Boston Flora

Category: Cape Cod & Islands

  • Saturday, June 24, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – The Healing Garden

    Since the dawn of history, humans and animals have sought healing from plants. Although many of today’s most popular remedies are compounded in laboratories, there are still vast numbers of commercial cures whose major medicinal ingredients are derived from green herbs, trees, and shrubs. In this illustrated presentation at The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster on Saturday, June 24 at 1 pm, Cindy Sauers will share with you her garden journey collaborating with the plants, the soil, wind, sun, cold, heat, rain… and all of nature for food and medicine for the body and soul. You will be able to gently and easily begin your own healing garden or, if you don’t have a space for your own garden you will have new insight to how plants, trees and weeds throughout Cape Cod provide us with healing food and medicine. Cindy will help you identify our wild natural Cape Cod plants and she will share with you easy ways to make remedies to relieve many of our everyday discomforts and fortify our bodies and our minds.

    Cindy Sauers is an artist, shepherd, gardener and herbalist who works in collaboration with her ‘medium’. As a gardener, she collaborates with nature; shaping and adding elements while observing how nature responds and what nature adds or subtracts from the garden. As an herbalist, she has been using plants as healing remedies, scented gifts, and food since 1973. Cindy and her garden, along with her husband and the sheep, the Baa Boys, were recently featured in Country Gardens Spring 2017 magazine. Cindy can’t imagine anything more rewarding than sharing the joy she gets from these sweet plants with you.

    Free with admission. For more information please call: 508-896-3867, ext. 133.

  • Thursday, June 22, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop Part Two

    Part two of this two-part fruit tree pruning class on Thursday, June 22 from 10 – 2 will cover fruit tree management and growth control techniques for a maximally productive tree. Participants will learn how trees set bud, and what type of wood produces fruit. The class will focus on apples, cherries, peaches and pears. The program will begin with a lecture at Polly Hill Arboretum, 809 State Road in West Tisbury, in the new Education Center (pictured below), and move to the Grey Barn orchard for the hands-on portion. During the Grey Barn visit, the group will revisit trees from part one of the class in March, and observe how the pruning influenced growth, as well as discussing next steps for proper management. Bring a lunch, work gloves, and safety glasses, and dress for the weather. The Arboretum will provide pruners, saws, loppers and ladders. $40 for non-members, $30 for members. Space is limited; please call to preregister: 508-693-9426. All are welcome, whether or not you attended part one. Park in the main lot and meet at the visitor center.

  • Thursday, June 22, 12:00 noon – Live Bee Hive Opening

    Meet The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History’s bees up close with beekeepers George Muhlebach and crew who will open their live hives for visitors. Learn how bees have a symbiotic relationship to flowering plants and how beekeepers contribute to maintaining the biodiversity in our ecosystem. Veils provided.

    PLEASE NOTE:
    The first opening is at 12 noon, if that fills, a 2nd is at 12:45 and if needed a 3rd opening at 1:30. We only take reservations for Noon until that is full, and then open the next time slot.

    THURSDAYS:

    June 22, 29

    July 6, 13, 20, 27

    August 3, 10, 17, 24, 31

    RESERVATIONS REQUIRED due to limited space.
    CCMNH Members $4/Non-Members $5: call 508 896 3867 x 111. For more information please call the Museum at 508-896-3867 ext. 133. Image from www.samlesburyhall.co.uk.

  • Tuesday, June 20, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Eco Tour: Heritage Museums & Gardens

    Heritage Museums & Gardens is a premiere public garden featuring a 100-acre property located in historic Sandwich Village, Massachusetts. Heritage boasts beautifully landscaped gardens, an extensive network of nature trails, and special exhibits in the museum galleries.

    The entrance to this historic property has recently been redesigned to create a green parking area, offering a more beautiful entrance for visitors and much-needed stormwater infrastructure.

    There is a growing interest in green parking lots that reduce environmental impact, improve safety, while being designed with appealing aesthetics in the process. The Heritage Museum & Gardens project is an excellent example of this multi-functional approach.

