Boston Flora

Month: March 2024

  • Tuesday, December 3 – Sunday, December 8 – Bermuda’s Gardens, Homes and Holiday Magic

    Embark with the American Horticultural Society on a captivating journey to Bermuda, a remote island paradise steeped in rich history and natural beauty. Uncover the island’s impressive natural and cultural wonders and immerse yourself in behind-the-scenes tours, curator-led explorations of the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art, and visits to St. Peter’s Church and St. George’s. This special AHS program marks the perfect start to your 2024 holiday season: a standout moment is the rare opportunity to partake in Bermuda’s signature winter holiday event, the “Christmas Walkabout” in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of St. George’s, adorned with festive decorations and historic houses open to the public. With an expert guide leading you through Bermuda’s gardens and nature reserves, this unforgettable adventure awaits you in December 2024. Don’t miss the chance to be part of this extraordinary journey to one of the world’s most captivating destinations.  The dates are December 3 – 8, and your AHS host is Naomi Mermin. Complete itinerary and registration information may be found at https://ahsgardening.org/gardening-programs/travel-study/2024-travel-study-programs/bermuda2024/

  • Tuesday, April 2, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – The Facts on Fermentation

    Join Emily Markez, owner of F-Word Farm, in Wright-Locke Farm’s All Season Barn on April 2nd at 7 for a captivating high-level overview of fermentation. Learn about the health benefits as you delve into the microbial world. Watch a live demonstration and sample different creations as you gain insights to inspire your fermenting adventure. During this program, you will discover the essence of fermentation and its most common techniques, from sauerkraut to kombucha, vinegar, and miso. Delve into the microbial world behind these creations and witness a live demonstration of a seasonal lacto-ferment. Emily’s expertise and passion will guide you through this flavorful journey, complete with tantalizing samples to savor and insights to inspire your own fermenting adventures. $35. Register at www.wlfarm.org


  • Wednesday, April 3, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Eastern – Herring Count Training Session, Online

    ATTEND THE CHARLES RIVER WATERSHED ASSOCIATION’S HERRING COUNT TRAINING SESSION ON APRIL 3.

    Want to participate in the 2024 herring count? Join this free training session to learn about the Charles River herring and how to be a fish monitoring volunteer.

    We’ll hear from John Sheppard from the MA Division of Marine Fisheries and CRWA Senior Restoration Program Manager Lisa Kumpf on the importance of volunteer herring counting and a “Fish Monitoring 101” outline on everything you need to know about becoming a volunteer fish counter. To register, visit https://www.crwa.org/events/herring-count-training-session

  • Monday, August 19 – Friday, August 23 – Oregon: The Gardens of Portland & the Farm-to-Table Bounty of the Willamette Valley

    Embark on a unique American Horticultural Society journey to Portland and the Willamette Valley on August 19 – 23, celebrating magnificent gardens, sustainable farming, and farm-to-table traditions. Discover the distinctive beauty of the Portland Japanese Garden, Lan Su Chinese Garden, and Oregon Garden. Learn about holistic land management at a Willamette Valley farm and enjoy a tasting and tour at a picturesque winery. Timed with the Swan Island Dahlia Festival, witness thousands of dahlias in peak bloom. Engage with local experts, including farmers, chefs, and a winemaker. Throughout, enjoy meals at hand-picked restaurants committed to sustainability and locally sourced, seasonal ingredients. Reserve your place now. Click here for program brochure and registration details.

    Trip Highlights:

    – Explore the lush beauty of Portland and the Willamette Valley with AHS Hosts Holly and Osamu Shimizu.

    – Visit the renowned Portland Japanese Garden, the tranquil Lan Su Chinese Garden, and the fascinating Oregon Garden.

    – Discover sustainable farming practices at a pasture-based farm in the Willamette Valley, showcasing holistic land management and the farm-to-table movement.

    – Savor the fruits of the region’s vineyards with a tasting and tour at a picturesque winery in the Willamette Valley.

    – At the Swan Island Dahlia Festival, enjoy a spectacular display of thousands of dahlias in peak bloom.

    – Interact with knowledgeable local experts, including farmers, farm-to-table chefs, a winemaker, and the owner of one of Portland’s top nurseries, gaining insights into the area’s agriculture and horticulture.

    – Indulge in delectable meals at restaurants known for their commitment to sustainable practices and use of locally sourced, seasonal ingredients.

    Learn more about this program in a Q&A with trip leader Holly Shimizu and AHS’s Director of Travel Studies, Mercedes Bryant.

  • Wednesday, April 3, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Eastern – A World of Discovery: How Science and Heart Can Make You a More Ecological Gardener, Online

    Much has been written about gardening for human senses, but how do plants and animals perceive the world around them? What do we miss when we landscape for human visual appeal but neglect the sensory experiences of our wild neighbors? Noise, light, and odor pollution can have many unintended consequences. Conventional gardening practices often interfere with animals’ and plants’ abilities to interact with their environment in ways we can scarcely imagine. Through science, heart, and our powers of observation, we can learn to mitigate these disruptions and create sensory refuges in an increasingly noisy world.

    Nancy Lawson will speak on Wednesday, April 3 from 7 – 8 pm Eastern online with the American Horticultural Society. $10 AHS members, $15 nonmembers. Register at ahsgardening.org

    Nancy Lawson is the author of The Humane Gardener: Nurturing a Backyard Habitat for Wildlife and Wildscape: Trilling Chipmunks, Beckoning Blooms, Salty Butterflies, and other Sensory Wonders of Nature. A nature writer, habitat consultant, popular speaker, and founder of The Humane Gardener, LLC, she pioneers creative wildlife-friendly landscaping methods. Certified as a Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional and master naturalist, Lawson co-chairs Howard County Bee City in Maryland and co-launched a community science project, Monarch Rx, after discovering a little-known butterfly behavior in her own garden. Her work has been featured in Science Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Oprah magazine, Entomology Today, and Ecological Entomology. Her new book, Wildscape, is a finalist for the 2024 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books.

