Boston Flora

Month: February 2024

  • Through April 28 – The Future of Orchids: Conservation and Collaboration

    Organized by Smithsonian Gardens and the United States Botanic Garden, “The Future of Orchids: Conservation and Collaboration” fills the entire Kogod Courtyard of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery with nearly 350 live orchids through April 28. The exhibition explores the numerous challenges facing wild orchids today, including climate change, habitat destruction, and over-collecting, and offers a glimpse into the work being performed by a diverse group of scientists to and conservationists to protect the future of orchids. 

    If orchids are part of your own future (or present), Barb Schmidt, a noted orchid care expert, leads three Smithsonian Associates studio arts programs you won’t want to miss. On Tuesday March 5, she offers a virtual tour and history of the native orchid collection at Longwood Gardens. If you’re a from-the-ground-up novice, Schmidt’s Tuesday, March 12 class is ideal for beginners who want to keep their orchids blooming at home. And on Saturday, March 16, learn to free your orchid from the confines of its pot and mount it on a piece of wood.

    Learn more HERE.

    Photo by Hannele Lehti

  • Friday, February 23, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Embracing Eco-Friendly Landcare Practices on Cape Cod

    Join a lively discussion with an introduction by Marie Chieppo, along with a post-conference event hosted by the Ecological Landscape Alliance, Kristin Adres, and Julie Esteves. The February 23rd event takes place at 10 am at the Mass Audubon Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary, 345 Bone Hill Road in Barnstable. Coffee and breakfast snacks are included – please bring your own cups. Register at http://tinyurl.com/ycp2e75y

  • Sunday, March 3, 2:00 pm – The Garden Tourist’s New England

    Join the Groton Garden Club for a FREE Annual Lecture. The speaker is Jana Milbocker, author of The Garden Tourist’s New England. She will give a virtual tour of gardens to visit in this area.  It will be followed by a book signing of Jana’s book. The talk takes place Sunday, March 3 at 2 pm at The Groton Center, 163 West Main Street in Groton.

    Jana is a garden designer and owner of Enchanted Gardens, a landscape design and installation firm in Holliston.  She is an avid gardener, lecturer, garden designer, and author of The GardenTourists books.  She has been gardening for 30 years on a 1-1/2-acre property in Massachusetts and loves to collect new plants, visit gardens and specialty nurseries, and learn about new gardening methods.

    This free lecture is made possible by a grant from the Groton Commissioners of Trusts Lecture Fund.  The topic relates to gardening but is of general interest to all.

  • Sunday, February 18, 1:00 pm – 敬請期待 2024年2月, Year of the Dragon Installation on The Greenway

    Join the Rose Kennedy Greenway and the Chinatown community for the opening celebration of a new art installation on Sunday, February 18 at 1 pm at Chin Park. The artist is Ponnapa Prakkamukul

    Ponnapa is a Thai contemporary visual artist and landscape architect based in Massachusetts. Growing up in an extended family of artists and musicians in Thailand has a strong influence on her artistic creativity. In watching her mother diligently make drawing paper from mulberry paper pulp, silk cocoon, and tree bark, Ponnapa learned that the making of the essence of art emerges before the white paper and continues to evolve beyond artist’s hands. This idea inspired her to use the Earth as a canvas and pursued a study in landscape architecture. Ponnapa holds a master’s degree in landscape architecture with honors from the Rhode Island School of Design where she started using soil as her main drawing media.

    As a landscape architect making drawings, site investigation and immersion plays an important role in Ponnapa’s work. She uses the painting process as a tool to experience, understand, and connect with her surrounding environment. Through her work, she aims to gain a better understanding of cultural displacement and isolation issues as an immigrant. Ponnapa is also a recipient of David Bethuel Jamieson Artist of Color Residency & Fellowship at C-Scape Dune Shack in Provincetown, Residence Lab’s Artist-in-Residence Program by ACDC and the Pao Arts Center in Boston, and Manoog Family Artist Residency program at the Plumbing Museum with four paintings in the museum’s permanent collection. Her work has also been exhibited, published, and collected throughout the US and in Asia. Ponnapa currently works at Sasaki and is a member at Kingston Gallery.

  • Sunday, February 25, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Eastern – Understanding Watershed Forestry Management, Live and Online

    On Sunday February 25, 2-3 pm, The Massachusetts Division of Water Supply Protection will hold a event called Understanding Watershed Forestry Management. This will be a hybrid event, with an in-person event held at the Quabbin Reservoir Visitor Center, 100 Winsor Dam Rd., Belchertown, MA 01007 (pictured below) and broadcast virtually on Zoom. Have you ever wondered why trees are harvested on protected watershed land and why recently harvested areas look the way they do? Curious how active management of a forest can increase diversity and maintain forest health? Join DCR Quabbin-Ware Region Chief Forester Ken Canfield to learn about the benefits of a managed forest and the objectives and conditions that dictate when, where, and how trees are harvested. The event is free, but seating is limited and reservations are required. Click here for the registration form, and make sure to indicate if you plan to attend in person or remotely. Or call (617) 626-1250

  • Thursday, February 22, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Eastern – Brewing Up a Bird-friendly Cup, Online

