Boston Flora

Category: Field Trip

  • Saturday, October 30, 9:00 am – 2:00 pm – Conifer ID with Richard Bitner

    Do you know the differences between pines, firs, and spruces?  How about arborvitae, junipers, cedars, and false-cedars?  Some of these are easily distinguishable, while others require close observation of needle patterns and a deeper understanding of reproductive structures.  By the end of this session with Dr. Richard L. Bitner, you will have a clearer understanding of conifers.  Dress in layers so that you are comfortable both in the classroom as well outdoors among the Arnold Arboretum’s outstanding conifer collection.  The lecture/tour will be held Saturday, October 30, from 9 – 2, and will begin in the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum.  The fee ($70 for members of the Arboretum or the Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture, $80 for non-members) includes a copy of Dr. Bitner’s book Timber Press Pocket Guide to Conifers. Register at www.wellesley.edu/WCFH.

  • Tuesday, October 19, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Fall in the Garden

    On Tuesday, October 19 from 10 – noon (rain date Wednesday, October 20, 10 – noon) get inspired by this hands-on opportunity to learn about all the various garden activities to do in the autumn. Get tips on planting, dividing, fall clean-up, pruning, and preparing for the winter months ahead. This combination garden walk and gardening workshop is set in a beautiful two-acre garden that includes a native plant woodland, a large vegetable garden and orchard, and diverse perennial beds. Robin Wilkerson leads this New England Wild Flower Society excursion, for a member fee of $24, non member fee of $29.  To register, and for directions, log on to www.newfs.org. Photo credit to allanbecker.gardenguru.squarespace.com.

  • Through Saturday, October 16 – Pick Your Own Flowers at The Flower Fields of Long Hill

    Come experience the new field of flowers in bloom at Long Hill, 572 Essex Street in Beverly, then purchase a beautiful bouquet to take home. You’ll find a flower tunnel for kids, a sunflower house, and rows of zinnias, dahlias, herbs, and more for cutting. Learn from our sustainable garden practices and discover new techniques you can use in your own garden. You will support locally grown flowers, our flower donations to local senior living centers, and our garden education program.

    The pick-your-own field is open on Thursdays 3-5 pm, Fridays 12-5 pm, and Saturdays 10 am-5 pm.  For more information call 978.921.1944x 4018 or visit www.thetrustees.org.

  • Saturday, October 9, 9:00 am – Walking Tour of Mount Auburn Cemetery

    Asa Gray’s central role in establishing Harvard as the botanical center of North America can be appreciated through the impressive landscape, history, and flora of the Mount Auburn Cemetery. Join Donald Pfister, Asa Gray Professor of Botany and Director of the Harvard Herbaria, for a Saturday, October 9 tour of Mount Auburn Cemetery, site of Gray’s grave and the Asa Gray Garden, and other sites of interest, including the monument to the lost members of the United States Exploring Expedition, Louis Agassiz’s grave, and numerous horticultural gems. Space is limited for this Harvard Museum of Natural History member tour. Pre-registration required. RSVP to members@oeb.harvard.edu, or call 617.496.6972 to learn more about membership in the museum.  The tour begins at 9 am, and there is a raindate of Sunday, October 10.  Part of the Asa Gray Bicentennial series. Photo below by KarenMarleneLarsen.

  • Sunday, October 3, 12:00 noon – 3:30 pm – Ferns in the Fall

    When fading sunlight and perhaps a frost have shriveled the undergrowth and turned it brown, evergreen ferns and club-mosses stand out in dramatic contrast. On a Sunday, October 3 walk with New England Wild Flower Society’s Don Lubin and Raymond Abair through the Blue Hills Reservation, visit a dozen evergreen species and other pteridiphyte taxa, including polypody, Christmas and grape ferns, five wood ferns and maybe a spleenwort, four club-mosses and a horsetail. Travel about two miles on mostly flat trails with a few hills. A hand lens is suggested. $28 for NEWFS members, $32 for non-members. Meet at Blue Hills at noon. To register, log on to www.newfs.org.

