Learn how to capture the beauty and variety of plant forms with pencil and paper in this two-hour online workshop with the Harvard Museum of Natural History on September 25 at 9:30 am Eastern. With a focus on close observation, we’ll explore a range of techniques for achieving more accurate drawings and delve into contour, foreshortening, and shading to create volume and depth. The class will be limited to 12 participants, allowing ample time for individual feedback. All skill levels are welcome. $30 for Museum members, $35 for nonmembers. Register at https://hmnh.harvard.edu/event/sketching-plants-and-flowers-0
What is a garden? Why were they created as they were? What influences were at play in garden making, and how have gardens evolved and developed over time? These are the questions we will explore as we traverse the history of gardens through the ages.
Following on from our opening talks on early gardens, this second series will examine how gardens developed during the 17th century. We will explore how exotic plants from around the world started to appear in European gardens, and were captured in botanical art, before the tumultuous impact of the English civil wars on gardens and gardening from the 1640s. The second part of the century saw the rise of extravagant, dramatic styles, now known as baroque gardens and exemplified by the work of André Le Nôtre for the Sun King at Versailles. We will explore these gardens through an analysis of the work of Le Nôtre and his contemporaries in France, and the series will end with a talk scrutinising how the European baroque style played out in England.
This ticket – purchase through Eventbrite HERE – is for this individual talk and costs £8, and you may purchase tickets for other individual sessions via the links below, or you may purchase a ticket for the entire [second] series of 5 talks in our History of Gardens Course at £35 via the link here. (Gardens Trust members £6 each or all 5 for £26.25) Ticket holders can join each session live and/or view a recording for up to 2 weeks afterwards.
After decades of relative peace and prosperity in Britain, the mid 17th century saw the country plunged into civil war, resulting in almost twenty years of turmoil, instability and uncertainty. This talk will examine the effect that this had on gardens as their owners returned – from the wars, from exile, from prison – and retreated to their neglected estates. With no role to play in the new Commonwealth regime, they turned to rebuilding, improving and in some cases, creating wonderful new gardens, such as the ones built by John Evelyn at Sayes Court and Wotton House. These gardens, and the fascinating stories behind them, will be the subject of this talk.
Dr Jill Francis is an early modern historian, specializing in gardens and gardening in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. She has taught history at the universities of Birmingham and Worcester, and still contributes to the programme of activities for both the Centre for Midlands History and Winterbourne House and Gardens. She is currently involved with delivering the online lecture programme for the Gardens Trust, and also works at the Shakespeare Institute Library in Stratford-upon-Avon. Her book, Gardens and Gardening in Early Modern England and Wales, was published by Yale University Press in June 2018.
The Massachusetts Audubon Society’s Rockin’ with Raptors is a community event that’s fun for all ages. Get up-close with live raptors, learn about bees, and watch charming puppet shows. It all takes place at the Boston Nature Center and Wildlife Sanctuary in Mattapan on September 28 from 12 – 3. Register at https://www.massaudubon.org/programs/boston-nature-center/93578-rockin-with-raptors
The day will include programs for children and adults, entertainment, food (cookout, popcorn, & cake!), arts & crafts, and face painting. Explore tables and activities offered by our many collaborating cultural, community, and green organizations!
Fun for all age. Rain or shine. Free but registration required.
Now in its twenty-seventh year, MUG has long been a forum where both novice and experienced gardeners come to build their skills, sharing innovative and best practices for growing anywhere from the front porch to the community garden plot. MUG is an intensive, skill-building training for community and home gardeners from Greater Boston and beyond. Whether you’re just getting started or have been gardening for decades, MUG covers everything you need know to thrive in a community garden: soil science, botany for gardeners, organic pest and disease management, edible native perennials, garden planning, starting a community garden, preserving the harvest, composting, and more. MUG is not an official Master Gardener training—it requires fewer class and volunteer hours and focuses on small-space growing of edible crops. Master Urban Gardener is open to any community and residential gardeners who demonstrate a commitment to sharing skills with others. The program content is tailored to the climate and resources of Greater Boston but is open to gardeners from farther afield. We will have Spanish translation available upon request.
MUG consists of weekly in person and virtual sessions followed by at least 10 hours of volunteer service for the Trustees Boston Community Gardens–and/or another approved food access/open space project–over the course of the next year. The course will take place at our downtown Boston office 10-3 PM Saturdays with occasional Zoom lectures on weekday evenings. Apply at https://thetrustees.org/content/master-urban-gardener/ The course fee is on an income-based sliding scale, ranging from $0 – $350. Email arabiyah@thetrustees.org to learn more.
