Boston Flora

Category: Connecticut

  • Saturday, April 13, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, and Sunday, April 14, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Cactus & Succulent Show and Sale

    The Connecticut Cactus and Succulent Society will celebrate its 36th Annual Cactus and Succulent Show and Sale on Saturday, April 13th and Sunday April 14th. at the Bristol Senior Community Center, 240 Stafford Avenue in Bristol. Connecticut.

    This is the largest show of its kind in the Eastern U.S., with over two thousand visitors each year.

    The judged show has more than 100 categories with over 500 entries. In addition, there will be at least 15 vendors with a huge selection of C&S plants, pots, soils, and books.

    The sales area will be open to the public on Saturday from 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. and on Sunday from 10:00 A.M. until 4:00 P.M. Free plants will be given to the first 50 families entering the show on both days. Admission is free.

    There will also be a series of free lectures (a schedule of lectures will be posted on the below website) and auctions of larger plants.

    Details of the Show and Sale will be available at http://www.ctcactussociety.org

  • Saturday, August 25, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Stone Acres Farm

    Saturday, August 25, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Stone Acres Farm

    The Garden Conservancy will hold an Open Days Special Program on Saturday, August 25 at Stone Acres Farm, 385 North Main Street in Stonington, Connecticut, from 10 – 2, including a talk and book signing by Garden Club of the Back Bay member Judith Tankard from 11 – 1.

    Stone Acres Farm is a small working farm situated in picturesque Stonington. The property’s rolling hills, gardens, and acres of vegetable production are open to visitors on a daily basis. A century-old boxwood hedge that is one-quarter-mile long, rose arbors, and a perennial cutting garden are highlights of the historic formal garden. There are interesting old outbuildings, a carriage house, grapery, greenhouse, annual cutting garden, a ha ha, and a pond once used for ice—now home for the herons.

    In the historic gardens at Stone Acre Farm, join landscape historian and Garden Conservancy Fellow Judith Tankard for a signing of her latest book, Ellen Shipman and the American Garden. In the 1920s and 1930s, Shipman was a famous landscape architect who designed hundreds of gardens, including 60 in Connecticut. She was known for her labor-intensive flower borders as well as charming water features and garden sculpture. Judith has also written books on Beatrix Farrand and Gertrude Jekyll. She is an Open Days Regional Representative and Garden Host on Martha’s Vineyard.

    Admission to the garden is $7. For more information and directions visit https://www.gardenconservancy.org/open-days/garden-directory/stone-acres-farm

    Image result for stone acres farm stonington ct

  • Tuesday, June 19, 9:00 am – 4:30 pm – Two Fabulous Gardens in Washington, Connecticut

    Visit two fabulous gardens in Washington, Connecticut in one day with Berkshire Botanical Garden: the beautiful, panoramic Highmeadows Garden (pictured), the private estate of fashion designer Linda Allard, and Hollister House, an American interpretation of such classic English gardens as Sissinghurst, Great Dixter and Hidcote. Linda Allard will provide a tour of her gardens at Highmeadows. A tour of Hollister House will be led by head gardener Krista Adams. The trip will take place Tuesday, June 19, from 9 – 4:30. $50 for BBG members, $65 for nonmembers. Participants should bring a lunch and dress for the weather. Transportation to and from BBG included in price and time. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/site-field-study-washington-connecticuts-two-fabulous-gardens

  • Saturday, May 12, 10:30 am – Digging Deeper: Spring Beauties

    The country garden of Lynden Miller, an acclaimed public garden designer and a serious plant lover, has been her laboratory for design ideas and plant combinations since 1980. She adores early spring in her garden, particularly her woodland, and will welcome a small group to really look at what makes that work. Her site features a large mixed border backed by a curved yew hedge, a raised garden, and a cottage garden. There is a small pond and a recirculating stream, a woodland with moss paths, and many hardy hydrangeas.

