Boston Flora

Saturday, May 3, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm Eastern – Join the Movement: 125th Anniversary Symposium, Online

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Build community with other new and experienced gardeners, and join the movement to increase the beauty and resiliency of New England and the planet, one native plant at a time.

Do you want to learn more about why native plants matter, and gain practical tips for incorporating them into your life? Join the Movement is for first- and long-time gardeners, lovers of the natural world, environmental advocates, and curious learners who want to explore both why and how to work with native plants. Whatever the size of your space or your experience with gardening, our panelists will offer their expert perspectives on how to select plants, work with the space you have, and maintain your plantings across all four seasons.

This Native Plant Trust symposium on May 3 will be held on Zoom. Speakers include Uli Lorimer, Edwina von Gal, Dan Jaffe Wilder, and Trevor Smith. $125. Register at www.nativeplanttrust.org

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Thursday, April 16, 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm Eastern – Poisons & Remedies, Online

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Join the New York Botanic Garden on April 16 online for Poisons & Remedies, the second panel of our 2025 Plant Humanities Conversations, co-organized between NYBG’s Humanities Institute and Dumbarton Oaks. In this session, Dr. Michael Balick (NYBG), Dr. Hannah Cole (UCSC), and Dr. Luciana Martins (Birbeck) explore plant stories of poisons and remedies as they feature in ethnobotanical research, literature, and botanical collections.  Dr. Balick will share examples of how plants have been identified and used as poisonous from Western and non-Western medical traditions; Dr. Martins will dive into the economic botany collections at Kew to uncover stories of remedies in them; and Dr. Cole will explore literary representations of plants and toxicity.

The panel will be moderated by Yota Batsaki, Executive Director of Dumbarton Oaks, and Lucas Mertehikian, Director of NYBG’s Humanities Institute.This event is free and open to the public. Register in the link HERE to receive a Zoom invitation.

Friday, April 11, 12:00 noon Eastern – John Ystumllyn, Online

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This portrait below of John Ystumllyn is a central piece in The Garden Museum’s new ‘Black Gardening in Britain’ display in the museum. Ystumllyn was a Black Welsh Gardener who lived in North Wales in the 1700s.

Before the portrait – which is on temporary loan to the museum from Anthony Mould – leaves to go on display in the British Library’s Unearthed exhibition, come and say goodbye to John Ystumllyn at an evening centred around his life, where we discuss how he ended up in Britain, his legacy and how we view his life beyond the painting of him at 16. £10 Livestream Book tickets at GardenMuseum.org. The speaker will be Edward Adonteng. Edward Adonteng is an essayist, poet, artist, gardener, and academic from South London. He describes himself as a bridge-builder, facilitating discourse on several themes and creating platforms for people to thrive and fully exercise their ingenuity. Recently published as a Contemporary Ghanaian Poet, Edward ruminates on ways that human beings can communicate with each other in a new world that ignores the “little things.” He focuses on intellectual histories, epistemology, and anti-colonial thought/practice within academia. His attitude around growing is simple – to grow is to be human.

Saturday, April 26, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm or 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Tour of the Kinsey-Pope Garden

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As part of The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program, the Kinsey-Pope Garden in Amherst, Massachusetts will be open on Saturday, April 26. You may choose from either of two sessions, 10 – 1 or 1 – 5. Please note you will have two other opportunities to view the garden, on May 31 and September 27, if the April date is not convenient. $10 ($5 Conservancy Members). Reserve at www.gardenconservancy.org.

The owner says: “This is a garden begun by my late husband and me (both academics with no formal garden training) soon after we moved here in 1978, working and learning together for twenty years. I have been the primary garden designer from the beginning, and designer and gardener for another twenty years, now recently with some wonderful garden help. It is a landscape of many uncommon trees with strikingly beautiful bark and a wide variety of textures, flowers, berries, and great autumn color; many shrubs with more than one season of beauty; perennials flowering in three seasons; ground covers of unusual dramatic effect covering all beds during all seasons; and in winter offering a wide palette of interesting shapes, lovely bark, and many evergreen trees and shrubs. In addition, there are three bridges over a stone-lined swale, a hand-built screened gazebo and curved top arbor, a charming little pond, many benches and Japanese stone lanterns, large-stone walkways and stone walls, and a Japanese inspired fence surrounding all of the 1/2-acre garden.

