Boston Flora

Month: August 2025

  • Tuesday, September 2, 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Eastern – Urban Natures: Climate Change Adaptation, Design Agency, and Politics, Live and Online

    The Harvard Graduate School of Design welcomes the start of the academic year with the Rachel Dorothy Tanur Memorial lectore on September 2 – Urban Natures: Climate Change Adaptation, Design Agency, and Politics, beginning at 5 pm Eastern in the Piper Auditorium in Cambridge, Free and open to the public, A live stream for this event will be available by clicking HERE at the scheduled start time. The exhibition in the Druker Design Gallery measures how far we have come since the first public gardens were created, and it challenges us to envision the future of our cities in new ways. Following remarks by Dean Sarah Whiting and curator Antoine Picon, Erika Naginski will moderate a panel discussion between Gary R. Hilderbrand, Ali Malkawi, and Mohsen Mostafavi, about three themes in the exhibition: climate change adaptation, the agency of designers, and the role of urban natures in promoting new collective values. 

    This event is generously supported by The Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities and the Villa Albertine, the French Institute of Culture & Education. A reception will follow, made possible by the generous support of Ron Druker. Register for the live event at www.gsd.harvard.edu

  • September 13, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Editing the Garden – Advice from the High Line

    Hollister House Garden, 300 Nettleton Hollow Road in Washington, Connecticut in the Berkshires, will present Editing the Garden – Advice from the High Line with Yuki Kaneko on September 13 at 10 am. A naturalistic garden does not necessarily mean it is wild or low maintenance – it flourishes through intentional care and thoughtful curation. Learning to edit your garden is a crucial part of this process. Join Yuki Kaneko of New York City’s High Line for an exploration of the principles and practices of maintaining and enhancing naturalistic gardens. Learn editing strategies that preserve design clarity while managing dynamic plant communities. Get expert guidance for selecting plants that emphasize texture and structure for four-season interest. Help foster biodiversity in your own garden with a naturalistic aesthetic that changes seamlessly through the seasons. Autumn is the perfect time to make thoughtful edits that will keep your garden vital, evolving and looking its best.

    HHG Members $30. Non-members $40 (includes admission to the garden). Register at https://hollisterhousegarden.org/event/editing-the-garden-advice-from-the-high-line/.

    Yuki Kaneko is the Senior Horticulture Manager at the High Line in New York City, overseeing a naturalistic landscape designed by Piet Oudolf. Yuki holds an MFA from Tara Art University in Japan where she was born, and was awarded the Blanchette H. Rockefeller Fellowship to study in the United States. Yuki studied horticulture and botany through New York Botanical Garden’s certificate program and further trained as a horticulturist through a John Nally Internship at Wave Hill. She is an author and has also translated a number of nature themed Japanese children’s books into English.

  • Thursday, September 25, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Eastern – A Garden Inferior to Few: The Williamsburg Garden of John Custis IV, Online

    John Custis IV, in addition to being a member of the political elite and the first father-in-law of Martha Washington, was the creator of one of the most renowned colonial gardens of the early eighteenth century. The four-acre garden was said to contain gravel paths, topiary, hundreds of native and imported plant varieties, and statues. While his correspondence with gardening luminaries such as Peter Collinson revealed much about the plants, the appearance and layout remained a mystery—until now. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation concluded a five-year archaeological excavation to uncover this important lost landscape. We will explore the evidence to discover the design for the garden, revealing a truly baroque layout.

    JACK GARY is Executive Director of Archaeology for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. He leads a team of archaeologists, curators, and scholars to reveal the hidden stories of Williamsburg’s past. He is the former Director of Archaeology and Landscapes for Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest.

    The Garden Conservancy will present a webinar on September 25 at 2 pm with Jack Gary. Note: You will receive the webinar link directly from Zoom. A recording of this webinar will be sent to all registrants a few days after the event. We encourage you to register, even if you cannot attend the live webinar. $5 for Garden Conservancy members, $15 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.gardenconservancy.org/events/web25-john-custis-9-25-2025

  • Saturday, September 20 and Sunday, September 21 – Buxton Branch of the American Begonia Society Sale & Demonstration

    Begonias are known primarily for their colorful foliage, while gesneriads are known for their brightly colored flowers. At this exciting event, enjoy a fantastic display of begonias and gesneriads presented by the Buxton Branch of the American Begonia Society and the New England Chapter of the Gesneriad Society. Discover the amazing variety and beauty of begonias and gesneriads in this diverse show and learn tips from expert growers for caring for these well-loved houseplants. “Pop-up” demonstrations on begonia propagation methods, as well as a hands-on workshop where children can create their own magical garden to bring home (ages 5+, children must be accompanied by an adult), make this event perfect for plant lovers of all ages. Many unusual and rare begonias and gesneriads will also be available for sale.