    In 1982, Lynden Miller rescued and restored The Conservatory Garden in Central Park. Based on her belief that good public open spaces can change city life, she has since designed more than forty other gardens and parks, including Bryant Park, The New York Botanical Garden, and Wagner Park in Battery Park City. Lynden wrote Parks, Plants and People: Beautifying the Urban Landscape, which won the American Horticultural Society 2010 National Book Award.

    The Garden Conservancy invites you to this May 12 Digging Deeper event at 10:30 am at the garden – address will be shared with registered guests. $30 for members of the Garden Conservancy, $35 for nonmembers. Registration is required and space is limited. For more information, call the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days toll-free weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, 1-888-842-2442, or via email at opendays@gardenconservancy.org.

    Image result for Lynden Miller Sharon CT garden

  • Saturday, April 14, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, and Sunday, April 15, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – 35th Annual Cactus & Succulent Society Show and Sale

    The Connecticut Cactus and Succulent Society will celebrate its 35th Annual Cactus and Succulent Show and Sale on Sat., April 14th and Sunday April 15th, at  the Bristol Senior Community Center, 240 Stafford Ave., in Bristol, Connecticut.

    This is the largest show of its kind in the East, with over one thousand visitors each year. The judged show has more than 100 categories with over 500 entries. In addition, there will be at least 15 vendors with a huge selection of C&S plants, pots, soils, and books. Admission to the show and sale is free. The sales area will be open to the public on Sat. from 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. and on Sunday from 10:00 A.M. until 4:00 P.M.

    Free plants will be given to the first 50 families entering the show on both days. There will also be a series of free lectures (a schedule of lectures will be posted on the website) and auctions of larger plants. For more information visit http://www.ctcactussociety.org.

    Image result for Connecticut Cactus & Succulent Society show

  • Thursday, August 31, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Digging Dahlias

    On Thursday, August 31, from 10 – 12, come with Berkshire Botanical Garden to Something to Crow About, an extraordinary dahlia farm located in Cornwall in the northwest corner of Connecticut, where dahlia grower Amanda Chase will lead our group through her collection of 2500 plants (over 200 cultivars) to see these beauties in full flower. Not only is the end of August peak season for dahlia bloom, it is also the perfect time to learn about cultivating dahlias. Amanda Chase will point out some of the best varieties to grow and provide tips for maintaining these plants from year to year, such as when to plant, when to lift, and how to store during the winter months. Following the tour participants will be able to order tubers, and buy plants or cut flowers – a great way to start a collection, or add to an existing one, of these amazing plants from our neighboring country south of the border.

    BBG members $25, nonmembers $30. Advance registration is highly recommended, but walk-ins are always welcome, space permitting. Register at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

  • Saturday, September 9, 8:00 am – 6:00 pm – Garden Study Weekend VII Symposium: The Exuberant Garden

    Be inspired by a day long symposium on Saturday, September 9 at the Hollister House Garden, 300 Nettleton Hollow Road in Washington, Connecticut,
    featuring:

    Jacqueline van der Kloet – The celebrated Dutch landscape designer will talk about Magical Mixes in the garden. She is known world wide for her innovative designs and her artful combinations of perennials and bulbs in the garden, She has worked on projects ranging from private gardens and city parks to national and international flower exhibitions. She is also the author of nine books, including Colour Your Garden. In this talk Jacqueline will show us her own garden in Weesp as well as her many international projects.

    Tom Coward – Tom will speak on leading the restoration of William Robinson’s legendary gardens at Gravetye Manor, where he has been the head gardener in Sussex, England since 2010. Previously he was assistant head gardener at Great Dixter, working under Fergus Garrett. The gardens at Gravetye Manor were first developed in the 1880’s by the legendary gardener William Robinson, who wrote some of the most influential gardening books of his generation, and used the landscape at Gravetye to put his ideas into practice. Over the past seven years Coward has led a team working to restore the historical detail of the site, renovating the garden to its former glory while attempting to move it forward into the modern age.