Wednesday, April 23, 10:00 am – Tulipmania

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The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s April program will take place Wednesday, April 23 at The Gardens at Elm Bank in Wellesley. This is a rain or shine event. Join Club members for a visit to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s Garden at Elm Bank during their Tulip Festival. We will begin our visit with a lecture from Melissa Pace, who will recount the history of tulips as well as how they are commercially grown and harvested in today’s world. Melissa will share with us how to grow tulips both in containers and in the landscape in New England and where to purchase the best bulbs. Attendees will receive a handout summarizing the talk and the many tips on how to grow and enjoy tulips at home. 

After the talk you have the option of joining Melissa on a spectacular tour of over 65,000 tulips! The trial gardens will be bursting with thousands of blooming tulips of all colors! On the way to the lower tulip cutting fields, we will pass through and discuss some of the other gardens at Elm Bank. Upon reaching the lower fields we will see thousands more tulips in full bloom.

The tour moves at a slow pace and is about 45 minutes. There are seating areas within the garden for individuals that might not want to do the full tour. The path will be paved until we reach the lower field. Sturdy shoes are recommended but the walking is easy. Members will receive cut tulip stems in floral sleeves to take home.

Melissa Pace is a Garden Educator for Massachusetts Horticultural Society. She is a MA licensed teacher and a University of Rhode Island Master Gardener since 2007. As a horticulturalist, she has judged and competed in many garden and flower shows, from Philadelphia Flower Show to the Bolton Fair. She has been a presenter for numerous garden clubs and civic organizations throughout New England since 1995. Melissa has authored articles published in Old Farmer’s Almanac, Yankee Magazine and the Massachusetts Hort blog.

This is a members only event but you may join the Club at https://gardenclubbackbay.org/.

Please note that on Thursday, April 24, the Boston Committee of the GCA will also hold its Spring Meeting at Massachusetts Horticultural Society, which is a separate, ticketed event.

Thursday, April 10, 7:00 pm – To Wildness

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Porter Square Books is thrilled to welcome Julia Thacker to discuss her collection of poetry, To Wildness. Author Katherine Hollander will introduce Thacker. This event will take place on Thursday, April 10 at 7pm at Porter Square Books (1815 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02140).

To Wildness is winner of the 19th annual Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize, and was chosen by the internationally acclaimed poet, Paul Muldoon. As Joan Houlihan says in her enthusiastic endorsement, “Teeming with image, sensation and sound, the poems in To Wildness tumble us into a glorious exuberance of catalog and character, rural landscape and dark imaginings (‘We ate ants peeled from bark, a rain of plums / when he rattled the trees. Lumbering. Shackled.’). Ancestral voices speak from the grave; fabulist figures like the girl buried with a finch tell their stories; and contemporary ghosts only the narrator sees abound (Let me touch them as they pass.) A southern gothic atmosphere hovers here: shapes twisting in the dark and the language to conjure them near. What a rich and thrilling collection!”

In recipes, spells, odes and elegies, To Wildness conjures what has been lost and what remains. These are poems of the body. They rub up against one another and knock elbows. Plum Jam calls preserving fruit as spiritual labor: To be elbow deep in a barrel/arms gloved crimson. In this collection, the dead reside alongside the living. Ancestors roost in trees, having forgotten language, their coats inside out. Others sulk in the eaves, their ears clogged with clover. The past made vivid renders an extravagant present and offers a balm to the isolation of the contemporary world.

