Month: October 2024

  • Friday, November 1, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Eastern – Building a Gardening Culture Through Media, Online

    Join Rochelle Greayer, the new editor of The American Gardener, for a conversation with AHS director of national programs Courtney Allen about the power of communications to create communities of plant lovers. As the author of a book, blog, magazine, and newspaper about horticulture, Greayer is at the forefront of gardening education. Hear her thoughts on gardening trends, how gardeners learn about them, and how gardeners create those movements together. This November 1 webinar at 2 pm Eastern is $15 for AHS members, $20 for nonmembers, and you may register at www.ashgardening.org

    As a garden expert, landscape designer, and entrepreneur, Rochelle Greayer founded Pith + Vigor, a newspaper, online magazine, and education platform, and she created the acclaimed blog Studio ‘g’, (named one of the top ten gardening blogs by Better Homes & Gardens). She also co-founded Leaf Magazine and contributed to Apartment Therapy as the original creator of the weekly column “The Gardenist.” For the last five years, she has been seen, every spring, talking about plants on the Home Shopping Network. A graduate of the English Gardening School in London, England, Rochelle has designed gardens for private residences and hotels worldwide since 2002. She has contributed to several gardening books and published her first solo work, Cultivating Garden Style, in 2014. 

    Her diverse background also includes co-founding the Harvard Farmers Market and a previous career as a physicist and rocket scientist. Rochelle is excited to take on the editorship of America’s oldest gardening magazine, to continue AHS’s long tradition of publishing informative science-based garden and horticultural stories, and to bring a new face to the magazine—one that reflects the modern gardener.   

  • Friday & Saturday, November 1 & 2, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, & Sunday, November 3, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts Show

    The Central North and Central South Districts of the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts will be hosting a National Garden Club Standard Flower Show at the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill this fall. The show offers members of Garden Clubs in the New England Region and beyond an opportunity to exhibit floral designs, horticultural specimens, and educational exhibits with the intent to educate club members and the viewing public and stimulate interest in horticulture and floral design. The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts offers many opportunities for education in the gardening world, and the show provides insight into just some of the interests and talents nurtured by the state and individual clubs. Friday & Saturday, November 1 & 2, 10 – 5, and Sunday, November 3, 10 – 4, free with admission to the Garden. For more information visit https://nebg.org/shows/

  • Tuesday, October 29, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Eastern – Alleys and Lanes of Hampstead Virtual Tour

    Join The Royal Oak Foundation on an immersive virtual live tour through the charming and intricate network of alleys and lanes in the heart of old Hampstead. Discover how this picturesque village evolved from a fashionable 18th-century spa into a thriving community with vibrant social amenities in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Experience Hampstead’s rich history as we explore its historic houses, quaint cottages, notable monuments, and significant institutions. Virtually wander through the scenic lanes and uncover the stories behind each corner. From the comfort of your home, enjoy a fully accessible tour that brings the essence of Hampstead to life. Our guide, Marilyn Greene, is a former curator of Hampstead Museum with many years of experience researching the history and streets of this beloved area. She will share fascinating anecdotes and insights about the places and people who have shaped Hampstead over the centuries.

    Tickets: $30 Royal Oak Members; $40 Non-Members Register at https://www.royal-oak.org/event/zoom-alleys-and-lanes-of-hampstead-virtual-tour/

  • Tuesday, October 29, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm – An Afternoon at Sleepy Cat Farm

    Please join the Garden Conservancy and Monacelli Press for an exclusive presentation, book signing, and reception celebrating the launch of Charles J. Stick and his Gardens

    Charles J. Stick and his Gardens is a fascinating biographical monograph of Charles J. Stick, renowned Virginia-based landscape architect celebrated for his historically and culturally based gardens filled with luxuriant blooms. This new book is the first to explore and bring together four major estates by Stick—Crab Tree Farm on the North Shore of Chicago, Illinois; Mount Sharon near Charlottesville, Virginia; Waverley, in Somerset, Virginia; and of course Sleepy Cat Farm in Greenwich, Connecticut—offering new insights into the design process and the intimacy of his client relationships. 

    Sleepy Cat Farm in Greenwich, Connecticut is a spectacular garden—a thirteen-acre multi-faceted experience including a stroll garden through a woodland with its own grotto, a meadow with a sacred grove, a wetland with an elevated spirit walk through an iris garden, and several formal garden rooms with reflecting pools and koi ponds—and this event offers the special opportunity to hear directly from its visionary creators. Following the conversation will be a celebratory reception where light refreshments and bites will be served.

    Purchase a copy of the book as part of your ticket to receive an exclusive Garden Conservancy discount. Additional copies will be available for purchase at full price at the event. $35 for Garden Conservancy members, $40 for nonmembers (talk only), or $75 for members, $80 for nonmembers (talk with book)

  • Saturday, November 2, 10:00 am – Geology of Flynt Quarry Walk

    On November 2 at 10 am, join Opacum Land Trust Director and geoarchaeologist, Al Smith, and learn about the history and geology of the Flynt Quarry in Monson. This moderate walk will cover approximately 2 miles and will include areas of uneven footing. Participants will also receive an informational booklet about the history of the quarry.  

    The program is free, but RSVP is required as space is limited.   Register at https://www.opacumlt.org/events/geology-of-flynt-quarry-walk/

  • Thursday, November 14, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Harvest Festival and Auction

    Join the Women’s Lunch Place and the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay on Thursday, November 14 at 6 pm for a festive benefit for Women’s Lunch Place and NABB. The event takes place at 67 Newbury Street in Boston. Mingle with your neighbors during this fun event while supporting two worthwhile causes! Enjoy a delicious harvest of culinary selections, wine, and craft beers.