    Andrew Bunting – Andrew Bunting, Assistant Director and Director of Collections at Chicago Botanic Garden, is an expert on woody plants and author on Plant Lover’s Guide to Magnolias. Prior to coming to Chicago, he was curator at the Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College, and is past President of the Magnolia Society International. Andrew will describe the many and diverse magnolias that can be cultivated in the Northeast.

    Jane Garmey– Jane is a noted author and passionate gardener, author of Private Gardens of the Hudson Valley, and Private Gardens of Connecticut. She will speak on A Sense of Place: Challenges, Approaches and Solutions to Creating Gardens. She has also written about gardens for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Her newest book, City Green, will be published next year. In this talk she will give us an inside look at a wide variety of private gardens and will focus on the challenges facing those who set out to make their own gardens and show how inventive and individual their solutions can be.

    The symposium is moderated by Todd Forrest, Arthur Ross Vice President for Horticulture and Living Collections at New York Botanical Garden.

    Each reservation includes continental breakfast and lunch at the symposium and cocktails and preview buying at the Sale of Rare and Unusual Plants at Hollister House Garden. The Heritage Hotel has reserved a block of rooms for symposium attendees ($129 + tax) per night. To reserve please call 203-264-8200 and mention Hollister House Garden to secure this special rate.

    Patron $500 – includes invitation to the speaker dinner on Friday evening at Hollister House Garden and reserved seating at the symposium. ($200 of this ticket is tax deductible)
    Friend $185 – HHG and Garden Conservancy members
    Non-members $200
    No cancellations after August 1. To register, visit https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/HollisterHouseGardenInc/symposium.html

  • Thursday, July 27, 10:30 am – 12:00 noon – The Garden of Lynden Miller

    The Berkshire Botanical Garden will sponsor a tour of garden designer Lynden Miller’s Berkshire garden on Thursday, July 27, from 10:30 – noon. This Connecticut garden is an expression of Lynden’s artistic background and her passion for plants.

    Lynden has created a large semi-circular evergreen hedge enclosing mixed borders, a woodland garden, a raised gravel garden, a large cottage garden and a small stream and pond to celebrate many different plants and combinations. Directions provided upon registration. BBG members $40, nonmembers $50. Register at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

  • Sunday, July 30 – Field Trip to Salmon River Cove in East Haddam, Connecticut

    Join The New England Botanical Club and explore interesting places with great plants, led by local expert botanists. Trips for June, July and August, 2017, are planned, and participants must contact the trip leader 1 week in advance. The third summer trip will take place Sunday, July 30 to Salmon River Cove in East Haddam, Connecticut.

    NEBC will join with members of Connecticut Botanical Society to survey the shores and fresh water tidal wetlands of the lower Salmon River. We will paddle upstream as far as Machimoodus State Park where there is a boat launch area to come ashore for lunch. This site was recently bulldozed and may offer interesting pioneer plants. There may be time to botanize other parts of Machimoodus as well. Several State listed species are known from this area. Bring binoculars; this is a great birding area too. Participants must provide their own canoes, kayaks, and PFDs, or arrange for a space in someone else’s boat.  Level of Difficulty – Moderate. Trip leader: Bryan Connolly (bconnolly@framingham.edu). Bryan will send meeting time, location, and directions to those who register for the trip.

  • Thursday, February 23 – Sunday, February 26 – 36th Annual Connecticut Flower & Garden Show

    Join the Federated Garden Club of Connecticut February 23 – 26 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford for the 36th Annual Flower & Garden Show. The Convention Center will be transformed into a breathtaking event for floral and garden enthusiast.

    Back by popular demand: Emmy-nominated TV Host, best-selling author, and America’s top lifestyle expert Mar Jennings headlines this year’s seminar line-up. Explore over 300 booths overflowing with fresh flowers, plants, herbs, bulbs, seeds, gardening books, garden equipment, and much more. Visit the Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut design & horticulture and photography competition based on the theme “In the Spotlight.” Attend over 80 hours of seminars and demonstrations. All seminars are included with your general admission ticket. For complete information on hours, directions, parking, etc. visit http://www.ctflowershow.com/