Boston Flora

Month: November 2025

  • Saturday, December 6, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Herbal Holiday Gift Workshop

    Making a gift for someone is an opportunity for you to create something unique and beautiful, something truly useful and practical, and express love from your heart for that special person.

    The Herbal Holiday Gifts Workshop at Berkshire Botanical Garden on December 6 from 2 – 4 is an opportunity to make rich and diverse herbal gifts for the holidays, or other occasions, feel connected with the gift giving process, and nourish another person by crafting something special for them from the Earth.You are offering your loved one the opportunity to dip into that vibrant, natural health by giving them a handmade herbal gift that will support their well-being. These gifts are so much more special than what you can find in a store. They are novel, enticing, fresh, and low-cost once you have the skills.

    Workshop leader Nicole Irene holds a master’s degree in fine art and two herbal certifications from Dandelion Herbal Center and Sage Mountain Botanical Sanctuary. She is a Reiki-trained ordained minister and has a love for local farms and sustainable, organic agriculture. She enjoys cooking nourishing meals and experimenting with her own herbal preparations at her home in Stockbridge. She has a deep passion for helping to grow the relationships we hold with our food, Mother Earth and the cosmos. Learn more about Nicole Irene at NicoleIreneArt.com and TheEnchantedAltar.com

    Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/herbal-holiday-gifts-workshop $70 for BBG members, $90 for nonmembers.

  • Tuesday, December 2, 5:00 am – 6:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – Queer Gardens: Queer Ecology

    Gardens are many things. An oasis for nature, a retreat from the outside world, a haven for blooms. But how has the LGBTQI+ community been involved with their design, upkeep and prominence throughout the years? How is queerness seen in the natural world?

    As well as being a historian and tour guide, Sheldon K Goodman is also passionate about gardening. He will give three talks looking at queerness in gardens from the work of gardeners, LGBTQI+ led community gardening initiatives in London, historical people such as Virginia Woolf, Reginald Farrer and Sir Francis Bacon and queer ecology’s roots in Michel Foucault’s The History of Sexuality (tr. Robert Hurley, 1978-2021, Pantheon Books) as well as queer gardening in the here and now.

    The second session on December 2 is Queer Ecology. Nature is queer! The heteronormative lens that the natural world has been viewed with until comparatively recently is a sham. Nature is full of wonderful and remarkable examples of diversity, such as sex changing ferns, dual-genitaled garden pests and the unique same-sex relationships between some of our favourite garden birds. Sheldon will showcase some of these instances of queerness and will also be highlighting the work of queer ecologists who are tirelessly bringing awareness to our parks, gardens and open spaces through events, engagement and education. This Gardens Trust talk is £8 through Eventbrite. Register HERE Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days (and again a few hours) prior to the start of the first talk, and a link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 1 week.

  • Monday, December 1, 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Eastern – Wild Wonder Holiday Sketch Party, Online

    Get into the holiday spirit and put in some “pencil miles” at this fun online class on December 1 with John Muir Laws on drawing and painting pinecones, branches, and needles. A widely respected artist, educator, author, and nature journaler for more than 40 years, John Muir Laws (a.k.a. Jack) will help you learn to see and understand the complex geometry of a pine cone, which will empower you to make quick and accurate sketches as well as more detailed drawings. Jack will also explore pine/fir branches and needles and share tips and techniques on how to draw them in a foreshortened view so your sketch looks like what you see when you look into the branches of a tree. You could even use your new skills to paint homemade holiday cards for friends and family!

    BONUS: The class will include special live holiday musical interludes brought to you by two musical members of the nature journaling community: guitarist Anne Chadwick @annechad61 and vocalist and ukulele player Beth Kelley Gillogly.

    This class is a fundraiser for the Wild Wonder Foundation, and Jack, Anne, and Beth are donating their time. Thank you for making a donation if you are able when you register. All levels welcome! .FREE! Registration required. Suggested donation: $25. Visit the EVENTS link in bio or wildwonder.org/events to sign up today!

