Boston Flora

Month: November 2025

  • Thursday, December 4, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Eastern – Welcome to the Dark Side: Discovering Moths, Online

    Join naturalist Dave Small online on December 4 at 7 pm Eastern for an introduction to attracting and watching moths in your backyard. Discover the native plants you can introduce to your landscape to attract a wide variety of butterflies and moths. Learn how to use lights and bait to attract moths for viewing and get a glimpse of some of the moths you might encounter on a warm summer evening.

    Dave is the Director of Conservation leading a team of land protection specialists in fulfilling the mission of Mount Grace in protecting our open spaces. Dave retired in 2013 after 35 years with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where he served as Assistant Regional Director at the DCR Quabbin Reservoir. His dedication to conservation and natural history continues as he leads a team tasked with protecting the landscapes he loves.

    This webinar is sponsored by Newton Conservators, a nonprofit citizens’ group advocating for Newton’s open spaces. Sign up: https://shorturl.at/8keDR

  • Thursday, December 11, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Beacon Hill Civic Association Holiday Concert

    The Beacon Hill Civic Association invites you to a Holiday Concert on Thursday, December 11. Cocktail reception will begin at 6:00 pm, and Concert will begin at 6:30. The event takes place at the Harvard Musical Association, 57A Chestnut Street in Beacon Hill, and prices range from $50 for BHCA Founders Circle members to $75 for general members to $100 for nonmembers. RSVP by emailing info@bhcivic.org no later than December 4.

  • Thursday, December 4, 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm – Young Friends at the Arnold

    Keep in step with science and the Young Friends of the Arnold! Meet us for an unforgettable evening at the Weld Hill Research Building on Thursday, December 4 from 6:30–9:30pm. This special event is tailored for those aged 21-45 or anyone young at heart who enjoy learning about nature, conserving biodiversity, and engaging with a community of plant enthusiasts. Enjoy seasonal refreshments, explore the Arboretum’s cutting-edge research, and learn how your support helps preserve one of Boston’s most treasured landscapes. Whether you’re a longtime member or new to the Young Friends, this is a fantastic opportunity to deepen your engagement with the Arboretum and meet others who value trees, science, and sustainability. Your participation helps fund vital programs and supports our mission to connect people with the natural world. Don’t miss this festive and meaningful gathering—purchase your tickets today and get ready for a night of discovery and delight!

    lease note that this is a 21 and older event.

    Purchase tickets for $110/person, which covers individual admittance to the event, passed food, and an open wine and beer bar. Members of the Arnold Arboretum are eligible to purchase tickets (up to 4 tickets) for $75/person. Patron level tickets are available for $250/person and include a hand-turned wood bowl crafted from a felled Arnold Arboretum tree. Purchase tickets at https://arboretum.harvard.edu/support/young-friends-of-the-arnold-arboretum/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=aa_nov_2025_newsletter&utm_term=young_friends

  • Fridays & Saturdays, December 5 – 20, 4:30 pm – 8:30 pm, and Sundays, December 7 – 21, 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Strawbery Banke Candlelight Strolls

    Every year since 1979, Candlelight Stroll at Strawbery Banke has captured 350 years of seasonal and holiday traditions against the backdrop of the museum’s historic houses. Wander the Museum grounds under the glow of candle boxes and string lights, visiting furnished historic homes from 1795 through the 1950s, each adorned with greens and dried flowers from the Museum’s heirloom gardens. Inside, costumed roleplayers portray neighborhood families, sharing stories, customs, and seasonal traditions.

    Tour exhibit houses highlight Portsmouth’s maritime heritage, traditional trades, and more, offering context to life in the Puddle Dock neighborhood. Outside, carolers, fife-and-drummers, and other musicians fill the air with seasonal melodies, while wandering historical reenactors bring figures from the past to life across the grounds.

    Twice each evening, Ice Dance International’s Currier & Ives Vintage Christmas Skaters take the ice for special performances that capture the spirit of the season (weather dependent). Visitors can warm up at the Cider Shed with a cup of cider, then explore the Grove of Sponsored Holiday Trees, where you can vote for your favorite.

    Parking is NOT available on-site; the small onsite parking lot is reserved for handicapped accessible needs first-come, first-served.

    This year there will also be a Daytime Stroll on December 14 from 2 – 4.

    For more information and to reserve tickets visit www.strawberybanke.org

  • Thursday, December 11, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Eastern – Sleepy Cat Farm, Part IV – Planning and Perfecting with the Future in Mind, Online

    Sleepy Cat Farm embodies the vision of Fred Landman who, since acquiring a Georgian Revival house and six acres of neglected grounds in Greenwich, CT, has transformed his property into a magical thirteen-acre landscape that serves as a testament to his belief in the harmony between house and garden. This four-part Virtual Program, which began with two episodes in the spring and summer, continues to explore the evolution of Fred’s vision from 1994 to today. It tells the story of how the talented architects, horticulturists and artisans he collaborates with have married landscape and architecture to create a series of highly personal sanctuaries. Fred delights in sharing these spaces with hundreds of visitors every year.

