Boston Flora

Category: Cape Cod & Islands

  • Holidays on Cape Cod – Selected Events

    Much is happening in Cape Cod over the next few weeks.

    A Seaside Christmas in Orleans is a month long celebration with shopkeepers, gallery owners and restaurants welcoming visitors with special events and tasty treats. Visit https://orleanscapecod.org/explore/a-seaside-christmas-in-orleans/

    Through December 30, the Annual Glassblowers’ Christmas takes place at the Sandwich Glass Museum on Main Street in Sandwich Village. In addition to the spectacular glass exhibits the Museum is known for worldwide, this time of year features special trees decorated with hundreds of unique glass ornaments created by some of the region’s foremost glass artists. Click on http://sandwichglassmuseum.org/

    On December 1 – 9, stop by the John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum on Main Street in Hyannis.Throughout the Museum you’ll see rooms filled with Christmas trees – all festooned with lights and ornaments, and surrounded with decorations and gifts. They’re all waiting for lucky raffle winners to take them home. (Yes, if you have the winning ticket for your favorite tree, it’ll be yours to keep – decorations, gifts and all!)

    Falmouth Holidays By The Sea takes place December 1 – 3, and includes the arrival of Santa sailing into Falmouth Harbor, the Annual Lighting of the Falmouth Village Green with caroling and a downtown Holiday Stroll. Noon on Sunday is kick-off time for the annual Falmouth Christmas Parade. Renowned for being southeast Massachusetts’ largest Christmas parade, highlights include decorated floats, marching bands, live animals, costumed characters and Santa Claus, too. It’s one of the premier Cape Cod events in December – definitely not to be missed!

    Brewster won’t be left out. Brewster for the Holidays is a town-wide celebration is a long-standing tradition in the historic “Sea Captains Town” of Brewster. Festivities begin on Friday morning when local shops, galleries and inns open their doors for a weekend of family-friendly events, activities and promotions. Highlights of Brewster for the Holidays include the Tree Lighting and the Lighting of the Windmill at Drummer Boy Park, blacksmith demonstration and windmill tours, a Holiday band concert, Arts & Crafts Show, and the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History’s Gala Family Party.

    That same weekend you can go to Christmas in Harwich. This weekend in Harwich begins with the Harwich Port Stroll where locals and visitors join together for the tree lighting ceremony and caroling. Also on Friday evening, have your photo taken with Santa (he arrives by fire truck), and take a horse-drawn carriage ride through Harwich Port. Complete details are at http://harwichcc.com/cape-cod-vacation/christmas-in-harwich/

    For the wow factor, attend Holly Folly Weekend December 1 – 3 in Provincetown. Holly Folly Weekend, the Provincetown Business Guild’s Gay and Lesbian Holiday Festival, kicks off on Friday with the “Holly Folly Shop Hop”, a great time to peruse Provincetown’s amazing variety of shops and galleries for unique gifts that’ll “Wow” everyone on your list – pets included!

    Throughout the weekend there’ll be events all over town. Open houses, dance parties, drag bingo, a Jingle Bell Bathing Suit Run down the center of town … that’s just a little sampling of the fun and frivolity in P’town on Holly Folly Weekend.

    The Yarmouthport Christmas Stroll is on December 3 from 1 – 4 on Route 6A. Information can be found at http://www.yarmouthcapecod.com/yarmouth-port-christmas-stroll/

    Chatham gets into the act December 8 – 9 with Christmas in Chatham. Christmas in Chatham will bring you back to days gone by. This weekend is part of a month-long celebration of the Holidays that includes a town light parade, caroling, visits with Santa, music and theater performances, sweet treats, Christmas fairs, open houses and shopping throughout the town.