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  • Friday, November 28 – Garden Club of the Back Bay Holiday Wreaths Order Deadline

    Don’t delay sending in your order for a beautifully crafted holiday wreath from The Garden Club of the Back Bay. Supplies are limited, especially for fully decorated wreaths, and proceeds from this all-volunteer endeavor go directly into neighborhood beautification and tree care. Place your order at https://bostonflora.com/store

  • Tuesday, December 2, 1:00 pm Eastern – The Blitz as a Catalyst for Greening, Online

    The delivery of new green spaces in London after the Second World War was one of the success stories of urban reconstruction; creating hundreds of acres of open space using bomb-damaged land as the nuclei sites around which larger parks could be assembled. This online London Parks & Gardens talk on December 2 will show the range of space created on bomb-damaged land from pocket parks to larger green spaces, and describe how the metropolitan authorities sought to deliver them.

    Katharine Hersee has an MA in Garden and Landscape History from the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London. She is continuing her post-graduate research there on her specialist subject of the parks and gardens of post-war London. Katharine is a keen amateur gardener, growing a wide range of plants in her Arts and Crafts Buckinghamshire garden and is an avid galanthophile. She also runs a local horticultural society and speaks regularly to other garden groups on a wide range of topics.

    £8.00. Register at https://londongardenstrust.org/lecture-details/?event=ONLINE-Blitz-as

  • Friday, December 5, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Hands-On Natural Holiday Arrangements Workshop

    Celebrate the season with Massachusetts Horticultural Society Garden Educator Melissa Pace in this hands-on workshop that shows how to use the materials around you to create festive arrangements for indoors or out. Melissa is the creative force behind the natural displays featured each year at our holiday event, Festival of Trees, where her work is always a highlight. She’ll share the same techniques she uses to design arrangements that are both beautiful and long-lasting.

    Working with fresh evergreens, grasses, and other natural textures, participants will first learn the basics of building a strong base arrangement, then explore different ways to embellish it for the holidays. Guided step-by-step, you’ll create your own seasonal piece to take home—brimming with greenery, texture, and accents that capture the magic of the season.

    What to Bring: Participants are encouraged to bring a pair of garden shears if they have them; extras will be available to share. Work gloves are optional for handling greenery, and a box to carry your finished arrangement home is recommended.

    Melissa Pace is an award-winning horticulturist, competing in numerous flower shows nationwide – from the Philadelphia Flower Show to specialized cacti and succulent showcases. A University of Rhode Island Master Gardener since 2003, she also maintains an active membership in the Cactus and Succulent Society of Massachusetts.

    For over 30 years, Melissa has always been eager to share her knowledge of plants. From working with local garden clubs and civic organizations to giving hands-on tours for nationwide conferences and symposia, her engaging talks blend practical insights with her passion for plants, captivating audiences from all walks of life.

    Holding a Master’s degree in teaching from Bridgewater State University, she seamlessly integrates her roles as a teacher and horticulture enthusiast at Massachusetts Horticultural Society (MHS), where she engages with learners of all ages using her dynamic approach to plant education. She embodies the mission of MHS by encouraging everyone to become active growers.

    $53 for Mass Hort members, $65 for nonmembers. Workshop size is limited – Preregistration required HERE

  • Wednesday, November 26, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – Katie Campbell’s Favorite Gardens, Online

    The Gardens Trust continues its online series on favorite gardens on November 26 at 1 pm Eastern with Katie Campbell’s Favorite Gardens. Katie is writer and garden historian. She lectures widely, has taught at Birkbeck, Bristol and Buckingham universities, writes for various publications and leads art and garden tours. Her most recent book, Cultivating the Renaissance (Routledge, 2022) explores the evolution of Renaissance ideas and aesthetics through the Medici Tuscan villas. Previous publications include British Gardens in Time (Quarto, 2014) to accompany the BBC television series, Paradise of Exiles (Francis Lincoln, 2009) a study of the late nineteenth century Anglo-Florentine garden-makers, and Icons of Twentieth Century Landscape Design (Frances Lincoln, 2006).