  • Explore Munstead Wood, Online

    Take a video tour on YouTube of garden designer Gertrude Jekyll’s former home in Surrey with Head Gardener Annabell Watts.

    Munstead Wood was acquired by the National Trust in April 2023. Its garden was originally created by Jekyll in the 1880s with vibrant flowers, intricate footpaths and Victorian greenhouses. The design of this garden was ahead of its time due to the meticulously chosen architectural plants and color schemes. 

    Jekyll also worked with architect Sir Edwin Lutyens to build a house that could also be her workplace. Designed to look as if it rose from the ground, the house was completed with a dark room, workshop and flower shop to support Jekyll’s work. 

    (Note: Munstead Wood is not open to the public currently.) 

    WATCH NOW

  • Tuesday, April 9, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Eastern – The Museum of Scent, Online

    Enter the enchanting world of the Aftel Archive of Curious Scents—the first museum of natural fragrance in the United States. Artisan perfumer, educator, author, and founder Mandy Aftel will reveal her latest publication, The Museum of Scent, which is a richly illustrated dedication to her museum’s rare collection of natural essences.

    Aftel, one of the world’s preeminent natural perfumers, will guide you through the different families of botanical fragrances—including flowers, woods, leaves and grasses, and resins. Her book depicts each plant with a hand-colored antique woodcut and reveals its olfactory notes and uses. She’ll also share excerpts from chapters devoted to the most rare and precious fragrances—such as ambergris, botanical treasure boxes, Books of Secrets, and other evocative artifacts from her collection.

    Through this captivating presentation, full of fascinating stories and lore, you’ll explore the natural and cultural history of scent. Q&A to follow. The New York Botanical Garden online class on April 9 is $35 for NYBG members, $39 for nonmembers.

    To purchase a copy of Aftel’s The Museum of Scent, please visit the NYBG Shop

  • Friday, April 19, 6:00 pm – The Green & White

    A party dedicated to preserving and protecting our nation’s first public park, our oldest public botanical garden, and a historic park Winston Churchill once dubbed “the grandest boulevard in North America,” The Green & White is the single largest source of funds to support the three parks. The Green & White is a gathering of people and organizations who know healthy parks are essential to a healthy community. The evening is a celebration of the partnerships that make this work possible.

    Please join The Friends of the Public Garden for an unforgettable night. The party will take place Friday, April 19 at The Newbury Boston. Reserve your tickets at https://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/gwsponsors/ You may also make a donation if you cannot attend. Questions may be directed to Amanda McGuire, Development Manager, at amanda@friendsofthepublicgarden.org or (617) 959-1900.

  • Wednesday, March 20, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Eastern – A Curious Herbal: A Conversation with Janet Stiles Tyson, Online

    For nearly three centuries, Elizabeth Blackwell (1699–c. 1758) has been recognized for etching the 500 full-page illustrations of medicinal plants that are found in A Curious Herbal. Join historian and leading authority on Blackwell, Dr. Janet Stiles Tyson, as she uncovers narratives and identifies some of the key differences found in the many editions of this renowned masterpiece. This online presentation is sponsored by the New York Botanical Garden. The leading authority on Blackwell and A Curious Herbal, Dr. Janet Stiles Tyson, will correct persistent Blackwell narratives and restore attention to her book as a scientific document. Having examined more than 80 copies of Blackwell’s Herbal—including the three held in NYBG’s LuEsther T. Mertz Library—she will highlight differences that endow each with distinct personalities and argue that some copies were so dramatically altered by their owners that they can be considered unique books, and their former owners perceived as co-authors. Register at www.nybg.org

  • Wednesday, March 27, 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm – Priorities Reversed: From Climate Agnosticism to Ecological Activism

    The public is invited to a free talk on March 27 at 12:30 pm at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Gund Hall Loeb Library Lobby, with Pedro Gadanho. Rather than slowly immersing in the subject of the ecological emergency, if one suddenly dives into its depths, the experience can be irreversibly transformative. Based on a personal trajectory of exhibitions, books and projects, this talk dwells on how such a radical reversal can alter not only one’s worldview, but also what kind of action and practice one accepts to pursue after their priorities have undergone a radical change.

    Pedro Gadanho is an architect, curator and author. A 2020 Loeb Fellow from Harvard University, Gadanho holds an MA in art and architecture, and is a PhD in architecture and mass media. From 2012 to 2016, he was the curator of contemporary architecture at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, where he coordinated the Young Architects Program and curated exhibitions such as 9+1 Ways of Being Political, Uneven Growth, and A Japanese Constellation. Between 2015 and 2019, he was the founding Director of MAAT, the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, in Lisbon, where he initiated more than 50 exhibition projects, including shows and publications such as Utopia/Dystopia, Tension & Conflict, and Eco-Visionaries. During 2020-21, he led a bid for European Capital of Culture 2027 by a coalition of 17 cities in Portugal’s interior, and became a Guest Professor at the University of Beira Interior. He has edited the BEYOND bookazine, the ShrapnelContemporary blog, and contributes regularly to international publications. He wrote Arquitetura em Público, a recipient of the FAD Prize for Thought and Criticism in 2012. In 2022, he launched Climax Change! How Architecture Must Transform in the Age of Ecological Emergency (ACTAR Publishers: New York/Barcelona).

    Anyone requiring accessibility accommodations should contact the Public Programs Office at (617) 496-2414 or events@gsd.harvard.edu.