symbolism of plants and gardens in more than fifteen belief systems, some still practiced and others not.
Week one is entitled The Old World, beginning with a exploration and contrast of sacro-religious plants and gardens within three overlapping ancient civilizations/regions. Those of Ancient Egypt with its afterlife concept of Aaru (or the Field of Reeds), the Minoan civilization on Crete – did they make gardens?, and the Mesopotamian ‘Gardens of the Gods’. We will conclude with a look at the divine nature of the Ancient Greeks and religion in the Roman garden.
Dr Toby Musgrave FSA FLS is a garden and plants historian, horticulturist and author. His books have covered a wide range of subjects from head gardeners to heritage fruit and vegetables, plant hunters to paradise gardens, and a biography of Sir Joseph Banks. He was a major contributor to Radio 4’s series “The British Garden” and he has been a consultant for many gardening and garden history related programmes on both the BBC and commercial television. He lives in Denmark and when not gardening, teaching or writing he works as a submersible pilot. To reserve this ticket link 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 The Gardens Trust). A link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 1 week .
Learn from Teresa Mosher about uncovering winter protected roses, pruning various types, planting, fertilizing and choosing hardy roses. Photos from her locally revered Zone 5 garden in Methuen are incorporated into the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill power point presentation on April 20 from 1 – 2:30 pm. Handouts are included and everyone will receive a copy of Teresa’s book A Year in My Rose Garden.
Teresa Mosher is one of the leading Garden and Rose Consultants in New England. Her passion for flowers, especially roses started as a child when her dad would start seedlings and plant them in the family garden every spring. Even though he worked long hours, he took the time to care for and grow fruits, vegetables and flowers, teaching his family important life lessons in the process. The garden became a place to relax and enjoy life where she and her dad felt most at peace. A native of Methuen, Massachusetts, Teresa has raised two sons with her husband of 40 years. She is past President of the New England Rose Society, a Horticulture Rose Judge and Consulting Rosarian for the American Rose Society. Teresa’s love for flowers also drives her to volunteer, consult and teach others to care for them year-round. She truly enjoys sharing her knowledge and passion for gardening with others. $35 Member Adult; $50 Adult (Registration includes admission to the Garden) Register HERE
An evening reception at the Southborough Library on April 13 from 5 – 8:30 is planned to showcase all the floral arrangements and book pairings created by members of Southborough Gardeners. Refreshments will be served. This event is open to the community. Please invite your friends and family to attend the reception or visit the exhibit at the Library on April 14 and 15. For more information visit http://www.southboroughgardeners.org/calendar
