Camden Garden Club is delighted to announce their inaugural Garden Expo, Edible Gardens & Bountiful Tables, will be held Thursday, July 17, 2025. The day-long event will feature speakers Barbara Damrosch and Nancy Harmon Jenkins, as well as a PechaKucha-style presentation, horticultural demonstrations, tablescape displays, and a micro-farm tour. Most activities will take place at the Camden-Rockport Middle School at 34 Knowlton Street in Camden. Tickets are $40 per person, and are available at https://www.camdengardenclub.org/new-events-1/2025/7/17/annual-garden-tour
In this July 12 workshop at the Art + Science in the Field studio at 53 East Street in Petersham, Massachusetts, we will use graphite pencil, ink pen, and color pencil to learn accurate drawing techniques for microscopic images. Microscope is 8x to 320x and we will capture your images with photos and work from those. We will have a wide array of natural materials to choose from including botany slides, insect wings, seeds, mushroom spores, etc. You might want to explore Brooks Woodland Preserve across the street before the workshop, to collect biological materials to draw. Parking for the workshop is available along the roadside across the street on East Street, and also along Oliver Street.
No previous experience required and all materials provided. However, it will be helpful to bring a laptop if you have one. We will capture microscopic images and you can draw from those visual references on your computer screen.
Join in on this Massachusetts Horticultural Society hands-on workshop on July 12 at the Gardens at Elm Bank, designed for both beginners and experienced artists. Create beautifully textured paste papers using colorful paint mixtures and an array of texture tools. These one-of-a-kind papers will serve as the foundation for your own imaginative collage compositions. Through cutting, layering, and arranging designs, you’ll explore the principles of composition, pattern, and visual balance.
All materials will be provided, including paper, mounting boards, texture tools, brushes, adhesives, and handouts to support your process. $70 for Mass Hort members, $93 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.masshort.org/upcoming-classes
The Cape Cod Hydrangea Society (CCHS), in conjunction with the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce and Heritage Museums and Gardens, announce that the 11th Annual Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival takes place from Friday, July 11 to Sunday, July 20. In addition, the Fest Kickoff Party is happening on Thursday, July 10, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Hyannis Country Garden in Hyannis.
Heritage Gardens in Sandwich is a major stop on the tour, including both its Display Garden and the North American Hydrangea Test Garden. These lovely gardens are maintained by CCHS members, as directed by Mal Condon, “The Hydrangea Guy”, Curator of the Hydrangea Gardens at Heritage, and CCHS member and past-president. Hydrangea U also takes place at Heritage Gardens on Friday, July 11th.
A total of ten CCHS member gardens are open during the Festival, with varying dates and times according to homeowner preferences. Starting on Tuesday, July 15, the Bowkers’ garden in E. Sandwich is open, as well as JoAnn Piscillo’s in Brewster. On Wednesday, July 16, C.L. Fornari’s garden in Sandwich is open, and Mal Condon is appearing at the Piscillo garden at both 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.; and again at the Michaelson’s Woods Hole garden, on Friday, July 18, at both 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. All ten CCHS member garden locations can be found in the CCHS Hydrangea Fest brochure, or by visiting www.capecodhydrangeasociety.org.
CCHS docents are available to answer questions at each CCHS garden location. In addition, local artists are painting in some gardens while visitors tour the grounds.
Local non-profit organizations based in many Cape Cod towns benefit from all garden tour proceeds. Several participating nurseries and home centers also offer promotions during the Fest, particularly Hyannis Country Garden. An overall event schedule is now available at www.capecodchamber.org, with addresses of all participating gardens posted on this site.
Private garden tours are $5 per person per garden, and all gardens are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., on specified days, rain or shine. This year a souvenir Hydrangea Fest ‘Passport’ can be found at any CCHS garden, and attendees can get it stamped at most participating gardens.
This Massachusetts Horticultural Society class at The Gardens at Elm Bank on July 10 from 9 – 4 is suited for stitchers of all levels. Kawandi is an organic technique that does not require precision stitching. Design decisions are made as each patch is added to the quilt. Every quilt is unique, bearing evidence of the quilter’s “hand” and design aesthetic in its composition. If you have taken Shibori or eco-printing classes before, this is a wonderful opportunity to take the fabric you created and turn it into a finished project. $125 for Mass Hort members, $155 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.masshort.org/upcoming-classes
“There is no record so true as the good photographic study; as we see the conditions of plant life eternally changing everywhere, the value of these permanent authentic records to future generations cannot be overestimated.” — Edwin Hale Lincoln, 1916
Photographs of daisies, lilies, ferns, milkweed and other plants welcome visitors to Wild Flowers of New England. The exhibit at the Boston Athenaeum, 10 1/2 Beacon Street in Boston, is on view now through September 5. Centering around the work of Massachusetts-based photographer Edwin Hale Lincoln, this exhibition explores his photographic effort to document and preserve New England’s wildflowers.
Over three decades, Lincoln explored the forests around his Berkshire home, studying the lives of native wildflowers, and photographing the plants in his studio. Lincoln created a unique photographic language, blending scientific specificity and artistic expression, producing portraits that celebrate the ephemeral beauty of native plants.
Wild Flowers of New England places Lincoln’s work in conversation with botanical printers and photographers of the past and present and contextualizes his practice within larger preservationist movements. Through Lincoln’s lens, visitors will see the timeless allure of New England’s wildflowers and the enduring power of botanical artistry.
Free seedlings of bee balm, penstemon, and swamp milkweed will make it easy for you to support wild bees and butterflies in your gardens, roof decks, and balconies. This giveaway, happening at the Brookline Farmers’ Market, will take place at the Brookline Farmers’ Market and is sponsored by the Brookline Pollinator Pathway. Brookline Pollinator Pathway was created in 2023 by Brookline residents concerned about the decline in insect population. Their mission is to create native plant gardens that will increase insect biodiversity, improve ecosystems, support bird and animal life and improve soil health. For more. information visit https://brooklinepp.wixsite.com/brooklinepp
Lichens and mosses are an important part of forest ecosystems and create beautiful patterns that have inspired artists. They also play a key role in soil formation, paving the way for new plant growth. Delve into forest habitats as you create lichen and moss paintings on canvas. This Drop-In Art Activity will take place at the Peabody Essex Museum in Create Space 2 on Saturday, July 5 from 1 – 3 and is free with admission. For more information visit www.pem.org