Join The Friends of the Public Garden at The Founders Monument on Boston Common on September 25, 6 pm – 8 pm – for the opening of Revealing a Deeper History, an engaging public art intervention. This free event will feature collaborative storytelling, movement, and film, revealing marginalized voices and hidden histories. There will be a special presentation that includes remarks from FOPG President Liz Vizza, and film producer and storyteller Shanda Foster, a choreographed translation of the deeper story of the Founders Monument by educator, dancer, and choreographer Jenny Oliver, and a talkback session where the audience will have a chance to engage with the artists. Register today, and please indicate on your registration if you require accessible seating. https://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/founders-register/
In the winter of 2023 DCR Division of Water Supply Protection launched the Forest Stand Improvement pilot project. This project seeks to improve Forest Resiliency in young forests to increase native tree biodiversity, improve wildlife habitat, and climate resilience. Millers River Environmental Center 100 Main Street, Athol, at 1:30 pm on September 22, with speaker Austin Gelinas. Free and open to the public, sponsored by the Athol Bird & Nature Club.
Eisenhower Park is home to many beautiful and noble trees that set the tone for the City of Newport’s inspiring collection, making up the Newport Arboretum. Included in situ is one of the finest mature American elms on Aquidneck Island. The September 19 walk will also include a visit to the garden at the Touro Synagogue, a beautiful green space with a nice diversity of woody plants. NTC Living Collections Manager Joe Verstandig will try his best to wax poetic on all the great trees and share some thoughts on tree stewardship in Newport’s Urban Forest. Eisenhower Park is located at 32 Touro Street in Newport. There is street parking in Washington Square and surrounding areas. Registration is required at www.newporttreeconservancy.org
Through an exploration of drama, diaries, novels and magazines, this Gardens Trust Wednesday five part series will examine how writers have used gardens and plants to evoke memories, capture ideas of taste and fashion, satirize attitudes, champion social change and give deeper meaning to the world. The chosen authors cover almost four centuries of literature and, through examining their words, we can gain new understandings of the roles, meanings and emotive power of historic landscapes and horticulture. This ticket link https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/gardens-and-the-written-word-tickets-930348275737 is for the entire series of 5 talks, or you may purchase a ticket for individual talks, costing £8 via the links on that page. (Gardens Trust members £6 each or all 5 for £26.25). All purchases are handled through Eventbrite.
Ticket holders can join each session live and/or view a recording for up to 1 week afterwards. Ticket sales close 4 hours before the first talk. Attendees 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 weeks.
On Week One on October 2, we experience gardens primarily through our senses – sight, sound, scent, touch, even taste. So how are they evoked so powerfully in literature when none of these sensory media are available to us? William Shakespeare uses botanical images throughout his plays to set the scene on the stage, to enhance the stories he is telling, and to illustrate more universal truths about the complexities of the human condition. For these potent images to work, he had to know that his audience would understand them – after all, they would not all have been expert gardeners, and neither, I suspect, was Shakespeare. This talk will explore how the playwright’s references to plants, flowers and horticulture contributed to the action on the stage, and at the same time, consider the extent to which these images must have reflected the assumed interests and knowledge of his audiences.
Dr Jill Francis is an early modern historian, specializing in gardens and gardening in the late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth centuries. She was awarded her PhD in 2011 by the University of Birmingham where she teaches as a visiting lecturer for both the Centre for Midlands History and Cultures and the Winterbourne House and Gardens program of activities. She is also currently involved with delivering the online program of lectures for the Gardens Trust and works at the Shakespeare Institute Library in Stratford-upon-Avon. Her book, Gardens and Gardening in Early Modern England and Wales, was published by Yale University Press in June 2018.
Immerse yourself in the enchanting realm of ‘Fairies Aglow’ on September 19 at 6 at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill where you’ll craft spellbinding cocktails inspired by the elusive charm of la fee verte, or the “Green Fairy”. Delightful mocktail options also available. Adults only. $70 for NEBG members, $80 for nonmembers. Register at www.nebg.org
A curious home bartender at heart, Instructor Meredith Powell honed her mixology and teaching skills as the Beverage Director at Orange Door Kitchen where she launched a popular cocktail education program and managed the bar for private parties and public events. Her approach to craft cocktails is accessible, flavor-driven, and spirited, combining practical know-how with a light-hearted attitude about mixing drinks at home. Meredith is an interior designer, supper club hostess and fitness devotee when she is not behind the bar. She lives in Acton with her husband, Chris, and two dogs.
Join The Trustees on September 28 for the free Urban Agriculture and Climate Fair at Nightingale Community Garden. This is a day of hands-on demos and activities showcasing urban agriculture and climate justice work across Boston. Fun and learning for all ages, with garden and cooking demos, live animals, and resources for building a climate resilient Boston.
Enjoy food for sale from Fresh Food Generation, music by Tjovi Ginen, and fresh produce sold from local urban farms. Submit your most impressive harvests to our urban vegetable competition and win a prize! Fun and learning for all ages.
Harvest Competition Details: Please bring your submissions by 12 PM
Bring produce from community gardens, urban home gardens, and urban farms to the fair this fall! Win prizes in each category listed below.