    Our final episode in the story of Sleepy Cat Farm’s evolution looks to the future with Kristi Wright, who succeeded Alan Gorkin as Head Horticulturist in 2024. Kristi likes to think of the garden’s design as a stage set on which the scene continually changes according to the season, the gardener’s hand, or on occasion, the whim of Mother Nature. She seeks to maintain the design integrity of each of the garden’s features when it’s time to edit an overgrown area; reassess sun/shade issues, introduce unusual species, or face the challenges that climate change presents. Another objective is creating opportunities for Sleepy Cat Farm to serve the wider community. Local food banks rely on Sleepy Cat’s vegetable garden and orchard for produce. A six-month internship program is in the works, and a volunteer program is a possibility for the future. Kristi hopes to create a plant list on the garden’s website in order to share the staff’s horticultural knowledge with gardeners everywhere. For now, however, Kristi, her team, and Fred Landman can’t wait to show off to the next wave of Open Day visitors all the wonders that Sleepy Cat Farm has to offer. $5 for Garden Conservancy members, $15 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.gardenconservancy.org/events/web25-sleepy-cat-farm-part-iv-12-11-2025

  • Massachusetts Biodiversity Conservation Goals for 2050

    In 2023, Governor Maura Healey issued Executive Order No. 618, which called for Massachusetts to set nation-leading biodiversity conservation goals, including for coastal and marine environments, for 2030, 2040, and 2050. To meet this charge, the Massachusetts Department of Fish & Game, alongside many partners, developed this ambitious 25-year plan to rebuild biodiversity and invest in nature to sustain our health and well-being, food security, economy, and way of life.

    Massachusetts is home to an extraordinary abundance and variety of life. This is biodiversity—all the species, habitats, and complex interactions that make up the astonishing web of life. It isn’t just found in distant, wild places—it’s all around us, even right in our backyards. Biodiversity is the foundation for life—it anchors our history, heritage, and culture, supports our health and well-being, food security and economy, and enriches our lives. It is also key climate solution—nature protects our communities from extreme weather, drought, floods, and heat. To read about the multi-faceted approach, visit https://www.mass.gov/info-details/biodiversity-goals-for-massachusetts

  • Happy Thanksgiving

    Wishing you a happy and delicious day free from politics, hate, and division. Just one day. Let’s celebrate nature, the environment, our trees, our wind and water. Let’s help those who are hungry. Do one good deed today.

    Flower arrangement

  • Wednesday, December 3, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – Jill Sinclair’s Favorite Gardens, Online

    The Gardens Trust will present Jill Sinclair’s Favorite Gardens online on December 3 at 1 pm Eastern. Jill is a US-trained landscape historian. She has been a trustee of the Historic Gardens Foundation and co-editor of its magazine, Historic Gardens Review. For several years she taught the history of the English Landscape Garden for Oxford University. Jill is now a trustee of the Gardens Trust, overseeing its education and training work and organizing its program of online talks.

    Jill’s time living and working in the UK, US, France and India has given her the chance to explore many garden styles and cultures, and to relish the joy of places with great stories to tell. She will share tales of gardens inspired by an Indian empress, a hidden gem in Italy, the work of a modernist master – and a few other places still to be whittled down from a very long list of favorites!

    This ticket LINK is for this individual session and costs £8 (Gardens Trust members £6). Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 2 weeks) will be sent shortly afterwards.

    ©Jill Sinclair

  • Wednesdays – Sundays, November 28 – January 3, 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm (Also Open December 22. 23, 29 & 30) – Winterlights

    Wednesdays – Sundays, November 28 – January 3, 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm (Also Open December 22. 23, 29 & 30) – Winterlights

    The Trustees’ Winterlights returns and is bigger and better than ever. Join them November 28 – January 3 , Wednesdays through Sundays (plus four extra days: December 22, 23, 29, & 30) for magical experiences at three beautiful garden properties, Naumkeag in Stockbridge, The Stevens-Coolidge Place in North Andover, and, new this year. the Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate in Canton, as they sparkle with thousands of shimmering and artfully designed holiday lights. Bring the family for scavenger hunts, crafts, seasonal characters and experiences, food and refreshments, and more. For complete details, and to buy tickets ($20 members, $25 nonmembers on Thursdays, $25 members, $30 nonmembers Friday – Sunday, Youth tickets $7/$12, children under 2 free), click https://thetrustees.org/program/winterlights-massachusetts/

  • Thursday, December 4 – Holiday Lights on the Mall

    The Friends of the Public Garden invites you to the lighting of the trees on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall on December 4. One of Boston’s most iconic holiday sights, Holiday Lights on the Mall is community spirit and goodwill brought to life during the darkest months, This winter, Friends of the Public Garden will once again invest $250,000 to bring the wintertime magic of the lights along the Mall, and this is only possible with your support. Neighbors and friends have given generously to uphold this beloved tradition since 2000. Your charitable gift of any size will bring light and help care for the park all year long. You can donate by credit card or electronic fund transfer at friendsofthepublicgarden.org/givelight or by telephone at 617-723-8144 x 203.