    Whether carved from an arboreal forest or a tropical jungle, a rubber plantation, an olive grove or an ancient oak wood, Katie finds that that the gardens which remain with her are the ones which respect the indigenous flora and agricultural traditions, but interpret these in a way which reveals as much about the designer as it does about the site.

    This ticket LINK is for this individual session and costs £8, and you may purchase tickets for other individual sessions via the links below, or you may purchase a ticket for the entire course of 4 sessions at a cost of £28 via the link here. (Gardens Trust members £6 or £21). 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.

    ©Katie Campbell

  • Tuesday, December 2 & Thursday, December 4 – 10:00 am – 12:30 pm – History of Botanical Art Seminar, Online & In Person

    Botanical art, with its rich history and high standards, has always informed and promoted botany and the plant world. Since the Renaissance and fueled by centuries of plant exploration, great discoveries in global flora, advances in printing techniques, and an increasing interest in horticulture, botanical art gained a wide audience and flourished as both an art form and a means to document plant species from 1600 – 1900. Beginning in the 1990’s, there has been a resurgence of interest in contemporary botanical art. Join Sarah Roche as she reviews the significant roles and styles of botanical art from early times to the present. At the second session of this class, you will view rare botanical books & prints from Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s extraordinary collection. $170 for Mass Hort members, $200 for nonmembers. Register HERE

  • Tuesday, December 2, 2:00 pm Eastern – Can Nature Friendly Gardens Be Beautiful? Online

    Celebrating the launch of the National Trust’s Book of Nature Friendly Gardening, the Garden Museum is hosting a conversation on December 2 between five professional gardeners who have all been on their own journeys to adapt the way they garden in light of the twin climate and biodiversity crises.

    Our expert panel are: Matthew Pottage, Head of Horticulture and Landscape Strategy at The Royal Parks; Kate Bradbury, a garden writer and broadcaster who specializes in wildlife gardening; Sean Harkin, Head Gardener at the Inner Temple Gardens in London where he has been evolving the historic Garden to combine biodiversity and beauty; Rebecca Bevan, the National Trust’s Specialist for Environmental Horticulture.

    Their conversation will be chaired by Sheila Das, Head of Gardens at the National Trust, bringing insights of her own from her deep love of food growing and nurturing soil health. £10 Livestream. Book HERE.

  • Friday, November 28 – Sunday, December 28 – 17th Annual Festival of Trees

    Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s 17th Festival of Trees showcases dozens of decorated trees as well as Snow Village, including a model railroad display.  This annual event takes place at The Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street, Wellesley, MA 02482.  The venues are handicapped accessible. 

    Mostly displayed in the Hunnewell Building, the Festival offers beautifully decorated holiday trees that are donated and decorated by local businesses, garden clubs and other organizations, and individuals. Holiday lights and decorations fill the Garden. See the Garden at Elm Bank in a new light with holiday lightscapes, magical displays, and the perfect photo opportunities. You’ll get a hot cocoa at the gate and finish your visit with s’mores by the firepits. 

    Visitors ‘vote’ with their raffle tickets, selecting the tree(s) they would like to win at the end of the event.  Tree sizes vary from one foot to nine feet in height and some have gifts in addition to the decorations.  This year there will also be a virtual Festival in addition to the physical display.    

    Another and totally different experience is provided by Snow Village, an indoor exhibit occupying a whole room.  This large display features model trains wending their way through villages and vignettes, including Christmas in the City (Boston of course!), Fenway Park, a Dickensian village, the North Pole and hundreds of decorated houses and lights.  There are too many Santas to count as well as skaters galore.  This is a visual treat for young and old alike and each year it is a little different. 

    For tickets and more information visit https://www.masshort.org/festival-of-trees#signup