Explore how to design an urban garden with an ecological mindset. This Native Plant Trust online session on March 26 from 5 – 6:30 will be led by landscape designer Shoma Haque. Students will learn the basics of gardening, plant choices, and design while keeping biodiversity and resource conservation in mind. New and experienced gardeners will learn how their gardening practices can have a positive impact on biodiversity even in small(er) urban spaces. $30. Register at https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/hor2116-urban-gardening/
Join Allandale Farm for our annual Seed in the City March 21st, 10am and 1pm at Allandale Farm in Brookline. Sign up at allandalefarm.com/community-events
Our seed starting workshop covers all the essentials from selecting the right seeds and seedling care to when to transplant your seedlings outside. Whether you’re new to gardening or a seasoned pro, all are welcome! We will provide seedling trays/domes, labeling materials, growing mix, and our expert guidance. Bring your own seeds – even old seeds! We’re hoping this event be a seed swap too! Don’t have your own seeds? We have them for sale in our store and/or check out Boston Public Library Seed Libraries.
Join Native Plant Trust Senior Horticulturist David Falk on March 17 at 5 Eastern online for a discussion of how to design, plant, and maintain a wild, ecologically valuable garden that also preserves a tidy, accessible garden aesthetic. Delve into plant recommendations and techniques to help reconcile these seemingly opposed priorities. Pictured below is the Wild Garden at Wave Hill. $60. Register at https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/hor1052-how-to-keep-a-wild-garden-tidy/
Glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus), and common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) are the best-known buckthorns in New England, renowned for their invasiveness. Both shrub species are native to Europe, North Africa, and Central Asia.When did they arrive in North America? What is their status and ecology in their home ranges? How did they become so rampant in many habitats in New England, and what can be done to manage them? Join longtime instructor Ted Elliman at Garden in the Woods in Framingham on March 14 to discuss these two species and the region’s third, less well known member of the group, alder-leaf buckthorn (Rhamnus alnifolia), an uncommon native shrub species that inhabits rich fen communities. Explore the morphological distinctions between Frangula and Rhamnus, and take a quick look at other buckthorns—native and non-native—in the United States. $50. Register with Native Plant Trust at https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/bot5153-introduction-to-buckthorns/
Tea can be sweet, rich, buttery, and citrusy. It can wake you up and calm you down. Tea has a history that spans the globe and health benefits that will keep you going. It has been cultivated for over 4,000 years and is the second most popular drink in the world (behind water).
Come spend some time on March 14 at Gore Place in Watertown, getting to know tea’s delightful flavors and aromas, as well as its fascinating history, how it’s made, where it’s from, and what it can do for you. You’ll learn how to steep tea for best flavor and sample several varieties, such as a delicate white, smooth oolong, refreshing green, malty black, and perhaps a surprise or two.
This program is intended for adults and teens. From speaker Hillel Bromberg:
“I grew up drinking Constant Comment and Lipton with lots of sugar and lemon. My love affair with tea began with a rich pu-ehr that tasted like no tea I’d ever had. Then I found a malty keemun. When the oolongs entered my life, I knew I’d found a home in tea. I am a certified tea sommelier always looking to increase my own knowledge of tea and expose as many people as possible to the delights of Camellia sinensis. When I’m not steeping, I write, bike, care for my family, and cook fine vegetarian fare.”
City Natives and Twig Daddy present a Grafting Workshop on Saturday, March 14 from 2:30 – 5 at 30 Edgewater Drive in Mattapan. Under the expert guidance of David Schwartz of Twig Daddy Nursery, participants will learn the benefits, biology, and techniques of grafting fruit trees. Sign up at https://thetrustees.org/seedsow. Sliding scale registration of $15 – $40.
Discover the art of kokedama, a centuries-old Japanese practice that blends horticulture and design, on Saturday, March 7, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Berkshire Botanical Garden. Unlike bonsai, which focuses on outdoor trees, or ikebana, which features cut flowers, kokedama are living plants, such as anthurium, orchid, peperomia, or zantedeschia, displayed in moss-and-soil spheres that can hang or sit in a dish indoors. Led by artist and horticultural therapist Brian Mikesell, this hands-on workshop will teach you to create kokedama using only natural materials (soil, moss and string). No pots, expensive ceramics or specialized tools required. Learn the techniques for crafting, displaying and caring for your kokedama, while connecting with the calming, mindful experience of nurturing plants. All materials are included, and you’ll leave with your own kokedama to enjoy at home or give as a thoughtful, handmade gift. $110 for BBG members. $140 for nonmembers.
Acquire knowledge of the skills required for beautiful and successful container gardens with Jenna O’Brien, owner of Viridissima Horticulture and Design. Get to know the plants that thrive in containers and how to care for them. This three session class at Berkshire Botanical Garden in West Stockbridge will cover practical aspects of gardening with style in containers throughout the New England garden season. Considerations will include container selection, siting, planting, growing, controlling pests, and maintaining moveable gardens. The course will be held Thursdays, February 26 – March 19, from 5:30 – 8:30. BBG members $215, nonmembers $240. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/container-garden-design
Jenna O’Brien has been working in Berkshire gardens for over 20 years. She is also a member of the BBG Horticulture Advisory Committee and the Education Committee. Jenna specializes in container gardening, perennial garden design and care, country estate garden management, and Berkshire Garden Style.
Wild Wonder presents an online class on March 1 from 12:30 – 2:30 Eastern time with John Muir Laws entitled Learn to Draw and Paint Flowers. Registration for the live presentation may be found at https://www.wildwonder.org/events.
John will share his best tips and tricks for drawing and painting flowers learned through his 40 years of teaching and illustrating.
Create a beautiful, functional willow basket while learning the foundational techniques of stake-and-strand weaving on Saturday, March 7, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Berkshire Botanical Garden. Designed for beginner and intermediate weavers, this hands-on class is taught by Heleny Cook, a Williamstown-based basketmaker who grows her own willow and forages wild materials for her work. Alongside guided instruction, Heleny will share insights into the joys and challenges of cultivating willow and working with natural materials. A wonderful introduction to the art of traditional basketry and a chance to create something beautiful and useful. Perfect for holding bread rolls, chips or everyday odds and ends, your finished basket will measure approximately 8 inches in diameter and 5 inches tall. All materials will be provided for an additional fee of $25 per person. Bring lunch to have during a break in the day.
Heleny Cook learned willow weaving by studying with experienced makers in Ireland, England, Canada, and across the United States. Her work is grounded in traditional techniques, shaped by years of practice, and informed by the material itself. She teaches because sharing skills keeps the craft alive. Heleny has led workshops at Hancock Shaker Village and Bon Dimanche Studio in Great Barrington, where students learn by working directly with willow and building a solid foundation through hands-on making.