  • Saturday, September 25, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm – Grow, Eat, Learn

    Join Donald Pfister, Asa Gray Professor of Botany, and Kathleen Frith of Harvard’s Center for Health and the Global Environment, for Grow, Eat, Learn, a family program sponsored by The Harvard Museum of Natural History at the Harvard Community Garden on Saturday, September 25, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm. Hear growing tips from students and harvest your crops. Bring a bag lunch.  Location: 27 Holyoke Place in Harvard Square. A few spots are available for non-museum members. To register, call 617-496-6972.

  • Saturday, October 9, 9:00 am – Beardsley Zoo/Stratford Bioblitz

    Garden Club of the Back Bay speaker Richard Enser intrigued his audience this past  May with a description of a “bioblitz,” and here is an opportunity to participate in one.  On Saturday, October 9, we will join with  scientists from all disciplines (plants, insects, fish, mammals, etc.) and survey the habitats assigned to us in order to find as many plant species as possible in one day. Habitats include the 250-acre Roosevelt Park, Great Marsh Meadows, Short Beach, a 25-acre woodland, a pond and cranberry bog. Lunch will be provided.

    Directions: Meet at Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, Connecticut at the Hanson Exploration Station which will be our home base. From New Haven: Take Exit 52 off the Merritt Parkway (South to Bridgeport) to Rt 8 & 25. Proceed to Exit 5 (Boston Ave). At the end of the ramp, bear right and go to the 5th traffic light. Turn left onto Noble Avenue and proceed to the Beardsley Park entrance on the left. Follow the signs to the Zoo entrance on right. From New York, take Exit 49S (Bridgeport) to Rt 25. Proceed to Exit 5 and follow as above. From I-95 (CT Turnpike) Take Exit 27A to Rt 8 & 25. Proceed to Exit 5 (Boston Ave). At the traffic light at the end of the ramp, go left to the 4th traffic light. Turn left onto Noble Avenue and proceed to the Beardsley Park entrance on the left. Follow signs to the Zoo entrance on right.

    Leaders: John Triana and Carol Lemmon, (203)-488-781.  For additional information, log on to www.ct-botanical-society.org.

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  • Saturday, September 25, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm – Traveling Landscape Design Clinic

    This fast-paced, information saturated clinic sponsored by the Berkshire Botanical Garden will be held at the homes of several of the workshop participants on Saturday, September 25, from 9 am – 5 pm. An active discussion format will focus on common design principles. Problem solving, conceptualizing a landscape master plan and understanding the design process are among the topics to be explored. All attendees will participate in the process of observing and designing. Should time permit, you will visit some of Walter’s projects completed or in-process. This field trip will be held rain or shine. If you would like your property to be one of the site visits, let BBG know. There will be a $40 charge for design visits which may last up to one hour.

    Walter Cudnohufsky is owner of Walter Cudnohufsky Associates Landscape Architects, Ashfield, Mass. He is the founder, and for twenty years the director, of the Conway School of Landscape Design. Mr. Cudnohufsky received his M.L.A. from Harvard Graduate School of Design and his firm has received numerous awards and Walter has been recognized as an outstanding educator.
    $85 for BBG members, $90 for non-members. Register online at www.berkshirebotanical.org, or call 413-298-3926.

  • Sunday, September 19, 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm – All About Forest Communities

    On Sunday, September 19, from 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm, Wellesley College Visiting Scholar Katie Griffith will lead a hike part way around Lake Waban to look at different species of trees and shrubs co-existing.  Meet for this free program at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden.  Pre-registration is required (781-283-3094, or email horticulture@wellesley.edu), and please dress appropriately for going outdoors.

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  • Sunday, September 19, 9:30 am – 2:00 pm – Plum Island Flora

    Explore the different habitats of Plum Island with the New England Wild Flower Society and Instructor Frances Marsh on Sunday, September 19, from 9:30 am – 2:00 pm, and learn what grows where and why. We will investigate the salt marsh, dune, and beach communities, concentrating on forty to fifty distinctive (to the botanist’s eye) plant species. And if we see a bird or two, we will look at them as well. Bring a 10x hand lens, Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, lunch, water, and if you have them, binoculars.  $36 for NEWFS members, $41 for non members.  Register at www.newfs.org – class limited to 15.

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