    Have a begonia or gesneriad you’re proud of? Members of the public are encouraged to enter their own plants into the exhibition. Plant society members will be available to help with plant entry and identification. If interested in participating, please contact the Begonia Society. Free with admission to the Gardens. For complete information visit www.nebg.org

  • Tuesdays, September 2 – September 23, 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Herbaceous Plants

    Taught by Lee Buttala, this Berkshire Botanical Garden essential course for the serious gardener covers basic herbaceous plants used in the garden setting, including identification, planting, fertilizing, pest control and pruning. Perennial selection will be the focus, although some time will be spent on annuals and bulbs. (4 Classes) All students participating in this class as part of the Horticulture Certificate Program are required to complete a final project.  BBG Members $215/Non-members $240. The class, running Tuesdays September 2 – 23 from 5:30 – 8:30, will be taught on site.

    Lee Buttala is the former Executive Director of Seed Savers Exchange, an heirloom vegetable genebank that is the only non-governmental organization storing seed at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. He has also worked for BBG and the Garden Conservancy, and currently serves as chair of the Historic Landscapes Committee of the APGA. Lee won an Emmy award for his role as a garden television producer for Martha Stewart Living and was the creator of PBS’s Cultivating Life. He is the editor of the award-winning book, The Seed Garden: The Art and Practice of Saving Seed, writes a weekly garden column for the Berkshire Edge and serves on the board of Hollister House Garden in Washington, CT. Lee studied garden design at the Chelsea Physic Garden, the New York Botanical Garden and the Kyoto School of Art and Design. He lives in Ashley Falls, MA. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/herbaceous-plants-5

  • Tuesday, September 23, 5:00 am – 6:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – Accessing the Archives: William Andrews Nesfield and Castle Howard

    This Gardens Trust online talk, presented in conjunction with the Garden Museum, on September 23, will examine the commissions by the 7th Earl of Carlisle for Nesfield to transform the gardens at Castle Howard in the middle of the 19th century. His work included two large fountains, a parterre, and extensions to the south waterways over the course of fifteen years. The copious correspondence in the archives at Castle Howard chronicles these projects, including the disastrous over-run in costs, and the technical challenges for supplying the fountains. Acclaimed in its day, Nesfield’s garden at Castle Howard remains one of his most successful commissions, notwithstanding the alterations in subsequent years. The talk will also draw from Nesfield’s papers formerly in a private family archive and now in the collection of the Garden Museum and assess the present state of knowledge about this major landscape designer of Victorian England.

    Christopher Ridgway has been curator at Castle Howard since 1985, and has published widely on its architecture, landscapes and collections, including several essays on Nesfield. He is chair of the Yorkshire Country House Partnership, and adjunct professor in the history department at Maynooth University. His book, Castle Howard, A Grand Tour of England’s Finest Country House will be published in November 2025.

    This ticket is for this individual session and costs £8. 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. Register through Eventbrite HERE.

  • Sunday, October 26 – Tuesday, October 28 – American Public Gardens Association Symposium 2025: The Climate Toolkit

    Since 2020, The Climate Toolkit has served as a network to gather cultural institutions to share, mentor, and learn how to address climate change within their institutions and inspire the communities they serve. The opening evening in Pittsburgh on October 26 is followed by Case Studies in Climate Success on Monday and A Deep Dive Into the Future on Tuesday. Complete information and registration links may be found at https://climatetoolkit.org/climate-toolkit-symposium-2025/

  • September 6, 12:00 noon – 3:00 pm – NABB Block Party

    Come join The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay on September 6 at noon (rain date September 13) for the most requested activity from the Back Bay Quality of Life Survey—a Block Party to meet your Back Bay neighbors. We are planning exciting activities for all ages. Enjoy ice cream, entertainment, and local food. Admission is free, with most food and beverages free. It will take place on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, between Clarendon and Dartmouth Streets, at the Patrick Collins statue with a check-in table at the Clarendon Street entrance.

    Please register in advance to ensure food and beverage accuracy.

    We are looking for volunteers to make this day a huge success. Please email us at backbayblockparty@nabbonline.org to sign up.

    Want to help offset the cost of the event?

    Donations are welcome  (please note Block Party as the event). 

  • Thursday, September 4, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm Eastern – An Introduction to the Liverworts of New England, Online

    Despite being (perhaps) less showy than many flowering plants, liverworts—a group of rather diminutive, non-vascular plants that are closely related to the mosses—nonetheless play a critical role in the functioning of countless ecosystems, including many that are found in New England. This online Native Plant Trust class on September 4 at 6 pm Eastern will introduce the biology of liverworts and examine the ecological role played by these plants. Additionally, we will discuss a select assortment of liverwort species that can be found growing in New England. $25. Samuel Gilvarg will instruct. Register at https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/an-introduction-to-the-liverworts-of-new-england/

    *A recording of this class will be available to all registrants for two weeks after the class.

  • Friday, September 12, 10:30 am – Fantastical Folktales of Flowers

    The Laurelwood Garden Club of Fitchburg and the Leominster Library are hosting a free event on September 12, supported in full by a grant from the Fitchburg Cultural Council, a local agency which is, in turn, supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. Fantastical Folktales of Flowers is a truly delightful weave of storytelling, music and song for adults. In this entertaining theatrical performance, Oracle award-winning storyteller Diane Edgecomb celebrates flowers and the dramatic and charming stories that have been told about them through the ages. This show features song and music of Celtic harp played by Margot Chamberlain. The event begins at 10:30 am at the Leominster Public Library, 30 West Street in Leominster.