    To the Heritage visitor, it looks like a more colorful entrance with better pick-up and drop-off access. But beyond the lovely view, there is a highly functioning stormwater management system where rainwater is directed to the landscaped bioretention system. The series of bioretention basins collect and treat the runoff but are viewed simply as lovely gardens to visitors. The parking lot project boasts over 8,000 perennials, 350 flowering shrubs, and 50 specimen trees. The project also incorporated permeable hardscape features including decorative pavers, native boulder walls, and a wave-model sidewalk grate.

    From the beginning, the project has maintained a strong focus on landscape design, enhancing the visitor’s experience with a beautiful first impression of the gardens. Final touches will complete the project this spring, in time to celebrate the 2017 garden season.

    Join Ecological Landscape Alliance and Horsley-Witten, project lead, on Tuesday, June 20 at 1 pm to learn more about the entrance gardens and parking lot project and be treated to a guided walking tour through the Heritage Gardens to experience the beauty and learn about the many sustainable initiatives underway at the gardens.

    Brian Laverriere is a landscape designer at the Horsley Witten Group. He is a recent graduate of the University of Rhode Island where he earned his bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture with a minor in community planning; during Brian’s last year at URI, he was nominated as the 2015 University Select Olmsted Scholar. Brian offered technical and creative support generating construction level site and landscape plans for the most recent parking gardens development project at Heritage. Brian has experience with LID stormwater management, site planning and design. His professional interests include climate adaptation, green infrastructure and community resiliency.

    Leslie Lutz is the Director of Horticulture and Facilities Management for Heritage Museums and Gardens, Sandwich, MA. Les manages all aspects of the 100 acre Garden including design, care, and maintenance of display gardens, trails and natural woodlands. He also responsible for operational maintenance, security, and capital projects. Les has extensive experience in botanical gardens having spent much of his career at Longwood Gardens as the Curator of Bonsai; New York Botanical Garden as the Conservatory Manager; Salisbury University as the Director of Horticulture; and Omaha Botanical Garden as the Chief Operating Officer.
    $23 for ELA members, $33 for nonmembers – See more at: http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/eco-tour-heritage-museums-garden/#sthash.fQdynYDY.dpuf

  • Saturday, June 17, 9:00 am – 12:00 noon – Plant Propagation Workshop

    A wealth of woody plants from Abelia to Zenobia can be propagated effectively and economically by softwood cuttings. Join Polly Hill Arboretum Plant Propagator Brian McGowan on Saturday, June 17 at the Arboretum, 809 State Road in West Tisbury, to learn the basic science and techniques behind this seemingly magical way of producing woody plants. Following a brief lecture, participants will collect cuttings on the Arboretum grounds, and then return to the greenhouse to begin propagating. Each person will leave with a plastic propagation box filled with cuttings and the knowledge to propagate plants aplenty! Please bring a pair of sharp hand pruners; an apron would be a welcome accessory. Class meets at the Arboretum’s Far Barn. $45 for non-members, $40 for PHA members. Please call to register, space is limited: 508-693-9426.

  • Saturday, May 20 – Garden Club Spring Plant Sales

    On Saturday, May 20, many Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts member clubs will hold plant sales with a full range of horticultural offerings, all to benefit their diverse public projects in their communities.  Please consider supporting these organizations when you are acquiring your spring plants. Image from www.growingcolors.com.

    The Friendly Garden Club Plant Sale – 9 – 12 at the Beverly Council on Aging, 90 Colon Street in Beverly.

    The Weymouth Garden Club Plant Sale – 9 – 1 at the Department of Public Works, 120 Winter Street in Weymouth.

    The Lexington Field & Garden Club Plant Sale – 7 – noon at the Hadley Public Works Facility, 201 Bedford Street in Lexington.

    The Scituate Garden Club Plant Sale – 9 – 1 at the Mann Farmhouse, 108 Greenfield Lane in Scituate.

    The Springfield Garden Club Annual Plant Sale – 9 – noon at the Springfield Museums at the Quandrangle, 21 Edwards Street in Springfield.

    The Reading Garden Club Annual Geraniums and More Plant Sale – 9 – 1 at the Reading Town Common (across from Town Hall), Rts. 28 & 129.