    The Historic Bass River Holiday Cookie Stroll will take place December 9 from 10 – 3. Tour grand homes in the historic village of Bass River, see the sights, and pick up home-baked cookies along the way. What could be better?? When you purchase a ticket for the Cookie Stroll, your ticket is actually a cookbook with recipes for cookies served at the sites along this two-mile walking tour.  Tickets ($20)  to this popular event are limited and sell out quickly. All proceeds support the South Yarmouth Library. http://www.yarmouth.ma.us/1267/Annual-Holiday-Cookie-Stroll-and-Open-Ho

  • Saturday, December 9, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Holiday House Tour

    The Village Garden Club of Dennis presents Holiday House Tour on Saturday, December 9 between 10 – 4. The tour features 6 homes in Dennis and East Dennis that are festively decorated for the season, and the benefit event is open to the public.One home will have a small holiday boutique, another will feature a harpist. Tickets will be $30 the day of the tour at Carleton Hall, Old Bass River Road, Dennis. Advance tickets are $25 and may be purchased at Scout– 776 Rte 6A, Dennis, and Dennis Chamber of Commerce –242 Swan River Road, Dennisport, or by e-mailing villagegardenclubofdennis@gmail.com

  • Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, November 24 – December 30, 4:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Gardens Aglow

    Heritage Museums & Gardens, 67 Grove Street in Sandwich, is putting on the glitz again this Holiday Season with it’s treasured annual event – Gardens Aglow!

    At this extra-special time of year, the good folks at Heritage adorn their acres of beautiful gardens and woodlands with more than 10 miles of twinkling, sparkling lights. It’s truly an awesome thing to see. The event takes place on weekends now through December 30, from 4:30 – 8:30 pm.

    Come stroll throughout the grounds and buildings and enjoy festive holiday displays, family-friendly activities, marshmallow-roasting, music and special performances, visits with Santa Claus, displays of model trains – and even a visit by some baby animals. Tickets are $18 for adults, children $7, age two and under free. For more information call 508-888-3300, or visit https://heritagemuseumsandgardens.org/feature/gardens-aglow/

  • Thursday, November 16 – Saturday, November 18, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm – Holiday Showcase and Boutique

    The Garden Club of Hyannis presents Holiday Showcase and Boutique at The Cultural Center of Cape Cod, 307 Old Main Street in South Yarmouth, on Thursday, November 16 through Saturday, November 18, from 10 – 5. Spend Christmas in Tuscany, Scotland, Downton Abbey, and New Year’s Eve in Paris. Join celebrations in China, Scotland, The Netherlands, and Canada. Be delighted and amazed by even more. There will be lavish tablescapes, incredible room transformation and impressive floral arrangements for you to enjoy. In addition, there will be an extraordinary boutique with handmade holiday items for you to purchase which will be located in the Cultural Center of Cape Cod’s new Owl Hall.

    Tickets: $20 in advance at the Cultural Center, through their website (www.cultural- center.org), or from any Hyannis Garden Club Member, or $25 at the door.

  • Saturday, November 4, 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm – Hydrangea Winterizing Workshop

    Hydrangea macrophylla are the least cold-hardy of hydrangea species and are hard to keep alive during harsh Cape Cod winters. Heritage Museums & Gardens Hydrangea Curator Mal Condon will provide information and demonstrate techniques for protecting hydrangeas from the ravages of winter, in this workshop on Saturday, November 4 from 1:30 – 2:30 at the gardens on 67 Grove Street in Sandwich. $10 for Heritage members, $25 for nonmembers (includes Museum admission.) For more information visit https://heritagemuseumsandgardens.org/event/hydrangea-winterizing-workshop-2/ Photo by Luc Balemans from www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com.

  • Wednesday, August 16, 5:30 pm – Landscaping in Tune with Nature

    Many of us wish to create a garden that works with nature—not one that fights against it! In this Polly Hill Arboretum presentation on Wednesday, August 16 at 5:30 pm, Dr. Art Cameron, director of the Michigan State University Horticulture Gardens, will share strategies for creating a natural aesthetic in your landscape. Learn which native and exotic plants are tough, but not weedy; beautiful, but not fussy. Art will discuss some of his favorite plants, including a wide assortment of native and non-native herbaceous perennials and ornamental grasses suitable for diverse locations. He will also give ideas on how to blend these plants together to design landscapes that are in tune with nature. Learn to create a new look in your garden using some of these great plants. $10 / $5 for PHA members. Sponsored by SBS: The Grain Store. For more information visit www.pollyhillarboretum.org.

