Join the Brookline DPW at Brookline’s third-annual Spring Fest on Saturday, June 1st at Fisher Hill Reservoir Park from 11 AM to 2 PM. Spring Fest 2024 is a call for environmental action and we urge you to join us as we “BEE the change you want to see in Brookline!” Learn about how you can contribute to protecting our pollinators, and the exciting community work that’s being done by our partners such as Brookline GreenSpace Alliance, Brookline Mothers Out Front, Brookline Rotary Club, and many others. The event will include environmental education activities, yard games, crafting stations, a tree ID walk, food, and music. Free.
The Gardens Trust presents a series of three talks on botanists and botanical art across three centuries, exploring people and illustrations that have defined, recorded and celebrated the world of plants in all their distinctiveness and intricacy. We start the series with exciting new research on previously unremarked botanical images on the paneling of a fine Jacobean house in Hampshire. In the second lecture we will examine the extraordinary set of almost a thousand paper collages of exotic plants produced by an 18th century woman of advanced years, before finishing with tales of a Victorian lady traveler who sought out rare plants in their native lands, not to collect – but to paint. Tickets for the three part series may be purchased through Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/botanists-and-botanical-art-tickets-834657221217Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days (and again a few hours) prior to the start of the first talk (If you do not receive this link please contact us), and a link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 1 week.
On May 28, we will explore the work of Mary Delany (1700 – 1788) and her ‘Paper Mosaicks’ with Twigs Way. Scandal, politics, botany, and art: this talk will explore the life of the ‘grotto nymph’ and creator of botanic paper collages, Mary Delany. Acclaimed by Sir Joseph Banks, personal friend of Queen Charlotte, and fellow ‘explorer’ of botanical wonders with the Duchess of Portland, Mary Delany embarked, aged 72, on a fabulous Flora of paper portrayals of exotic plants. This will be a heavily illustrated talk drawing on Mary Delany’s own words.
Dr Twigs Way is a researcher, writer and speaker in garden history, fascinated by the past and intrigued by the role of flowers, gardens and landscape in art and culture of all kinds. Her research reflects that endless curiosity and her books on plants and gardens explore themes of symbolism and meaning, class and gender, art and literature. Currently (2024) delivering a series of talks for the Cambridge University Botanic Gardens on the overlap between garden design and textile fashion through the ages.
Kick summer off in style with music, lawn games, your favorite Rose Kennedy Greenway food trucks, beer, wine, and more at the Greenway Conservancy’s annual young professionals fundraising event, Glow in the Park, presented by MFS Investment Management. Lighting up the night on Friday, June 7 from 7:30 – 10:30 at the Rings Fountain, this is your opportunity to support the non-profit Greenway Conservancy and our work to connect neighborhoods and people to each other through ecological horticulture, public art, and free public programming. If you would like to sponsor Glow In The Park, please click here for more information, or email us at development@rosekennedygreenway.org. To buy tickets ($300 a pair), click HERE
Join Larry Millman, author-ethnographer-mycologist, for an informative, entertaining and engaging Fungi Foray in Beebe Woods. The Highfield Hall and Gardens program takes place May 29 from 4 – 6 at 56 Highfield Drive in Falmouth. Larry has studied fungi all over the world– especially in his own backyard of New England. As you wander through the woods on this mushroom walk, Larry will focus on fungal ecology rather than edibility. You’ll learn what fungi are doing in their respective habitats as well as their common names. Bring a hand lens or magnifier if you have one (some of the species will be very small) and a sense of curiosity. Larry has written 16 books including Fungipedia: A -Z. $10 for Highfield Hall members, $15 for nonmembers. Register at www.highfieldhallandgardens.org
The Aptucxet Garden Club of Bourne presents Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, a National Garden Club Small-Standard flowr show, on Thursday through Saturday, May 30 – June 1, from 1 – 4 at the Briggs-McDermott House, 22 Sandwich Road in Bourne. Free admission.
This Massachusetts Horticultural Society workshop at The Gardens at Elm Bank on May 25 led by Garden Educator, Melissa Pace, offers a hands-on opportunity for participants to create their own personalized terrarium. During the workshop, attendees will have the chance to select from a variety of plants and design elements to craft a unique miniature indoor garden.
Melissa will provide guidance on plant selection, arrangement, and care techniques to ensure the long-term health and vitality of the terrariums. Participants will also learn about the importance of proper maintenance, including watering, light requirements, and common problems to look out for. Be sure to bring a box to transport your new creation home in! $40 for Mass Hort members, $53 for nonmembers. Register at www.masshort.org
This Berkshire Botanical Garden workshop, led by Sam Mercier at the Garden on May 25, will focus on the steps that are needed to start new projects as well as methods for fixing existing problems. The class will begin with a demonstration and Q&A at 9 a.m., then participants will take a walk of the grounds, examining masonry and looking at techniques for fixing stone projects that have been worn down over time. After an in-depth look at the basics on the planning board and in the field, instruction will move to masonry tools, finishes and fabrication. This will cover cutting stone with saws large and small, splitting stone, chiseling, and other finishes necessary in stone projects at 3 p.m. $140 for BBG members, $160 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/stonemasonry-overview-0
Sam Mercier is a local mason currently hailing from Sandisfield, Massachusetts. His career began on the island of Martha’s Vineyard where he learned from highly skilled stonemasons specializing in reclaimed granite and fieldstone. He moved to the Berkshires for an opportunity to work with a distinguished company that focused more on antique stone and brick designs. In 2015 Sam started his company Mercier Stone.
Do you enjoy the wildflowers of urban parks or your own garden? Ever wonder which types of pollinators also enjoy them? Join participatory scientists from Earthwise Aware (EwA) and Ranger Tim at Lusitania Meadow, 615 Concord Avenue in Cambridge, to learn how you can help document arthropod activity around Fresh Pond and in your neighborhood. Spend part of your afternoon with us in the meadow, learning how to identify arthropods and their host plants. Discover how to document their activity, length, abundance, and developmental stage. The program is on May 19 beginning at 1 pm.
Do you want to be an influencer? Become a content creator as you take your floral arrangement photos to the next level using social media. In this New York Botanical Garden online class, you’ll define your goals for using social media platforms as a marketing tool to build your brand. Learn how to create engaging content, receive tips on connecting and communicating with followers, and receive best practices to convert followers into customers. Basic knowledge of Instagram is encouraged. Please note: This is not a floral arranging class. Jamie Jamison is the instructor. $125 for NYBG members, $135 for nonmembers. Register at www.nybg.org
Jamie Jamison is a natural light and still-life photographer with a passion for flowers, vintage finds and handmade treasures. As a social media content manager and influencer (@alajamie), she connects with other floral enthusiasts and has inspired people throughout the world with her uplifting photos. Jamie provides Instagram coaching, photography and styling for businesses as well works as a brand partner with several national companies.
Jamie is also a Communication Instructor at Youngstown State University and was awarded the 2019 Part-Time Excellence Award for teaching. Her work has appeared in Country Living, Somerset Life, Bella Grace Magazine, Somerset Digital Studio, Somerset Memories, Artful Blogging, Somerset Studio Gallery, Somerset Apprentice, and the Torpedo Factory Target Gallery.