    The Stoneham Garden Club Plant Sale and Lobster Roll Luncheon – 10 – 2 at the First Congregational Church, Central Street in Stoneham.

    The Fairbanks Garden Club Plant Sale, 9 – noon at the Fairbanks House in Dedham.

    Also, on May 27 from 8 – noon, visit the Osterville Garden Club Annual Plant and Bake Sale at the Osterville Village Library.

     

  • Friday, May 5 – Sunday, May 7 – The Next Chapter: A Small Standard Flower Show

    The Osterville Garden Club presents The Next Chapter: A Small Standard Flower Show, at the Osterville Village Library on Friday, May 5 through Sunday, May 7, during library hours.  Floral designs will be inspired by the library setting and beautiful local horticultural specimens will be displayed.  Call the library at 508-420-0550 to confirm hours.  Image courtesy of the Daily Mail.

  • Thursday, May 4, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm- Henry David Thoreau at 200: From Concord to Cape Cod

    American author and naturalist Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) is best known for spending one night in jail for nonpayment of the state poll tax, and for living for two years along the shores of Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, which sprouted the enduring book Walden. As part of the “Concord Quartet” Thoreau and his contemporaries Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Louisa May Alcott, revolutionized political, social and literary thinking and became known as “Transcendentalists”.

    Based on several trips to Cape Cod and originally published as a series of articles, Henry David Thoreau’s Cape Cod is a remarkable work that depicts the natural beauty of Cape Cod and the nature that surrounds it. Thoreau, a consummate lover of the outdoors and nature is right at home in the Cape and he details his excitement of the area with naturalist portraits of the indigenous species and animals. Now 200 years after his birth, Thoreau’s essays and books are still being read, and his words are still printed on inspirational posters, greeting cards, and social media graphics. What are his basic philosophies, and how do they resound with us today? On Thursday May 4, beginning at 1 pm at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, you will learn a bit more about this “Transcendentalist” and discuss what threads connect us to him ­ including what he saw and experienced during his trips to Cape Cod.

    Corinne H. Smith is a writer, poet, and outdoor educator. She is the author of Westward I Go Free: Tracing Thoreau’s Last Journey, as well as a biography for middle-schoolers, Henry David Thoreau for Kids: His Life and Ideas, With 21 Activities. Corinne serves as an occasional interpreter and blog writer for Thoreau Farm: The Birthplace of Henry David Thoreau in Concord, MA.

    For more information please call: 508-896-3867, ext. 133. Free with admission.  The Museum’s address is 869 Main Street (Route 6A) in Brewster.

     

  • Saturday, March 18, 10:00 am – 11:00 am – Seed Starting

    Learn how to start your own seeds and plan your garden for the coming season at the FARM Institute, Aero Avenue, Edgartown, in Martha’s Vineyard on Saturday, March 18 at 10 am.

    This Trustees of Reservations program will include:

    Planning the garden
    Choosing varieties
    Creating a seed plan (& how to plan for seed saving)
    Transplanting and hardening off
    Companion planting and crop rotation

    Each participant will take home four six packs of seedlings. $9 for members of the Trustees, $15 for nonmembers. Register online at http://www.thetrustees.org/things-to-do/cape-cod-islands/event-29344.html?

  • Sundays, March 5 – April 9, 1:00 pm – Gardening For Life

    The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, 869 Main Street in Brewster, will sponsor a five part series of classes on Sundays, March 5 – April 9, on Gardening for Life.  Register online ($45 for the series, $12 for individual talks) at http://www.ccmnh.org/Gardening-for-life

    On March 5, Trevor Smith will discuss Waterwise Landscape Designs.  On March 12, Claudia Thompson speaks on Lessons from the Garden: What Native Plants Have Taught Me.  Mark Richardson of NEWFS follows on March 26 with his well received lecture Kill Your Lawn!  Nanette Masi, on April 2, covers Bird-Friendly Gardens, and the final lecture on April 9 by Michael Talbot is entitled Attractive Native Plants for the Cape Cod Garden.  For reservations, call 508-896-3867.