    Get some early holiday shopping done during our Silent Auction, which features sports tickets, restaurant gift cards, and more. We will also have an art gallery full of beautiful creations from WLP guests, all available for purchase. Sponsorship opportunities may be found at https://womenslunchplace.org/nabb You will also find information on donating silent auction items and purchasing tickets.

  • Saturday, October 26 & Sunday, October 27, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Halloween Zoo Howl: Franklin Park Zoo

    Join us for this spooktacular celebration, where wild creatures and Halloween fun come together, at the Franklin Park Zoo on October 26 & 27. Wander through our animal habitats and collect terrifyingly tasty treats on our trick-or-treat trail, and get creative at our arts and craft stations. Be sure to bring your own treat bags. Keep an eye out—some of our animals might be getting into the spirit too! And don’t forget to show off your Halloween style in our kids’ costume contest!

    SUSTAINABLE SWEETS

    This Halloween (and every day) look for candy made with certified sustainable palm oil. Palm oil plantations are wiping out animal habitats, and from snacks to soap, palm oil is the most widely consumed vegetable oil on the planet. Check out Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s palm-oil friendly candy guide(opens as a PDF) for some sustainably sweet treats for your tricksters.

    For more information visit www.zoonewengland.org/engage/zoo-howl/

  • Wednesday, October 30, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Eastern – The Tree Collectors: Tales of Arboreal Obsession, Online

    If you missed Amy Stewart speak on her latest book with the Arnold Arboretum this August, you have another chance on October 30 at 7 pm Eastern to hear her, with the American Horticultural Society. When Amy Stewart discovered a community of tree collectors, she expected to meet horticultural fanatics driven to plant every species of oak or maple. But she also discovered that the urge to collect trees springs from something deeper and more profound: a longing for community, a vision for the future, or a path to healing and reconciliation. In this talk, Stewart introduces audiences to several of the remarkable people she met from around the world whose lives were transformed by their relationships to trees. Accompanied by her own hand-drawn illustrations of people and their trees, this talk inspires audiences to reconsider their own connections to trees–and maybe start a collection! $15 for AHS members, $20 for nonmembers. Register at www.ahsgardening.org

    Amy Stewart is the New York Times best-selling author of The Tree Collectors, The Drunken Botanist, Wicked Plants, and several other popular nonfiction titles about the natural world. Her books have sold over a million copies worldwide and have been translated into 18 languages. She has been featured in NPR’s Morning Edition of Fresh Air, the New York Times, CBS Sunday Morning, Good Morning America, and the PBS documentary The Botany of Desire. Her book Wicked Plantswas adapted into a national traveling exhibit at science museums nationwide for over a decade. Stewart is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, the American Horticulture Society’s Book Award, and an International Association of Culinary Professionals Food Writing Award. Stewart is based in Portland, Oregon. 

  • Monday, November 4, 12:00 pm – 1:15 pm Eastern – The World of Carnivorous Plants, Online

    Smithsonian Associates presents an online lecture on carnivorous plants on November 4 with Steve Nicholls. Be careful when you next go into your garden: It’s full of killers. You may be familiar with carnivorous plants such as the Venus flytrap, sundew, or pitcher plant, but a surprising number of plants could be classified as carnivorous—including your geraniums and potentillas.

    Many true carnivorous plants have surprisingly good relationships with insects. Some pitcher plants feed ants and give them a secure home, others are complete miniature ecosystems, homes for creatures ranging from mosquitoes to frogs. A few have even turned vegetarian and eat leaves or, even stranger, serve as rest rooms for tree shrews and subsist on their droppings. Once you delve deep enough, nothing in the world of carnivorous plants is quite what it seems.

    Steve Nicholls, a wildlife filmmaker with a lifelong interest in botany and horticulture who has produced and directed several films on carnivorous plants, examines this amazing natural world in intimate detail. $20 for Smithsonian members, $25 for nonmembers. Register at https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/programs/world-of-carnivorous-plants

  • Friday, November 1, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm – Introduction to Pruning, Online

    This New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill webinar on November 1 from 6:00 – 7:30 pm is for people who are new to gardening or are looking to build a solid base of knowledge to confidently and properly prune shrubs and ornamental trees. The presentation will cover tools and their care, how to properly make cuts, structural, aesthetic and renovative pruning, the importance of timing for specific shrubs and ornamental trees, the theory of pruning, and utilize specific plants to answer the questions: why we prune plants, what tools do we use, how do we actually decide what branches and stems to prune, and when do we prune? This webinar will help with the most common question heard with pruning, “Where do I start,” and give you the confidence to keep going!

    Instructor Reed Pugh’s first career was in Advertising in NYC, but after moving to San Francisco 25 years ago, he made a life-altering change and went back to school for Ornamental Horticulture. Over the years in San Francisco and Boston he has worked in multiple nurseries, had his own design, installation and maintenance businesses on both coasts, managed a 30 acre historic private estate in Brookline, and managed one of the top fine-gardening companies in New England. Reed has been a Massachusetts Certified Horticulturist (MCH).

    This program will be held virtually. Once you register you will receive a zoom link in the confirmation. This webinar will also be RECORDED and available for three months to all registrants. $10 for Tower Hill members, $15 for nonmembers. Register at www.nebg.org