Our Cambridge store offers validated parking in the lot on Roseland St. behind Lesley’s University Hall. Register at https://www.portersquarebooks.com/event/julia-thacker-author-wildness

Thursday, April 24 – Sunday, April 27 – Fitchburg Art Museum Art in Bloom

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Art in Bloom returns this Spring to the Fitchburg Art Museum. Visit the Fitchburg Art Museum and enjoy floral arrangements crafted by local florists, artists, and Laurelwood Garden Club members inspired by the works of art on view.

The Champagne Reception will be on Friday, April 25, 2025. For more information, and to purchase tickets, visit https://fitchburgartmuseum.org/etn/upcoming-program-art-in-bloom-2025/

Sunday, May 4, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Conservation in a Changing World

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Part of the mission of the Arnold Arboretum is stewardship of the earth’s botanical diversity and its essential value to humankind. This May 4 one hour tour through the landscape, led by docent Vicki Amalfitano, will highlight important Arboretum historical conservation efforts that have preserved distinct native and exotic species, and current efforts in our living collections to mitigate habitat disruption and climate impact. Learn about plant expeditions to preserve species in the face of climate change and new pathogens, research initiatives, as well as the Arboretum’s green initiatives and local collaborations to improve our urban canopy.

Accessibility: This tour covers slightly over 1 mile in distance over terrain of asphalt, crushed granite, and mulch. Please be sure to dress for the weather and wear comfortable, closed toe footwear you don’t mind getting dirty. Tours may be canceled in cases of the following weather conditions: severe wind, snow, ice, thunder or lightning events; temperatures over 90 degrees; and temperatures below 20 degrees. Tours may be canceled due to other weather events at the discretion of Arboretum staff. In the case of cancelation, you will be contacted by Arboretum staff no later than 2 hours before the start of the event. If you have questions about the status of a program, please email or call the Visitor Center between 10:00am and 4:00pm at (617) 384-5209.

Meet at 2 pm at the Hunnewell Visitor Center. These walks are free but space is limited. Register at https://arboretum.harvard.edu/events/conservation_in_a_changing_world/?occurrence=2025-05-04&time=1746367200

Fagus sylvatica ‘tortuosa’ 2420-A

Thursday, April 10 – Sunday, April 13 – New Bedford Film Festival

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The New Bedford Film Festival returns April 10 – 13. One featured film to be shown is The Snowy Owls of Logan Airport, which follows the story of Norman Smith who has dedicated his life to protecting and relocating the snowy owls from Boston’s busiest airport runways. Called “the Owl Man of Logan Airport,” Smith has single-handedly relocated more than 900 snowy owls, creating the blueprint for how airports across the US and Canada can manage wildlife conflict. For more information on the festival visit https://newbedfordfilmfestival.com/. Following the premiere of the film at various film festivals this spring, the movie will be made available for screening, according to Anna Miller.

Tuesday, April 1 – Sunday, June 1 – Magnolias of the Back Bay Self Guided Tour 2025

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The Garden Club of the Back Bay presents a self-guided Magnolia Tour. Learn interesting facts about the historical Magnolias of Back Bay. On this self-guided Magnolia Tour, you’ll walk a loop starting on the sunny side of Commonwealth Avenue at Arlington Street, up to Mass Ave, continuing onto Beacon Street back toward Arlington. Along the way you’ll learn some fascinating information about magnolia trees, their history, the history of some buildings where they are located, and what our Club has been working on as it relates to these and other beloved trees.

When you register, you will receive a link in your email confirmation under “additional information” that will let you print the tour at home, or view it on your mobile device using the Google Docs app. The Eventbrite registration link is: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/copy-of-magnolias-of-the-back-bay-self-guided-tour-2025-tickets-1305755382499?aff=ebemoffollowpublishemail&ref=eemail&utm_campaign=following_published_event&utm_content=follow_notification&utm_medium=email&utm_source=eventbrite

The tour is free, but as an all volunteer organization a recommended donation of $5 or more will enable the Garden Club to continue to care for Back Bay’s street trees, community gardens and updated tree walks. Thank you in advance for your support!