The 22nd Annual Edgartown Walking Garden Tour and Tea to benefit the Edgartown School’s class of 2013 Washington D.C. trip will take place Wednesday, July 18, 2012 from 1:00-4:00 pm beginning at the Parsonage on 75 South Water St., Edgartown. $10.00 Tickets on sale at Edgartown Books and Saffron in Edgartown. Rain Date: July 19th. For more information, call Lucia at 508-733-9834.
Join Berkshire Botanical Garden on Saturday, July 28, from 5 – 7:30 for a dazzling gala in the Garden! Fête des Fleurs is THE summer garden party of the year, accented with magical merriment and many surprises. This is sure to be an event not to miss, as BBG celebrates the 2012 theme: Garden on Fire! Tickets are $75 (Supporter Level), $150 (Patron Level), or $250 (Sponsor Level.) Reserve on line at http://www.berkshirebotanical.org, or call 413-298-3926.
Join The Friends of Forest Hills Educational Trust on Thursday, July 12 from 6 – 9 pm (rain date Thursday, July 19) for a moving memorial ceremony inspired by Buddhist rituals. Inscribe a lantern with a personal message to friends or family and float it across Lake Hibiscus at sunset. Bring a family picnic. Enjoy Grand Master Tsuji’s Samurai Taiko drummers, gospel music by Ron Murphy, Irish music by guitar/fiddle duo The Whiskey Boys, and traditional Japanese dance by students of Showa Institute. Photo below by JM Lobert at www.flickeflu.com.
In this breathtaking ceremony of remembrance, visitors to this lush, Victorian landscape make paper lanterns and set them afloat on the peaceful waters of a small lake. This ritual is based on the traditional Japanese Bon Festival, a time when a door opens to the world of the ancestors, allowing us to send messages to the other side. People enjoy picnics on the grass and a multi-cultural program of music and dance. They decorate their lanterns with calligraphy and notes to those who have died. At sunset, a candle is lit in each lantern, and the glimmering lanterns are set afloat. Drifting and flickering with the wind, the lanterns symbolize the soul’s journey when life ends. Admission is free, with a $10 donation per lantern. Parking is $10, and people are encouraged to take the T. No lighting after dark, so bring a flashlight to assist your departure. For more information, log on to www.foresthillstrust.org.
 
Join the Polly Hill Arboretum on Tuesday, July 17, from 9 – 4, for a special tour of some spectacular Vineyard gardens. Begin at the Bressler Garden on Oyster Pond. This small garden incorporates shrubs, grasses, native plants, and perennials, including 85 lavender plants, on the shore zone at Oyster Pond. From there, proceed to the Geiger Garden in Chilmark (pictured below,) tucked away in the woods, featuring an elaborate water garden. Lunch will be served at the Polly Hill Arboretum, and from there you will proceed to the Coyne Garden in West Tisbury, located on Looks Pond, the former garden of Nina Schneider, a contemporary of Polly’s. Then, on to “The Folly,” the Biggs Garden in West Tisbury, hidden off Lambert’s Cove Road. The large stucco Italianate home features a variety of formal and informal garden areas. The price of $135 ($100 for PHA members) includes transporation, lunch, and a $30 donation to PHA. To register, visit www.pollyhillarboretum.org, or call 508-693-9426.
Tower Hill’s 18th annual self-guided tour of distinctive private Massachusetts gardens takes place on Sunday, June 24. Visit private gardens of distinction on this exclusive tour. This year’s tour includes a mix of gardens in Boylston, Berlin, Hudson and Northborough. All ticket proceeds from the 2012 City Spaces/Country Places Garden Tour support education programs at Tower Hill Botanic Garden. Buy your tickets today on line at www.towerhillbg.org.
Please join the Friends of the Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit for a special evening to support our Park Rangers’ Horses. Premium seating for the Wednesday evening, October 17 performance of War Horse at the Boston Opera House, with a reception to follow, is available for $150 per ticket. Please make checks payable to the Justine Mee Liff Fund for Friends of the Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit, or by major credit card by calling Ashley Helie at 617-522-2700, no later than June 30. She may also be emailed at ahelie@emeraldnecklace.org.
The play, winner of 5 Tony Awards including Best Play 2011, is a remarkable tale of courage, loyalty and friendship. As World War One begins, Joey, young Albert’s beloved horse, is sold to the cavalry and shipped from England to France. He’s soon caught up in enemy fire and fate takes him on an extraordinary journey, serving on both sides before finding himself alone in no man’s land. But Albert cannot forget Joey and, still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to find him and bring him home. This powerfully moving and imaginative drama, filled with stirring music and songs, is a show of phenomenal inventiveness that is currently playing to packed houses in London and in New York. At its heart are astonishing life sized puppets created by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, that bring to life breathing, galloping, charging horses strong enough for men to ride.
Take a ride with the top pond and waterfall builder in Central Massachusetts and experience some of the area’s best ponds, waterfalls, and backyards! Get ideas for your next landscape project and as the Sterling Greenery experts how to get started.
The tours will start at Sterling Greenery , 44 Redemption Rock Trail in Sterling, at 9 a.m. and end at Mark Packard’s house (owner of Sterling Greenery) at 12 noon on Saturday, June 23rd. Bus tour attendees are welcome to enjoy a complementary lunch next to Mark’s new pond, and experience the water garden lifestyle. The bus will shuttle back to Sterling Greenery between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
You can also choose to follow the bus ($25) or guide yourself for $15 per person. All proceeds benefit Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Tickets may be purchased on line at www.sterlinggreenery.com, or call 978-422-0071.
The Chelmsford Garden Club will present a Garden Tour and Mad Hatter Tea Party Fundraiser on Saturday, June 16 from 10-4 p,m. and Sunday June 17 from 1-4 p.m. There will be six private gardens to tour and a Mad Hatter Tea Party with Mad Hatter floral arrangements from local florists at the historic Garrison House. At 2 p.m. there will be a lecture by Alan and Alison Tannebaum who will give a lecture on Alice in Wonderland written by Lewis Carroll.
Tickets are $20 which includes the tour and tea available for purchase at the Java Room or Harrington Liquor Store or call Judy at 978-256-5045 or email marylou83@comcast.net. Proceeds will benefit the Club’s civic projects.
School’s out and the warm weather has finally already arrived! Come celebrate the summer with your neighbors while enjoying hamburgers and hot dogs–fresh off the grill! There will also be picnic salads and ice cream at NABB’s annual Summer Barbeque. Advance tickets for this Thursday, June 28 event are available on the NABB website (www.nabbonline.com) at $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. A limited number of tickets will be available at the gate.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino and First Lady Angela Menino invite you to the 16th Annual Rose Garden Party on Thursday, June 28, from 5:30 – 8 in the Kelleher Rose Garden, Back Bay Fens. The event features the popular Hats Galore! contest (hat below was designed for this year’s Boston Flower & Garden Show, and would be a smash at the party.) To purchase tickets and learn about sponsorship opportunities, please call 617-635-4032, or visit www.cityofboston.gov/parks.
