Daily Archives: May 3, 2023

Saturday, May 13, 2:00 pm – Free Tour of Charlesgate Park

by

This past November, MassDOT held a public announcement that funding had been secured for two bridge projects the Bowker Overpass. While the designs are not yet ready for public comment, the Charlesgate Alliance, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, and the Esplanade Association have partnered to advocate for the greenest possible outcomes for these transformational projects.

Promised outcomes include removing the offramp over the Muddy River at Charlesgate East and Commonwealth Avenue and, in collaboration with our partners at the Esplanade Association, daylighting the terminus of the Muddy River as it enters the Charles. These two MassDOT improvements will act as bookends as we work to improve the heart of the park between the Mass. Turnpike and Beacon Street. Join us on a free tour of Charlesgate Park about the vision for its future on Saturday, May 13 at 2:00 pm.

Register  here so that we can get a head count and tell you if a rain cancellation occurs.

Tours start in The Grove area of the park (just in from the NW corner of Beacon St. and Charlesgate East), where we planted new trees last June. Look for buds on the maple trees! Allow two hours for the complete tour. Below is an image of the area circa 1954, for reference.

Tuesday, May 9, 5:00 am – 6:30 am Eastern (but Recorded) – Gardens of the Gods: Pantheism and the New Beliefs

by

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.

The final lecture of the series on May 9 is Pantheism and the New Beliefs. The individual ticket may be reserved 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 last lecture embraces a combination of religions in which pantheism and plants were significant: in Northern Europe the Celtic and Norse traditions, in North America the Native American ones, and those of Mesoamerican cultures. The lecture wraps up with a look at how plants and gardens remain symbolic in today’s ever increasingly secular society.

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 programs on both the BBC and commercial television. He lives in Denmark and when not gardening, teaching or writing he works as a submersible pilot.

Norns Under the Sacred Ash Yggdrasill

Wednesday, May 10, 2:00 pm Eastern – A Celebration of Play in the Landscape: Playful Gardens

by

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 the final individual session on Playful Gardens on May 10 and costs £5: www.thegardenstrust.org

The history of the English landscape is ‘beyond contrived’, first we have an untimed wilderness next to the imposition of geometry and order, and then the conceit of exploring a wild but contrived landscape. For centuries, many of the most cherished landscape gardens have abounded in playfulness. We create playful gardens ‘just for the fun of it’. Actually, entirely for the fun of it! No garden is too small for entertaining and party giving; we explore some achievable ideas.

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 storyline. 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.