  • Wednesday, August 9, 5:30 pm – Protecting Rare Trees: The Paperbark Maple

    A beloved and well-known garden plant, paperbark maple (Acer griseum) is endangered in its native habitat in China. Kris Bachtell, vice president of collections and facilities at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, will speak at the Polly Hill Arboretum, 809 State Road in West Tisbury, on Wednesday, August 9 at 5:30 pm about the Paperbark Maple Conservation Project that is helping to secure its future. Kris has traveled worldwide collecting samples of the species, from public gardens in the United States and United Kingdom to the wilds of the People’s Republic of China. These expeditions are helping scientists understand the plant’s genetic diversity to help guide its conservation. Get a botanist’s perspective on the history of paperbark maple in the wild and in cultivation and learn how this project can serve as a model to help conserve other threatened species. Sponsored by Bartlett Tree Experts.  $5 for PHA members, $10 for general public.  For more information visit www.pollyhillarboretum.org.

  • Monday, August 7, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm – The Secret Lives of Fireflies

    Lunch and Learn at The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History , 869 Main Street in Brewster, on Monday, August 7 with Science Educator Don Salvatore speaking on The Secret Lives of Fireflies. Watching fireflies is a special part of warm summer nights in New England and a memorable experience. We watch, we enjoy, and as kids we use to catch them in a jar to get an up-close look at them. However, do we really know what these creatures of the night are saying? Why are they flashing, are they bugs or beetles, are they male or female? Fireflies, also known as “lightning bugs” are so much more than a flash in the night. Join Don Salvatore for this fascinating and enlightening look into the secret lives of fireflies!

    Don Salvatore grew up in Weymouth, a small coastal town south of Boston. He spent his professional career as a science educator at the Children’s Museum in Dartmouth, the Roanoke Valley Science Museum in Virginia, and for the last 36 years, at the Museum of Science in Boston where he founded and coordinated the Firefly Watch and citizen science program. He has taught programs in all the sciences; biology, physics, chemistry, geology, meteorology and biochemistry. ­Through them all, he has come to a deeper understanding of natural history.

    CCMNH members $15, nonmembers $25, includes program, box lunch and museum admission. Advance tickets only – call 508-896-3876, ext 133. Lunch choice includes roast beef, turkey club, or tomato basil sandwiches.

  • Wednesday, August 2, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Edgartown Tree Tour

    Polly Hill Arboretum will again be offering the ever-popular Edgartown Tree Tours this season. Join PHA Horticulturist/Arborist Ian Jochems on Wednesday, August 2 at 10 am for an informative and fun walking tour of the many glorious mature trees of Edgartown. In the midst of the mantle of green that envelops downtown Edgartown, among the hydrangeas and picket fences, many unique and fine specimen trees await discovery. As one past participant noted, “I will forever after see the town’s trees with new eyes and greater appreciation.” $15 for PHA members, $20 for nonmembers. Pre-registration is required. Call 508-693-9426. Image of pagoda tree from www.vineyardgazette.com.

  • Wednesday, August 9, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm – 63rd Annual Nantucket House and Garden Tour

    The Nantucket Garden Club, Inc., a Member of The Garden Club of America, Inc., announces its 63rd Annual House and Garden Tour on August 9, from 11 – 4, rain or shine. All proceeds support Nantucket conservation efforts, fund scholarships to Nantucket High School graduates, and award grants to Island non profits. Tickets sold at every house and on Main Street the day of the tour. Advance ticket sales (cash or check) the week before the event at G S Hill Gallery on Straight Wharf or Sconset Rotary (11 am to 2 pm), Bartlett’s Farm (10 am to 2 pm) and on Main Street (10 am to 2 pm).

    Credit cards may be used for purchase at the Main Street location.

    Advance tickets may also be purchased on line by clicking the “Purchase 2017 House Tour Tickets On Line” tab on on http://nantucketgardenclub.org until midnight, August 7, 2017. Tickets are non-refundable. Ticket price $60.

    The Nantucket Garden Club, Inc. is a registered, non-profit corporation which is exempt from US Federal Income Tax under Section 501(c) 3 of the Internal Revenue Code. If you have questions, please email ngardenclub@gmail.com  Image from www.nantucketrealestate.com.