As drought conditions and higher temperatures persist across our region, many gardeners are reexamining which plants will survive in a changing climate. Here we will gain an understanding of native plants and gardening practices that can lower our reliance on water resources critical to sustainability. Coupling that knowledge with methods to evaluate existing site information will help us navigate this new normal. This Native Plants Trust webinar will take place May 28 from 6 – 8 Eastern, with Cheryl Salatino. $45. Register at https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/another-season-of-drought/ A recording of this class will be available to all registrants for two weeks after the class.
Author and horticulturist Teresa Speight will share about her bookBlack Flora, the first book to feature profiles of contemporary Black experts innovating in the world of flowers. This American Horticultural Society online talk on May 30 offers a beautiful intersection of flowers and community, unearthing the floral legacies of the past and present, while providing a source of inspiration for younger generations of plant-lovers seeking examples of successful Black floral artists and entrepreneurs.
Teresa J. Speight is the Urban Garden and Container Garden Chair, District 1, for National Garden Clubs, Inc., and the founder and president of the Jabali Amani Garden Collective, a garden club for Minority women who enjoy gardening. Through her blog and podcast, Cottage in the Court, she offers a unique perspective on connecting with the earth, as well as curated garden experiences for small groups. Teri also offers one-on-one garden coaching, specializing in earth-friendly practices. She is the author of Black Flora and the co-author of The Urban Garden.
The West End Museum and We Tree Boston invite artists, neighbors and tree-lovers to participate in Trees of Thoreau Path, and art competition and exhibition celebrating the beauty, significance, and importance of trees in the West End. The deadline to submit artwork is June 1. Submit to the West End Museum, 150 Staniford Street in Boston between May 28 – June 1, 2025. A special reception and art show on June 7 between 3 pm – 5 pm will be held. For more information visit https://thewestendmuseum.org/
Join The Concord Museum for a day of beauty, nature, and discovery as you visit six stunning gardens throughout Concord. All proceeds benefit the Museum’s vital school programs that serve over 14,000 k-12 students across the Commonwealth each year. The event takes place Friday and Saturday, June 6 and 7 from 10 – 4. Tickets are available at https://concordmuseum.org/event/the-garden-tour/
Calling local photographers of all ages. Submit original photographs of the Massachusetts Coastal Pine Barrens for a chance to have your work featured at the Plymouth Public Library, win prizes courtesy of the Massachusetts Audubon Society and the South East Massachusetts Pine Barrens Alliance, and contribute to the documentation and conservation of our pine barrens. Submit Photos Online at https://bit.ly/4l9nctj. For more information see: THE CALL FOR PHOTOS—Locally-Found, Globally-Rare—Your Photographs of the Massachusetts Coastal Pine Barrens.
Join artist and journalist Will Close for this series of natural history explorations at the Millers River Environmental Center. In this Athol Bird & Nature Club workshop on May 25 you will get a chance to deepen your awareness and connection to the natural world through wildlife tracking and the use of nature journaling and field sketching. You will be guided through various foundational techniques designed to strengthen your observational skills. This workshop will be primarily held in the field. All experience levels are welcome.
Will Close is an artist, designer, educator, and wildlife tracker who specializes in the intersection of nature, art, design, and teaching. He holds a degree in Fine Art Painting from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and studied wildlife track and sign under Dan Gardoqui and Daniel Hansche. Currently, Will resides in Concord, Massachusetts where he maintains an artistic studio practice and is an outdoor education instructor with the Carroll School located in Lincoln, Massachusetts. His passion for nature illustration, tracking and sharing it with others, has taken him from the spruce forests of Maine to the Ecuadorian Amazon. Most recently, he was the inaugural artist in residence with North Country Land Trust in North Central Massachusetts. For more information visit www.atholbirdclub.org
The Gardens Trust’s final series of A History of Gardens will consider developments of the recent past. Starting with the arrival of the sleek, functional style of Modernism after the first world war, the talks will move on to explore contemporary thinking on the challenges of conserving and restoring historic parks and gardens, the rise of ecological perennial planting, the reappearance of allusive gardens and how a garden’s ‘spirit of place’ can guide sustainable plans for the future.
Themes and exemplars in garden-making are more difficult to identify without the benefit of distance and time. But considering recent ideas and approaches is bound to bring a thought-provoking end to our History of Gardens. This ticket link is for the sixth series of 5 talks in our History of Gardens Course at £35 or you may purchase a ticket for individual talks, costing £8 via the links on the website. (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. 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 2 weeks.