    Did you know that your morning cup of coffee has the power to protect birds—or to destroy their habitat? In the 1980s, North American scientists noted that migratory songbirds were in trouble: Each year, fewer and fewer of them were found singing on their summer breeding grounds, but what happened to these birds during the winter remained a mystery. It took many trips to Latin America for researchers to discover that lush, shaded coffee farms from Mexico to Peru were the winter homes for many migratory songbirds. But not all coffee farms protected these birds. Smithsonian Associates presents an online program on February 22 at 7 pm with Ruth Bennett. $25 for Smithsonian Associates members, $30 for nonmembers. Register at www.smithsonianassociates.org

    Ruth Bennett, a research ecologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Migratory Bird Center, journeys south to the misty coffee farms responsible for migratory songbird survival, exploring why some coffee farmers are actively protecting bird habitats by growing coffee under native shade trees, while others are eliminating their winter habitat by cutting down cloud forest to grow more coffee. She also reports on how the Smithsonian is taking action to reverse the loss of winter habitats by creating a market for coffees certified to be Bird Friendly®.

  • Saturday, February 24, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm Eastern – Edible Landscaping Using Permaculture, Online

    Imagine a yard where trees are dripping with fresh fruits, shrubs are bejeweled with delicious berries, and gourmet mushrooms sprout in the shade. Join author and edible landscape designer, Michael Judd, in an exploration of combining form, function and production in your edible and ecological landscape. This fundamental presentation is for the budding gardener and experienced green thumb alike, full of creative and easy-to-follow designs that guide you to having your yard and eating it, too. This program is part of the Mt. Cuba Lecture Series.

    This program takes place online Saturday, February 24th, 2024. $25. Register HERE.

    About the Instructor:
    With personality and humor, permaculture designer and master grower and author of Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist, Michael Judd translates the complexities of permaculture design into simple self-build projects, providing details on the evolving design process, materials identification, and costs.

  • Monday & Tuesday, February 26 & 27, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – The Language of Flowers: A Splash of Red

    Join Anastasia Traina for an engaging and creative exploration of color in the world of flowers. Over two days, Feb. 26 and 27, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., we will delve into the fascinating world of color mixing, and to enhance our understanding, we’ll incorporate the psychology of color. As we turn our attention toward the red hues using watercolor and colored pencils, it’s essential to recognize that red is often associated with passion, energy, and intensity. We will also revisit the various shades of greens using watercolor and colored pencils, and consider not only the technical aspects of color mixing but also the emotional and psychological responses that different shades of green can evoke. In the realm of watercolors, we will experiment with creating a stunning rainbow grisaille effect. Grisaille involves painting in shades of gray to mimic the appearance of sculpture or drawing. By combining the technical aspects of color mixing with an understanding of color psychology, students will not only expand their artistic skills but also infuse a deeper layer of meaning and emotion into their botanical creations.

    The classes take place at Berkshire Botanical Garden, and are $200 for BBG members, $220 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/language-flowers-continues-splash-red

    Anastasia Traina is a writer and botanical artist. Her illustrations have been published in the children’s book, BITSY and RAFF, written by David Caudle, a story which highlights the power of friendship and inclusion. She is a member of the American Society of Botanical Art, the Tri-State Botanical Artists of NYBG, the Writer’s Guild of America and the Dramatists Guild of America. Her most recent exhibition, “Alchemy and Innocents” was on display at the BBG’s Leonhardt Galleries in 2023. Commissioned for the Berkshire Botanical Garden to create Lucy’s Garden, featuring topiary animals and other ‘live’ structures on paper. Donated by Lucy and Nat Day.

  • Thursday, February 22, 4:00 pm Eastern – Dee Salomon: Into the Woods with “The Ungardener”, Online

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay is offering a February Zoom meeting on February 22 at 4 pm Eastern with Dee Salomon. Although her outdoor landscape was designed by the renowned Miranda Brooks, Dee Salomon prefers spending her days ‘ungardening’ in the woods where she is rehabilitating the 15 acres of woodland she and her partner live on.  The story of her journey starting as a NY executive to becoming an advocate for the restoration of native woodland habitats – from backyards to land trusts – contains a message we all need to hear.  Dee will deliver that message and share her experience, in word and image, of transforming an invasive-filled woodland into a place for human joy and animal survival. If you are interested in attending (registration required before February 20) email HERE or join the Club at https://bostonflora.com.

  • Saturday, February 17, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – The Supply and Demand of Straight Native Species

    Instructors Marie Chieppo and Jasmine Callahan will discuss the recent surge in demand for straight native species by homeowners and others who are invested in the campaign to attract birds and insects that depend on straight species for food and habitat on Saturday, Feb. 17, from 10 a.m. to noon. Why does this void exist and what can we expect down the road? The class includes a presentation and interview, with discussion and Q&A to follow.

    Marie Chieppo has written articles for the Ecological Landscape Alliance and the Association of Professional Landscape Designers on the topic. An experienced ecological landscape designer, Marie also works in the retail sector at Hyannis Country Garden on Cape Cod. Jasmine Callahan is a former owner of Blue Stem Nursery and now the owner and propagator of Dragonfly Natives.

    The class takes place at Berkshire Botanical Gardens in West Stockbridge, and is $40 for BBG members, $60 for nonmembers. Register at www.berkshirebotanical.org