Talk 4 on May 20 is Avant Gardening in the Twilight of a Millennium, with Patrick Eyres. Ian Hamilton Finlay (1925-2006) coined the term Avant-Gardening, to evoke the process of synthesising art and horticulture at Little Sparta. In the centenary of Finlay’s birth, Little Sparta will be the focus. The allusion and association of Avant-Gardening provides common ground with four other contemporary gardens. Fragility is a parallel theme. Little Sparta (Ian and Sue Finlay), The Garden of Cosmic Speculation (Charles and Maggie Jencks) and Prospect Cottage (Derek Jarman) have survived the death of their creators; the Garden of History (Jim Pierce) and the Driftwood Garden (Brian Yale) have not.
Dr Patrick Eyres is editor and publisher of the unique New Arcadian Journal, in which artists and writers explore the landscape garden. The 56th and penultimate edition is underway. He has also published in numerous other books and journals and taught in the School of Art and Design at Bradford Collage. He served on the boards of the Wentworth Castle Heritage Trust, Leeds Art Fund, Garden History Society and Little Sparta Trust. On behalf of The Gardens Trust, he set up and chaired for the first ten years the annual New Research Symposium in Garden History. He continues to advise on the conservation of Little Sparta.
Join garden designers Nigel Dunnett and Tom Hoblyn for an exclusive insight into how they created their show gardens for this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The livestream will be available May 21 from noon – 1 Eastern, and will be available thereafter on demand. £10 Livestream. Register at www.gardenmuseum.org.uk
Nigel Dunnett is Professor of Planting Design and Urban Horticulture at the University of Sheffield, and a gold-medal winning designer and author. He is one of the world’s leading voices on innovative planting design and ecological horticulture. He’ll be talking about his remarkable sand dune garden which takes its inspiration from the coastal location of charity partner Hospitalfield Arts in Arbroath. The garden interprets this landscape through the eyes of an artist, and creates a dramatic, highly sculptural topography. At the heart of the garden is an outdoor artists’ studio. The planting is resilient and forward-looking, and is established in sand, provoking discussions about trends for planting in low-fertility mineral substrates rather than rich topsoils for climate-adaptation. The garden features a dune pool, which collects rainwater from the studio and the surrounding dunes.
Tom Hoblyn is a RHS Chelsea Flower Show veteran who has created the Hospice UK – Garden of Compassion at the show this week. The garden has been designed for patients and families at the end of life. Drawing from his deep connection to the Mediterranean landscapes he’s explored on plant hunting trips, Tom has crafted a garden that combines the grounding presence of natural stone with the calming effects of drought-tolerant plants. Tom has used materials from the North East of England (as the garden is being relocated to St Cuthbert’s Hospice in Durham after the Show) and he has worked with extraordinary artisans on the sculptural benches and water features, to make a garden that aims to support both the emotional and physical needs of those in hospice care.
Cottagecore is an aesthetic that celebrates simple living, inspired by the countryside-comes to life in this fun floral workshop. Using a soft defused color palette, you’ll practice the simple styling of peonies in a mason jar or other repurposed container. Learn how to successfully tape a grid, position the flowers, and select complementary floral materials. Learn the tips and tricks of the trade for keeping peonies looking fresh and long-lasting without chemicals or oasis foam. This online New York Botanical Garden class on June 8 is taught by Trish O’Sullivan, and is $140 for members, $155 for nonmembers. When registering, click on the materials list button. Registration closes today – last chance.
Join artist Emma Brittain as she guides you in discovering the art of identifying subtle colors and enhancing the vibrancy of your drawings. In this class, participants will learn to use artist-grade colored pencils to sketch a great blue heron. The primary emphasis will be on refining colored pencil techniques and honing the ability to perceive the myriad of colors hidden within the feathers of a common bird. A sketchbook or drawing grade paper and 24 or more pack of Prismacolor brand colored pencils is recommended. $29. Register at https://mtcubacenter.org/event/colored-pencil-techniques-great-blue-heron-online/. Emma Brittain is a studio artist and planning committee member for Black Birders Week. Her art often involves social commentary with animal or plant symbolism. She hopes to spread wonder and hope through her work.
